Jan 10, 2013 |
Well, 8 months have already passed since we began our massive home renovation project. I’ve slacked on the picture posting. We’ve been doing lots of work outside lately.
The exterior paint is almost finished, and we have an A/C unit for the first time in years! A shed has been painted and built, and a pathway is in the works. The concrete surrounding the house has all been demo’ed and is being replaced with tiny stones and pavers. And slowly, but surely, the grass grows.
The house before and currently:
There’s still quite a bit of work to do in this area, including the replacement of a dilapidated fence, some painting, and removal of much more broken concrete.
We tore down the non-permitted covered patio and repaired the roof where it was attached to the house. Also fixed a broken window and got rid of the weird bean-shaped pond.
It’s amazing how terrible the roof and the pink paint looked in comparison to the new version.The brick patio is not in great condition but that is a project for many years down the road.
We removed lots of the weird fencing and are sill working on clearing out the tons (literal) of trash left in the yard. There are a few more structures that need to be torn down and a lot of yardwork to complete. The roof and paint make a world of difference.
This part of the yard has seen a lot of toil lately. With the removal of hundreds of pieces of rotten wood, the fridge, trampoline pieces, concrete block, and plants, it is starting to shape up. The fence is slowly being torn down and replaced to capture more of the lot. This fall also saw the construction of the chicken run and coop.
A lot of fences to tear down and many fences to build, but we have already recaptured so much space with all of the trash gone.
Who could miss this front door? Until budget allows it to be replaced, it was painted to match the rest of the exterior. Slowly, it improves.
Although the paint cleaned up the entrance, we still have the task of replacing the light and doorbell, and hiding the sprinkler controls. Also, probably time to take that wreath down…
Oct 8, 2012 |
Another thing to check off the massive to-do list.
This spring, when I performing a second walk-thru, I took a lot of pictures of the current state of the place. The fridge, piles of wood, fencing, ladder, and parts of that trampoline didn’t leave when the family finally moved out. So I can call this an accurate “before” picture.
Two 40 cu. yd. dumpsters, three trips to the dump, and months of cleaning, clearing, and demolition left us with one uneven yard that sloped toward the house. After grading, rototilling, and smoothing out, it is finally cleared. It may not be close to finished but I’m excited to build garden boxes, put the chicken coop out, and build a new fence. That, or we have a really solid lawnmower racetrack area. On to the next thing.
Jun 26, 2012 |
Well, the kitchen is at its final stages for now – eventually, we will be replacing the cabinets, installing new countertops, and a replacing the hot peppers backsplash. Day one, I had a grease filled, disgusting, spider-infested mess in front of me. Is there anything in the picture below that is not repulsive?
The tops of the cabinets were so covered in grease that I could scrape it up with a putty knife. All of those were replaced (thanks Jim!), as well as some of the shelves and the cabinet shelf under the sink. The walls and cabinets were cleaned up and painted. Appliances were trashed and replaced with new ones. And more.
At the “before” point in the project below, I thought I would never finish. But finally, the cabinets are painted, the kitchen is clean, and I can start saving boat loads of money for those countertops… until then, the hot peppers backsplash stays.
Jun 22, 2012 |
I have been seeing a lot of stripes, zig-zags, and chevron lately… and I am in love. After seeing this design, I knew I had to incorporate it into the new place. I am really happy with the way it turned out. Still haven’t decided on the appropriate decor for the table, but I may need to invest in some pieces with a bit of height.
This was my entryway four weeks ago when I bought the place. The gigantor cheap “safe” mirror is not really my taste:
Two weeks later it looked like this. Creating the design was much easier to do than I expected – some tape, a pencil, and a tape measure were the only tools required. I had already painted the wall bright yellow/orange, so I planned to fill in the spots with off-white and grey:
And here it is now.
Onto the next project!
Jun 1, 2012 |
Where to start? Things have been going mostly smooth.
The flooring guy – John – leveled the floor for installation.
See that toilet box in the corner? Thanks Grandpa Ben for two new Kohler toilets!
I taped out a chevron pattern on the entryway wall – more pictures of that project to come!
Almost all of the painting is complete – only touch up painting required. I loved this green for the master bedroom. Temporarily ignore the blue trim on the door. And the floors are in! They are a few baseboards away from looking like a home.
With moving complete, my subsequent photos will be much more “lived in”. Still trying to find places for all of these boxes!
