Our love for high ceilings... has changed

We are working to repair the girls' bedroom walls from wall paper removal "blemishes". I think we may be hanging a lot of items on the walls to cover up all the holes.
Chad is always great at adding some comedy relief. Here he is "junior high"-initializing the red wall at midnight during one of our many late night work sessions.
The beams had collected dirt and dead bugs three inches high. Heights are not my strong suit. After hanging on for dear life for 30 minutes and only getting 1/2 a beam cleaned, Chad took over and finished all the rest in about the same amount of time.

The kids bathroom is still under construction. I found a dresser at a garage sale that is being converted to a double vanity... with a little help. Found vessel sinks at a bargain price online from a business that was closing... then we had to sink them down to accommodate the cheap faucets that I bought (I was not spending a small fortune for special vessel faucets)Again, too many HGTV ideas, and not always the knowledge to finish the project all the way thru. Alaina and Dan helped us get the shower tiled, the floor and vanity top now have tiles too... the grout however is still missing from all. I have a feeling that project will take on a crazy life all of its own!
Here Chad is showing his comfort with heights. A two-story scaffolding wasn't tall enough to get paint up to the peak... so he also added a foot stool... children don't try this at home! I think I need a sedative just thinking about it!... also somehow misjudged how much green paint was need... so if anyone needs a few gallons of cilantro cream, I have a "few".

Main floor painted (minus the laundry room and mud room) - CHECK
Tile in place (minus kitchen backsplash and all grout) - CHECK
Wood Floor with its final finish- CHECK

needing second floor drywall completed, primed, painted, grouted, plumbing hooked up, carpet, closet rods/shelves or both... by Tuesday?...

stay tuned for a Tuesday update...

Sand, polish, and "cut"

We have the floor sanded and the first two coats of sealer applied. Maplevalley Hardwood floors did the finish work and were great to work with. The color of the floor has really come alive.
Just
Thought we would share a view of why chainsaws should not come into contact with flesh. 20 stitches reattached all the skin that was still intact and looked amazingly well considering the condition it was in. Let's hope this is the only remodeling injury we have before moving in!

The insurance company wanted the outside shed painted and the doors retrimmed... so we had several soccer boys volunteer a day. Chad power washed the outside of it and got the new trim on with Ted's help. The helpers took care of the rest. Woo hooo!

Our tiling has begun. The day I picked up the tile, I changed my mind against the fun, trendy tile and decided to go with something a little more neutral... was afraid I would hate the fun stuff in 8 years or so... and tile is something I don't want to redo. We tore up all the original living room tile in this house... and I don't want to have to remove tile again!
Mr. Harvey came and helped us get more of the light fixtures up. We also got the front entry lights, door bell, and outlet working.
Ralph, a neighbor, is helping build my "command center" that I drew up on paper. Probably too much HGTV again on my part. I am excited to say that each of us will have our own "locker" space. I hope this helps with the chaos of shoes, coats and such.
Chad and Dad got the barnwood entry way wall done. The wood is from a great grandfather's barn. We had it kiln dried to kill the creepy crawlies. It was another way to add a unique element and also tie is some family history.

We are still far from painting. Walls still need to be prepped, but the house is coming together. Chad had a chainsaw accident yesterday and ended up with a sewn together foot. Luckily everything is still attached, but he will be sore for a while. Another small "stumbling" block, but we are pressing on.

We have water...

The highlight from the last few weeks was the installation of the countertop. The slabs that I originally picked out were not big enough once they tried fitting the templates on. After a couple hours of trial and error, they finally decided to piece in a remnant slab from another lot. I was a little nervous about the final product, but once it was all in place, my reservations vanished. Now when I get tired of the construction debris and never-ending projects, I take a minute to admire the new countertop and then everything seems a little more attainable again.
Uncle John was home to enjoy a family wedding. While he was here he graciously spent some time trying to piece together our upper cabinets. He got those in place along with some cabinet "jewelry" (or trim). Our microwave also was secured in place. Things that I thought were basic (like the microwave) ended up being very intricate procedures and we were thankful to have someone who knew what they were doing. One cabinet ended up being the wrong size... our refrigerator wouldn't fit. So, that had to be uninstalled.. and we are now waiting for a special shipment from Lowes.
One major setback was that I found mold in two of the walls. One was worse than the other. We had a remediation crew out to tackle that one and I worked on the area upstairs. I had on my moon-suit, mask, gloves, and the like. I was gearing myself up to find gross mold once I tore the drywall out. I found minor mold along the header and instead discovered some major mouse nests and hornet nests (luckily nothing alive). Good thing no one else was in the house at the time because they would have heard muffled screams escaping the respirator. I sucked everything out with the shop vac... only to have it jam a short time later... and then I had to clean all that stuff out of the shop vac with my gloved hands. Eww... I am not a cat person.... but after seeing those nests, the thought has crossed my mind that having a cat on the premises might not be a bad idea.
Mr. Harvey came over and helped install two new SEXY ceiling fans. He had to add some wiring for the extra one and luckily that went quite smoothly. I purchased the globes several months ago and remember putting them in a safe place so that they didn't get broken. Now if I could remember where that safe place was... we would be all set!

