home office

home office, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Our attic conversion was nearing completion, but not fast enough for our lives. So we've moved the office upstairs, foregoing carpet, trim and full inspection. In a few months we'll have our carpenter come back and finish up the stairs and railings. For now, the space is bright, the office is set up, and Maddy and Jasper have their own rooms.

Drywall going in

stairs (framing), originally uploaded by Jrome.

Yesterday they hung the drywall, and today they finished up hanging it and started taping and mudding. Looks pretty darn good. So much brighter!

Attic window

Attic window, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Today, Tim and Chris finished up the last window and hit the road. Job well done I think. I could never have done it in the time they did, nor done as good a job. Well, maybe if the Evans boys were all here and we had plenty of time to get it done. But, heck, I gotta baby coming.

Here are some pictures of the last work day:

Also, today the drywall shipment arrived. They guys boomed it up through the attic window. 4x12 sheets. Huge. It was windy and the hell, the third floor is up pretty high. So I says to the guy, "I bet when it gets really windy you put on a show, eh?"

He looks at me like a wise sage and says, "Well, a load this size weighs about the same as a small car. Gotta git blowin' pretty good to sway it. But when we get down to the last few sheets, they she starts movin' alright!"

Nicole had to check out the truck. She walked outside right under the boom and I just about had the baby myself. We're all safe and sound. Less than a week to go. What are we going to call him?

Insulation went in

IMG_4018.JPG, originally uploaded by Jrome.

Last week we had the insulation go in. With the baby coming to town any day now, I found myself really dreading the inspection. I don't know why exactly, but I just want it done. Obviously done right, but just done. I want it over. Well, the inspection went just fine. In and out. We'll have the windows at either end done tomorrow (or Tuesday if it rains) and the drywall crew will be hanging on Tuesday. 7 days later, the job should be done, taped and mudded, sanded. The whole 9 yards. Then paint and a carpet. Hopefully this will all be complete around Thanksgiving. Crazy? I dunno.

Then six months later we'll have our GC come back and do the finish carpentry, including the mission railings for the stairs and the maple treads. I'm debating trying to do it myself, but I don't know a single thing about stairs or railings, and doubt I have time to learn it at the moment.

More photos...

I'm 6' tall. The ceiling is about 7'3 at the peak. If I stay in the center (5' wide) I don't have to stoop. Since my desk will be up there, I'll spend most of my time sitting. Can't wait to see it done. Hmmm. When did I put on those glasses?

Hobbit hole to the storage area next to the stairs. With the wiring for a light hanging there.

Another view of the hobbit hole. We had the electrician run a light in there. Cozy.

Stairs to the attic

Stairs to the attic, originally uploaded by Jrome.

While I was away more progress was made on the attic. The framing is nearly done and ready for inspection. Our electrician is coming by Tuesday to complete his work. Then we're ready for the insulation and the drywall crew. This is really the first job that I've not done it all, but looking at what Tim has accomplished, I know I couldn't have done it as well or as quickly.

Here's the space from above.



Here's the stairs from above.



Here's looking back towards the stairs.

Beginning in the Attic

So this Labor Day weekend, Tom came by on his way to his cousin's welcome home from Iraq party in Buffalo, and we tore up the temporary attic flooring and pulled up all the insulation. The job would have been 10x easier if the fiberglass insulation wasn't over old Kimsul insulation. Probably laid down in the 50s, this stuff is crepe-paper backed and what looks like asphalt impregnated pulp paper loft. It distintegrates on contact. We eventually worked out a system of rolling it up..."like giant sushi." But it was still a mess and dirty hot work.

clipped from www.tias.com

We of course wore respirators. But when the dust began to fly, we set up my new air filtration unit which helped immensely. Nicole got this for my woodshop in the basement (which will be set up properly after this attic demo is complete) along with a dust collector. It will be a phenomenal system.

clipped from steelcitytoolworks.com

Finally, here are some shots of the progress:













How many bags of insulation did we scoop up and toss out? Hmmm. Labor Day weekend. Dump closed at noon. Missed the chance for a dump run. Damn. "Well, let's just stack it under the porch in case it rains..." Bringing down the property value one giant black bag at a time. I think there were a total of 30 bags. Not all of them fit on the tiny back porch.

Starting new projects, and going from 0 to 1

When Nicole and I began tearing up our kitchen, it was something we both had wanted to do for many years. Years spent renting apartments, flats, bungalows, basement units, and condos. You can't rip it out until you own. Once we owned, we tore out what we wanted. We lived with the scars for a while as we figured out what to do next.

That creative spirit was inspired. We could have lived with the old kitchen for years. But when the fridge quit at the same time Sears was having a sale, it took two minutes online to figure out that the time had come. Throw down $2500 at Sears, then spend nearly ten times that building something we'd never built before.

Fast forward to now. I have so many ideas now, I don't know where to begin again. I think I need another fridge event to trigger. Or I just need to do something. Pick up the wood and turn on the saw. Strap on the googles and gloves and the goggles and get to it.

But Ze Frank said it best yesterday, on my little girl's birthday, so I'll just let you hear it from him. Then get out there and do it.