One Sixty: A List of Accomplishments

A List of Accomplishments

This weekend felt different. Strangely unproductive, yet, a lot got done. I guess it's just nerves. I feel like I want to go home right now and keep up the work. I'm at work work right now and feeling very useless and unproductive. People keep blaming me for not being organized when it's themselves who aren't organized. I feel sad.

But anyway, this isn't a work blog. It's a house blog. Maybe going over everything that got done over the weekend will make me feel better for 5 seconds.

1. Concrete was poured! Even though it's not the smoothest, most level surface in the world - we're really happy with the way it turned out. It'll work out great for both uses.

2. I finished the rock wall! I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I even have a large amount of extra small rocks that I'm sure I'll find a place for elsewhere in the yard.

3. We picked up the basement windows and glass. Those may or may not get put in this week. We tried putting them in with cement, but the cement is too runny. I think we need mortar. I may do some internet research on it later.

4. We finished wiring on the garage and everything works!

5. We bought exterior lights and interior bulbs for the gargae and got them working. We have one more exterior light for the back of the garage that we'll put in tonight perhaps if it stops raining.

6. We cleaned the garage and the garage attic. There's actually room to walk now! Imagine that...

7. Using the concrete we didn't use on the windows, we poured a step to the side door of the garage. It's not quite tall enough - not enough concrete, but it's a start. Another bag should fill it right up.

8. We got a new push broom and swept the driveway. (You wouldn't believe how much dirt was on that thing.) Our old push broom just was too worn to work. The new broom did a hell of a job and the rain today has really washed off the remaining dust. When it dries, it'll look 200% better.

9. We began cutting into a stupid hill in the backyard, taking the dirt with the skid steere and dumping down the backyard hill. Even though it's not fully gone - the backyard looks much more open already!

10. We bought some flowers. It's amazing what a couple of hanging flower pots will do for an exterior. We also got some small flowers, which I'll plant somewheres in the yard. We need some color for the 9th party.

So, it was a highly productive weekend. I'm really happy with everything. Too bad I'm having a cruddy time at work this morning.

Blog Story

My now husband Mike and I purchased this quaint home back in spring of 2004 - our first home - and, being the handy folks we are, expected to have the entire thing renovated in about a year or so.

And here we still are... renovating away.

This house needed a complete overhaul. Its plaster walls were uninsulated, its attic floor covered in 2" of bat guano, its basement - dirt and snakes, its exterior - asbestos siding, and lead paint windows in every room. The electric had not been updated and light sockets hung bare from the ceiling. Plumbing featured cast iron radiators - and only one for the entire upstairs.

We began by gutting almost the entire house from top to bottom. (sans bathroom - we needed to pee) We rebuilt the entire upstairs, with a new floor (not new carpet or wood - the once unstable framing underneath) and turned 3 small rooms into two. We reinvented the downstairs by turning a closet into a hallway and eliminating interior exterior windows and doors from old half-assed additions.

New insulation, windows, electrical wiring (including phone and CAT-5 internet), plumbing and baseboards, and drywall were all added.

We purchased kitchen cabinets from a yard sale. (None existed previously.) Our families helped us replace and purchase new appliances including the once also missing washer & dryer.

Then we had the entire house lifted - straight into the air - dug out the dirt, and had a real basement foundation poured. We updated our oil tank and burner and created heating zones.

Outside, we took down trees and planted grass. We dug out an awkward hill to create a 2nd part to the driveway and used the rocks our house once sat on as a retaining wall. We electrified and repainted the garage.

And of course, we spent many an hour on finish work like paint, trim, closet doors, lighting fixtures, hardwood floors, curtain rods, dimmer switches, and many other things everyone else takes for granted. We are still working to complete all this final finishing, but happy to report that we are FINALLY nearing completion of all little things in all rooms!

In 2008 we began overhauling the exterior by creating a new french door entryway and building a farmer's porch and garage addition. We replaced our roof and then stripped off our siding and replaced with new clapboards. We then planted two new flowering trees and a maple in the front yard - our first major landscape purchases. I'm happy to report that here in 2011, the porch is nearing completion and the back yard is on the road to recovery with some new loam and grass. More plantings soon to come!

In 2012 we plan to attack the last MAJOR (emphasis on major) job in the house - the dreaded BATHROOM! We plan to first add a second bathroom in the basement. Then, demolish our current bathroom and rebuild it, adding a second bathroom on top for the upstairs.

And that pretty much brings you up to date. The battle continues day to day as we try and complete everything.