I generally like to do the most unexciting things on my projects first, getting the tedious bits out of the way. The fancier, more exciting parts serve as a reward for my efforts. In the new house this means I will tile all of the closets first. They also serve as practice, as I learn the ins and outs of tiling and get used to the new tile saw.

Today I laid the tile in the mechanical room first - probably the most difficult area in the house. The room is a bit cramped, measuring about eight and a half feet deep and just over four feet wide. Just for fun there were also more than a dozen pipes sticking out of the floor that needed to be tiled around. It made things interesting to say the least. I'll be grouting the floor tomorrow in preparation for the heating guy who arrives Monday. He'll be hooking up the in-floor heat, boiler and hot water tank. The electrician will also be finishing up the wiring of the LED lights.

With the tricky mechanical room down I was on a roll. The next room was our walk-in closet. It is a room most folks marvel at when they tour the house. Janis & I like an uncluttered and roomy bedroom so we'll be installing a closet system with shelves, hangers and drawers in the generous walk-in space. It measures seven and a half feet wide by twelve feet long. The closet is most likely a bit of an overreaction from living in far too small a house the last ten years. Currently, in the old house, Janis uses the tiny two and a half foot wide bedroom closet while my clothes hang from an old wooden rod (suspended from the ceiling) over the end of our bed. Our king sized bed and two dressers are also crammed into the tiny room. The remaining floor space at the end of the bed hardly allow us to pass and the sides of the room beside the bed are so narrow we have to walk sideways to get into bed. We are really looking forward to the new space!

Each day we cross a project or two off our lists. It is looking pretty cool in the house. We are counting the days until we get to move in at last.

-grampa dan