Monday, August 31, 2009

Getting There

It is taking so long to paint. I'm having to do three coats with the dark color. Going to start putting down the flooring today. It's bamboo.




Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Stairs

Took the stairs out of the apartment yesterday to get them ready to sand blast and paint. I haven't used my sand blaster in over a year. To start with we have a small wasp here that lays an egg and fills in every hole it finds. After getting the air compressor and sand blaster set up I had to clean all of the ports including the 3/4" air hose from the compressor. By now it's after lunch and 100 degrees. When I finally start blasting the stairs the clouds roll in and it starts to rain. It only rained for about twenty minutes but it took another hour for the stairs to dry enough for me to blast them again. I attempted to film what I see when I sand blast but it didn't turn out like I had hoped. So I just took a few pictures. I might sand blast something tomorrow so I can film it. I did manage to get them painted. Now I'm thinking I'll have a lot to touch up by the time I get them installed back in the apartment. I had hoped to have the wall behind the stairs covered with metal today. The best I could do is get the holes drilled in the sheets. In case I've never talked about that it's how you get the screws to line up and look nice. Plan for tomorrow is to get the stairs back in the apartment.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Getting Closer

Texture is done. Or the lack of it. I went with a smooth finish. Won't know how good it is until I paint the walls this week. I also started installing the metal on the garage walls. Everything is going well. The utility company even showed up Friday afternoon and trenched for the electric service. Hope to have power on Monday.








Thursday, August 13, 2009

Sheet Rock!



In less than one day the sheet rock is in. Next is tape and texture. That might be tomorrow. Then I can paint. Which means I have to decide on a color(s). Really would be nice if the electricity was in soon so I can get the air conditioner going.


Saturday, August 8, 2009

Spray Foam



Pro-Tight installed the spray foam this week. They started off covering everything that you wouldn't want foam on. Covering outlets is easier than digging it out later. The two components used to make the foam are heated as they are sprayed and give off that heat when they expand. It gets so hot the guys take turn spraying. They started spraying around 7:00 am and would switch out every 45 minutes. By noon they only lasted about 10 minutes. While the insulation keeps out the heat of the sun bearing down on the roof. It also kept the heat in that was generated from the process of spraying the foam. The ventilation fan was the only way to get fresh air upstairs. While spray foam is relatively inert it has it's hazards while it is being sprayed. The vapor accumulated in the apartment and caused symptoms similar to getting the chemicals in my eyes. Those symptoms include "corneal opacity" or blurred vision. It reminds me of swimming in a chlorinated pool. It doesn't hurt and I didn't realize it was happening. Should go away in a few days. They normally don't spray in an area as air tight as this apartment, but it has happened to them before. And it affected all of us. It is something that regular eye protection wouldn't protect you from. If you ever get the opportunity to watch the process make sure you wear goggles.

I'm getting bids to sheet rock this week. And still waiting on the local CO-OP to install the electricity. With 1800 ft. of water line to trench I have plenty to keep me busy.