First Floor: Sanding
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.
Posts Tagged "liz"
Dining Room, Fireplace Discovery
We’ve taken down so many walls, pulled up so many floors… there’s precious little left in this house that we haven’t touched or removed, in some way. And yet, somehow. Magically. This house still surprises us, even now.
Prepping the Living Room
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.
Wood Cleanup
I started by day in the basement. The shuffle work continues, with us needing to relocate everything down here. But first, I needed to clean up this spot, which has grown a bit unorganized over the past few months.
Oh, Chute: Halloween, 2020
Liz reminded me that we were not going for distance here, which took some adjusting for me, mentally. Ultimately, the snag made the candy delivery easier for the children. And I guess this whole thing is about them. I guess.
Doors and Windows and Floors
The jeans I had on had a slight rip to them. And that rip got a little bit worse, every time I stopped down. Eventually, it got so bad that I was concerned about going outside (for fear I’d get some kind of indecent exposure fine).
I asked Liz for a safety pin, but she ended up going all MacGyver on me with some duct tape. Which, to my surprise, held up pretty well.
Back to the Doors
It’s been a busy time for both me and Liz with work work (though I’d argue she’s been markedly busier than me). As a result, Liz hasn’t done much additional house work beyond the critical stuff we need to get done.
She’s been working long hours, extra hours, evenings and weekends. There’s been a little bit of free time here and there, but it’s not been much.
Main Hall, Now with Drywall
The rockers came during the week, while Liz and I both were upstairs working. I got to see some of the early work, but on walking down as they were packing up… the whole area looked completely different.
The main hall felt like a room again, and not a bunch of exposed studs. It was a very shocking thing to see.
Final Drywall Prep
Rockers are coming tomorrow, and tonight we had some last-minute prep work to do. Put up the remaining backer boards, and move all the drywall so it’s accessible (the ceiling drywall is tucked away in the kitchen).
Helicopters, Hyde Park
“The helicopters you are hearing are from a police manhunt. A high speed chase ended at 55th and blackstone and is now a foot chase. 3 are in custody, 1 is at large, hiding in people’s backyards, and considered armed.
Stay inside and stay safe!”
Hall Backer Board, Continued
We were much faster tonight, having shaken off the cobwebs last night. We were moving a bit faster, and covered a decent amount of ground.
Hall Backer Board
It’s been a while since Liz and I tackled prepping and installing backer board. The process isn’t too bad overall, but we were slowly remembering the process and steps.
The reason for this particular work: on Bob’s suggestion, installing backer board along the base of all the walls saves time during the trim installation period. No need to hunt and hope for a stud – because you can nail in anywhere at all. Because the backer board is everywhere.
Finishing the Patches
After a few nights working solo, I was fortunate to have Liz help with getting the remaining drywall patches up on the ceiling. She’s been super busy with work work lately, and tonight was a moment when she pulled away to help out.
Taping the Closet
As Bob was working on the new closet, he needed the top part of the drywall mudded and taped (per code). He’s finishing up the duct work here, and needed this done before the next day. So Liz ended up suiting up unexpectedly tonight, and put in some time trying to get into some pretty tight spaces.
First Floor Leveling, Day 2
Liz said she felt a bit depressed because “the goalposts moved,” but she powered through things as always. With the flooring guys and Bob working during the day (and us working remote during the day), we end up having to do what we can in the evenings.