Summertime Work and Play
August 29, 2024
There is something alluring about watching yellow and orange flames dance in front of you on a cool summer evening. The cackling sound of twigs freshly lain on the pile of hot wood and coals invites a cozy feeling. The weather is changing. The air is crispier in the evenings. The sun’s rays are no longer as intense as a few weeks ago. We spent a relaxing evening with friends and family—around a campfire roasting marshmallows and enjoying the quiet of the night.
A casual stroll on the beach was unplanned—we took advantage of the kids attending Vacation Bible School on a fine Sunday afternoon.
An Intricate Labyrinth
The upstairs floor is transforming into a maze of intricate lines and grooves. It brings me back to a popular movie I remembered in my childhood—the movie Tron.
Teamwork Involves The Family
Opa and Oma took on the challenge of laying down the metal sheets (for heat conducting) after Michiel routered grooves into the drywall. The process is not overly complicated, however the planning of where the lines go in the four rooms; coming through the hallway; then connecting into a neat pile to a manifold is more of a brain-picker. Michiel had drawn and printed out a blue-print, which he followed to the T.
Since the long, white, flexible tubes came in a large roll, it was challenging to lay them in the freshly routered floors. Even though they were flexible, there were enough layers of materials in the tubes (aluminum and more plastic) for them to need manipulation. However, we were glad we decided to go with these tubes because they kept their shape easily—once manipulated.
I unrolled and maneuvered the tubes into the grooves while Michiel followed closely behind—tacking the tube down with reliable Tyvek tuck tape. The rounded corners of the grooves were the most difficult to secure—especially the smaller corners, as they required just the right amount of force to render them compliant.
Since the tubes installed were not flush with the floor, Michiel decided it was wise to cover the entire floor with concrete mud. With a sufficiently dried and now-levelled-floor; a set of floating vinyl floors were next on our ever-growing task list.
Paint Splatter On the Floor Is Unwelcome
We have learned from past experiences that we did not enjoy removing paint splatter and gunk off our newly installed floors. Time-wise, it was possibly the best investment for us to have purchased a roll of thick, brown paper to cover the floors.
If truth be told, I spent countless hours—days—weeks—and months researching colours (including colour science—LRV, etc.). We have chosen a colour scheme we are happy with for the many years we will be living in this house.
The Art of Spray Painting Window Frames By Oma
Where our windows are concerned, we had bought twelve brand new ones in white colour with the hopes of painting them to match our colour scheme. We learned that buying white windows is noticeably cheaper than buying them in colour. Since we are budget-conscious and have a long ways before finishing work on this house, we thought it would be wise to keep our prices to as low as possible. Opa and Oma were excited to take on this big project!
It was maybe a little naive for us to think that we could easily match a spray bottle colour to that of our scheme. The trouble we came across wasn’t finding the right colour—but finding the wrong shade (we could have kept the lighter shade but decided the bright sunlight would likely wash it out).
Eventually, after having visited Home Hardware several times; returning our unused cans and inquiring a better colour match from the clerk at the paint desk, we decided to just order the colour from our colour scheme and purchase the 1 gallon paint can. After all, it wouldn’t take long for an Amazon order of a battery powered spray gun to arrive at our front door (a two day wait). The project took two full days to complete. We could not have been happier with the end result—look at our creamy-beige coloured windows! Opa and Oma, impressed us once again with their hands-on skills and attention to detail!
Kids Have Projects Too
The middle two kids love looking for their own projects to tackle. What this means is taking the black plastic and paint tape (that I thought I had discarded from the window project) and turning them into handy-dandy, “pretend” sleeping bags!
We hope you’re enjoying the late summer weather. Perhaps you are also roasting marshmallows over a campfire? Or even better yet, you are star gazing on a perfect summer evening with clear skies?
Have a wonderful evening, dear friends and family!
