Merry Freakin' Winter

Outside the bank in Victor...it was fun...

OK so winter just won't let up! Yesterday was rainy with hail and quite cold. Luckily we spent most of the day working in the shop getting ready for a day working in Victor. Today we were working in Victor at the bank. I thought it would be cold with rain off and on...basicly kind of crappy. But instead we had snow...wet...blowing snow.

This job has been a bit of a pain. Some things have gone well, and others seem to drag on. Today we were working on trimming out with break-metal, which each piece is custom and a pain. So we didn't seem to make much headway.

An interesting thing about this job is that it is the same bank and basicly identical to the one I did in Jackson when I worked with Cherry Glass (Here's a link to that post in 2006). The design on this one bypasses problems that we faced on the one in Jackson...so that has been nice. Also the contractor has a lift for us to use on this one whereas the Jackson bank was all off of scaffolding.

I haven't abandoned the project

Copyright 2008 - Tyler Hopkins

I have not completly given up on photography. Just slowed down A LOT. As I said earlier, we have been very busy with the house and so that has been forefront on our minds.

Copyright 2008 - Tyler Hopkins

However last Sunday I had a nice break and was able to relax with Jess and the kids. While hanging out around the house, TJ was playing with his prosthetic and putting it on himself (without the liner) and waking with it...ok so he would step right out of it. He is also starting to walk just on his stump...it looks just a little odd when he walks that way.

Copyright 2008 - Tyler Hopkins

He really is very animated. In the morning I hear chairs and the bench scooting accross the floor, and I know he is getting up on the counter (more often than not he does this without his foot on yet). There is no stopping that little boy.

Copyright 2008 - Tyler Hopkins

Yesterday we went to the park and he still has a little difficulty walking on uneven ground. It throws him a little off ballance. So walking on grass and gravel will take a little practice. He will get it this summer when we go out camping.

Copyright 2008 - Tyler Hopkins

Long day...ok...Long week(s)

I was pretty proud of this (I have never done tile before), So I'm posting 2 photos...most likely with more to come.

I did this with photomerge...very rough.

If you couldn't tell, working on the house has been forefront on my mind. Lately the project on the house I have been busy with is tiling the master bath. I think I started about 3 or 4 weeks ago... at least... on the floor. That wasn't too tough, but once I got into working on the shower it was another story.

I think it turned out pretty good, it will be nice to get the grout and shower door done.

Making the slope to the drain, then the pvc pan (to make sure that my floor does not leak in case my grout does), another layer of cement to lay the tile on, and then finding tile that went with the floor tile that we had. We had a hard time deciding on how to lay it out. Once we had an idea and had the tile, it seemed like I could never get over to the house for a long enough time to get much done. I got the shower floor and some of the walls done last Friday, but then it just seemed to sit there with no progress. Today I wanted to get it out of the way, and so spent nearly all day there. I am happy to say that all the pieces are set and will be ready for grout in a day or two. I want it to set up really well, and then I need to clean out all the joints, grout, clean (again) and seal.

After that I can move on to something else in the house...like the laminate wood floor, window sills, doors and hardware, touch-up paint, trim, mirrors...Fun for me!

I really like the newel post and balusters we went with.

Our stairway railing got built this last week. We really like how it turned out. We still have some finish sanding to do on it and one more coat of lacquer. We have the window sills to do next, they will be of the same wood and finish. I am excited to see them done too. We had a guy in my ward install the railing...in fact our architect & electrician are in our ward too.

The counter tops also got completed this week. We had to get the sinks on site so the cutouts could be made. Our plumber gave us a sweet deal on this granite(ish) kitchen sink. It is a composite that looks and feels like granite. He sold it to us for the cost of a stainless steel sink. I think that we are able to do little things that are giving our house a distinct character and style. I hope it doesn't become too eclectic...I think that I have been able to maintain a consistent design.

Cabinets and counter tops are finished.

In some of the design Jess and I have made compromises. I let her get less expensive faucets throughout the house that still look nice (which saved us around $500), and she is letting me buy tile to finish the shower and tub deck. The wall tile we got for free doesn't really match the floor tile we put in. So I had a modest budget to buy something that compliments the floor better. So I have been working on getting the shower pan sloped and sealed, then I can start working in there again.

Shower floor ready for mortar and tile

I have got to say that this has been an adventure. I have never done much of what I am doing on this house. I have never laid tile and I think I did OK, I am however nervous about the wall tile. I am glad that we hired subcontractors for what we have. We would not be nearly as far along if we had tried to do a lot more ourselves. The hole was dug on December 12, 2007...we are almost at the four-month mark, and very close to done. Maybe by the end of the month we will be.