Previous - 35. Painting
Who are these people?
I'm at the Bank Cafe as the contractors work on restoring the trim in the unit, rather than anything I'm interested in. CapitalOne is having one of their special events -- a guy is here making waffles which people are standing in a long line for since you don't have to pay. Everyone in the line looks like they could pay, but instead they seem to have time to wait in a long line instead. There's a huge container of batter sitting next to the single griddle, so I expect this will continue for some time. There are a number of noticeably over-weight people in the line, so there's that, but I'm unclear on the motivation or even on how all these people knew about this. I think there were signs posted for several days, but who pays attention to signs like that? Quite a few people, obviously.Since I don't much like standing in line, and since waffles are not as compelling as bread pudding for me, I am waffle-less and expect to remain so.
The contractors are going to grind another notch in the cement floor, to try to drain the area of old pavement that is currently dammed by the new pavement. I've seen no indication this latest crew is any more familiar with the basic principles of water drainage, so I'm not optimistic. I've indicated where the notch needs to run to be effective but I would be surprised if they follow my guideline. We are in agreement that the low spot behind the washer needs to be raised rather than notched. Or at least I think we are in agreement -- Juan's English isn't the best.
There is also a scheme to repair -- or really to cover up -- damage to the back door where the bottom of the door was sawed off so it would clear the protective layer of plywood over the hall carpet. I liked my plan a little better, but the contractor's plan is easier and should work fine. No one will ever notice this but me.
I'm already thinking about the re-painting of the public spaces to follow as soon as the retrofitters are finished. The painters who painted the entry before -- who I would like to hire put it back in order but who have been less than eager about the job -- have responded to my email with the very vague reply that they will be by to take a look "this week," no day or time specified. This is really just due diligence anyway since I'm sure the bid we already have will be lower and that they will do an adequate job -- the upstairs still looks great and they painted that 12 years ago (I just looked it up. Yes I have records of everything like that stashed in the Cloud... leave me alone!)
The good thing about having few owner occupants is that (again) no one but me has probably noticed what a beating the tile floor in our entry has taken during the retrofit process. There's an entry in our Reserve Study for replacing the tile floor which I always laughed about, because tile floor. I hadn't anticipated the weight of debris and materials and equipment that have passed up and down our tile steps and across the tile landing below. Something else to add to my list of things to not think about until at least next year. (Dealing with the rear "yard" is also going on that list and if anyone complains I'll put them in charge of seeing to it.)
Hours later...
Wow, did I call the drainage right. I finally had to take over as they were grinding seemingly random notches in the floor. That isn't quite fair, if the drain had been placed at the low point instead of at a high point, their notches would have made perfect sense. I always knew my childhood spent building dirt dams and waterways would pay off in the future (not!). By pointing (here to here) I got the center of the floor mostly drained. When the floor gets flooded I may need to sweep that last bit of water into one of the notches, but it is no longer a big problem.They haven't started addressing the place in the floor that needs to be built up (as it's below the drain). Maybe tomorrow.
Tiny houses
What is it about Tiny Houses that I (and so many other people, evidently) find so compelling? You could spend weeks on YouTube just watching tours. One of the Tiny House people I subscribe to on YouTube is using his own Tiny House to do all the electrical work he's ever dreamed of. He's an electrician and his house is wired like a space ship. There are circuits for everything. He's his own dream client and his house will offer everything electricity can offer.In my head, I'm designing my own Tiny House and with me it's a process of subtraction. I have the advantage of having lived in a tiny apartment for 23 years, so I know all the things you think you need (or want) that you can really do without. For starters I would dispense with the otherwise almost mandatory loft or lofts. RVs and boats are similarly tiny habitations and they never have lofts so why does everyone think a Tiny House needs a space you can only access by ladder or with steps that take up a lot of room? I can only think of one tour I've seen of a Tiny without a loft and that was one of my favorites.
And the amount of wood that goes into most of these houses is insane. Sure, wood construction is easy for DIY people, but the weight and labor required for all this is massive. For me the ideal would be to construct the basic structure out of the SIP equivalent of Quonset hut components. The outside would probably be steel (maybe fiberglass) with steamed plywood (maybe) on the inside and insulation sandwiched in between. There would be no windows or wiring or pipes in these long sides (and roof). All the doors and windows would be at the ends. All the pipes and conduit would rise out of the floor. (The floor would be quite thick including an insulated space for pipes and wires and other mechanical systems that would be accessible, to some extent, like in a boat.) The only interior walls would be around the water closet and shower room. Aside from basic kitchen cabinets and counter, there would be few if any built-ins. Storage would be in conveniently sized modular units that could be stacked, moved around, and bolted to the floor or each other when necessary.
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