Saturday, August 11, 2012

Retirement, Paint and Bathroom Finishing.



       Retirement is good. I'm sorta getting used to the idea that my phone just aint gonna ring. I really like that feeling, but at times, I do miss the paid for scenic tours I used to go on too. I definately do not miss going to work at 8 pm and hauling stuff around the bushes all night though. 
      I was actually planning on doing this retirement thing when my boss retired, but I decided that I can't wait that long. I was getting to the point to where I had instant anxiety every time the phone rang, and alot of anxiety wondering when it was going to ring. A weekend off just don't do it for me. Even ten days off don't do it,  the days go by so quickly. So I think I need the rest of my life off. lol. I don't know if life is going to be that simple or not, but I hope so. Some day I might want to go back trucking. Maybe some highway hauling into the states or something, just to see some different scenery and all that, but maybe not too. Who knows, but if ever I need or want to go back driving, I'm thinking I probably always can.
          I am in the process of educating myself to become a fairly decent stock trader/investor. I have been obsessed with the markets since the big crash in 2008. I have been pretty active in the stock market for the last couple of years now, but I do have alot to learn about it yet . It's not the easiest thing I've ever done, that's for sure. I do plan on spending quite alot of time educating myself even more on the subject once I am in the house. I just can't get enough of it.

Anyway, about the house building project. The interior is all drywalled, mudded, sanded and primed/sealed, and 2 coats of paint. I'm not sure if I'm real happy with the color or not. lol. Sometimes it looks good and other times of the day it looks not as good. I'm not a real color coordination kind of guy I guess.

      Mom was a pretty big help when it came to painting the house.  She would probably kill me if she knew she was on the interenet in her painters attire and hairdo not all purtied up and all that also. lol. Probably not, she actually picked up some paint in town two mornings in a row for me. I guess she did change into her painting duds once she got out here.  (That reminds me, I did'nt pay her for the second batch of paint yet). The first day I was going around and double checking all the sanding and prepping and cleaning up as she was rolling the primer/sealant on. We just about got done the priming on that day but not quite. The next day I finished the priming as she started painting and by the end of the day we had the whole house painted. Then the third day, both of us starting the second coat, we had the whole house painted by around 4 pm maybe. It went pretty fast anyway. I even had time to assemble the bathroom vanity that I have been tripping over for alot of months. Maybe even more than a year, I can't remember.
And there that vanity is. I need to get a top and a sink for it now. The flooring is a tile that sticks to together, but you don't stick it down to the sub floor, it is a floating floor. Each piece is 1 x 3 feet. It was nice to install. Can't even remeber what this stuff is called. Resillient tile flooring or something like that.
 This is just a picture of the heat duct construction for the register to be mounted on the base of the vanity, as shown in the previous photo. This way I'm not stepping on the register all day, and also, IF the toilet should run over, it should'nt run down the register hopefully. lol.
  I have been trying to get the bathroom done and out of the way, then life may become a little more conveniennt in alot of different ways at the hermits house. I still have some plumbing in the basement to do before it is all completely operational. Soon it will be time to pull out the wallet and spend some hard earned cash on power. Batteries and solar panels.

Disclaimer--IMPORTANT


This is a personal blog, mainly for my own use. I am building a house with my own two hands, but I am learning alot of things as I go. I do not claim to know what I am doing, or if anything I do is even close to being done correctly or safely. So please, if you are planning on using any of my ideas or methods for your own use, please get professional advice before actually following through with your actions. I will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages of any kind caused by information or comments from this blog.

16 comments:

  1. Missed you! The house is looking very posh - when's the invite for tea?

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  2. FCH - We've also recently joined the retirement club. Except I don't believe in retirement - more a case of now having the time to do what interests one, as opposed to paving the way for one's boss to have a (w)healthy retirement.

