I Fought the Wall (and the Wall Won)

Yes, it was a battle royale this past weekend. The wall(s) won a couple battles, but overall I guess I won the war...all the stud walls for both bathrooms upstairs are now in place...and I have the battle scars to prove it: I stepped on a nail, got a tetanus shot in my arm, shot a nail into my hand with the nail gun, had a wall fall on me, and had a heavy wooden support crack my shin. I was going to post a battle scar picture, but decided to spare you the blood and guts.


Overall, Whitney and I made a lot of progress this weekend. After so much planning and scheming trying to come up with the best floor plan and make everything fit, it was nice to actually build some walls. The porch architectural elements, which Chris and the Bushes are working on, are coming along nicely too. I'll try to post some pics of the beautiful details later.

One Step Forward...

You saw the two steps backward that I took a couple weeks. Now, I hope you're as excited as I am to see an actual step forward. The new t-n-g plywood subflooring has really added a lot of rigidity to the structure. It also gives me a good foundation for building new walls and putting wood flooring down. My next project is to build walls to divide this upstairs space up into 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms. On the other side of the existing wall on the right will be a third bedroom and utility room.Remind me and one of these days I'll scan and post my floor plan. And oh, notice the tools on the left? I'll talk about those in the future too. Having the right tool for the job makes all the difference in the world.

Home Sweet Home (Depot)

Home Depot paid a visit to my house. Or rather, I paid Home Depot mucho deniro to visit my house. Home Depot is my new favorite store...you see...they gave me this sweet little credit card with no payments or interest for 12 months, which means I don't have to make draws on my construction loan and get interest free money until I get my permanent financing. As a general rule, I don't use credit cards because I am still paying Dave Ramsey's stupid tax for prior credit card mistakes, but this seemed to be a wise use of a credit card.

Two steps backward...

Sometimes you have to go backwards in order to go forward. I've spent the last few weeks tearing down interior walls that were not needed and carefully removing the beautiful heart-pine tongue-and-groove flooring on the second floor. Why, you might ask? I decided to remove the floor so that I could glue & screw down some t-n-g plywood subflooring, and I needed to take the walls down so that I could add a couple bathrooms and a third bedroom (originally, the house had 2 bedrooms upstairs and the only evidence of a bathroom was the clawfoot tub that was sitting in a bedroom floor). The subfloor will add strength and reduce house noise (if it won't, then please don't tell me now...I'm too far along to turn back).

The picture above shows what the upstairs looked like before I bought the house. The picture below shows what it looks like now. It's nice to see a change...even if it's backwards. :)

15 Whitman Street

Okay, this is my first blog post...ever. And this is my first 130-year-old home...ever (see the pic below...or beside...or above...if I can figure out how to link to it). Drastic times call for drastic measures...I'm resorting to a blog to share what I learn and to learn from you. Before everything is said and done, I will need carpentry, plumbing, electrical, alarm system, insulation, plaster, Sheetrock, trim, window, door, dating and relationship help (okay, maybe not the last two...at least not on this blog, but definitely the others). So, please come along for the ride. Two's company, and misery likes it...company, that is.

Just to give you some background, my house, which I purchased in January, is completely gutted on the inside, i.e., not even livable. So, I'm living in my next-door-neighbor's attic while I try to bring my house back from the dead. The exterior of my house [...wait, just a second, I've decided to interrupt myself....I've made an executive decision...because it is already getting old saying "my house this..." and "my house that...", I've decided to name my house "Whitney"...why "Whitney" you may ask? Because, well,....wait, I think I'll make you figure it out yourself...call it a teaser...let me know if you think you know why...there is method to my madness. Now...where were we...oh, yes.] Whitney's exterior has already been largely restored, which stands in stark contrast to her interior.

As you can see, there is a lot of work to do inside. At this stage, Whitney is like a lot of people I know; the outside is well painted, but the inside hasn't been given nearly enough attention (and when you take a closer look at the outside, even that needs some work). Shamefully, I guess I'd even have to put myself into the pay-too-much-attention-to-the-outside-while-neglecting-the-inside camp at times. But that's a topic for a different blog.

As this blog unfolds, I'll let you be a little bit of a voyeur and watch my progress, but please don't be content with spectating...share comments, ask questions, and give advice. God knows I need all the help I can get.