Day 56: Floored

So two things going on in the sun room.
1) THERE'S TILE (and it's grouted)!
I love it, it's beautiful. We had considered a lighter almost more tan and green tile. But with the coolness of the walls, and the tan mix color tile in both bathrooms, I felt at risk of looking like I just went with same tile everywhere. So I wanted something different, something that popped a bit, and I want this room itself to be fresh and sunny and vacation or escape feeling.
I am a little relieved after seeing tile about wall color. Still not my fav but it's growing on me, or at least not a neg for me. Just not something I am actively into. Like my tile. LOL.

I lied. There are three things. 2) is actually that thermostat. Why did he put it on the far wall? Why between two windows, and off center? Neither looks good nor is functional. Will have to be moved. I mean I get it; it was easier, not much wiring to be done, and I am SURE they did a lot of things the 'easier way'. I don't mind, it's how they make money. But when easier means annoying to use and eyesore, gotta call them out on it.

3) HARDWOOD ARRIVED! There is a bizarre warm front and then a POLAR VORTEX and so temp flux and humidity going on so installation a little delayed. But it's here! So excited to see this in master bedroom.


And now into the kitchen- MORE TILE FLOORING!


It was tough and we need to stay off it a little longer than normal as the floor was different heights and so in some spots they had to use more cement than others. I am a little nervous that will be a prob one day, but what to do? Looked like they really took their time and did it right, and we will not be stepping on it until after they give us the ok.



A little nervous about grout too. Wasn't sure about going dark on floor and wall, but then again especially on back splash, nervous about light showing stains near oven and such. And kitchen is very high traffic. So hoping that comes out well. The sun room worked well so I am thinking this should be fine.

Upstairs hall walls and trim are painted. There may be additional coats or touch ups after getting flooring upstairs but so far looking good. This is same color as in sun room, and again not my fav but looks decent, opens the area up, and in general works well enough.



And looking into the bedroom...


It's a mess! But check out that sweet new fan! This is where they have been spray painting cabinets our Lancaster White. But just about done with that and floor going in imminently. Love the Revere Pewter color on the walls. Thank you mom for the great rec!

Day 50: Trimming

Into the sun room:


Windows trimmed and room continuing to take finished shape. Can't wait for the tile!!!!!


*a note... I am nervous about the paint color. Baby bluer than I orig thought, and YES while it is changeable... now that it is painted, it's moved down the list of priorities... like - throughout this process I have been given a lot of ideas as far as "well it would only be a couple hundred bucks more for..." and they are great ideas. BUT, thing is... we are doing work to the kitchen, dining room, office, guestroom, master, sun room, living room, minor bathroom stuff, attic, halls/stairs, closets, outside (siding, three doorways, outside lighting), and eventually yard. There are probably 50 to 100 EASILY thought of things I could do slightly nicer, better, etc for 200-1000$ a piece. But the issue is, can't do them all. Have to pick and choose.
Also, at the end of this, we will be continuing to look for deals on new appliances, a new couch, new arm chair, guest bedroom furnishings, etc. Soooooooooo...it's not my fav color but FINGERS CROSSED it comes together because we certainly have someplace more important to put the $ to redo it.

Mess - one day this will be a dining room not a storage room... excited... they plan to paint it soon! We are going with the old kitchen color. Its like a bisque tan color. The yellow was bright and fun for a while but a little extreme considering most of the rooms have a more historic classic look:


And THANK YOU to MICHAELINE and MOM for providing our touch of Christmas this year! Was a sad year without a tree but I come home to this wreath every day and smile.

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.

A Lost Day: Saturday Feb 27

My mother and grandmother came to visit. This would not be the last for my mother, as she became the beacon of cleanliness in the house. In addition to bringing to attention the necessity of scrubbing the walls prior to painting them, she supplied most of the cleaning supplies, including but not exclusive to about 15 rolls of paper towels. No exaggeration.




Sadly the work day was shortened due to my car acting up (check engine light on and cruise control blinking). After sometime at a local diner waiting, and wandering about R.S. Strauss finding fun product labels (see below), I discovered nothing, and its still happening. Taking it to Auto Tech this weekend.

Secret Stashes and Unsung (or pictured) Heroes

Pulling off wallpaper in the kitchen, all of a sudden dust and plaster fall, and I am showered in bee carcasses. Ok may be showered is an exaggeration, but only slightly. Thankfully the hive seems dead.




Found this card, thought it was kind of signature of the house. I mean I have no idea who it's addressed to ("Dot and Click/Chick?") and from Astrid and Paul. Really? Astrid?




Ok, so I know I shouldn't, but I actively feel guilty having thrown this magnet away, lil' baby Jesus sitting in a contractor trash bag with wall paper and house refuse.




As far as progress goes, today was a lot of talk. I met with Peter the handyman my Aunt and Grandmother referred me to and I think he as well as they were a little shocked at the conditions, but I try to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel rather than how dark it is in here. He seems to have a lot of potential and will start on Wednesday, so I look forward to see where we are on Saturday. Also Pete the Spartan Home Inspector (Sparta, NJ) stopped by to verify my bees and mold were dead and easy to rectify. I HIGHLY recommend his services if you ever need a home inspection, thorough, patient, and conscientiously helpful even months later. He along with my family were the unpictured heroes of the day. My aunt alleviated the need for a pry-bar by breaking out some of the tiles and cabinetry with her bare hands. My grandmother came up with her and the handyman to help advise and offer a third opinion, which I appreciated. I was a little nervous about her opinions on the house but I think by the end of it she felt more constructive than scared for me. Then later that day my mother came by and cleaned my refrigerator and the mouse poop under my sink cabinets and made me feel better about having bits of my house not under siege and livable.

Here are a couple of shots where I took down the valences, but other than that I mainly took up some tile and cabinets, and spent a good long time pulling nails from the floor in the living room.