It’s been a few weeks since my last post. I’ve been putting the time to good use in my attic room conversion! All the sheetrock is hung, 90% of the taping is complete and at least one coat of “mud” has been applied. The finish skim coat has been applied on about 10%. I hope to get the rest of the taping/mud done this week and possibly the texturing sometime around Christmas. The panoramic view might be difficult to get a good idea of the room. It helps to orientate yourself if you imagine the wooden door and the glass door as opposite each other.
Overkill Support Beam
Here’s another view of the early days when I first split the room in half at the top of the stairwell. I’m not very fast, but it is getting done. I used to be able to work only a half day on Saturday. Since I’ve been sleeping better, I can now do an hour or so here and there after work and a whole day on Saturday. If I had a whole Saturday! I can also wake up as a functioning human by 8:00 a.m. now. It used to take me until 10:00 a.m. to be able to think straight at work.
It’s been a large project, but I wanted to do everything above code requirements. I’ve managed to do a lot of the construction using recycled/reclaimed materials. The drywall looks like a puzzle because a lot of it was left over from construction sites. It was free because the corners were slightly damaged. I managed to get contractor packs of insulation for $50.00 at a going out of business sale. I saved almost $500.00 there! I did have to invest in two new LED lights and a fan. I paid a professional electrician to alter the wiring. My HVAC guy at work gave me the “T” to divert A/C and heat from the main line and coached me on how to do it myself.
I’ve made tentative arrangements with a High School senior art student to use the wall with the wooden door as a canvas for a senior project. Maybe a Dawn Redwood. I love all things Sequoia! I’ll post a photo if that happens.
The room is a little more private that my other bedrooms and I hope to have some very special visitors in it! I think my WWOOFer* will like it! I plan on giving them three choices of where to sleep. This next year will be exciting as I attempt to transition from a consumer to a sustainable producer of my own food. Who needs well over 5,000 sq. ft. of green lawn? I would much rather have some zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, herbs and more in my garden.
*World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. WWOOF has allowed Urban Gardens into the organization. I already have a couple of WWOOFers that are interested in visiting my “garden”, several want to help in laying out the new format I’ve chosen.
Lots of changes, exciting times!
Tessa Bertoldi 