I killed the last digital camera on the kayak trip. Great waves though! we were sufing some 4 foot high ones.
I got back, eventually bought a new camera, and have been busy on the house. 6 sheets of sheetrock up so far! I have to decide on a color next. Anybody have good color ideas? I'm going to give my old couch a makeover in dark red velvet, so the color has to harmonize with that. :-)
When not tooling around at my house or working as a carpenter, I've been up to my ears in preparing for 2,439 miles of hiking.
In a couple of days I will start hiking the 270 mile Long Trail. It runs the length of Vermont, from the Massachussets to Canadian borders.
Updates on this page will cease until I get back around September the 23rd. If you'd like to see what I'm up to with more regularity, check out my other website!
Before
After
September 27th
I came home from the Long Trail a few days early to put up sheetrock and tidy up the house. The insulation crew was supposed to come on the 23rd. That morning, I came in from putting up the last of the sheetrock just in time to get a phone call that they were canceling for that day.
Heck with home! I packed my backpack and hit the trail.
I got back again today and put another layer of mud on the sheetrock seams. What color shall I paint it? Decisions, decisions... I'll put the final layer of mud on tomorrow, and prime it.
The crew is scheduled to come the first week of October.
October 2nd and 3rd
Sheetrocking the ceilings and high walls
Prepping for floor insulation
Filling in gaps with fiberglass
Getting the insulation machine ready
Blowing in cellulose
Whew! What action-packed days!
The four guys working on my house have been excellent! If their supervisor is reading this, I think they should all get a hefty raise. :-)
They have been a HUGE help! Not only have they been insulating, but they put up the rest of my sheetrock. There is no way in heck I could have done that by myself. Amazing what some scaffolding and help can do. :-)
The guys have been really helpful and nice, and even complimented me on my chocolate chip cookies. I'm baking them banana bread on Monday.
October 4th-6th
I have been up to my ears in joint compound (mud) , dust, and general aggravation. One seam is on it's 5th coat of mud!
Right now I'm in here waiting for everything to dry. I hope it's the last coat! Then I'll be able to start sanding, priming, and painting. Ahhh....no more sanding dust.
Sanding has been taking me 4 hours every pass. I'll be glad when I can start griping about painting :-)
Speaking of paint, I'm painting my walls a shade called Mandarin Orange. It looks hideous in the pictures, but is really pretty in person. The ceiling is getting swathed in rich blue, and dabbled in fluffy white clouds. Trim is going to be a deep brown.
The insulation guys suggested I paint my house for every season. Hmmm.....:-)
I came in to upload the house pictures, and just had to take pictures of our pets:
I'm a tad dusty...
Why - this is what I was sanding
Aleka
Zeke
October 7th - 8th
My house colors - blue for ceiling, orange for walls.
My house color scheme kinda looks like a Tonka truck. :-) I really like it! The walls are bright and cheery, and I'm in love with the deep blue on my ceiling. I'm thinking of painting the wall peak up in my loft a purple color, instead of orange...for a more bedroom feel to it.
I've been working day and night, round the clock to finish mudding, sanding, priming and painting the ceiling and high wall before the scaffolding goes away.
The morning of the 8th, I woke up again at 2am to put another coat of paint on. Good thing too, as the insulation crew packed up and took everything that afternoon!
Before they left, they did a blower door test. They used a big fabric panel to cover my door opening and used a fan velcroed into the fabric to push the air out of my house. They had gauges that told them how leaky my house was.
Before my house was insulated, they guessed my house leaked at around 6000 thingies a minute/hour/don't know their measurements. After insulation, I came in at 500. This is supertight! So tight, that I have to open a window when I run my woodstove, or it'll keel over and die from oxygen deprivation. :-) Ok, not that tight, but I'm pretty snug!
It's been nice having the insulation crew over. They've been great company, and have done a fantastic job! So much got done thanks to them....
October 27th
The Sheetrock holder
Spackled ceiling
Primed bookshelves
Artistic brackets
October 27th
Yeah, I know ... I've been bad at updating. I've been so incredibly busy! The good news is, I'll be wrapping up that job I've had since May. I'll be glad when I'm finished!
After November 1st, I'll have the free time to go on an all expense paid cruise. If you happen to be rich and gullible, now is the time to buy me a luxurious vacation :-)
Yesterday Peter and I put up the last 3 and a quarter sheets of sheetrock. I was almost squished by falling sheetrock when I fell off my bucket and to the floor. After that incident, we found a 2x4 to brace up the sheetrock holder. It made the job a heck of a lot easier!
We shimmied my heavy 6-burner stove over to it's place and hooked up the gas. I almost burned off my hair while trying to light the pilot light. Turns out, my stove has been modified to not have one.
I'm looking forward to throwing a dinner party! I'm well prepared - my stove has 6 burners and two ovens, plus, I can cook on my woodstove.
Today I put in the remaining screws and mudded my ceiling. I moved the appliances back into place, shoved the couch in the kitchen area, set up space to prime my 12 foot bookshelves, and spray painted the brackets brown.
When I went into the main house for supper, I got to read about myself in Life Learning Magazine. Our free copies had arrived in the mail - complete with the article by Deb Baker about me building my house. :-)
Tomorrow I'll start sanding, and start griping, yet again. Wait till you see what color I'm painting my ceiling!
October 31st
The start of my wall of books!
The very first books to go on the shelf were "A whack on the side of the head" "Castaway" "The Snow Leopard" and a book on creative travel journal writing. I had bought them the day before at Rivendell, our local used bookstore.
Last night I bought some glow in the dark galxay thingies to glue to the ceiling above my bed. I was going to buy a big bag of stars too, but they were out. Next time! I also got a star shaped nightlight, and a gallon of purple paint. The peak wall up in the loft area is getting the purple treatment, to make it more cozy and infinate-galaxy-like. I'll find a use for the rest of the purple paint somehow...
Today I had my boss pick up a few sample tiles on a trip to Home Depot. I'm going to lay them out on my floor and see if I like them. If I do, I'll have a diagonally laid black and white alternating tile floor. Is that too over-the-top? Or will they look right at home with the tropical plants and plastic pink flamingos I'm planning on getting? :-)
Tomorrow, I get to quit the job I've had since May. Free time!!!!
