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...