the story of the mysterious puddle

it all started back in september: the puddle.

but where were the drops coming from? after investigating each unit one floor at a time, we made it up to the top floor. BINGO. water leaking under their sink. problem solved.

a few weeks went by with no more puddles (the top floor neighbors had agreed not to use their sink until a plumber came out to fix it). but then...it started again. and this time those tiny splashes of water had turned into constant drops, filling up the buckets underneath. we held an association meeting and decided serious action was needed. plumbers came out to investigate, as well as mold abatement specialists, and it turned out we not only had a leak, but mold as well. bummer.

in the meantime, a tiny hole was cut in my ceiling so the water could drain through and not continue pooling up and billowing out. by now it was a few days before the end of october. about a month and a half of water dripping into my dining room.

then one day i came home to this giant contraption, which i named: the monster.

apparently the leak had been fixed, which meant the mold abatement team could start their magic. they cut a hole in my ceiling, confined the space, and attached a special fan through the only exit so that the mold spores would be captured. ps: that fan was incredibly loud.

but unfortunately in the next few days i noticed water still dripping (and by dripping i mean there was more water pooled up in my dining room than ever before) from outside the monster. see the two buckets i set out? yep. another leak (or two) had sprung.

so the next day the mold abatement crew and the plumber were back. they doubled the size of the hole in my ceiling -- therefore doubling the size of the monster -- which was now taking up the majority of my dining room. you can see the section of plumbing that was repaired, the wood surrounding it was painted over with a special white paint.

fast forward almost another month when the mold was officially proclaimed obsolete, and i finally got to say goodbye to the monster...and hello to a completely useless dining room, taped off in plastic (note: this was not the first time this room has been plastic'ed off).

now it was the carpenter's turn. his task: repair the ceiling.

so far the carpenter's been at my house for six straight days, and i think the end is finally in site.

what's left? once the ceiling is ready, the carpenter will repaint the ceiling. then we'll hire a painter to re-texture the ceiling and then the carpenter will be back to repaint (both the ceiling and part of the teal wall). and then hopefully i'll have my dining room back.

unfortunately i've been told that won't be until quite a while after the turkey day holiday is over...

the last of the speckling

like the tiny elves who fixed the shoemaker's shoes in the middle of the night, my dad and brother surprised me by starting AND finishing my ceiling while i was at work on friday.

the actual spray texturing process only took about 20 minutes, but a few hours of setup and teardown made it a much longer project. just like when we spray textured the living room ceiling last year, they first had to cover the entire place with plastic, then mix the putty, and then spray. they did the dining room and the kitchen, so now my entire place has been (as matthew calls it) stuccoed!

the next step is to paint and glitter it.

get the party started

8:30 am: over to the home depot to buy supplies, then over to the condo. it's never too early to get started i always say...or wait...is that my dad? oh well, i was too excited to sleep anyways. like a child on christmas eve.

first up, the living room. we taped around the woodwork and lights, primed the ceiling with kilz, then took a break for lunch while the paint dried. we walked down hennepin a block or two until we saw a quaint little converted house-to-restaurant called duplex. the wait was longer than expected, but it was nice to relax in the beaming sunshine. plus, has anyone tried their sweet potato fries? three words: o.m.g.

after lunch, my gramma and aunt linda stopped over, somewhat unexpectedly. they got the tour, and even helped tear down wallpaper, how nice is that?!

last task for today: spray texturing the living room ceiling. we covered the room in plastic, beat the putty until it looked like oatmeal (i have to admit, i was pretty curious to see if it tasted at all like quaker oats), and then began spraying the ceiling...and my hair....thanks dad.