the fast track..

I feel like we're now on a fast track with most of the renovation things. Since I wrote last, the subfloor was put into most rooms, the flooring installed in the 3 bedrooms, the plumber and electrician were here a couple times each, and things were begun in the bathroom. Last Friday was a hectic day! There was a mix-up with the delivery we were expecting but it worked out to our benefit after all. The delivery was actually mistakenly booked for Saturday rather than Friday... but we needed some of that stuff Friday so my husband went to take care of that and ended up borrowing a van from Home Depot to bring the stuff home in. The store staff loaded it for him and we had a couple guys here working on the bathroom that unloaded it for him so it actually worked out ok. We were also refunded the delivery cost. :)

On Saturday we covered the flooring in the master bedroom with plastic and went to work filling holes, and sanding. I'm grateful for quick drying joint compound! We got a LOT done in a short time. Sunday we gave it a coat of primer and a base coat of "Only Natural" by Behr. Then on Monday I was able to put a faux finish on it with a colour called "Antique Ruby" which was probably not the right shade to use for a faux finish though it looked perfect as a solid colour to match our vertical blinds. I had hoped for a nice deep, rich burgundy... but it looks pretty pinkish in bright light. At night it's incredibly beautiful though. Anyway, the faux finish I used was a positive application with a "tight bag roller". With the beige colour underneath it left a lot of contrast which was exactly what I wanted. My husband and I were both not really sure about the pinkish tones but when all is said and done, and the furniture back in place, it's quite a nice look. Whew! By Tuesday evening we were able to move our bed back and are now quite comfortably enjoying a new bedroom. :)

The bathroom has been worked on most days and is coming along nicely though it will be a week or so before it will be completed.

Tomorrow and Friday (if needed) the kitchen cabinets will be installed. I guess I better head to bed and get some sleep as morning will come early, I'm sure.

Dee..

subfloor begun..

Morning dawned bright and early. We were up doing last minute prep to the areas that were getting subfloor installed. The installer was to arrive between 10 and 11am and at 10:57am he called to let us know he was on his way. He arrived and got started by 11:30am and by 4pm the kitchen, hallway, and two bedrooms had nice new subfloor. Tonight we had to move an adjustable bed and that was the thing we were really NOT looking forward to. When we got it, the delivery people took almost an hour to get it into our cozy master bedroom so we were afraid we wouldn't be able to get it out ourselves. However, a rolling platform helped considerably and it was done in a fraction of the time it took those delivery people five years ago. :) So, tonight we will sleep in our kitchen! LOL Our son will also sleep on a mattress on the floor while our daughter will sleep on the loveseat in the basement. What a memory this will be!

Tomorrow will be a very busy day. We have the all the rest of the subfloor other than the livingroom (which is full of cabinets and appliances) going in and the sheet vinyl being installed in the three bedrooms. We also have a plumber and an electrician coming to reroute water and drainage lines, and to finish installing the new electrical plugs, etc. The fellow that is doing the bathroom is arriving to tear out the old fixtures so subfloor can go in there. And if that isn't enough, the new fixtures for the bathroom are being delivered as well.

Dee..

final demolition..

Yesterday our new appliances arrived but we had to send the fridge back. It came damaged. It will take about 2 weeks for the new one to arrive now and hopefully there will not be any added issues with that one. We aren't in a bind because we were still intending to use our old appliances till then anyway. It is actually quite funny how this all happened. We had asked for the dishwasher and microwave to arrive early but they couldn't split the shipment so they were all to arrive at once even though, technically, we didn't have the room for them all. Of course, we moved things around and stacked things differently to make room. It actually is a nice thing that we didn't have to find the room for the fridge though it's really too bad that the fridge was damaged. However, we choose to see this as God's provision for our needs. We didn't really have the room right away to store the fridge and yet the order couldn't be split, so God took care of it. ;)

