Status update

So another long period of time has passed since the last post.

1. The master bedroom and bathroom have been gutted and put back together again.
2. The dock has been cut up and a new one is in the works.
3. The downstairs hallway has a new ceiling, recessed lights, and most important, no ugly wallpaper.
4. The family room has been repainted.
5. The kitchen has been repainted.

More later...

One year later...

So it's about 1 year later and a lot has been done. Jeez, if I really stop to think about all that we have accomplished so far (and I don't really have time to think nowadays) it is kind of mind boggling.

The short list:

1. All new windows were installed, some new ones added.

2. Playroom is done, except for a few small details.

3. The girls' room is done, although we need to put trim back around the new windows.

4. The upstairs hall bath has a new sink, toilet, shower capability and tile floor.

5. The living room and dining room have had wallpaper removed, been painted and the light fixtures updated. The hole in the ceiling from that hideous wood burning stove has been patched. We now have new furniture as well.

6. The master bedroom and bathroom have been completely gutted, awaiting reconstruction.

7. The office is done.

8. We installed a walkway out front and refaced the steps.

9. We did lots of landscaping outside.

10. We jacked up the sinking deck posts.

11. We spent the entire summer enjoying the lake (the most important thing we have done since we moved in)

Like I said, we have accomplished a lot. In the meantime, I have finally gone into business for myself, consulting full-time. Although this will prevent full scale renovation projects from being completed any time soon, we are going to work hard to finish up what we have started and plan for the future.

Back online

OK, so after a long break from blogging, it is about time to get back to the business of documenting the process. I have been tied up with my full time gig, and my consulting, so any free time I manage to get is spent working on the playroom, which is coming along nicely. The office is getting chipped away at and is nearing completion. As with the girls' room, all that is left in the office is touchups and a few small odds-and-ends. It is a nice comfortable place to work, at least on Deborah's side of the room, but my side is a bit of a challenge to deal with. Since there is such a significant slope towards the back of the house, the chair that I sit in wants to roll away from my desk. Deborah, however, is naturally facing that way so she rolls to work in the morning and doesn't have to pull herself back up.

The playroom has had its own set of challenges so far. In changing out the lights from the old drop-ceiling (which we decided to remove and get the extra 7" height) I discovered a bunch of hazardous electrical issues that needed to be resolved before I moved ahead. Some outlets are wired backwards and the hot leads are feeding back to the neutral leads elsewhere in the home. It is amazing that some things are still even working this way, but in time it should all be sorted out. I am certainly glad that I know a bit about electrical, otherwise we would be paying a mint in electrician fees. Getting past these issues, though, we have nice recessed lights in the playroom and it just gives the whole room a new feel. It is a lot more warm and inviting. Also having installed the drywall helps with that too. All of the textured surfaces are hidden now. Next is taping and mudding which should definitely improve the look even further. Once that is done I can get to work on the shelves for the far end of the room. The computer for the girls has been ordered as well.

Things are really starting to fall into place. At first, things seemed a bit overwhelming with all the cleaning we had to do, and it is still disgusting in some places that we just haven't been able to get to yet.

Another challenge we are facing is the cold. The attic insulation is pittiful and I will definitely be blowing in more in the spring to help heat/cool the house as needed. The windows are getting weatherstripped as I have time, as are the doors. I am plugging air leaks with spray foam and fiberglass insulation as well. This is all good and helps, but I must have trapped a little critter in the wall downstairs as the bathroom suddenly has a smell of death, which started once I plugged the mouse holes :) It was good timing as I had just finished retrofitting a shower head into the upstairs bathroom and we no longer have to use that bathroom to shower in the morning. We can use the hall bath and just leave the doors closed for now.

I have one weekend left before I leave on vacation and take a break from all the work. The weekend following my return should be a good one, since Jonathan has graciously offered to come and help me out in exchange for a mind-dump of some experience and some hands-on lessons as well. I am definitely looking forward to that.

Other rooms in the house that need some attention:

Master bath, still needs tile work. Deborah asked to learn the ins-and-outs of tile installation and wants to make that her project. I am more than happy to have someone else do the work with me :)

Hall bath still needs a final color decision. At least temporary, until we gut and redo the room in a few years.

Kitchen, cabinets will be sanded and painted soon. This should buy us some time until we can afford the big plans we have for it.

That's it for now.

Check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/373hcd/ for the latest photo updates.

Making progress, slowly but surely

A few weeks since the official closing date and we have made some great progress on the house. Working backwards from last night's festivities... We got the computers back online in the new office. It was a scramble to get the room painted as both Deborah and I were going into comfortable workspace withdrawl. Now we can work in style. Pictures coming soon. Although the room is almost complete, there still is some work to be done. I plan on hanging the cabinets tonight and cleaning up some wiring, as well as installing the tv and the TiVo.

The girls' room is almost complete, just needing the new bunk beds to arrive (early next year) and to do some paint touchups and cleanup the hardwood floor.

The living room, dining room and our bedroom are all in ok shape now, although they still need their respective updating. The Christmas tree is up, making it feel more like home.

Once the office is done, I hope to get to 2 more projects... The playroom which will be a big one, and the master bathroom repairs (just enough to make it useable for the next 2 years, until we have the money to gut it and start over.)

More to come, but for now the holidays are coming, so best wishes to all and I will continue this and perhaps post some pictures on Flickr after Christmas is over.

Down to the wire

Two days left before the movers take our furniture over to the new house. Still to be finished are the girls' room, and the office. The entertainment center and the office at the old house still need to be disassembled as well.

There just isn't enough time in the day.

Hopefully the rest of the week will go along without a hitch and the closing on the old place will still happen on Friday as planned. Once we get there, the only worries we have are in the new place! It will be nice to not have to shuttle back and forth between the two houses and just crawl upstairs to bed when I am done working for the night!

Photos!

Here's a link to my Flickr page where you can browse photos of the house in all its renovation glory!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/373hcd/

The move, part 1

So we moved our boxes in today. And a whole lot of the outdoor stuff as well. The house (old one) seems a lot bigger now. And that is with our furniture here, which we will have moved on Wednesday.

For tonight, I called it quits early. I have been doing the night time work for the past week and decided to hand it off tonight. I won't have anyone working with me tomorrow so I have to be ready to go, including running up on the roof to repair where I removed the chimney from that awful wood burning stove I gave away. Thank goodness for Craigslist.

So things are coming along at the new place. Time is running out quickly and we are nowhere near completion of most of the projects we started. The girls' bedroom and the office are priorities now. I will work on both of them tomorrow. Then it is on to the shower in the master bath and then the playroom.

Signing off for the night. Back soon for updates, and if I feel adventurous, some new photos.