Before and After

Let's start with the basics. We changed the layout. A lot. The easiest way to illustrate is to show you. Thus, here are the basic plans from before and after.

Layout before:


Layout after:


Living room before



Dining room before


Living and dining room after


Kitchen before




Kitchen after




One Bathroom before


Two Bathrooms after









Master bedroom before


Master bedroom after





Formerly the porch


Now the foyer



View from the living room into the kitchen and dining space

Crash My House!!

I promise I will eventually post photos of the "final" product, the house with furniture, but first, we pause for a brief description of how I spent my Saturday.

For the past six months, as we have renovated the house, CPM and I have spent our free "tv time" watching either HGTV or DIYNetwork. I don't know why I pay for Starz. It was thanks to numerous episodes of House Hunters that I successfully staged the old house--we had two offers in two days, were under contract in three, and closed in thirty. In this market. Bam. (Oh, did I forget to blog about that...I'll get to it, eventually, I promise.) Lately, we've been more DIY focused, as we've looked for inspiration, or just wanted random background noise while we played a game of Scrabble on Facebook. We've been saying for months that we need our own show.

So, Saturday, one week post final move in, I woke with a mission...to find some sort of shelving solution for the office closet. The new house is short of storage space. CPM lost his personal closet in our bedroom, thus his belongings have moved to the office closet. As he is a man with a t-shirt problem, I sought something upon which to stack the multitudes. Originally intending to head to Home Depot to return some merchandise, plans changed when the return became unnecessary. I went to Lowe's, since it's a touch closer, and has more to offer in the "home decor" area.

Upon entering the store, I notice there is a release posted on the doors...you know, "if you enter here, we can film you, record your voice, blah blah blah." I immediately got suspicious. I've watched a lot of House Crashers. I know that they prowl the home improvement store in search of willing participants. Just as I'm having that thought, Josh Temple and his camera crew pass before my very eyes.

I immediately began panicking. This was it! This was our chance! And CPM was at home! I called him to inform him that House Crashers was IN THE BUILDING and that he was missing our chance at getting a fabulous finished basement. He pep talked me. He told me that I had to go right over to the crew and tell them to crash our house. After hanging up, taking various deep breaths, I actually decided to skip the whole thing, shop for my shelves and leave. Un/fortunately, fate put the crew right in front of my cart as I turned around. And that's how I found myself trying to convince Josh Temple to crash my unfinished dungeon of a basement.

I don't know how much of the selection portion of the show is legit and how much of it is staged. Josh actually listened to my plea (possibly because I looked like a nutcase, and he just wanted to humor the crazy lady until she wandered away), asked me to describe what I wanted and finally asked why my project would be fun. Really? Have you not met my husband? Luckily I have this video of CPM from day one of demolition on our house.



He and the crew watched the video, laughed, then he agreed to look at the project!

I abandoned my empty cart right there (in Fashion Bath--Josh had been interviewing me while perched upon a toilet), and we proceeded to walk out of the store to my car, being filmed the entire way. I was shaking and nervous. I don't even remember what I was talking about...the weather? would they follow me in my car? Then we reached my car, and the next thing I know, Josh is walking back into Lowe's, and I'm meeting a PA, signing a release, giving her my contact information, and being told that they would be filming at the Lowe's store all day, and if I didn't hear from them by 4:00 pm, they had picked someone else. So, they give themselves options, obviously. I get it now.

Needless to say, we didn't get picked. It would have been nice to have been a fly on the wall of the production meeting when they went over their options. Was I the loony lady with the crazy husband? Did I come off as a "plant" since I just walked up to them and demanded that they crash my basement, then abandoned my cart without buying what I came in for when they agreed to check it out? Did I say the wrong thing? Were we eliminated because we live in the suburbs, not the city proper? What? Why? Arg.

All in all, it was a great experience and I love having the story to tell! I'll never watch the show the same way again!

2 for Wednesday

It's the second day of the second month, so I'm posting a second post! Ha. Actually, I just want to document some of my planned schemes/projects/needs/wants for post move in...

