Animals
I enjoyed Mother Crone's post Home Improvement, homeschool edition, and decided to post about some of our experiences with REMODELING.
After an exhausting house hunting search that I'll post about later, we found an older house that would "do". I actually couldn't stand the house but loved the land it was sitting on. After a careful examination of the house I determined that the layout was OK, it just needed a MAJOR face lift. So after leaving the house when we got in the car and hubby said "what would you think about the house if we remodeled it", I said YES. After major stress and heartburn the house was ours and we were first time home owners. Now for the remodeling nightmare.
We started with the cave, aka the master bathroom. It was DARK, the only light in the master bathroom came from a swag lamp that had dark green glass globes. It was so dark that I wound up putting my makeup on at the kitchen table and leaving the bathroom door opened when I took a bath, so I could see to shave my legs. Needless to say my main priority was getting some LIGHT in there, and I also wanted heat as this house had MAJOR heating problems when we moved in. We went with a heater/fan/light combo that should have been easy to install, but wasn't because of the sagging ceiling. Hubby wound up completely redoing the ceiling. We also installed a white Hollywood light over the vanity, replaced the tiny mirror over the sink with a mirror that covers the entire wall and is surrounded with pink marble that matches the pink marble counter top we installed to replace the green counter top. Ripped out the moldy white tile around the tub and replaced it with pink marble and replaced the lavatory/face bowl/what I refer to as the bathroom sink and the commode. My Darling Daddy came down and replaced the linoleum on the floor with white tile. After we finished not only was there enough light in the bathroom to apply my make up and shave my legs the room (which is really small) looked bigger. Having a really small bathroom definitely has advantages; it's easy to clean for one, it doesn't take long for the heater to heat for another.
Next we tackled the master bedroom, we replaced the dinky metal windows that opened sideways and looked like they belonged in a trailer with white windows that open from the bottom (you can take it as a given we replaced all the windows in the house once we got to that room), added a border that matched our bedspread and curtains and painted the walls a light blue (it's technically considered off white). We left the avocado green carpet until we finished remodeling the rest of the house. But it has since been replaced with blue carpet.
At this point Hubby said he was going to remodel the kids bathroom as soon as we saved up some money so I bought a shower curtain and accessories for it. Alas by the time we had saved up the money Hubby decided to remodel the kitchen, dining room and entryway instead.
The kitchen is a disappointment to me. We bought brand new kitchen cabinets. They were suppose to be WHITE, when the guy installed them they had a yellow cast to them. He assured me that they just needed to be scrubbed with this special polish he left with me. After I had scrubbed for days with the special polish they still had a yellow cast and looked dirty, they are also peeling. One day maybe we can fix them. I am still annoyed I wasn't able to get the cabinets I wanted from Home Depot. Hubby and I sat down and he drew out what we wanted and gave me a budget to work with. I headed to Home Depot to get the cabinets I wanted. The guy over that department refused to talk to me without my husband present, he gave me some song and dance about it being store policy that both spouses had to be present when ordering a major remodeling project. Somehow I don't think I would have had the same problem with the jerk if I had been a guy. So fine they were the only store on the MS GULF COAST that had the particular cabinets I wanted I would bring Hubby in, I set up an appointment. The guy was busy with another couple when we got there. Our appointment was at 1PM, by 2PM I had an irate husband and the jerk was still working with the other couple. Hubby refused to wait and refused to go back and the jerk wouldn't work with me without Hubby so I didn't get the cabinets I wanted. We wound up ordering custom made cabinets from J & M Custom Cabinets, a local couple who made a big deal out of running a Christian business (they even have the ichthus prominently displayed on their letterhead). Besides the yellowish tinge to my supposedly white cabinets, the peeling paint and the fact that the cabinet doors are not solid wood as advertised, when he installed the new counter-top he started to cut it in the wrong place for the stove so my brand new blue counter top is scratched. Needless to say I wasn't pleased with the results considering the money we paid for the custom cabinets and counter top. I do love the laminate wood floors my husband installed in the entryway, dining room and kitchen. We took out the bar, since we never used it and fixed a back-splash between the kitchen and family room (the removal of the bar gave me more room in the family room and more usable counter space in the kitchen). We added a built in microwave over the stove, replaced the horrid mustard yellow stove, dishwasher and refrigerator with brand new white ones and wallpapered the lower half of the dining room wall. We also removed the built in desk from the dining room and placed it in the study, replaced the window and painted the walls light blue.
