Seasons change and so does my work

I’ve decided to move the end of summer back to sometime in the past week. It’s been warm and that lines up the change in seasons with big shifts in my house. This shift feels like a bit of a cleanse, as the piles of junk and mess are starting to shrink.

Everything about how lucky I am is in this photo. My dad tying scaffolding in the back of my neighbor’s truck (one of many things he’s loaned me, on top of occasionally helping me way faster than any DIY’er ever could – he’s a carpenter) so I can return it to my parents’ friend, who also was at my place all the time to hang siding and made an open offer to come back for future projects.

And now the back yard is as good as it’s ever looked since I’ve owned the house. Probably since about 1940.

Remember what it looked like in the bad old days:

Back 3

And the scariness underneath that poorly installed stucco. Remember, these were from last fall. We didn’t do ALL this work this summer.

At one point that Dutch lap siding was probably attractive. But you know, with insulation, a water resistive barrier, and two Marvin windows, it’s better built now.

Then after that adventure there was the bathroom, finished only 15 months after the old one was torn out.

The old bathroom wasn’t in the same place, but we can compare anyway. Remember that the plumbing was also at the end of its life and ready to leak sewer gas into my basement.

Bathroom

And then there was the flooring. Like the siding, it took a month and a half. But it’s pretty, or at least it will be eventually.

Now, let’s talk about what’s in store for the fall. Sheetrocking the whole second floor, moving stuff upstairs, and clearing out the living room to strip doors, spray paint trim, etc. Remember, I started stripping those doors last winter when I got held up from more urgent things. We can already see how great they’ll look. And yes, they will remain stained. And gouged. I’ll fill holes and stuff but those will still be visible, too.

Then the patio door. I dragged my feet because it’s gonna be expensive and that scared me. Now winter is coming and I got scared again that I wouldn’t have it done in time. Well, it came today! I just need a contractor. Two fell through; I’m talking to another tomorrow. But doesn’t it even look great on the floor?

To be fair, the packaging doesn’t do it justice. And remember what it’s gonna do to the room:

And if all this happens as fast as it will in my imagination, the nice painted woodwork can go out of the way and get filthy in the basement and drywalling can proceed downstairs…

But wait, things got weirder. I have a roommate. Already. And I’m not even living there…er, full time. So far, he’s helped hang drywall, cleaned, and been there to receive the patio door delivery. In short, it’s working out great! So far. Here’s the little kitchen I set up for him: hot pot, rice cooker, crock pot, toaster, coffee grinder, French press. The bare necessities.