tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44872771778322499192024-03-13T17:18:44.083-04:00Our House on Hickory View LaneHere will be found tales of thrilling adventure, reckless daring, and home improvement.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-6043681452493852702009-12-04T08:12:00.005-05:002009-12-04T08:51:40.099-05:00Bathroom: Nearly CompleteShame on me! I've neglected to update the blog at the most inexplicably inopportune time. The last post was quite the cliffhanger, and for no good reason (if there's a reason at all, it's certainly laziness), I just haven't followed up on it. I offer my profound apology.<br /><br />Nevertheless, it is true that the bathroom is nearly complete! The tub was delivered a week later than we'd first expected, but it turned out beautifully. We were very happy with the job done; it looks great.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Before<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7864.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7864.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8209.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 601px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8209.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div>It was a pain to get the drain and water lines connected for the tub; I made several trips to varying stores to get all the parts and several arduous hours hunched underneath the house doing plumbing work for which I'm still not quite qualified. But it finally got done and, after redoing a few leaky connections a few days later, everything seems to be in working order. At the very least, I can happily say we've done the whole thing without having to hire a plumber, which certainly saved us a good deal of money.<br /><br /><br />I installed the sink and faucet with little problem, and the tile guys came back to install the mosaic backsplash. I think Jessica's choice of mirror and backsplash was bang on. We're both very pleased with the way it turned out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8210.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 600px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8210.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8214.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8214.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Only several relatively minor things remain to be done: installing bars for towel, hand towel, and toilet paper; picking out and ordering a new floor register; and procuring stuff (framed black-and-white photographs, I'm told) to hang on the conspicuously blank walls.<br /><br />It took a lot longer than even I thought it would, but this bathroom renovation is practically done, and we're rather proud. And in fact, this, in a way, brings the whole house renovation to a sort of conclusion. It definitely brings about a certain aura of completion to everything. I do realize, of course, that there will always be <span style="font-style: italic;">something </span>to work on. The past couple of days, in fact, I've been building a dog house (more accurately, "a small barn") for Jessica's Great (in<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>size only, mind you ;-)) Dane.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-14252561763900905782009-11-02T09:26:00.002-05:002009-11-02T09:36:20.956-05:00DelayThe toilet has been installed,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8128.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 602px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8128.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />but unfortunately that's all. Last Thursday, the tub guy said he ran into a problem when refinishing our tub. I didn't understand exactly what the problem was, but he said it just wasn't turning out satisfactorily and he wanted to start over. This was a bummer, as it brought everything to a sudden halt, but I urged him to take his time and get it right. It's supposed to be ready by the middle of this week. I hope things go better on the second try and that it turns out as well as we've been envisioning it. We can only hope and wait.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-59500330192870410942009-10-24T17:48:00.004-04:002009-10-24T18:12:51.802-04:00Floor: AfterIt took one day to get the granite/marble laid, and the contractors came back the next day to set the base"board" and grout everything. We're pleased with how it turned out, and, if it wasn't before, it's very clear now that this bathroom will indeed be quite different from anything else we've done so far (even though the toilet will be the same and the sink will be very similar to the ones we put in the hall bath).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8122.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8122.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8121.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8121.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8123.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8123.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8124.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8124.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Now we can hardly wait to start installing all the actual bathroom stuff, most of which has been waiting in boxes in the bedroom for awhile. The toilet will go in soon, but I want to wait until the tub is in place before installing the sink; carrying that tub in there and getting it positioned right (without chipping or scratching the floor) will be quite a chore, and having the sink in the way would make it all the worse. The tub should be finished and returned to us by the end of next week, so if all goes smoothly I expect to have everything installed by next weekend. Also, we ordered a couple square feet of black and white marble mosaic to go right above the sink as a backsplash. Hopefully that will be in by next weekend as well.<br /><br />I believe the end is in sight.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-1948350475192491162009-10-22T13:26:00.003-04:002009-10-22T14:12:34.031-04:00Floor: BeforeThe focus now shifts from walls to the floor, about which nothing has heretofore been blogged. Months ago, we saw a picture of a bathroom with a black (or very nearly black) floor and thought it looked very cool. Since "very cool" is kind of what we had in mind for our bathroom, we set our minds on replicating the feel of the bathroom in that picture, especially regarding the floor.<br /><br />We first thought we might use black marble (with some streaks of white running through it), which is certainly very cool, but turned out to be more expensive than we were comfortable with, even for a bathroom the size of a large closet. So we looked into some black granite tiles, which looked nearly as cool and cost considerably less, and decided to go with that. The floor will be black granite with a two-inch-wide strip of white marble around the room about six inches away from the wall. There will also be a six-inch-high granite "baseboard" all the way around.<br /><br />I had been prepared to lay this floor myself just as I'd done in the hall bathroom last year, but I was told that granite is much more difficult to work with than ceramic or porcelain tile. For one thing, granite is much harder and my wet saw <a href="http://instantrimshot.com/">just wouldn't cut it</a>. Also, the granite tiles would be butted against one another instead of spaced apart like most other tile, greatly magnifying any height variations between tiles resulting from imperfect setting.