Ceiling is Half Done

Len tells me that the wood off the second lift was great - nice and straight and easy to put together.  So he was able to finish the whole loft side before band practice.  Today he will put up some trim at the rafters and hang the fan.  Then he can move on to the more challenging great room ceiling.  We have a bit of a system now which will really help, but need to use all four levels of scaffolding to reach the highest peak. That will mean lots of moving the scaffold back and forth as we only have one full set.  In the loft we used it in two pieces next to each other so Len could do the whole row without having to move the scaffold.

My favourite part is moving the scaffold from the loft to the main floor.  Actually easier than getting it up there, so that is a positive.

Will post some pictures later today or tomorrow.
Watch for it!
Cath

Off the Hook

I started the day very (not) bravely climbing up on the scaffold to help Len place some boards.  Let's just say that my clinging to the rail and moving about very slowly didn't really offer that much help to Len.  So I was banished to the main floor where, after some instruction, I cut a whole whack of boards and started to finish them.  Meanwhile, up above, Len got another section and 2/3 finished before I said "enough".

The pile of lumber I cut "all by myself"

A great cut off saw

He's up there somewhere

Oh there he is!

 On a totally different subject, here is my second crop of rhubarb.  Made one of Mom's famous cakes and it was so yummy I made more today.

In my wonderful sink with 2 levels

Tomorrow I am back to work, so Len will be hanging out by himself most of the day.  I'm sure he will do just fine.

Cath

Out of my comfort zone

Yesterday we started putting up the ceiling fir.  It is quite the job and unfortunately, it requires two people for some of the more stubborn boards.    Thus the title of this blog.  Now would be an EXCELLENT time for someone to visit/help.  Someone who isn't afraid of heights, which lets most of my family off the hook.

Looks like fun

 Meanwhile, I used a dreary day as an excuse to bake my first batch of cinnamon buns.  I used the bread maker for the dough and chose a very high fat, high cal version to make sure it was good and gooey.

Lots of pecans and a few raisins, lots of butter and brown sugar

 But I digress....back to the work at hand.  Here is how far we got the first day.  It took some figuring out, and I had to put varathane on each board.  Len also opted to cut the ends of the boards at 30 degrees so they fit together well.  And also, we realized we weren't going to be able to work with 14 ft. lengths so the long ones had to be cut into 2 or 3 smaller pieces.  All this takes time.

 Today we  cut and finished most of the pile we had brought in and hauled it all up to the loft.

Len cutting, my finished boards are leaning on the scaffold

Assembly line

 Then Len got busy putting together his false floor over the stairwell so we can put the scaffold up to the highest point of the roof.

Clamps and straps - no nails into the posts or beams

Cleverly placed floor joists

Plywood completes the floor

No way up except the ladder (rats!)

The false floor from the top

 We managed to get the first section 99% done.

Working on the last row

Len off to modify some boards - looks like he enjoys the ladder business

First section done

 By dinner time, the rain had begun to fall and overflow our plugged rain gutter.

Another excellent use for the ladder

Len tells me that I will need to join him up the ladder and up the scaffold tomorrow.  Anyone planning a quick visit???

Painting part 1 is done

It was probably best that you didn't visit us for the long weekend.  The weather wasn't exactly welcoming what with rain and wind.  We did have two visitors, the natural types who didn't care so much about the weather.

We have been trying to get some small things done in preparation for the next BIG job, that of doing the ceiling of the vaulted roof.  We both did some painting, although I did the easier job of the loft while Len took to perching on the scaffold.

Len painted the upper areas on both sides of the great room

I felt safer with the floor of the loft below me

 Once all the painting of the main level was done (ta da!) Len put up some lighting fixtures and fiddled about getting them to come on and off with the flick of a switch.  He also added some dimmer switches to the kitchen pot lights.

Putting up one of 4 lighting fixtures

Another little job - the door bell is ready for ringing

I have taken a few days off work and so will be available to do more priming and painting - this time in the basement with a new colour.

Lights in the basement in preparation for more painting 

To get ready for the main event, we brought in a pile of wood.  The living room just doesn't seem right without a pile of wood!  This fir is for the ceiling, so I am off to town to get some more rollers, brushes and varnish.

This is about 16% of the total to be hauled in and finished and put up

Stay tuned for major VP (visual progress)
Cath

A loft is born

Well it took all day but I finished the loft floor.  It gets a little tricky as you get to the end.  There is no room to beat on the planks.  I was running out of varethane but just had enough for all the edge finishing pieces. Kyla would be proud as she gave me that varethane at least 10 years ago.

So now we are going to paint the walls up there and I will finish the little bit of mudding on a couple of joints at the top.  We are excited and anxious to put the carpet in place so we can move our insruments out of the way.

This is going to be a great space for jamming and practicing.  Tomorrow I will put on the trim as it should be dry by then.

By the way I got to the 7th coat on the island and ran out of varethane.

Len

One man's ceiling is another man's floor

Second day of loft flooring and better progress was had. We now have a ceiling in the office and ready to start the flooring over to the front entrance.

Office ceiling

Of course the center section didn't require much cutting but did need some manual straightening.

Tomorrow I should finish the last area.  The real time consumer is the two coats of varethane which I stagger so there are always four pieces dry and ready to go.  I also have four boards with a fresh second coat and four with a fresh first coat.  I had to plane down the edge of one of the timbers as it had twisted enough to be out of level and was causing a lump in the floor.  No big issues tomorrow I hope.

The strainer for the sink arrived as well as the last drawer bits so I will be at that after the flooring is completed.

Len

The loft is getting a floor

Started the day off with a lot of sanding to remove the old finish on the island top with a plan to put coats of varethane on as I did the floor boards.

Three coats so far, 17 to go.

The floor is started and looks good so far.  A lot of twisted lumber so this is going to take a while.

Still a little scary up here but soon it will be easier

Boards ready to go

Day one and I am up to the stairs

The bathroom has a ceiling

The finished oven unit with vents

Still waiting for a couple of drawer bits from Lee Valley

And that was it for today

Len