Last of the concrete!

With the return of fair weather we abandoned the shop to work outside once more. The big job of the day was the last of the sidewalks and the back patio. We used the same color concrete but had it troweled smooth instead of exposing it as we did on the front porch. This will make it easier to clean and maintain in coming years. Terry and his crew arrived mid-mornng just before the concrete.

By supper time Janis and I were walking gingerly (without shoes) on the hard concrete to lay out the cut lines which will happen bright and early tomorrow. It sure is nice to look out the patio doors and finally see some concrete!

Now we can do the final grades around the sidewalks and then on Tuesday lay down the last of the sod. I can hardly wait!

-grampa dan

Bye bye pink

It has been years since our shop has been as empty as it is now. We've done a serious purge, relocated our storage of supplies to the bin our backand reorganized everything. With the repainting of the walls everything has been taken down and given a thorough cleaning. The pink fireguard paint has now ben largely covered up with one more coat of final color to go.

With the return of fair weather tomorrow we will be working outside once more but hopefully we can soon finish the painting and then put everything back where it belongs.

Tomorrow the last decks and concrete will be placed. We are excited to finally be at that point in the house build. Stay tuned for pictures.

-grampa dan

A beautiful shade of pink - NOT

I've never been a fan of pepto bismol pink - at least not in a big way but today we began painting the inside of the shop in just that color. There's a good reason of course.

To make room for all of the workers we'll employ and projects we'll build for the next project we have to use every square inch of the shop effectively. That meant a total reorganization. With us moving and cleaning just about everything it was also a good time to give the shop a repaint.

Because we weld in the shop we also had deemed it time to more effectively fireproof the shop. The shop is built of concrete but the walls are lined with plywood to allow easier hanging of display pieces and shelving. To fireproof the plywood we are using a paint that stops fire by expanding when it is exposed to flame. This paint is an effective fire stop. It is also bright pink from the manufacturer. The good news is that it is a middle coat, meaning we can put another layer of regular paint over it after it dries. And we will be going back to our rather ordinary colors, beige and light tan, as before. After we are done the fireproof paint will be invisible. (THANKFULLY!)

As we take everything down from the walls for painting we are sorting and being tough about what gets saved or disposed of. After we are done the shop will be as new, with only our best samples on display. Other big changes are underway as well and by the time we are done the shop will feel like brand new once more. Stay tuned for more...

-grampa dan