Troy is back :)

Ok, ok, ok…I get it…people do actually read this thing.

Since the last time I wrote, the heat wave finally broke allowing us move back upstairs. We were able to pull the old cabinets out of the basement kitchen and give them a facelift last weekend. It wasn’t a necessity right then, but it turned out to be a very convenient opportunity to get them done. And we’re thankful we did. They are now positioned upstairs giving us a better idea of what our “new” kitchen will be like.

Then our attention turned to the upstairs guest bathroom. We spent a couple of nights early this week running a new outlet, light switch, and light fixture. Last night we started the framing. By the time we crawl into bed tonight, we will hopefully have the rest of the framing done (we’re making a cubby hole for our fridge, and framing in the alcove for the tub/shower). We’ll spend the rest of the weekend hanging drywall, plumbing in the fixtures, and doing whatever else we have time for.

One of things I’ve always said is that having the right tool for the job will make all the difference in the world. That continues to be reinforced by this project time and time again. At first it seems kind of silly to spend $200 on a tile cutting wet-saw that we’re only going to use once (at least for the time being). However, that saw enabled us to custom cut ceramic tile to fit our foyer. It kept us from having to hire it done, and saved us an enormous amount of time and frustration. I’ve also been fortunate to have a boss that allows me to borrow work tools as necessary. Last weekend, for example, we brought the cabinets to work to sand and professionally spray paint them. We probably could have rolled and brushed the paint on, but the finish would not have been near as nice. And, while we don’t have new cabinets, who knows how much we saved in not having to purchase cabinets? Last night as we were framing, we realized how important the pneumatic nail gun could be. Our walls are essentially concrete and having to drill into them to fasten the new framing would have been a nightmare. But, the nail gun made it a breeze and again saved us an enormous amount of time and frustration.

So, what’s the moral of the story? Well, that will give you something to leave a comment about…