Day Fifty-Four: Working at the Pentagon

I stayed in bed until seven this morning, quite late, since I had to go to a conference in Saratoga Springs today and have to work on some work stuff tonight. But this late start allowed me the chance to talk to John and Dave a tiny bit. John was very interested in what we thought of the kitchen, and I was able to report that we were quite happy with how the kitchen was turning out.

I also met Pat, the tile guy, and I asked him if we had any soap dishes or other little shelves for the shower. He said no, so I asked him how much time there would be before he started tiling the shower. He said he had to prepare the hardibacker for the tile and let that dry, then he had to put the tile down, then he had to grout the tile and let it dry for a couple of days. His message: I had some time to get the shelves.

So I gave George a call today and left him a message. He called me back while I was still in Saratoga Springs, and he said he would order a soap dish and a couple of other shelves for holding shampoo. I asked him why the roofer he had recommended and whom I'd contacted weeks ago hadn't returned my call. He said he'd call Dennis, the guy I'd spoken to, and figure that out. He also told me the best news of the day: that some of his people would be putting the siding on the house on Thursday and Friday. Finally, he told me that the rest of the work would end quickly and that the project should be over in a couple of weeks. (By my figuring, that would be May 9th, the day before I host a little barbecue at my house--so I'm sure the project won't be done by then.)

I almost forget the big news of the day: Nancy dropped her phone on the ground when she left to buy some coffee this morning. When she returned home to pick up Tim, she drove over the phone. Apparently, this isn't good for the phone. The phone still worked, but the screen was cracked internally and showed nothing but a big colorful fracture. Nancy went out and bought a new phone today. With the phone in hand, she was able to call me and tell me that she'd received a call from the roofer, who apologized for never coming to check out the roof. Apparently, he's going to call me sometime this week.


The Crown Molding on the Cabinets
Here's part of the work Dave and John did today: they put crown molding over some of the cabinets. The long piece of molding is of some concern, since it looks a bit lighter and yellower than the other pieces--but we think this is just due to its being hit by the light differently.


Outside Framing around the Kitchen Window
The big work of the day for Dave and John was to put in the framing outside around the windows, in preparation for the addition of siding later this week. This is a picture of the lower window, which is the kitchen window.


Outside Framing around the Bathroom Window
I decided to use this weirdly angled shot of the upper window, the back window of the bathroom.


The Pentagon that Will Hold our Kitchen Sink
Dave and John also gave a bit more definition to the corner sink by finishing the framing and turning the sink into a pentagon.


The Bathtub Prepared for Tiling
Pat successfully prepared the hardibacker around the bathtub for tiling.


The Bathroom Tiles Awaiting Grout
He also set tiles up over almost all of the bathroom floor, but he won't grout until (I expect) tomorrow.


Shower Shelves and Tile
Strangely, by the time I came home, the necessary shelves for the shower were already resting on our landing. Stranger still, there were three soap dishes and three shelves for shampoo. How many shelves can one shower need?

honi soit qui mal y pense