Day 79

The Painters hit Project Big Tub en masse the other day using a combination of brushes & sprayers to apply quite a bit of paint. I failed to get an accurate headcount, but near the end, there had to have been at least five guys on site.

Ever watched a professional painter work? While they drag around a drop cloth in old construction, I think it is only for show as paint only appears to go where they want it to. And forget about paint edgers or masking tape – With hands as steady as theirs, I believe these fellas could probably paint a landscape on a postage stamp with a five-inch paint brush.

The only problem with a cadre of painters working really hard is that the air gets tougher to breathe with each gallon of paint they go through. In spite of leaving a host of windows open, that evening the house reeked of latex paint. No worries, though, because the Airstream had already been placed on standby, and was waiting for us with a refrigerator of water and soda (and, of course, a working potty ).

But the air cleared enough over the next couple of days for Fred Terry to drop off a load of unfinished, white oak hardwood flooring. Mr. Terry laid the original hardwoods in our house better than a decade ago when we bought & remodeled the place. He did such a fine job that I asked Kim to track him down as he lives in another area and works by word-of-mouth only.

Before hiring Mr. Terry last time, I had seriously considered laying the hardwoods myself as it was something I had done before. But, for various reasons, I changed my mind, and was very happy that I did. The hallway is the most critical area in the installation process, and there are many tricks associated with it turning out right. For example, the bucket to Mr. Terry’s left is partially full of finish nails. There is a reason the nails are in it instead of the box they came in:

In the meantime, the vanity base cabinets were unpacked & arranged as they will appear in the presence of Big Tub itself. Below, Jared & Kim verify that everything will fit as planned:

As you may recall, there used to be a window seat in front of the double window which Big Door replaced. Unfortunately, removing the seat exposed damage to the floor (shrunken boards) due to the seat trapping air from the air conditioner vent. Mr. Terry did not think too much about repairing it until he had to pull the old boards out. Apparently, he does not have to disassemble his own work very often, and had quite a time getting the old floor apart. I joked that if he did not do such good work the first time, his floors would be easier to repair later. He kind of thought that was funny…

Last time, Jon (I never knew his last name) & crew sanded & stained the floors Mr. Terry laid, and did a fine job. While Mr. Terry agreed that Jon does fine work, he allowed that he currently teams with Hubert (I’ve been told his last name but forgot it). Hubert has agreed to finish the floors, and will start in a couple of weeks after the newly-laid-floors-milled-in-PA have had a chance to acclimate to our AL environment. The timing is fine with me as it will allow the bulk of the remaining interior work to be completed without damage to the final finish.

I hear a knock at the door – It must be Rodney & Dennis here to lay tile. Later!