    Just a pity we couldn't retire earlier on,when we had more energy LOL But that's not going to stop us from finally putting our idea's into practice :)

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  3. Thanks Froogs. If you happen to find yourself on my side of the pond, then you might as well just come for tea then. I do like my tea at times, but I may not have professional tea drinkers supplies or techniques. But I got coffee cups. Come on down.

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  4. Hey Dani, ya I agree with you. I guess I'm retired from what I was doing and that lifestyle I was living, but I guess in all reality, probably not totally retired and simply doing nothing. I can see alot of hard work ahead for me actually. lol. Hope you guys enjoy your retirement too.

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  5. Lookin' good, Mark!!! Boy, you guys really moved along pretty fast with all that paintin'. So what color is it? Looks like it's some shade of white or light gray to me.

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  6. Thanks Lynnanne. You gotta remember the house is'nt really all that big. No ceilings got painted, because I am putting in some tongue and groove stuff for that. I think the color was called snowfield. It is kind of greyish, but it sure changes with the different lighting. I was kinda aiming for something a bit more browninsh, or something. I sure don't know how I ended up with this. Oh well, I'll live with it for awhile anyway, maybe some day I'll repaint if I find don't like it, but I'm really not all that fussy really. The walls are going to keep old man winter ouside where he belongs and that's the most important thing I guess.

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  7. I hear ya with the color changes with the light. That house I was working on did the same thing with the golden tone I had going on. Loved the color though, along with the rusty color I used on an accent wall. As soon as I find the right place, I'll be usin' those colors over again. Fit me to a tee! lol

    Can't wait to see what you're gonna do to the ceilings. Bathroom tiles look good too, by the way. :) Looks like you're havin' fun!!

    Enjoy your retirement!! lol

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    1. Ya, I'm not real great with color matching schemes and all that. I'm thinking about just putting up tongue and groove pine on all the ceilings except the bathroom, which for some reason I thougt I would put cedar, I'm thinking more for the moisture. I just thought a little wood would give things a little more of a cabiny feel. lol. But I don't know. Any suggestions. I am having fun. I would more fun if it was all done though. lol.

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  8. Cabin in Montana had wood on the enclosed front porch ceiling. Looked reallll nice -- gave it that warm cabin feel. What are you doing with the floors in the rest of the rooms?

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    1. Lynnanne, I was thinking of some kind of laminate flooring. Possibly some kind of a hard wood floor look, but not real sure just yet. I think maybe carpet going up the stairs to the loft and in the bedroom part of the loft. Alot of people don't like carpet, but I think it is cozy and warm, especially when it is real frosty outside. I'm not totally positve just yet though.

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  9. Looks great! Good for you on your retirement also!
    I put pine on all my cabin ceilings too, semi-gloss varathane keeps it looking like new. One room left to do....
    Keep on posting.

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    1. Thanks for that info Evano. You've actually got alot of pine in there and it looks excellent. I have been doing a bit of research on how to finish the pine. I will look into that some more. I've heard things like using "chelack". (I know it's spelled differently than that, but whatever). That and varthane is probably all the same stuff anyway, I wonder.

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  10. The bath looks great Mark! I've had a heckuva time picking out paint colors myself. You'd think with me being an artist it would be easy but I get overwhelmed I guess! It is very easy to redo if you don't like it though.
    I think pine (or whatever)T&G for your ceilings would look great!

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  11. Thanks Annie. I think sometimes we just get a little too picky. It don't really matter what it looks like as long as the cold and the critters stay outside anyway I guess. I think I will go with the pine ceilings, should be good.

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  12. It's coming along nicely. I like the flooring. I went for the glue on kind since my bathroom is really small. If I ever want to change it I guess I can put something on top. Besides, it's a cabin, pretty basic, and I like it that way. Your Mom is a huge help. That's so great. - Margy

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  13. Thanks Margy. I'm just kinda getting used to the flooring myself. If you ever wanted to change yours, this same stuff would work pretty good. I really don't think it would show much from the flooring under it. It's pretty rugged stuff, not like linoleum. But ya, nothing wrong with being cabiny either.

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