3 hours 3 pieces

My helper, Kyla has left after great progress on the garage loft drywall.  I spent the whole next day finishing up with lots of screws and fiddly bits.

Bit of a mess but finished

Before Kyla left we did a bit on the stairwell where two bodies were better than one. We constructed a platform which works quite well.  I'll keep the pieces for later when I mud and paint the high parts.

The platform from underneath

Placing some backing for the drywall

I'm not the only one moving fast around here

Cutting for stairwell, notice the very handy head lamp

Ladders 'R us

One pile of drywall finished

A new pile shows up

So I am tackling the hardest pieces on my own. This means getting creative with the lift.  It doesn't really fit in the narrow stairway so I have to fold up the legs. This makes it very unstable. Solution: tie the legs through the floor. This worked quite well all in all.

Tight spaces

The fix

Up she goes for the ceiling

A good fit, now screw the dickens out of it

The finished product.

Just have a couple of pieces to put on at the top of the stairs and then tomorrow I will do the garage/house wall. This is a code issue as well. Then, yes you heard it hear first, I am going to start the flooring. A bit more leveling and paper to put down but I am ready to go.

Angles of drywall

This weekend Len and Kyla put their heads together to figure out all the various angles of the walls and ceiling in the garage loft.  Who designed this place anyway?

It was great to have Kyla to hold, lift and cut.

Angles and beams

In the bathroom

Fun and games

Meanwhile I got the master bath painted and tried out a new colour for the interior doors.

The master bath "cut-in"

New improved colour for the doors

We also took time to enjoy a couple of meals together and we watched a couple of movies and went for nice long doggie walks.

Waiting patiently - can we go walkies now?

I am off to Cranbrook  and Vancouver tomorrow and Kyla will be headed home, so Len and Banjo will be on their own until Friday evening.  I am hoping to see flooring started before I get back.  We'll see how long the drywall in the stairwell takes - it could be a long job without any help.

Happy Anniversary  (yesterday now) Mom and Dad!

Cath

Been there, done that

Yikes!  Have I gone back in time? Seems to me that we did drywall a long time ago now.  Len is right back at it, this time up in the garage loft.   It has to be in before we can get our final inspection.  We carried up 20 sheets to get him started.

Using the lift means I don't have to help much

First of 50 sheets up

Len is hoping to get the ceiling mostly done before Kyla comes up on Saturday.  The plan is to finish getting the board up while she is here.  She is the drywall queen!  Unlike me .... I hate lifting the stuff!
Cath

Soapstone counters AND sink AND tile

So last night after I finished the blog, I casually said, "it's not too late, let's do the tile too".  So we did.  And then today it got grout and the sink got put in and my oh my, the kitchen is....done!  Except for a floor.  And the under counter lighting.  And a bit of trim.  Ok, so it's not totally done, but close enough.

Tiling queen and her tiara of light

The finished tile and the beautiful stone

My personal favourite piece

You can see the blues and yellows that set off the cabinets so nicely

Sink in place with new faucet

It will be a shame to clutter up these countertops

All that thinking and dreaming actually came to be

Amazing if I don't say so myself.
Cath

Soapstone Counters part two

Sunday we put the counters into place, several times actually, to make sure everything fit.  I did another sanding before we actually set them into place for the last time.  Len cut grooves on the inside joints for the epoxy to really get in there.  Then we set them in place on a bead of silicone.  Then we mixed up the epoxy and black tint and applied it to all the joints.  When all was said and done it looked kind of terrible.  Len assured me that it would look good in the end.

Slots for epoxy

Clampage

We mixed black tint with the epoxy

Epoxy applied to the edges

Looks bad now but wait for it

Getting the seam just right

 Monday am Len started sanding, first with 80 grit, then 120 and finally 220.  The result is really nice.

After all the sanding is done but not oiled yet

Next he fitted the back molding and made a 45 degree cut for the corner.  Then more preparationto protect the counter and then we used silicone and epoxy to set the molding.

A small adjustment to the molding

Tape on the edge

More tape on the ends so the epoxy doesn't make such a mess

Mixing more epoxy

Epoxy mess

The corner put together

Now we wait overnight for the epoxy to harden before we can go any further.  Stay tuned.


Cath

Soapstone Counter part one

On Friday, Len got the small railing done as far as he can go before the floor is in.

Small railing started

Len's patented rail attachment system

Ready to roll

 Remember my comments about the drywall?  Well, here are your pictures.

1/2 in each load

The pile in the living room

Saturday I decided to get the blinds put up in our bedroom

I got all four done "all by myself"

 Meanwhile, the main project of the weekend, the soapstone countertops, was underway.  We had two large pieces of rock to be cut into the various parts of the counter.

Careful measuring - we want to get this right

Using a special blade makes it pretty easy

Much soapstone dust

 After the pieces were of a size to be carried, Len took them outside to cut

Less dust this way

 Then came many hours of sanding - using our orbital sander

 Then it was time to remove the classy plywood counters and everything on them so that the stone could be fitted.

The last look at the plywood counter - good riddance!

One of the smaller pieces being fitted

 When it came to cutting the very smallest pieces - the back molding - Len used the table saw and got a nice straight cut that way

A piece ready to go

Putting an angle on the back molding

Len finished off each piece by sanding it smooth

 For the front edge of the counter, we decided to try the router and it worked fine.

Putting an angle on the front apron

Pieces that were too large to take out were routered in the house.

Tomorrow we should be able to show you the whole kitchen in place.  Then a final fine sanding, cleaning and oiling.  The soapstone turns a lovely dark colour with all the veins standing out beautifully.