- House Hunting Horrors
Frankly I never want to be forced to go house hunting again. Hubby and I knew what we wanted, a 3/4 bedroom, 2 bath house with at least 3 acres (preferably more). What is so hard to understand about that. Since I was a SAHM, we decided I would go look...
- Almost There!!
It's hard to believe, but moving day is only one week away. The inside of the house is practically complete....except for some last minute plumbing and electrical hook ups. Unfortunately, our master bathroom toilet is on back order....but at least...
- Custom Work
Our kitchen and library installation was begun this week. Each side wall of the middle room of the loft has been outfitted with book shelves. The left wall and beyond it is a guest room and a full bath. The right wall..and doorway into my sewing...
- Construction Update
Our construction crew has been busy putting the finishing touches to the inside of our house. They are working hard to get us ready to move in...with an emphasis on the inside of the house for now. Once we can inhabit the inside, they will move outside...
- Construction....slow But Sure
Here are a few pictures of the interior....The walls are framed, and now the plumber and electrician are finishing the roughed in wiring and plumbing. Once that is complete, there is an inspection by the codes office and then the walls are finished. Our...
Animals
Our Remodeling Adventure ~Part 1
I enjoyed Mother Crone's post Home Improvement, homeschool edition, and decided to post about some of our experiences with REMODELING.
After an exhausting house hunting search that I'll post about later, we found an older house that would "do". I actually couldn't stand the house but loved the land it was sitting on. After a careful examination of the house I determined that the layout was OK, it just needed a MAJOR face lift. So after leaving the house when we got in the car and hubby said "what would you think about the house if we remodeled it", I said YES. After major stress and heartburn the house was ours and we were first time home owners. Now for the remodeling nightmare.
We started with the cave, aka the master bathroom. It was DARK, the only light in the master bathroom came from a swag lamp that had dark green glass globes. It was so dark that I wound up putting my makeup on at the kitchen table and leaving the bathroom door opened when I took a bath, so I could see to shave my legs. Needless to say my main priority was getting some LIGHT in there, and I also wanted heat as this house had MAJOR heating problems when we moved in. We went with a heater/fan/light combo that should have been easy to install, but wasn't because of the sagging ceiling. Hubby wound up completely redoing the ceiling. We also installed a white Hollywood light over the vanity, replaced the tiny mirror over the sink with a mirror that covers the entire wall and is surrounded with pink marble that matches the pink marble counter top we installed to replace the green counter top. Ripped out the moldy white tile around the tub and replaced it with pink marble and replaced the lavatory/face bowl/what I refer to as the bathroom sink and the commode. My Darling Daddy came down and replaced the linoleum on the floor with white tile. After we finished not only was there enough light in the bathroom to apply my make up and shave my legs the room (which is really small) looked bigger. Having a really small bathroom definitely has advantages; it's easy to clean for one, it doesn't take long for the heater to heat for another.
Next we tackled the master bedroom, we replaced the dinky metal windows that opened sideways and looked like they belonged in a trailer with white windows that open from the bottom (you can take it as a given we replaced all the windows in the house once we got to that room), added a border that matched our bedspread and curtains and painted the walls a light blue (it's technically considered off white). We left the avocado green carpet until we finished remodeling the rest of the house. But it has since been replaced with blue carpet.
At this point Hubby said he was going to remodel the kids bathroom as soon as we saved up some money so I bought a shower curtain and accessories for it. Alas by the time we had saved up the money Hubby decided to remodel the kitchen, dining room and entryway instead.
