March 23, 2024
Came home after running errands to find that Liz had started to peel off the plastic panels that were on both sides of our new windows.
She and been working on the interior side, and I started on the exterior. She warned me that the act of removing the plastic caused a decent amount of static build-up (and she got a particularly nasty shock).
Read More...
March 19, 2024
Those are… some pretty big holes, in the side of our house.
Read More...
March 17, 2024
A bit of Visqueen, blocking off the living room. We’ve put up and taken down so much Visqueen in this spot, we’re old hands at it.
Read More...
March 16, 2024
After pulling up the layers of protective Builder’s Paper and Masonite recently… it was time to put more down again.
Read More...
February 17, 2024
When we got back, both of us were pretty tired. But one of our goals for the day was to clear out the front living room – and to get the floor exposed.
We’re expecting to get a big shipment of trim delivered soon, and Liz is going to be doing a larger batch of shellac – and finalizing the colors/process. To do this, she needs more of the floor open/visible, so that she can see how things look in the daylight.
Read More...
October 17, 2022
The hope is to turn this into a sort of staging area, for when we get to the windows. So with some timing and luck, we’ll likely be transforming this room again in a few weeks. But for now, things look a bit more normal.
Read More...
October 14, 2021
Liz applied a cleaner to the living room fireplace. It’s a coating that needs to set for a day or so, as it hardens and does its thing.
Read More...
December 22, 2020
Apparently, the color was due to the shellac used, and has required several rounds of cleaning to get to this point. I think Liz mentioned that she stripped this three times, and there was still shellac seeping up through the pours (and eventually she just had to stop).
Read More...
November 15, 2020
A huge point that both Bob and Nick made to us: tape the paper to the paper, not to the floor. The chemicals from the tape will seep into the wood, and when you go to remove the tape… you’ll remove some of the stain as well. And while it can be repaired, you’ll always be able to tell something happened.
Tape the paper to the paper, tape the Masonite to the Masonite. No tape to the floor, ever.
Read More...
November 10, 2020
It’s a challenge with these images, as we only end up coming downstairs well into the evening (we need to wait around 90+ minutes after Nick’s done to walk on the floor). We don’t really get to see the floor much in daylight, as it’s dark when we actually can walk around.
Read More...
November 9, 2020
Nick and Milton came by today, to have another pass at the floor. After their normal, full day… they stopped by around 4PM to put down the first layer of varnish.
Similar to the stain, once the varnish is down… we need to stay off of the floor for a set amount of time (about an hour to an hour and a half, until it dries).
Read More...
November 8, 2020
We’re being really careful to watch gingerly along the floor. And I can’t help but feel like every step I take is going to somehow irreparably damage all the work that’s been done. It’s like the floor is some kind of delicate, beautiful lava, and I need to just stay off it at all costs.
Read More...
November 7, 2020
Honestly? I was not expecting such a stark change, with the slight gaps between boards seemingly removed, and a continuity that stretched from room to room.
Read More...
November 6, 2020
I got the last bit of primer on the living room done. And Liz moved her stain tests to the actual floor. In addition to the standard stains, she tried out a few custom blend variations of her own.
Read More...
November 4, 2020
After work, I spent some time getting primer on the living room ceiling and walls. A slow discovery: I really, really hate priming walls. And probably painting, too.
I thought I’d be ok with it, but there’s a patience and precision that I just seem to lack. Maybe it was my mental state this week, but I was just impatient, easily frustrated, and just angry at the whole process.
Read More...