New, new, new

I'm so excited that we have finally entered the "new" phase of this project. With the exception of just a couple items (that can't be done just yet), everything from this point on is new. This week we have successfully installed all of our new windows (minus 2 that need to be installed later for logistical reasons). They are beautiful! I'm particularly thankful that we were able to get them in without breaking any of them. Watching Trent climb the super-duper tall ladder with a 61" window was slightly unnerving. However, he was blessed with a much greater sense of balance than most (me) and he looked like a pro.

On a financial note, we price shopped the windows like crazy. We ended up purchasing them from a place in Elkhart and they were a solid 60% cheaper than any other price (for custom windows)! Richards Building Supply (on CR 6...just east of the airport) is the place to go.

Raisin' the Roof (actually, just the ceiling)

This past week we have worked hard to raise the ceiling on the second floor. Prior to this week, the ceiling throughout all of the second floor was about 7'4"...not very tall. Trent researched all about ways to raise the ceiling without "compromising the integrity" of the roof (his words, not mine). So, he managed to find a way to keep everything supported and still gain us an extra 2 feet! The upstairs bedroom will have a pseudo-cathedral ceiling at 9'6" and the bathroom will be just a little over 8'. I've included photos of the upstairs to show the difference.
Just a little tid-bit we learned this week: don't work on the highest point of a house (2nd story ceiling) when it's 90+ degrees outside.

Weed Killer vs. Spider Spray

Trent requested two tasks of me this past week: spray the poison ivy with weed killer and spray the foundation of the house for spiders. He mentioned both of the tasks in the same conversation. However, he only brought weed killer along (said that he would pick up the anti-spider spray sometime during the week). No problem. I used the weed killer and sprayed everything and anything that looked like poison ivy (which is everything that doesn't look like grass since I still can't identify poison ivy). I paid zero attention to the name on the bottle...zero. I did pay attention to the fact that it was hard to squeeze, took forever to come out, didn't seem to spray consistently, and all around just didn't work right. A day later Trent mentioned that I should probably spray the poison ivy again...just to make sure we really kill it. Fast forward to this past weekend. I arrive at the house prior to Trent. I'm trying to think of something productive to do before he arrives.....Ahh: spray the poison ivy again. I head into the garage, find the spray, and start spraying every single livin' weed on the property. I pay zero attention to the name on the bottle...zero. I do pay attention to the fact that the spray-nozzle-thingy seems to miraculously be healed. It sprays great! Trent shows up (as I'm finishing), looks at the bottle I'm holding and says, "thanks for spraying the house for spiders! Did you read the directions on where and how to spray before you started?" Ummmm......no, I apparently didn't read much at all.

Approved!

We have many approvals that will need to happen before the completion of this project. The first one occurred today, June 11th. The electrical inspector came out and said our brand new electrical box and meter are good to go. Trent installed a new 200 amp box (a bit overkill for a 700 sq ft home) and he did everything on his own. My job title was "flashlight holder" (since we have been lacking power...i.e. lights). We now have 4 whole outlets to use....yippee! Trent thinks all the outlets are for things like power tools and industrial lighting for us to work under. Little does he know that I'm planning on plugging in a curling iron - just because I can.

Because it's fun

We removed the walls to the back mud room quite some time ago. However, we never got around to removing the roof. Secretly, we were both hoping that a good storm would come through and take it off for us. No luck. As Trent was preparing to do the final tear down on it, I decided it was time for a little documentation. The first 30 seconds are boring...the last 30 seconds are little more entertaining (especially if you love watching things fall apart).

Freebie!

We are so excited! We actually received something free on our house project. The sidewalk in front of the house needed to be completely torn up and re-done. This was included in our budget from the beginning. Unfortunately, the tear up part was going to be cheap, but crazy hard work while the new concrete was going to be fairly expensive. Well...the city of Niles came through and is re-doing most of the sidewalks along Oak street. We arrived at the house to find out we were one of the lucky ones. Now don't go and spoil this by saying we pay taxes and we've already paid for this project...today, this is free!

An easier way

I'll admit it: we are always looking for an easier/ faster/ cheaper way to do whatever task is at hand. We found it with our bathroom issue. I mentioned (a few posts back) there was a small dirt tunnel that went underneath the bathroom. In order to reach the plumbing, someone (Trent) was going to have to crawl through this 3 x 2 hole in the basement into the dungeon. No lights, dirt floor, and a host of other creepy things in our imagination. Thankfully, an easier way came to us both at the same time. We'll just tear up the floor so that the hole is completely exposed ...thus making it no longer creepy. Now we have a big hole in what was the bathroom and we (Trent) can totally do the plumbing without having to crawl around in the dungeon.

The other project

Prior to starting on our house project Trent purchased an old, beat up Scout. It's from the 60's (nope, don't remember the exact year) and it looked awful (imagine something looking worse than the house). Well, tonight Trent took a break from the house work and completed the Scout. It looks gorgeous! It will be getting new, cool tires (those 1960'ish ones aren't going to cut it), but other than tires...it's done. Trent drove me around the neighborhood and then I drove him around in it. Personally, I was shocked that I remembered how to drive a stick...it's been a few years. I'm so impressed that Trent totally stripped this vehicle down and re-built it bolt by bolt. (I helped for about 15 minutes when he needed me to push the brake pedal down.) It's just cool!

You know you're a grown-up when....

You know you're a grown-up when you see Mr. UPS and get excited realizing he has the new plumbing stuff for the house. The fun part has officially started! Today the new plumbing system arrived. It's call PEX plumbing and for those of you who know nothing about plumbing (me, until recently)...this is the greatest invention ever. We actually have the same system in our home that we live in (see photo). When we finished off our lower level (with a bathroom) the plumbing portion took no time at all. All of the tubes are flexible plastic (so much easier than pvc). In addition to the flexibility, each tube coming into the mainframe (no, that's not the proper word) is then labeled what it is. Plus, it's common sense: red tube = hot water, blue tube = cold water. Even I feel like I understand plumbing. The best part: it's cheaper. Easier and faster to install, super simple to understand, and significantly better priced. It's a good day. If you happen to be in the need for new plumbing, Trent ordered the goods from PEX Supply.

Tour

The truth: I've now tried to record a tour of the house (I use the word "house" loosely at this point) 3 times. All 3 times I end up sounding like a Realtor. Reality finally hit (I am a Realtor) and I've accepted that I also sound like one. In my vain, numerous attempts to not sound like myself I've ended up sounding more ridiculous. Enjoy.