New year: New motivation *or* Brant and His Folks Cover Themselves in Paint and Thin-set

Has it really been 4 months, 1 day since my last update?  My sincerest apologies…well, sort of.  I lost motivation, and then everything else in my life reminded me they still need tending to.  So the house got put on hold, for the most part.

There were spurts of work done since then…the upstairs bath (the gutted one in the hall) has been tiled, grouted and sealed, the hardware in the tub/shower replaced, some light fixtures replaced, got my fireplace working with a gas log lighter (just to start the fire – it’s still a real, wood-burning fireplace), had to fix a fence after the side-neighbor’s dog broke into my yard to break out into my behind-neighbor’s yard – all while my chocolate Lab was sitting on the patio watching.

This past weekend, Mom and Dad came up to help work on some paint and bathrooms – and we got a lot done!

I ripped out the old vanity and mirror in the downstairs half-bath, to make way for a pedestal sink.  The wall was textured and painted, and we picked out and laid tile, grouted and sealed the bathroom – it looks great!  It also has — wait for it — baseboards.

The upstairs bathroom has had some trim tile finished out, paint touched up, and baseboards cut.  We also got the stair rails sanded and ready for paint, as well as a few additional doors and sections of trim painted.

The big one – the vaulted ceiling and walls in the big living room have paint!  The ceiling needs some cutting in at the very top, and the walls need a second coat and need cutting in at the edges, but it’s already looking MUCH better.  It’s very mustard-colored, though.  I’ll grow into it.

This is a somewhat short post for the amount of stuff that’s been done – check the photos.  I’m beat.  I’ll try to pick up the pace with blog updates.  4 months is too long, I suppose – especially when my folks tell me their friends are wondering why I haven’t posted in a while….

The end is getting nearer.  I think.  But I’ll have to get closer to it another day, as I’m beat.

I’m sure the link to the photo album is a lost memory by now, here’s a link to the latest uploads:

http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/MlkWknd2011#

-brant

2011
01/17
CATEGORY
The Big Project
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Bathroom happiness (and kitchen sinkification)

Alright, so it’s been a few days–OK, weeks.  I’ve been reminded that, no – nobody’s forgotten about vicariously completing homeowner-type projects via my blog and Picasa accounts.  I’m sorry to have delayed ‘our’ progress so long, so here we go…

The folks came up in mid-August or so.  Here’s the album:  http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/KitBath#

We started with setting and securing the cabinets in the upstairs hall bathroom (the one that was gutted before I bought the house).  That was loads of fun, as the bathroom itself is not exactly square (whodathunkit?) and the cabinets were expecting to be installed somewhere…perfectly square.

Holes drilled for plumbing, cabinets screwed together and to the wall, and pre-Formica-ed (sp) countertop in-hand, we got happy with the jigsaw: We trimmed the length of the countertop to fit the cabinets and cut holes for the drop-in sinks.

Everything being assembled, screwed, nailed, glued, prayed, wished and stacked on a pile of hope and good intention together, we dropped in the sinks and connected the plumbing.

I didn’t take into consideration that the drain for the second sink (furthest from the door) is coming through the wall at a curiously strange angle.  Therefore, the first sink is 100% functional, and the second sink is a decoy.  Let’s see how many functional sinks land in my bathroom…yeah, that’ll work, right?

So, now it’s time to do something with the floors…

The night before Upstairs Hall Bath Flooring Day 1, I started with painting the decking with Kilz II (I love this stuff).  That ought ta prevent anything fun from coming up through:

We laid down Hardibacker as if it were tile (with Thinset underneath), then used concrete board/decking-type screws to really attach those puppies to the subfloor.

Wait one day.

We tiled on top of that (progression photos from this part actually made this post’s album), which, unfortunately, didn’t make the bathroom floor a large enough step up to need a high-tech alarm and warning light system.  Oh, well.  I still have a pile of opportunities for hazardous terrain at the homestead…

All this jazz ought ta keep moisture from reaching the decking (again).

Dad also grouted the tile around the tub, which looks awesome now.

Mom got crazy with some window coverings, and was still crazy when they left, so she’s still working on them – they’re supposed to be a Roman shade-type deal or something.  They have them at their house, and they look cool (I think they’ll especially look cool with that weird Tuscan texture stuff in my living/hall/dining/d-stairs bath).

Mom also cleaned.  And cleaned.  And cleaned.  And cleaned.  And, I think Mom also did some cleaning while they were here.

