delay

=^^=

Icynene Insulation: I hope its worth the trouble

After much contemplation I've decided to cut open the ceiling in order to use Icynene insulation, which is a foam that is sprayed in between the roof rafters. Its a major pain to install, and about twice as expensive as loose fill fiberglass, but it supposedly insulates really well and has no toxic gasses, particles, etc. It is a petrol byproduct, but for whatever reason its racking up green building awards. The main concern for me though is that fiber glass is a health hazard for hypochondriacs. Now, whether or not its a serious problem for everyone else I can't really tell from all the research out there, but I wouldn't be surprised - it makes sense to me that little shards of glass would cause all kinds of trouble in lungs and eyes and skin. So I'm taking my chances with a new material which we are now assured is perfectly safe, the unproven over the doubtful record.

I'm really excited, this is the homo-stretch. The sliding wall, the tiles, the floor, the insulation, its all going in within the next few days! Sadly, I couldn't get the Durapalm for the sliding wall after all, I'm going to use Plyboo instead. Pics to follow...

I don't need plumbers, electricians, or carpenters, I need to call Ghostbusters!

Just when I thought this renovation couldn't get anymore absurd, this morning the 100 year old main waste pipe for the entire house snapped and flooded the basement. Luckily it was just shower water. I called the plumbers at 7:15 and they're here at 9, and guess what they found? A basket of porcelin dollies with no eyes right under the leak. The electricity also seems to be disconnected on the third floor, where the carpenters are... it seems the house is haunted by a ghost with a Kafka-esque sense of humor.

UPDATE: 12:08PM They finished fixing the pipe and ran the water through it to test for leaks and THEY FOUND ANOTHER ONE!!! This one, further up along the pipe, didn't leak before apparently because the water poured out of the other leak so fast it didn't back up far enough to leak through the other hole. The 100 year old pipe strikes again... or is there a ghost?

Renovation Burnout - No Pun Intended

...although that's just what I'm trying to avoid in the literal sense. The electricians came on Saturday (damn that's quick!) and found a bunch of splice boxes burried in the walls, those are boxes where wires tie together from different outlets and fixtures, and they're where trouble of the electrical fire sort start apparently. Thanks again to the jerko contractor. So we're down a few more walls... two steps back. Now I know that if anyone actually had skilled people in to check out their apartments on a regular basis there would be a ton of nasty surprises, this is probably nothing compared to the place I live now. I got really worried about electrical fires last year, after some of the fabric that covers the wires in the old lights started to sizzle. I called an licensed electrician I knew from growing up and he said "Ya live in a tenement?" me: "Uh, I guess... although I paid a great big realtor's fee to get it" electrician: "Landlord never fixes anything?" ..."yeah" ..."got renter's insurance?" ..."..." ..."well you could never afford to have me fix the place, it probably won't catch fire as long as you don't overload the circuits" ..."you mean like when the microwave and the toaster can't work at the same time?" .....you get the picture. The important thing I learned was, electrical fires usually start when people are home, charging up gadgets with all the lights on. Turn off the juice when you leave the house and the kitty will be safe - which is what really matters to his two moms. Cat safety: the bottom line of homoimprovement. (And those rascaly little French bulldogs that are so popular in this crowd too, although I don't understand why, a bad design if you ask me.)

Lucky on craigslist!

I have been lusting after this Ali Turning Mirror from Waterworks for months. Sometimes I even fantasize about shelling out the retail price for it, but I have just been in denial about the whopping $1,675.00 price tag. I randomly searched for Restoration Hardware on craigslist thing morning, and luck of luck, scored two knock-offs of this piece for $175. They're not being made anymore, heaven know why, and they're a little smaller: 22"H X 9"W instead of Waterworks' 12"W X 8"D X 30"H, and mine are chrome instead of stainless steel, but I am absolutely thrilled. I was even thinking of trying to get one fabricated by the place that made the steel plates for my beams. Finally some good homoimprovement karma!

Phallic Faucets vs. Feminine Deluge

I bought faucets for the bathroom and kitchen almost six months ago, but since then the bathroom has gone one step forward and two steps back, twice - but luckily we're on a forward step finally and it looks like the third time is a charm. So it seems to me that almost all faucets are phallic. I didn't realize what they all had in common until I found a few that weren't - and guess what they look like? My absolute top priority when I designed the bathroom was a waterfall bath faucet, so I replaced the bath spout that came in my Koher Stillness set with this one, the Kohler Souris. And for the sink, I replaced the stout little modern phallic substitute with this, the Kohler Vas ceramic spout. Who wants a controlled stearm of water that can put out a campfire? I prefer the rainhead shower, the waterfall faucet, modeled on nature's apparently feminine anatomy. Any associations? Flooding, overwhelming, oceanic feeling... now that's what I LIKE in a bathtub. Thanks Kohler, for this perfectly saphic piece of interior design.

Prisoner of my own renovation...

I've been cooped up in my house waiting for what seems like a million different people to come and go and do this and that. I'm thrilled with the progress, but I'm going stir crazy!