Monday, January 30, 2012

Up close and personal... with my hole.

HA! How many sickos got here from a wayward Google search? Plenty, I'm sure.

Those of you who have been paying attention, I have a hole in my living room wall as a resort to my absurd want of some mother fucking baseboards. That was all I wanted, let us be clear. The problem with husbands having under used power tools is that they can sometimes get a little over zealous with them and you know, cut a hole in the wall and talk you into how great it would be to have a random cubby. In the wall. Of your living room.

At this point- we're too far in to go back. My fear is that if we had just covered it up we would have somehow missed the possible greatness of a hole in your living room wall, so we've continued on. Right now all of the walls are patched and ready for paint in the rest of my living room. The hole itself needed a lot of work: plaster and lath ripped out, electrical wires re-routed, a place for a future mini light fixture, new drywall up, and eventually, some carpet. It's a lot of work.

But here's where we talk about Matt. He's super handy. He really is- I don't question his skill or level of ability because even if he doesn't know how to do something, he can not only figure it out but he also has a contractor friend he can call to get some tips and advice. So basically- he is capable of doing most anything around the house. Hell, he was instrumental in putting the addition to the house on (yet.. the laundry sink is a project he continues to stall...) so I have to give credit where it's due. The problem here is that he starts off with all of this motivation and a clear plan... and then it drops off to nothing. I have to then badger him to finish the project when it's in the worst and messiest state of it.

Last week I told him he HAD to start taking plaster and lath down because we aren't leaving this project hanging mid stream like everything else. So he does. But what he failed to do, which I feel is a critical step, is to put some drop cloths down. At least on the furniture. But no. Dust and shit EVERYWHERE.
 I inhaled so much dust I was wheezing like an asthmatic fat kid after gym glass and every time I had to blow my nose or sneeze? Black dust came out. I'm going to go ahead and assume my lungs are compromised.

But Matt didn't care. Instead, his little Antiques Roadshow heart BEAMED when he found not one, but two old things in the wall inside of secret cubby.
 A book from 1927 about house wiring.
 And a book of matches from when phone numbers were only five digits long. Am I the only one concerned that whoever did the wiring did it from a wiring-for-dummies book AND had matches handy?
 After realizing I probably have to have my furniture professionally cleaned because the dust is literally that thick on it, I simmered down long enough to demand Matt start putting drywall up in the hole.
 Which he did.
This is what it looks like when you kneel in the doorway to the cubby area. It's such a bizarre little space? But I don't know. I feel like I'll be able to do something with it. Hopefully.

Tonight Matt is (hopefully) going to start sanding drywall because this weekend? I paint the living room. No more prolonging this. My living room is a fucking DISASTER and part two of why it's a disaster is coming tomorrow.

9 comments:

Jennifer Kay said...

Ok wait...you got drywall all inside your creepy hole? So it's going to be a permanent thing, not sealed up forever?

That book found in your hole is AWESOME. For real.

Anna said...

Playhouse!

Julie H said...

Weee such fun! cough cough cough

Ruth said...

That is cool! Not the dust- the old book and matches.
So far we have found old newspapers under the floor of my daughters room. From 1917. That and opening a wall revealed a homemade ball. The ones made from fabric and yarn.

Shannon @ Bungalow960 said...

I am so jealous of your finds. My boyfriend is an electrical engineer and would DIE if he found those in our house. I kind of wish we would have done the renovations in our house instead of having them done before we moved in, because I bet we would have found a bunch of cool stuff like that.

Shirley said...

It's a good thing Matt knows what he's doing with your hole!

Sara said...

I would have loved to have a hole like that when I was a kid! Or even now. I hope it turns into something fun like a little reading nook or playhouse.

Unknown said...

ugh...you should NOT have inhaled that shit, nor should he! Could you turn the cubby into a play room? We have a 'harry potter closet' that's about 3 feet tall and 6 feet long. We keep boxes and Christmas stuff in it right now. If we had kids, I think they would love it.

Unknown said...

btw--the book = awesome although your concern on your house's wiring is noted.I tend to agree that you will probably find out the bad way if it's a shitty job but if it's stood up for 90 years, you need new wiring anyways.