No more dust here

Yesterday to my delight and relief the contractors finished pouring the slab for the second floor. This means the end of the dust raining down into the kitchen, dining room and bathroom/wc on the first floor below. I've had way too much of that in the last few days, and if you add a toddler into the equation you'll understand why I am currently on the brink of going outside and screaming ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! (my mother actually did this once when I was five years old and my brother and I were fighting. I understand now mom!)

The contractors are hard workers and fast. What I thought was "nothing" a few days ago was just invisible prep work I suppose because they laid the entire slab in one day and it looks gorgeous and smooth. They did a really nice job from what I can see. I haven't been able to take a picture of the completed slab yet because they took the heavy door off the entryway, a near 100lb wood door, and it's precariously propped with a weeny little stick holding it in place. There is no way I'm getting near that thing. Here's the lunch time photo from yesterday, partially completed.



One minor tragedy is the porch. This is little porch I spent an entire week refinishing, sanding, tinting and coating with marine varnish. This is where we often eat our meals and it's my little oasis where I have a lot of my plants. Contractor two helpfully decided to sweep it at the end of the day yesterday because of the teensy, little pile of dust on the table and near one chair. Unfortunately he used the broom from all the other cleanup he'd been doing, the wet, concrete-laden straw broom. I saw him doing it and wanted to yell "stop!" but I knew that would strain relations because after all he was being helpful, right? I thought he'd think I was this anal retentive wench who freaks whenever he gets near her stuff (because I wouldn't let him come in and clean up my bathroom a few days ago either and he was like 'uh, okay madame, whatever') I am absolutely horrified by the results though. I don't think the wood will ever be the same because the whole porch is completely covered in a white, chalky haze. He also swept all the dust into the cracks of the porch and with the water it's now all solidified into concrete! I know full well that you aren't supposed to do any finish work before the big work is completely done but this porch is far enough from the zone of construction that I thought it would be safe. Maybe some wood soap with an oil base will help bring the wood back? Maybe that's all it needs but concrete dust dulls everything it touches so I'm afraid it won't.

Otherwise I'm really happy about the work upstairs. It's going really well and the guys are great.