Hey Bloggers, I figured I would give you all a little progress report as there hasn't been an entry here for a while.

With work, and play, and all things in between, the progress at 318 has been slow to say the least. But, progress is steady. and with my perpetual nagging and some new found inspiration on Nick's part we have gotten this rock to roll (at least a little, for now).

I know I know. you're saying "that's nice dom, now WHERE ARE THE PICTURES...??!!??" and to that I say. "Hold on.... their coming." Jeeez, be patient.

Today was big for us because Nick actually put a layer of 'poly' in the back office. YAY! The sooner that office is done the sooner we can move our homeless boxes, and furniture in there and off the rest of the floor. And that my friends will allow us to poly the rest of the floor.

phew. it's getting there. but, so is the end of the year. I mean, c'mon... how long have we been at this? now... onto the pictures....


So, here is this floor in the dinning room. it's stripped, virgin, wood. OH, and top nailed. hmmmm... exciting. and beautiful. and hopefully next week it will be a beautiful 'antique american' color. hopefully.


The dimming of the day.


undoing what has been done.

So, I promise promise promise, that I will upload a picture of the back office floor, but due to the extreme lack of daylight I may not be able to take it until next week. okay? Promise? agreed.

Stay cheery.

-dom-
P.S. if you aren't cheery maybe some of the photos from the past two months will help.





Ah! someone killed my punkin'




. this orchid, has been in bloom for about two and a half months.... do you think something is wrong with it?

The Christmas cactus in full bloom

Deja Vu

Does this look familiar? We're back to where we were a few weeks ago and it has taken a lot of work to get there! Since I was the one who decided I couldn't live with the stain we had hastily put down, it was rightfully my responsibility (or punishment) to remove the stain from the floors. This consumed the majority of my weekend. I have managed to remove most of the stain with the handy random orbital sander, however I fear that "The Backbreaker" will be making a comeback sooner than expected, as the edging needs some more work before we can go any further.


While I was consumed with my self-punishment, Dom was free to work on some odds and ends. He did manage to tackle our leaky sink (with some guidance from my mom, who volunteered more of her time this weekend to help us out). After replacing some valves as well as the hand held sprayer (is there a technical name for this piece?), it seems as though the water is only coming out of the places it is supposed to come out of.


Another thank you to my mom for scrubbing the paint and random crap off of the exposed brick in the kitchen.


-Nick

The current state of things

This week was a rough one. Living in a state of chaos is certainly not how I (Nick) function. As Dom mentioned in his previous post, our belongings are finally under one roof. That was certainly a comfort at first. However, the plethora of stuff that we have somehow accumulated was in one unorganized mess that covered the entire first floor. This became increasingly frustrating as we were searching for work clothes at 6AM. Dom had to skip class on Monday because he couldn't find any of his text books.

This chaos was exasperated by the fact that the floors were in a state of suspension. We had managed to stain the back office, as well as the kitchen and dining room. Despite polite parental encouragement (which I think may have been more based off a fear of us losing our sanity than their actual opinions of our staining choices), we (mostly me and eventually, with enough whining, Dom too) decided that we didn't like how the stain was coming out. Therefore, we have decided to sand up what we have already stained and try again. This time, we plan to do it the right way, by getting several samples of different stains and seeing what they actually look like on our floors. Failing to do this is the reason we've created so much back tracking work in the first place.



I have to note that it is not that the stain and the wood did not come out beautiful. It is that it came out too red and too dark to match with the rest of the furniture as well as match with the look we have planned for the house. The dark tone also made the rooms seem small and cave-ish. I'm sure painting the walls would have made a difference as well, but regardless, I think we can do better and eventually be happier with the result.

Despite these frustrations, as well as some others involving a poorly maintained furnace and oil tank, a dishwasher that doesn't get enough water supply, and some plumping problems that have led to mold underneath the sink, we do have some positive things to report as well.

First, we purchased a new dining room table! Asia West, our favorite furniture store in Portland, had this beautiful piece.



It is a traditional French country table base with an antique elm table top. It epitomizes the look we are going for in the house (country, simple, but unique) and will certainly act as a centerpiece.

Other good news involves a steal! Dom's father thinks we should be ashamed of ourselves because of the deal we got on some appliances. We got a new (barely used) stainless steel Anamo bottom freezer fridge and an even newer Maytag Neptune washer and dryer set for $600 total. Thank you Craigslist and a bigger thank you to people gutting out ocean-front summer homes!

I spent an entire evening cleaning every inch of what would already be considered a spotlight fridge. I also polished the outside to shiny perfection. These things make me very happy. I have also never been so excited to do a load of laundry.



Above is Dom assembling the freezer drawer. It gives you a perspective of the size of the fridge, or the size of Dom.

As it is finally the weekend, we are able to dedicate some time to organizing our one big mess into little hidden messes that we can ignore for awhile. We are hoping to put a few sample stains down this evening and watch what happens over the week. Sanding up stain should be easier than sanding up poly and paint. It will all be worth it in the end.

