Monday's big bath

Started a brand new bathroom job today. Great house in a stunning neighborhood. Really nice people, too. What a busy day, though! This is new construction in an existing home, creating a bathroom where none was before. Met with Pete Steltmann and John Metzger (sales managers) this morning to go over scope-of-work. Then two guys showed up to do the new skylight, with perfect timing on a sunny-and-sixty day. Next came the plumbing contractor, since this one requires all new supply and drain lines fed up to the second floor (a bit more than I like to dig into!). The electrician, Kevin, joined the party after lunchtime. It was a hectic few hours, and the time flew by. I even got some work done, framing up various new partition walls so the tradesmen can do their thing tomorrow. Very good first day.

Sunday is fun-day?

The one-day weekend draws to a close. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the bugs were out in force. Leaves have peaked and the trees are baring branches now, but it was nearly seventy degrees outside for an hour or two! Lin and I got the camper all ready for winter, wrapped it up tight in a giant blue tarp with many bungies for tie-downs. Looks safe and secure, at least until the winter winds really howl it up. We shall see. No kids this weekend makes for a quiet house and no big plans, so we took a couple hours out for house-hunting. Looked at a fair-sized loser in a fine neighborhood. Too many minuses, not nearly enough to out-weigh the pluses. That one will probably have to drop another ten grand before someone takes the plunge on it. Drove by another, which looks much more like a winner (though tiny, it does have a basement). We'll keep an eye out for an open house there. Spending what's left of this fine fall day watching some football, mostly one-sided mis-matches. (yawn) My team, The Bills, plays tonight on ESPN Primetime Sunday. Sadly, I have to admit that I'm betting against my home team tonight. They have no right to win this game, especially after last week's sorry showing. Watch 'em win, just to spite fans like me!

Two jobs for Saturday! (sigh)

I spent a rare work-filled Saturday today. The combination of heavy rains and long days (plus one missing cabinet) forced me to book the day solid. Both jobs were fun, though, and the weather was magnificent: sunny and sixty-five! Morning found me back at Millie's kitchen, to install her new cabinet and finish-up with crown moldings. She's thrilled, and ready to begin the process on the other half of her kitchen. Second half of today was spent miles away, south of Pittsford, on a whole separate job. The customer already had his sink/faucet waiting for me. All I had to do was remove the old one and install the new one. Pretty easy stuff, except for the usual concern that plumbing is never simple or predictable. This one went very well, and the customer was pleased with the results. That's what it's all about. I got done early enough to finally remember to buy a new work-watch. Now I can leave the Seiko home (whew!). So ends the work-week. Sunday is, appropriately, a day of some rest (although the camper needs winterizing... ah well.)

Friday all day fence job

Today was another all-day job for Mike and me. We worked at a very nice house on Baird Road, Penfield north. While the rain only sputtered, the ground was wet and spongy, making foot-travel a pain. It was a long walk back and forth all day, trucks to jobsite, carrying tools and some very heavy materials. This one called for a nearly eight-foot-tall privacy fence, using the "shadow" effect and some lattice up top for decoration. Lots of ladder work, and tons of repetitive cutting/fitting. In the end, it turned out quite nicely. We finished our "easy" Friday job right about sunset (which will come an hour earlier on Monday!). Both of us went home pretty tired, but at least not starving. Lunch was Wendy's, eat & run style.

Thursday on the Lake

Today was Lake-day, down on Menteth Point (Canandaigua Lake). The rain held off and the wind was gone. View from the lakeside was spectacular, with leaves right about at peak. We had two small but demanding jobs to do on a lovely old Victorian "cottage" (about 4,000 square feet!). Mike handled the new Bilco door (one of his specialties), while I tore into the little covered porch. Luckily, Mike had already done the tear-out. I spent some minutes looking the job over, not liking what I saw, then began what turned out to be an all-day task. We both worked from before nine am until after six pm, and took only the quickest of breaks. Lunch would have cost us an hour, half of that spent driving. Still, the job isn't quite finished, despite our efforts. Mike will return Saturday morning to wrap things up.

Wednesday Rain Day

Mike and I were supposed to begin a job on Canandaigua Lake today, but yesterday's heavy rain/winds were forecast to continue. Weather wasn't as bad as rumored, but plans had already been changed. Looked at a Kitchen in Hamlin, scheduled for pre-Thanksgiving, and went to a co-worker's house in Greece to quote some bathroom work. His tile walls in the tub area have seen better days. Mike got to the Canandaigua job later in the afternoon and set things up for Thursday.

Tuesday Kitchen

Built a half-kitchen today for Millie Smith in Gates. Tore out some old painted cabinets and installed new oak from Aristocraft. Interesting countertops in glossy white with a bit of a swirl. Missing one key cabinet, but the rest of the job went well. Will return to build clear pine soffits and add some top crown molding. Millie will order the rest of her kitchen next month. Very nice lady. Looking forward to going back.