My best wishes to you and safety in your travels. And my condolences. These days I could never hold up to all the traveling you do.Best wishes to all you revolutionaries
I am off to the Peak District (England) today then end of the week to France, back to Wales beforeBastille_Day to let the French holiday.
Some 6 audits of 3 standards.
I've long ago gotten away from the "new room" issue. I started working on this place a few years back and friends would say things like "Are you going to replace the kitchen cabinets and counter tops?" There are a lot of things that to me are fine as they are. Not that I haven't thought about it but in this example they're perfectly serviceable and don't look bad in my opinion. I still have the kitchen to do (I've decided to put that off until next year) but I don't particularly want it to look like a "brand spankin' new" kitchen. My house is very "modest" anyway.Well, the ambitions of three coats of varnish is becoming, "Well, one coat looks good."At 2 AM I was only done varnishing about half that room and said to myself, "I can't do this until 4 in the morning" and cleaned up and went to bed. Now I do feel up to finishing, but not sanding the place down :mg: and doing all that painting all over again. And again. :mg: :mg:
Well, one coat looks good. And it does look good. There is a little staining left over, but the improvement is such that I can live with it not looking like a new room. Now I can do the other half and get on with the lights.
The only advice I have is to at least put on a second coat of varnish (and maybe a third). It's extra protection, you have the necessary tools out (brushes, varnish, sandpaper, etc.), so now is the time.
I have 2 full (but somewhat small) bathrooms here. I redid the main bath a few years back. It was in pitiful shape. It's the only room here that I actually totally gutted except for the ceiling and the one insulated wall that is an outside wall. I had room to put in a 5' x 5' Jacuzzi bath. You've made a wise choice not putting one in now electric wise having kids at home. I have a 50 gallon hot water tank to begin with. I had to run a dedicated 20 amp circuit to the tub for the motor. I decided since I'm not one to lay in the tub for an extended period of time that I'd not put in the optional heater (which would have required a second dedicated 20 amp circuit).If I had another $2 grand, I would have put in a Jacuzzi tub and replaced the floor and counter top too. But that's a job for another long weekend...after the kids leave the house and get on with their lives, so they do not take baths every night on Mom and Dad's electric bill. My son would have never been so clean.
Now, I can't say I'm a big one on Jacuzzi tubs. I rarely use it for anything but a shower. I just put it in because the room was totally gutted, there was a 5' x 5' space (it's a one person Jacuzzi tub {well, you can fit people 2 in it
but it's designed for 1 person}, but it's a big one), I had some extra money at the time and decided "Why not? I'll never have a better chance." Now and again I do use it and it's very nice. Thing is the times I do use it the hot water tank takes a big hit, and the water jet pump motor starts the electric meter to turning like a pinwheel in a strong wind. If I had kids I hate to think of what they could do to an electric bill :mg:The one thing I did which I just *love* is put in a slate tile floor with heating elements under it and a programmable electronic thermostat. In the winter I have the thermostat for it set to 72 degrees F most of the time. It's just right to keep the chill off the floor (it feels good in bare feet) and it keeps the room warm as well. I used the same circuit the old baseboard heater that was in the room was on so I didn't have to run a new circuit for it.
Good luck with your project, Jennifer! I've been "rehabbing" this place for a few years now a little at a time and I know how good it feels when a piece of the project "puzzle" is done. I hate it while I'm doing it (total disruption and disorganization for a while), but when it's completed it's a good feeling.