On a final note, I have to repeat a few shout outs that Dom posted earlier, as well as add some emphasis on my own. Thank you to both sets of parents as well as our dear friend Sarah Kiely for lending us their vehicles and their muscles. I can't count how many loads it took us to get everything from Portland to Gorham. Special thanks in regards to the monstrous wine cellar. My Burgundy collection appreciates it! Also, special thanks to my mom for doing a number on our kitchen and the first floor windows. It looks incredible. See below!



Now that we are a bit more settled and connected to the internet again, we hope to be reporting more regularly as to our progress or lack thereof.

Cheers!

Nick

da-dun

da-dun

da-dun da-dun

da-dun da-dun da-dunda-dunda-dunda-dun.... it's sunday 11:35pm. do you know where you underwear is? (Cuz I don't!)

basically this is the state of things.
1. the floors are not done. well, kinda half done, but who cares because they are going to be redone.
2. we moved this past weekend. yes, full out MOVED! starting on saturday with Mrs. Grenier's giddy-yup at 8:30 am. and ending sunday at about 10pm with nick and dom moving in the couches. and as you see above there is a huge pile of our stuff in the living room. (again-- the floor is unfinished)
3. the slow process of putting EVERY thing into it's respectful room, and actually unpacking where possible. but we cant really unpack to set anything up too much because the floors all need to be sanded again. Buggah.... something tells me it isn't supposed to happen in this order.

OH!! shout out to all those who helped to move the third roommate. aka, Nick's wine fridge. John Grenier, and Dom Rozzi. thanks for that. Susan Rozzi and Sarah Kiely, and Browne Trading Co. for the use of their trucks. we couldn't have done it without you all!

dom

Not all rooms are created equal

After the ease of sanding the back room on the first floor (pictured above...my future office), we thought it would be smooth sailing through the living room, dining room, and into the kitchen. We learned today the hill only gets steeper.

The office posed little difficulty because the boards were wide, there was no poly layer to grind through, nor were their top nails posing a threat to the sander that needed to be pounded below the surface. The living room, however, came with all these challenges. Dom made good progress with the random orbital, though, as stellar as a tool as it is, it cannot get every stubborn spot of remaining poly. Enter the edger, or as the guys at Maine Hardware called it, The Back Breaker. After a day of using it, I can attest to the accuracy of its nickname. The only way to effectively use it is to bend over at a half squat and hover over the machine, all the while trying to tame it with every muscle in your body.

If it wasn't for the following results, I wouldn't subject my body to such treatment.


As I type, Dom is still working with the orbital on the dining room and kitchen. Both rooms have the added hurdle of heavy layers of poly, paint, and who knows what else that is taking an excessive amount of time to get through. The boards underneath have taken a beating as well, which will mean even more pain as I sweep through with the Back Breaker to do the detailing. - Nick

who said this was hard??

Not to blow my own horn or anything, but REALLY? I don't want to say that the past day has been easy, because it hasn't been. --the beach in 85 degrees with a cooler of mixers is easy!-- but maybe it's the marketing of companies that need your business that makes people believe that this home improvement stuff is beyond our meager capabilities.

last night, I had to make friends with the crawl space of the house. Nick and I are both a little afraid of the space. it's dirty, dark, there is leftover crap from past projects, not to mention the large white furry spiders that just hang there, and really the only way to get around is on your hands and knees. ugh. so, I had to go down to find a water lever so that I could shut off a water supply that once ran to the fridge that we just sold. when I found it I noticed that it was tied to a larger pipe. me being a novice shut the lever off. this morning, our toilet did not refill after the flush. huh. they tied the ice maker to the toilet. wonderful. so I had the pleasure of going back down to turn the lever back on. after two trips down I am now friends with the crawl space.

On a more exciting note; I have also become friends with a 4 head random orbital (sounds WAY more kinky than it really is) sander. I have successfully sanded the office on the first floor and i'm about 90 percent done with the living space. here are the pictures, see below!


This was where I started with the sanding today at 9am. Nick's office. I think it shows the shit brown very well on the floor. it's great.



Here you see the brown paint and the beautiful wood underneath it. I think it's cedar. It smells like cedar. but, i'm a novice. maybe it's pine? either way, it is going to be out of this world when it's finished.



This is about noon time today 9/19/09. You can see how this floor looked when I got to it. Nick had to sink all the nails down in order for me to do this. so while i was sanding his office he was hammering. we are a very effective team.



This was after the first pass on this floor. just around 2pm. the darker spots are what i thought was the floor boards, but NO it was another coat of POLY!! hmmmm why am I not surprised? this took a long time to work down to wood. i told nick that it was like trying to melt ice in the winter. LOTS of friction needed.



