And The Verdict is....

I'm staying in the Panhandle! The MIC in Lubbock just notified me that they chose someone from within the office and he is a great choice. There sort of is a mix of emotions going on right now in me; I spent a month planning for the possibility of a move, dreaming of a nice 4 bedroom house that all my friends could come and stay in, and reconnecting with my friends in Lubbock. Yes, I am disappointed that I didn't get the position but in some ways I am relieved to know.

I really wanted (and still want) to be in the place where God wants me to be. It appears that the "top of Texas" is that place. This means I will continue to be a part of God working through our church to change this city and the world, I'll continue to be a part of iForty (our college/young adult ministry) and seeing how God unfolds His plans for that, and still be around the many close friends I have in and around town. Oh, I'll still be able work in an office that is on the cutting edge of science and technology, at least if I have anything to say about it!

Well, time to go get cleaned up, cook a celebratory lunch, and get ready for work.

In the Texas Panhandle.

In the place where God wants me to be.

The Master Bath Series, Part V (continued)

My apologies for the lack of updates recently; I've been busy with a Java programming course as well as some other projects at work I'm trying to get out of the way. I have also been having to deal with the recent stretch of cold weather we have had here in the top of Texas. It seems that the walls that face the outside (which also happens to be the direction the wind has been blowing for what seems like the last 3 weeks) are not warming up enough to let me paint so I have been in a holding pattern in getting the primer coat put on.

HOWEVER, work has still been going on! The walls are now smooth and there have been a couple of minor patching details squared away. I initially thought I was going to paint the trim and wood in the bathroom but that has been changed to do some touch-up work on the stain. That means I am having to clean off my sloppy work at applying texturing and paint as well as taping off all that trim and wood. It is slow going...who knew Killz2 would be so hard to remove when it dries!

So the progress is slow. Granted, I have lost a lot of motivation to work on this project since I STILL do not know about the position in Lubbock and have been spending lunch time this week with friends getting caught up on life. Hopefully I'll hear something this week and that will put a burr under my saddle...

The Master Bath Series, Part V

I know, I know...I haven't updated this in a while. Cut me some slack here folks; I was working graveyard shifts so my schedule consisted of get home in the morning and go to sleep, get up late afternoon, work for 5 to 6 hours or so on this project, clean up, eat something, head off to work, and repeat the process. For three days. On the fourth day, I worked for 6 hours, cleaned up, and then proceeded to pass out on my couch having been up for 27 hours straight and the 6 hours consisted of VERY physical labor (I consider standing on a ladder hand sanding a ceiling pretty darn physical. Just ask how sore my shoulders are!). It wasn't until I rolled off my couch sometime after midnight did I finally crawl into bed...but I digress.

There has been some pretty impressive progress in this endeavor however. I was finally able to lay down a first coat of primer on the walls and not run into any problems! When that first coat went on and dried, well, there was much singing and rejoicing (although in reality all I could muster in my tiredness was a Napoleonic Dynamitic "Yeeesssssssss"). For the most part. There are still some imperfections in the texture that need to be filled, sanded, and repainted but I can finally see the end WAAAAAAAAY on the horizon. And it doesn't look half bad either!

So what is left? Still need to finish painting the ceiling and put down second coats of primer on the aforementioned ceiling and walls, decide what to do for/about trim, get the vanity top out, new vanity top in, fixtures, loo, and lighting. The last four in this list seem pretty easy...famous last words. Oh, and those pictures I promised...I'm having to walk a fine line right here because I want to get some middle-of-the-process pics but my digital camera likely won't do well in the fine drywall joint compound dust environment state my bathroom is currently in. We'll see what I might be able to do.

With the way things have been going and my lack of sleep, I took tonight and will take Saturday off to spend with friends just to let them know that I am still alive and that my so-called "small project" hasn't totally devoured me...

The Master Bath Series, Part IV

Smooth walls. All I want are smooth walls. I spent the last two days applying drywall joint compound, let it dry, sand it down, reapply compound, let it dry, sand it down, and repeat until my arms are sore and my back hurts from being hunched over. Things looked smooth, felt smooth to the touch. And yet I still don't have smooth walls.

I took a chance today and primed one wall I thought was ready. Nope. Plenty of bubbles magically appeared as the moisture from the Killz2 was pulled into the wall. I had some issues when the compound first went on the wall but thought I could sand it out. I guess not.

