Liz has started working on the front door, this time doing a lot of the work in-place. Setting this guy up on some horses means that we’d actually be absent a front door for several weeks… and would need some kind of temporary door (for both weather and security protection).
Liz did a lot of cutting, while I did a bit of sanding in the closet area. I then switched over to priming the vestibule while she continued to cut all the corners/edges along the rest of the hall.
While I was in the kitchen doing dishes, Liz called me in to the dining room (where she’s set up her light fixing shop area). She had finished up her cleaning, repair, and rewiring of the light that used to hang in our vestibule.
It may be hard to prove, but the room actually looks smoother and cleaner, after we worked on it. Things are definitely in a better state for primer, after us taking the time to wipe down the ceiling and walls.
The taper has two more trips over, to sand and smooth things down. In the meanwhile, we’re aiming to get what we can done in the first floor bathroom and stairs. It would be nice to get the rockers and tapers to handle those areas as well, but timing-wise we’ll see.
A stained glass window, which will reside at the top of our stairs. While a lot of our work this years has been focused on the first floor, we’re trying to push that work up into the second floor. Getting this up there will really make it feel like we’ve turned a corner, progressing the work on the house up another level. Literally.
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.
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.
Around 5:45 PM, I set up this area for us downstairs to sit and plan out the next few weeks. There’s a lot of things Bob is working on, all of which needs to happen prior the drywall guys coming. And then the taper coming after that. And then Nick/Milton to do the actual, final floor install.
A closer look at the damaged joist (which I discovered last year, when doing demo in the office space). The fire damage is right near where a light fixtured used to be, along with the old gas lines that fed into the light. It’s a small miracle this house (and all houses at the time) didn’t burn to a crisp with all the gas lighting inside.
The original frame was about 16″ closer to the door. This small adjustment gives us a bit more room on first walking inside the house.
The day has arrived! It’s time for the big pour! I can’t stress to you how big of a milestone this is for us. I know it’s an intermediate step, and we’re not even close to the final floor install… but to be at a point where the leveling is possible is incredibly exciting. It’s difficult to express how fantastic this moment/day feels.
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.
As may be evident from the photographic documentation, I want to say we’re losing steam. We got a decent amount done tonight… but this is tantamount to us working five days in a row non-stop doing demo work.
Old switches. We’ve got some replacements that are more modern (but still retain the same look/feel).