Back online

OK, so after a long break from blogging, it is about time to get back to the business of documenting the process. I have been tied up with my full time gig, and my consulting, so any free time I manage to get is spent working on the playroom, which is coming along nicely. The office is getting chipped away at and is nearing completion. As with the girls' room, all that is left in the office is touchups and a few small odds-and-ends. It is a nice comfortable place to work, at least on Deborah's side of the room, but my side is a bit of a challenge to deal with. Since there is such a significant slope towards the back of the house, the chair that I sit in wants to roll away from my desk. Deborah, however, is naturally facing that way so she rolls to work in the morning and doesn't have to pull herself back up.

The playroom has had its own set of challenges so far. In changing out the lights from the old drop-ceiling (which we decided to remove and get the extra 7" height) I discovered a bunch of hazardous electrical issues that needed to be resolved before I moved ahead. Some outlets are wired backwards and the hot leads are feeding back to the neutral leads elsewhere in the home. It is amazing that some things are still even working this way, but in time it should all be sorted out. I am certainly glad that I know a bit about electrical, otherwise we would be paying a mint in electrician fees. Getting past these issues, though, we have nice recessed lights in the playroom and it just gives the whole room a new feel. It is a lot more warm and inviting. Also having installed the drywall helps with that too. All of the textured surfaces are hidden now. Next is taping and mudding which should definitely improve the look even further. Once that is done I can get to work on the shelves for the far end of the room. The computer for the girls has been ordered as well.

Things are really starting to fall into place. At first, things seemed a bit overwhelming with all the cleaning we had to do, and it is still disgusting in some places that we just haven't been able to get to yet.

Another challenge we are facing is the cold. The attic insulation is pittiful and I will definitely be blowing in more in the spring to help heat/cool the house as needed. The windows are getting weatherstripped as I have time, as are the doors. I am plugging air leaks with spray foam and fiberglass insulation as well. This is all good and helps, but I must have trapped a little critter in the wall downstairs as the bathroom suddenly has a smell of death, which started once I plugged the mouse holes :) It was good timing as I had just finished retrofitting a shower head into the upstairs bathroom and we no longer have to use that bathroom to shower in the morning. We can use the hall bath and just leave the doors closed for now.

I have one weekend left before I leave on vacation and take a break from all the work. The weekend following my return should be a good one, since Jonathan has graciously offered to come and help me out in exchange for a mind-dump of some experience and some hands-on lessons as well. I am definitely looking forward to that.

Other rooms in the house that need some attention:

Master bath, still needs tile work. Deborah asked to learn the ins-and-outs of tile installation and wants to make that her project. I am more than happy to have someone else do the work with me :)

Hall bath still needs a final color decision. At least temporary, until we gut and redo the room in a few years.

Kitchen, cabinets will be sanded and painted soon. This should buy us some time until we can afford the big plans we have for it.

That's it for now.

Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/373hcd/ for the latest photo updates.