The kitchen is a disappointment to me. We bought brand new kitchen cabinets. They were suppose to be WHITE, when the guy installed them they had a yellow cast to them. He assured me that they just needed to be scrubbed with this special polish he left with me. After I had scrubbed for days with the special polish they still had a yellow cast and looked dirty, they are also peeling. One day maybe we can fix them. I am still annoyed I wasn't able to get the cabinets I wanted from Home Depot. Hubby and I sat down and he drew out what we wanted and gave me a budget to work with. I headed to Home Depot to get the cabinets I wanted. The guy over that department refused to talk to me without my husband present, he gave me some song and dance about it being store policy that both spouses had to be present when ordering a major remodeling project. Somehow I don't think I would have had the same problem with the jerk if I had been a guy. So fine they were the only store on the MS GULF COAST that had the particular cabinets I wanted I would bring Hubby in, I set up an appointment. The guy was busy with another couple when we got there. Our appointment was at 1PM, by 2PM I had an irate husband and the jerk was still working with the other couple. Hubby refused to wait and refused to go back and the jerk wouldn't work with me without Hubby so I didn't get the cabinets I wanted. We wound up ordering custom made cabinets from J & M Custom Cabinets, a local couple who made a big deal out of running a Christian business (they even have the ichthus prominently displayed on their letterhead). Besides the yellowish tinge to my supposedly white cabinets, the peeling paint and the fact that the cabinet doors are not solid wood as advertised, when he installed the new counter-top he started to cut it in the wrong place for the stove so my brand new blue counter top is scratched. Needless to say I wasn't pleased with the results considering the money we paid for the custom cabinets and counter top. I do love the laminate wood floors my husband installed in the entryway, dining room and kitchen. We took out the bar, since we never used it and fixed a back-splash between the kitchen and family room (the removal of the bar gave me more room in the family room and more usable counter space in the kitchen). We added a built in microwave over the stove, replaced the horrid mustard yellow stove, dishwasher and refrigerator with brand new white ones and wallpapered the lower half of the dining room wall. We also removed the built in desk from the dining room and placed it in the study, replaced the window and painted the walls light blue.
Next we tackled the family room. The previous owners had converted a wood burning fireplace to a gas fireplace. The fireplace was a nuisance the room is long and rectangular and the fireplace took up valuable wall space. I got very sick from the fumes from the gas fireplace before we figured out what was making me sick, so we couldn't use it. There was a huge UGLY gas tank sitting on my patio, that I wanted gone and the fireplace leaked. Whenever it rained, rain came in through the chimney and entered the wall next to the fireplace. So we ripped the fireplace out and replaced it with the wall my entertainment center sits on now. Of course ripping the fireplace out also necessitated ripping the carpet out. This lead to an interesting debate between me and Hubby. I wanted to "live" with a cement slab for a floor until we were ready to re-carpet the whole house. Hubby was mortified at the idea of having a cement slab floor in the living room until he could remodel the hall, study and the kids bedrooms. So after being assured by the carpet guy that we would be able to get the same carpet for the rest of the house a couple of years later we got carpet for the family room. As you can probably guess it took Hubby longer to remodel the hall, study and kids bedrooms then he had planned and by the time we were ready for carpet they no longer carried the color we had in the family room. So my carpet doesn't match throughout the house like I wanted although it does blend well.
Since I have laundry awaiting me, I'll wrap this post up and continue with Our Remodeling Adventure ~Part 2 tomorrow.
- House Hunting Horrors
Frankly I never want to be forced to go house hunting again. Hubby and I knew what we wanted, a 3/4 bedroom, 2 bath house with at least 3 acres (preferably more). What is so hard to understand about that. Since I was a SAHM, we decided I would go look...
- Almost There!!
It's hard to believe, but moving day is only one week away. The inside of the house is practically complete....except for some last minute plumbing and electrical hook ups. Unfortunately, our master bathroom toilet is on back order....but at least...
- Custom Work
Our kitchen and library installation was begun this week. Each side wall of the middle room of the loft has been outfitted with book shelves. The left wall and beyond it is a guest room and a full bath. The right wall..and doorway into my sewing...
- Construction Update
Our construction crew has been busy putting the finishing touches to the inside of our house. They are working hard to get us ready to move in...with an emphasis on the inside of the house for now. Once we can inhabit the inside, they will move outside...
- Construction....slow But Sure
Here are a few pictures of the interior....The walls are framed, and now the plumber and electrician are finishing the roughed in wiring and plumbing. Once that is complete, there is an inspection by the codes office and then the walls are finished. Our...