May 2009: Victor - Master of All Trades...

My boss hooked me up with his master carpenter friend Victor. Vic was the first person to spend more time in my house before I did... he was there pretty much every day for 3 weeks, transforming a few key elements of the house before I moved in. Tom and I helped him out a bit (Tom more than me) but mostly Vic was a one man show. He has a magical white work van... the tools and equipment that emerged out of that van day after day were mind boggling. I often heard Vic say, "Oh, yeah, I have a tool for that in the van!" and, he did.

He expanded the laundry area, overhauled a built in art nook (sorry, K, know how you love that term) into a built in bookcase and wine rack, made new baseboards throughout the house, removed a 1950's (guessing) built in entertainment center, and built a new fireplace mantle (in an afternoon!) He also installed ceiling fans and re-did a bit of wiring, and tore out the very rickety deck.

Vic only told me "no" once -- when I asked him if he would make new interior doors to match the old. Vic is very experienced with construction, and clearly knew how to get the answers he was after. Here is a typical conversation with Vic:

Vic: "Hey, Project Girl, what do you want to do about [blank]?
Me: "Oh, I thought I would [blank]"
Vic: "Why do you want to do that?"
Me: [blank look, thinking] Well how would you do it?"
Vic: "Well if it was me, I would [launch into very well thought out plan]"
Me: "Oh... right... yes, that's what I want to do! Let's do that!"

I have a lot of photos of those projects (and of Vic -- yes, I made him pose, he was such a good sport) and I'll explain those with before and after photos in separate entries. He was a gem to work with -- entertaining and meticulous, and was a total workhorse. I've never seen one person crank out so much work in one day! Thank you, Vic!

I am certain that Vic will make a return appearance in the coming months... even if he doesn't know it yet...