House Hacking

As I mentioned in the last post, we decided to repaint the Bathroom and Boy's Bedroom this month. We knew it wasn't going to be a quick job because when we bought the place, the seller had hastily slopped a coat of yellow paint on the walls, apparently using a Wagner Power Roller. There were thick drips all over the place and a yellow border around the ceiling. So, we planned to take the time to sand off all the major drips using a disc sander. That proved to be the easiest part (for me, anyway - Donna did all the sanding; I just had to move the furniture away from the walls). Then we discovered that the wall under the boy's windows was rotten. It's not clear whether that was from water coming in the windows or the prior owner's dogs announcing their displeasure at being locked in the room (all the doors and trim have deep gouges from the dogs trying to claw their way out). So I had to replace a four foot section of drywall there, and just for good measure I put a vapor barrier behind it to prevent moisture finding it's way in and damaging it again. There was a lot of mudding needed to fix up and cover the various dings and holes in the walls. Also had to close up the holes left when the old electric baseboard controls were removed in the bedroom and bath. I had to replace more drywall in the bath due to water damage from behind the shower prior to us moving in, as well. And install a proper fixture box in the wall above the sink for the new light fixture we bought for above the vanity.

So, it's been a long road, and we're not done yet. That's rather frustrating. And then Wednesday, I had to refinish the ceiling. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out, but as usual, we totally neglected to take any pictures of the progress. :( Donna primed the entire bathroom yesterday, and put the ceiling paint on the ceiling. We're on the home stretch, but it's been one of those projects that makes you wonder if it will ever be complete.

Now the kicker, my uncle from Maryland is vising tomorrow, and our house is a wreck. Particularly the basement, where the boys have been sleeping for the last month while their bedroom has been getting it's face lift. He's a reasonable guy and knows all about fixing up houses, so I'm sure he'll understand. And he loves old British motorbikes, so I'm going to take him over to my Pastor's house to visit his "museum" (ie Garage) of restored bikes.