All came over yesterday. And all were late! Really it was the insulation estimate guy, the window bar installers, and the plumber. The insulation guy said that his company didn't do my kind of attic and referred me to the group I had already spoken to. The window guys did a great job (pictures soon), though I kind of wish the bars had been painted with a matte finish. Should I have tipped them? I hope not. But I did give them water. And the plumber guy was really nice and really thorough (it turns out my chimney is clay lined, yay! - though the seams aren't perfect - not so yay), and will give me multiple quotes for my oil to gas conversion in a week.
And there was an uninvited bug guest. A big one in the basement. I missed it with the Raid (b/c I refused to go down there without Erin backing me up - yes, I know I'm a wuss), but did spray it where I thought he might be, causing my clean laundry to smell like Raid. Apparently to no avail, since Erin spotted him the next morning in the kitchen. At least, I hope it was him. One is enough. Ew. Think it might be time to call the exterminators again, and then put down some bait traps in the basement...
A couple pics -
The closet is finally finished, and has cleaning supplies back in it - yay for something off the list!
Floor: 
Max showing how he hung the clothes rod: 
And last weekend we did a lot to Erin's wall. She finished sanding the drywall tape, and I managed to put up the top part of the cabinet, the baseboards, and some trim. Now you may laugh, but that actually took 5 hours. It was fraught with crookedness, inexpert tool use (me), poor planning (so what if I did the math wrong and the new piece of oak was too small?), and lots of decision making. Another trip to Lowe's and Dyke's Lumber (they have the best moldings) will be necessary. And for all of that, I actually think it went quite well. Erin is very happy that she can no longer see into the ceiling through her cabinet!
This weekend I'm off to Dad's for his pig roast, so there will be no work done by me. But I suspect there will be lots of planning and discussions ;)
When you're just plain busy! Last weekend I finished the closet (with some timely help from Max!), and worked a bit in the backyard. Max set up the composter, and we discovered there were actually some flowers growing in all those weeds. We also discovered that Dad brought some water in that dishwasher - which is really kind of impressive, all the way from Rochester! ;)
Pictures soon, I promise.
This weekend - I will make more progress on Erin's wall. With the goal of completion in the foreseeable future...
The roof is silvered! And I think it's really helped - don't get me wrong, it's still hot upstairs, but significantly cooler than before the silvering.
As per usual, it took much longer than I predicted, so of course we were up there in the hottest part of the day. That paint was impossible to stir! Stirring by hand = 30 minutes. Stirring with drill attachment = 5 minutes. Having a friend with enough smarts to make me go back to Lowe's for the attachment = priceless. Many thanks to said smart friend, who brought muscles and cheerfulness to the process in addition to brains.
The paint was also quite difficult to work with. Despite all attempts, we did manage to get it all over our shoes, on us, all over the painting poles. And all over the ladder to the roof, and a couple drips on the hallway floor (it's getting removed at some point anyway). We tried really hard to be neat! It's really tarry and hard to remove as well. Ick.
One silver roof:
Erin and I hung the window treatments too! Not having towels taped over my windows is a lovely thing. Now I just have to buy the curtain rods for the living room, and they'll be all done!
Slideshow:
Ok, I didn't actually paint the roof last weekend. It rained. But with the assistance of my poor mom (who I'm sure really enjoys going to Lowe's every time she comes down), I did buy the paint. And discovered that the insulation is way too big to transport on my own - I'll have to have it delivered, or have a contractor do it (planning to call a friend's recommendation to see what's cheaper).
So this weekend, I'm gonna -
- Paint the roof
- Finish the closet (got the mortar and the quarter round last weekend)
- Maybe even finish the base and top of Erin's cabinet.
- And the window treatments all came in! Hanging those for sure.
Goals.
I made it up to the roof this weekend. On the plus side, the view is lovely.
On the minus side, my roof is black and have have zero insulation in the "attic". Therefore - project next weekend will be to acquire silver roof paint and insulation, and paint the roof. Insulating it will have to wait for the week after. Why? Because it's HOT in the upstairs. And it'll make us that more environmentally sound.
I did also manage to do the last coat of joint compound on Erin's wall, hang the new mailbox, replace the broken outlet in my room (that one wasn't grounded to the outlet either Dad), and mostly seal up the downstairs closet. I just have to get the cement for the floor and a new piece of quarter round and it'll be done.
The project planning for the backyard fence is starting as well - all the lovely pictures in this slideshow are to show Dad the current backyard so we can figure out how to sink the posts for the fence where the patio is...
Slideshow:
So have you noticed that everything takes me a million years to do? I have. Therefore the project list for this weekend is not terribly new and exciting:
- Erin's wall
- Downstairs closet
- Investigate attic for insulation preparation
- Hang mailbox #3
- Replace broken outlet in my room.
It's good to have goals. Even if they seem to remain the same from week to week...
The trend continues - more work on Erin's wall. And hopefully the downstairs closet. I would really like to get back to the dining room, too. There will also be some banister stripping done, courtesy of a friend who actually likes that stuff, so if you want something to do on a rainy Sat, there's plenty available!
Hooray! New windows are in! And I might be slightly high from the caulking fumes...
They look great, I'm excited about them. The guys did a really good job (at least, I think so now. I'll wait until tomorrow's rainstorm before drawing my full conclusion). Two of them look a little ridiculous to me - the windows are straight, but the existing outside moldings look a little crooked, which makes the windows kind of look like they are winking. But once the treatments are up, I don't think you'll be able to tell...
Anyway, I'm really excited to see how these do in making it quieter in here! As well as the breezes in the winters, of course... Pictures after we hang the window treatments.
Oh - and did I screw up? There was great debate over whether or not to tip them (I mean, it seems to be accepted that you don't tip plumbers and electricians, so does this apply to all skilled handymen?). I had money in my pocket ready to go - but the one guy just disappeared, and the head guy charged my card, shook my hand and was out the door. There didn't seem to be an expectant pause, so I didn't tip them. Was I wrong? Share your thoughts...
