Work Weeks 21 & 22: A Frantic(ish) Fortnight

Hello! It’s another bi-weekly post, mostly because once my elbow recovered, I’ve been pretty much covered in paint ever since, and too busy to type! Stuff has been GETTING DONE around here, but also, it feels like the finish line keeps getting pulled just a little farther back. For starters, here are two little preview pictures of how the painting is going:

Both bedrooms, the study, kitchen and both bathrooms of our future apartment are now fully primed, and every ceiling has been topcoated. I think we’re about 7 gallons in? The kitchen and both bathrooms were topcoated as well. I’m *this close* to getting started on my linoleum wainscoting project! If you look close at the picture of the kitchen, you’ll see my sample linoleum board in the background. If you look at the bathroom floor, you’ll see that my beloved Scandinavian Blue paint is drippy as hell, so I was very fortunate to be able to apply it before the floor goes in. I swear I know how to be a non-messy painter as well! Just not when I don’t have to be.

Here’s another amazing thing that happened: Lights! Is there anything more marvelous than the wonders of being able to see in the dark with a flip of a switch!?

Thank you to Johnny and Johnny, we now have lights galore! It’s awesome. And now that the ceilings are done, we can start putting in the actual light fixtures too, which is going to be so fun to see! What won’t be the most fun is the day I have to assemble 3 entirely different ceiling fans, but hey, whatever it takes! 

Paul & Dave have been going gangbusters, finishing up all the plumbing, subfloors, trim, etc etc. to get this place in shape, because the floors are all getting installed next week! Yay! Go team! In my perfect dream world, that’s the final step, and then we can move in! So the new goal is by the end of the month. 

Meanwhile, outside is pretty fun to wonder about for most people passing by, I would imagine! The yard is now a mud pit, there is a heap of scaffolding slowly being erected by the slate roofers, and the beginnings of a garden and wall are taking shape out front, thanks to Dennis and Kevin! Also outside, Johnny has been preparing a bunch of cement forms so one day we can have a dumpster pad, a new step for the porch, and a new floor for the outbuilding. So there are all these weirdly shaped 2x4 fort things all over outside too. Oh and we pulled almost every single radiator out of the place and we’re selling them, so now they sit next to the slate pallets and the dump trailer and the giant lift thing and the tarp that stops the outbuilding floor from caving in. Here is a picture from right before the scaffolding pile and the garden wall-it gives you an idea of the kind of hot mess the place is at the moment:

Next week I’ll show you a picture of the metal roof on the very top and on the dormers! I love the way the seams look. Thanks Phil & crew of P.M.H. and Sons! They’re the metal roofing kings, and they came and busted out everything they possibly could before the slate roof goes on. Once that happens, it’s going to be amazing! Not just visually, but last week we had a major rainstorm (like 3 inches kind of rain storm) and water kept creeping all behind the mansard roof and into the rafters, getting our new drywall wet, dumping into buckets all along the back walls of the house, and creeping under the drywall in the music room. Soooo, the music room is STILL not staying dry enough to prime or paint or put the floor in. Also, we can’t replace the porch roof or refinish the front doors and replace the rotted porch boards until the slate roof is done, so come on slate roofers, you can do it! And then we can finish inside too! It’s the missing link for the next leap and bound.

Fingers crossed, I’ll be showing you some actual truly finished AFTER pics next week! Come on, warmer and dryer weather! Let’s make this happen!