Home Remodel Project- Hardwoods

I finally got the pictures from the home model that were taken by Jason.  This post is a continuation of the previous post and shows more detail of the hardwood floor make-over.

This is the only shot that shows the before look of the floors.  Normal color, slight orange hue.

Here the floors have been sanded down to bare wood.  All polyurethane and stain are gone. (I had just finished the back splash earlier that day.)

Here is after the new stain has been applied.

Applying polyurethane. Improvised rolling chair.

Finished product.

It was a satisfying project. I will be posting more projects soon.

Past home remodel, Pre bus remodel

It is time to get back to bus business.  It has always been there, my primary residence since I started this journey.  But some of the love slipped away and it is time to find it again.  Some of the ways I am going to spice things up are by giving the interior a face-lift, getting it mechanically sound enough to tackle the Rocky Mountains before the summer solstice and getting out into the wild even more frequently this year.
Look for construction photos and videos in the coming weeks, reminiscent of the early days of building the bus. Except I have a little more technical skill now.

I have been working on remodeling a couple of houses with a friend.  He actually has the bulk of videos and pics on his phone.  When I get them I will add them to this collection. For now, here is a look at what I have been up to...

The biggest, most satisfying single project has been stripping, staining and poly-ing the hardwood floors.  I have only done it once before.  It turned out great! These are from the stripping process.
The edger- for that detail stuff.  I would have taken up baseboards but we were time/cost conscious.

Be careful using this beast, it aggressively chews the layers off.

Do as I say, not as I do. Always go with the grain, never across.  I had to make a judgement call based on our equipment rental time. It didn't turn out bad but I could tell after I restained and poly-ed. It bristled my perfectionist side.

Stripped bare

Video of floors. Not the best video of them, as it was a week or more later and it became a construction zone again. The wet poly in kitchen and bathroom is from a touch-up I wanted to do. (side note: I also did the back splash in the kitchen and bathrooms)

At the end of December I moved into one of the houses for the convenience of getting work done and the comfort of hot showers, central heat and unlimited electricity. At first, I stayed on my queen size air mattress but then up graded to a twin mattress and box spring. My pets enjoyed the change of scenery.

Priss wants to be nice but Nala doesn't like her hovering over her shoulder.

The picture doesn't really capture the coating of dust, but I have been sanding drywall for hours. (During all these projects where I was working solo, I listened to the entire Gunslinger series by Stephen King)

Wake up call by Priss.

I had a birthday a few days ago. A group of friends treated me to Hibachi. I haven't had hibachi in over 3 years. It was even more fun than I expected. This is also a case where all the good video are on my friend's phones.

Well that is all for now. I have other stuff to post from the past but I am really looking forward to what the future is going to hold.  I will post again soon.

Another Winter in Denver

It looks like I am making quarterly posts now. I have been mainstreamed for the past little while and it doesn't feel natural to blog about it.  I have been involved with a friend remodeling a couple of houses.  It has been very satisfying and has kept me pretty busy.  I have done an assortment of projects ranging from tiling backsplashes to refinishing hardwoods to installing drywall to painting and a various collection of smaller projects.  (Pics and vids to come soon)

I want to address Colorado weather to clear up any misconceptions out there. Colorado (specifically Denver) has the best weather of anywhere I have visited. There are four distinct seasons. Living on the bus I really enjoy the fall and spring due to the mild temperatures. Winter is cold, but not brutally so.  Yes there are days that the temps have dropped to single digits and there was snow around Halloween.  But for the most part temps have been around 60 during the day and a low around 30 at night.  Lately it has been a high of 50, with lows in the mid 20's. Not surprisingly, one easily gets acclimated to cooler temps fairly quickly. Perhaps it is the gradual shift in temps or the fact that we get a couple of really cold days (highs in the teens) that make barely freezing nights so tolerable.
I have made the bus as comfortable as I need.  I have become a seasoned veteran of cold weather living.  I know how to best optimize my heating sources and running my generator.  I have a steady income that allows me to eat out and purchase nice-to-haves. I have a car to get around town easily (although it is constantly on life support, it has been fairly reliable since I bought it in March.)  I have a smart phone again that simplifies life, with easy access to the web.  My internet card gives my laptop access to the internet anywhere I am.
Basically, life is good. Almost too good.  I fear I have become complacent and gone back to being mainstream. My pets keep me grounded and make traveling overnight without the bus an ordeal.  I love them without question, but they do hamper certain freedoms. Finding a reliable pet sitter would really free me to explore more frequently.
I miss having unusual stories to write about and challenges to post.  I vow to remedy this soon.  This blog isn't dead...just hibernating temporarily.

Getting back in the Groove

The past week and a half have been busy for me.  I celebrated the last hurrah of summer over Labor day weekend by going to Water World and playing copious amounts of volleyball.  

The group who made it so fun at Water World

Jen Sasser, the birthday girl

As soon as the 3 day weekend was over, my mom came into town for a week long visit.  I was able to show her the Denver that I have come to know over the past year. 

Up on Mount Evans

 Although she stayed in pet friendly hotels, we only felt comfortable walking Nala dog in.  Cat had to be smuggled in via duffel bag.

A few friends met us at the rooftop pool at the hotel to socialize.

Now it is time for me to get back into the groove of normal life.  Working and getting ready for cooler weather.  

Today, it is a high of 58, which is cold in comparison to the past week.  I broke out my space heater for the first time in 4 months.  And there is an unusual steady rain coming down that started last night and is expected to continue through tonight.  It seems this year we got more snow in the winter than rain in the Spring and Summer.  

I am catching up on neglected projects (editing Water World video, etc) while my pets are curled up sleeping on my bed.