Demolition Day 2: A moment to go over the Electric Casualties and other issues

So as expected... problems have arisen. There were the original problems of finding an architect. In the end I wasn't able to get one to the house. It was weird. But I moved on and looked for a GC. There I was a little more successful, narrowing down to the fellow that did my moms house and the one that did previous work on mine. I liked both guys A LOT and I suck at telling someone no, but in the end went with the one that seemed to have more experience with the kinda of project we were doing, and in general the one that had less on his plate in teh way of projects going forward. We took his architect as we got a deal on him, and moved along.
The architect from teh start was a little shaky on what was in need of variance or not, and so naturally we got involved with the town and decided to apply for the variances directly rather than through him. This process took several months despite knowing people and having our info together. Unfort when you are also relying on others to get info in on time, things don't always go smoothly. But eventually we had our variance and then needed final docs from the architect. Those took longer than one might think (3 weeks on something already 99% done for variance approval?) But eventually came in, and as per expectations... permits said to take a week - took two... and then finally work began. Received the permit on a Fri, packed on the weekend, and demolition day 1 was Tues.

Tuesday most things were fine... Made the spot for the fridge too small - had to redo it, foundation in the back not good for building out doorway - simplified doorway and gave up 6 inches of space, lumber came too early - found a spot for it. That night we came home mildly in shock but ready to spend night one in the living room. We ran out of oil. It was cold. Never happened in 4 years living there, but quickly and cheaply fixed. YAY.

Wednesday things got real as a room was ripped off the house. As was the cable/internet/electric.
And so we packed.


And headed to my parents house.


And all was well.
Let's see what Thursday brings. Demolition Day 3 we are ready for you!

Demolition Day 1: The Bedroom (s)

Our Bedroom has been fairly large, and with room for two closets, though we never actually formed the second. And with windows all around and the radiator, honestly the FUNCTIONAL space was limited.


So we are taking the front 'Harry Potter Bedroom' and dividing ours into two (guest room and office).


Step one was to move all the furniture to one side or the other. We didn't want to bring downstairs and then back up, so just split it up, leaving the mattress till last so we could sleep on it up until Demo Day. The pets, seeing the weakened position, set to attack.


The division has begun.

Demolition Day 1: It Starts

Here is where we generally left off in the kitchen and office (yes it got decorated and cluttered with stuff but still serves to show where we started after emptying it out and how it looked when Day 1 began):

Kitchen


Office (to become Dining Room)


And as of Brendan's mid-day check:


Wall between the two rooms is gone and being rebuilt with entrance more towards center of the house and larger, no door, and thus creating more open feel. I can't help but a little think may be people were right about the idea of keeping it totally open, but then I think of my wine rack, and dish cabinet, and dining table, and think it's good to have a defined dining room. Also means more cabinets. However I did sacrifice cabinet and counter to keep opening 4 ft instead of 3. Worth it.

Rewind: Dec 2010, Installed the Sink & Toilet

So we went to get the sink and toilet installed, but the toilet had gotten cracked at some point... so we got a different toilet. Then we got the toilet installed and went to put the door on the bathroom, but turns out the sink was installed too close and the door wouldn't close. So we had the plumber come back and move the sink, but now I need to get the moulding fixed (It was put on based on the original position of the sink.) Either way it's coming along!




(Before)

What's New?

First...MY KITTY relaxing in the living room:



OK... enough kitties...Updates:

getting rid of the wholes in the door by hammering in ill fitting white pegs...



peeling off the tape...this is what blue tape did...


peeling off the tape...this is what the green tape did...


LESSON: GO GREEN!


bought this chair...(along with a coffee and side table)...


my living room is now cozy...



and so we had a PARTY! (well invited over 2 friends)...



This is my porch. Apparently there are people in town complaining about the appearance of my porch hurting their property values. So instead of spending my money on a sink in my bathroom, or insulating pipes in my basement, or getting a basement door, or windows that close, or screens without holes, or cabinets in my kitchen, or up to code plumbing with scald guards, or fix the grout in my shower, or blinds for the rest of my house other than bedroom, or shelves in my pantry,... I could go on...

THEY believe TOP of that list is trimming the hedges to proper shape, putting in a walkway to a front door I don't use, and emptying a porch I use as convenient storage and instead storing tools, tiles, and stuff I plan to sell in a basement or attic or garage where it's not as climate controlled or easily accessible, SO THAT when they drive by... the look of my front porch is more appealing to them.




