Renovation Realities

Where to start!  It seems like ages ago that the DNC was here and I have not posted anything about our new old home renovation.  I think about it every day, but when I get home from working on the house, making dinner, putting E to bed, and going through the paperwork for the day I am pooped!  When I do feel enough energy to sit down and blog, it seems that I don't have  a private space to work or the mental bandwith to devote.  But, yes, I think about it every day and wish that I was blogging about our renovation daily!  I started this post almost 3 weeks ago and finally I am pressing the "publish" button. There is so much to say and show.

Working on the house has been both rewarding and depressing.  To be honest the hubby and I both have our moments of just getting through, and lucklily one of us is there to bring the other up.  

Our little blue house has had a few problems along the route of our renovation journey.  And as a wall comes down or a floor comes up we find problems that MUST be fixed.  Some days we feel like we are on Holmes on Homes or one of those renovation shows on HGTV.  Honestly, they would have quite a show filming our crazy life.  Humm, there's got to be a good name in that somewhere too.

So, we have just about finished 3 of the rooms that we started on.  In the kitchen we found past water damaged floor joists that needed to be replace, past renovation mistakes (who would cut through a floor joist to place a heating duct?), and unsupported walls  just to name a few.  Each thing set us back and each HAD to be fixed.  The back bedroom had paneling that we thought we could live with, but in the end we decided to take it down and put up drywall.  Not only was there 1 layer of paneling, but 2.  After the 2 layers of paneling came down another layer of problems reared their ugly faces.  We found no insulation, disintegrated sills, and wet walls.  That week was devestating.  We weren't even going to do that room!  Well, I guess it is a good thing we did.  Once the problems were fixed the hubby and I went to making the room new again!  New insulation and dry wall at last.  The hubby hung all of the dry wall and I taped and mudded the room.  My nephew gave me a lesson on drywall finishing and I went to town.  After priming and painting the entire room we moved on to crown moulding.  That is a nemesis for sure!  Cutting and getting the angle just right is a skill!  The hubby did great and we now have the most amazing crown moulding in our new old kitchen and refinished bedroom and bathroom.  This week the hubby finished laying hardwood floors throughout those 2 rooms.  Wow!  What a transformation.  We have accomplished a lot and learned how to do so many things!

I think when we went into this project we thought it would be as easy as taking down and putting up, but nothing is ever that simple.  Through this we are learning patience and how to deal with unexpected problems.

Our goal is now to be in our new old how by Thanksgiving.  I think we can do it with help (we are going to hire out a few jobs).  Say a prayer for us!

Bedroom redo:

 Nothing like finding light coming in from the outside when you pull off paneling

The second layer, and there used to be a window?  Why would you close that off?

 New insulation and vapor barrier too!

 Drywall in !

Nice tape and mud job!

and Paint!  (getting close!)

The Kitchen:

 The cubby

Sink wall

The side stoop:

 Before

 Demo

It's gone!

After

The hardwoods floors:

 Nice job honey!

The old with the new.  We'll blend when we have the old refinished.

The hubby under the house, glad he is doing that job and not me!

And, our E entertaining herself with leaves and a paint roller.

She sure can get creative!  Who needs all those plastic toys?