Moving Along

Things on the project house are moving along. We spent the weekend priming the walls, starting to paint and getting the first bathroom close to completed.

The tile used is so much more gray in color than these photos show with gray'ish/blue paint. The toilet and vanity go in tomorrow (which will save me numerous trips to fast food restaurants to use their facilities).



The oak floors are being sanded and stained today (clearly they need a little attention). The plan right now is to try something a little different and go with a black stain - although I have another hour to still change my mind.

We're moving as quickly as possible on this house...and we're tired.

New Smell

The best part about the drywall phase: the new smell. The project house no longer smells like a mixture of nursing home and dead mice - it smells brand new!

We made several changes (moved the stairs to the basement into another room, added a half bathroom, added a pantry, added lots of new lights and outlets and opened up the living room into the kitchen). It's still tough to visualize exactly what the finished product will look like, but in my head it's spectacular.

Crunch Time

This is a photo of what you do NOT want a project to look like 10 hours prior to hanging drywall. On our last project house, it took us about 6 months to get to this point. We started this project 17 days ago.

Around 8pm last night we were able to admit that we were not going to get everything done (electrical, plumbing, framing and insulation). Thankfully, Trent's dad (Kevin) came over and worked until 11pm helping us out. My observation after he left: "wow - your dad works fast!" Trent's response: "yep." We were a group of few words last night.

The good news is that we got it all done (note: installing insulation at midnight is not high on my list of fun things to do). The bad news is that we aren't 100% certain that we remembered everything. I guess we'll find out in the coming days.

4 Days, 6 Days, 2 Days

Above is a photo that shows the work we completed in 4 days. The day we purchased the newest project house, we got started immediately. 4 days after we began our work, I left on vacation with a friend...Trent continued to work.

The following photos show what he accomplished (totally on his own) in 6 days!

And these photos bring us up to date with the last 2 days.

In case math isn't really your thing, we have been working on this project for 12 days - and it's coming along very well!!

Before

Above are the "before" photos on the new project house. We spent the weekend demo'ing - so these photos are already behind. Unlike our last project house, this home has been loved and cared for. The original owners of the home built this house in the mid-60's and owned it until last week. Clearly, they stopped updating things around the mid-80's. However, it is a clean, well-maintained home that is getting a serious facelift.

1 Year and 2 Days Later

It's been just over 1 year since we finished the first project house. Thankfully, we sold it super fast and the Oak Street home has been enjoying a new owner since last April. During the past year we have relaxed (we relaxed a LOT during the first couple of months after completion)and tried to plan our next project. The day is finally here. We have purchased a new project house and are planning on diggin' in this weekend. More to come...

D.O.N.E.

That's right...this project is officially done. And by done, I mean we have nothing left to do to this project house. We've even cleaned out the thousands of tools, extra parts, junk, and just plain trash that were in the garage.

Some final thoughts (followed by some final photos):

1. If we do another project house (and the possibility is strong at this point) I need to own more than 2 t-shirts. Also, a pair of real work shoes would be helpful - last season's retired running shoes just don't cut it. Looks like I've got some shopping to do.

2. My husband is a genius. Seriously. I can't begin to tell you how many times we would get into a project and the proposed final product was basically impossible. Somehow, Trent made everything work. He would try to explain it to me, but I'm lady-enough to admit that it was totally over my head.

3. Should you ever be on the fence with a decision about a project: go for it! I understand that not everyone has the tools and the skills to pull off the big projects. However, hard work seems to go a long way.

Thanks for following along...it's been a fun ride! I promise: more projects are on the way.

Then and Now

As we get super close to wrapping this house up, I keep looking back at the old photos. Here are just a few of the "thens" followed by the "nows."

Then:



A little later:



And now:



Then:




A little later:



Now:



Then:



A little later:



Now:



Then (creepy little door going to the attic with no floor):



A little later:



Now (a finished storage space with an itty-bitty window):



***Have I mentioned that we are almost done?!?!?!***

Carpet!

The carpet is in! We decided to put carpet up the stairs, in the hallway and in the bedroom. I selected a brown'ish fresia and I'm pleased with the final product. The house was looking a little too beige - so this gave us something darker.

We're getting sooooo close to being done. I can see the light!

Yes, we've still been working.

Even though I have been terrible about posting on my blog for the past few weeks, we still have been working on the house. The truth is the work was important but very mundane and lacked excitement. So in my mind, no interesting photos = no posting. However, last week Trent and I had 4 whole days to work on the house (entire days...not just evenings after our regular work hours). We managed to crank out a ton of mini-projects and the house is almost done (seriously....like 2-3 weeks away from completion).

To catch you up to date (quickly), the dry wall was completed as Trent and I left on vacation. My Uncle Jim (from IL) and my Dad graciously primed the entire house while we were in Mexico! Nothing beats sitting on a warm beach while others slave away on your own project.

When we returned, we painted (very neutral and boring) and did all the trim for the windows, doors, and most of the baseboards (again, boring). Next came outlet covers, light switches, and light fixtures (did I mention it was kind of boring?).

Finally we got to some good stuff! Trent did an amazing job with the tile in the upstairs bathroom and we were able to complete that room almost entirely (ask me if I'll ever help my husband carry a 60" wood vanity up a flight of stairs again...and the marble countertop). Below is the photo of the full bathroom. The toilet sits on the other side of the shower (in a little cave). Trent thought it would be funny if I would sit on the toilet and stick my head out for him to take a picture. Needless to say, there is no such photo.


After that, we (with the help of Kevin...my father-in-law) installed a bamboo wood floor for the entire main level. I was extremely pleased with the finished product.



Next up, Trent and I installed the Brazilian cherry cabinets in the kitchen. Since we're still finishing up with that project (hopefully this weekend), I'll wait to post a photo.

Carpet will be installed upstairs, we'll put together the half bathroom on the main level, a few (okay...a lot) of touch ups and we will be done.