So I’m three weekends into our home renovation project. With the dumpster finally gone, it was time to stop tearing things apart and start putting them back together. I’m finding things were moving a little slower than I had expected though. I think it’s because I don’t have a concrete deadline other than ‘as soon as possible.’ But even though it’s moving slower than I’d like, we are still making progress. Each weekend starts with coffee, donuts, and big hopes.

Last weekend during those 90 degree days, that’s when we had the most fun. We needed to reinforce and repair some seriously cracked roof joists while we had access to them. So I got to crawl around in blown-in insulation on my belly while sweating like a pig. I looked like I was tarred and feathered after the event. There’s nothing like being in an attic space in 90+ degree weather with a nail gun and a flash light. Good times.

After that, we had to reinforce the ceiling joists by putting a large bean on top of the existing joists. This involved hoisting two 2x10x16 foot pieces of wood, up a ladder, over the roof, and through a small window, and then up into the attic. Laying on the roof on your back on a 90+ degree day is not the best thing to do. But somehow, my dad and I were able to get them up there just the two of us. I’m lucky we are able to figure this out ourselves. And while we were sweating like dogs, Aya was sending me text pictures of Ellie playing in the kiddie pool at my mom’s and talking about how my mom was going to make her an ice cream sundae. This doesn’t seem right.

During the week I was able to get some electrical roughed in as we were aiming to start putting up drywall over the weekend. But before drywall, we had to insulate. There’s nothing like that itchy insulation feeling that lasts for a few days. After a long days work and Ellie was put to bed, we were doing some porch sitting with our friend Mike who had helped me all day. Mike and I were scratching the whole time like we were wearing wool sweaters, but Aya thought we were being attacked by mosquitoes. Nope, we just had tiny pieces of fiberglass stuck in our pores.

The weekend wouldn’t have been complete without my dad getting a million phone calls from grandma. Poor guy, he works so hard. Plus, throw in a couple of unexpected trips to Lowes. Not to mention our many user errors. It’s amazing we get anything done the way we work sometimes. “Where’s the pencil?”

I thought you had it.

“I gave it to you.”

No you didn’t.

“Why doesn’t the saw work?”

It’s not plugged in.

“Could you plug it in?”

Sure, all you had to do was ask.

All of this is going on while we are jamming to the AM Gold collection. You know that Time Life infomercial they play at 2am about the rockin’ hits of the sixties? Yeah, we have that. Nothing like hanging drywall while listening to the Box Tops sing “I cry like a baby.” Despite all that, we were successful in getting the ceiling up, and some of the walls. Not a bad effort for a couple days of work.

Hopefully during the week I can get the rest of the walls up and be ready to start the mudding sanding process. My favorite. Sweat + drywall dust = paste. I can’t wait.

But until then, it’s back with Ellie. And maybe we’ll get our own ice cream and chill in our own kiddie pool while Aya’s at work bringing home a paycheck.

To continue reading to part three, click here.

2 thoughts on “STRIPPING THE WALLPAPER: PART TWO

  1. I’ll make you a gigantic ice cream sundae when you’re all done! How’s that for a little extra incentive? 😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.