We replaced the builder-supplied-super-cheap-and-extraordinarily-frustrating-very-shallow kitchen sink (with the magnificently crappy faucet) with the uber-deep and usable-faucet-type kitchen sink that my folks had at their house (they have a new one).  I can actually put something in my sink and it not be immediately full!  Even if we’re talking about a spoon!

This also presented the opportunity to relocate the garbage disposer (I found that I have a ‘Bone Crusher’ – this is great, by the way) to the proper side of the sink.

For those of you who don’t know – the ‘proper side of the sink’ is the side of the sink that I throw food on, expecting a disposer to be there, eager to eat up whatever it is I may deem worth disposing.

The drain on the non-disposer side leaks, though, so I’ve gotta take all the plumbing apart so I can get to the area that needs sealing.  Fun.

Finally — Tonight, Dad swung by out of his way to New Braunfels.  He hung two mirrors and a towel ring in the Brant’s Bane Bathroom while I grouted the tile.

Yes, the tile is grouted.  Yes, there are mirrors.  Yes, I called it Brant’s Bane.  No, I don’t play video games.

Tomorrow, I seal.  Twice.  Then, it’s time to touch up some unsupervised painting, install a toilet, TP holder, towel holder, towel/robe hook, shower hardware and shower rod/curtain…then…wait for it…a fully-functional bathroom!

I am now looking for volunteers (not hired help) to paint the ceiling and install a ceiling fan in the living room (which has a vaulted ceiling with no junction box), paint the living room, repair the screens over my attic vents, and install a couple attic fans.  I’ll provide the supplies, cold beverages, and a hearty pat on the back for any biters…

2010
08/16
CATEGORY
The Big Project
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A little more…

A few more things got worked on over the past week or so, but I’ve been so tired of working on the house, I’ve taken somewhat of a break.

Dean and I put the second coat of paint in his bedroom, it looks good, but it’s really green!  I need to cut in the ceiling, baseboards and corners, as well as get some Kilz out and finish cutting in the closet.  The trim and doors still need painting, too.

I finished tiling around the shower/tub in the hall bathroom, and tonight – grout!  My folks will be here this weekend to put in a vanity and sinks – cross your fingers; I have NO idea how we’re going to pull this off.

I also got my couch, kitchen table and barstools back!  It’s really nice to have a couch to sit on at the end of the day…

2010
07/01
CATEGORY
The Big Project
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another work weekend, wow

It’s been a while, I know, but things got slow there for a bit.  That changed this weekend, though, thanks to my folks, Uncle Weldon, Aunt Karon, Mammaw and Dean.

Mom and Dean got Kilz painted in the bedroom closets, and Aunt Karon and Mammaw moved all my stuff that was spread about the house into my closet, arranged it, etc.  It’s awesome.

Uncle Weldon went ape shit with the paint, and put the second coat in the dining room, two coats in most of the kitchen, the upstairs hall, guest room and office.  Mom helped paint the upstairs as well.  Uncle Weldon also got the weird, triangular wall above the stair case.  It looked rather yellow at first, but it’s growing on me.  I can’t complain, I haven’t had to really make any decisions about colors so far.  Mom’s done great!

I started painting the bedroom that Dean is going to live in, so he picked the color.  It’s really green, but I think it’ll be okay once it’s all finished out.

Dad finished the taping & floating on the kitchen ceiling, so I textured it.  The texture I bought was from Home Depot, and the texture I put elsewhere was from Lowe’s.  Please note:  there is a difference.  I don’t think it will matter much, though, since much of it will be covered by a light fixture, and, well, it’s the freaking ceiling.  I need to paint it though.

Dad textured the downstairs bathroom to match the hall, living and dining rooms.  That took care of the wallpaper that refused to part ways with the wall, and it makes it match a little better.  Now the kitchen, breakfast area and den are orange peel, and the formal living, dining, hall and bath are the Tuscan thingy.  Mom also filled in the space above the landing on the stair case, which was about 1/3 finished when I bought the place.

I sprayed texture on the walls in the hall bathroom upstairs, and it’s ready to paint.  Dad started tiling around the tub, and he & I finished the main part of it today.  It looks awesome, and I think the offset pattern (the vertical seams are offset 1/2 the width of the tile) helps to hide the fact that nothing is square in that bathroom, or the rest of the house for that matter.

Aunt Karon and Mom cleaned and rearranged the garage, and my folks fixed my desk so I can set up my home computer without using TV trays.  I have a certain level of geekness to maintain, after all.