<br /><br />So, we decided to have granite tile-setting experts do the job. In fact, they're in there toiling away as I type. We're jittery with anticipation, but the "before" pictures are all I can offer for now:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8109.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 601px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8109.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8110.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 600px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8110.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8112.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 599px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8112.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8111.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 600px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8111.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-63699653890674446702009-10-20T13:06:00.003-04:002009-10-20T14:12:36.895-04:00Paint and LightingJessica spent a large chunk of yesterday (and part of last night) painting. Thus, the walls are all but finished. When we were picking out wall paint a couple weeks ago, I was reminded <a href="http://hickoryviewlane.blogspot.com/2008/04/big-week.html">again</a> that the most difficult and stressful part of home improvement projects, by far, is agonizing over paint color. This bathroom renovation was no exception, but we're both (!) very happy with the color we ended up with, and that's greatly comforting.<br /><br />There were also advancements in the realm of lighting. With the ceiling painted, Jessica installed the can light trims and I bought the appropriate bulbs on the way home from work, so they're now finished. We agreed that the can lights were the best choice. Good call, Jess! With the wall painted, the sconces could be installed. This was a job well-suited to my level of electrical expertise, and it got done without sparks, deaths, or other drama. We're both pleased with these as well. Three for three so far!<br /><br />As promised, here are several thousand words worth of pictures:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8086.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8086.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8084.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 601px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8084.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8087.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8087.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8082.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 599px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8082.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8089.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 599px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8089.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-38205522791228277752009-10-19T14:24:00.007-04:002009-10-19T16:12:30.982-04:00"Blank Canvas"We're almost up to date now. Yesterday afternoon, I took a damp sponge to the ceiling and walls to clean off all dirt and dust in preparation for priming/painting. Last night, Jessica put a coat of primer on the ceiling, a coat of primer on the walls and windowsill/frame, then went back to the ceiling with some paint: Behr's <a href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_4654.jpg">ubiquitous</a> "Polar Bear" (what I call "white") color. This left us with a blog post title.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8065.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 601px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8065.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8066.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 601px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8066.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8071.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8071.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Jessica is a skilled, motivated painter and is on fall break this week, so the walls will be taking on color very soon. <span style="font-style: italic;">This </span>color, approximately:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Sherwin Williams' "Snowfall"</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RujDgCx_LMk/StzFUljqKZI/AAAAAAAAAes/oltqu7rAWmU/s1600-h/snowfall.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 380px; height: 380px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_RujDgCx_LMk/StzFUljqKZI/AAAAAAAAAes/oltqu7rAWmU/s200/snowfall.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394403411152742802" border="0" /></a><br />More pictures coming soon. Oh, the suspense!<br /></div>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-58610628195521656642009-10-19T11:12:00.004-04:002009-10-19T11:38:54.889-04:00LightingOriginally, the idea was to have wall sconces flanking the mirror and two matching (or at least complementing) pendant lights located roughly where the two old ceiling light fixtures were. It proved difficult to find pendants that fit our taste and our budget, so Jessica called an audible and decided that (recessed) "can" lights would be a better way to go.<br /><br />It cost an arm and most of a leg to have electricians install five can lights in the kitchen last year; I tackled the bathroom installation myself. It certainly wasn't a trivial job (The tight attic space above the fixture close to the window was extremely restrictive and claustrophobia-inducing.), but it helped that I was able to use existing wiring, and I was done in an afternoon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8058.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8058.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8059.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_8059.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Obviously, they're not shown completely finished. Jessica recently installed the trims, and forthcoming pictures will reveal the finished product.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-32327813741572253632009-10-19T09:57:00.005-04:002009-10-19T10:20:27.029-04:00Follow-Up: Floor RegisterA month ago, <a href="http://hickoryviewlane.blogspot.com/2009/08/master-bath-progress.html">I whined</a> about the floor register being right in the middle of the floor. I pondered getting an HVAC contractor to reposition it, but I first explored the possibility of doing it myself and it turned out to be a relatively easy job. I wanted to move it directly to the right, towards the toilet, and--what good fortune!--the duct ran right under the line along which I'd be moving it, which also happened to be parallel with the floor joists. So I had only to remove the 90-degree elbow that lead straight up to the register, cut off about four feet of the duct, then reattach the elbow piece and (after giving it a 90-degree rotation so it'd line up with the hole I had cut between the wall and where the toilet will be) the piece leading to the register. After using some duct tape on an actual duct for the first time in my life, I was done:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7871.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7871.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It was one of the rare jobs where everything just seemed to work out.