Tired

I'm tired. We've been at the house lots lately. I'm going to be honest. Josh has been there a lot more than I have. I don't know how he does it. Either way. I'm tired.

I've also been mudding the same section of wall and ceiling for four days now. It was really bad. I should have taken a picture. Regardless, because of the difference in thickness between the drywall they used 50 years ago and the drywall today matching it is not easy. So it's bumpy and gross and it's getting better, but so so slowly. I will defeat it though. I will. 

So while I mudded the same piece of wall and ceiling, my brothers joined my husband and they took apart the basement. It looks so big now! Wow. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom that needed to be taken apart. They got most of it down last night. The sub-floor and exterior wall in the one bedroom needed to be finished tonight. The garage is once again full of junk.

Dad busied himself with electrical work. He got some more plugs working for us, which will be wonderful because between extension cords and few plugs, it was sometimes a chore getting something to work. But now it does. He also let me strip some wire when I was done mudding. That was pretty fun. He has cool tools. 

Dad putting a plug in the chimney.

 Josh hydrating. It's important.

Notice the lack of wall. Yay! You can also see Josh cleaning up the wall.

Curtis working really hard.

 Curtis lifting up the sub-floor by himself.

Lifting the sub-floor together.

I think one of my favorite things that keeps on being repeated is "what were they thinking?" It's true. I mean, sand under the shower, an inch and a half of insulation on the walls, the peep whole*... what were they thinking? But I also imagine in 50 years from now someone taking out my pantry with the rigged up platform it sits on, the dry wall... in general, the hole above the cupboards, and the unpainted strip there also, saying "what were they thinking?" My imagination makes me giggle every time we see something silly. Because we're silly too. I do hope the cycle repeats itself some day.

*I forgot to ever mention this. Not only did the original bathroom not have a shower, it had a small cupboard above the sink. But this cupboard was not an ordinary cupboard. Oh no. Once opened you realize it is not actually a cupboard at all. It is a small door leading to the laundry room. I'm really, really not sure what they were thinking. Laundry chute? 

To help orient you - this picture is taken facing the hallway. The little 'cupboard' you see is looking out into where the laundry used to be. You can actually see the door to our bedroom, which has not moved, through it.

Follow-through

Here's the post about the rest of the weekend. 

So two coats of mud done. One to go! Yay! In the back two rooms anyway. I'm slowly finishing the first coat of the front room... ssslllooowwwlllyyy. It's kind of the sort of thing that I'm doing while waiting for Josh to finish getting something else ready so I can do that instead. (Third coat almost got completed last night... so close.)

Know what's sad? I used to think I was all independent. If I really had to do something I could get it done. Feminism rules! I've been proven wrong lots. Like sometimes I can't even get the drywall pail open. And I tried to mix mortar. The mixer is really strong. Long story short, it's all making me even just a little bit more thankful for my Josh. Not only is he strong, but he also knows what he's doing. Unless I've seen Brian or Holmes do it, I just don't know.

So I hope by now you've realized that I have a great family. Dad has done all the electrical up to this point, and he'll probably finish. Curtis, Josh and Dad do all sorts of other chores for us, like demo, or helping put cupboards up and moving appliances, putting in insulation, sub-floors and many, many other miscellaneous jobs that need to get done. I don't even know where we would be without them... a lot less far than we are and lets face it, despite all that we're still much further behind than we would have liked. Also, mom and dad babysit. Which is awesome. Cause then I can not be a slacker. Ridiculously helpful. Oh and also the whole giving us a place to live that's not a disaster and dust filled and which has functional toilets... that's pretty huge.

So on Monday, Josh (brother) made 1950 size door ways into 2012 size door ways. I've already mentioned he helped tile. Curtis put corner bead on a bunch of corners and then painted a lot of wainscoting (like a lot of painting).  So when we're done tiling, that will pretty much be ready to put up.  Yay! Wonderful family.

Josh in his newly renovated, higher doorway.

Josh putting safety first. (I laughed too. He insisted that the ear part was attached to the helmet so he had to wear it all while cutting tile. I found that explanation did not make him look any less silly.)

