A Variety of Tasks Over the Weekend

We got several different project finished this weekend.

On the outside, Mom finished painting the cracks and spaces the roller couldn't reach on the front of the house.

We have one exterior wall left to fill the cracks on and paint.  Plus, all the trim work.

Dad moved dirt away from one side of the house to keep it protected from the elements.

We got a lot done inside.  We finished the texture around the door and got the texture around the window ready to paint.

We got the areas primed.

And painted.

We also got the blinds up.  Now, all the windows are properly covered.

We also finished the ceiling and floor moulding now that the last work on the walls was finished.

Another major task was Mom and I removing the front ramp thing.  This is what it looked like beforehand.  Quite ugly.

We put in a couple hours of destruction and black widow killing.

The end result.  Looking much better.  Still has some painting and column work to do, but it's definitely an improvement.  Although, Dad keeps forgetting it's no longer there and tripping as he comes out the door.

Dad also put in some GFI outlets.  Things are moving right along.  At this point, the inside is virtually finished with the spring/summer plan.  We still need to do the kitchen tile and trim and rehang the linen closet doors.  On the outside, we need to finish the exterior paint and trim and get the electric panel replaced (in process of getting scheduled).  When those things happen, we'll be finished with this phase of improvement!

Things on the longer term to do list:  redo bathroom shower, reroof, tear down random garden room.  So amazing!!

What Mom & Dad Have Been Doing This Week, Part 2

Thursday:

Joint compound at the joints & in holes

Texture

Another exterior wall painted

Blinds hung in guest room

Blinds hung in my room and bed moved in

Exterior around new door primed

Around garage painted

What Mom & Dad Have Been Doing This Week, Part 1

Tuesday:

Porch light installed

Insulation & drywall

First exterior wall painted

Wednesday:

Drywall and seam foam

Cracks sealed & new stucco primed

Second exterior wall painted

Holiday Weekend or More Work?

More work!

Saturday morning, we were all doing a variety of activities.  I was touch up painting in the bedrooms over the spots that got damaged from carpet installation.  Dad stuccoed around the patio door.  Mom sealed cracks in the stucco with elastomeric caulk so, hopefully, they won't continue after I paint.

After lunch, we took a truck full of junk to the metal recycling place.  This place is great if you have old appliances - they'll just take them from you. Yay!  Randomly, they paid us $14 for an old stainless steel sink.  We totally weren't expecting that.  Alas, even though they would take the aluminum window frames, they wouldn't take the one that still had windows.  We still had to figure out what to do with them.

On the way home, we decided to stop at a specialty paint store to get some questions answered.  The guy was very knowledgeable and we got information.  Also, he noticed our old windows in the back of the truck. He commented that he was building a greenhouse.  We said he could have them if he wanted.  Score for both of us!  We thought we were going to have to take them to the dump.  This was so much better.

That evening, we installed the baseboards around the floor of the bedrooms.  The uneven gaps are now hidden.

Sunday, the work continued.  Dad put the top coat of stucco on the door.  As I watered it Saturday night (something you do with stucco to, hopefully, prevent cracks while drying), I realized I need a light over it.  Just created another task.

Mom and I filled more cracks with caulk.  After lunch, we bought electrical supplies and exterior paint.  We're moving right along with this house!  The day ended with Mom and I filling even more cracks.  Dad painted primer (actually, cheap 'Oops' paint) over the new stucco on windows that had already been sealed by Mom and I.

Monday dawned and Mom and I continued our battle against the cracks.  We discovered the sun definitely has an impact on their creation.  Less sun = fewer cracks.  Dad spent a bit of time moving things out from the enclosed patio room.  It's been a major work and storage area, but the walls there need to be painted as well.

When it got too hot for Mom and I to work our front on cracks, the three of us came inside and installed the ceiling trim in the guest room.  Now, the only place left needing trim is the living room, since we're still working on closing up the wall from installing the door.

After lunch, we spent some time moving furniture from the garage into the house.  Many things had been there while rooms were under construction.  Now that all the bedrooms are available, I can get more moved in. Yay!

Dad spent the evening priming more new stucco areas.  Mom kept working on cracks.  I worked on the wiring for the new light over the patio door.  This involved installing a switch and running some new wire to connect the light to the switch and the switch to the circuit.  I ran out of time for the light itself to be installed, so that will be a project for another day.

More things will be happening this week, as Mom and Dad decided to work here the rest of the week, while I go off to my paid job.  =)

Making Way For a Door

When Mom and Dad showed up Friday, we decided that the new patio door would be the project for the weekend.  Mom started us off by opening up the wall so we would know exactly what we were dealing with.

This is what we found.  We already knew about the electrical wire.  We would have to reroute it over the doorway and possibly move the box a bit further down.  What we didn't bargain for is hiding down there next to the bottom of the middle stud - an anchor bolt.  That's right where the door was going to go.  We couldn't just remove it because I like the idea of my house staying attached to the foundation.  We would have to figure out a way to replace it, but concrete is not the most friendly of materials to work with.

That afternoon, Dad drilled the holes through the studs and header for the wire rerouting.  Drilling through the header is slow work.  I got doorknobs attached to most of the interior doors.

Saturday dawned and we worked on a solution to our anchor bolt problem.  We thought about renting a ram set gun the drive nails through the sillplate and into the concrete.  Turned out to be a bit too expensive to rent. We ended up going to the local hardware store and discussing the problem with a helpful clerk there.  He hooked us up with these bolts pretty much made for that purpose.  You drill a hold in the concrete, drop in the bolt, and then hammer the top.  When you hammer, it spreads out these clawlike things at the bottom to grip in the concrete.

That afternoon, Dad spent most of his time drilling two holes in the concrete - one on either side of the new door.