Plumbing has been moved out of the upstairs hallway and across the bathroom to where the kids tub will be going. That room is now ready for drywall, vanity, and tile. I found an old dresser at a garage sale that will be converted to a vanity... but who knows how exactly to do that? Chalk it up to watching too much HGTV!

As of today, our professional floor sanders have arrived to sand the floor and put a coat of sealant on it. The project should take about a week. In the mean time I am trying to scrape off the rest of the wall paper and get the newly dry-walled areas wiped down so that we can be ready for a painting party Father's day weekend. Any takers?

Hope to have you all over in about 6 weeks for a move-in celebration!

No more Studs?

Oh where does the time go? Soccer begins and house work slows to a crawl. I thought we had made little to no progress since the posting from three weeks ago... but after seeing the pictures... we have indeed been crawling in the right direction.

I only have one word to describe the last few weeks.... DRYWALL. I have a few four letter words that I could pair up with the term, but we will leave it at that.

We are STILL hanging drywall. Tearing out is so fun and quick, and hanging the new rock up is anything but. We have the main floor 90% hung. The upstairs is about 50%. We also have a few walls in the basement... which might need to wait until the next millenium, but we will keep them on the list.

Our sexy kitchen cabinet that took its good old time arriving is finally in place. The counter top gods came and templated for the counter. I will have to travel to Bridgeport this week to work out the details. Once the counter top is in place, the abode will almost look habitable. Funny how one item can make such a huge difference.

Jill stopped by and helped me battle the fish wallpaper in the bathroom. It is STILL not done. There have been a lot of helpers and man hours on that project. Those darn little fish are hanging on for dear life! Steam, fabric softener...and elbow grease... the buggers are fighting the removal...and every once in a while I swear I see a smile on their faces. Chad has reminded me several times that he LIKED the fish wallpaper.

Chad also put the wood floor down in the main floor bedroom. He did a cool striped pattern in the closet (getting creative with the left-overs). That is the last of the wood floor installation. Bring on the sanding and finishing!! I am super excited about this phase....because someone else is doing the labor!

Soon I hope to be inviting you all to a painting party with beer and bbq. (Beer to arrive towards the end of the work)... wouldn't want to leave any visible signs of the fun...

My most immediate goals are to finish the drywall and scrape the nicotine-stained popcorn ceiling from the upstairs area. I have been told by several people how simple a job it is. If I have learned anything during this remodel... it is that nothing is as easy as it seems.... so we will see.

Holiday Progress

It seems like the theme for this last week was "where did the time go?". We spent a lot of time at the house working (3 nights until midnight), but it doesn't seem as though we are any closer to moving in. I spent a whole hour just trying to carve and sand out some uneven patches in the floor so that we could continue the wood floor into the pantry. Chad's biggest project was cleaning up the construction debris from the yard. He spent an entire day picking up and burning trash so that the mess could be contained with just the dumpster.
Another one of our "oops"... Chad and dad spent around 6 hours insulating the new addition. When we wanted to begin drywalling we figured out that the insulation was supposed to be attached to the inside of the rafters and not the bottom. An afternoon was spent fixing the insulation (see picture) so that the rafters would be exposed for the drywall glue to adhere to.... now we know.

Our friend Bob stopped by to get us started with the drywall. He explained the basics and loaned us some useful tools that we had no idea that we needed. An entire working day was spent attaching 4 drywall sections to the ceiling... who knew... I thought we could get the entire entryway done in one day... not just part of the ceiling. So, we still have two big stacks of drywall begging us to be put into place, both downstairs and up. Unfortunately, as spring break ends, soccer begins... so I am not sure when the two Kennys can team up on the house again before the end of soccer season.... Marie is in need of a home renovation team mate for the time being. And Chad would love the rest that a substitution would provide!
We continued the wood floor into the pantry. We used the left over cherry in there. The room was so small that we were sure that we would have it done in no time. Cracks, gaps and an uneven floor.... that is what our opposing team consisted of... and our quick project ended around midnight again ... but it is done!
I got a call that Home Depot had their composite decking on clearance. So, Dad Kenny and I made a trip and loaded up around 24 boards for the front porch. When we got them home and unloaded, I found several had chips and fading (must have been the trick lighting at the store)... and I (acknowledging that I can be pickier than some) reloaded all faded and chipped boards and Chad and I took them in a few days later for exchanges. Chad worked his magic and had the top surface decked after a full day's work.... why it took a full day... don't ask... that has just become the standard for the house renovation. Nothing will be as easy as it seems.