SO I will be figuring out how to get a happy medium accomplished AND FAST.

The Month of Nothing Done

So the electrician did his final inspection. Now I need to get the town guy to come out and sign off. THEN I can get vents going. I think my guy for the vents is getting me an estimate this weekend. He originally did not think he would have to damage the walls in the upstairs bathroom. Now he things he might. Boo. I asked that he try to do it by damaging the hall outside the bathroom instead (this is why I haven't finished the hall- so that in circumstances like this it's all good :).

I hope the light we end up putting in there is brighter. I have this BEAUTIFUL blueish greenish deep wall color that I love, but the light in the room is so yellow that it just distorts it all and makes it look kinda crummy.

July isn't going to be much better. Going to the shore (YAY AUNT DEBBIE!) this weekend. Then I have work on the 10th, 18th, 25th, and I think 31st. Baptism on the 11th, graduation party on the 17th, birthday that I will likely miss but if I can make it to part of I will on the 18th, and no party but both of my brothers' birthdays are this month and will need to be attended to. Oh, and trying to get to a Lady Gaga concert.

So fun stuff, just not terribly house-ish stuff. We do mow the lawn on a regular basis, and have recently looked into the recycling situation. Also, Brendan put up a shelf! (Perhaps I will get a picture of that).

Oh, and we still have the two trees in our back yard. There were two folks that offered to take them- neither of which has had time. And so now one of them I am pretty sure has a new resident: the most ADORABLE chipmunk. It will be sad when he loses his home. *Think Ferngully*

Anywho, that's it for now!

Still Alive- But a Little Held Up

So I am still living in a mess, but here's the thing...
1. have to have closets and shelves and space to organize,...
2. have to have bathrooms done to increase closets and shelves (right now bathroom vanities, mirrors, cabinets, and supplies are all over... once bathrooms are done I will have my closet back, and I will have cabinets in the bathrooms for towels and linens and toilet paper, etc...)
3. have to be able to finish my downstairs bathroom before I can take apart the toilet to do the upstairs...
4. have to paint downstairs bathroom before getting plumber in to put in vanity and toilet...
5. have to have ventilation fans put in before painting (they have to cut open the walls)...
6. have to get the final inspection done from my previous work permits from the town before I can get started on the vents
And the dude's apparently been busy for the last few weeks!!!
Grr. Arg...

Oh well, I have been busy anyways: birthdays (mine on the 23rd) baby shower, wedding, town street festival, visiting family, graduation parties and ceremonies, etc...

HAPPY SUMMER!

Moving Right Along

What the contractor did (until the permit dude stopped him)...

The Kitchen: they took out the wall between the radiator and the counter and did a whole lot of sheet rocking.






Living room: sheet rocked, and tiny 'closet' cleaned up.




We pushed the doorway in to the bedroom/office making the hall bigger. I think it looks fab. (Now the laundry is in the hall instead of the bedroom.)






Office/ Bedroom: We had found water in this wall and the guess is that it's from the A/C unit in the wall upstairs, and now that it has been open and dry, despite a monsoon, I think the problem is solved.




What I did...

First coat Saturday: Clearly we took this very seriously.




My new front door, lights, and fan:








This was what I was "Krave"-ing.

Building Permits

Soooooo, ... I thought you needed permits for changing big things, or putting on an addition. I didn't know you needed permits for every stupid little thing you do. Basically, I buy a house and don't want the walls to decay and crumble around me... I need a permit. I find a bathroom vanity constructed out of sheet rock and wrapped in wallpaper then painted over unsavory, I need a permit. If I want to replace frayed wires with new, or make sure I have the proper scald guard on my shower plumbing, I need a permit.

I would have thought maintaining a standing house with the proper structure, electricity, and plumbing was something that in itself helped the town in that the property values are protected, less foreclosures, house fires, etc. I think one (the Reeves) should pay the town to NOT do that kind of maintenance. But it is a bit of a double whammy to have to pay the town to better the town. It's not like I was putting on an addition.

Oh well. My dumpster tipped them off that I was ridding my house of the creepy, weird, and disgusting. I didn't realize I needed a permit, but then again after reading this paperwork I think I might have opted to avoid it anyways (kidding!).

Gargamel!

