Quick update on progress: The bedroom ceiling is primed. The bedroom walls have been sanded, small holes filled and sanded again, swept and washed to remove any remaining grit or dust, and two coats of sealer applied. The remainder of the casita walls have been patched, the tile backsplash in the kitchen is done, the bathroom window installed, work continues on the wall tiles in the bathroom, and the drywall ceiling has been taped, mudded, sanded and painted. Oh, and of a more critical nature, Ivan's been making slow but steady progress on the garage door.
[The garage is really the main priority because we HAVE to have it secure so we can store the bulk of our belongings in it when we move next week.]
What remains:
~ Bedroom ceiling and walls need to be painted (more on that in a bit).
~ Once the cement patches in the kitchen have set up well, those walls can be sanded and cleaned, then sealed and painted. Pretty sure the rainy, humid weather might delay this but not sure how much.
~ The bathroom wall tile needs to be finished and grouted.
~ Light fixtures need to be installed (after first being removed from where we're living now).
~ The garage door must be finished and fully installed. Also the two garage windows and security bars.
~ U-shaped wall has to be built on top of casita to store the new water tank we still have to buy.
~ Still waiting on the final gas line inspection (more on that in a bit, too).
~ I need another 12-15 boxes so I can finish packing.
Now, for those promised bits....
On the way home Tuesday evening I asked Ivan what he was going to do about the considerable gaps between the ceiling and wall on two sides of the bedroom that provide a perfect haven for all manner of spiders. He said he'd talked to a few people about the problem and had decided to have Guillermo go ahead and plaster over them. Well, I have no desire to spend time painting the walls a nice bright white only to have them later boogered up with cement splatters so I asked if he couldn't go ahead and have Guillermo do that right away and I'd hold off on painting.
So yesterday Guillermo made it a lot harder for those spiders to inhabit the space I'll be inhabiting in a few days.
I'm very glad to have that handled.
VERY GLAD.
You have no idea how glad!
But it does mean my painting schedule has been blown to smithereens.
Because now we have to wait a day (at least) for the cement to set up.
And with the rainy, humid weather? Might take a couple days.
We shall see.
I'm making good use of the time back at the rental house to start some deep cleaning. Yesterday I tackled the dining room windows. Only managed to get 5 of the 9 windows done, but considering how big they are (they start about 18" off the floor and go up to the ceiling, and range from 2' to over 3' wide) and the difficulty posed by the exterior security bars, I'm okay with my progress. The remaining four windows will be easier since they're sliders and can be removed from their tracks. But they're also too heavy for me to lift in and out by myself, so they'll wait until Ivan is around to help.
I can, however, easily lift the much smaller bedroom windows out, so the plan for today is to clean all of those. And maybe the kitchen and living room windows as well.
As far as the final gas line inspection... You just never know what will happen, do you? In this case, it's very sad. Last Thursday the woman we've been working with, a liaison with the gas company who does the necessary drawings and files the paperwork, came by in the morning and told Ivan she'd be filing the paperwork on Monday so we'd have the inspection by Wednesday or Thursday this week. But then she stopped by again this Tuesday to let Ivan know that last Thursday afternoon her husband had suddenly passed away! She told Ivan things are "starting" to get back to normal, but she didn't indicate when she'd get around to filing our paperwork. We feel sad for her. And now I feel sad for us too. I'd really hoped we'd have the gas hooked up before we moved, since I'm rather partial to hot showers and such. But what can you do? The poor woman just lost her husband, so it's not like we can expect her to worry about our final gas line inspection.
Es lo que hay.
Between the rain and this, I'm not sure how ready our little casita will be, but this time next week we'll be moving into it, si o si! And even though I've never been a fan of camping, I'm hoping that glamping might be a bit more fun.
4 comments:
Oh boy... This is quite a list of things to deal with, but you're getting there! I hope glamping goes well, but is short!
Ugh - I'm exhausted reading this! Here's hoping that things go smoothly this coming week!
Your painting schedule and practice sounds like a combination of Mother's routine combined with that of Italian 'artisti'-- a little bit of OCD with a good dose of 'al fresco'. Now you need to combine a little bit of filigree, and you'll have your own brand of wall painting. Of course I'm jesting, but it would be original--and I admire you for your energy. As for the pace of things, it seems that even with all the advances, speed has not been one of the improvements that have come about. But I'm not sure that is all bad.
We just survived camping in the rain last night. Thought about your imminent move as we were riding home.
What is 'glamping'?
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