My first phrase was "I Can Do It Myself", and I think my first word was "No." My mom will tell us if that is not correct.
Today what I thought I could do myself - and ultimately did - was move my 2nd floor guest room to the 4th floor, the better queen sized mattress to the 3rd, and various odds and ends all up and down all of the spiral and steep staircases. I don't get a lot of guests, but I definitely do want to have a guest bedroom. The 4th floor is a very underutilized space, so I decided to use that as the guest bedroom instead of the largest room in the house. Instead, I want to use that room as my office and put a love seat and coffee table in there so I can catch up on my reading in front of the gas fireplace that will be in that room.
I was doing pretty well until I got the bed frame up to the 4th floor, had tightened all of the corners in the reassembly, and then stood up quickly - not remembering the ceiling slants down - and banged my eye socket against the edge of the ceiling/wall/window frame. At first I was just going to let it go and thought - that wasn't pleasant. I actually started putting the frame together again, and then blood started dripping all over the floor. I went to the 3rd floor bathroom to take a look, and it was spread open, but clean. I didn't have any butterfly bandaids. I put some tape on it and looked up the nearest urgent care online, which was a 9 block walk away. I put on a pair of sunglasses and headed over. They had me out of there with 3 stitches in within 2 hours! The doctor was very sweet. He asked if I was still active in my modelling career and if I was worried about the scarring. (With all the bruises I have right now, I'm more likely to have a boxing career).
Then I finished up my projects, but was a lot more careful about where I put my head and eye socket.
While I was trying to finish that up, my washer broke again, so I drained that, and fixed it. Par for the course for this week.
This entire weekend has been unbelievably bizarre... big highs big lows. But I do feel it was productive.
I am excited to put my plans together for my office and the other spaces in the house.
The pictures album describes everything and contains pictures of the staircases: Album from 8/30
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Room Reassembled
Tonight I left work a few hours early and decided to finish up the wire brush sanding of the wall, clean up the room, and at least partially put it back in order. I'm really happy with how it looks so far. Here is a link to the album:
Pictures
I'm not going to put back all of my books and art until the tile/carpentry work is done, but at least I'll have a place to lay down and sit to read the paper. I feel like I've been standing since this project started!
The manual labor served a few purposes. First, one of my best friends resigned from work for a new opportunity and his going away happy hour was last night. It was an adventure. I was a little hung over today, but not as much as he was. As it should be. ;-) I felt much better after the physical sanding work. Also, taking care of this Friday will allow me to have more of a weekend, since I'll be out of town for half of it. I can do errands and just catch up on life for the other day, since I won't have to spend it on this project.
I'm hoping the tile and wall work for the fireplace can happen in October. The remaining gas fireplaces will be installed mid-September. So, I should be all set up for the fall. I just need a few friends to visit me!
Pictures
I'm not going to put back all of my books and art until the tile/carpentry work is done, but at least I'll have a place to lay down and sit to read the paper. I feel like I've been standing since this project started!
The manual labor served a few purposes. First, one of my best friends resigned from work for a new opportunity and his going away happy hour was last night. It was an adventure. I was a little hung over today, but not as much as he was. As it should be. ;-) I felt much better after the physical sanding work. Also, taking care of this Friday will allow me to have more of a weekend, since I'll be out of town for half of it. I can do errands and just catch up on life for the other day, since I won't have to spend it on this project.
I'm hoping the tile and wall work for the fireplace can happen in October. The remaining gas fireplaces will be installed mid-September. So, I should be all set up for the fall. I just need a few friends to visit me!
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Wall Exposed!
Today I finally got all of the plaster off of the wall and completed one rigorous round of scrubbing with two different wire brushes. I really wish that I could have completely finished the wire brush scrubbing today, since that would have completed all the messy parts, but my arms turn to jelly after four hours of this type of work, and my right hand has 3 large blisters. So, I'll have to finish that piece another weekend. I'm actually really sore today. I worked on the wall 4 hours yesterday and 4 today, and most of it was ladder work. It seems that put some strain on my back in angles I haven't been used to. This all sounds like a perfect reason to watch a Game of Thrones episode this afternoon. I've been catching up and am barely on Season 5 now.
The wall probably needs one more round of wire brush scrubbing, sponging with water, and then sealed. It also needs the electrical outlet moved into the floor (it had been along the baseboard in one of those exterior boxes). Longer term - probably coinciding with me painting the room if/when I decide to do that, it will need some type of trim/border all around.
(Side note: One of the things holding me back from painting right now is that this house has been painted and painted past the point where someone should have just scraped the walls and started again. The paint is 4-5 layers thick at least and over about 3 layers of wall paper. I don't want to paint another layer over that, but I also don't know if I want to tackle a full trim removal, scraping, TSP'ing, priming, etc. right now - when I'm trying to get the room ready for fall use. I'll decide shortly, but that is the situation for now. Another factor is that this house as of now does not have a utility sink, which makes painting and cleaning of the painting supplies very hard. I do have an outdoor faucet, which is an option... decisions, decisions.).
