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It’s no secret that the carpeting in my house is in a horrible state. I’ve wanted to have it replaced since the monent I walked through the door. I’ve not had it done yet because of projects that would likely leave bare spots where walls once stood. Of the three, one has been completed (the office closet) and another really shouldn’t be that big of a problem (the master bedroom closet). The kicker is going to be the balcony addition, and whether I even do it or not.

I think I’ve hammered out the engineering of the beams and support, but my concerns are about the floor underneath the supporting wall. Currently the wall is nothing more than a solid banister that extends past the fireplace. The new design will take that wall out and replace it with one that goes all the way up to the floor of the balcony. David’s confident it’s not a problem. In the least, it won’t take any extra support and at most, a jack under the house will be more than enough to solve any problems.

My plan, for carpeting anyway, is to wait until I get my tax refund next year. Even with adjusting my exemptions to take my mortgage interest into account, I’m expecting a sizable check from Uncle Sam. As for the balcony, well, I’m not sure if or when that’s going to happen. I’m budgeting it at $1000 (which I think is even a little high), but I’m still paying off my deck addition (two months left on that). Plus, it’s a serious project… one that I’m not sure I’m entirely up for.

Meanwhile, I STILL have a large jagged hole in the drywall where the balcony will be going… during a conversation with David, we came to a point where we needed some answers and the only way to find out was to go inside the wall. Normally we’d use the sawzall for exploratory surgery, but not so in this case. My trusty hammer made quick work of a one foot square spot about eight feet off the floor. It’s been that way for almost a year.

The girl that cuts my hair turned me on to a friend of hers who’ll likely give me a seriously good deal on painting my living room. I’m not adverse to painting (or asking friends to help), but I don’t relish the thought of going up a ladder or asking my friends to go up a ladder either. It’d be a lot of work and I’m happy enough to pay someone with skills to get up there to do it right and quickly as to ask that much of my friends. Painting, of course, won’t happen until after the balcony is done (or I’ve decided not to do it) and before the new carpeting is put down.