The process involved a lot of repetition. First, I’d remove a section of floorboards. Then I’d go and remove all of the nails. Then I’d take all the wood over to the office, and sweep up any of the debris/nails. Then I’d use the shop vac to clear out the dust/debris in each space I had just opened up
The first few rows cleared out. One challenge: with the floor gone, there were some big nails left in the joists – every six inches or so. Once I ripped up a length, I’d have to go back with a hammer and pry out all of the nails. In a few instances, the heads snapped off (being super old and brittle as they are), and required a pair of channel locks to finish the job.
With me on a kind of staycation between jobs, it’s a good chance for me to really put in some hours on the house and get some work done. Stealing an hour or two after we get home from work is nice, but this week and next… I’m able to put in a solid run of hours.
Saturday, Liz and I ventured into the attic with Bob to take another look at the ceiling above our office space. We were talking about potentially lofting the space, and wanted to get a better look at everything “up there” in the attic.
You should really see things when the lights are first turned on, as the room has this kind of warm glow to it. Makes me feel like we’re a few tiki mugs away from opening up a bar down here.
We needed the covers off in order to be able to access the two slots, which is what’s used to fasten/mount them. On looking inside, I Was surprised to see that the lights were actually small strips of LEDs.
Got a little time in the basement yesterday with Liz, after work. She worked on marking the front basement area with the laser level, to determine where our lights are going to go.
Liz and I worked on the basement a bit after work. We joined Bob (who had been at our place since midday), and were tackling smaller odds and ends as he began work on the stairs.
Bob came by Sunday morning, and spent a very full and long day with us at the house. Before his arrival, Liz and I were moving a few of the power tools back downstairs (because this is how we live now, moving things back and forth in our house).
After another busy day at work, the last thing I really wanted to do was “house night.” But it was on the calendar, and I trudged my way downstairs where Liz was busy measuring things up.
Of course, our basement currently looks way better than it used to. So I didn’t feel like I would be walking someone into a serial killer basement.
I don’t have a lot of photos from the day, but I do have this one – of some Smithwick’s they brought over. Which Bob and I may have opened up a little early in the day.
Liz was out running errands today, so I had another solo session down in the basement. Put on some music, made some really good progress.
Usually, Liz and I work together on the weekends for at least one day on the house. But this Saturday, I insisted that Liz take a break, as she was feeling worn out from the week… and her index finger was feeling a bit sore from our last painting session a few nights ago.
By the time we finished, we had hit our goal of four rows. Anything more, I think, would have been too taxing… as Liz and I were both moving slower and slower towards the end. So at least now, we have a solid sense of how much work we can reasonably get done in one “session,” whether that’s a week night or weekend day.