Back to our regularly scheduled program...
In addition to the wall work, I've made some progress on a few other objectives.
First, I had both my carpenter and the tile layer (?) in the house to look at the fireplace project and give me an estimate. That is progress. I'm hoping I can get that work done in October, but it might have to push until November.
I've also been researching the best source of firewood and read online that the Philadelphia Recycling Center gives away free firewood. I called them and then drove there Saturday morning to see what the situation was. It is true they do give away as much free firewood as you want if you are a Philadelphia resident. However, it is in the form of basically an entire tree. You have to be able to saw and split it and then you can haul away as much as you'd like. So, that was a little disappointing to show up in my Saturn sans saw or axe and go away empty handed. But... PSA - for anyone who does have all of those things, it is a source!
On my way back from the Philadelphia Recycling Center, I stopped at ReStore with the thought to see if they had fireplace grates or screens. They didn't of the type/size I need, but I was able to pick up some small door knobs for my bedroom doors. Those doors are the very thin kind with no hardware inside. I had been using a string with a knot on either end. Now I have nice crystal knobs.
Finally, I made a plan for some rather ambitious room redesign goals to make the space more usable and with better flow. I reached out to a friend to see if he can come and help me with the heavy lifting in exchange for my charming company and conversational skills. ;-)
Here is what I'm planning:
- Particularly with the gas fireplaces getting installed on the 2nd and 3rd floor, I'd like to have my office in one of those rooms to make better use of the fireplaces and give me more room to work in a place that isn't so much in the public flow of the house.
- I'm thinking of moving one of my bedrooms to the 4th floor attic room... probably the 2nd floor frame, since that disassembles into smaller pieces - and then moving my office into the 2nd floor bedroom.
- I could move Jali's crate to the 2nd floor with Elora's things and it would allow the 3rd floor sitting area to be more social - space to play games, have a small couch opposite the TV, etc.
I *think* that the stairs to the fourth floor will accommodate all of this juggling, but I'm not sure. I'll do some more measuring and for sure I'll need to remove the railings on the stair cases, but I think it is doable.
Well, that is all for now! Off to have some hot tea and watch an episode of Game of Thrones.
Here is a link to the pictures from this weekend.
The wall probably needs one more round of wire brush scrubbing, sponging with water, and then sealed. It also needs the electrical outlet moved into the floor (it had been along the baseboard in one of those exterior boxes). Longer term - probably coinciding with me painting the room if/when I decide to do that, it will need some type of trim/border all around.
(Side note: One of the things holding me back from painting right now is that this house has been painted and painted past the point where someone should have just scraped the walls and started again. The paint is 4-5 layers thick at least and over about 3 layers of wall paper. I don't want to paint another layer over that, but I also don't know if I want to tackle a full trim removal, scraping, TSP'ing, priming, etc. right now - when I'm trying to get the room ready for fall use. I'll decide shortly, but that is the situation for now. Another factor is that this house as of now does not have a utility sink, which makes painting and cleaning of the painting supplies very hard. I do have an outdoor faucet, which is an option... decisions, decisions.).
Back to our regularly scheduled program...
In addition to the wall work, I've made some progress on a few other objectives.
First, I had both my carpenter and the tile layer (?) in the house to look at the fireplace project and give me an estimate. That is progress. I'm hoping I can get that work done in October, but it might have to push until November.
I've also been researching the best source of firewood and read online that the Philadelphia Recycling Center gives away free firewood. I called them and then drove there Saturday morning to see what the situation was. It is true they do give away as much free firewood as you want if you are a Philadelphia resident. However, it is in the form of basically an entire tree. You have to be able to saw and split it and then you can haul away as much as you'd like. So, that was a little disappointing to show up in my Saturn sans saw or axe and go away empty handed. But... PSA - for anyone who does have all of those things, it is a source!
On my way back from the Philadelphia Recycling Center, I stopped at ReStore with the thought to see if they had fireplace grates or screens. They didn't of the type/size I need, but I was able to pick up some small door knobs for my bedroom doors. Those doors are the very thin kind with no hardware inside. I had been using a string with a knot on either end. Now I have nice crystal knobs.
Finally, I made a plan for some rather ambitious room redesign goals to make the space more usable and with better flow. I reached out to a friend to see if he can come and help me with the heavy lifting in exchange for my charming company and conversational skills. ;-)
Here is what I'm planning:
- Particularly with the gas fireplaces getting installed on the 2nd and 3rd floor, I'd like to have my office in one of those rooms to make better use of the fireplaces and give me more room to work in a place that isn't so much in the public flow of the house.
- I'm thinking of moving one of my bedrooms to the 4th floor attic room... probably the 2nd floor frame, since that disassembles into smaller pieces - and then moving my office into the 2nd floor bedroom.
