One Sixty: Walls, Windows, Trees, and Motivation

Walls, Windows, Trees, and Motivation

The madness continues on!

I've barely had time to breath this week - and let me tell you, it feels good.

Lets rewind the this week's tape back to last saturday morning...

8:30am - We're up and at 'em and out of the house, headed on cape.
9:30am - We arrive at Mike's parent's house, and the guys start taking down trees. I head over to the vet's to drop off cat poo.
11:30am - Five trees are down and cut. Poo is off to the lab. The truck is loaded up with logs. And we're out again, this time to mike's friend's house.
12:30pm - Another tree is down in Yarmouth and we're on our way to Hyannis.
1:30pm - We've filled the gas tank and our bellies and are now on our way to the dump.
2:15pm - Dump is done and we're home and start ripping down the old side door.
4:30pm - Side door is out and the new window is in! We take a break for a light snack.
6:00pm - We randomly decide to get drywall. So, off to the DeepHo we go, and purchase drywall, screws, and some other supplies.
10:00pm - Most of the drywall is hung. We finally eat dinner and go to bed.

Here are some pics from Sunday morning:

Now for Sunday.

9:00am - Once again were up and out of the house, this time with an old dresser loaded in the truck.
9:30am - We arrive at my friend Amanda's place and give her the dresser.
10:00am - We arrive at Mike's parent's house to help them move their new 700lb gun safe into the house.
11:30am - We're back on the road, this time to try and figure out bike week accommodations at our friends' house.
1:30pm - No luck on the accommodations, so we leave for home. Upon arriving home, we start again on the mudroom. First drilling holes for the new exterior light location and doorbell. Then, back to drywall.
5:30pm - All the drywall is hung and we're ready for mud when our drywaller neighbor comes down and chews us out for doing drywall without him. He tells us not to do anymore and offers to come on Monday to do the first mud coat. We grudgingly agree and clean up our tools.
6:00pm - We're headed up the hill to the same neighbor's house for some stuffers and clams casino with drinks.
8:30pm - At home at last, we chill out for about an hour or so and then hit the hay.

So how do you like that for motivation, eh?

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

Walls, Windows, Trees, and Motivation

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