Projects Galore!

There is no lack of projects to help us while away the time here! I already posted about tearing up carpet in three of the rooms. Now we've started to prepare the smallest room for carpeting. It's the only one we're planning to carpet. The floorboards were in pretty bad shape, they'd never had any kind of finish on them whatsoever. They reminded me of the floor at Bear's Mill!

They've had some water damage and are very un-level. We got online last night to try to figure out how to level them somewhat without using leveling compound. I read some posts about using old roofing shingles. We decided to give it a shot! Steve also wanted to get some shingles to do some roof repair. So, a trip to the local lumber yard ensued. When we asked about the shingles, we had a little discussion about the color of the existing shingles. There seemed to be some discrepency. So, a bet was made, a firm hand-shake was given, and all I'm going to say is that I'll be enjoying a steak dinner soon!! The lumberyard guys appeared mildly amuzed.

Steve spent quite awhile trying to figure out exactly how to utilize the shingles, but I think he did a decent job. We're both glad we're carpeting this room and not laying hardwood. Here are a few pics of our progress so far:

Here's a shot of the floor with the carpet ripped up and molding removed. It's pretty rough-looking!

This was our crude method for filling in the low spots without completely ruining the original floor boards.The 2x4 served as a level.

Next, we began cutting and screwing down the luan, a very thin plywood.

We finally got all the plywood screwed down.

Sunday we took down the swimming pool. It was an above-ground and we're not really pool-side kinda people. I tend to avoid wearing a bathing suit in public if at all possible. So a friend of ours expressed an interest and we told them they could have it if they promised not to cuss us later this summer when they're doing the daily cleaning and adding the umpteenth gallon of chlorine. The best way to have a pools is if it's your neighbors, we know 'cos when we lived next to Steve's mom and dad, they put a pool in. They also eventually filled it in!! They're one of those things you can't wait to get and can't wait to get rid of!

It took about 6 hours to drain it and several more to get it all torn down. Several green frogs were rendered homeless in the process. I wish I had thought about taking pictures while we were doing it. Especially when some of us were wading around in the slimy, green water!! But it didn't cross my mind 'til the next day, so the only picture I got is the "after" shot!

Saturday, we mowed.....and mowed......and mowed!! It took about 6 hours using the neighbor's Craftsmen riding mower. We definitely need to get a tractor and a bush hog/finish mower!! My back and shoulders won't take the abuse!

We also managed to drain and refill the hot tub. Now there's a body of water I can appreciate!! And I think I shall go and do that this very moment!! Before I'm completely devoured by mosquitoes!!