But what does that mean in terms of getting my Buddha Room mudded?
High Performance Homes phoned me last night with a sudden opening in their schedule. I'd been dilly dallying on the last bit: more sheet rock bashing (gypsum wall substance) and insulating with "the pink stuff" (R-21, but sliced because no batting comes that narrow, about 10" between beam insides).
So I said "let's go for it" and swung into action, already four pizzas into it, child labor laws skirted (Patrick was passing on useful skills to his son, with Steve directing the 2nd time, given knee surgery, me staying out of the way).
I used one of those retractable razor things to slice batting, careful with your hands, like sheering sheep (which I've never done). Then stuff it, paper down, between the beams, which in my case hold up a slightly sloping fenced deck area, where people can stand outside and scan the neighborhood, drinks in hand perhaps.
Bashing with a crowbar: that's for removing the old sheet rock, which had to be done to rebuild a good percentage of the back office. Then there's prying out the nails and getting the last remnants of gypsum from the cracks where the new gypsum will fit. By "gypsum" I mean "sheet rock" as it's called, a favored interior surface material for these old wooden homes.
I call it the Buddha Room because of the Bhutanese tankha that hangs there (a likeness of the Buddha), and because of the joke I make about my home being a registered non-profit temple with this giant inflatable Buddha in the back, so if the IRS comes for an audit, I can throw a switch and have "instant temple" (the Buddha Room in action).
What's closer to the truth is that has been my office (Dawn Wicca and Associates -- she and I worked as a partnership), and as a self-employed person was entitled to claim some floorspace on my taxes, and to account this rebuild due to water damage as an expense to that office.
Presumably, the HPH team will arrive promptly at 9 AM, regardless of snow, and make the interior paintable in short order. The guy on the phone said his team was experienced with "hot mud" meaning they wouldn't be using a lot of hours. The cost is already fixed anyway so it's to their advantage to not squander time. The same company built my deck railing, a wooden fence, which I am also quite happy with.
HPH just phoned again to say the snow is causing delays but the plan to start work today is still in place.