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-29987698475324689832009-10-19T08:43:00.004-04:002009-10-19T09:22:27.545-04:00Walls Finished(I'm way behind. A lot of blog-worthy stuff has happened since the last post, and I'm going to catch up with a series of incremental updates instead of mashing everything into one huge post.)<br /><br />I finished mudding and sanding the walls last week. This involved finishing up some patching and prep work where the sink and mirror/cabinet were:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7933.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 597px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7933.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The tall rectangular "hole" is one that I had cut when I was intent on running the water lines for the sink up into the wall. Annoyingly, this turned out not to be feasible, so I was left with more drywall to do. I screwed two small lengths of 2x4 to the nearby stud to support the new piece of sheetrock. The larger piece of 2x4 above is for the pedestal sink top to be anchored to. (<a href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7926.jpg">Click here for a sneak preview of the sink</a>.)<br /><br />I had been waiting on patching the hole where the medicine cabinet had been because I thought it would provide helpful access to the places where the wall sconces would be installed. I got around to installing the electrical boxes for the sconces (though with a lack of elegance about which I do not wish to go into detail...what matters is that they're properly positioned and adequately supported, right?), so I finally put in the last piece of drywall:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7955.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 600px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7955.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />...And then let loose with the joint compound, nearly emptying the bucket.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7957.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 600px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7957.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />After another few days, a little more mud, and lots of sanding, the walls and ceiling were finally ready for painting.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-22119835423332607732009-09-26T10:02:00.002-04:002009-09-26T10:55:42.342-04:00Hello, WallsA couple weeks ago, I set forth to turn the cobbled-together hunks of sheetrock into legitimate bathroom walls with a roll of fiberglass mesh tape, a 6-inch taping knife, a 10-inch taping knife, a corner knife (borrowed from Uncle Keith), a huge bucket of joint compound, and a head full of drywall "mudding" tips (also courtesy of Keith).<br /><br />I was prepared for some seriously patience-taxing work, especially since I'd never done this particular task before (though the tedious nature of it definitely felt <a href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_4876.jpg">familiar</a>). First I taped all the joints with the mesh tape. Next, I used the 6-inch knife to scoop mud out of the bucket and apply it liberally along the joints. Then I went back with the 10-inch knife to spread it out as wide and flat and smooth as I could. After about 24 hours of drying, I attacked it all with sandpaper, wiped the dust off with a damp sponge, and started again. The second time, I applied the joint compound in a much thinner and wider layer. After more drying and more sanding, I evaluated things. Surprisingly, most of it was looking much better than I'd thought it would.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7915.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 599px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7915.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7916.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 600px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7916.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />There are certainly some spots here and there that will need at least another coat, but I would say that most of it needs only another light pass with some fine-grit sandpaper before it's done.<br /><br />(Progress on the ceiling part, small as it is, is lagging behind; the joints were very wide and uneven, so it has taken a lot more work to get it close to acceptable...not to mention that working overhead is about five times more difficult than working at eye level.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7917.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 527px; height: 702px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7917.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-21505916356805966572009-09-26T09:24:00.004-04:002009-09-26T10:02:12.046-04:00TubSome friends of ours recently bought an old house in which the previous owner had left a bunch of old junk. This junk, though, included two old claw-foot bathtubs. They knew we might be interested, and we looked at them and took some measurements. One of them was just the right size for the master bathroom and looked to be in pretty good shape, although it clearly needs refinishing. A few weeks ago, we bought it from them for next to nothing (compared to what we had planned on spending on a new one, at least), and my dad helped us haul it home.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7868.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 335px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7868.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Jessica wanted a preview of what it'd be like once in place, so Dad and I lugged it into the bathroom and situated it roughly where it would ultimately be.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7864.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7864.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7866.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/IMG_7866.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">(Yes, there is one foot missing in the two above pictures. It fell off while making the journey from the front porch to the bathroom. Not to worry, though. It didn't break; it just came loose.)</span><br /><br />I browsed the phone book and found a guy in town who's been doing bathtub repair and restoration for 35 years, and their cost to refinish a tub like ours was, I thought, pretty reasonable. He came and picked up the tub, and they're holding it for us until we're ready for it. We're supposed to call them about three weeks before we want it back, at which point they'll start working on it, and then deliver it when it's done. He sounded very positive about the quality of the tub, and said he thought it would look very nice when it was finished.<br /><br />This was an exciting find, especially because of the money we're saving versus buying a new one. Even with the cost of refinishing added in, we'll have acquired this tub at well less than half of what we would have paid for a new one. We're very much looking forward to seeing what it looks like when they're done with it.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-87722086965153704482009-08-18T10:05:00.006-04:002010-08-11T10:58:05.629-04:00Master Bath ProgressThe pace of work on the master bathroom hasn't exactly been brisk (there have been several large obstacles and distractions), but enough man-hours have been put in since the last blog post to make the progress highly visible and--dare I say?