Author: shacker

Up at crack of dawn to apply acrylic to floors this morning and tomorrow, and after work as well. All told there will be three thin and three thick coats. On way back home this morning, car started to sputter and choke, running on three cylinders. Mechanic can’t take it till tomorrow. Amy tried to rent a car, they brought it over, but it wouldn’t accomodate the baby seat. Borrowed neighbor’s car instead. Will and Sage blow back into town and as quickly back out. Marina had her twins today – Abigail and Claire — not sure yet whether they’re identical. We reserved a moving truck three weeks ago for this Saturday’s move. Today called to confirm it and they had had no record (despite our confirmation #). More digging, turns out the central office at Budget has promised the same truck to seven people, but doesn’t even know where the truck is — they have to call everyone and tell them their weekend moves are flummoxed. Found another truck locally, just in time. Amy and I both have caught Miles’ head cold – he’s a regular snot factory the last three days. And his front teeth are coming in, so he’s double whammied. Preparing to move birdhouse hosting to a temporary network during the move (expect some downtime Thursday night). Got the news yesterday that in addition to the crack house up the street that’s been making neighborhood life crummy the past few months, we now have actual machine gun violence a few blocks away — getting out just in the nick of time. Read today that according to the EPA, 40% of the nation’s waterways are unfit for fishing, swimming, etc. G5s are out.

Floors after three days of sanding, then after a couple coats of clear acrylic. Wish I had taken a “before” shot.

Day three sanding floors. So many layers to this job. Belt sander. Orbital edge sander. Vibrating edge sander. Hand blocks. Three grits of sandpaper for each — 60, 100, 120. Difficult corners. Putty. Emptying sawdust catch bags laden with varnish-saturated dust. Eyes puffy and irritated this morning. Endless trips to hardware store and rental place for fuses, sandpaper, tarps, tape, snacks for friends who drop by to help, back to house for forgotten tools.

But there’s something just right about tackling a huge project the minute escrow closes — sweat equity goes right in (literally — drops of sweat will be entombed forever in the raw floors tomorrow when acrylic goes on). Becoming familiar with every nook and cranny, eye-to-eye with cobwebs, glitches, anomalies.

The closets were the real test. The belt sander won’t fit. But the bag on the orbital doesn’t seal properly, and tends to fall off if knocked sideways, which happens frequently in the small confines. When the bag pops off, the powerful blower throws plumes of sawdust in your face. You recoil, letting go, and the unit spins like a helicopter blade, wrapping its cord around itself. The room fills with dust and smoke. Cuss. Regroup. Vacuum. Retie. Duct tape. Carry on. Our closet floors will look dynamite.

Chris, Andrew, Mike, Roger, Paula, thanks all for your generous help these past few days. Like an old-fashioned barn raising, friends coming by to raise high the roofbeams.

Through the mask of sawdust, I am falling in love with the house we just bought, in an intimate way I don’t think I could if we had had the floors done professionally.

Amy and I retrieved the keys to our new house at 1pm, then spent the rest of the day bouncing off the walls, making lists, having ideas, trying to prioritize. Heating and plumbing guy came at 2pm and the first foible arose: to install forced air heating they need to get the heating appliance under the house, which requires a 20″x30″ opening. Our crawlspace entrances are too small and can’t be enlarged, so we’ll need to have a new one put in. And so the story begins. Tomorrow the big sanding job begins. Here’s to us!

This entry initially posted as audio from cell phone in the empty, echo-y house:

audblog audio post