Dad bought a nice toilet for downstairs (and Mom bought the tile for upstairs), which is supposed to be ‘virtually plug free’ as well as 1.28 gpf.  I’ll submit a full report, I’m sure.  The one it replaced, aside from falling apart, had enough flushing force to handle…almost nothing.  I still have one of those in the master bath.  I’m learning from this, too, haha!

I’m not sure what to do in the hall bathroom upstairs.  A full double vanity is super expensive, and probably won’t fit through the door.  Dad measured.  I have two pedestal sinks, but, that bathroom has no cabinets or closet.  There’s no hall linen closet.  The suggestions I have are:

1.  Two single vanities, without counter/sink.  Make a counter with plywood across both, to make a double vanity with a gap in the middle for the chair thing (my bathroom is set up like this, but it’s one huge vanity).  We can tile the countertop and put sinks in on either side.  This gets me drawers and cabinets, and is affordable.

2.  The pedestal sinks with a bookshelf or cabinet between.  The PVC drainpipes would have to each be cut a couple inches back to the sheetrock, the copper water pipes would have to be cut back as well, and I would need to buy chrome plumbing, as it would all be exposed.  I also would have to come up with a way to brace the basins to the wall, as there are no supports behind the sheetrock.  The drain pipes are exposed at the bottom of the wall (there used to be a double vanity that covered all the plumbing, but the previous owners said it was ruined and got rid of it).  I also just don’t like the idea in general; I want to put a pedstal sink downstairs instead.

3.  Two individual vanities with a space between.  This would cost about the same as #1, and I could get away with two smaller mirrors, which would be cheaper than either #1 or #2.  I don’t have a problem with this configuration, either, and I could put one of those over-the-toilet cabinet things in if I need more storage.

I must admit:  I think I’ve learned more practical and life skills in the past two months than in the past 10 years.  I can’t thank my family and friends enough for all the help and ideas they’ve all been giving.  I can’t wait for the opportunity to have everyone over for a party instead of a work day – it’s starting to look much closer, too!

Here’s a link to the photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/WorkWeekend2#

Happy Fathers’ Day, Dad!

2010
06/20
CATEGORY
The Big Project
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Three weeks of work….and three photo albums

Alright, I’m just going to apologize for the past 3 or so weeks of non-bloggingness.  I’ve been busy, and I think you’ll all see why…

Before I get any further – THANK YOU MOM, DAD, AUNT KARON, UNCLE WELDON, MAMMAW and DEAN!  There is absolutely no way I could have gotten this far without y’all!

I’m moved in, with the dog.  That happened right after my last post.  Shortly after that, I touched some things up in my bedroom, got a really nice refrigerator, and Dean trimmed the bushes around the front of the house.  I also trimmed everything that wasn’t new growth off the larger (double-headed) Sago Palm in the front yard.  I still need to clean up the back side (house-facing) of it, and get rid of a couple or three pups, then move on to the other, smaller one.  If anyone wants a Sago pup or two, let me know.  Here are the photos of the den and landscaping:  http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/DenPaintedShrubsTrimmed#.

I went to Corpus Christi on the Saturday before Memorial Day to celebrate my niece’s first birthday.  My folks brought everything I had left at their house, as well as a few additional tools for working on the house…which enabled me to move on to:

My first gathering!  Some friends came over Sunday evening, and we threw some steaks and veggies on the grill.  The first meal prepared at my house, too!  I missed my Weber grill.  I can’t wait to have my smoker cleaned out and back in service!

The next project –  get the ceilings textured to match what is in the rest of the house.  The hole that was repaired in the den, the spots in the hall bath where the floating/tape had come down when they ripped out the walls, and the bedroom where the 17-year-old daughter scraped about 70% of the texture off the ceiling all needed to be fixed.  My folks bought a new texture hopper and compressor to loan me (thanks, again, Mom & Dad!), and so I set out trying to figure out how to do all this without getting texture everywhere but on the ceiling.  Hint: Use LOTS of plastic – see the photos.  I set up a test station on the deck, then once I figured out how peanut-buttery the texture compound was supposed to be, I started spraying it all over the damn place.  It’s kind of fun, really, but you end up with it in your hair, eyes, ears, clothes – everywhere.  I think I managed to match it pretty closely, though, and I’m confident when I touch up the ceiling in the kitchen (you’ll see why in a couple paragraphs, but the photos are in the album linked at the end of this paragraph), I can do so without it being a complete disaster.  Here are the texture photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/CeilingTexture#.

