During the past week I have completely gutted the home. Walls have been removed, the entire house has been stripped to its subfloors.
The previous tenants felt that their cats should feel free to urinate and defecate on any surface they wished. This has caused me great consternation as I have been ripping up these still damp reeking rolls of befouled shag.
This particular room which will house the Daughters of Proteinstar was the excretory epicenter.
The home was built between 1906 and 1920 and is a duplex. I hate duplexes, but the incoming neighbors, my brother and sister in law, are totally sweet. The home is about 1800 square feet with 2 full baths. The upper bath is in major need of help. The previous owners, probably going back 40 or 50 years, decided to wall up the door leading from the master bedroom (it was a Pullman bath). They then turned this alcove into a closet for the bath and walled in half the tub. It is very difficult to wash 3 kids in a tub when you only have access to half of it. So, with the assistance of my father, the Progenitor of Proteinstar, we ripped out the walls, knocked in the wall and PRESTO! It's a Pullman bath again!! Some drywall, joint compound and some mild language and now I have a semblance of a bathroom again, with access to the master bedroom. Unfortunately the bathtub/shower is shot.
I ripped out about 3 thousand staples used to secure some filthy shag carpet that was about 60 years old. We sanded the stairs and then ripped out the top step. I had the misfortune of replacing it with pine. I should have chosen a hardwood. Oh well live and learn. I anchored all the steps with wood screws to keep them from sqeaking.
The past week has been a lot of prep work for the real work to come. Patching holes and fixing cracks, I hate horsehair plaster. Getting everything ready for paint. Which should be next week. I'll wash all the walls with trisodium phosphate, wicked if you get it in your eyes, and then prime all the wood work. Then the paint.
My next post will most likely be about me fighting with the two stupid drop ceilings in my upstairs and downstairs baths. Tune in next week when Proteinstar coins a new phrase or two.
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