Week 24: Painting and the Arrival of the Kitchen Cabinets.

 
 
 
 

There is still more drywall work (sanding) and priming left to do, especially in the downstairs apartment, but the upstairs got to the point this week where the guys started painting. The goal was to get the living/kitchen area painted first so that the kitchen cabinets can be installed. The color for most of the walls downstairs is "cottage white." It is a bit darker than I thought, but I think it will work well. The kitchen cabinets were delivered so they can be installed next week while we wait for the rest of the exterior siding to be delivered. The cabinets are maple with a Shaker panel style. The prep work for the master bath shower was started this week as well.

I went shopping for wood flooring at Marden's because they have the best prices. I can get a nice select red oak right away because they have more than the quantity I need for the project. But I saw a very nice maple flooring that I might consider if they can find enough of it. The maple is lighter than the oak and has less grain. Both are about the same hardness rating. The price at Marden's is about 50% of what I can get anywhere else for wood from the same manufacturer. The flooring guys really know their stuff, too.

Week 23: Mud, Tape, Side...Repeat

 
 
 
 

Although the front of the house looks about the same as it has for weeks, the inside changes every day as a new coat of mud is applied to the drywall. If all goes well I think they'll be at the point of priming the walls by the end of next week. Then I can get in the house to start painting!

Siding is going well except that the building supplier says they can't get more materials until the first week in March. Shouldn't slow down the work because there is a lot of exterior trim and soffit work that needs to be done and that can proceed while we wait for more siding.

Week 22: Mud (and Tape) Season

 
 
 
 

Lots of sheet rock was hung this week and the mudding and taping crew showed up on Wednesday and have made excellent progress on the first coat. There is probably a day's worth of sheet rock work in the basement apartment and then it will be another week or two before the mudding and taping and priming is finished. In the meantime Matt and his team will move back outside and work on the siding and on getting things ready for the roof that will be over the front porch.

The plumbers finished running the pipes for the heat and have taken off for another job until the radiators are ready to install. Time for me to pick out colors for painting because we'll be to that point early in March!

I'm also off the temporary Bangor Hydro connection and am officially back "on the grid." Bangor Hydro welcomed me with a nice big bill...

Week 21: More Dry Wall

 
 
 

The dry wall continued this week. Next week another crew will come in to start the mudding and taping. The code enforcement officer came out to confirm what is needed for dry wall in the bridge and in the boiler room to meet code and that all looks very straightforward.

The plumbers have been busy running the tubing for the heat and the electrician hooked up the fuse box in the in law apartment.

I got the quote for the master bath shower work and it was more than I had hoped it would be. I'm working to see where I might get some cost savings. I was going to install electric radiant heat in the bathroom floor but I don't think I'll actually need it so I've dropped that out of the equation. The only other place I think I can save money is on the choice of tiles .... and maybe on the kind of glass used for the shower door and wall.

It is interesting how the perception of space changes during a building project. As the dry wall goes up the spaces seem much smaller than when there was nothing but open studs. But I really like the space. It is going to be quite functional and cozy when it is all done!