--encouraging.<br /><br />The shower is completely gone; nary a trace remains. We finished taking out the wall and had an electrician come in to take care of the wire that used to reside in it. He ran the wire through the remaining walls, including newly-added wire that will one day deliver power to a pair of mirror-flanking wall sconces, and he installed a new combination switch/receptacle box near where the sink will be.<br /><br />Then there was the plumbing to deal with. After getting two different estimates on the plumbing work, I suddenly found myself highly motivated to do a lot of it myself. I was able to get the drain and the old water lines dropped down and capped off below the floor, and just recently started working on getting the water lines for the sink moved into the wall where we'll want them instead of coming up through the floor.<br /><br />Saturday, I finished putting up sheetrock to patch the "holes" where the shower and wall used to be. There was so much variation in the edges of the existing wall and the new sheetrock that would abut it that it proved as difficult as I'd expected to get the joints even and flush. I was able to do what currently appears to be an acceptable job, but there's still some magic to be worked with my big bucket of joint compound, so I'm still quite nervous about how it'll turn out. We may well end up with a very topographically interesting wall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7854.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 600px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7854.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7855.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 601px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7855.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I still need to patch the hole where the mirror/medicine cabinet used to be, but I want to wait until after the sconces are installed since it may prove beneficial to have that area exposed during or just prior to installation.<br /><br />Another major headache can be seen in the fourth quadrant of the first picture. The floor register that used to be right next to the shower wall is now right smack in the middle of the room and needs to be moved. I think I'll be able to cut a new hole when we decide where it should go, but I don't know if I'm up to getting the ducting rerouted to the new location; seems like it could be tricky. I guess we'll see what an estimate from an HVAC contractor looks like, and if it's intolerably high, maybe I'll get another boost of confidence and motivation.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-50037703596307394852009-07-25T12:22:00.005-04:002009-07-25T13:16:54.806-04:00Exterior: AfterThe "before" picture of the outside of the house is dreary, yet it's the one constantly displayed at the top of the right margin. So, we've decided to update it with a little comparison shot. And how timely! Jessica has just finished the front porch improvement project that she's wanted to do since the beginning of this whole adventure: replacing the wrought iron "posts" with handsome wooden ones. She had help (and borrowed some crucial tools) from her dad, and they did a fantastic job. Observe:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7819.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7819.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Mind you, these are not prefabricated posts picked up at Lowe's; they were painstakingly handcrafted ("from scratch"?) and customized, each for its own location. I thought it was a superfluous project and that the wrought iron was completely fine, but the new posts improve the look of the porch (and indeed the whole front of the house) <span style="font-style: italic;">enormously</span>, and I'm very proud of my wife for executing it so well.<br /><br />Here are some more exterior "after" pictures:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7816.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 338px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7816.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7813.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7813.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7820.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_7820.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Also, I've updated the "Links" section in the right margin. There are now three separate links to picture pages: Before, During, and After. Enjoy!Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-42677047243677853312009-07-02T10:01:00.003-04:002009-07-02T10:35:25.823-04:00More EmptinessThat title really sounds dark and depressing, but at this point in the bathroom renovation, it's our goal. We've removed significantly more matter from the bathroom, including the vanity and the all of the sheetrock/plaster from the doomed shower wall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7042.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7042.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7048.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7048.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7045.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_7045.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />This has opened up the space a lot and gives us a better idea of what it'll feel like with that wall gone (which is, quite nice). The next several weeks of work will undoubtedly be the most challenging. We've got to take out those studs while taking care of the pipes and the wiring (one switch and one receptacle) that used to reside in the wall. We've got to remove the remaining tile from the floor. Then we've got to patch up all the holes that will be left in the floor, wall, <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>ceiling. I think that will be the most difficult part--patching everything up and making it all look nice and seamless (and, in the case of the floor, preparing a flat, level, and sturdy surface for laying tile). This will be the phase in the project when we're most likely to say to ourselves, 'We've made a huge mistake.' I'm praying it doesn't come to that.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-51753628903712945962009-06-08T10:03:00.004-04:002009-06-08T11:17:45.243-04:00More DeconstructionI came home from work last Friday and was surprised to find even <span style="font-style: italic;">more</span> work done in the bathroom. Jessica had removed nearly all the tile on the last wall of the shower (the trickiest part, given the presence of pipes and wire inside that wall), <span style="font-weight: bold;">and</span> had taken out the medicine cabinet/mirror/light thing above the sink, as well as some small, unidentified wall-mounted accessory under the mirror. Observe:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6972.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6972.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6973.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 430px; height: 573px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6973.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Jessica seems intent on actually making this renovation proceed smoothly (which is highly uncharacteristic of our house projects); she's obliterating all roadblocks that would hinder progress and, worryingly, is swiftly chipping away at my mental list of excuses to put off laying tile. Perhaps this is how projects are supposed to go when you're not doing 17 other things at the same time, like we were at <a href="http://hickoryviewlane.blogspot.com/2008/06/were-still-alive.html">this time last year</a>...Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-48231687519277601902009-06-05T10:04:00.007-04:002009-06-08T10:02:43.846-04:00Shower DemolitionWe have begun with removal of the 50-year-old pink shower tile. I got things started earlier this week with a hammer and cold chisel, but Jessica has made the most progress, while I've been at work, by swinging away (like she would, I imagine, a softball bat) with a small sledgehammer.<br /><br />It's all too evident the shower/bunker was constructed in the mid 50's, when global nuclear war was expected to commence at any moment; the tile was set very solidly in a bed of concrete about eight meters thick (using metric makes the exaggeration sound even more intimidating, no?), underlying which was a sturdy metal mesh which gave the concrete further resilience. Jessica, undaunted, donned gloves, glasses, and a dust mask and brought down two "walls" worth of tile with her mighty hammer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6964.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6964.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6965.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6965.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">What you see remaining are the bits of concrete that remain clinging to the metal mesh, which we'll hopefully be able to rip out in big sections once all the tile's taken care of.</span><br /><br />After the tile's gone, we'll be pondering the removal of the little section of wall. We presume it's there purely to form the third side of the shower and that taking it out won't cause any problems, but we'd really like to be 100% certain before we start yanking studs out. Does anyone know how we might tell for sure?Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-2083055607813907852009-06-01T09:47:00.008-04:002009-06-01T11:04:28.356-04:00Home Improvement '09Our second summer here has just begun (at least according to the school calendar, which holds far more power over our lives than the sun and moon, orbits and equinoxes and whatnot), and the accompanying list of house tasks is already lengthening.<br /><br />First, an update...<br />Since the last post, there has been some significant activity in the realm of landscaping, and not much more. Jessica planted some flowers in the small bed in front of the porch and put some hanging baskets above it. On Memorial Day, we drove to Sale Creek to adopt some baby plants from Keith and Kathy. They very generously gave us some young oak leaf hydrangeas and some dogwood saplings, all of which Jessica planted and is trying to nurse to health (after their traumatic transplantation). Thanks, K&K!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6761.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 443px; height: 331px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6761.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6768.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 448px; height: 335px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6768.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Most significantly, we spent a large chunk of last Saturday digging weeds out of the front/side flower bed and spreading mulch. It was tough work, but we had help from Jessica's brother Sam, and it makes the front of the house look much better.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6765.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 348px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6765.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6767.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6767.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A lot of work, to be sure, but it's small potatoes, I tell you...for it's during this summer that the feared and shameful master bathroom will undergo its long-awaited overhaul. Currently, it looks like this...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6924.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 452px; height: 338px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6924.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6926.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 336px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6926.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6927.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 451px; height: 337px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_6927.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />...ripe for renovation. Over the past year, we've gone round and round about what to do with this tiny bathroom, and I've been dreading it all along. We've come to this: instead of trying to enlarge and re-tile the shower, we're going to obliterate it and put in a tub. More specifically, we plan to bust out all the shower tile, take out the little interior shower wall, patch it all up, tile the floor, and put in a claw-foot tub. We'll also replace the vanity/sink (and get rid of that medicine cabinet/mirror), toilet, and all the light fixtures. And, of course, we'll paint.<br /><br />It's a little on the radical side (is that possible?), and that's kinda the idea. I wanted this bathroom to be a little more edgy and modern-looking than the hall bathroom, and we'll be seeking out tile, paint, and fixtures that will make it happen. It's going to be crazy, what with that little wall being demolished and such, but the adventure should be right on par with much of the rest of what we've done to the house so far. If our experience from 2008 serves us well, I think it will turn out nicely. I started tile removal yesterday, and Jessica plans to continue that today.<br /><br />You can now expect blog updates to appear at an increased rate. :-)Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-24544759926624490752009-02-08T16:45:00.007-05:002009-02-10T12:32:31.368-05:00Still AliveIt's been nearly four full months since the last update, and that's not entirely due to my being a lazy procrastinator: there simply hasn't been a whole lot going on, at least not compared to how things were in the summer. This one post will cover the notable projects since October.<br /><br />Picking up where the last post left off, I should first mention the curtains. After much painful deliberation, Jessica chose the navy blue and white fabric you see in the pictures from the October post. Then, she and my mom worked several days over the course of a few weeks to sew not only the curtains for the huge front window, but also for the smaller window in the back of the living room as well. Quite some time after that, they used what was left of the fabric to sew what I believe is called a balloon curtain for the small window next to the front door.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5923.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 486px; height: 364px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5923.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5926.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 487px; height: 364px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5926.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />In the first picture above, you'll also notice the blue pillows on the couch. Jessica picked out some silk for these throw pillows, which my mom made and which we picked up from Ooltewah just last night. Jessica is very pleased with the pillows; they look very nice. We also like our curtains a lot. Thanks for all the help, Mom!