He's great.  I know he wore himself out doing so.  I love you!

I painted the door frame of the guest room.

Mom did some touch up painting in various places and filled holes in moulding and doors with joint compound.  Eventually, the concrete decided that Dad could have his holes.  He then pounded the bolts into place.

After that, Dad and I worked on rerouting the wiring over the doorway.  Mom was working on her own electrical project in the kitchen.  Since we'll be putting tile on the walls, the two electric boxes there need to extend out a bit so they won't be recessed behind the tiles.  So was only relatively successful in that venture.  The boxed were not being very friendly with her.  Dad and I had more success with our rerouting, as you can see (if you look carefully).

We were finally ready to take out the window and replace it with the door on Sunday.  Dad was hoping we would have gotten it done on Saturday, but that anchor bolt really messed things up.  First thing, Dad and I removed the window from the wall.  After that, Dad cut the stucco from the window opening to the ground.

You can see the plastic we put up to keep most of the masonry dust out of the house.  After that, Dad cut out the remaining boards.  

The double studs on the left were kept.  Two more studs had to be added to the right so the frame of the door would be well supported.  Dad added those as well.  While he was doing those jobs that didn't need any help, I put up the ceiling trim in the master bedroom.  Mom was generally spending the day cleaning and fixing outlets and switches.  Finally, we laid out the door and were ready to put it in place.

I stayed on the inside and directed where to move the door while Mom and Dad lifted it up.  Getting a door just right is a pain.  After it was up, we had to make sure it was in a good location front to back so that the frame would line up with the sheetrock, which wasn't there yet.  Once that was good, we had to make sure it was plumb in every direction.  All of this took a lot of wiggling and back and forth.  Once one side was good, fixing the other often meant readjusting the first.  It took a bit of time, but we eventually got it.  I was then able to add the doorknob and lock.

While I did that, Dad filled in the hole to the right of the door with a board.  The original window was wider than the door.  Then, I had to fill in the screw holes on the back of the door with little plastic plugs.  Dad cut off the shims.  Finally, the door was done.  Now we just need to add the insulation, sheetrock, texture, and paint.

Only Two Days of Work This Weekend

We worked only Friday & Saturday this weekend.  Sunday we celebrated Father's Day early as Mom and Dad will be out of town next weekend.

Floorman came out Friday morning and measured the three rooms for carpet.  It should be getting installed about the 24th - it's got to be made then shipped.

Friday, the living room window was replaced.  Saturday, Mom flashed it.  Dad put chicken wire around both the front windows so he can stucco them later.  That took up just about most of the day.  Cutting and stuffing it around the window is a slow, slow process.  Window sills around both windows have been installed and need to be joint compounded and painted.

I got some weeding in the front done.  Also, some trim and cabinet door painted.  Mom added some sheetrock to the short parts of the bedrooms.  In some places, the sheetrock doesn't come down all the way and would leave a gap between the wall and carpet.  Since I'm not planning on putting baseboard in them, I definitely want that gap gone.  I taped and Mom compounded the additions.

We're getting there.

Trim Work

Today was focused on trim.  Mom laid the pieces all over the house where they matched up by size.  Dad and I went around with the nail gun and attached them.

The ones in dining room, living room, and hallway are painted to match the wall.  The ones in the study match the ceiling.  After they were up, Mom went around and filled cracks with joint compound.  Then she touched up the paint.

I also removed nails from the door trim that still needs to be painted.  It's best to pull the nail all the way through the board - that way the ugly tear out is at the back, not front.  You've got to use a pair of vice grips to hold the nail (nothing to grip on the bottom of it), then pry it up with a utility bar.

I also spent time everyday of the weekend working on the piece that will fill this ugly hole, left from the original kitchen fan in the ceiling.

I bought a vent/fan grill on Friday and some paint.  Put several coats of paint on it (it started out white) and was finally able to put it up yesterday.

I spent the late afternoon taking care of the backyard with the weed whacker - so nice that the rain finally stopped.  Dad put up some trim in the kitchen.  Mom wiped a bunch of dust off the heater cover before putting it back on.  Mom and Dad moved my furniture in my living room more to what I want to to be and brought the TV out.  My house is starting to come along. Yay!

Time Consuming Jobs

Saturday:  Mom spent the morning getting the bathroom protected from ceiling cleaning.  She spent the afternoon cleaning.  It was the most disgusting room in the house.  Near the fan, there was about 1/16" layer of tar from years of cigarette smoking.  Quite disgusting.

Dad spent the day pulling nails from floor moulding and painting it.

I did a little of this and a little of that. Major project was getting the buffet ready.  I put the doors on the cabinets that are acting as a buffet in the dining room.  I attached the countertop.  I measured and cut the backsplash.

I also planted some camellias in the front.  This involved carrying several buckets of dirt from the backyard to the front.  Before putting in the actual plants, I filled in some random holes in the front yard that were right next to the entry.  Then I got the three plants in the ground.  They're hard to notice in the picture now, but they'll get plenty big in just a year or three.

Sunday:  Mom finished the bathroom ceiling - with a really long break for lunch.  (She went out with friends and lost track of the time.)  She's actually finishing it as I type this.  It will be good for the plastic wrapping to be gone because it would be difficult to take a shower before work tomorrow.

Dad and I spent most of the day measuring, cutting, and installing floor moulding (kitchen, dining room, living room) and door trim.  It's a surprisingly slow process.  This evening, while I got dinner prepared, Dad put caulk along the edges and holes. Next weekend, we'll do some touch-up painting.

That's pretty much it.  We were plenty busy this weekend, but not a lot to show for it.  Oh, well, it's all got to get done eventually.