What does the above picture have to do with my house? Nothing. Nothing at all… but the Cats have rewarded my year of hard work with the absolute most surprising and one of the most exciting March Madness’s of my lifetime. On the eve of the Final Four, I must say how happy I am that the first March Madness I watched in my house was a great one, and the amount of screaming, jumping, cussing, and celebrating that has taken place in my basement in the last two weeks will never be forgotten. So far, no noise complaints from the neighbors. When I am not working at the house… I am refreshing http://www.kentuckysportsradio.com and watching this over and over on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pmdy8peVVU). GO CATS!!!!
Things at the house are moving along; completion feels within reach as the list of large tasks dwindles, leaving only small ones. Last Sunday- which was the day UK beat Michigan to go to the Final four (this is how I date things now)- my dad applied the grout to his tile work in the shower:
Also on the day that the Cats defeated Michigan, my dad and I kept moving on the floor in the back bedroom.
A few nights later, we went back and finished the rest of the room. Nothing makes a room feel more complete than finishing laying the wood floor. It instantly goes from “construction zone” to “needs finishing touches.
One night this week after work, I did my first bit of floor laying on my own with zero supervision from my dad- sadly, this made me feel more like a man, even if it was just the back bedroom closet.
Pushing forward, we painted the cabinet and doors for the window seat and reinstalled the doors.
The cabinet needs the finishing trim put around the edges and the top installed. The left closet door will hopefully be painted by my mom this weekend. Not much work stands between this part of the room and completion. With the floor done, this room is so close to being finished, as most of what remains to be done is the adding of crown molding and baseboards.
As I told my dad last night, the back bedroom may be my favorite room in the house as far as how the vision came to life. This is ironic considering it was so much less expensive and so much less work than other rooms, such as the kitchen, but this room turned out exactly as I pictured it my mind. If you read the earlier post about me building the closets out of cardboard boxes, it has been nothing short of exciting to see them come to life. My overall goal was to use this room to add built-in character to the house. I couldn’t be much happier with the before and after effect of this portion of the project.
On a whim last night, I decided to take on the relatively minor project of converting the hall closet from a storage closet into a coat closet. I cannot recall if I have posted any pictures of the closet as it was previously, but it may be too late for that now. It original had four wooden shelves. Last night, I out three of the shelves and the ledges that supported them, leaving only the top shelf which will stay. I anticipate this will be a simple process of patching holes, painting, adding floor, and adding a cross bar. We shall see.
Where are we at moving forward? The kitchen is done except for woodwork. The front bedroom is done except for woodwork. The bathroom is done except for installing the fixtures, which should hopefully take place this weekend, as well as woodwork. The back bedroom is done except for painting a door, putting a top on the window seat, and woodwork. Are you noticing that we have a lot of woodwork to come in the next few weeks? This brings my focus back to the last remaining room in the house to conquer: the living room. At this point, the work is almost systematic. Step 1 is the part I’m least enthused about – bringing the drywall tools out of hibernation and repairing the walls. Step 2 is something I’ve come to enjoy – laying the floor. Step 3 will be adding the built-in bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace. Step 4 will be painting. Step 5 will be the inevitable woodwork process. That’s it. Five clear steps, and the last significant room on the first floor will be finished. Laying the floor should be quick and relatively simple. Painting will take a matter of hours. I have been assured that the book cases will be a one-weekend project. What remains to be done is so very manageable…. I just have to get the drywall portion behind me, which hopefully I can bribe my brother into knocking out quickly. To prepare for the return of the drywall dust, which proves to spread everywhere like a zombie apocalypse, we have blocked off the “finished” portion of the house with some engineering that would make Dexter proud (http://images.buddytv.com/articles/t10_dexter_508_1263.jpg).
As the attention turns there, these are the last “before” pictures you will see of the living room:
I look forward to bringing you in the after pictures in a few weeks (fingers crossed). In the mean time………. GO CATS.
This Somewhat Old House 
I don’t know about the “more of a man” reflection but Kyle proved to be a good student and did a very nice job with laying the hardwood in the back bedroom closet. Everything was cut to a good fit and laid straight without gaps between individual boards. He definitely picked up on the “tricks of the trade”. It is amazing how much one learns by listening more and talking less. Learning to listen was probably a bigger achievement than learning the flooring methodology. 😉
OUCH!