Watching Paint Dry and Other Thrilling Tasks

It’s been a while since our last construction update, but that is not because of a lack of progress. The house has been a veritable beehive of activity inside and out. Major accomplishments over the last few months include finishing the HVAC work, having all our insulation blown in, and getting the exterior siding and trim work installed. With so much visible progress being made, the place is really starting to be recognizable as a house.

 

 

We have offered to assist in any way we can, because (a) we want to help advance the project, (b) we like doing work with our hands, and (c) we like learning new skills. But we have no interest in climbing up 20-foot scaffolding and we are lacking in significant construction expertise. The result: we have been assigned painting duties, putting primer and first coats on various components before the actual experts do the tricky part of cutting and installing. We painted big sheets of siding before installation. We painted soffits before installation. And we primed beadboard walls to get them ready for installation. We’ve learned a lot about the difference between working with paint at 45 degrees and at 65 degrees – those “recommended temperature” statements on the side of the can are no joke. Once we demonstrated our ability to perform very tedious tasks with a reasonable degree of success, we were able to graduate to patching nail holes and sanding manufacturer marks off our decking.

 

 

Another important milestone we achieved in the last month was having a set of stairs built just in time to receive a giant delivery from IKEA. Behold our future kitchen (some assembly required):

 

 

The interior is finally moving into the stage of work that is familiar to fellow devotees of HGTV.  Our interior walls are now being closed in, and soon we will have interior doors hung and flooring installed. We’ve been busily finalizing design choices, and I am here to tell you that there are waaaaaay too many types of tile in this world. But after many hours spent strolling the aisles of various home improvement stores, we have picked out the key items and most are already on site or on order. Now it all just needs to be installed.

 

 

 

 

12 thoughts on “Watching Paint Dry and Other Thrilling Tasks”

  1. It’s most definitely starting to look like a house and it looks great! I don’t blame you for one second for not wanting to hang upside down from scaffolding 30 feet in the air. It’s a long way down. Let the pros do that kind of stuff. On the other hand, you had me at “painting.” Now THAT is my jam! I could paint stuff all day. Well, actually, I DID paint our old bedroom one time only to decide I hated the color immediately after I finished. That wasn’t super fun. But, generally, I do enjoy a good painting session. Incredible to think those boxes contain your future kitchen. Can’t wait to see it when it’s all done. I’m sure you’re fed up with making decisions, but it’s gonna be gorgeous when it’s done. Are those stairs going to be your permanent ones or are those temporary?

    Reply
    • Painting is great because you can see immediate results! I have found painting to be surprisingly soothing in the last month. That’s only because of the 6-foot extension pole, however. Without it, we would have serious shoulder problems and persistent aches. Turns out that hiking is actually not good training for construction work. Go figure.

      The stairs are permanent (though the railings are temporary) but they are the back stairs. The stairs to the front door are still in the “to be built” category. That category is getting smaller by the day, however, which is very encouraging.

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  2. It’s so cool to see how much progress you guys have made! We admire your place from afar as we cruise by on our way to and from our state park beach walks, but seeing all that has been accomplished in these photos is impressive. We’ll definitely swing by for another ‘nickel tour’ soon.

    I like painting too—as long as I get the color right the first time around. Which I usually don’t, LOL. I’m looking forward to seeing the interior finishes—tile, paint, cabinets, countertops!

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    • We are pretty pleased by all that’s been completed, and it has been really interesting to see it all coming together from the ground up. Being assigned painting duties gives us an excuse to hang around and watch the construction process, which has been fun!

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  3. Looks like your new home is coming together nicely. It is starting to look like a real house.
    I can’t wait to see you put all these kitchen cabinets together. I think that will be quite a challenge, but with all your IKEA product experience though it will probably be accomplished easily.
    Looking forward to see the finished product.

    Reply
    • Those cabinets will be a big project, for sure! I am hoping that after we do the first one, the rest will basically be similar. But we’ll see. We are excited to see such visible progress — the end of the project is coming into sight!

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  4. It seems I’m not alone in the “likes to paint” club! We, too, got a peek at the real deal as we cruised by a couple times, but I’m sorry we had to scram and couldn’t get the formal tour and a longer visit. Sh*t happens, as they say 😬

    Just think, though, if we ever do get to visit there, we’ll be able to fully enjoy your new home like people did in the Before Times!

    Reply
    • I was so disappointed you had to leave before we could see you again. I was thinking I might be able to get some free painting labor out of you. I mean, just put a brush in hand and see what happens, right? 🙂

      Hope you were able to resolve your crappy problems. But we’re glad we finally had the chance to connect in person, and you were able to see some of the sights of our lovely area.

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  5. All the choices you made in architecture inside and out are very cool. The structure looks very strong and well-built. Please post the view from your porch.

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    • I will try to remember to take photos of the view for the next post. We are really happy with how the house is turning out – it’s exciting to see the plans turn into three dimensional reality.

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