Getting Things Done

Sometimes it feels like we're making progress with this house like an inchworm.  Other days it feels like we've accomplished huge feats is record time.  Not that it's some new discovery or anything, but I've decided that the emotional toll that comes with a home renovation is potentially overwhelming.  Jodi and I have done pretty well keeping our cool throughout the years, but we've also had our fair share of breakdowns.

We're so close to the end.  While that's a good thing, obviously, it's also a de-motivator in itself.  Before we were close, we didn't give ourselves too many time lines.  We didn't crack the whip because we couldn't see the end anywhere near.  Now, that we're fixated on it, it can't seem to come too soon.

This second-to-third-story staircase we built has been barely noticeable amongst the stacks of tools, buckets of paint, ladders, and piles of trim almost since we built it.  I remember there was a stretch of time when it was still roughed in and didn't have a single piece of drywall on it.  Then, it finally got drywall on it only to sit for seemingly forever before it got drywall mud applied.  Then, more waiting.

Finally, we jumped right in and made the mess we knew it would make when picking up where we left off.  We sanded, re-mudded, and sanded some more.  It turned out pretty well and I'm satisfied with it.  Though, Jodi and I have sworn off ever doing drywall again.  We fully understand why wall paneling was such a popular trend in the 70's.  It probably looked stupid then, too.  But, at least it wasn't a 7-step process that took days to do even for the professionals.

So, with the walls done, primed, and painted it finally looks like it belongs to the house rather than being a misplaced construction project.  It's not done, of course.  We still have to install all the trim, but it doesn't make sense to do all that until we get the floors sanded down and refinished.

Jodi knew that it would be a little while before I installed treads and kick plates on the stairs so she took the liberty of painting the roughed in staircase as a temporary fix to pretty it up in the meantime.

I think that if we had the diligence to only work on one project at a time until it was done, we would perhaps feel better about our list of what's left.  But, in our defense, the reason we have always had multiple projects going on simultaneously is because we've also had small children the entire time we've lived here.  So, we have things to work around that contractors don't.  Like nap times.  We couldn't have just stopped working once a child fell asleep OR we could keep going somewhere else.  Also, the seasons played their role in our project list making.  We sometimes had to put one project on hold while we worked another that the weather allowed for at the time.

Yesterday, we started the brick patio.  That blog is to come, though.

Posted in: autobiography,Before & After,DIY,family,home renovation