I have come to the conclusion that our first house renovation wasn't on a grand enough scale. If we had done more the first time around, we would be making less mistakes on this project!

Kitchen update... the missing cabinets that were being "rush" delivered in 2 weeks.... were back ordered another two weeks... So I had to move the countertop template yet again.

The plumber who repaired the frozen pipes during the house purchase negotiations and said that we were sure to have more leaks pop up once the water was on and that he would fix those new leaks as they occured (covered in the original quoted price)... decided that our new leak occurred because of something that we must have done.... the slow leak (that has taken 3 months to puddle around our hot water heater) couldn't possibly have been an existing condition. Everyone... remind me to always get those promises in writing... and that saving a $100 on a home inspection may not be worth the end results.. should have stuck with my initial plan.

Our current goal is to get the drywall done. Then paint, finish the floors... and hopefully be close to moving in by then. Barring any unforseen complications...

Going Green

So, another snaffoo added to the list. After two weeks of slowly trying to piece the kitchen together, we found that the handles on the stove do not allow us to open the drawer or door that it is adjacent to. My best friend (the tape measure) informed me that we had an extra 9 inches that had not been accounted for before walls were removed and rebuilt. I called Lowes, where everyone now knows me on a first name basis, and ordered an extra base and upper cabinet.. being expressed shipped.... in two weeks. Since the counter guys were coming in a few short days to template, two weeks didn't seem very express. Nontheless, a call to the countertop guys with lots of sweet talking and pleading home-makeover ignorance, they rescheduled the template for two weeks out, but held our same spot in the manufacture schedule... so (to make a long story short) we will have the countertop installed the same time that we would have even before the cabinet hickup. Whew
We are now on week 4 of wood floor installation. A few hours here and there equals a few rows here and there. We have the main room 75% complete with the pantry and a bedroom waiting in the wings. Cracks, chips, and humps in the floor all add character, right?

And yes, a woman can change her mind. A late night call (before next day siding installation) sounded something like this- Hi! Yes, this is Marie again. I think I am having second thoughts on the white siding under the porch. It will blend in too much with the window trim and door surround and I don't want to paint those things...just wanted to let you know before the morning. Thanks!

My ever-so-patient contractor called in the early a.m. and had me meet him at the house because he had went and picked up about 50 color samples for me to look at. I went with his green suggestion because I really had nothing jump out at me. It hasn't grown on me yet, but I am sure it will.

We just have decking to lay for the front porch and down-the-road we will add some nice white decorative railings. The electric wire to the front lamp post also got annihilated in the process, so we have to decide how badly we want to keep it...

Perhaps spring break next week will bring about some interior progress. Have a Happy Easter!

A Porch!

Just wanted to share how much the front facade has changed. (Click on January postings to the right to see initial posting). The old siding is starting to go back up. We don't have enough to piece together for the entire area so I think we will be putting white siding under the porch overhang. Another bonus to this improvement is the housewrap and weatherstrips around the windows. The plywood around the windows had rotted on the original house (which we discovered after taking the siding off).
He loves tools so much that it almost drives us crazy! He always wants to know what he can "bamm".
Our kitchen needed a few plugs moved around... which accounted for 29 holes in the kitchen alone!
Any color votes?

What a Weekend!

Perhaps it is the spring sunshine energizing everyone, or possibly the offer of birthday cake, but regardless, we were so thankful for all the helpers that stopped by to lend a hand this weekend. It was the first time that we could see real progress being made. We had a partial Kraft clan, Tomczyk family, Dad Kenny, Dad Brace, brother Jason, sister Meegan and kids and others that I am sure I have left off.... but thanks to all!

How many times during this project have I been reminded that nothing is as easy as it seems? Take this weekends kitchen install for example. Seems fairly simple, but add a big unlevel hump in the middle of the floor and a roughly knocked out wall that we don't know how to refinish...and there end up being a lot of stumbling blocks. A combination of about 6 minds were finally able to level the lower cabinets after 6 hours of frustration. While that was being attended to, there were an army of helpers battling the fish wall paper in the bathroom, and yet more who were trying to clear out the construction rubble, dust and such so that we can continue onto the next step in the bedrooms. Several large holes were drywall patched....only later to find out that the drywall was the wrong thickness and no amount of magical mudding would fix the problem. Not a big deal in the land of positive thinking... we now have 1/2 inch drywall on our Home Depot list.

The Collick family joined us again Sunday to tackle the floor project (check out our progress). My brother Jason was on hand to try and tackle the cuts when needed ... somehow the manufactored cut and our cuts wouldn't match up and only Jason seemed to have the magic in fixing this stumbling block. The whole wood floor idea began a few years ago when Uncle John suggested having the black walnut milled... and we are so glad that we did. The black walnut really makes the floor!