<br /><br /><br />The next project is one that still haunts my dreams. I think the story of the process, fraught with trouble and flirtations with disaster, will be more entertaining to the reader if I first put your mind at ease by telling you that it all turned out okay. And here are a couple pictures as proof:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5935.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 501px; height: 376px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5935.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5936.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 504px; height: 670px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5936.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, a vent hood--and one that, at the insistence of the resident cook/baker, truly vents out to the roof instead of just filtering the air and returning it straight into the kitchen. I suppose it was a classic "All's well that ends well" kind of deal, but even before I started, I knew it was going to be a daunting task. As it turned out, each and every little step along the way had its own set of complications. There are some projects that go just as smoothly as depicted in the simplistically drawn, black-and-white fantasy world of the instruction booklet. <span style="font-style: italic;">This</span> project, however, was steeped in the devilish details of reality which mocked and assaulted me for four days.<br /><br />Now that I sit trying to actually recount all those details, though, there are only a few that I remember as more than just part of a blur of snags and setbacks. Most of these were due to the fact that all the surrounding stuff--stove, cabinet, crown molding, etc.--was already in place, so it was like doing surgery to cut away what was obstructing and work safely around what was nearby. I hacked away at that section of cabinet for hours with about ten different tools to get everything to fit, and that was just the beginning. It was certainly unsettling having to cut a big hole straight through our brand new roof, and the wiring--<br /><br />I believe I'm going to end the whining right there and relay just one anecdote that nicely summarizes how things went: When the installation was nearing completion, it came time to hold the vent hood in place and mark the spots on the wall where mounting screws would need to go. I was able to lift the hood into place by myself without too much difficulty, but it would've been tough to hold it there long enough to have Jessica carefully mark the holes, so I found a large Rubbermaid container in the garage that was just the right height that it could be placed on top of the stove so that the vent hood could rest on it and would be in just the right place. So I lifted the hood into place and Jessica slid the container underneath.<br /><br />So resting on top of our stove was a fleece blanket (which we had spread over it at the beginning of the project to protect the stove from debris), a large, empty plastic container, and a 40-pound vent hood, all carefully positioned to further the efforts of the laughably amateurish installation. While I was marking the four mounting holes, we began to smell something burning. It took us about 10 seconds to figure out what was going on: during the struggle to get the container/vent hood tower built, one of us had bumped one of the knobs controlling the stove eyes. We couldn't see that because the blanket was draped over the stove, but as soon as we realized what it was I held the hood up and jerked the container out of the gap like it was a Jenga block. We pulled the blanket off and turned off the stove, then I lowered the vent hood out of position and set it down on the table. The stove eye had melted a perfectly round hole through our blanket and the bottom of the Rubbermaid container, and the house stunk for quite awhile. It was quite the adrenaline rush.<br /><br />Again, though, it eventually got done, with some help from Wayne and Sam (Jessica's dad and brother), without <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> much collateral damage, and it looks nice as long as you don't peer inside the mangled cabinet. <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-size:78%;" >(more commas, anyone?)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5937.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 513px; height: 383px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5937.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Jessica worked on the window latches and pulls in the kitchen. They had been painted over many times, so she took them all off and used paint stripper and brass cleaner to get them shiny again. It was a lot of work, but it's a great detail that makes things look more finished.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5942.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 417px; height: 312px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5942.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There aren't really any other major projects in need of reporting. The only other thing that may be worth a mention is our new car:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;">This picture was taken at Jessica's parents' house.</span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5955.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 319px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/after/IMG_5955.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>We sold Jessica's truck last summer, and had been driving my Jeep, which still runs well despite having almost 170,000 miles on it. Most of the time, the one vehicle was sufficient since Jessica and I ride downtown to work together, but there were plenty of times where a second vehicle was needed, and it would certainly become a problem in the summer when Jessica was off work and wouldn't have a car. We searched for awhile and, after some troublesome indecision between two good cars, finally decided upon the one pictured: a 2007 Honda Accord EX-L V6 sedan. We got a really great deal on it, and we absolutely love it. I think Jessica's favorite part is the comfy, inviting leather interior. I like the wheels, brakes, and throttle response the best. :-) I'm confident that Honda will serve us well for years.<br /><br /><br />I guess that's about it for now. Things on the horizon include redoing the porch columns, getting furniture for the back of the living room and kitchen, and starting on the master bathroom <span style="font-size:78%;">(ugh...)</span>. It may be awhile before any of that starts, but I promise not to wait too long to blog about it when it does. Thanks for reading; we're still alive!Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-86755135702193243422008-10-14T21:23:00.003-04:002008-10-14T21:25:51.879-04:00CurtainsThere is a lot to say about how these curtains finally came to be, but pictures will have to do for now:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5582.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 317px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5582.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5577.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 313px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5577.