Working Weekend

Saturday and Sunday were two full days of work.  While Scott finished running the network, cable TV, and phone lines, I tried my best to help out with other tasks.  The goals for the weekend were to do as much as possible to help the electrician finish his work and pass inspection on Wednesday, and to get ready for the drywall contractor to install new ceilings upstairs later in the week.

The ceiling surrounding the 2nd floor chimney was damaged by a small roof leak around the chimney's flashing. 

I'm practically a plaster-removal expert by now...so taking this little bit of ceiling down was pretty easy.

The drywall contractor suggested that we remove just a portion of this room's ceiling; he will patch the hole and add a new layer of drywall over the rest.

Once the ceiling was taken care of, we moved on to removing the plaster from the chimney.  Scott tried using an air chisel, powered by the air compressor.  Unfortunately, it did not magically remove the plaster.  I chose to save my eardrums from the exhausting sound of the compressor by returning to the tried and true method of chisel and hammer.

By the end of Saturday, about half of the plaster was down.  By the end of Sunday, only about two feet remained on each side.  (I forgot to take a photo so you'll have to trust me.)  It's a tiring task but I'm almost done.

Scott spent more than his share of time in the attic this weekend. 

This past Friday, the insulation contractor used a giant vacuum to suck all of the old blown-in insulation out of the attic.  It will be replaced within two weeks (fingers crossed) with spray foam insulation.  (Full details of that process will be posted - never fear!)  In the meantime,  Scott cleaned out a five-gallon bucket's worth of wasp nests, a variety of curtain rods, an old blanket or two, carpet remnants, and odd pieces of lumber.  He was also able to continue running the media cables to their final destinations which was made much easier by the lack of pesky obstructions like walls and insulation.  

Though there's no photo illustration, we were joined on Sunday by Carl.  He took care of pulling nails out of a big pile of woodwork, removing the ceiling fixtures from the big bedroom, and eliminating random nails from the wall studs so the drywall will go up unimpeded.   Marita stopped by later in the afternoon to check out our progress. We really appreciate their continued help and enthusiasm!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!