The Big Dig Out

See the whitish line halfway up the concrete foundation?  That is where the grade used to be.

The grade adjustments continue.

For months the house has felt partially buried; now things are starting to feel "right".

Earth Moving, Part 2

The dirt pile "Mt. Rex" at the back of the site is finally going away! 

Along with a massive amount of dirt from the rest of the property as we (finally!) shape the grade to its final state.  Then comes the driveway and other concrete paving.

Going to be rather messy around here for a while.

Ladder on Ladder on Ladder Action

One lesson I've learned from this job, is how to construct and trust rather sketchy arrangements for accessing difficult locations.

Table Saw Down

Maybe I did work it harder than usual

My saw fritzed out on me last evening, mid cut.
Just when I need it most!

Did not have a new table saw in the budget for the house.

Lets hope we can get this repaired, and quick!  Really need it.


*EDIT:
Saw is back!  Thanks to Charles H. Day Co. for a very quick and reasonable repair.

Window Sills & Interior Trim

Random Window Sill

Interior woodwork is now underway, and things are starting to look rather completed. 

Wood Flooring is Sanded and Oiled

First coat of floor finish
is curing upstairs on the fir end grain flooring.

Completed Ceramic Tile

Master Bath Walk-in Shower

Our bathroom ceramic tile is now complete!

Hard to photograph, since the rooms are tight, but here is what I have to show.

I Am Simply Floored

Flooring in the Study

And suddenly we have a beautiful wood floor in place.

Wood Flooring Jenga

Behold the biggest Jenga game I have ever played.

What you are viewing is a stack of wood flooring, all turned on edge and spaced out to allow drying and acclimation.

Picked this up from the mill today, and schlepped it up to the second floor.  It will be installed next week, if all goes according to plan.

I HAVE THE POWER

Hopefully Skeletor does not also arrive with this new development

The house was hooked up to utility power this past week.

Gone are the sketchy daisy-chains of extension chords - now we can plug into the wall outlets.

The always lovely electrical masthead.

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being

Painting, painting, painting.  That's about the sum of it these days.

Hard to photograph.  Above is a photo that you might guess you've seen before, but it is subtly different.

First we whiten a mottled white-ish surface with primer.

Then we turn that white surface into an off-white surface.

Then we cover that surface again with off-white for good measure.

I estimate we are about 1/3 of the way done with the process.  My shoulders burn. There are a lot of surfaces inside a house.

For now we are going with off-white (Benjamin Moore "White Dove") everywhere.  We expect to add color accents, but want to live in the spaces with our furnishings first.

Lisa the Pro Roller

First Grout

The white tile at the bathtub, grouted. 

Penny tiles on the back wall still awaiting their turn.

Blue tape on the wood window, and red tape on the bath tub is temporary, if that wasn't obvious.

A little more drywall compound is required to fine-tune the transition between drywall and the tile edge strip.