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-37373372897061496912008-09-14T16:35:00.002-04:002008-09-14T16:45:40.432-04:00New Roof CompleteThe shingles were finished on Thursday, but the chimney still had a tarp over it, indicating they weren't done with the flashing. When we got home on Friday, the tarp was gone, and the (surprise!) <span style="font-weight: bold;">copper</span> flashing was done. We hadn't expected them to use copper, and they didn't ask, but after we got over the initial shock we decided we liked it. It looks very interesting and seems to suit the house and the shingles. Have a look:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5534.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 425px; height: 317px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5534.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5535.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5535.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5537.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5537.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5538.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5538.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Overall, we're very pleased with the new roof. The shingles don't <span style="font-style: italic;">quite</span> have the color variation that Jessica had wanted (and the low slope of the roof makes it especially hard to see any variation), but it still looks great and we're glad we were able to get it done this soon.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-33434579613789795392008-09-10T08:59:00.008-04:002008-09-11T09:31:47.466-04:00New Roof in ProgressFirst a little catch-up: we got a second estimate for getting new shingles put on the roof, and it ended up being quite a bit less expensive than the first one, so we decided to move forward on it. We picked out a 30-year architectural shingle in color called <a href="http://www.mclean-roofing.com/CertainteedShingleColors/Architectural/Landmark/LM30MoireBlackMed.jpg">Moire Black</a>.<br /><br /><br />I was surprised on Monday when I got a call in the afternoon from the owner of the roofing company telling me that his crew was at the house getting started. I was surprised because we hadn't yet set up a time for them to start, but we weren't going to complain about our new roof going on sooner than we'd expected. ;-)<br /><br />There's a decent chance of rain forecast each day this week, but yesterday the weather cooperated, and we came home to find the roof well more than half re-shingled. Jessica insisted she climb up on the roof to have a look and take some pictures. First, here are some from the ground that kinda serve as "before" shots because none of the new shingles are visible from the front yet:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5491.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5491.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5492.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5492.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5493.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5493.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And now a view from on high:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5499.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 409px; height: 305px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5499.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5500.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5500.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5506.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5506.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />They seem to be very close to finishing; there is less than half left to shingle. However, they're going to be installing ridge vents and doing the flashing around the chimney too, so I predict they'll finish tomorrow--<span style="font-weight: bold;">if</span> the rain stays away.<br /><br />Jessica seemed happy with the way things looked, so I'm happy too. We're excited about it. I'll certainly post more pictures when it's all done!Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-54145292317219179322008-08-15T08:07:00.002-04:002008-08-15T08:49:15.542-04:00The Stink: ResolutionThis post is way overdue, as we saw the end of the closet stink saga early last week. We bought a new light fixture for the closet. After it was installed, we turned on the light and waited a suspenseful 15 minutes or so....no smell. We were relieved but skeptical; something so elusive as a closet stink is unpredictable, we've learned. Alas, it's been a week and a half and the smell has not reemerged. It's nice to know the matter is taken care of, and that it was something as simple as a faulty light fixture and not, y'know...something dead between the walls.<br /><br /><br />No new roof yet--we're waiting to get a second estimate before we jump in--but we're really looking forward to getting it done. I think it will improve the look of the house by 100%.<br /><br />Let's see, what else is there left to do? Curtains are probably the biggest task, and with school back in session there's no telling when Jessica will have time to work on those. We still have to paint the back door, and there are a few electrical outlets left to replace. Oh, and we'd like to get a vent hood for the stove. Other than those things, we're pretty much where we dreamed we'd be <a href="http://hickoryviewlane.blogspot.com/2008/03/renovation-day-1.html">way back in March</a>. Wow...what an experience this has been!<br /><br />Roof updates to come next, hopefully by the end of the month. Stay tuned.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-42677464990033106892008-08-03T08:44:00.004-04:002011-03-30T09:37:29.261-04:00The Garage and The StinkFirst the stink...<br />For a month or two now, we have been aware of a strange smell that intermittently emanates from the closet of the master bedroom. We have pondered every conceivable hypothesis and tried to find the source/cause with no success. We eventually developed a strong suspicion that the smell was only present when the closet light was turned on, so we had our electrician look at it. He said the electrical connections were okay and didn't show any evidence of being too hot, but that the light fixture itself looked like it had been getting very hot; he pointed out a place on the fixture where its paint appeared to have bubbled up because of extreme heat. So we're going to replace the light fixture and see if that leaves the closet stink-free.<br /><br />The garage had been a complete <a href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_4567.jpg">wreck</a> since the week one of this whole thing, and yesterday we finally did something about it. We started at around 9:30 by taking almost everything out of the garage and lining it up in the driveway. Then, after giving the floor a good sweeping, we brought things back in one by one, placing them deliberately and strategically in drawers and on shelves, ensuring firstly that we would be able to call the garage "organized" when we were done, and secondly that we would never be able to find anything again. Things used to be scattered all over, so we thoroughly came to know the location of a particular object by using a crude latitude/longitude scheme, but now things are so neatly stowed away that you really have to know exactly where to look. (Putting things on shelves was particularly detrimental, as it suddenly introduced a third dimension into the tool-inhabitable space that we already spend so much time searching.) Alas, it's for the best, and it certainly feels good to have the clutter gone. We finished at around 4:30.