Seven

Last thursday Seven came over to check on the progress of his new home. He loves all the room and outdoor space. But it was a banana being eaten in close proximity that got his attention.

Sandman

I spent 3 hours yesterday sanding the kitchen walls. Brutal on the arms after a while.... all that overhead work. Spent the afternoon replacing the mechanisms on the casement windows in the dining room. Two windows left that won't open.
Seven suffered his first seizure in seven months this morning so I suspect the house will be put on hold while we make the trek to Dr. V.

Peeling Paint

Seems that years ago, plaster walls were coated with a super lime based primer. 50 years later, the primer has deteriorated causing whole sections of the kitchen to peel away. I spent 8 hours Tuesday peeling the entire room. Now I have to sand down the remanents and then prime and repaint.

Black Hole Over Glendale

The stairs are basically done. Louis just had to put a skim coat of mortar over the cinderblock shell. Sunday night, however, a confluence of jealous, rage and lust created an emotional black hole over Amy's Glendale home. A huge fight, a 3 AM street chase and a hotel room was the last straw for our worker and he split for the east coast. Luckily, WL has been working with Louis the last 3 weeks and believes he can complete the 2 projects left hanging.

Green Mosiac

So we did not like the 4X4 green glass tile...... We went to Norco last night after dinner to visit Floor Decor. I wish they had one of these closer to LA. The 130 mile round trip is a killer after a day of overhead sanding. But we agreed on the 1" green glass mosaic. Augustine came in this morning and ripped out the old and put in the new.... along with the glass block window. There had been some mention of people being able to see us thru the block....I think it narcissistic to believe that someone would actually WANT to look at me showering.... but I think all virtues will remain intact.
And now the room that was the most damaged is becoming the peacock of the house.

I Wish I Were

On Memorial Day, we were having lunch with Simone and Shawn and saw the Wienermobile
in a nearby parking lot. Supposedly you can actually rent it to drive around.

Bathroom Tile

Augustine has started to tile the bathroom. We decided on subway tiles. We also thought a vein of the 4X4 glass tile (with a slight green hue) running through the middle would be nice. After having seen it, I'm totally neutral on the effect. Does that mean I should not do it? Luckily, we have two days to mull it over before Augustine returns.

Noritz

The new tankless hot water heater went in yesterday. Very small and discreet. Will supposedly save 40%-60% on the regular water heater. Our model is a Noritz. There are many Japanese and German brands. This one seemed to be able to deliver the right amount of gallons per minute.

Mud and Quikcrete

Louis is skim coating the retaining wall in the back while Augustine has put the first layer of "mud" down in the bathroom. He began tiling this afternoon and the place will be looking good soon. As for me, after two weeks of stripping kitchen cabinets of paint, I started to paint them. Seems a waste to cover up that grain again but we are feeling there is enough wood happening in the area already.

French Doors

The french doors have been put into the master bedroom. Looking pretty good and will allow some needed access to the back yard. The last pic is a rendering of what the stairs will look like. I head back to LA in the morn to start some Memorial Day painting.

Wall St. Dummies

We have been shooting the last few days down on Wall St. The concept is a last man on earth running through a city of mannequins. It's been fun for the crew and the tourists.

New Floor

I got pictures last night of the new "Autumn Oak" floor in the kitchen and dining room. Looks great.

Confetti

We were doing a commercial in Los Angeles a few days ago which required us to drop red confetti at sunset. This is the beauty of the shot, the mundane is many assistants down below trying to gather up the traveling bits of paper.

Kitchen Tile

Louis and WL have been busy tiling the kitchen to great effect. I can hardly wait to get back and start painting. They even included pictures of the wood counter top we had made. It will all look smart soon.

Progress

I've been working the last three days and have been unable to see the progress happening on the house in person. Yesterday afternoon, I got some pics sent to the phone by WL and was surprised at how fast things are moving. The french doors have been framed and will be put in this week. The bathroom looks like it will be ready for tiling soon. The kitchen's rotted plaster board has been replaced with brand new sheetrock. The concrete pads have been poured and are being watered to prevent drying too fast and cracking.
We will be laying down 5" wide, 3/4" "Autumn Oak" in the kitchen and dining rooms. Besides the new refrigerator, I am sincerely hoping that the days of huge expenditures is drawing to a close. Now we will have to start thinking of paint colors.

Garbage-Crete

The previous owner buried all his garbage with the concrete in the back yard. From plastic bottles to large shears, everything got mix together and poured. Dozens of car keys and cassette tapes lead us to believe he might have worked for a Cadillac dealership.