As you’ll see – LOTS of plastic.  I ended up making plastic-lined texture jails (that I barricaded myself inside of, as well) to do this.  It really did minimize the overspray on walls and the rest of the ceilings.  I was also surprised at how little of it made it all the way to the floor, but I think I intercepted most of the floorward-falling stuff with my head.  The weird photos of just texture are supposed to show the new part and the old part together.  I was trying to show off that I actually figured out how to make it look close to the original.  It’s good enough, anyway.

Naturally, the morning after I did all this revealed that I had incorrectly mixed the texture I sprayed in the bedroom.  I get to texture again!  The second round went off without a hitch (other than having to wait 24 hours).  I’m pretty excited about the texture, so there are a whole bunch of photos.  Dean and I also tore down the light fixtures and the Vintage mid-1980s enclosure that were in the kitchen so when my folks came in town, we could repair the hole and get the last bit of texturing knocked out.

So…this past weekend, my folks came up.  Friday night was mainly getting ready for Saturday.  My friend Dean and I took the carpet and padding to the landfill Saturday morning – wow, that stuff was FOUL.  My aunt, uncle and grandmother came up from New Braunfels, and, along with my folks, we all attacked the house.  Dean and my mother sanded all the trim upstairs, then we painted all the ceilings upstairs (remember this has already been done in my bedroom).  Mom, Aunt Karon and Mammaw went ape shit in the kitchen.  All my boxes are unpacked, all my dishes are clean and in the cabinets, the drawers are arranged, the counters are clean – I can cook!  Dad and Uncle Weldon installed a canister light over the sink, replaced the drywall, then taped and floated.  It looks AWESOME.  I’ll texture that this week (with more plastic prisons), and check it off the list.

Then, Uncle Weldon grabbed a roller and painted all the ceilings downstairs (except the dining room and hall – which had been done – the front living room – which requires scaffolding – and kitchen – which has to wait until the taping/floating dries).  After he finished that, he opened up the green and painted the den.  The green looks badass.  There are a couple spots I need to touch up, but I need to do that in the dining area as well.  It goes with the other colors (Toffee Snot and red – I’m open to semi-vulgar suggestions on the names of the red and green paint, by the way).

The breakfast area is where all my kitchen boxes were – and it’s now cleared out.  The baseboards (being replaced downstairs) have been pulled, and Mom also got some more of the wallpaper in the downstairs bath removed – the original wallpaper is really happy where it’s at.  I can’t wait to tackle my bathroom.

Dad noticed that the smell in my bathroom (dubbed, ‘the house smell’) is coming from the baseboards.  So, they’re coming out.  The baseboards in the bathrooms have to be pulled anyway, as I’m tiling in there.

I went through some Ceiling Fan Hell, but remedied all that (I hope) by returning the crappy Lowe’s-brand fan and replacing it with a Hunter.  All the fans in my house are going to be (brand new) Hunters, with the exception of the one in the big bedroom – it’s going to be a Lowe’s-brand fan I bought years ago (and is actually balanced and quiet).  By the way – the ONLY reason I had Lowe’s-brand fans was because my old apartment was close to Lowe’s but nowhere near Hope Depot (which I prefer to shop at), and the Home Depot-brand fans are more expensive than Lowe’s.  However, Home Depot has Hunter fans on sale for the same price – so, score!

We also got the microwave installed.  I’m serious – my kitchen is fully functional.  I can’t believe it.  Here are the photos of the finished crazy work weekend:  http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/CrazyWorkWeekend#.

Again – THANK YOU EVERYONE!  It’s really starting to look like significant progress has been made, and that there is a light at the end of this tunnel!  I’m really ready to start planning the housewarming gathering, and, finally, a vacation…

2010
06/07
CATEGORY
The Big Project
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Finally!

Alright, after feeling crappy on Friday (I’m guessing from not resting enough last week), mostly finishing up my bedroom over the weekend, getting rear-ended on my way home from work yesterday, and a last-minute moving day off today — I finally can sleep, shower, do laundry, etc., at my house!

I should be able to use the A/C tonight (the final requirement for the dog to stay there), and all I’ll have left is cleaning and a few odds-and-ends left at the old place.