Fan Blades, Cast Iron, and Tape-age

Sunday was a mix of things. John- the electrician- started his work and his father Steve came by again to go over the final touches. We discovered water in the walls which we are hoping is left over from a poorly sealed a/c unit in the wall that was since taken out. My Uncle came by, and that was pretty cool. Sometimes in big families I think it's easy to feel a little lost. It's not that you don't think that they all care for you but all 10 aunts and uncles are not going to make it to every event and really not going to make it to most, whereas I think in a smaller family unit there might be more involvement. In any case it was a pleasant surprise to see him there.

So the things we did... more cleaning of the upstairs. Dust and ladybugs have the darndest ways of being EVERYWHERE.


We disassembled this fan. I feel there may have been an easier way but it took two of us to bring it to pieces.





Brendan removed the first floor radiators. I had an action shot but it got deleted because really it wasn't about the effort here. Anyone can exert on a monkey wrench, but great success like this can only be described as a 'man make fire' moment, or a 'dog catches a squirrel'. You tend to want to jump about in victorious EE EE Ah Ah elation, all the while not knowing what to do with it not that you've 'caught' it. Then you realize our arms hurt and you just want to go sit back and relax.




And lastly was the tape-age of windows. So we left the house, the upstairs ready to paint, and the downstairs ready to be made ready to paint by the contractors.

Last Weekend Without Paint!

So this Saturday (March 6Th) was the final run through with my general contractor. He is sheet-rocking over most of the first floor and patching what he doesn't sheet-rock, putting on new base trim in bedroom/living room/hallway, moving the door in the hall of the bedroom to put my laundry closet in the call instead, switching out some other doors, prepping for the one day installation of a gas fireplace, moving my dryer vent to the right area, taking out the chunk of wall between the radiator and counter in the kitchen, and sheet rocking the kitchen ceiling.

Meanwhile his son is bringing my outlets to code, moving wires for my cable and Internet, adding outlets where need be, and putting in the wiring so that when I get cabinets I can eventually get the under cabinet lighting put in at a fairly low cost. There is more I am probably not remembering off the top of my head, but in any case it should be no wonder I spent a lot of time walking around following a contractor with a notebook/clip board in my hand. Apparently it is a look my happy helpers were none too pleased with!




So I came Saturday and Pete was there (surprise) finishing up some work. Said goodbye to him that morning and gave him the heads up that I may have some soapstone to be cut and bathroom sinks to hook up, etc, but that I would only call him with it if I could get it all organized to be done in one day so it was worth the ride up. Pete came to about 3K and I think it was a very worthwhile investment.

My Dad and Brendan emptied out the garage, (as well as helped my mother empty the porch, and clear the side of the house) of debris. In the end I somehow have already filled my 20 cubic yard dumpster.






My Mom went out and got cleaning supplies and she, Brendan, and Dad scrubbed and scrapped the upstairs bedroom. After they left I basically went to war with all the dust from the spackle, and worked on getting it out so that we might paint the ceiling Sunday.




We also cleaned up the nails and staples in the ceiling downstairs so that it was all set for sheet-rock.



By the end of the day my check engine light was off (it had gone on again that morning) so yay. Great success. We did, however find some presents left behind that had been previously hidden by snow. Going to wait to fill the dumpster till I have another lined up or the construction guys are done.




Dinner at Old World Food Market; Best Supermarket Salad Bar Eva.

Making Up for Lost Time

So this weekend felt a little bit lost because a lot of time was spent speaking with and dealing with contractors. I Got a few plumbers in to do radiator estimates, and a couple of guys to discuss walls. In the end I chose a wall guy, who is actually a general contractor named Steve, and his son John (who it turns out I went to school with) to do the electric. They were particularly helpful in going over everything, sharing honest opinions and helping me organize my head without making it seem like I was crazy. It is these two who may make my wildest ideas come true. Just you wait.

In the mean time here is what we did:

Pulled out the ceiling in the kitchen.




Dad making short work of the moldings with his large pry-bar.




Brendan proving his smaller pry bar is not made for Play Skool.




Remnants:






Colors Discovered Under the the Moldings:










Problems (dryer vent was left outside the washer/dryer closet and the door way to the kitchen from the downstairs office/bedroom is a lil' funky):






Possibilities (cuz I like to end on a high note!) new vanity and shelf:




BTW, Mom and I were there managing the debris.