Still Here

Whoops, that was quite a cliffhanger, wasn't it? Day 1 of a multi-room renovation, and then silence for a year and a half. Did they blow up the house? Thankfully, no, although we still won't be inviting them back. They were here for a little over a week, and they did an acceptable job with the plastering and painting. Certainly better than we could have done in that span of time. However, there was literally no cleanup. There were half-hearted attempts at dust containment at the start of the week, but those quickly fell by the wayside. During the time they were here, it snowed, so slush and dirt was tracked through the house, mixing with the plaster dust that was everywhere. It took Betsy and me three solid days of scrubbing floors and wiping down every surface in the house to get it cleaned up. But that was long ago, and we're over it. All that's left to remind us are the water damage spots on the hardwood floors from whatever industrial-strength steamers they were using. Bastards.

 Here are some pics from the middle of that week:

Here Come the Professionals

Time for the pros. The electrician came this week to install a light out by the front steps and to remove the chandelier from the dining room. He also moved the the electrical box for the light fixture so that it was centered over the table and replaced the knob and tube wiring with romex cable. This left a big gash in the ceiling, but not to worry... the plaster guys come on Monday.

Dining Room Demolition

After prepping for wallpaper removal last night, we were ready to go this morning (late morning) with the steamers. These things suck up a lot of electricity. We had them plugged into the same circuit, and blew a fuse within 10 minutes. The extension cord was almost too hot to touch - yikes! After separating the steamers onto their own circuits, it was... uh, well I guess it was full steam ahead. One wall down, three to go.

Listened to:

• Superchunk - Majesty Shredding
• Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
• Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Sings Newman

...And, We're Back

Spent today gearing up for stripping wallpaper in the dining room. Should be fun.