Two steps forward, One step back
We've been working really long, hard days on site at the ADU. Usually we are up and onsite meeting a contractor before 8 and home about the same time each evening. If i didn't know better i would swear it was a job. But then one of us remembers that we can simply decide to take tomorrow off if we want/choose to. We also remember that we're doing this because we choose to. To build the home for ourselves we've missed for so long. To finally have a place to nest, to entertain in and to act as a launching point for future adventures.
It also has made us really aware of some of the changes we've grown accustomed to. We work hard. We always have...but before the last few days i cant remember the last time we woke up to the sound of an alarm. We've grown accustomed to listening to our bodies and their natural cycles, and we rather like it.
After the drywall went up, it became really easy to start picturing our new home. The space suddenly felt less like a garage and more like a living space. It was impossibly dirty. Every surface covered in an inch or so of drywall dust- might as well have been snow. It was piled up in the corners, ground into the floors and literally covering every surface. Seasoned pros would have simply put down paper before the drywall started to keep everything clean, but seasoned pros we are not.
Yet another rookie mistake. 
This particular mistake was paid for with a few hours of cleaning, vacuuming and eventually sanding down our floors to find the wood buried underneath. Once we reclaimed the wood we went ahead and finished the OSB as our finished floor. Some people love this look, others hate it. For us its the perfect option- cheap and durable, which makes it a win/win. We did the same thing for flooring inside the house when we renovated it and loved the result, so we did it again in the garage.
Over the weekend we took a bit of time off. A nice dinner with some friends and a day in front of the TV watching football with others. Just the break we needed to reset and go back at the project with gusto. Ready for paint and the final home stretch. Mostly.
At the end of last week we realized that our contractor had poured the bathroom floor 2" too thick. The final finish was beautiful, but the height made for an uncomfortable step up and an unnecessary slope walking into the shower. As a result we battled a tough decision all weekend.
We tried to simply live with the mistake in an effort to stay on schedule, but deep down we knew it would drive us crazy for years. After our day off we finally made our decision, called the contractor and had the difficult conversation about ripping out that section of floor and repouring. We did our best to cover everything in paper (lesson learned) and then set him free with a sledgehammer.
Another cloud of dust (and another layer to clean) later and our once beautiful concrete floor was a pile of rubble on the front lawn. Truly a tragic decision. One that sadly pushes back everything from painting to fixtures and our move in date... but long term its a decision i think we'll be happy we made.
