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..

another week of renovation prep almost over..

Time is moving right along and it's getting quite exciting now because most of the changes happening are getting to be some of those big changes that one can't help but notice. There were still a couple of commitments this week so the start was a little slow. However, the one bedroom that was waiting to be washed down is done. That was a huge job - much bigger than any of the other rooms that had wallpaper removed from them. The reason was that the glue didn't come off with the paper as much so there was a lot more left on the walls. It took me a day and a half to wash the one room... and it's just an average sized room. I was so glad when it was done. The mudding and sanding got completed for the rooms we are currently working on and as of tonight, the priming for those rooms is very nearly complete. (One wall in our daughter's room took FOUR coats of stain-killing primer to cover it. A couple walls in the kitchen took THREE coats.) We want to prime the wall behind the current (lower) counter area once it's removed. Over the weekend we're hoping to get the kids' bedrooms finished other than trim and baseboards and then the flooring that should be going in next weekend.

Next week our appliances arrive, we take out the counter cabinets, the subfloor goes in... AND the bathroom gets ripped out. In a little more than two weeks we'll have most things done other than a little more painting, baseboards, finding homes for necessities, and new homes for the things we no longer need or want.

This process is quite an experience and in a lot of ways a great deal of fun... but I'll be glad when we hit the point where deadlines are a thing of the past.

Dee..

not-so-exciting renovation update..

This week is not such an interesting week in our renovation world. We are continuing to move things out of the areas that will be worked on by the tradespeople and to get a jump start on the job of painting and the prep for it. Today the moulding from around the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom were removed and there was mudding and sanding done in several areas. The hopes are to have the children's bedrooms all done except the floors in about 10 days when the subfloor will go in. Perhaps the installer will get the flooring into those rooms while he's here doing the subfloor. One can always dream.... The kitchen and hallway will also be at least primed ahead, if possible. The more that is done ahead, the better. The hopes are to have everything done by the end of July so that we have August to just relax and enjoy it before the school year is set to begin again in fall.

Today the plumber dropped by with good news for us. The changes we are looking to make will be quite easy for him to do in a matter of a few short hours. So, we will call him once the bottom cabinets are out and he'll come to make the re-routing changes to the existing plumbing in the kitchen and bathroom. The charges for this shouldn't be too outrageous and that is a relief when you are looking to make changes.

So, the rest of the week we're hoping to get the priming done. There are a couple areas that will require more than one coat because of some totally wild colours we found under wallpaper. I still have one wall of wallpaper to remove and two rooms to wash down. Not very exciting... but certainly a necessary part of the whole process.

Dee..