January 2004 is the month of the underlayment.
The photo to the left is the master bath (see the edge of the shower). The underlayment used is cement board
The photo to the right is the laundry room. The underlayment used is plywood.
Let the flooring begin!
While
Tim was installing underlayment I worked on stripping the built-in pantry.
We are not going to attempt to tear any of it out, so I have to strip the pieces
in place.
I am using peel away. I works well enough. We are painting this room again so the removal doesn't have to be as meticulous as with the rooms we are re-staining. The only part I don't like is you have to let is sit and soak for such a long time. I have to carefully plan when I am applying the paste so that it coordinates with a time I know I'll be home.
Also there are about 7 layers of cheap paint over a layer of varnish so that makes for easier stripping also.
This
is a picture of our current lighting situation (plus a much anticipated
dishwasher).
About half of them are antiques from various sites on the internet. The rest of them are reproductions from Rejuvenation (love them!)
I actually have more fixtures than I do places to put them. I've kind of become addicted to old house lighting. I swear it's a horrible habit. I've found myself going into others houses and asking for the old fixtures they are going to throw out even though I have no place for them in my own home. Help, I need one of those 12-step programs!
The skim-coat plaster process has begun downstairs.
No the upstairs in not finished. The back part of the house is way to cold to do the process so he moved downstairs where it's a little more cozy.
I got the laundry room painted. It's just white. I didn't want to try and match anything to those tiles. I figured what ever I did it would be a visual battle. Plus if I picked a color we would have to get wardrobes to match the paint color :)
The floor of the laundry room was started. We used Armstrong composite tiles from the Home Depot. The photo on the left shows the laying of the center checker board pattern. We then surrounded the checks with a series of thin boarders in the orange and blue colors. I scored the tiles using a quilters ruler and a utility knife. I then gently snapped each tile at the cut and ended up getting much nice cut lines than even I had expected.
This floor gets so many positive comments and it was so cheap and easy to do we decided to try our hand at it again in the washroom. Of course we have much more work to do before we get to that point.
But we are very pleased with our first finished floor.
Work also continues in the master bathroom. I finished up the painting. It's a soft purple color that tends to take on different shades of gray or pink too.
The purple was another battle I won. Tim was none to excited about having a purple bathroom, but of course now that he sees it he's happy. You'd think by now he'd have learned to trust my aesthetic sense and that battles would have decreased.
Not a chance.
Installing those shower doors was horrible. We had to take many time-outs and the process ended up taking days. But in the end (after much shimming) we have a nice water-tight surround with a clear view out my lovely bathroom picture window.
Here's a shot of the first wood work to be re-installed.
We've discovered that Tim doesn't have the patience for all the nailing (we can't seem to break down and buy a nail gun). It looks like woodwork installation is going to be my job.
The furnace guys finally finished up the re-work on the old furnace. We decided to re-work this one and forgo the purchase of a new one. This furnace was installed in approximately 1989 and was one of the best ones on the market. It had a couple of lifetime warranties on stuff that we took advantage of. We did tear out and re-install all of the ductwork in the house. We also added an electric heat insert on this furnace and the air conditioner we installed in the attic.
While I was in the basement I took a picture of our new electrical boxes. Tim (a closet nerd) likes to call it "the control panel for the Starship Enterprise."
It's Our One Year Anniversary!!!
The below shots are taken from the same angle as our first walk through pictures. Take a look at March last year and see the progress. It's glorious!
The kitchen
The pantry The dining room
Foyer stairway
The downstairs bath
Foyer- the front door is back Living room
Library Master bedroom
Master bath Laundry room
Guest bath
The big bedroom next to ours
Hallway in butler's area Another guest bedroom
Weaving room Back stairwell
Mudroom Office
Also on a very positive note, we sold our house in town. They take possession the first part of June. So from now on our projects will be as moving in based as possible.
And so we brace ourselves for the remainder of 2004. Will we end up moving in to a house with no kitchen? Will our marriage survive more decisions? Will Robert get the plaster work done before he burns out?
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