408 Gets a Face Lift … Mui’s Handiwork

Monday, 20 October 2014
Gulf Waters RV Resort — Port Aransas, Texas
Temps: Hi 80F (27C) / LO 74F (23C) — Raining cATS & DOGS

The contractors wrapped up their part of the facelift in late September.  Then it was time for Mui to get his hands dirty and put the finishing touches on the project.  The daytime temperatures were still quite hot, and most days were humid, but with the heavy lifting out of the way, he managed to get his to-do list completed by the second week in October.

Sealing the storage space under the kitchen counter to keep it critter-free and dry.
plenty of room for a few plastic shelves and the propane tank for the grill.

The pipe is for the grey-water discharge from the sink; connects to the sewer line.

an ordinary cutting board gets customized as a sink cover.

Adding esperanzas to the landscaping near the ‘TV room’ — for color and privacy.
The area around the tree and the esperanzas is going to be one big planting bed.

Some succulents for variety.
The driftwood — we’re collecting from the beach ;-)

MBZ gets in on the landscaping action, pruning the esperanzas
to help the roots get established more quickly.

The first of the solar lights gets installed.

Time to get the mortar up on the backsplash of the patio kitchen.
The yellow-stuff in the holes is self-expanding foam — used to plug
the holes and prevent the mortar from oozing out the back of the wall.

With the design for the accent tiles drawn on the mortar, the individual pieces go up
and are taped in place with duct tape — the only thing that worked on the mortar.
Thanks MBZ for finding the perfect talavera tile that served as our inspiration.

With the construction glue adhering the tiles to the backsplash dry, the duct tape is removed,
the tiles are covered with masking tape, and the second layer of mortar is applied.

Cleaning up the mortar and painting the backsplash is the last step.

A fresh coat of paint brightens the shed.

The reveal of Site 408 comes next.

18 comments:

  1. You are sure putting in a lot of work on that site. Can't wait to see the whole effect.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks beautiful Erin and Mui. Did you bring the tiles from Izmir?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No -- actually, Mary found the tiles for us here in Port A.

      Delete
  3. Ah yes... back when men had hair and palms had fronds.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love it, love it, love it. Such a gorgeous place you two have. Great work Mui!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful result! Love your site!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks great, can't wait to see it in person. We are anxious to live on our site for a bit and figure out what tweaks we want to make to it. See you in about 5 weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mui is working harder now than when he had a full time job! I just knew he couldn't wait to get his hands dirty. :c)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great pictures of Mui, he actually looks happy in most of them. That's a mighty lot of work he did there. Can't wait to see the final photos. I'm ready to have my socks knocked off.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lots of hot work for Mui! But it sure looks gorgeous. Can't wait for the big reveal!!! You certainly are working hard to improve your site.

    Do you ever think about getting a fifth wheel since you stay parked so much and travel out of the country half of the year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No -- a 5th wheel is not on the books, This much travel out of the country is an anomaly of sorts.

      Delete
  10. looks great! can't wait for the big reveal!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. looks like lots of blood sweat and tears going into that lot...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Eniştemin ellerine sağlık. Seramikler de çok yakışmış duvara. Artık sıra yemek pişirmeye geldi galiba?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mui you do very nice work. The whole project is looking great.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very nice job! Looks like the perfect place to spend some nice evenings.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, Mui is having too much fun. I can say too that if we have a place like that Steve would add his own labor of love. Your place is getting gorgeous by the minute.

    ReplyDelete