That annoyingly catchy Christmas song, "It's A Marshmallow World" that seems to play on repeat on the radio in December was the theme song at 212 this weekend. It was partially Kyle's fault, for constantly singing the first line as we worked, but I have to admit that our house also did start to look a lot like the inside of a pink marshmallow. This week's tasks? Finish the wiring, the inspection (which we passed!), and begin insulation. Kyle and I spent Saturday and Sunday insulating and I am proud to say that we finished the whole downstairs and upstairs! A few friends advised wearing long sleeved shirts and pants, saying that it was going to be unbearably itchy. However, in comparison to the old insulation that we encountered while tearing down the lathe and plaster last summer, this new pink insulation was not bad at all. We ended up wearing shorts and tee shirts, but using rubber gloves and face masks, and I am so glad that we did because we were sweating buckets. On Saturday, Kyle and I focused on the living room and kitchen downstairs. We both started at opposite ends of the room and worked our way around to each other. We moved upstairs on Sunday and, overall, it was a pretty quick and rewarding job. Here are some tricks and tips that I learned about insulating:
1) Measure out the strips of insulation as carefully as you can by leaning it against the space you are putting it in, and make a slight mark with your exacto knife where you need to cut if the piece is too big. Then, lay it down on the floor to cut. If you want to be precise, use a piece of wood or a measuring stick as a guide while you cut. 2) Use as big a piece of insulation as you can when filling spaces. If you cut the insulation too much, it makes for a harder time filling in the cracks and you risk having a draft in the end. 3) Make sure that you fill in all of the cracks and pockets in the walls. This helps to make the walls more air tight. 4) Lock your exacto knife blade before you use it so that it doesn't slide down or cut you. Also, always cut away from your body. Next Week's Forecast: another big clean-up, DIY, and maybe even drywall :).
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About MeKyle and I just became new homeowners. The house we purchased is not what one would classify as "move in ready"; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Built at the turn of the 20th century, our Victorian style house is both beautiful and terrifying in its ancient status and will be a project in renovation. This is a documentation of our triumphs and lessons learned, as we deconstruct and reconstruct this house. The end result? A space that we can proudly say we created. Archives
December 2016
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