My Parents Continue to Be Amazing

I went camping for the long Memorial Day weekend.

Mom and Dad decided to keep working on my house.  They textured, primed, and painted the back two bedrooms.

Master bedroom

Guest bedroom

Bedroom closet

As if that what isn't enough to get done, they also installed the blinds in the study that had arrived during the week.

In case I haven't mentioned it, my parents totally rock!

Getting There

Only 2 days of work this weekend to report about.  Things that got accomplished:

Dad installed attic vents in the front and back of the house:

(back vent photo coming in the future - I forgot to take one in time for this post.)

The vents will allow me to run my whole house fan.  It's much more powerful than it needs to be, but was the smallest one we could easily find.  It empties 3200 cubic feet in a minute.  My house is 7200.  It'll be cooled down in a jiffy!

We all worked at various times at getting the lamps installed in the two bedrooms.  Mom cleaned them, I covered chipped spots, Dad installed them, Mom attached fan blades, I attached sconces.

Master bedroom

Guest bedroom

Mom also spent quite a bit of time with joint compound, getting everything all smoothed out in the guest room.  We'll be able to start texturing it next time.

I worked on painting interior doors.  I got 4 out of 5 mostly done.  They each need one side painted still (logistically, you can only paint one side at a time).  I ran out of time to do the fifth one, so, next time.

While I Was Playing a Soccer Tournament...

My amazingly awesome parents were doing more work on the house.  The master and guest rooms now have electricity running to the ceiling, waiting to be connected to the lights currently in boxes in the shed.  They even got the holes in the walls patched up.  So thankful for all their help and knowledge.  =)

Finished!

Oh, no, not the house.  Did you think I meant the house?  Good heavens, no.  Still a while yet before we get there.  No.  Mom finished cleaning the ceiling! Yay!

Dad finished the stucco around three of the windows.  I put installed wallboard around the two window sills in the guest room and did some joint compounding in the master.  Slowly, we're getting there.

Mother's Day Weekend

We worked only Friday and Saturday, as Sunday was Mother's Day.

Dad spent the weekend stuccoing around the newly installed windows.  First he had to lay wire.  Then mix and apply stucco.

Laying the wire around the windows took considerably longer than he thought it would.  In the two days, he got the first layer done on all four windows.  They have X's in them to help them bond to the top coat when it gets applied.

Mom spent a good part of Friday putting up double closet in the master bedroom.  She planned on finishing it quickly, but it had other plans.  She got it finished, eventually, but then didn't have as much time to clean ceiling as she thought.  The guest bedroom (by far the cleanest of the house) still has a bit to go, but then she'll be done with that task forever!

I did a variety of things over the two days.  I applied quite a bit of joint compound, trying to smooth out walls and joints before we texture.  I also put spray foam around the guest room windows and filled in some ceiling cracks from outside the house (if you look at the roof-line in the first picture, you can just make out some yellow foam).  I also marked where the light/fans are going to be installed in the two bedrooms and drilled the holes for them.  I then went a hunt to find wire to connect them to circuits.  I found one piece right away, but another longer enough wasn't appearing so it was beginning to look like I would have to buy some.  Then, I looked around the shed some more and saw a nice long piece that was still connecting two outlets even though the shed no longer has electricity.  Disconnecting it from the two outlets took quite a while (and some wrenching of my already hurt and braced wrist).

Sunday, we hiked to waterfalls in honor of Mother's Day.  I love you, Mom!

End of the Weekend

Not much picture worthy on Sunday.  I oiled the countertops and did some joint compounding on the walls of the guest room.  Mom finished cleaning the ceiling of the master bedroom.  Dad put up some wire around a window to do stucco - but ran out and will have to finish the job next weekend.  He also cut and installed moulding around the inside of the bathroom door. It definitely needs to be painted - it's all old and beat up looking.  Will be great when it's got some paint on it though.

Wallboard

Dad was gone for the day for a show for his ceramics class.

Mom and I picked up where we left off on Friday.  We got the rest of the wall board up in the guest room.  We then got the joints taped and applied compound.

In the afternoon, Mom fixed a hole in the wall.  When she did, she could look under my bathtub.

It seems kind of funny that there isn't wall board on the bathroom side of the wall at tub level.

I put corner tape on the window sills of the master bedroom windows.  The 'tape' is paper with sheet metal strips in the center.  You cut it to length and then fold the angle.

Then you put up a thin layer of joint compound on the sides getting the tape.  You put it in place ad scrape away the extra compound.

After it dries, you put a second layer of compound over the top (that will be for Sunday).  They make really nice clean, straight corners.