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Reconstruction


Space Voyager

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Ok, taking time off just for work does give you an incentive to actually do some work.

 

Let's begin. Here is what happened on Monday.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/02Startofwork.jpg

 

Yes. That lasted some time, than I got all dressed up. Time to get dirty!

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/03Dirtyagain.jpg

 

We didn't get all dressed up for nothing. After an additional two hours of work;

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/04Endoffirsttwohours.jpg

 

I admit, Monday wasn't really as productive as I hoped for. Blaming XCOM is futile, though the timing was really bad. Things I can actually call work on Monday were:

 

- taking a good long look at the room,

 

- realizing a lot more of electricity needs moving than I first thought,

 

- panicking,

 

- going to the store and buying most of the needed equipment.

 

Tuesday. After XCOM, naturally.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/05Before1.jpg

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/06Before2.jpg

 

Everything to do with electricity in these two pictures (taken from the entrance) needs to be moved.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adHtdgBbirc&list=UUxpA69MauLY0dTMKKBAIJdQ&index=28&feature=plcpg

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/07After1.jpg

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/08After2.jpg

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/09After3.jpg

 

After this magical destruction of walls, cables were lain into tubes, connected to existing wiring and inserted into the canals.

 

Wednesday, during XCOM. We take all the stims our body can handle.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/10Neededdrugs.jpg

 

Juice, coffee, snaps. Twice, everything.

 

Continues with masonry. Everything is mortared into place (actually, I only used mortar after I ran out of ceramics glue). As at least a day must pass before it all becomes solid enough to continue, I went out to buy the paint etc.

 

Thursday. Plastering the holes and painting the edges below the ceiling. This way I can save some time when I'm painting the walls. Most of the ceiling boards are cut. Tomorrow Andrej jumps in to help me with the ceiling, four meters long boards are impossible to wield by oneself.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/11After4.jpg

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/12After5.jpg

 

Friday. Did I tell you that Andrej is awesome? Well, he is. He helped me the whole day - and the result is finished ceiling! It looks really warm and fuzzy, love natural wood. The room is full of light, the ceiling looks higher (naturally, it is a centimetre and a half lower) and the whole room looks bigger. Much better.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/13Ceiling1.jpg

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/15Ceiling2.jpg

 

Saturday. Additional plaster is applied. Trust me, for a non-professional it is much faster if you apply a bit too much and sandpaper it away (use power tools) than trying to be very accurate and make an ideal coating in the first go. In the afternoon I felt pretty bad (some virus or the other) and needed a few hours under the blanket. Sore throat, felt like crap.

 

Yesterday. Plaster is sandpapered, tapes for wall painting are put wherever they are needed and parts of the wall where future green and white meet are painted, so that when I start today I can go over it whole. Such is the plan.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/14Canvas.jpg

 

What you see is part of the otherwise green wall that will be painted white. This is the part where the girls will be able to express their wall-painting dreams and decorate in any way they like. I hope it turns out ok and that they like it. Naturally, when it becomes crowded... It is time for a new canvas.

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Ouch, that is one demanding council. Additional funding needed, he he he!

 

As far as the room goes, I did paint it whole. Using two colours is a MESS, a whole lot of tools needed. Not to mention the cleaning of the two sets. If possible, I'll finish a colour a day, then the floor comes into play. The carpenter is all set up and he has already ordered the materials for the wardrobe. It will cost a lot though.

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Left side. Green colour is much more vivid than what it looks like in the pics, Kiwi burst 3.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Wallspainted1.jpg

 

Far side. In places the mortar is still (barely) seen through and those will be painted for the third time today.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Wallspainted2.jpg

 

Right side. Will be covered by wardrobe.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Wallspainted3.jpg

 

From the far side to the entrance. A special photographic technique is used to erase the light bulb and remove the glare. Called "middlefingerinfrontofthelens" technique, took me seconds to perfect it.

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Wallspainted4.jpg

 

The canvas is complete and I went for rugged edges. I toyed with this idea back in September if you recall. September last year, that is, when I was painting the kitchen-living room pass. This time I had the will to try it out. If the kids won't like it I can make it straight in no time. Personally I love it, gives a very non-artificial look. The canvas is a bit narrower than the first idea was as I decided to leave the electrical socket out of it. And parts around the piping, those are just murder to paint around. It is high enough to prevent Ajda from destroying all Tjaša's work. I expect the art will be very hight divided...

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The canvas is complete and I went for rugged edges. (...) Personally I love it, gives a very non-artificial look.

 

Looking good, SV! :)

 

Now all you have to accomplish is the incredible feat of making sure the boundaries are not crossed into 'greener pastures' by the artists. ;)

 

The carpenter is all set up and he has already ordered the materials for the wardrobe.

