649 6th

oak flooring

The first piece of the oak boardwalk went in today. I can assuredly now say I have no fear (hind sight of course) about the oak and cedar bickering with each other. I think the tones and grains have enough similarities and differences that they work. Tomorrow they will do the cross walk in the dining room; over to the right in this photo.

They're also slated to lay down the kitchen pieces tomorrow, finally covering the last bit of green marble you can barely see peeking out here. That includes the large step up to the stairs. Very exciting times!

cedar finishing

We officially have a column of cedar running through the house (technically we still have a couple of errant pieces to install, but for practical purposes it has been checked off the list). I'm still getting used to it. It's beautiful in a way I hadn't expected. The one big massive run (click photo to left) is really only visible when you are in the stairwell. Once you in any particular room it's just a small lick of detail in one corner.

Tomorrow the board walk is supposed to be laid. Let's see what it looks like when we add yet another wood grain next to it!

bathroom light fixtures

We finally installed the bathroom vanity light fixtures. It was a bit of a trick. The holes cut into the porcelain tiles fit the attaching ring perfectly. However, you couldn't screw the fixtures on-- they needed to thread through the attaching ring that was now backed by a formidable tile surface. With a bit of ingenuity and some washers we were able to figure it out.

The only missing piece is the mirror. I have a feeling that one might take a long time to find.

stair finish

The angles on the stringer and ceiling made the cedar installation a bit more complicated than the time alloted. We didn't make quite the progress I had hoped today, but what we did looks damn good. Tim was in town and helped. Michael cut, I measured and fit, he nailed; the assembly line made a glacial paced solo project almost zippy in comparison.

The moonlighters song got stuck in my head after last night's post, I figured I'd share.

once I had a railroad

While we were out yesterday they began the installation of the boardwalk. I don't talk about the boardwalk that often because, for most, it's kinda hard to visualize.

We actually hired an outside person to do this work. In some ways it's the big "space defining show piece" on the first floor.

It was sort of treat to come home and find progress made in our absence.

It's just before 9:00 on Saturday morning. Today is the day we are to knock them back like dominoes. I've already finished cutting in the first floor finish paint and am waiting on my house guest to come around before busting out the sander.

The goal is by the end of the day every room (less the dining) will be totally painted or surfaced in it's final coat....go.

triage

It had to come sooner or later, the big list was triaged.  With the holiday, we really only have so much time before December 1st.  It was ambitious to start and really only meant to drive productivity (sounds like a fair rationalization). We prioritized  and came up with what we think is manageable over the next few days so we can do the actual party prep in tandem.

We would have killed ourselves (or each other) if we attempted the big list. Sometimes you just gotta let go.

family truckster

A few weeks ago I met my friend Jeff for drinks after work. As we were saying goodbye on the sidewalk he noted the bike I've been riding. It's a three speed sealed hub (think dutch city bike) Sowbo. I tricked it out with a rear pannier and have a begun to use it like my own ecoSUV. With its sleek styling and matte black finish my esteemed branding colleague remarked that it was rather chi-co (chic eco). I chuckled because I knew exactly what he meant. I was either part of a meme or I'm a ubiquitous demographic.

I've used it for a number of material runs, I commute to and from work, and I do the grocery shopping. It gives a flare of superiority known only to some movies stars and Al Gore. I feel like a superhero when I place my groceries directly into the snap-on bag gently clicking into place. After which I quickly mount and make away in stealth (way to many comic fantasies).

Granted I live in New York where it's relatively flat, so it's not a hard ride and everything is relatively close, I think everyone should try it. Or at least the huppies (hipster/yuppies) should give it a go. It fits the lifestyle... well, you'll have to get the obligatory fixed gear bike first I guess.

bathroom door

Confession: We've had no door on our bathroom for... Actually, I'm not sure how long it's been. Maybe someone can check the blog and let me know. So let's just say we haven't had a bathroom door for a long time. And that's about to change.

Constructed from three layers of 3/8" plywood with openings for frosted glass window and a matching mirror, which will be ready for installation next weekend. Hall-side face and sides will be cedar, bath-side will be white. We were planning on priming and sanding the face and then spraying it white, but today our friends Kirstin and AB suggested laminate. Gotta track down a source for that tomorrow.

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not much of one thing

Big weekend of lots of miscellany. We cleaned out the boiler and got some heat up in here. I fixed the refrigerator, and am enjoying a cold beer for the first time in months. But most important, we just about finished(!) the second floor (including the picture lights; more on that later).

The piece of eye candy below is (as you've probably noticed) the new way of keeping myself glued to the finish jobs. Let us know if we've played them out.

evaporator fan

After waiting more than month for the refrigerator repair guy to receive the evaporator fan I finally gave up. He said it would take 10 days minimum sometime in later September, and then he disappeared.

On Monday I called Marvel and ordered the part myself. Today it arrived.I have to say I am quite shocked by how small it is. I guess I was expecting something on the scale of the compressor fan, boy was I wrong.

Now that we have the part I'm still planning to call in a repair person for installation. It sits behind the cooling element (evaporating condensation as the name would emply). But, to get at it means dealing with regid copper pipes that I seriuosly don't want to muck up.

I called a new repair company this morning. Hopefully this fresh start (with the part already in hand) will finally expidite the project.