I have finally made some progress on finishing the basement of our current house. I took this shot a few days ago.

I used the blue masking tape to make sure joints didn’t separate when I was snapping a new piece of flooring into place. Since then I have completed the flooring in the den. That leaves the flooring in the downstairs bedroom closet, which should take only a short time. Then it’s hanging doors and installing baseboards, and the basement will be essentially finished. Of course I still have to replace some cracked tiles in the master bathroom.

We are also approaching completion of drywall in the new house. The drywall contractor has been taping and mudding. He expects to be done by the end of the week.

The interior of the house looks like an actual house now. I expected to see it differently at this point, but I think I have been visualizing it so much that I already knew what it was going to look like.

Attic insulation comes next; that is tentatively scheduled with a helper for this Saturday. I have to do a little more in the attic and then I’m ready. The only thing standing in the way is a decision about whether to use blow-in cellulose or blow-in fiberglass. The biggest disadvantage to cellulose, other than the big mess it leaves, is that it will take at least 135 bags, while the fiberglass will take only about 50. I think I can get 50 bags on my truck and trailer, but not 135 bags. The big-box store gives a free one-day rental of the blowing machine if you buy enough bags of insulation (I’ll meet that requirement several times over), but it might well take more than one day to blow in the cellulose. I’ll have to make a decision on that in the next couple of days.

I saw my doctor on Tuesday about my right shoulder, which I injured in a fall in the new garage. (Step ladders were invented by the devil.) When I first injured it, it seemed to be a minor inconvenience. After a week or two, it was a major inconvenience. I couldn’t lift my right arm high enough to brush my hair, and I had to use my left hand to help my right hand reach the steering wheel when I drove. But Sunday I surprised myself by being able to raise my right arm over my head without any significant pain. I was pretty sure it was a torn rotator cuff, but the doctor is not certain. Leah suggested earlier that it might not be. The doctor ordered an X-ray to make sure the shoulder is not dislocated, and some ibuprofen to help with any inflammation. No visit to the orthopedic surgeon yet, and possibly not at all. And it seems that I can use my right arm for some things if I’m careful.

Like unloading about a half a ton of floor tile for the new house.

I’m supposed to meet a flooring contractor Wednesday morning to get an estimate for tile and hardwood. The contractor I had originally intended to use says he is booked through June, and that just won’t work.

My forecast is for completion of attic insulation this weekend, and the start of painting early next week. Some time during the weekend I hope to install the final exterior door so the house can be locked, and after that, to get electrical power inside the house. Then it’s a clear path to an air conditioned house and hardwood flooring. And, if my right shoulder behaves itself, I may be able to install the interior doors and do the trim work myself.