The Infinite Treadmill of Labor Known as Drywall

I really cannot begin to describe how much work drywalling is. But it is not hard work, just grueling work. Having the right tools, the right partner, the right alcoholic beverages, and Lady Gaga makes it possible to do a bang up job. My Dad and I installed the drywall panels, it took a few days. Jen started mudding and taping. We are currently at the second layer of mud, we will sand it tomorrow and then get to applying that final coat.

Kitchen Cabinet Removal

We had a really pretty set of cabinets over our island. They were well built, convenient, had pretty stained glass doors, and therefore we had to remove them. We kept the stained glass, as we are going to build some book shelves with doors, and those glass panels will be perfect for the doors. Removing the cabinets opened up the kitchen a lot, letting more light in, and allowing people to mill around the island and hold a conversation. Clearly I still have a little bit of work to do cleaning up the transition to the range hood. Details, details.

Yard

Haven't talked about what we did in the yard. The front yard had some spiral willow trees that were sick or dead. One was 60 feet high and ready to fall over at any moment. Using a combination of shovels, muscles, Ford F-250 trucks, tree removal companies, thatchers, aerators, and who knows what else we managed to transform the front yard from a deathtrap (the 60 foot willow would have certainly fallen and killed a very powerful and well connected lawyer) into a very gorgeous yard that shows off the architecture of the house. I areated and thatched the moss patch, Jen worked a truckload of compost into the soil and seeded it, and now we have a lawn again.

Woodshop ACTIVATED!

After a crazy crazy time playing Tetris with my power tools, I have managed to get all of my woodworking equipment into the garage with room for the cars. That's nice because we live in Seattle and it rains from Oct 31 until July 5. All (and I mean ALL) of my heavy equipment is on wheels, and I built a wood rack on wheels as well so that I could just squeeze everything together when not in use. When it's time to Get Dusty, I just pull the cars out of the garage, and I have a ton of space to use the tools. The diagram shows just how dense my garage is.

Checklist Update

* Remove dead, dangerous deathtrap willow trees and invasive laurel bush from front yard - DONE
* Remove all things Juniper from yard - DONE
* Remove all things ugly from front yard that are not junipers - JUST ABOUT THERE
* Aereate, thatch, compsost, re-seed front lawn - DONE
* Build cabinet for new double oven - DONE
* Build cabiner for warming drawer - DONE
* Install mouldings for front door - DONE
* Fir out a couple walls in living room to cover up power wiring and to support a built-in bookshelf - DONE!
* Remove cabinets tha are above the kitchen island - DONE!
* Drywall upstairs war zone - GETTING THERE
* Re-face kitchen cabinets - SAVING UP FOR THIS ONE
* Replace kitchen counters - SAVING UP FOR THIS ONE
* Install Kitchen Floor - SAVING UP FOR THIS ONE
* Fir out and fix up the last unfinished room in the basement - AFTER UPSTAIRS IS DONE (except the things we are saving up for)
* Replace caps on all railing walls - GETTING THERE
* Rebuild entire front yard landscaping - LABOR TREADMILL

Pooped

Workin' on the Entryway and Oven!

A bunch of things all happened at once. My sheet of veneer arrived, so I was able to veneer over the areas where I will be installing my remaining appliances. My parents arrived, so I put my Dad to work immediately. We got the oven installed, the warmer installed, and we finished up the framing work on the wall between the dining and living rooms. We drywalled the entry-way, and then collapsed. Tomorrow... not sure yet, but I will keep busy.

Anyone here?

Time to start blogging again. Jen and I took a long break this summer to live in the house and get a feel for what needs to change. Also, I was waiting *forever* for some permits to pop to allow electrical work to power up my woodshop. But now I have my shop, and there is much rejoicing.

I will post individual entries for what's going on, but here is the quick and dirty list:

* Remove dead, dangerous deathtrap willow trees and invasive laurel bush from front yard - DONE
* Remove all things Juniper from yard - DONE
* Remove all things ugly from front yard that are not junipers - GETTING THERE
* Aereate, thatch, compsost, re-seed front lawn - DONE
* Build cabinet for new double oven - GETTING THERE
* Build cabiner for warming drawer - SOON
* Install mouldings for front door - GETTING THERE
* Fir out a couple walls in living room to cover up power wiring and to support a built-in bookshelf - SOON
* Remove cabinets tha are above the kitchen island - SOON
* Drywall upstairs war zone - KINDA SOON
* Re-face kitchen cabinets - SAVING UP FOR THIS ONE
* Replace kitchen counters - SAVING UP FOR THIS ONE
* Install Kitchen Floor - SAVING UP FOR THIS ONE
* Fir out and fix up the last unfinished room in the basement - AFTER UPSTAIRS IS DONE (except the things we are saving up for)
* Replace caps on all railing walls - GETTING THERE
* Rebuild entire front yard landscaping - LABOR TREADMILL

So much fun!