First, I need curtains in my bedroom. All of our windows are 60 inches tall. Plus, we have about a foot of trim and moulding above them. Add the 39 inch floor clearance, and I need some pretty long panels, or a shitload of fabric. Both options point to several hundred dollars spent on window treatments in just this one room. Yikes. So, I'm planning to use canvas paint drop cloth panels as a temporary to possible permanent solution. They'll definitely work temporarily, and if I can motivate myself to do some creative dyeing or fabric painting, or even some sewn fabric embellishments, they may become permanent. See here for one version, but different options are all over the interwebz.

Second, I'm enamored with magnetic spice tin systems. But I refuse to pay bunches for something that is so ridiculously easy. Hence, I will probably buy some watchmaker's tins, some magnets, and begin glueing myself up a bunch. The side of the new fridge is magnetic, so that would be my probably storage area. Bam, instant pantry space savings.

I also need a blender. CPM burns through a blender every year. I'm considering either a Vitamix or a Blendtec. The shallow person inside my head likes the look of the Blendtec better, despite its lesser warranty. Yes, they are both ridiculously expensive for blenders. But CPM loves his smoothies. And you can do juices with whole fruits in both of them, so I can get rid of the gigantic Jack LaLanne power juicer behemoth that is crowding my pantry!

Phew, looks like we'll still be bleeding money for a while. Oh well, you can't take it with you.

Impulse Buyers

For the majority of the renovation project, most product purchases were were made in this fashion:

Spouse and I proceed to nearest home improvement store after laboring all day at house. We are hungry and dirty. Purchase must be completed "now" because it's time to install whatever item we are shopping for.

Spouse: What light fixtures/medicine cabinets/door handles do you want to buy for the house?
Me: Who cares? Just buy whatever is on sale and let's go get dinner. I'm starving.

Similarly, many projects were completed simply because we grabbed something that we liked on impulse and tossed it into the cart. Case in point, the glass tile that now adorns the fireplace.

First, CPM spent a day constructing the mantel, and the frame for our 52 inch flat screen television out of leftover trim boards:



We went to Home Depot for something that evening, I don't recall what. On the way out, Home Depot had set up their "buy this crap" section, which included an assortment of glass tile sheets that were on sale.

Him: Hey, that's neat. Let's get some. We can put it on the fireplace.
Me: Sounds good! I'm hungry!

Thus, the following day, CPM completed his first solo tile job, with me providing helpful clean up assistance. We borrowed the tile saw from the guy who did our bathroom tile work. We used leftover slate tiles (found in our guest bathroom) to line the interior of the fireplace, and the new glass tile to do the exterior. Did you know that tile work is really easy? I write that as if I were the one making the measurements and cuts, but really, I think I could handle the saw if it came down to it.

Voila. Looks great.



We plan to put a vent free gas log set into the fireplace (that is, if our tile work hasn't turned the whole fireplace into a fire trap, in which case, it becomes a decorative item only, where I will stick some fancy candles for show.)

***

Really, the only advanced "research" that I did during this entire renovation process was for the appliances, and that was really only for pricing. Yes, I spent a lot of time on design blogs, but if you asked me six months ago if I had any idea that the house would look the way it does today, I would tell you "no." I had no idea what the finished product would look like. I knew the layout. Finishes got selected as we reached their install dates. We really just flew by the seat of our pants through the whole process. There are still things that I regret (like what I did to the kitchen layout will annoy me for life), but, in the end, I'm satisfied and looking forward to actually living in the house.

Moving day is this Sunday. (Thanks, impending snow/rain storm, for making me change from Saturday. I hate winter.)

Update Shmupdate

To me, the new house looks the way it did one month ago. Basically, it's completely painted, the kitchen cabinets are installed, and there is one fully functioning and completed bathroom (in which I even hung a shower curtain this week). Hence, there are no pictures in this update. Also, my camera is all packed away in preparation for The Big Move of 2011, so there's that. Supposedly, my kitchen appliances will be delivered tomorrow. They've been rescheduled twice already, so I have little confidence in them actually making an appearance. This also means that I've had to reschedule the countertop measure twice. If I say much more about these delays, I might explode. I want my freaking refrigerator already.

