down in the dumps

So I’m sitting here in my group W office chair waiting for the second coat of joint compound to dry. I figure I have time to compose a progress report before I apply the third (and hopefully final) coat.



Obviously I got all the drywall up. I used regular ½-inch panels across the majority of the room, but installed special water-resistant (not to be confused with “water-proof”) “aquablocker” board in the areas adjacent to the where the tub and sink will live.



I recently made a quick trip to Home Depot for one last sheet of drywall I required to finish up. I needed to have it cut in half, so I rounded up a likely candidate– i.e., the nearest “orange vest” who had a utility knife dangling from his belt. Let me tell you, this clown seemed determined on putting the “Ass” back in Associate.

“We don’t cut drywall,” he proclaimed while standing on a low mound of drywall remnants.

“You don’t cut drywall?” I replied, “Okay, I’ll go to Lowe’s.”

And with those magic words, the kid sprung into action and scored the drywall panel so we could snap it more or less in half. I’m not sure if he was just a slacker, or if it is Home Depot’s policy to try to get customers to buy utility knives that they don’t really need. Nevertheless, I keep saying that I won’t go back there, yet I do because they are about 2.3 miles closer than Lowe’s.

Over the weekend, I hauled a truckload of bathroom debris to the local solid waste plant. That is a very interesting place, but I wouldn’t want to work there. The dump has large signs posted at the entry indicating that they don’t accept construction materials, but I don’t think my old drywall and tiles counted given that they technically were destruction materials. It is really fun to back the truck up to the edge of this concrete pit and toss things into a heap while a backhoe operator waits to shove it into different piles. I also took advantage of the opportunity to unload a number of large cardboard boxes that I had filled with nasty weeds from the garden and alley. To be sure, utilization of the dump is a bargain at only $3.60 per load.

As for the renovation, lighting has been selected and purchased. I have examined both the ceiling light and wall sconce, and am about 97 percent certain they will work fine.

I’ve also been refurbishing an old wooden medicine cabinet, converting it into a simple shelf unit that will be set into the north wall of the room. I believe I have a photo that illustrates where that will go.




If progress continues without setbacks, I should have the walls sanded and primed by the end of the Major League Baseball regular season.