Week two of wallboarding

We're really in the part where the visible differences seem slower to come, even though each visit has another partial milestone. The wallboard has been going up for about two weeks (give or take, as I can't really keep track of time), and it gives a whole different look to the house.

Upon first view with the wallboard going up, I had a sense of loss - some of the openness is gone. I briefly thought that maybe we should leave it fully open - no wallboard - to keep that sense that has been so familiar to me. But, I suppose that wouldn't fly with the town, and it might end up being kind of weird to live in. This first photo reminds me a lot of the concept pictures of the house - and I supposed when the paint's up, it'll look even crisper. The play of the light and the shadows cast by the window framing is really nice.

Hearing that putting up wallboard could take three weeks was pretty surprising, until we met up with Steve at the house to discuss some of the finer points. Suddenly it's evident that all the little nooks and crannies between windows, and between windows and ceiling, all need carefully cut board squeezed in. None of this is to say that there aren't large spaces where they can just nail up the board as-delivered, but that's probably the really fast part.


Met the wallboard subcontractor last Saturday. As the homeowner, it's a pretty good feeling to show up at the site on a Saturday and find people there working - and who are motivated to being there and getting the job to the next step. We're really lucky to be working with our builder and with the caliber of his crew and subs. I can't help but think of this when I drive to work past a house that has made no visible progress since I started commuting past it in September.

This weekend we need to pick out the main flooring. We started with these great ideas of cork and bamboo, but have pretty much canceled the cork idea as it doesn't wear well and may have so much sealant and finishes that it loses some of the cachet. Not sure whether or how much bamboo will end up in the picture.

We have so far avoided ordering the flat-panel TV, but went ahead and reinforced a wall where we expect it will go - makes you wonder what people who are buying them for an existing house are doing to keep the device from peeling off the wall. I guess having the blocking behind the wallboard will reduce my arguments against getting a new TV. Oh well, it'll be much easier to see the Celtics losing yet another game.

The shower door remains elusive. The master shower has a pretty wide opening, and a custom door/side panel will be needed. Of course, the recommended place to go no longer does shower doors, so we're off after plan "B" - conveniently, it's the same place that the glass for some of the kitchen cabinets will come from. Inconveniently, it's in a little town that's a pain to get to and has limited weekend hours. Clearly a lot of these businesses sell mostly to the trade, so it becomes less convenient for us.

I cannot wait for the house to be done. I'm very tired of not being in our own house, hauling our trash the hour from where we're staying to our transfer station, picking up the mail at the post office, and giving up most of our spare time to shuttling around and doing things to get ready for this. It's going to be great, but I'm ready for this part to be over.

Oh - very exciting - I made my first foray into the crawl space last weekend. Didn't think to take the camera down there, so may make a repeat visit tomorrow and get some pictures. It's not for the faint of heart or claustrophobic. It's filled with all kinds of heating/AC-related equipment, most of which I don't yet understand. We'll need to figure out how this hydro-air setup works, but it feels like something from the movie Brazil (Terry Gilliam - 1985).