When I'm at the New House ("working"), I keep randomly relocating piles of tools from the living room to a box in our new back hallway. Thus, if you are missing a screw driver, paint brush, drill bit or a tape measure, it is probably in that box. The tools keep getting piled back in the living room, though, because we have fifty million little odds and ends to complete and they all require some of those tools. My OCDish tendencies then require that they get put away. My visits to New House are usually an odd dance...I focus on the task at hand for a little while, and then get distracted by the need to move all the tools into the box. It's therapeutic, the useless cleaning up. Also, the spouse bought me a Dyson, so it's become fun to randomly vacuum things. (Unsolicited Dyson opinion...it's pretty awesome, however the cord is much shorter than I'm used to.)

The doggies have visited the place several times and have had the expected anxiety attacks...panting, whining, frantic sniffing, drooling. They are fine in the gigantic yard. Bones, my most senior dog, has actually participated in running and playing. Typically, he's a moper and a non player. I'm encouraged by the playing and hold onto hope that the move will be good for him. He hates the bamboo floors though, thanks to his reconstructed knee. This necessitated a visit to Ikea (aka ninth circle of hell) on a Sunday afternoon (seriously, don't do this, ever) to acquire various throw rugs. Bones will now be able to Frogger his way through the house. Squirt is happy so long as she has a fresh tennis ball to carry around.

Things I have learned in this renovatory process are many and varied. For instance, our spray foam guy made a mess of epic proportions on our vinyl window frames (even though he covered them in plastic). After much testing of various chemicals (and worrying that the staff of Home Depot would think I was making a bomb at home), it was Goof Off Professional Strength and my elbow grease that got the remnants of the spray foam insulation off. CPM learned that Clorox Wipes should NEVER be flushed down the toilet. (This is why I do all of the house cleaning.) Oh, and if you are our stucco guy (who hails from Ireland), "third" is pronounced "turd," which makes for all sorts of fun when Colin and I discuss how we are paying him his second "turd" for the work he has completed to date.

Thus, the move is scheduled, the Uhaul reserved. I've shifted some stuff up there, and I have more ready to go in small trips. The TV/Internet/phone got installed last weekend (possibly the most painless Comcast install ever) and it works. That's all for now.

Doing Our Part to Stimulate the Economy

Ah, the fun part of the home project. The buying of stuff. This week, I bought a lot of stuff.

First, on Tuesday, I ordered cabinets for the kitchen. I went to a place in South Philly recommended by a friend. I'm glad I did, because, otherwise, I would have ended up at Ikea, paying more money, and still having to assemble my chip board kitchen. At this place, the cabinets they sell are all solid wood, will arrive assembled, and were far less expensive (possibly because they were made by 7 year old children in China). There was a lot of yelling into telephones in Chinese involved during the order process(not by me, by the sales guy). Bottom line...the cabinets will be arriving on New Year's Eve. They look like this, except no glass doors:



On the same day that I broke my bank account on cabinets, CPM and I also proceeded to our local Home Depot, which I seem to visit at least once per day these days anyway, to take advantage of the "use your high rate store credit card and get your appliances interest free if you pay them off in 12 months" deal. Luckily, I was approved for enough to cover the cost of all of the kitchen appliances, plus a set of LG front loading, stackable washer and dryer. (Dear whomever buys my current home: you're welcome...the washer and dryer that I'm leaving behind are awesome, which is why I just bought the same set for my new house).

Fridge


Range


Dishwasher


You're jealous right? They're all stainless steel! I got a double oven! And a french door refrigerator! God, I'm drooling just thinking about these appliances.

In the days leading up to our spendy escapades, CPM was working diligently to install tons of trim. He's no carpenter, but you would never know it from the way things turned out. I played assistant carpenter and got to use the nail guns and wood putty. (Note: it is best to keep your blood sugar up when working as a team to install trim. I may or may not have had a minor foot stampy tantrummy moment during baseboard installation brought upon by attempting to get through the day solely on chocolate chip cookies, Cheez Its, and the contents of a box of Hershey's Pot O Gold chocolates.)

