This segment covers
flooring and windows. Pretty easy in the scheme of
things, but quite disruptive.
The photos below are what we saw.
We
decided to replace all the baseboards so the first order of
business was to paint the new baseboard. Above, Kathleen
does touch-up on a short length of board before it is installed.
Kathleen
and I did the flooring ourselves, it took about 2 days. It
was easy as it just snaps together, but it did require lots of
"hands and knees" work. Our neighbor is a contractor and
he lent us his miter saw and nail gun. We completed the
baseboards in one day although the putty and touch-up did spread
into the following day. As a side note, along the way, we
installed a new screen door. The prior door was original
equipment 1978 and was sorely in need of replacement. We
replaced it with a nice security door that has a sunburst
pattern, visible at the left of the photo above.
To
access the vaulted ceilings we had to rent a 14' step
ladder. We delayed the start of our project because we had
ordered a remote-control blind for our skylight. But the
weeks drug on and we finally said proceed without having the
component. So, sure enough a week later our skylight
arrived.
The
skylight is at the apex of the ceiling and sits inside a
cavity. We discovered when we were scraping and texturing
that the previous owner did not bother to paint the part of the
cavity that could not be seen from the floor.
We went
back and got the ladder again. This is a tall ladder, but
it was invaluable in scraping, painting, texturing and
blind installation.
The
skylight is a long way up there. Installation involved
both Kathleen and I on the ladder at the same time and the sun
coming through that window was intense. We were happy when
we could come back down to where it was cooler.
The
skylight is solar powered and we mounted the solar panel where
it was invisible from the floor. It works well and
provides a near-total blackout of the sun when closed.
The
cabling of the audio system was rather complex. So,
instead of un-wiring, we put the components on scooters and just
moved them around as our work progressed. Finally, with
the work essentially complete, it was time to re-install the
display panel and connect it to the audio.
After a
sweep-and-mop of the floor, we moved the furniture from the
kitchen back to its place in the living room so we could have
our kitchen back.
The rugs
and stepper were brought back in and positioned.
At the
end of the floor installation, we were treated to a "harvest
moon" that was visible low in the eastern sky just after
sundown. The moon was not quite full at this point.
The full
moon arrived 2 days later. This was shot from my driveway
with my Sony A7R4 with 100-400mm lens at 400mm. Handheld.
At the
front of November, our windows arrived. We had Newman
Windows do the job and they were punctual and tidy. The
installation was completed in only one day.
These
windows were original construction 1978. They were on
their last legs. This is the kitchen window.
Boom.
Removed and re-installed in a matter of minutes.
The
dining room window was in bad repair.
The
windows were removed, the aluminum frames were recycled and the
glass panes were re-purposed.
The
windows operate easily, unlike the original ones.
The
front windows were in poor repair as the previous owners had a
cat that "worked" at getting out through the screens.
The
Newman guys did a great job. It was a crew of 3 and it did
take all day, but only one. In at 0830 and done by 1700.
| Previous Adventure | ||
| Trip Home Page |
Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2020, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.