A Whole Lot of Nothing

We are constantly busy and even actually accomplishing things.  But nothing so exciting that I think I can make an interesting story about it.

   

The big news is that Lee has finished all the electrical work.  He just finished the last three this morning.  That is a huge job and I imagine his fingers are grateful to have a break.  Every outlet and switch is now operational and all the overhead lights are in.  There are places that aren't as bright as we would like, but we didn't want glaring bright lights everywhere.  We intend to put in a few table and floor lamps to finish things off and for all levels of light.

Speaking of which, I am going up to visit my brother and his wife soon.  They are kindly hosting us and arranging to show us some of their favorite estate sale sites.  Whatever we don't find on this trip we will get later, or maybe Jane will find it in her heart to pick up a few pieces when she finds them.  There is no rush on furnishing an unfinished house.

We are waiting for the tile contractor to give us a bid.  Kinda scary.  Like Lee says, though, "It's only money."  Wait a minute.  ONLY money??

I took off the railing in the stairwell to paint the walls.  It is made with unfinished wood and I decided to put a Tung oil finish on it.  A long time ago, back in the days before HGTV (yes, Virginia, there was such a time) there was a show I used to watch with Homer Formsby.  He did some beautiful furniture refinishing and he used Tung oil.

Based on his recommendation, I have stripped and refinished some pieces using it and I really like the effect.  It gives a nice finish to the wood and protects it, yet it is not a varnish and super shiny.  The intent is to nourish the wood and give the appearance of a hand rubbed finish.

   

Lee set up some saw horses and I sanded the railings with smaller and smaller grit paper.  Then I polished it with some very fine steel wool.  I used 0000 steel wool and then wiped off all the dust.  A tack rag works well.  Smooth as a baby's bottom!

    

Homer ( I call him Homer because we are like this...picture fingers crossed ) would use his bare hands to apply the finish and rub it in. The instructions on the Tung oil container...and it IS his formula... say to use gloves, so I do.  I discovered I only had a left hand glove.  The right hand one was ruined on the last project, so I got a quart size Ziploc bag, put my hand in it and it worked great.  It wouldn't have worked for a big project, but this is a little one!

   

Tung oil should be applied in three coats.  The first one soaks right in the raw wood and you can barely tell that you have applied anything.  You have to wait 12 hours and then use the 0000 steel wool lightly before applying the next coat.  I usually just do it the next day.  The first time I did it I wondered if I was taking all the finish off I had just put on.  Do it anyway.  Don't forget to wipe all the dust off before applying the second coat.

   

You can really see the results after the second coat.  The temptation is huge to just stop there.  And you can.  But you already have at least two days into this project.  What's one more?  You can see how it looks, even in poor light.  On the left is after two coats and the right is after three. 

  
   

We will re-install the railings tonight and then I will feel safer when walking up and down the stairs.  Not a fan of stairs without railings!  And one more thing off the huge,  gigantic,  enormous list.

If Walls Could Talk

Have you ever watched the HGTV show, If Walls Could Talk?  It shows homeowners remodeling their homes and discovering things left behind or covered up by previous owners.  By examining the clues left behind you can discover a lot about the previous occupants.

   

With this in mind, I placed several business cards behind the wood framing of our basement.  We will call the plasterers next week, assuming the insulation passes inspection, and then no one will see behind the walls until the next owner comes along.

   

 

I wonder what they will think?  Will it be 20 years from now or 100?  Kind of fun to think about.

 

 

More Fireblocking In The Basement

The county inspector wanted more fire blocking.  He spoke to our framing contractor who tried to do as instructed.  Then he came back...cue Jaws music here.

There were just a few more things he wanted us to do and so Lee and I did them today.  I'm in the midst of a vertigo issue and Lee is in the midst of a sciatic nerve issue. I don't think HGTV or DIY will be calling us to do a series anytime soon.  Unless it is a cautionary tale.

   

The contractor had put some drywall in the gap between the new wall framing and the existing concrete wall in the basement.  There was about 1/4 inch gap between the two and I had to fill that with expandable fireproof foam.  The stuff is pretty cool and very messy.  Gloves and LOTS of paper towels are necessary.

   

We are required to have drywall or the foam every ten feet in order to slow any potential fire.  The contractor took that to be ten feet if measured down the middle of the room and the inspector meant every ten feet of wall.  This meant we had to put in some more strips of drywall.  We aren't particularly good or fast at drywall. but we got the job done.

   

There were a few holes we had missed the first time and I filled those.  I only ALMOST fell off the ladder once, when I thought I was on the last step and still had one more to go.  Lee had a chair to sit on when his pain got severe.

   

 

We have a bit more fiddly things to do and then we can call for the contractor to come and do the insulation.  We know how to do it and we can do it, but even just tearing it up and stuffing some of the holes got fibers in my eyes and I just don't want to do it.  That should only take a day and then we can get started on the plastering.  Then it will really look like rooms.

The good thing is the county inspector said he doesn't need to come back until the insulation is done.  We'll call the contractor next week and see what happens.  Now I REALLY have to start thinking of wall colors.  And about painting.  Not looking forward to THAT.