And finally, we have to wish Mataya a happy birthday- our spunky little girl who is now 5!

Gaining Speed?

I have many new pictures to post, but am without my camera. So, I wanted to share a few photos that the Collick family took when they came to help last weekend. The two Chad's began putting the wood floor down in the kitchen. The girls worked at taking off the fish wallpaper in the bathroom. There were also about 14 paint samples added to the walls to try and come up with a color combination.

The new front entry also has shingles on it and the old front door wall has been removed. Now we have electrical, drywall, insulation, cabinet installation and continued floor installation on our immediate list.

We are having a work day tomorrow (Saturday) at the house. All helpers will be treated to a spagetti dinner and birthday treats (Mataya turns 5) at 6pm.

Slow and Steady?

Chad has most of the main floor sealed back up after having plumbing and electrical moved around. He is trying to get the floor prepped in order to start installing our hardwood floor. We were able to pick up our flooring at Nelson's the past week. We had cut trees at both of our grandparent's homes 2 years ago and had it milled in preparation for a new house. We are excited to now have a place for it. The floor will be a mix of white and red oak, cherry, maple, and black walnut.

The crew also arrived on Wednesday of this week to begin closing in the front porch area. The area will become our new entry way and mudroom closet. Above the entryway will be a sleeping area for the girls to share until we are able to add on a master bedroom in a few years. The photo below shows Ariya standing in the new front doorway.

So, should we pass a hat and vote on when the move-in date will be?

For all of you wanting a new post...

The last few days have brought blog followers asking for more pictures.... so... let me just explain that if I have not updated pictures... there is probably bad news...or no news. In this case, there has just been no progress to share. The house looks the same as it did two weeks ago. Life with 4 kids (and in-laws on a warm vacation) has left but a few hours a week for us to work.

We have been brainstorming ways to get a bit more work done.... so by the end of the week, I hope to send you some fun new pictures. I get super excited when we have some progress to show. As soon as I get back to the computer I will be sure to pass on the new views.

I love the location so much, and can't wait to get moved in... whenever that may be.

I can't say that no progress was made. I spent 6 hours at Lowes picking out lighting on Thursday and 4 hours at JoAnne's on Saturday trying to pick out a piece of fabric to base our paint colors around. Both of those have been marked off the list... sort of... Lowes called and said the ceiling fans are backordered until the end of March, and the kitchen and dining area lighting are no longer available... the joys of renovation planning. Almost all the interior materials have now been selected so it is just a matter of getting things put back together... somewhat of a mystery right now.

Standing in the living area looking out at the trees, snow, and peacefulness... makes all the work and craziness completely worth it...a view that we hope you can enjoy in person soon.

A new Fireplace

What were the goals last week?...

We did manage to get the new hearth and fireplace insert in place. A crane and 6 burly guys loaded it into the truck. Back at the house, 4 guys (who have no business lifting heavy objects) managed to set the stone in place... all red-faced and probably needing hernia surgeries. As it was wrestled into place, all the cement that I had lovingly spread and leveled was scraped off and mangled. Once the hearth was where we wanted it, I tried smearing cement into the gaps, but I think the 700 lb stone will be difficult to move regardless if it is cemented down or not. The hearth was in place by 9pm on Thursday and Friday at 9am the gentlemen showed up with our new insert. Yay! Our first piece of the house that we have started to put back together.

Over the weekend we had one lone helper (which we much appreciated) come to help us continue deconstructing the house. We got two more rooms of carpeting removed... some of the padding had been glued to the floor. Big dreams of getting a lot accomplished, but we are taking baby steps instead. In my mind we should have a lot of time to work on the house over the weekends, but alas, 4 kids also need some watching and feeding.

I would like to say the goal of the week is to finish the tear out... but that may take another 2 weeks at the pace we are moving. Stay tuned for pictures of progress!

A weekend come and gone

Somehow in my "imagined" timetable, I hadn't accounted for the princess ball and a one-year-old birthday party... both of which consumed the weekend. Chad did manage to sneak in a few hours to transport many of the house rubble piles out to the dumpster. Progress is slowing. We are at point "A" of cleaning the house out. Point "C" is where we begin putting the house back together, and point"B" seems to be a mystery. This week's goals are getting the replacement windows ordered, install the hearth and new fireplace insert, get the remaining flooring removed, and get a start on removing the wallpaper. Enjoy your week!

The Dumpster Arrived Today

Thought that I would add a couple more updated photos. We were able to spend time over the weekend taking a "few" things apart. Perhaps from here on out we will be able to see improvement? The culligan guy that I had at the house laughed at me when I said we wanted to be moved in 3 months from now.