Scattered weekend

We did a lot of running around this weekend. In the midst of it, it felt like we didn’t accomplish much, but looking back, we did ok. Tomorrow, we’ll pick up our auction pieces. We didn’t stay to the end and did a number of absentee bids, so we’ll see what we got, then. There were trips to a couple of Hoods, Lowes, HoPo (Home Depot), and our salvage guy’s place. The only thing we bought was a package paint rollers which we didn’t even use. We got caught in a second-guessing spiral, starting to rethink stuff we already decided. That’s what happens, sometime, with two architects building stuff.

It is also difficult to know when to put down the putty knife. I know, in a part of my brain, that the plaster walls will exhibit their history in the form of flakes, crack, holes and gouges. Intellectually, I think that is great. But standing with spackle in hand, the perfectionist trumps the patina fan. The decision was made, not based on level of finish, more on a line in the sand. Today, I stopped.

What we did accomplish was tasks the plumber and HVAC guy needed us to do. Holes.

Shop side of the apartment, holes for pipes and vents

The plumber started this past week, mostly in the basement, so far. He leaves a trail of sunflower seed shells wherever he goes, making it easier to track his progress.  The HVAC guy will start the installation this week. Tom cut holes for the main supply duct. Electrical starts Wednesday.

Here are some other pictures of what the place looks like.

Scaffolding view of the bedroom

We haven’t put down all of the floor sheathing on the loft yet. We thought that would make it easier to installed pipes and such. We’ve become proficient at joist walking, as we’ve filled old holes and painted the plaster. The trick is to not think about it too much, sort of like crossing a stream on rocks.

The kitchen

This week is the do-or-die decision on the spiral stair. If we can’t find a salvaged one, we’ll need to go retail. Worse things could happen. Now that we’ve done some digging, we’ve seen some interesting new stair kits. We like finding things with a history or a story. Maybe the story today is that Franco got a job! Our no-longer-out-0f-work-architect/framer-extraordinaire is rejoining the corporate payrolls. We are glad to see this positive glimmer of turn around for our industry, and for our friend. He’s sticking with us, nights and weekends, as he can, to help of cross the finish line. Congratulations Franco!