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5475.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5475.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And, for the first time <span style="font-weight: bold;">ever</span>, we were able to park the Jeep in the garage instead of in the driveway:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5474.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5474.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Things have slowed down a lot (hence the plummeting frequency of blog posts), but I'm glad to say that's because there simply isn't that much left to do. I lack a wall and a half of quarter-round, and we still need to paint the back door. Those are probably the biggest things on the radar. I'm going to start putting together a collection of pictures (not sure what sort of format...maybe a PowerPoint presentation?) showcasing the work that's been done since March--essentially a bunch of before/after pictures. I'll make sure that becomes available here. The next time you hear from me, we may well have a new roof!Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-39319460168504239932008-08-01T20:48:00.004-04:002008-08-01T21:07:07.916-04:00Shingles, etc.I am not disillusioned about the fact that my blog posts about my projects are never going to be as awesome as Nathan’s.<span style=""> </span>So, let me wow you this way.<span style=""> </span>Last Saturday we ate lunch at the PF Chang’s in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Knoxville</st1:place></st1:city> when toward the middle of my meal I am alerted to the fact that the god of football, Phil Fulmer, has chosen to take a seat right next to ME!<span style=""> </span>As you may suspect if you know me well, I did indeed pick up the phone and call my father to share my warm tingly feeling with him.<span style=""> </span>I so wanted to tell him that at the <st1:city st="on">Orange</st1:city> and White game in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Chattanooga</st1:place></st1:city>, when I was eight, I had my picture taken with him and he told me that he had a daughter my age.<span style=""> </span>However, my husband implored me not to “bother” him.<span style=""> </span>I know, you’re thinking “How could he possibly be bothered by you, Jessica?”<span style=""> </span>My thoughts, exactly.<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The end of the summer is already here. I wanted to get a few projects done before I started teaching this year.<span style=""> </span>Nathan and I have been finishing up the quarter round.<span style=""> </span>We finished the office last week, and tonight, he’s finishing our bedroom.<span style=""> </span>My most recent project was working on door knobs.<span style=""> </span>After a closer look, I decided that I would try to polish the door knobs before we went ahead and replaced them.<span style=""> </span>I am very glad I did.<span style=""> </span>They have turned out beautifully.<span style=""> </span>Some look better than others because the tarnish was extreme in places.<span style=""> </span>I am much happier with these knobs than I would be with new ones because they look so interesting and because they were original to the house.<span style=""> </span>They don’t make knobs that look like these 60-year-old ones anymore.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5421.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5421.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Today Nathan and I came home early to meet a roofer.<span style=""> </span>He measured our roof and talked to us about our options for shingles.<span style=""> </span>Nathan and I decided that it would be a wise move to proceed with the roof now (we were considering replacing my truck, which we sold Wednesday).<span style=""> </span>I think were going to get another estimate from a roofer that my mom knows before we hire someone.<span style=""> </span>Until then, I am trying to pick the shingles I want.<span style=""> </span>I know I want architectural shingles.<span style=""> </span>These are the three colors I have narrowed it down to:</p><br /><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Moire Black"<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mclean-roofing.com/CertainteedShingleColors/Architectural/Landmark/LM30MoireBlackMed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.mclean-roofing.com/CertainteedShingleColors/Architectural/Landmark/LM30MoireBlackMed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />"Graphite"<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mclean-roofing.com/CertainteedShingleColors/Architectural/Landmark/LMGraphiteSMMed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.mclean-roofing.com/CertainteedShingleColors/Architectural/Landmark/LMGraphiteSMMed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />"Slate Stone"<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mclean-roofing.com/CertainteedShingleColors/Architectural/Landmark/LMSlateStoneSMMed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.mclean-roofing.com/CertainteedShingleColors/Architectural/Landmark/LMSlateStoneSMMed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I want the attractiveness of the shingles to show, and it seems that the darker the roof, the less you can appreciate the shingles.</div></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06765184856332833791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4487277177832249919.post-2408286262314714732008-07-17T21:52:00.004-04:002008-07-17T22:14:39.794-04:00Kitchen Floor CompleteAfter far too long, the kitchen floor is finally done. Jessica swept the floor first, then I wiped it down with a sponge and water. After the slate was completely dry, I applied a simple penetrating grout/tile sealer. Then I mowed the front yard. The slate had completely absorbed the sealer after I finished mowing, so I went ahead and applied the final product, a "stone enhancer/sealer". This product brings out the colors in the stone, makes it darker, and gives it a slight glossy look (at least until it gets dirty). Have a look-see:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5425.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5425.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5441.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 281px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5441.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5432.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5432.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5435.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5435.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5436.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 379px; height: 284px;" src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii187/hickoryviewlane/during/IMG_5436.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We're going to avoid walking on it tomorrow; hopefully it'll be dry and pedestrian-friendly by Saturday. It does feel nice to have this done, but now I must move on to other tasks which, I'm afraid, will seem very foreign to me, as I've done almost nothing but lay tile/slate since March.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12843204685450175996noreply@blogger.com3