 

Looking at your last picture, and noticing door 'wood' colour versus ceiling wood/floor tile colour it sort of made me wonder - what did you opt the wardrobe to match with?

 

::

 

Oh, and very original way to give the finger errr... some actual good use. :P

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Now all you have to accomplish is the incredible feat of making sure the boundaries are not crossed into 'greener pastures' by the artists. wink.png

 

I don't think this is achievable... But I will try with "if you cross it, white will be no more!". Try explaining that to a two years old. https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Smiley/help.gif

 

Looking at your last picture, and noticing door 'wood' colour versus ceiling wood/floor tile colour it sort of made me wonder - what did you opt the wardrobe to match with?

 

Well, the majority of the wardrobe is natural wood - ash (chipboard), but fronts are green and yellow, much like the kitchen (I know, we really love these colours). The carpenter will use existing fronts from Tjaša's room and add more as there will be a larger wardrobe, this way we'll save some money. The rest of the existing wardrobe in Tjaša's room stays there and becomes our bedroom, for which we'll only need to have the new fronts made. Those will not be green and yellow, enough of those around.

 

It will be great not to have the bed used as the couch any more. I'll move the bed as soon as I repaint our future bedroom.

 

Oh, and very original way to give the finger errr... some actual good use. tongue.png

 

Yes, I'm very proud of this, HE HE HE!

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Yes... about that skating in socks. Later yesterday I was able to inspect it all up close and things turned out to be much worse than what that first look would suggest... rugged lacquer, some lacquer drops that they missed and stick out, a particle caught in the lacquer and is just ideal for tearing those socks, a very ugly way to conceal a gap... I called the guy and invited him to grade his own work, so he's dropping by today.

 

Seriously, I don't think I ever saw this many lacquering mistakes in a single room. Dammit.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ehm, I've fallen a bit behind with updates.

 

So that lacquer got sandpapered and a new layer was applied, things are mostly ok - except that ugly way to conceal a gap. I told the guy that I don't really care if he didn't have enough parquet boards with him and that he should have gotten additional ones instead of that crap but I didn't really demand him to destroy everything that was done. It will be permanently hidden under a bed anyway.

 

The next step were electricity plugs and a switch.

 

Much nicer (and far less dangerous) than the wires.

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Plugs1.jpg

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Plugs2.jpg

 

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Switch.jpg

 

Yesterday the wardrobe assembly has finally begun.

 

Upper part, fastened into the roof beams, but it will get additional support from the ground.

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Wardrobe1.jpg

the support will be placed between the beds and will separate the two plugs, so that each bed gets it's own plug. How cool is that?! wink.png

 

A bed is being constructed. The ugly gap is hidden.

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Wardrobe2.jpg

 

Additional photo, just to show off my mastery of the new photo technique.

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Wardrobe3.jpg

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I told the guy that I don't really care if he didn't have enough parquet boards with him and that he should have gotten additional ones instead (...)

 

A devoted practicioner of the 'less is more' approach, no doubt. :P

 

And I expect he might have charged you extra, not only for the material but also for the work somehow going against his beliefs.

 

::

 

The room ended up quite nice, especially in its furnished condition. Now all you have to do, SV, is tell the kids not to grow too fast or the beds won't fit. ;)

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He he he! The toilet and bathroom were done before we moved to the first floor, as the house has two floors. We were living "all over" with my younger brother but a family needs a place for itself. So the decision was made that we move to the first floor, where the toilet and bathroom were in their last breath. Meaning that sometimes something trickled into the lower toilet, so action was needed. It is hard to find a leak unless you destroy most of the floor and change all lead piping for plastic.

 

The only sensible solution was to redo the whole thing and change all ceramics. A LOT of it, goes up to the ceiling and we decided to keep it that way.

 

The "all done package" at Bauhaus predicted 8k€, at which I had to laugh. The salesman was not amused.

 

I "rented" that machine of Andrej's you saw many times now and it took me three days to get all of the ceramics off. When I thought it was over, the ceramics master came by and mentioned that the glue residue needs to come off, all of it. My arms cried. I bought a wider chisel and it took me another three days to get it all off. THEN my arms cried.

 

The ceramist then agreed to pour concrete and do the floor screed (or so says Google translate), but he also told me that for non-ceramic works he charges an hourly tariff. The more I help, the less it will cost. So I carried buckets of concrete from the cellar to the first floor while he made sure it is evenly distributed. THEEEEEEEN my arms cried.

 

Ok, the last part was ceiling where I decided to remove the wood and apply plaster boards. At which point I promised myself never to remove the wood from the ceiling again. Well, that was after I got a shitload of rockwool and probably a mice nest right down the neck, behind the t-shirt. Anyway, the ceiling is the most ugly thing I created. It is done well, but my plastering between the plaster boards was awful. I promised myself to correct it. At some point.