Curtis painting.

And painting.

Josh holding up a piece of drywall that has glue on it. I was supposed to be grabbing the drywall gun so he could screw it up. I decided to take a picture instead.

Josh measuring.

Josh dry walling.

Mudddddding! Yay! How fun.

To conclude this post I shall show you a picture of my shower head (and faucet any everything) because I think it is beautiful and I am as excited about it as my sink faucet.

A good reason to get clean.

Oh and did I mention how much I appreciate my family? I really, really do.

Tiling

I'm going to be honest with you. I don't think I'm cut out for home renovation. Oh yes, I'm capable. I can do most things. Perhaps not well, maybe not fast, but they'll get done. At first I don't even mind it. However, half way through a job it seems much less exciting. Mudding, even painting. Yes, the first coat on the first wall is very rewarding. After that, it's just work. 

Now Josh. He would do this for a living. I believe I told him one day that maybe we could flip houses. I said this because he wanted to. This was a silly thing to say. I mean I probably would if he wanted, but I shouldn't have actually admitted to it. Now there is a seed planted, "she'll maybe flip houses with me." Which is as good as "we're definitely flipping houses someday" in his head. 

I do enjoy picking stuff out. I could do the job of an interior decorator. I can shop for pretty light fixtures, pick out paint colors, and furniture. Even doors and trim I enjoy looking at. I mean I'm not saying I'm good at this either, but at least I enjoy it. No I am not planning on being on becoming an interior decorator, but the idea of spending another persons money on pretty things is very intriguing. 

Anyway, I did say I was going to tile. And I did. Start. It's not finished. 

Dad and I put in the in-floor heating on Saturday. It was actually pretty easy. A bunch of reading instructions (because I'm a girl and I do things like that.) Some quick math, which wasn't as quick as it should have been considering it was pretty simple multiplying and dividing. Then down it went. It felt like it took very little time, though I didn't actually time it. Albeit I didn't have anything to do with actually hooking it up to the thermostat part, I left the electrical for dad, but I still think it went fast. I felt accomplished. 

Dutifully reading the instructions in my big wonderful bath tub.

In-floor heating!

Pretty thermostat. Thanks dad!

Then the water proofing membrane, because Holmes insists we make it right.

Dad mixing mortar. 

Josh spreading mortar.

No, this is not the color of the floor. Hello water proof.

That had to dry for 24 hours, which turned into 48 hours. Then tiling. We had a really nice friend lend us a tile saw. Which is wonderful. (Thanks Kendra!) I forgot to take a picture. So Josh cut and I spread and together we started to tile the bathroom. Then Josh (my brother) took over and we did maybe half of it. Then it was supper time.

Tiling lost its glamor after 5 tiles. They make it look easy on tv. It is not as easy as they make it look. My second tile was too high, but I couldn't fix it entirely. I declared it "Good enough!" for two reasons. First, it was being very stubborn and you can't lift the suckers up once they're down, the really suction. Second, it will be covered by the vanity. I'll know forever there is a tile that is too high, but know one else will. My third tile has a sunken corner. The fourth tile Josh destroyed while trying to cut a hole for the toilet. It got a little better after that.

Also disappointing- it's not like paint or trim or kitchen cupboards. Tile does not immediately look pretty. The grout is apparently extremely important to the esthetics of the tile flood. So you're laying the beautiful tile, and it is beautiful but instead it looks dirty and messy and just not really that nice. We also picked out 24 x 12. We thought it would look awesome. (It probably will.) But it's heavy. So we're laying ugly tile, they're not spacing easily, it's messy, your hands are caked in mortar and it was decided that we won't do tile again. Except on the kitchen back splash... and probably if we flip houses. But it felt better saying it.

The laying of the first tile.

Josh helping, cause he wanted to try tiling.

A glimpse of what it will kind of look like finished. Man pictures really improve what the house looks like...

We did do more then work on the bathroom. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. (Or maybe the next day.)

"And wwee'rre back in the game!"

