So, is it done?

To pick up where we left off last week...yes, the office is done. While last week I was feeling a strong case of "the quits", we persevered. I swore a LOT when stenciling the corner where the radiator lives. It's OK - the swearing was on the project schedule! We both knew it was going to happen. I called the previous owners idiots a few times when we finally got to the ceiling repair and we discovered three layers of ceiling. THREE. (Yes, things were done much out of order for this project due to having to work around work schedules and meetings and not wanting to move our desk out of the office.) I got down from the ladder, went outside and contemplated life as much as how we were going to approach this. Many calculations were done on which materials at which thickness could be employed to get it done. We agreed this would be the one "fix" that wasn't perfect and the next owner could curse us in 50 years. We were NOT removing all of the ceilings. We were just repairing the problem.

I learned how to blend a repair mix for original plaster. I love learning from the old guys. And I hate learning from the old guys. They make everything look so easy. To be fair, the mixing was easy. The blend was beautiful. Getting it on the wall fast enough? Not easy. There's 7 minutes of work time. I had to make a few batches...each one smaller than the last as I figured out exactly how much to make for the amount of time I had to work. Contrary to what I was told, I did still have to sand because...I'm not an old guy yet. The ceiling repair with just standard mud - that went faster and easier because it's what I'm used to. It's not perfect; I should have repaired the old seam while I was at it, but I didn't. I didn't think it would be as noticeable as it is (to me). It's directly over my head, so I may do it in a few weeks when I've forgotten how sore my arms are. But, for now, it's fine.

[As an aside - for those of you who don't know, I grew up with a contractor. A Master of All Things. So, I do the drywalling and the painting. I know it's weird, but I've been doing it since grade school. We all have our special talents and the hubs designed & printed special brackets for all the things I needed, is designing our new shelves and will install the beams on the ceiling when we get to that project. He also did all the base layer cutting / installing for the repair so that I COULD do the drywalling. We have a very balanced skills grid.]

The timeline has been achieved. The outcome is honestly better than we had imagined and even with the three layers of ceiling the mess wasn't as bad as we had anticipated. Costs were under the wildly dramatic estimate someone came up with whilst trying to talk me out of said project. But, truthfully, even if it wasn't a wild estimate, cost savings / management are my specialty.

So, why talk about it again when we already discussed the benefits of completing our projects last week? Because I know it's easy for me to SAY you'll get through the hard spots. It's easy for me to SAY there's benefit to finishing what you start. But, I think it's also important to SHOW you that it's worth it. I don't like giving hollow advice. I don't ask my employees to do something I'm not willing to do myself. So - rest assured, when you ask if I have I done what I'm telling you to do, the answer is absolutely. Here at home AND in the office. Having zero hole above my head, worth it. Stripping the original 1912 trim back to the wood, 100% worth it. Having a space we actually love to work in, worth it.

AND I got a compliment on my biceps.