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!
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.
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.
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!
