3.27.2011

First Weekend

First off, I want to apologize.  This weekend was so crazy with getting everything started with the remodeling, that I didn't get any camera photos.  On Saturday when I went to take pictures, I realized my camera batteries were dead, so I charged it overnight, and didn't realize I left it plugged in at our apartment until I was already at the house.  So you'll have to make due with crappy cell phone pictures. 

That being said, there's really nothing amazing to see.  We spent the weekend tearing out moulding, spackling and basically making a huge mess.  My mom got me this awesome moulding remover tool, and I went a little crazy, ripping out moulding from the floor, chair rails, windows and doors.  We also took off all of the old vent covers that were painted over 100 times, which was tricky, because the screws had been painted over 100x, too.

We also found out that the previous owners had taken a lot of short cuts in their decorating and updating.  Example 1: 
You might be wondering why there are stripes of spackle along the wall.  Well, it's because the previous owners painted over their wallpaper, and there are bumps every 20" where the wallpaper meets. 

Example 2: When the hardwood floors were installed, they didn't remove the base molding first, they just put in the floors around it.  This has made taking out the moulding in those areas incredibly annoying, as we have to saw the wood at the floor level to take it out.  It's so time consuming, we tried it in the guest room today and it took us 4ish hours to do the room.  I'm convinced it will look so much better when we're done, so we're pushing on.

Anyway, here are some more photos of the house from last night.  I'll try to get some of the guest room tomorrow, because it's the first room that's completely stripped, spackled, sanded and ready for paint. 

 We set up our main camp in the living room.

 Here is the master 1/2 bath after we ripped out the shelving and spackled.  Since then we've taken out the old rusty medicine cabinet, which we'll replace with a new one we got last night.

 We've temporarily converted the family room into a workshop.

We took out the shutter doors and door jamb, and the opening from the kitchen to the living room looks so much bigger.

So yea, busy weekend. I'm exhausted!  We'll be working on and off this week, so I'll try to get another update before next weekend.

3.24.2011

The List

So here is the list of everything we want to do, short term and long term, with the house.

Exterior
  • remove front fence
  • trim bushes
  • additional landscaping in front
  • new fence in back
  • repave driveway
  • power wash deck
  • refinish deck
  • gutter guards
  • remove concrete patio in back
  • new stone pathway around back
  • remove dog house
  • new shed
  • repaint shutters
  • remove paint from brick in front
  • vinyl siding
  • remove antenna from chimney
  • add landscaping around back
  • add fence around a/c unit
Living Room
  • mouldings
  • paint
  • window treatments
  • closet doors
  • stair railing
  • vent covers
  • outlet covers
  • thermostat
  • furniture (sofa, chair, coffee table, end tables)
  • rug
Dining Room
  • mouldings
  • window treatments
  • paint
  • wainscoting
  • wall partition
  • vent covers
  • outlet covers
  • pendant light above table
Kitchen
  • straighten upper cabinets
  • new countertop
  • new backsplash
  • new appliances (stove, refrigerator)
  • add lower cabinet
  • add upper cabinet
  • window treatment
  • paint
  • new outlet covers
  • new vent covers
  • undercabinet lighting
  • new overhead lighting fixture
  • pub table set
Family Room
  • new TV
  • entertainment center
  • paint
  • vent covers
  • outlet covers
  • carpeting
  • moulding
  • window treatment
Band Room
  • paint
  • sound insulation
  • window treatments
  • moulding
Laundry Room
  • shelving units
  • paint
Lower Level 1/2 Bath
  • new mirror
  • new hardware
  • paint
  • mouldings
Master Bedroom
  • paint
  • moulding
  • window treatments
  • vent covers
  • outlet covers
  • closet organizer
  • furniture (bed, matress, end tables, dressers)
  • rug
  • lighting
Master 1/2 Bath
  • new outlet
  • new lighting (edge lit mirror?)
  • new vanity
  • hardware
  • window treatment
  • paint
Guest Bedroom
  • paint
  • moulding
  • outlet covers
  • vent covers
  • window treatment
Office
  • paint
  • moulding
  • outlet covers
  • vent covers
  • window treatment
Upper Level Bathroom
  • new vanity
  • new lighting
  • new mirror
  • paint
  • vent covers
  • outlet covers
  • hardware
  • tub refinishing
Whew.

3.23.2011

What did you do today?

We bought a house!  I am so thrilled that this finally went through!  We met at the house at 2:15 to do the final walk-through, then went to closing at 3.  We signed the papers, waited for the banks approval, and were finished by 5.  It still seems unreal that it's ours, after all the waiting. 

After we closed, we went to home depot for our first official house purchase: new doorknobs!

Before anything else, we finally opened the asti that my mom gave us in January that has been patiently sitting in our kitchen.





After changing the doorknobs, we started right in tearing out the mouldings.


We have soooo much work to do, and I'm excited to start!  I just wish it was the weekend... I don't want to go to work tomorrow!

3.20.2011

New Photos

We went to the house today, to make sure that the sellers did everything they said they did last week.  They didn't.  But I did get some photos of the house, which I will share :)

Front Yard

Back Yard (I can't wait to use the deck this summer!)

Back Yard

Dining room

Living room

Kitchen

Family room (downstairs)

3.15.2011

Finally Closing?

I'm hesitating to post this, because it's been pushed back so many times, but our lawyer called yesterday and told us that we're finally ready to close!  Everything has been cleared, and now we just need to choose a date that works for everyone!  Originally he mentioned tomorrow, but I haven't heard from him yet today, so we're thinking Friday or early next week.  I could not be more excited/nervous/wanting to vomit. 

The only problem is that our realtor did a walk-through with her coworker last week (she's on vacation this week and wanted to make sure her coworker was updated with everything before she left).  They found that the seller did not do some of the work they told us they had finished in December.  I'm a little miffed about this, and if it's not done by closing I'll be really annoyed.  I'm guessing it won't be, but we'll still close, and just ask for more money. 

We also ended up keeping our apartment until the end of the original lease (May 31).  That way we can still live there while we're renovating the kitchen and doing all of the painting.  I feel so much better about not having to rush to move by the end of the month!  I'm hoping to hear back from the lawyer today about an official closing date today.  I'll keep posting!