Monday I continued to install the flooring on the second floor. Mr.W helped to transition out of each doorway and into the hall so I could keep on my merry way!
While I was doing that, Jay was installing the hardware for the garage doors and Mr.W was painting casings. He has such a slick system painting them and then drying them on a drying rack Jay made. Painting casings goes so much faster when you spray them (even if we do use more paint).
Wednesday morning the chalk lines for the "tiles" on the basement floor were snapped. Took Mr.W a few hours to finish it all but it was so important. Since we put floor heat into the basement, the most efficient use of that heat is to leave the floor bare - no carpets or flooring of any kind. That looks kinda boring though so I wanted 18" tiles cut into the floor before we stained the floor. If I would have been there when they were snapping lines, I would have said 24" would have been fine - there are a lot of lines! But my dear husband, who loves me so much, spent 1 1/2 days cutting those lines into the concrete to create the tile look. He placed a 2x4 on the line, stood a 2x4 up on the one on the floor and wedged it between the wood on the floor and the ceiling joists to ensure that guide board wouldn't move. Then he ran a circular saw with a concrete cutting blade in it along that board and cut those lines. Over and over he moved the guide board and cut the lines. He also cut a 7" border all around the perimeter of each of the rooms. It took a lot of work and he was so terribly dusty when he was done but the floor looks so good. Now we just need to stain it.
While he was in the basement, I continued on the flooring and finished up the little girl's room, the closets in Pepe and RJ's rooms and I finished up the hall. I tend to have little helpers or entertainers while working. Today these ones kept me company for a while. At times they were beating each other with the blue foam underlay but it was gentle and full of laughter. They are some crazy kids and I love spending time with them. They are looking forward to moving into their finished rooms just as much as we are!
Friday I was gone from the site again but this time I was running around getting stuff for the house - lighting, the correct length rods for the garage doors (they sent the wrong length), cold air returns grills, etc. That took me all afternoon so I didn't work at the house at all.
Throughout the week I also spent hours researching the differents way to stain the basement floor, which system is the best and which supplies are available to me locally. I finally figured out what I want to use and where I can by it from. I will be placing an order soon. I am excited to do it - after all my research, I am confident we will make that floor beautiful. We just need to decide on a color. I also spent time researching how to make concrete countertops, what supplies I would need for those and where to get that stuff. I have figured it all out and even went to see a countertop at a friend's house. They had a professional company make theirs and it isn't perfect but it is beautiful. It is giving me the confidence I need to know that we can make beautiful countertops, too.
Saturday we were back on site and Jason worked on landscaping. The rains have finally stopped and the ground is drying up/freezing due to the temperatures falling at night. That makes it ideal to move around dirt without making a big mess. He moved more dirt in front of the house to build up the area in front of the porch and in front of the garage. Then he moved more dirt on the driveway so we would be able to drive into the garage. We know that the final landscaping won't happen this year but it does need to be in decent shape for winter. While he was working outside, I was finishing up the flooring in the last bedroom and installing a couple more lights. The lounge and office are the only rooms without flooring upstairs and that is because the office is the spray booth and the lounge has the finished painted casings in it for now. When I look at the flooring color in relation to the paint color, I am thrilled with how well they go together. This is especially thrilling considering I didn't have the flooring with me when I picked paint colors and I didn't have the paint colors when I picked the flooring. I have just been going with what I love and so far that is working! I look forward to this week and seeing the casings going on the walls and maybe even hanging some doors.
I also found an absolutely gorgeous piece of french provincial furniture (buffet & hutch) to use as storage in my craft room. My sweet hubby approved the purchase and will pick it up later this week - I cannot wait to see it in person.
Yet again, today I will not be at the site due to orthodontist appointments but I can always make up for it in the evenings, right? After all, who needs sleep? :)
You and your hubby are very sweet and skilled couple. =) And you’re quite a cool mom to make time for your kids. By the way, I must say, aesthetically, it’s a wise decision to use concrete countertops that have variety of colors and a beautiful shine. You can’t go wrong with that. Hope the basement has waterproof though. As you know, we can never tell how harsh the weather gets sometimes. Keep us posted! Take care!
ReplyDelete-Carmella Vancil