The master bath still smells something awful, even after two bleachings, so I think I’m looking at Sheetrock and plywood replacement — it’s absolutely foul. We’ll see how Thompson’s Water Seal (thanks, Amber) and KILZ do on it first, though…

Again, I want to thank my folks, brother and sister-in-law, Uncle Weldon, my friends Dean, Corey, Michelle and Trey, and anyone I have forgotten, for the progress thus far — there is absolutely no way I could’ve gotten this much done on my own!

2010
05/18
CATEGORY
Moving
The Big Project
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Lots done this weekend

This weekend was rather successful, and I even have some stuff in my bedroom now!  My friend Dean and I got a lot done Saturday afternoon and yesterday, and I think I’m going to try to move the last of my stuff this evening (right now my bed is at the old house, but all my bathroom stuff and clothes are at the new).

Here’s an album of the paint so far – I finished up my room while Dean painted the hall and wall behind the stair rail:  http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/BedroomHallPaintdone#

The paint in the hall looks really good, but didn’t cover in one coat like the blue-green color in my bedroom.  Dean also got the yard mowed and shrubs trimmed (wow, thanks!) yesterday while I was swapping out ceiling fans and touching up paint in my bedroom.  I’ll try to remember to take pictures of the trimmed shrubs and post tonight or tomorrow.  Cutting in trim by hand isn’t very fun, but I’m satisfied enough and ready to get moved so I can go on to the next project.

Some neighbors introduced themselves this weekend, as well.  The lady across the street runs the neighborhood Yahoo! Group for neighborhood watch and whatnot, and the couple three doors down came by and offered a beer.  I like them already.

Also, I no longer think the chickens will be an issue.  At all:  There’s a goat pasture at the end of my block, about 4 doors down.  I can hear them from my front yard.  Chickens ain’t nothin’.

I still can’t decide whether I want to do the floating wood floors upstairs, or carpet (which will be installed in half a day) – comment and let me know what you think!  The bathrooms are going to be ceramic or porcelain tile, but the bedrooms, hallway and stairs need something…

2010
05/17
CATEGORY
Moving
Pre-Move-In
The Big Project
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My bedroom is (almost) painted

Got into the paint last night…almost literally.  The ceiling in my room has the second coat of KILZ on it – looks great – as well as some texture-type stuff in the corners where Dad fixed the taping/floating that was coming off.

The walls in my bedroom are mostly painted, as well, here are the photos (sorry about the quality; it was 2:15 in the morning):  http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/MasterPaint1#

The KILZ Casual Colors paint is AWESOME – one coat covered the walls!  This color is called Virtue or something like that…it’s a dark Sea Puke if you ask me, but I think I like it okay.  I’m not painting it again anytime soon, so I’ll have to like it.  I’ll touch up the corners and sand the glossy stuff (baseboards, doors, window sill, trim) to get the Snow Fart (it may be called Beach Snot or something, don’t remember) color painted on them.

I also need to spray texture on the ceiling in the northwest bedroom, as well as the spot on the ceiling in the den where the hole was repaired…the mix-and-blot method I used in my bedroom won’t cut it.  I also sprayed texture on the patched wall in the master closet (to find out how the damn thing worked, really), as well as the small spot in the northwest bedroom (I’m going to have to paint these rooms different colors, so I’ll have the red room, green room, etc.), where the electrical masthead was repaired.  It doesn’t look great (in the bedroom), but I think it’ll do – you probably won’t be able to tell without a close look after I paint that room…any suggestions for bedroom colors?  I’m thinking I’ll start with whatever’s leftover from downstairs…

2010
05/12
CATEGORY
The Big Project
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Birthday and work weekend

What a weekend!  My parents arrived Friday night, so they checked out the house and we talked a little about what I wanted to get done this weekend.  They like the house, and I think, now that they’ve seen the house and what needs to be done, I’m much more confident that it’s all very doable.  We discovered quite a bit more work that will need to be done, too.

Saturday morning we got started with Mom & Dad heading to Home Depot and me getting after some texturing on the soffits above the kitchen cabinets and laminate tile (which is NOT fun if the glue used was particularly good).  My mom cleaned all the cabinets in the kitchen, behind the stove, polished the wood, put down the cabinet liners and laminate (peel-n-stick tile left over from the upstairs bathroom – it’s a wood pattern, and actually looks pretty good in the lower cabinets where pots and pans will end up…the upper cabinets have the soft, no-skid lining).

Mom also painted the entire pantry with oil-based KILZ.  All flooring on the first story has been pulled up, and some of the laminate tile in the master bath has been removed.  Dad and I looked at some of the sheetrock in the master bath, which I’ll be replacing soon.

