Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Just Checking In

I've been too busy for blogging lately.  The house project has been very time consuming and entails lots of physical work that has been good for me, despite the gout flare up.  I've had some good sleep these weeks - except for the few days in excruciating gout pain.

Leon wanted to do this project.  Part 2 of the wall-painting project we did a few months ago.  I probably could have lived with the house the way it was until I move to the nursing home.  Our home equity line of credit paid for this project.  We will pay later...

This is the floor of the sunroom after we pulled up the "temporary" carpet we've had for 12 years.  


One reason we've never had it finished is the threshold into the kitchen which was deliberately left lower to accommodate a sub-floor and tile; it was just too complicated for a do-it-yourself project; also, we (I) could never decide on a tile color.

Kitchen vinyl had to be removed as well as a luan subfloor, another layer of vinyl and a layer of plywood.

We pulled up the wall-to-wall carpet in the living room to reveal the hardwood.

We hired a local tile shop to do the hard work.  We moved all the furniture, heat runs, and all the other crap.  We also removed the closet doors and did a lot of other prep work.  While the work was being done, we lived in our camper at the bottom of the driveway.  This did not get done in a half-hour like on Home and Garden.

Also, we did not have the Home and Garden stars,  Kitchen Cousins or Marc Bartolomeo, or I would have pictures of the crew for sure.

The kitchen after being stripped to the original floorboards.
Showing the layers

Was there dust?  There was dust.  So much dust.  Even though they had vacuum equipment and sealed off the rooms.  This past weekend was spent washing walls, cleaning off every surface, removing every pot, pan, dish, bowl, etc. and washing everything and wiping out every cabinet, replacing everything, cleaning the oven.  We are not done yet with the clean-up.

A Floral Interlude


Living room after the floors were sanded and finished.

Benni inspecting the new tiles.

New tiles - chocolate in the sunroom and faux travertine in the kitchen.  The TV credenza is in the kitchen until the living room baseboards get repainted.

Not to mention the bathroom, which is still being painted and currently has no sink or vanity.

But the new tile in the bathroom is nice and includes a tile baseboard.

We are not hoarders and we actually have less "stuff" than many average folks;  these photos will not prove that fact.  The guest room.




Leon's office.


Benni is not happy - not having is favorite spot on the futon.

I know, things have been happening in the world, and I've kept abreast and have perused your blogs.

Too bad about North Carolina, I thought they were the more enlightened of the Carolinas.

Gotta go, Benni is begging to go for a hike and I've still got painting and cleaning to do.

5 comments:

Mark said...

Listen, I know it's hard to believe but I live for renovations. I truly get off on that stuff.
Those hardwood floors turned out beautifully. And I can't believe that you couldn't decide on a tile for 12 years. What the hell's wrong with you two???
m.

Frank said...

OK, so I'm cheap and hate to spend money on such things as tile, so making a color choice becomes a good excuse. This time I had to convince myself that we are "stimulating the economy". However, I'm not convinced the stimulation will come back to my personal economy in this lifetime.

Russ Manley said...

OMG what a project, I feel tired and achy just reading about it. But the results are looking good, hope it all comes together and gets back to normal for you guys soon.

Do post more pics when it's all pretty again.

Moving with Mitchell said...

First, I had the same thought about the difference between the two Carolinas.

The home improvements are stunning! But your guest room is so UN-inviting. Intentional? Hope it's all back together soon and you can elevate your feet and admire.

Theaterdog said...

Bravo!
In addition to the work, you have moved, maybe not across town but moved nonetheless.

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