Nursery

Our baby boy was due today, but he didn't get the memo. Instead, we bring you his nursery, ready for his arrival.

Thanks to painting help from my dad Steve and Timothy's mom Joanne in January, we also finished the guest room.

Bamboo Flooring, Part 2

We've been too busy working on the floors and painting upstairs to post about it! Before we get another room finished, here's what we've accomplished so far.

Installing wood flooring in the bedrooms was easy. Installing it on the landing and stairs took more work and ingenuity. On the landing, Timothy undercut the trim boards for the railing and shaved off the tops of the flooring board edges to let them slip underneath. Then he glued these edges in place. The other sides of the landing have baseboards that allow for expansion of the floating flooring.

Taking the carpet off the stairs was only the first step in preparing them for the wood flooring. The lumber treads stuck out beyond the risers and had to be cut off with a circular saw and the ends finished with a chisel. In addition to covering the treads with flooring and nosing, we used thin plywood to cover the particle board and tidy up the risers.

The whole endeavor has made plenty of use of our new table saw!

The end result looks gorgeous!

We've also painted the nursery a warm yellow-orange that complements the floor. Our baby boy is due to arrive in March!

Bamboo Flooring, Part 1

Over the past few months, we have also been working on installing the bamboo flooring upstairs, starting with the east bedroom. The first step was demolition of the carpet.

Then came more tedious prep work. The subfloor is oriented strand board rather than plywood, and the quality of installation is less than stellar. We could not find a self-leveling compound that can be used on OSB, so we tacked down layers of tar paper to even out edges and other unlevel spots. We also removed the baseboards and undercut the door trim to allow the flooring to slip underneath.

After unrolling and trimming the underlayment to fit came the fun part - installation of the bamboo planks. The flooring is Mohawk Uniclic, which snaps together along both the long and short sides of the boards, requiring methodical left-to-right and front-to-back installation. To maximize the salvaged pieces, we used previously cut planks as much as possible.

The east bedroom is done, except the closet, which can use small scrap boards left at the end. Installation went quickly, but the next area will be more challenging. The hallway will require some creative cutting and gluing to come together.

Wildlife

It's been too long since we last posted. By late June, the baby martins had grown as big and sleek as the adults and were eating whole insects.

Before long, they left to join hundreds of other purple martins in the undeveloped fields to the east of our house before migrating onward.

The barn swallows laid another round of eggs much too late in the year and raised three babies in sweltering heat. Once they got their feathers, the little swallows spent most of their time standing on the edge of the nest, panting.

Recently, we've spotted multiple tiny geckos around the house.

With all of these animals living nearby, we have applied for Certified Wildlife Habitat status from Wildlife Austin and the National Wildlife Federation. Our neighborhood is competing with others in Austin to have the most habitats certified this year!

Empty Nest

Our little barn swallows have gotten big. So big, in fact, that they've left the nest. Here they are yesterday; this morning, they were gone.

The purple martin babies have ventured out far enough for us to get a peek.

And for the first time, we've spotted a hummingbird at the feeder. Good to know we're not making that sugar water for nothing.

Here We Go Again

Just as one project wraps up...

... another begins. We lucked into nearly enough bamboo flooring for upstairs. Our neighbors are having their flooring replaced under warranty due to an installation issue and opted to go with a different look. The flooring was a floating installation and is in great shape, and it's exactly what we'd wanted!

Baby Birds

We're still putting the house back together after the tiling. In the meantime, we bring you birds! Our purple martin house has even more families this year than last.

We also have a barn swallow nest on the front porch. As much as we like the martins, I really enjoy seeing the baby swallows every time I step out the front door.