Progress Report - Saturday was Big

After over three days of stripping wallpaper, work could proceed in the kitchen and elsewhere. That's Sal on the ladder. He and his crew spent all day Saturday taking out old lighting, installing recessed lights in several rooms, and doing drywall and texturing work. Sal is super nice to work with and does a great job at a reasonable price.

The same shot later in the day. Notice the hanging cabinet is no longer there above the bar.

Well, looks like I won't ever be running for president. Fernando, in front, had his ten year (?) old son helping all day with the drywall work. He was mixing mud, cleaning tools, and masking.

The next day - still rough, but wait until the cabinets are white with brushed nickel hardware, the walls are painted, the trim installed on the lights, the floor is done, and the granite goes in.

Sal hung these two chandeleirs in the living room. Home Depot's very own Hampton Bay, Alta Loma series. I think they add a strong, Tahoe feel.

The front bedroom is now the office.

The hallway also got new lighting. Well, I have been doing my best to stimulate the economy the past couple weeks. Tomorrow, it looks like some serious vacuuming is in order, and then I begin priming and painting the kitchen.

Where's Bob?

There he is! He's taking a sledge hammer to the kitchen tile. For three days he tortured his ears, breathed cement dust, scratched himself with broken tile, nails, and chicken wire. Why? The house is going on the market and an updated kitchen will pay back the cost five-fold, or so he's told.

What a mess! There is a fine layer of dust throughout the house now - not the usual furry kind, but gritty cement powder that defies vacuuming and sweeping.

Bob had company, too. Rocket and Nick stayed for the week. Nick had a job painting elsewhere. Below is Rocket on his favorite perch. From here he can see to the kitchen and down to the front door.

Rocket, doing his cat imitation.

Below, is the kitchen tonight, a scene of multi-tasking. It will be even more fun when he has to remove the sink tomorrow. Bob is now onto stripping wallpaper that has melded with the skim coat of drywall mud behind it. NEVER, I repeat, NEVER put up wallpaper!!! You or one of your survivors will pay dearly someday.

Plans call for granite counters and new sink, recessed lighting, cabinets professionally painted white with new hardware, new flooring, new counter depth refrigerator, and no wallpaper.

So poor Bob will not be hiking, doing night photography, consulting with Obama, or his other usual hobbies, although he will get some relief on bird rescue days. He is getting an education, though. To be continued.