One Sixty: Pros vs Joes

Pros vs Joes

Dana and Rich were over again last night, putting on a second coat. They couldn't finish, mostly because everything is taking so long to dry in this winter weather. They have to come on Monday to give everything a light 3rd coat and a little bit 'o sanding. After that it looks like I'll be priming and painting the whole bedroom... again.

I'd like not to prime - but Dana advised it, and lets face it - I don't want to do these walls a THIRD time. This time I'm definitely going to use tinted primer though. I didn't the first time and it took a zillion coats to get it that deep red color. And the ceiling needs to be repainted too.

And then we've got to move all our office furniture across the room so they can get the 2nd half of the office done.

Ooo! Ooo! I have to tell you - I found the most awesome lamps at Walmart. Yes I know, I'm supporting "the man" and contributing to pollution, cheap overseas labor, and the end of the small business as we know it - BUT - I got three lamps that perfectly match my office FOR $7 EACH!!! One has a hyper modern pink and magenta lamp shade and a white base. One has a black w/fringies lampshade and a chrome base. And the last is a black hangy chandelier - very sheek (chic) and minimalist with a touch of that 70's bead door look - in black!

Good thing they only had a few left or I would have bought two of each!

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.

One Sixty

Pros vs Joes

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