The hole in the ceiling in the den, the hole in the wall in the first hall bedroom (where the electrician repaired the masthead), and the hole in the wall in the master closet (where the plumber fixed the leak in the master shower) have all been sheetrocked, taped and floated.  I just need to texture and paint.

Mom pulled most of the wallpaper out of the downstairs bath, all the floors, and Dad and I pulled the toilet.  That bathroom smells worse than the dining room could ever hope to smell.  The cat box was in there, but I think the cats preferred to use the walls…  Mom also bleached the entire bathroom and corner in the den to try and kill the smell….it’s better, but I think I’m going to have to replace some sheetrock to fully get it out.

Dad also fixed a couple spots on the ceiling in my bedroom where the taping/floating had started separating from the sheetrock, and I painted all but those spots on the ceiling – what a difference it makes!

I replaced the rotten wood under the threshold to the back door last night – found some termite damage down there, but it seemed to be isolated to the wood under the threshold, so I’m not really concerned (plus, the exterminator was out last week).

I pulled the old dishwasher out (the springs on the door were broken), and managed to break the copper drain pipe coming out of the sink.  As I was removing the plumbing from down there, it was evident that all of it just needed replacing, so, I got that taken care of, and have a healthy cut on my head (thanks to the cabinet above) to prove it.

We also got the horrid, pinkish walls in the hall primed – it looks fathoms better than it did – and I got the paint for the den, kitchen, hall and master bedroom, but haven’t put any of it up yet.  I’m calling the color I chose for the trim “Snow Fart.”  I think the other colors are something like “Pickled Peppers,” “Virtue,” “Red Ginseng,” and “Toffee Slime,” or something similar.  I’m trying out this KILZ Colors paint, it’s guaranteed to cover in one coat, so I’ll post how that goes…bummer about the KILZ Colors is that I’ve only found it at Wal-Mart (Home Depot will add some pigment to regular ol’ KILZ, but they can only get pastel colors; the stuff at Wal-Mart is for real colors).

I have pictures, but left my phone at home today, so I’ll try to get them posted tonight.  Thanks to everyone who helped!  There’s absolutely no way I’d be this far along without you!

2010
05/10
CATEGORY
Pre-Move-In
The Big Project
2 comments

Work weekend

The first work weekend (was also supposed to be moving weekend, but that didn’t happen) is over. Honestly, I feel kind of frustrated about how little got done over the weekend, but I can’t undo that. Here’s a link to the photos from after the carpet removal: http://picasaweb.google.com/bkuyk1/Working1#.

Thursday evening provided no progress. Let’s move on to Friday.

We were finally ready to leave the house by about noon…for breakfast. I think we got to my house at about 1:30 or 2:00 that afternoon to get started working, but one of my friends had to be at work at 4, and the other had a meeting at 4:30 – both downtown. We did get some additional staples pulled up, and almost all the house swept, but that’s about it. I put my dryer back together and started working on my first-time-homebuyer tax credit paperwork, and let me tell you, it’s confusing!  That’s about the extent of Friday, so we’ll just move on to Saturday.

I think we made it to the house by about the same time, and probably got just about as much work done (very little). My friend had to head back home that evening, so… Let’s just keep going, where we’ll find:

Sunday. Another friend came up for the afternoon from San Antonio, which was helpful, as well as my roommate was able to come help for a little bit last night. We were able to get all the walls in the den/breakfast area and most of the kitchen Simple Green’ed, as well as knock off most of the cobwebs on the ceiling (using a Simple Green-sprayed push broom). I also got security lights installed on the front porch and over the garage, however, the lights over the garage will need to be…adjusted. The mantle over the fireplace, faceplates to all the outlets and switches, thermostat, light fixtures and ceiling fan are out of the dining room, den and breakfast area, as well as the broken microwave/vent hood has been removed from above the range. The security system has been mutilated (for the most part), and will be completely removed as I keep going. The dishwasher comes out tonight, and maybe a coat of Kilz will go on the walls.

I was able to get the initial service from the pest control folks – all-natural, plant-based treatment, safe for the dog and people and everything. I also met a couple neighbours, and found out the next-door neighbour is fixing the fence (nice!). The dog also got to come check out the place – he likes the stairs.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something that was done over the weekend, but I can’t put my finger on it. Thanks to everyone for your help! I’ll probably be calling again…

2010
05/03
CATEGORY
The Big Project
1 comment