Almost there

This week we hit three of important milestones. First, Mr. Dr. and Our Good Friend J took down the door frame on the second floor landing. If you remember, this frame, and the plaster "wall" was actually blocking the view to the first floor. So, now, from the third floor you can see all the way down to the bottom.

BEFORE:



AFTER:There's some wall work we have to do and we'll have to figure something out for that rail along the stairwell wall. And, we discovered that the parquet floor on the second floor landing was installed over rug. Rug that had been soiled by cat pee. Nonetheless, it's nice to have the sun shining through to the first floor. We couldn't have done without Our Good Friend J.

The second important accomplishment happened in the bedroom. The painter put skim coat on all of the walls, painted the ceiling, the trim and just needs to put one more coat on the walls and he'll be done. After that, he'll start on the parlor. We'll probably have to pay him for one extra day, but better that than have half painted walls. I'll put up pics next week when it's done. So far, it looks excellent. Our painter is a real artist. He painted straight lines along the walls and ceilings without the use of painter's tape.

The best bit of news comes from the parlor. The contractor has finished the floor in the parlor. And it is beautiful.

So, here's something interesting we've learned. We have been very careful to buy low VOC paints because of my asthma. However, there really isn't such a thing as low VOC wood stain or polyurethane. And since I work from home two days a week, and most mornings, you can imagine how difficult it was to work when there is staining and polyurethaning happening directly below you. However, never let it be known that a little bit of vapors ever stopped me from grading.
Let me tell you, those fumes get everywhere. We (the contractor and team included) had headaches all week long. It also took 5 hours to clean all of the dust that was created by the sanding. But take a look at those floors. Aren't they beautiful.

We are hoping that by this time next week, I'll be able to report that we are back in our bedroom and that the parlor is 95% complete. The contractor and team started sanding and staining the moulding, trim, and parlor door (in the basement). We're not sure when the window trim is going to be finished. That might take another half week. But, the parlor should be painted. We do need to buy new light fixtures, which we are hoping to do next weekend.

In other news, Mr. Dr. finished the second chapter in his book and I finished the final chapters on the dissertation. We went to see Coraline to celebrate that and Valentine's day. Great movie. Highly recommend it. Except for my niece, the Banana, who needs to read the book first.