Today was a long day. It started out with packing the last of the kitchen cabinets. Pots and pans, plastics, cutlery, etc all got boxed up today. Along with that I cleaned my good pots and pans. Then it started... Well, actually it started before the packing, as my daughter decided to make the packing easier on me before she headed to work. She ripped off a door from the cabinet to make it easier to get things out. Then my son needed to rip one off, too. After the packing and lunch were done with, the plumbing was disconnected from the sink and the demolition was begun in earnest. It didn't take long, really... and most of the wood these cabinets were made of was particle board and quite brittle so it didn't take a lot of effort either, honestly. The toughest part was making sure the plumbing was relatively undisturbed and then using the reciprocating saw to cut the counter into 3 pieces that will be used on the new counter until our custom counters arrive in about a month. The plumber said he'd see if he could rig up the sink portion for us, as well.

Once the last of the demolition was done, I spent the rest of the day washing that last wall of wallpaper paste in the master bedroom. The wallpaper is officially ALL gone now... paste and all!!! I'm so GLAD! What a gruelling job to spend 5-6 hours per wall scrubbing it all off...

So, now tomorrow we're supposed to have the subfloor start to go in so it might be quite exciting if there is also new flooring going in with it. There are two bedrooms that will be ready for it... and the kitchen will be ready for the subfloor. Friday our bathroom will be torn out and the new items for that will be arriving. Hopefully it won't take too long for that part of this project to be done. With only one bathroom in the house, it could make for interesting days if we're without for any amount of time. I'm grateful for good neighbours who have agreed to allow us to use theirs if need be! ;)

Dee..

progress..

Well, the weekend is almost over and we have managed to get done what was planned and more. I'm still hoping to wash the walls in one room tonight but I'm not sure how fast it will go since there is a wall of wallpaper paste again. This is the last one, though. There is no more wallpaper in this house! Yeeeeehaw! Oh, pardon my excitement. ;)

Both kids' rooms got the second coat of paint so there's just trim and baseboards for us to do after the subfloor and flooring is put in. They look so nice and the kids are happy. The kitchen and hallway ceilings got a second coat of paint and the master bedroom ceiling was done as well. Once all that was done and the clean-up of the painting supplies, I scraped the last of the wallpaper off the wall. It was a very productive day. My goal is to have the master bedroom either painted or at least ready to paint by Thursday night.

If the wall washing goes slower than I hope tonight, then I'll finish it in the morning after I prepare the space for the new appliances to be stored. They arrive tomorrow afternoon. :)

It's getting so incredibly exciting around here!

Dee..

paint, paint, paint..

One word for each colour... LOL Today was a day of painting and I had the headache to prove it. However, amazing progress was made. Of course, paint always makes such a HUGE difference to a room and this was no exception.

First of all, the kids' rooms both had the ceilings done along with the hallway and kitchen. The hallway and kitchen will get a second coat when we do the livingroom and master bedroom... in aweek or so. Then the two kids' rooms got the first coat of their colour. The second coats will be done on Monday.

My son chose a green called "Garland". It's quite dark and I wasn't sure I would like it but it's really a beautiful evergreen kind of colour with just a hint of blue to it. It is the second lightest on the paint chip to the right. The inspiration for it was the comforter that we've had for years that he's using now. We used to use it in our bedroom and then on the guest bed but when his bed wore out and had to be tossed, it was decided that he would get the guest bed so he also inherited the bedding. :) He is quite pleased with his room and it will be very nice when it's all done. He intends to paint his (now blue) dresser in time... and he may make a headboard and paint it, as well, in time.

My daughter chose a shade called "Desert Sunrise" that seems to have several different colours and shades in the right lighting. It truly lives up to its name! You can see it as the lightest colour on the paint chip. She has a jungle themed comforter which it should go really well with and intends to ask her brother if she can use some of his leftover paint to paint her bookshelf for accent. Her room is a really "glowing" shade and she loves it. I have to admit that I do, too. Good thing... Someday that room may become my craft room! ;)

Tomorrow is a day off for us, I think. We need a day of rest but then the next two weeks will be filled with activity.

Dee..