Barter Mania

So - I confess its been a while, but I have been busy expanding my hobby operation to a small studio in the Mile End part of the Plateau area in Montreal.

And all that activity has me in need of the occasional massage for therapeutic purposes.

And that in turn brought my attention to a great masseuse who is an addict of the barter system who was advertising on Craig's List - a source of many goodies..

So we struck a deal.
She buys the materials. I do the work, and barter the work value I do for the massage value she does.

Her rented studio is a couple blocks from mine and needed a substantial makeover from the shabbily neglected apartment it used to be. A first focus was the kitchen which it seemed had not been touched or visited by the landlord since before World War Two.

Check out the before pictures to get a look at the state of affairs with the kitchen counter. Yes a new top, but under the counter successive paint jobs had prevented drawers from closing, and two doors were now missing, the openings covered by really gross red cloth.

So I did a quick measure and used some recycled wood hanging around along with some used plywood from a packing crate to make some quick n dirty reproductions of the original doors.  The middle door had jammed inside the casing, and had not been opened in two years until I applied my magic. See what was in there in the picture.

I also used a trick of the trade and shifted one of the original doors to the end of the three and inserted the new door into the space between. Subtle differences become less apparent using this method. The doors are actually plywood with thin pine glued to the surface to simulate the look of the original panel doors. A bit of gyprock mud simulates several coats of paint in the inside edges, fills gaps and softens the look.

I then recycled the old hinges and hardware to mount the new doors, and viola, after a coat of paint and removing some of the excess paint from decades past - a sorta retro look refurbished kitchen will appear.

Check back in a couple weeks to see the stuff all painted retro white and when the top bit to hide the too big sink is placed into position. The sink actually overhangs the door under it.

Does this mean I am getting Bartered Woman Syndrome?