The 'rents came down this weekend. Mom bought me the taxadermed animal I wanted so badly.


Cement board, tile saw, sealer...


The media room has a long way to go. But Justin's gaming chair has found a good home.


The chandelier aglow.


Upstairs bathroom preparations. Copper green on the studs, plywood on the studs, roofing felt on the plywood, cement board on the felt, tile on the cement board.


For this one I'm going with some 16x24 travertine pieces. The lighter color is key for not making the tub look freakishly out of place.

Bobby called to chat me up and managed to suggest moving the tv to the east wall to better accommodate passengers of the media room thrillride. Coincidentally - or not - when I returned from work I found the room arranged as such. Oh well, in the words of Franco, 'give the people what they want.'

The couch is now elevated in a mock up of what could become stadium seating (with a real couch). Wires are all over the place since I finished splicing audio to coax way past my bed time. It's all for the surround though, most lines are now going through the crawlspace. They pop out a little under the tv, but will soon be obscured with a duct or behind tiles. The various electronics are now in the recess under the stairs, next up is arranging them elegantly.

And soon I'll be grabbing a few boxes of these, painting them matte grey or black, and darkening/deafening the walls.


I'm interested to hear SFS's second opinion on the bathroom door. Most people go to another person for a second opinion. I've found I can get a different viewpoint from him by asking the same question a second time. His first response invariably describes his own style/renovation.

Chris	What do you think of skylights versus solar tubes?
		Big glowing wall! 3form4lyf.		SFS
	Does that really say 'oceanside mountain home' to you?
		No, but that's what I'm getting, it's kewwwwl.
	Should I get a grey slate or a green slate for the shower?
		River rocks in a concrete matrix!
	Huh? I'm not sure that really goes with my...
		True. Grey slate. I decided on the floor for my bathroom, river rocks in a concrete matrix.
Chris	I wouldn't have guessed.

So I'm interested in what he'd think of a single slider as it carries the benefit of a pocket door without the feeling of being in some sort of mass transportation vessel. It's also good to know he doesn't lock the door when he's laying cable.
That said, I was at SFS House this weekend and it is the illest.

I threw up a surf rack and a hanging device for the neoprene. The garage is slowly becoming more spacious.


On the clipboard right now is an order form for window coverings. I'm leaning toward wood blinds or cellular shades. Should I go with the former, I'll have to decide between stained wood to match the floors or bright white to match the window trim and baseboards. I created another mindblowingly photorealistic mockup of what either might look like.
Please chime in if you have an opinion.

I ordered a chandelier for the entryway or above the stairs. The criteria was low-key, no faux candles or faux crystals, and no single pieces that are bent more than a few degrees.


One subject of contemplation is door choice for the upstairs bathroom. It used to have a pocket door, great for space but I always found them difficult. Chances are I'll put a regular door in, but I'm considering a slider with some translucent material inset in a wood frame.


So the rest of the bathroom is empty. Cement board, tile, vanity, shower door...


I picked up a Panasonic bathroom fan from Dixieline. It's quiet* and all, but the main perk is that it's not crazy ugly. Most are. They're all plastic, some are huge, others drop several inches down from the ceiling. The worst offense of all is having the ugly yellow, plastic light. The last fan tucked under the joist, no such luck here. I had to relocate it a couple inches so there's a bit of ceiling repair to do.

It wasn't too tough to install, though I had to extend the electrical and fuss about getting the pipe through the wall.

* Maybe too quiet.


It has been noted that I haven't posted photos of the shower with fixtures. Now I have. Bronze finish is looking good for some, if not all of the house. In fact, Jon installed door handles on Saturday.

Floors are in for the dining room, living room, and entryway. Now to find me a bearskin rug and moose head.


The floors went together pretty quickly and easily. The most significant time was spent aligning the first row of boards, as they would determine the orientation of the entire floor. Then it was a matter of tapping and nailing them together.

It went pretty fast yesterday with me picking and setting the planks, then Jon nailing them and sinking the finishing screws. Then today Curt helped out and we got the rest done.

I tried the other angle and Jon found a football. And then a 2x4. The conflict started with sponges and quickly escalated.




Victors of poker were Jon and Rob.


Dave:

Floors and beer? I happen to be an expert at one of those. Tune in this weekend to find out which.

Please tell me Renault will bring these to the States.


It's quite eccentric, but from the company that marketed the original mr v6 in a hatch the Megane could be a sharp touring car.

characers: jon, dave, rob

The flooring has begun. I don't have any shots other than the above.

However, rest assured Jon and Dave have it down to a science. The hallway leading to the master bedroom is done. We'll probably cover a lot of ground tomorrow, so to speak.

Bobby mowed down the remaining junipers, I sealed and tested the shower, and everyone plus Connie finished the fireplace.


And we managed to squeeze in some cards/Chop Stix/boba...


... and a little pool shenanigans.

Turning the corner gracefully on the hallway floor proved challenging. So we knocked off the entryway area pretty quick (two or three hours). It went well with Jon on the nail gun, Curt on precision sawing, and Connie and Krista picking planks. The ledge into the living room is being obstacular, the remaining gap is just larger than the width of the nosing.


But yeah, it's nice.

Busy days and nights. The beams have been verathaned. The shower and fireplace are nearing completion. Tomorrow will be a foray into flooring. This weekend will feature some prodigious laying of hardwood.


The shower's looking pretty good. Fixtures will be bronze. As we went along, I picked up on the following:

• Different size tile comes in different thickness
• Keeping to a single size as much as possible makes life easier because of the first bullet and because 2' != 1' + 1' because of grout.
• The 2' squares are awesome.
• To finish the grout, go over it a couple times with the rough side of a two-surface sponge. Then do the smooth side, it works nice.

Next up is touching up the grout and then sealing it. And to decide on a door. Probably simple clear glass; as few surfaces as possible.