Front Door


Bedroom


The Big Picture

Floors and Finishes

I haven't been doing a good job keeping track of the changes to the new place. When last I typed here, we were installing a fence. Since that time, the fence was completed, a fresh dumpster was delivered (seriously, this is the last dumpster, I swear), the garage got cleaned out, we painted every room and installed the hardwood floors. I only have pictures of the floor installation and living room paint. I neglected to take any photos of any of the other paint colors. Every time I would go to take a picture, there would be a big pile of trash in the way and I would get disgusted and put my camera or phone away, not wanting to share our messy home improvement ways with the world.







The walls in these photos are painted a Martha Stewart Living color, Magnetite, that I had matched by my MAB paint store. (I refuse to purchase paint from Home Depot or Lowe's, and we've always used MAB products in all of our paint projects.) CPM hates the color, but I love it. I keep telling him to wait and see, that the gray will be a great background for whatever colors we want to bring into the mix.

The floors are strand woven bamboo (in tiger) purchased from Ambient Bamboo. We chose the pattern by visiting a local Lumber Liquidators, then I did an internet search to see if I could get a better price on a similar product. Not only was the Ambient product better, but the plank size was much wider. Ambient shipped the product to me via UPS Freight, and I had to help the UPS guy unload the truck. That sucked, since it was cold and windy on the delivery day, and there were 50 boxes that each weighed 50 pounds divided between 2 skids. It got even better when one of the two skids just broke, so the boxes on that skid had to be unloaded from the UPS truck and taken to my front steps individually. Eventually I just gave up, piled the boxes on my lawn, and called CPM so that he could send help (i.e. two of his employees) to me to get the boxes into the house.

We had to rent a special nail gun to install the floors, as the material is an engineered bamboo product, and it is so hard that traditional hardwood nail guns won't work properly. The rental gun jammed approximately 800 times during the process, and CPM said a lot of bad words while unjamming the gun, but in the end, we got it done. I love the floor. CPM plans to form a break dance fight club. (First rule of break dance fight club: no talking about break dance fight club.) I wish I had gotten video of his back spins.

Currently, our mechanic is installing tile in the bathrooms. Yes, people, it is possible that I will have a flushing toilet early next week! I may not have doors, but, by god, I can pee inside! You don't realize what an advantage a guy has until you've had to pee in a port a potty when it's 19 degrees outside.

Outside Work

After I don't know how many beautiful weekends spent working inside the new place, we decided that we should work on installing the fence on the coldest, windiest Saturday of the year so far. At least, that is how it seemed. Add to that the failure of the rental auger, and you have what might be termed an inauspicious start to a home improvement project. But, CPM and his crew are determined. The auger was exchanged for one that worked. The cold breeze was ignored. And a fence was mostly installed this past weekend. (Okay, there are still several panels and the gates to go in. It's 80 percent complete. Close enough.)

Lumberjacks!


Wow, the garage is really messy.


But the fence "look niiiice. I like."


The stucco guy has also been hard at work. Soon the outside will look as nice as the inside.



What's left to do inside the house is mostly finish work: installing wood trim, door jambs, window sills. We also must begin the nitty gritty of selecting tile, installing tile, putting in a REAL FLUSHING TOILET and FUNCTIONING SINK. Dear god, I can almost taste the anti-bacterial hand soap! I cannot wait to banish the porta potty from the drive way. CAN. NOT. WAIT. After that we need to pick a kitchen and some appliances. (Ikea? Maybe?). No biggie, right? This is never ending.

Warm House

Because we did the whole "super high" ceiling thing in the house, we were basically limited to using spray foam insulation in the walls and ceiling. We used closed cell insulation. Hands down, this was the most expensive part of the renovation project. "Everyone" keeps telling us that we will reap benefits in the long run through cheaper utility bills. They better be right.



If you have any interest, the full set of spray foam insulation photos is here.

I will say little here about how the contractor hit us up for additional money on the last day of the job. Perhaps he knew how exhausted we were, and how much we just wanted to be done. My typical go eff yourself atty-tood was nonexistent, and he got what he wanted. He was a nice guy, just not the best business person. Basically, I feel screwed, because he was the low bidder, but ended up costing us the same amount as the highest bidder. What a racket.

A Handy Guide for Contractors

What is it about contractors that makes them operate on their own wave length? Here are the things I want from contractors working for me:

1. A decent response time. Don't make me wait ages for a proposal. If I need to wait ages because you are swamped with work, just tell me you are busy. I will either understand and wait longer or I will seek someone else out. Avoiding any forms of communication with me just pisses me off.