- I could move Jali's crate to the 2nd floor with Elora's things and it would allow the 3rd floor sitting area to be more social - space to play games, have a small couch opposite the TV, etc.
I *think* that the stairs to the fourth floor will accommodate all of this juggling, but I'm not sure. I'll do some more measuring and for sure I'll need to remove the railings on the stair cases, but I think it is doable.
Well, that is all for now! Off to have some hot tea and watch an episode of Game of Thrones.
Here is a link to the pictures from this weekend.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
More Progress on the Wall and Fireplace Planning
Shockingly, staying up half the night catching up with your cousins and then waking up at 6am to drive home does NOT make it physically easier to expose a brick wall. However, I soldiered on for a good 3-4 hours, partially to help burn off what was probably 1,500 calories from wine alone consumed last night. Worth it, though. Ray and Juan Carlos' country house is a special treat. :-)
Today was pretty painstaking. I worked to get the right side of the wall completed all the way up to the ceiling, so that I could tackle what remained at a more advantageous angle (right to left and top to bottom) for my lack of arm strength. Moving left to right or from the bottom forces a lot of use of my left arm and my triceps, which continue to be relatively weak, despite my weekly body blast classes. I noticed more than ever how uneven the plaster is applied and I noticed that this was probably done to produce a smooth exterior surface on a wall that is far from flush. The brick bulges in several places. As a result, in some places, the plaster is over an inch thick. In others, just a skim coat is on there.
The next weekend I'm able to work on it, I should be able to finish removing the plaster. I need to finish taking my saw and cutting out the rest of the edges along the left wall and ceiling, and then I'll work right to left to finish those last pieces.
This weekend I also worked on picking the tile for my fireplace surround and securing a carpenter and tile person to complete the fireplace wall.
On the recommendation of my friend (and former boss), Allison, I went to the Earthstone Tile Works shop in South Philly. They were great! Tiffany and I looked through their samples, and I settled on a beautiful and colorful slate that I think meets all my criteria. My criteria were:
- Cannot clash with the exposed brick or the french doors or the wood paneling that will surround it
- Cannot severely limit my options for paint color in the room
- Should be beautiful enough to be a focal point but not clash with the other elements in the room... my goal was to have it work with the rest of the room and promote a cozy, loving environment
(Picture of the tile chosen is in the album for this weekend).
Tiffany recommended a carpenter and her husband, Jason, will (hopefully) install the tile. I reached out to both of them to stop by to provide me with estimates for their parts of the project. Nate (carpenter) is going to come by tomorrow afternoon. They are booking 3 months out at this point, so I won't have the completed fireplace and room as soon as I had hoped. Fortunately (or unfortunately), we will still have many weeks of cold weather that could use a fire post-November, so I'm sure I'll get plenty of good use of the fireplace this winter after the whole project is complete.
I've also been researching and trying wood delivery options, so I'm prepared for that process, when everything is ready.
Today was pretty painstaking. I worked to get the right side of the wall completed all the way up to the ceiling, so that I could tackle what remained at a more advantageous angle (right to left and top to bottom) for my lack of arm strength. Moving left to right or from the bottom forces a lot of use of my left arm and my triceps, which continue to be relatively weak, despite my weekly body blast classes. I noticed more than ever how uneven the plaster is applied and I noticed that this was probably done to produce a smooth exterior surface on a wall that is far from flush. The brick bulges in several places. As a result, in some places, the plaster is over an inch thick. In others, just a skim coat is on there.
The next weekend I'm able to work on it, I should be able to finish removing the plaster. I need to finish taking my saw and cutting out the rest of the edges along the left wall and ceiling, and then I'll work right to left to finish those last pieces.
This weekend I also worked on picking the tile for my fireplace surround and securing a carpenter and tile person to complete the fireplace wall.
On the recommendation of my friend (and former boss), Allison, I went to the Earthstone Tile Works shop in South Philly. They were great! Tiffany and I looked through their samples, and I settled on a beautiful and colorful slate that I think meets all my criteria. My criteria were:
- Cannot clash with the exposed brick or the french doors or the wood paneling that will surround it
- Cannot severely limit my options for paint color in the room
- Should be beautiful enough to be a focal point but not clash with the other elements in the room... my goal was to have it work with the rest of the room and promote a cozy, loving environment
(Picture of the tile chosen is in the album for this weekend).
Tiffany recommended a carpenter and her husband, Jason, will (hopefully) install the tile. I reached out to both of them to stop by to provide me with estimates for their parts of the project. Nate (carpenter) is going to come by tomorrow afternoon. They are booking 3 months out at this point, so I won't have the completed fireplace and room as soon as I had hoped. Fortunately (or unfortunately), we will still have many weeks of cold weather that could use a fire post-November, so I'm sure I'll get plenty of good use of the fireplace this winter after the whole project is complete.
I've also been researching and trying wood delivery options, so I'm prepared for that process, when everything is ready.
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