Sunday, August 23, 2009

Working w/ Slate

Here's what the fireplace looked like last night (note the paint overspray on the metal, the rotted wood, and the debris that accumulates on the tile since it is lower than the carpet):




Here's what it looks like tonight:


It was a short project (compared to most of them we undertake around here) but it was a bit stressful because I had rented a wetsaw that put a definite cost-timeline on the project. In fact, the wetsaw rental was the most expensive part of the whole project. This was my first time working with slate and it was kinda fun to do something new, but a bit tough due to the fact that slate is a natural product and the thickness of the slate varied quite a bit. That made it tough to get the joints to all line up perfectly like you would hope. Anyway, it feels good to have started and finished a project in a single day. With a little more cleaning and a coat of slate finish stuff, it will look super-spiffy and "wet" even when it is dry.

The kids were good sports about it and I appeased them with the lure of post-project swimming and ice-cream.

By the way, they are SUPER-excited about school starting on Monday and the "buzz" around here has been constant; "What do you think it will be like?" "Do you think your teacher will be as nice as Ms. Honey?" (from the movie Matilda) "What if (friend) Van rides our bus this year?" Etc.

6 comments:

Bea said...

Wow! This looks so much better already. Such an improvement. Chapeau! Joe you can indeed be proud of the result of this one day's work. I bet you'd like for some other projects to be finished that quick and with that much success also.

Nancy Sabina said...

Very impressive that you could get that done while being the only parent. It looks great!

angela michelle said...

wow, that's very impressive for a one-day project. the kids' excitement sounds very cute.

Grampa Earl said...

Joe, that's first class work. Would you like to help me with a little project?

Mary Elizabeth Liberty said...

NICE! looks a zillion times better and more user friendly.

Unknown said...

Looks great Joe!