I have so much homework today and I need to go to the library, but how can I leave my dog Bonnie home alone on a sandblasting day? It is LOUD, it is DIRTY, and people are walking around with masks on, dragging fat hoses around. This seems to be a dog nightmare. I just walked around and took pictures of the walls. I hated that nasty butterscotch texture coat, and in places it was peeling off in sheets — but where it isn’t peeling off, Baby, it hangs on. The roses are THRASHED, the mint is dead — every plant covered in grime, and in many cases, hanging on for dear life. It will take weeks to get all of the sand out of here.
October 24, 2009
Sandblasting Day
October 12, 2009
The tile work
Decorative tiles from Arizona Tile, and a brick shaped bone colored tile from Daltile. Pedro Marques did such a beautiful job on the installation. He's a meticulous, patient craftsman.
Hall bathroom, in progress
No walls were harmed during the installation of this tub. I wanted a deep soaker (no jets: I prefer quiet) that would fit in the space, and this one filled the bill. It's 60" X 36" and 22" deep.
October 11, 2009
October 4, 2009
Still not done, but so much nicer
There's no mantle yet, but we're looking at options. (The wood pieces propped up by the fireplace are mantle candidates.) New windows add light to the living room. Wood floors are installed and "resting." The fireplace is framed by a stone that has been cut into squares, like tile. The stone is from India, and it's called "forest" or something like that. It's very textured and interesting to look at. By the way, that's the wrong ceiling fan; that one will be moved into my bedroom. The correct living room fan will be installed on Monday. Recessed lights in the ceiling, and spot lights on the fireplace...can you see them?
The fireplace, the ceiling, the floor
Once the furniture was out of the room, the fireplace looked especially shabby. My dad painted the bricks white, and he installed the mantle, a big beam painted white. The beams in the ceiling are decorative, and the white wall to the left is actually just wood paneling nailed onto the wall studs. There is no drywall. And of course, there's the rust colored carpeting that I've been complaining about for years. I have a picture of me sitting on that carpeting at age 20. That's 32 years, folks. It's time to GO.
Once the paneling was torn out…
There was no real wall behind the paneling; the paneling was nailed directly to the wall studs. I remember when my dad painted the paneling white.
Same corner shown again…
Popcorn ceiling gone, cornice gone; corners softly rounded, new moldings, new paint, orange peel texture on walls and ceiling. Lovely. Paint color: "Distant Haze." This is the color of the living room, the entry way and the hall. So much more light in the room; doors painted white on this side only; still brown inside the sun room.
Some water damage
This is where the room addition attaches to the main house. The dining room wall was stained and bubbled, and I thought there was going to be mildew in the wall, but there wasn't -- thank goodness. This is the spot where my dad lived the last months of his life, and this is the wall he stared at day in and day out. It makes me sad when I think of that.
The garage…again.
New siding, new round vent (so cute), extended fake wall knocked out, low hanging eave on the right gone, brick work extending out and around. Garage door now appears centered. Since this was taken, a cornice has been added on the right. Look at the junk on top of the roof. The shakes are coming down. Carlos gave a sad little sigh when he realized the basketball hoop was gone. He is a little sentimental about such things, but no one had tossed a basketball at that hoop in years.
