Why cats don't like remodeling

Don again. OK...this is a little out of date, but here is a picture of Simon (the cat) being somewhat perturbed about the attic insulating part of our remodel that, from his point of view, is invading HIS space.

Going, going, gone...

Don here...reporting on the demise of our venerable but quite ugly old cast-iron bath tub. After we decided to replace rather than refinish the old tub, we pondered options for getting the old tub out of the bathroom, and decided to use the 'brute force' approach--a big sledge hammer and wearing lots of safety gear. By the way, there are lots of YouTube videos of tubs being broken up. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Visible Progress

So much we do is not visible, such as research, planning, and shopping. But this week we have made some progress that can be seen. We have removed everything in the upstairs bathroom down to the studs and the rough floor. Only our old cast iron bathtub is left. Don has outfitting himself with ear, eye and face protection in order to go after that with a sledge hammer.

The Journey

In terms of our remodel, we have decided that it is about the journey, and not the destination. Well, okay it is the destination too. But since we are doing much of the work ourselves, it had better be about the journey, because will we be walking down this path for a long, long time. And so far we have been enjoying the journey. It keeps us thinking and learning a lot; about color, about the geometry of ceramic tiles, about materials properties. Don has learned how to work one-handed lying on his stomach in a very tight place (when he hooked up the bathroom ventilation fan in a tight spot under the roof). Okay, okay, maybe that wasn’t quite so much fun. But, it is nice to know we can still do it!

Work hard, play hard

Don is climbing up and down a ladder, through a little crawl space into the attic, adding a walk-way (actually a crawl-way) and R-30 insulation above the blown-in insulation that is already there. That will bring our insulation up to the recommended amount.

It's hot up here!

Filling up paint cans with old paint

I am removing several layers of paint from the interior window trim that Don removed as he installed our new windows. What a time-consuming gunky mess! But the pay-off in pretty wood is a nice reward.

Often, like yesterday evening, we can’t muster enough energy to work, so we go out to eat, listen to good music, and share a glass of wine.

Tony Starlight's Supper

This is what happens next.....

Nap time

Polka Dots

Time for a quick entry from Don. I spent yesterday checking our upstairs for existing insulation, to help decide what upgrades to do. I had previously made some test holes behind trim molding at the floor, but needed to check the rest of the walls and sloping ceilings. I ended up drilling a number of 3/4-in diameter holes in enough places to convince myself of the presence (or lack of) insulation. Our upstairs now is polka dotted! The picture doesn't do a very good job of showing it, but you get the idea. This is our bedroom west dormer, but I did all the walls and sloping ceilings upstairs. By the way, that is one of the new vinyl windows.

FWIW, the 3/4-in test hole decision was based on the size of wine corks (to plug the test holes for final spackling). Only the better quality wines have corks that are up to this task (darn--guess we better sip that wine!). Also, we purchased an LCD inspection camera (3 foot flexible probe) from Harbor Freight for about $100, which was used to see behind some of the walls, to help in the analysis (also good for DIY colonoscopies?) We did find everything from no insulation to a variety of blown-in insulation to rock wool batts, to fiberglass batts. The resolution is that about half of the various insulated wall / sloping ceiling areas are OK, and we will open the walls and add or replace insulation for the balance. This also allows for some basic electrical upgrades (mainly grounding everything, and also adding wiring for a couple of portable air conditioners).

We will add insulation on top of the existing ceiling insulation, and will do that right away (before it gets hot). I have to vacate my closet to do that, as the access hatch is there, and is a tight squeeze. Wheeee...what fun!

Little, bitty baby steps

How are you coming on you remodel? We get asked that question daily. The answer is -  we are immersed in details.

Don has all of the new windows in place, temporarily. Don will make shims, to center them exactly in the openings and we will refinish both inside and outside trim before they get installed permanently. But we can already tell that we are very happy with our choice. They look good and operate slick. No more rattling windows when the wind blows! Best of all they will require no maintenance.

Right now, Don is doing reconnaissance to develop our upstairs insulation and wiring plan. He is cutting holes in various places in the upstairs walls to determine were and what kind of insulation is needed. The answer is not simple. So far he has found that some places are insulated with the “wool” we found in the wall behind my desk, some have no insulation, and some areas have a 3-inch batting-style insulation. We don’t want to take out walls needlessly, but we do want to upgrade the insulation to maximum performance, where reasonably possible. All of this is compounded by the fact that we plan to up-grade wiring, an easier job if walls are out of the way, but not worth removing and replacing walls just for the wirings' sake.

I have spent days painting my little wooden desk (the “Eldon” desk). It will be red, the contrasting color we hope to use here and there throughout the house. Boy, that desk has a lot of surfaces! Each one must be sanded, primed, sanded again, and then given two coats of red. I got as far as the red on the stool and then decided that the color was not quite right. I’ll be at it for days and days more!

"Raspberry Truffle" or "Claiente"?

The other question we are often asked is – “when will you be finished?” The answer is - not in the foreseeable future!