After lots of working hard and away from home (Josh, not me), a little holidaying (pick me, pick me!) and some more working away (Josh again...) the house has finally received some much needed company. We went for a few hours today. Josh got a bunch of dry walling done and I... wait for it... painted!! The bathroom walls are complete. The ceiling it awaiting its second coat (a job for tomorrow) but the dark blue is done. Fini! And I know you're curious. So here is a picture.

Now you're all thinking, "Ashley, it's not that dark..." Don't be fooled my friends, camera's can do tricky things.

Advice: If you have a plan that is awesome, impressive, "diabolical" even, don't post it on your blog. Even if the subject never, ever reads your blog, if you post your most wonderful, maybe a little bit evil, and absolutely brilliant plan on your blog, the the subject you were planning to outwit will decide that tonight is the night they will read your blog. Thus, your spectacular, well thought out, and dazzling plan will be discovered. You will no longer be able to use it and you will end up having, in my case, to do what you set out not to do. If we recall, this is task was to mud...  or not to mud.

Also I have a guilty conscience and a compassionate personality*. So when Josh is at the house always and I am, ah hem, not, I feel like anything I AM capable of doing I should probably help do. 

Further more, my hideous living room ceiling was dry walled over, and in appreciation of the effort, as it isn't an easy task to dry wall a ceiling, particularly alone, my resolve was weakened.

Long story short, my plan was found out, I am compassionate*, and my husband works exceptionally hard (I am extremely thankful and proud of him), so I did some mudding.

And took a picture so you could all be proud of me*.

 And maybe a little but in awe*.

Because I'm a good person*.

Not for my skills, do not be confused.

Sha bam drywall, consider the first coat of mud done. What what.

Pretty ceiling!!!

Tomorrow I'm going to try to be helpful again (I know, right, what's wrong with me? Twice in two days? Explanation: we are on a time limit, this has nothing to do with my good person. All the insulating needs to be done by the end of March, and because we need to finish the main floor before we do the basement (since the basement is storing all of our stuff which would be in the way of any work that needs to be done) I thought I should start being a little more helpful. Also, we have a bunch of money waiting for us, which we are paying interest on, but we don't actually get until the work is done and the house is reappraised). I'm going to try to do the bathroom floor. We're doing in-floor heating and tile. I'm sure it will be interesting. I have done neither in floor heating, nor tile before. Neither has Josh. Or my dad. Stay tuned.

*I really can be humble...

Bathroom

I have one coat of paint in the bathroom. It's really dark. I know it's going to look good with the wainscoting and the white shelving and probably a white cupboard of some sort, but right now it's just... dark. It looks almost black, maybe I should use a flash when I take a picture. But I'm scared to put it up, because I don't want you to not like it. Mostly I really want it to look ok so I don't have to repaint, and I keep telling myself it's fine. I've only painted one wall and the bathroom and I'm already tired of it... bleh. If I just left the drywall and mud unpainted could we call it modern??

Maybe I'll post a picture tomorrow.

(Josh has also been hard at work, doing lots. Like lots lots. Both bedrooms have been demoed and uninsulated and re-insulated. Drywall has been replaced. My island is framed and the living room is in the process of getting demoed, uninsulated and re-insulated. And I suppose I could post pictures of it, but they're not fun. In the pictures defense I would rather look at drywall then be anywhere near it. The same goes for insulation. I liked mudding for about 5 minutes. That was it. Now it's tedious and awful and messy and I don't really know what I'm doing. Also sanding it down was not a job meant for wimps... which I might be... you can decide for yourself, but after sanding two bathroom walls (it is not a big bathroom) my arms felt like noodles. I sat on the unfinished kitchen floor and watched Josh work for the rest of that evening. He finished it for me... it probably didn't take him long.)

Oh because pictures make blogs cool, here is the tap I think is neat for the bathroom. The one I actually got isn't quite as neat, but I'm thinking about taking it back so I can order this one... it's a little cheaper too. There isn't much to think about it seems.

The bathroom tap I'm going to order.