August 08, 2005
Week One
... more or less wound up.
- The roofers have come and gone, having filled most of two dumpsters with the old roof - previous owners had been adding new layers since 1912, and it was four or five inches thick.
- Lots of wallpaper is removed, some with a steamer and some with this enzyme goop from Home Depot. They seem to work about equally well.
- The cement is gone from the front hallway.
- The stick-on linoleum is gone from the second-floor hallway.
- The doorway at the top of the stairs, and the drywall enclosing the bannister, are gone.
- The electricians are about half done, and we had the bright idea today to ask them to fish phone cable along with the new electrical cables. Moderate extra charge.
- The new light fixtures are all chosen.
- The kitchen has been measured by the Ikea people.
- The floor refinishers are booked.
- The garage door missed me when it fell off its tracks with an enormous crash, and is now repaired.
- The now-ex-upstairs kitchen floor is exposed. This meant taking out a layer of tile and a layer of linoleum on quarter-inch ply. Many methods were tried; the best involved patient poking and prying with a pickaxe. I bought a cheap pickaxe a couple of years ago to clear some stubborn ice, and wondered if I was wasting my $18 or so, but it's proven its worth in this reno.
- The energy auditor has come and gone. I made the mistake of calling in the energy auditor to the Melita house after I'd made a lot of improvements - this time, we established the baseline on the unimproved house.
- We have lots and lots of plaster repair to do.
- We're looking for plumbers and drywallers - any suggestions?