 

As an additional info. Everything; plumbing, ceramics, material... 4500€. Slightly over half of what was offered at Bauhaus. Really, you NEED to be prepared to do some work and organizing by yourself.

 

So, this turned out longer than I thought. I love the toilet Silencer posted. But Thor, I might actually get some stage fright using yours, he he he!

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Well it does have a curtain! Also, that first toilet...someone can't aim!

 

That toilet of Silencer's looks like it's somewhere in Skyrim. So maybe a Dragon was flying by. In my book, as excuses go, that's a pretty great one. grin.gif

 

The "all done package" at Bauhaus predicted 8k€, at which I had to laugh. The salesman was not amused.

 

Evidently. You just ruined his grand plans for a vacation in the Caribbean then and there.

 

They just take the term "throne room" too seriously. wink.png

 

Bathroom work is no joke. Not only is there usually a lot of pressure to get it done quickly, for obvious reasons, it must also be done carefully and properly, because 'surprises' of any kind will not be tolerated.

 

THEEEEEEEN my arms cried.

 

Who needs gyms. Just haul buckets of cement all day and you'll get all the body-building you want. grin.gif

 

::

 

But Thor, I might actually get some stage fright using yours, he he he!

 

Made in Japan. And it's a tourist attraction. Need I say more? wink.png

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Bathroom work is no joke. Not only is there usually a lot of pressure to get it done quickly, for obvious reasons, it must also be done carefully and properly, because 'surprises' of any kind will not be tolerated.

 

Really? Last place I lived in, the super didn't install a wax ring correctly and didn't tighten the toilet down to the floor in the apartment above. Needless to say, "surprise" leaks happened from time to time, until the toilet water had thoroughly soaked the drywall/plaster on my ceiling causing it to collapse one day at 3:00am. What a rude awakening. Spent the better part of an hour shoveling stinky, wet drywall into the bathtub to contain the mess. The super came by the next morning to inspect the damage and proceeded to "fix" the toilet above. I helped him re-drywall the ceiling and low and behold, a year later there was a stain on the ceiling again. We took the ceiling out as a temporary solution until he could diagnose the toilet above. It didn't materialize. The super re-installed the drywall on the ceiling again. By this time I was fed up with the bathroom being in a constant state of disrepair and moved out. Last I heard, the ceiling was still leaking. teehee.gif

 

So, I guess the moral of the story is that if you have a toilet problem and don't know how to fix it, hire a licensed plumber. It'll cost less in the future. wink.png Oh, and if you live in an apartment where repair progress is measured in years, move out. :P

 

- Zombie

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Last I heard, the ceiling was still leaking. teehee.gif

 

Interesting turn of events. Who could have imagined that might happen again? sarcastic.gif

 

While it's no doubt fun to be awakened in the wee hours of the morning with something like that, someone should probably tell the guy that, despite the amusement, the surprise effect was no longer working... tongue.png

 

::

 

Also, my compliments on your tolerance levels, Zombie. Past a certain point, though, I do recommend the use of a big hammer. That tends to aid with timeliness and effectiveness. wink.png

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Also, my compliments on your tolerance levels, Zombie. Past a certain point, though, I do recommend the use of a big hammer. That tends to aid with timeliness and effectiveness. wink.png

 

I have the patience of a saint... and then some. wink.png Strong arm tactics probably wouldn't have got me very far with resolving the issue (I watched the super and how he interacted the first year or so and noticed you would attract more bees with honey than vinegar). I treated him with respect and kindness (something my roomie knew nothing about), and at least got him to come over and do some work. Other tenants were not so lucky. tongue.png

 

So, see-through public bathrooms, eh? I mean, why even have walls then? It would be humiliating enough to be seen going on the toilet, what's a little weather going to do? grin.gif

 

- Zombie

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ANYway, the room in its final state. I wanted to wait for that last front to be made (corrected) and for Ajda's mattress, but it may both take several days, so I'll just post as-is.

 

View from the door:

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Complete1.jpg

 

View from the window:

https://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b348/SpaceVoyager/Za%20net/Complete2.jpg

 

The green drawer front below the bed is missing because the carpenter was overeager to make everything perfect. He used very long screws to fasten the side of the bed - and drew them into the drawer front. Luckily he only destroyed the plastic tape at the edge, so he shouldn't have too much trouble replacing it.

 

Ajda's mattress needs to be delivered to the store, meanwhile we're using one small mattress for her to sleep on and the other one to keep it in place. She demands to sleep in the new room.

 

The girls love their new room. I still haven't told them that they can draw on the white canvas... They'll freak out when I do, I'm sure.

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