I'm happy to report that I'm no longer afraid of falling off the catwalk when I need to pee in the middle of the night (or on those rare occasions I get a bit drunk nowadays...)
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Also, I am now cooking with FIRE! (speaking of safety, I had the propane stove hooked up by a gas fitter rather than trying to DIY it.)
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Bathroom post #1. The big part of this job is finally done. It came with a pretty big price tag, but I think it's going to be worth it. I got a flooring crew in (husband and wife, they were pretty cute) to do a wetroom floor Before they could do the spackle and mats I had to put drywall up on the walls and t&g particle board down on the floor, because the osb boards were flexing a bit after the plumber cut the drain hole. So that was an interesting experience, as the floor is a pretty odd shape. The drywall was quite easy, especially since I used really thin boards (6mm). It's nice that it was only for a small space, then I got to try it out but didn't get bored with it.
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| putting up drywall |
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| drywall done |
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| particleboard floor on the floor |
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| Spackle floor and drain |
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| wetroom! |
One of my favourite parts of the house so far is my little office space. It was fun to build and turned out exactly as I'd envisioned it. Including the fact that it's a super functional and cozy space. Here are some photos documenting the building process and outcome. Notice the drop-down space visible in the first photos - that's where my feet go! I love it. I also love the desk itself, which is a piece (I think of oak) I cut out of an old tabletop which had seen better days. This bit was in pretty good shape, and is lovely after a bit of sanding. The computer doubles as a screen for watching movies and series, and with the bed in sofa mode (futon rolled up) the bedroom becomes a really comfy tv room.
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I am breaking my silence! It wasn't an intentional silence, just had a lot of things taking precedence over blog-writing.
Since last writing I've done a lot! It feels like things are happening slowly, and I think that they kind of are, but happening they are still.
Last I wrote I had just built a staircase. Since then I have:
- finished the upstairs birch ply floors with hard wax oil
- painted the exterior panels with järnvitriol (makes the wood look aged)
- had a plumber in to put in a couple of drains through the floors (bathroom and kitchen)
- brought in a bunch of kitchen stuff, gotten a fridge
- hooked up to electricity (light! heat!)
- built my clothes storage space and office space up in the loft
- gotten my bathroom area ready for the flooring guys to put in the wetroom floor and walls
- gotten wetroom floor and walls
- upgraded the sofa space significantly
I'm what I would call about 60% moved in. I still have a bunch of stuff in the big house, and still need to use the shower, toilet, laundry and dishwashing facilities. Current projects and stuff to do coming up soon include:
- building the entryway step/woodstove platform, and installing the woodstove
- build my toilet (so far I have a seat)
- hooking up my propane range
- running pipes and connecting to water (oh glorious indoor running water)
- build entryway shoe storage
- modify the bathroom cabinet and make the sink
- build storage shelves in kitchen corners
- build/modify and install kitchen counters
- make and put up shelving all over
- other stuff that's not as high priority...
Photos to come in future (hopefully not too distant) posts
Ingrid stayed over Fri-Sat and helped me get the pile of interior paneling out of the house and to start the storage staircase build. Gotta say again how great it is to have friends over helping me out! Was especially nice to have someone else's brain helping to keep mistakes to a minimum, and to think through the process and details of the work.
We started out by deciding to take the time to use the router on some of the edges of the 15mm (3/4'') plywood sheets. It was a good decision, though it took more time. I was tempted to skip it as I just wanted to get the stairs together, but having the rounded edges makes the stairs look much more polished. I'm happy we did that!
Today I finished them off (for now) and I'm feeling quite proud of them :)
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| routering |
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| moral support |
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| superteam! |
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| unleashing the tiny beast! |
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| storage stairs |
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| view from catwalk |
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| the elephant |
Oops , I mean I’ve been framing!
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| Walls behind stairs and base of stairs |
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| Wall between laundry closet and bathroom |
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Trying not to look too hard at the whole project, just take off little chunks at a time.
Trying to remember to multiply every time estimate by at least 3.
Having fun! This project is so cool, I’m grateful to myself for taking the risk and giving myself the opportunity to get my hands on such an extensive building experience. Also grateful for friends with experience and skills who are willing to help out. And just basically any friends who want to help out, it’s a nice way to spend time with someone I enjoy being with 😊
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| Hydraulic jack and leveling jacks. And Lusi hiding from the sun |
