6/8/2013 Delays, confusion and frustration.

6/8/2013

Delays, confusion and frustration.  The drywall taper was pulled from our job, so we still cannot get in and paint.  Unknown when (or if) he will be back.  On the good side though, we did get our rain gutters finally installed, and with all the rain we've had lately it is really making a difference.  They have drastically cut down on how much and how fast the ground around the house is washing away.  With the drywall inside the house now done, we have moved to the garage ceiling.  We were hoping to wait until the floor was poured to make it easier to maneuver the hoist, but decided we needed it done now in case our taper comes back, he can finish everything at once.  With nothing but gravel and dirt for a garage floor, we have to put plywood down to make a stable area to operate the drywall lift.  It's a real pain to work with and decreases our safety margin, but we do what we have to do to get things done.  After the nasty fall from the ladder recently, you'd think my guardian angel would be able to take a break, but no.  Closing up the house about midnight two nights ago, my foot slipped off the edge of the 12 inch wide ramp we use to get from the house to the garage, and I fell about four feet onto the concrete garage footing and the gravel floor.  Hurt my arm, my knee, and my ankle is still pretty tender.  My father was constantly doing something clumsy to hurt himself when he was alive, and I definitely have his blood in my veins.  Last Thursday I got a start on the custom shower base.  Because it is an odd size/shape, there is no such thing as a drop-in shower base.  I am making a concrete floor, with a layer of concrete, a rubber membrane, and a final layer of concrete.  The tile will be layer number four.
To take advantage of the beautiful (and rare) sunny day, we moved out to work on the deck today.  I believe I mentioned in a previous posting how incompatible geometry and I are.  I know we chose to build a round house and I should have expected more of this, but really, enough is enough.  It's not just angles, but compound angles and cuts galore.  Thankfully I have my lovely and ever so patient spouse there to assist and keep me moving on a constant, if slow track.  Hopefully things will work out one way or another, and we can get someone in to finish taping our drywall so we can do paint, flooring, staining, etc.

First layer of concrete laid for the walk-in shower base.

We had the gas company pick up our temporary propane tank this week.  With the Geothermal, we are now an all electric household.

Retaining wall block was delivered.

We decided to pump up the air mattress and camp out after working long and late last night.  I don't care if it does have doors, windows, and heat.  If there's no indoor plumbing, it's still camping!

One of our kitchen windows was broken way back in January during the unloading of the semi's.  We finally decided to fix it ourselves.  It took 15 minutes.

Enough with the damn geometry already!  The number of angles and odd cuts is unbelievable.  Add to that, our deck goes around more than half our house.  I keep telling myself, "the view will be worth it....the view will be worth it"........

We are using a Kreg hidden fastener system that will result in no breaks in the top surface.  That will make a cleaner look and should help eliminate splinters, and deck deterioration.  It is taking more than 2-3 times as long to do, but the results will be worth it.