2. An accurate number. Give me your best quote the first time. When I tell you that you lost the job to a competing contractor because your number was too high, it's too late for you to massage your quote to my liking. It just makes me think that you'll cheat me out of something or cut corners on the job to make your profit margin. You aren't getting the job. Be honest and up front in your original proposal.

4. Show up when you say you will, on time, every time. If you tell me you will be at my house between 7 and 7:30, do not show up at 7:40. Leave your house/shop early if you have to, but get to my house on time. I have a job, my husband has a job, and we are putting our lives on hold for you. Show us some consideration and respect. We are paying you after all.

5. Be prepared. Walk through the job after you quote it, and close to your start date. Figure out where your damn equipment will go. Do not call me on the morning that you start and tell me that your truck will not fit near my house and cause a panicked scramble to rearrange things. If you had walked through the job a few days ago, we could have calmly arranged things to suit your needs.

In short, if you are a contractor, treat people the way you would expect to be treated. Do not be an asshole.

A moment.

I know the moment that I lost my sense of despondency over being trapped in a never ending home improvement project. It was the moment yesterday when I received the picture above via text message. It's a front door! A real door! For some reason, it makes me feel like this all will end for real some day soon. It's so dramatic! I feel like there should be a door installation ceremony, similar to the steel topping off ceremony that is held when a high rise is being constructed. There wasn't, but I did get to visit the door last night. The door is just fine.

For reference, here's one of the before views:



So the house looks like a house from the street now, and not some abandoned shack.



Progress, people! Progress.

Progress!

I'll be honest. I thought we'd be living in the new place by now. Really, I should know better. In my professional life, I deal constantly with construction projects. I know all about delays. I guess I just thought that in my "real" life, I'd be immune. Unfortunately, I'm not. I've said this a few times in previous blogs, but it's now official: I hope we live in the house by the winter holidays. (I'm superstitious. I bet I just doomed myself to a President's Day 2011 moving weekend by putting that hope in writing so frequently.)

It's really frustrating that I don't have some sort of super power to make the construction be done NOW. Progress has been made, though. This weekend, we worked on electric and lights.

Obsessing over Half an Inch.


New windows are going in. It's hard to tell from the photos below, but those windows are all five feet tall. Five feet, people! I could stand upright in them!

This is the view of the dining room and living room, I'm standing in my kitchen.


This is the fireplace. I'm still a little freaked out that I will have a fireplace. It makes me wish I celebrated Christmas.


This is a view into my bedroom.


Finally, Phase 2 of "put the old exterior windows way up in the high wall inside the house" was successfully completed.

The Artist At Work


Dude with Ginormous Head Not Included


I also managed to complete a Halloween costume (poorly), attend a Halloween party (good times), and hand out candy to numerous trick or treaters (some lame ass kids had no costumes. What is wrong with America?). Phew. I'm really ready to have a "normal" week.

Duct. Done. Dude.

Spouse (aka Mr. Super HVAC guy) and I spent the weekend completing the installation of the duct work in the new place. When we bought the place, it had radiators. Yes, I know, radiator heat is awesome and super efficient, and doesn't cause bloody noses and headaches the way forced hot air can. Radiators, however, take up a ton of space in a tiny little house (one radiator beneath every stinking window), so they were demoed early on. We had intended to install radiant floor heat throughout the place. Then, the reality of the budget set in. We value engineered (go, me, with the construction terms) the radiant floor, and will instead have forced hot air. Mr. Spouse will install a humidifier so that I don't get dry air bloody noses and headaches. (They work fabulously, we have one in our current house heater, and I haven't had a problem since Mr. Spouse installed it.)

The plumbing is in progress. I forgot to take a picture of the big ass trench in the basement floor where the drain line was installed. If I disappear before that trench is filled in, you know where to look for the body now. If all goes well, the plumbing should be done this week. I still won't have a real toilet in the place though. Me and Mr. Porta Potty are getting used to one another. The key is to keep the number of people using the thing to a minimum. Unfortunately, this contradicts our need to have actual people doing work at the house. Maybe I should force all of our helpers to maintain a liquid only diet....hmmmmm.