So here is how we rounded out our day. Elyse and Michelle came to bring us dinner (pizza, beer, and cookies) it may sound simple, but if you know these two you know that it is always homemade and delish! Yum. Elyse and Michelle also stayed and helped to do some sanding/edging and paint removal from some tiles in the dining room. AND don't think that we didn't get a few good photos of you. we will be posting them soon!

So lastly I need to mention the work that Nick has done. NIck has done some clean up on the floors and the edging for the entire first floor. (the machine for this is heavy, and you have to hold it and bend over with it, so that it doesn't stop moving). my back would not be able to do what he is doing. so I would be doing it by hand. the photos of this are coming, and we'll try to post them tomorrow. stay tuned.

Into the whee hours.

Last night, we finished scraping the entire first floor. Next on our agenda is to pound down any nails that have stuck out of the floor boards (there are many), and then sand away!

-Nick

OMG. Floors.

I think this pretty much covers the shit brown color that covers the floors and some of the walls. OH, and the kitchen tile.

progress in the kitchen.

a good view of the tile and some stripped wood around it. you and still see the shine on the brown floor here. (this was before we started tonight.

so, this is a picture of the piles of peeled paint, on the stripped floor. we have finished the kitchen/dining area. yay! and now we are on to the living room. (keep in mind this is all downstairs-- we haven't even started upstairs yet.


any thoughts out there about sanding? these floors are "top nailed" so we will have to sink all the nails a bit. then sand the shit out of the floor. I was really happy tonight though, because the floors in the living room are SO MUCH BETTER!!! I love the worn rustic look that is going to be the kitchen/dining room, but a more finished and clean looking floor will be better in the living room. okay well... time to brush up, and get to sleep. (the gym comes SO much earlier when you have to drive a half hour to get there!)

ciao!
dom

What brain cells?

We have discovered that the more toxic smelling the chemical is, the more effective it is.

-Nick

Stripping is harder than we thought

Our initiation to the world of homeowners couldn't be more exciting than our first major project, the floors! As this house was a foreclosure, we had no opportunity to talk with the previous owners about why they did some of the things they did. For instance, the wood floors and tile throughout the entire house are painted over with a dark brown. Portions have chipped off, revealing a mix of pumpkin orange and charred black/brown wood and gray tiles. It is like seeing a little tear in the wrapping of your Christmas present, except in this instance, the wrapping is super-glued to a present you're not even sure you are going to like.

Our first attempt at removing the paint involved a heat gun. We were encouraged when we found online advice recommending the use of heat guns as it would be a chemical-free way of tackling this problem. About 10 minutes into burning the paint as well as the floors underneath, we decided to scrap the idea.

After opening every door and window, we brought on the Zip-Strip. The goop works wonders, however the clean up is painful. My parents, Dom, and I spent 5 hours in various crouching and sitting positions scraping the now bubbly paint off the floors.

Fortunately, the tile was relatively easy. No chemicals were needed, just fingernails and patience, as each piece pulled up in little strips. The outcome, however, was striking. Thanks Mom!


The rest of the floors are not going to be so simple. 5 hours of 3 people scraping yielded us the majority of the kitchen and perhaps a quarter of the dining room. However the wood that was revealed inch by inch kept us motivated. It will never look perfect, but we hope it will someday look beautiful!


-Nick

A very short honeymoon period

We celebrated our first night in the house with a bottle of Rene Geoffroy Champagne, two triple cream cheeses, two old beach chairs that we had in the back of our cars and the Maria Joao Pires recordings of the Chopin Nocturnes.


It was a challenge to hold ourselves back from starting projects right away, but we refrained and enjoyed our evening. The change from Portland's sirens to Gorham's crickets was at first startling, but I don't think either of us has slept as peacefully in a long time. -Nick

sleep over.

YAY!! we dropped off our first piece of furniture today. my queen size mattress. (thanks mom for letting us use the jeep) tonight will be the first significant amount of time in the house. i couldn't stop giggling for the 10 minutes that we were in the house earlier, but lets add a bottle of bubbles, and a couple beach chairs (yes, beach chairs) in the mix and see how we do.

we ARE bringing some work material to start taking up the floor paint, and some general cleaning. for those of you who haven't seen any pictures of the house, we will be posting them soon. these will be our before photos... the STARTING photos. but first a mental picture for you. what would you get if you let your toilet just sit for about a year? (i know you know what it looks like after a couple weeks, and for those of us who lived in some type of off campus housing we probably didn't clean "the can" for months at a time... yea. gross. now imagine 12 months.) the photo will be posted soon. promise.

ciao, Dom.

A Date to Remember

We are Dom and Nick and we have just purchased our first house. A third of an acre, and the structure that stands upon it, is now our baby, our canvas, our first significant shared responsibility. Our mission is to make this a home, a reflection of our combined passions and the compromises of our differences.

We intend this online chronicling to be both a scrapbook and a forum for needed advice and encouragement. It will, inevitably, serve as entertainment, as we go into this with little experience and possibly too much ambition. We plan to shy away from nothing.

How hard can it be?