It's been awhile. . .

since I last posted, and I thought that I'd be able to get back to the posting every couple of weeks, but I've been swamped with work.  I thought I had 4 "little" projects lined up for the summer, but that changed when my refrigerator died about 3 weeks ago.  I tore out the door trim, the baseboards, and the wall switch, so I could get it out of the little alcove in which it resided, and moved it out onto the back porch.  I bought a new one, 2" smaller in width, so I never have to repeat this process, but delivery date is scheduled for September 1st, so I can get everything done first.  Since I had had to do all that work, I proceeded to rip up the rest of the trim in the kitchen and both bathrooms, in order to lay down a new slate floor, and at the urging of several friends, I decided to include under-floor heat, which added a whole new set of complexities to the project.

I have almost completed laying down the hardybacker underlayment for the slate, but, because the guys who assembled the old refrigerator cut the tube that delivers  the condensation to the little "pan" under the fridge about 6" too short, the water dripped on the floor, and I have a rotten spot, about 14" long, and 6" wide. Luckily, whoever laid the floor put tar paper under it, there's no rot in the subfloor.  I've dug out the rottten stuff, and have a heat lamp baking the dampness out of the rest of the wood.  In a week or so, I'll touch base with a friend, and find out what kind of plastic hardner/filler to pour in there, to bring it back up to level, and then I can lay the last piece of hardybacker.



Now, since some of you may not realize the logistics of getting materials down to the house, check out this picture of the stairs that things have to come down to get to my house:

This picture was taken back in '96, just after my house was hit by a landslide, but these are the 200 stairs that have to be negotiated to get to The Beach!

A friend and I had intended to lay the slate floor ourselves, but because: 1. my house is a trapezoid instead of a rectangle;  2. the fact that after the heating coils go down over the hardybacker, a self-leveling mix has to be poured over those, and the slate laid within 48 hours, and  3. my tolerance for frustration is somewhat limited at this time, I have decided to contract out the remainder of this project, and the arrangements with the craftsmen have already been made.

Geez, all that leaves me to do is repaint or wallpaper the kitchen and bath, repaint and replace the baseboards and door trim, rebuild part of my bulkhead and rebuild the remainder of the deck, which I started a few years ago.  Don't want to rush into anything, don't'cha know?

At this point, I have pretty well stuck my head in the sand, and am ignoring all the political crap that is being thrown at us, so it's up to you guys to keep an eye on the political "crooks and clowns" while I get this stuff done!

Back to work for this "kid"!  More later. . .