Mudding & Taping

Jonathan & his dad hung drywall on two bedroom walls, in the laundry room, and in the spot where the big square whole-house fan used to be on the ceiling. 

Terrible cork board:

Did not come off very well...

Drywall off:

Insulation in:

Jonathan's dad has hung a lot of drywall in his day, but he (and several other people) suggested that we get a pro to do the mudding and taping. "It's an art," everyone says. We still wouldn't dispute that, but when the guy told us that it would be $850 to do our two walls of mudding & taping (plus some cracks and the entry way), we suddenly thought that maybe we could do it after all. After two days of thin coats and sanding, things are looking good.

Window!

Remember this window?

Thanks, father-in-law!! At this stage we sort of wished for a massive picture window.

But our bargain window from H4H also looks great. It was various inches narrower/taller than the old window, but we had a master carpenter on hand. He's the one in gray.

Like a Puff of Smoke

A few days ago our 3-year old commented that he needed a sword to "fight bad guys and those people who smoke in our house."  Yeah, we complain about the smoke smell a lot. We assured him that, thankfully, no one smokes there anymore.

And this week, thanks to wiping down every surface with a special smoke remediation chemical, things are smelling better!

It took forever, but it was a satisfying job because the liquid coming off the wall was coffee colored. These aren't the clearest pictures, but you can still see the line between the smoky section and the cleaned section.

Kids at Work, Kids at Play

Jonathan's semester is over and the house has become a priority! Equally great is that his parents have been here this week, and they are skilled workers.

Speaking of skilled workers...

Scrubbing vents!

Removing outlet covers! (Jonathan assures me that this was safer than it looks)

All three kids like to bike through the house. We haven't mentioned that this won't be happening for long...

House-warming hammock from Grandpa & Grandma!

We have 5-gallon buckets everywhere at the house. They are good for a multitude of tasks, including this one...

And this one (swimming hammerhead shark courtesy of Grandma)

Work break with Grandpa & Grandma and Aunt Dolores.