Quick Stop While Sick

I got myself out of bed long enough to head over to The Black Pearl for some of their fabulous won-ton soup, and stopped by the house on the way to see what got done. Took the opportunity to shoot maybe the last pic of the back of the house before the siding and the decking go on - they arrive tomorrow.

Sure enough, Steve finished the installation of the Kayak Storage Facility door, with the same key as the basement door. How convenient. Next step in that crawlspace is to put the insulation layer underneath the joists. I bought it a couple weeks ago but have been too focused on painting to do that work so far. After that, I'll put in a duplex outlet, two three-way switches, and plug in my halogen light. And then Kian's old go-kart's wheels will wind up being the kayak guides. That's a project unto itself.

It didn't look like Pete had stopped by today, until I poked around in the basement and noticed that yet one more layer of Duram's Fix-All had been layed down on the floor again in various patches in preparation for the bamboo floor that we need to order soon.

All this stuff here and there that no one will ever see, but takes time and extraordinary effort. This simple little 96 square foot addition really has had a lot of hidden required efforts.

But it's all good. And soon - five weeks from now - we should be back in the old homestead. That'll be here before we know it. Well, I'll just keep on telling myself that anyway.

Some Before & After Fun Shots

It's Monday, September 29, and I'm home sick today. Got a bad cold, probably from working too hard on the house and letting myself get all worn out. I went in for a while, didn't feel too bad, but also felt like there was something about to get worse, so I left, stopped by the house, and Steve was building the Kayak Storage Facility door, so I popped over to Frank's and got the same lockset that's on the basement door with matching keys. Then I came home to rest up.

So I thought it would be fun to do some of that before/after comparison thing. Here are a couple from the construction phase to now.

This first shot is looking at what used to be the dining room on the left and the old kitchen to the right.

The "After" shot is looking roughly in the same direction, but what used to be the dining area is now closed off with a wall that will soon have bookshelves, defining the living room as separate from the entry.

The next one up is what Kian's man cave looked like back on May 22, then on June 12, after the furnace was taken out, and then what it looks like today. The flooring is going to be in by mid October. It'll be bamboo - very sustainable, and very light colored to keep it bright. After the floor goes down, the hydronic baseboard heater that's in that box below the window will get installed by Evan Conklin.

That's it from now. Live from Sick Bay; have a great evening.

What The ....

What is that little collection of stuff on the ground?!?

That's the little front yard model that Heather and I collaborated over yesterday morning, trying to figure out what the sidewalk looks like, if it's straight, zig zagged, or meandering, and what the experience is as you walk to the front door. Was it helpful? Kind of. Still a lot to figure out though.