So what now? Looks like more drywall compound. More sanding. More soreness. Yes, I could be cheap like the previous owners and put wallpaper over the whole thing and not worry about it. Right now it just feels like I lost 3 days of work because of some cheap builder not using quality goods. Now I've got to use enough compound to keep the bubbles from forming. Can it be done? Yes, I tried it on a patch near the ceiling. It feels like this project will never end.

The Master Bath Series, Part III

Well, the loo is out, the walls have been stripped of wallpaper, lighting fixtures, the mirror, and the odd nail so now it is time to start laying down the texture and getting the walls prepped for paint. It was a late night last night but then aren't they all when you are doing a home improvement project. And of course, there is one big problem that has come up.

For some unknown (cheap) reason, whomever built the house (lazy contractor) decided that in order to save a buck or two would use beaver board as opposed to drywall in my master bath. The previous owners also must have done some other work by replacing some of the original wallpaper with their hideous green floral print (picture forthcoming) because there are all kinds of rips where they must have pulled off old paper and attempted to re-seal the board using white spray paint. That is why I'm using texture...I'm hoping to get some kind of smooth surface to paint on. Where does the problem come in I hear you asking?

When applying a layer of texture to sand and make the wall smooth, the moisture in the drywall compound ends up causing the minute tears in the top fabric of the beaver board to bubble like a simmering pot of chili. So now, I've got pockets where the texture looks as if someone sneezed or threw up texture compound as it is so uneven. At least it was in a test area and I can hopefully work around it. Google here I come.

So this is what my Friday will consist of. Drywall texture compound.

And lots of it.

The Master Bath Series, Parts I & II

In preparation for the possibility of getting a promotion and having to move (the application was forwarded to the selecting official in Lubbock), I decided it was a good idea to undertake renovating my master bath. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures before I started but the select few who have seen the master bath can attest to the VERY 80's look it had (wood paneling, a primarily green floral print wallpaper, and popcorn ceiling texture). Initially the plan was to pull the paneling and wallpaper, scrape and re-texture the ceiling flat, paint, replace the vanity top, fixtures, and toilet. But alas...even the best laid plans can be thrown asunder.

Part I (Demolition) went well initially; the popcorn ceiling came off without any problems and I had help in learning how to texture the ceiling. It looks good and will need a light sanding to make it totally flat. It wasn't until the wood paneling came off that Part I fell apart. For some unknown reason, the builders put the wood paneling, vanity, baseboards, and door frames in first and then stained them. After that they installed the tile. WELLLLL, when you install baseboards first and then the tile...that means that you have got about 1/2 of an inch of baseboards nearly permanently sealed in grout. I had to get a wedge in between the baseboards and paneling to pry them out of the grout. Crap. Now that means I've got to fill in grout where the baseboards once were. Oh, and did I mention that I managed to destroy a small piece of drywall while pulling that paneling off. Grrrrrrrr.

Part II (still Demolition) came today when I had to pull the wallpaper. I decided to try some nifty new spray that I saw on one of those home make-over shows to see how well it really worked. Besides a steamer would take too long and this spray made the wallpaper come off in sheets. So, I got the necessary materials , scored the wallpaper as instructed and gave it a shot fully expecting to pull sheets of the aged wallpaper off.

Nothing happened.

Well, in the fine print ONLY available on the manufacturers webpage, certain wallpapers must have the top layer peeled off in order to allow the solution to soak into the backing and glue. Did they decide to put that on the container? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. You had to go to their webpage (and I quote; "If you experience difficulties with this product, please refer to your local hardware store or visit our website at toocheaptoprinttheinstructionsonthebottle.com"). Upon realizing that I must have the aforementioned "special" wallpaper and spending an hour getting as much of the top layer off, I was finally able to give it a second go round. This went much better as the detritus of backing and glue littered my bathroom floor. Oh but the surprises that were in store...

As sheets of 25+ year old wallpaper fell away, a new and exciting (NOT!) discovery was revealed. The wallpaper hid all kinds of lovely scratches, dings, dents, and rips in the drywall. So much for painting the walls once the paper came off. Now I've got to texture the walls in order to have some resemblance of a flat surface as opposed to the surface of the moon I discovered. The second discovery: they decided to wallpaper first and THEN install the light fixture AND 4 foot x 4 foot mirror meaning they both have to come off before I can complete getting all the wallpaper off and start texturing.

So tomorrow will chronicle removing the mirror, light fixture, toilet, and vanity top as well as getting the last of the wallpaper off and hopefully getting the first layer of texture down. All I want is one day without any surprises....