Translation from the phonetic: "boo-hoo housie."
However, we're happy the builders are taking their time to continue doing things the way they've been doing them: attention to detail, consultation at every step, and highly-skilled artisanship.
They're busily working away over there, and things are really coming together.
You're probably tired of hearing about this plastering thing, but this Irish guy really is incredibly skilled. The floor guy was telling me that here in Canada it's a dying skill. There're still a couple of people in Vancouver who can do it, he says, but they're 70 or 80 years old.
Watching Dennis is like watching an artist paint.
He works quickly too as the plaster dries fast. He does it in TWO coats! With no sanding.
Look at these curves! That's all by hand!
OK, I'll stop about the plastering now.
The hardwood floors upstairs are almost done! The floor guy had us in last night to consult on finish, and, on his advice, we decided to go with the natural colour of the wood: sanded smooth but still "bruised" with age. The dark patina is gone and the wood is surprisingly light! (I'd thought we would go with a slightly grey wash in order to tone down the gold tones of the fir, but he said after a couple of years that would look "dirty" and drive us nuts.) I love these contractors who aren't reticent about sharing their expertise!
The hardwood guy. Hilarious! And good at what he does.
This is what the floors looked like after one pass over.
After two.
My closet!
(Stole the guest room closet, joined them together to make one bigger closet in this room.)
The view from our front porch. (One day without a porta-potty.)
From their perspective.
3 comments:
Floors are amazing!! You are all to be commended for your vision--this is what the old house has wanted, some attention and craftsmanship. It's a beauty!!
We want Patrick to finish our Sanctuary Building kitchen!! We agree--enough with the sanding!!
Looking forward to seeing the refinished floors! What kind of wood is it?
And love the plaster guy's work, which I saw a bit of last time we were there. Let's the house's personality and soul shine through. We had a guy work on our walls that was a classic artisan. He also said hardly anyone in Vancouver was doing it... and that was 15 years ago! Our guy did all the plaster school walls for the school board.
Lorraine, they're fir upstairs (I think oak on the main...or both?) Isn't that amazing about your plasterer?! I wonder if it will make a comeback: maybe the Irish will single-handedly bring it back.
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