For some reason, we've delayed starting the electrical work. Fingers crossed we get to that this weekend.

Once all of the mechanicals are completed, we will move to what is proving to be perhaps the most expensive part of the project: the spray foam insulation. We have decided to go with closed cell spray foam insulation in all of the exterior walls and in the ceiling. Because we vaulted the ceiling, and the joist bays are so shallow, we actually do not have the space to use traditional fiberglass insulation. Which is good, since fiberglass insulation is actually crap. So, what have I learned about spray foam insulation? One: it is not cheap. You can save some money by using open cell foam, but you need more of it, and it is not as good as closed cell foam. Two: It outperforms traditional fiberglass insulation so well that traditional R value ratings are irrelevant, and theoretically, you should only need a minimal layer. However, your local inspector will probably force you to install the code required R value anyway. Hence, you will be getting prices for 5.5 inches of closed cell foam in the ceiling, and you will drop dead from shock at the cost. Then you will start cutting the budget in other places to make up the money. C'est la vie.

This week will be a bit chaotic, since Mr. Spouse will be playing Mr. Rock and Roll Guy. Having house guests means I have to clean the bathroom instead of just wiping it down with a Clorox wipe and calling it a day. It also means we will get nothing done at the new place. Sigh. At this rate, I only hope we get to live there for the winter holidays.

Wait, what day is it?

I begin this blog with a photo of a couple of Vegan Treats dessert items enjoyed at the wedding of some friends. No, I am not vegan. Yes, it's because "I can't live without cheese." Yes, I know what they do to cows to get the cheese made. I get over it. I also don't believe that vegan desserts are better than regular desserts. These ones are very, very good (Peanut Butter Bombe cupcake and Pumpkin Cheesecake) but I'm sorry, the best butter cream has real butter in it. The end. (Actually, not the end, because I have done a lot of vegan baking in my day, and I'm sorry, I simply prefer to bake non vegan. I could go on and on and on about why, but I won't. It's boring, and lots of people disagree with me, but I don't care. But I will bake vegan for you if you are vegan and I love you.)

So, where are we in house progress? Well, it looks the same way that it looked two weeks ago. Hence, no new photos (but see below for reference). There is a big ditch in the basement (for the plumbing), and some duct work has been installed. We're square in the midst of the mechanical portion of the construction. It's not as glamorous as the demo and the framing. But, it means we are closer to actually living in the place, and not just visiting it daily as if it were a sick parent in the hospital. At this point, I just hope we live there by the winter holidays.



I've been meeting with spray foam insulation contractors. That's about as exciting as it sounds. We talk R values and closed cell versus open cell foam. The windows have been delivered, and are awaiting installation, the front and back door will soon follow (none too soon since the latest work site drama involves a broken key in a really old lock, and the installation of a hasp and padlock to secure the place).

I've been doing a lot of number crunching. The budget is finite, you see, and I obsess over every dollar that we spend. I sometimes try to think about finishes, but I just can't. It's too soon. Maybe when the drywall is finally up. I do my best work at the last minute.

Allergies. Blech.

Every year, my allergies find new and interesting ways to torment me. This year, they clogged my left ear with fluid for a week straight. The very descriptive diagnosis would be something like this: everything sounds like it is under water-itis. There really is no way to clear it up, short of slicing open your inner ear and sticking a tube in it. No thanks. Instead, I devised my own cocktail of over the counter drugs and finally have found some form of relief. Also, generic Zyrtec is bullshit. Real Zyrtec knows this and laughs whenever someone grabs the fake Target brand off of the shelf, knowing that they'll be back begging for the relief that only the real shit can provide. Fuckers.

***

This week in new house construction, I give you the tearing down of the wall to expand the foyer. While less dramatic than the breaching of the wall between east and west Berlin, it was still a pretty cool moment, walking into the house and seeing the expanded space.



Also, this week, CPM's great design idea came to fruition. "We" (meaning I watched and photographed while others worked) installed the former front window high up in the wall in the dining room. I believe an architect might refer to this as a "clerestory."



We are now ready to move onto the mechanical phase of construction. Bring on the plumbing, HVAC and electrical work!