The House

It's been two months since we've closed on our house. We still aren't living there yet, but have made some big strides here lately. It should only be a few more weeks until we move in. Granted, we keep saying that... but this time we really mean it!

Throughout the house, the walls have been touched up and smoothed out. Though the pictures didn't show it, several walls had visible seems between the drywall, and lots of bumps grooves. The ceilings in the kitchen, dining room, and family room have been textured, which updates the house a little and looks nice too. We did need to paint the ceiling because the dirt was coming through the texture and looked yellow-ish. As if the first coat wasn't miserable enough to do, the primer didn't cut it, so we had to endure doing another coat. At this point, I want to make sure it is done right and looks good because I will never paint it again- ever.

The skimmed walls and textured ceilings

Painting the ceiling

We have put a window where the front door used to be. The front door will be installed on the actual front of the house (it was installed on the side) and hopefully within the next week, it will be in and ready to use. We are downsizing our picture window in the front to accommodate the new front door, but we will still have lots of windows. And speaking of windows, Dad went and picked them up today and a few were installed this afternoon. I am anxious to go and check it out.

Craig, Dad, and Derek installing the
window where the door used to be

My new front door that I paid next
to nothing for thanks to Craigslist!

The basement has come along way since we began gutting out the moldy ceiling and walls. The boys installed a new water heater and dad converted it to run on electric instead of gas. The process of fixing the basement wall began last week. First was the excavation to expose the basement wall and then a temporary support was created to jack up the house while the basement wall was knocked down. The new wall was poured about 8 feet high and then cinder blocks were stacked and sealed on top to bring the wall up to the original height. Today, a sealant was rolled onto the outside wall that will help prevent moisture from entering through the wall and the house was lowered onto the new wall.

The temporary wall supporting the house while

it was jacked up to pour a new basement wall

Our new basement wall, plus a new stoop for our new front door

Not much has happened in the kitchen aside from moving the pantry door from the hallway to the kitchen. Even though it is a little change, I am so happy that we were able to get that moved. It will make a huge difference in the flow of the kitchen. We tore up the tile in the kitchen and dining room and we have new wood laminate flooring to replace it. We did purchase a new sink and faucet- and I was so surprised to pay more for my faucet than the sink!! I like to make sure I get good deals, but I also want to make sure that I really like what I install (uhm... have installed...). Fortunately, I have been able to find some great deals on some things on Craigslist so I have a little bit of room to splurge on important items. I did work on painting the kitchen the other day a nice green and I totally LOVE it. I did not love falling off the bucket, landing in the paint tray, messing up the wall I painted, getting paint on the carpet, and sporting around black and blue bruises for a week.

Dad cutting the drywall where the new door will be

Our new kitchen pantry door!

Derek and Craig pulling
up the dining room tile

We ended up gutting out the hall bathroom. The plan is to use the stool, tub, and sink that came with the house, but we just we got new tile for the shower and for the floor as well. Derek and my dad put the tile and floor in this past weekend while I was at a wedding shower. Derek learned to use the tile saw and got pretty good at it. One of the last pieces he had to cut was one of the tiny accent border parts- originally 1 x 2" and he got it down to 1 x 3/4". He said it was tricky, but he pulled it off. We took out the huge cabinets from the bathroom and also covered the window that was in the shower.

Tile around the tub (before any grout)

Jackson's room and the guest bedroom are primed and ready to be painted. I am thinking we might make some headway on those this week. Jackson's wall of closets has been painted blue and Craig has refaced all of the drawers that line the bottom. Mom found some airplane drawer pulls that I am really excited about using! The interior doors were installed today and now I just need to get some door handles. I had no idea how much the door knobs would be. Honestly, it is surprising how much a lot of the little things cost that add up! Door knobs, locks, light switch covers, trim, etc...

To Do List:

1. Install windows and front door
2. Install subfloor in kitchen and dining room
3. Stain and install cabinet doors, install veneer on existing cabinet to cover up the paint
4. Paint
5. Install new flooring (wood laminate in kitchen/dining and new carpet in rest of house)
6. Install new appliances
   
7. New trim
8. Pour new sidewalk to new front door
9. MOVE IN!!!!
   

And then after we move in, we hope to make a mud room connecting the garage to the dining room, which will allow us to move our laundry room upstairs. Also, we plan on converting the garage from one to two car. The trees still need to be removed and we plan to reside the house with stucco.