Building Bensonhurst

The big dig

2011-08-07T20:55:00.006-04:00

I said that we broke ground when we had to dig across the driveway for the gas line, but we REALLY broke ground today when we dug for the foundation.

Our day of excavating got off to a late start when the excavator arrived and told me that he had forgotten the key to his backhoe at his house 30 mins away. He left the trailer in the driveway and told me to start loading the bricks and broken concrete by hand. After throwing bricks from the chimney (that weren't saved by Leah for our future firepit) for about 10 mins, I realized that once the excavator arrived with his machine, he would do what would have taken me every part of an hour in about 10 mins, so I went inside and waited for him to get back. We finally got started around noon, and sure enough, in about 10 mins all of the debris was loaded into the trailer and out of the way.

Once the bricks and concrete were loaded up, it was time to demo the rest of the chimney. We were going to try to loop a chain around it and pull it down, but the excavator wanted to go for it and just reached in to pull it down. Initially, it seemed like it would fall straight down, but of course it decided to fall to the left (towards our bathroom). It was well on its way to crashing through our shower wall, but somehow the excavator caught the stack of bricks before they ended up in our bath tub and was able to make them fall forward.

This was taken after the bricks almost fell into our house. Too bad you can't see the look on my face about 30 seconds before this picture was taken. It would have been priceless. If you saw my face after I took this picture, I would have looked extremely relieved!

Once the junk was out of the way, the real digging could start. Fortunately, we have very good soil for digging, so it went pretty quickly once we finally got underway. One thing that I did not plan ahead for was where to put all of the dirt that came from the dig.

Notice the pile to my right and to my left. There are also piles behind me and the biggest one of all is off to the side of our driveway. All of this dirt with limited space is going to make backfilling the new foundation a little tricky, but my plan is to get the foundation in and then worry about it.

Hopefully we will have footings and a foundation in by the end of this week. Lulu might be upset because she has figured out how to jump in (4' straight down) and out (4' straight up) of the trench and really enjoys running around in it.

After two long days of work, I am exhausted and calling it a night. Stay tuned this week for updates on our foundation if all goes as planned.

The chimney must go

2011-08-07T20:21:00.006-04:00

My Saturday project was to demolish the chimney. After climbing up on the roof early in the morning to assess my task for the day, I carefully climbed right back down and told Leah that I wasn't sure that being up on the roof and dismantling the chimney was the best idea. I didn't have the best feeling about doing it, but also knew that it had to be done. I sucked it up and started with the concrete chimney cap and weather vane. Luckily I was able to break the cap in two pieces and threw one of them off the roof (making sure Leah and the dogs were inside) and was then stuck with figuring out how to get the weather vane down in one piece. I brought some rope up with me and figured that I would lower the weather vane down to safety along with the chunk of concrete is was attached to. Once the chimney cap was off, bricks started coming down very quickly. There were about 4 or 5 courses of brick above the roof and they all crumbled apart, making for quick work.

Once I was below the roof line, I moved onto the extension ladder where I felt much more stable.

The bricks came down pretty easily until I got to the area that was below the (former) garage roof. The mortar holding the bricks was in much better shape and it made it more difficult to remove the bricks as I got lower. Not to mention, I hadn't eaten lunch and was getting pretty tired after being up on the ladder for the entire morning.

After lunch, I lost all motivation to finish this project and tried to think of an easier way to knock down the rest of the chimney...

Here is what I came up with..

It obviously did not work like I thought it would and I decided that the remaining bricks would have to be taken down by the backhoe that was coming in the morning.

There's no turning back now..

2011-08-02T20:20:00.005-04:00

After a successful day of demo, we are ready to keep pushing forward. Nothing major to report, other than the obvious lack of a garage and lack of a roof over our Bathroom and part of our Bedroom.

Check out some pictures from today's action:

The metal roof came off first, then the roof structure came off and quickly filled up the first dumpster.

Hiding underneath that lovely aluminum siding was the existing wood clapboard siding. It appeared that the lead paint did a decent job preserving the wood, but once the guys tried to remove it for possible re-use, it just crumbled to pieces.

The garage doors came off relatively easily which makes sense because they were basically rotted through.

The blue insulation on the left is our bathroom wall and the green paneling on the right is one of the outside walls of our bedroom. The brick chimney will be demolished and eventually stairs will head that direction to the 2nd Floor.

The jackhammer made quick work of the garage floor.

At least the tarps kind of match the green shingles on the roof. Hopefully this dry weather keeps up because I don't think that Leah wants to get wet the next time it rains. Note: That is closer to her side of the bed. My side is still under a real roof...

Lulu and Henry are really excited now that they can run through the Garage from front to back instead of running all the way around.

Henry has never been on this side of the garage because he thinks his invisible fence prohibits him from going there. Sorry next door neighbors..

Lulu was so excited about all of the action today, she decided to kiss Henry. He was embarrassed, but kind of liked it.

That would be the 2nd dumpster that is completely overloaded and we have enough trash to fill a 3rd. I didn't want to get a huge dumpster and leave it at the house for the duration of the project for two reasons:

1) I didnt want the entire neighborhood to throw their trash (mattresses, tires, oil, paint, you name it) in our dumpster

2) If the dumpster stayed in the driveway, the excavator and concrete trucks would not be able to access the house.

We will get a new dumpster once we start framing, so we might just have to live with some piles of wood for the next couple of weeks.

At this point, you must be asking yourself what went wrong - if you know me, you know something must always go wrong, so here it is:

The cable that ran around the garage to our Bedroom got cut. In other words, we have no cable in the Bedroom. Not sure what I will do now, but good thing I am reading a good book on my Kindle or I would be really pissed.

These plans ended up on the floor in the Garage at the end of the day. Notice the blood on the page on the left. I'm not sure whose blood that is, and truth be told, if that is the only blood shed all day, I can live with that.

And now for the good news -- scrap value of copper around the corner from us is $3.00/lb. When I was walking around looking at how I am going to get rid of the broken concrete mess that was our Garage slab this morning, I saw two copper pipes burried in the rubble. If I am lucky, I'll get about $10.00 for my discovery.

The dumpster will probably leave tomorrow, and the only reminder of the Garage that was there just 12 hours ago will be the pile of scraps on the left - oh, and the concrete chunks that I need to find a way to get rid of before we dig the new foundation...

Maybe one of these is in order for the weekend???

Demolition Day Is Upon Us

2011-08-01T18:10:00.007-04:00

It only took about 1.5 years, but we are finally about to jump in head first and get started on the "big" project. This is the project we have been working towards since we moved in and the one Leah has been planning since before we even closed on the house.

Leah and I are convinced that the reason our house didn't sell was because of the limited bedrooms and the sizes of the ones that actually existed. As soon as we set foot in our house for the first time, the light in Leah's head went off and she declared almost immediately that we could in fact make the garage into a Master Bedroom. Maybe it was the addition of a second dog, or maybe it was just both of us getting sick of tripping over all of our stuff in our small bedroom, but we are about to undertake a major renovation on our house.

The garage as we know it is coming down, getting a little wider, and growing a little longer. The first floor will be our new Master Bedroom and the Second Floor will be a loft/office area.

In case you forget, here is what the garage looks like (until tomorrow when the demo crew arrives)

One of the "issues" that I immediately identified was that our gas meter was mounted on the rear of our garage. Due to the fact that the wall where the meter was mounted was due to be demolished and neither Leah or I wanted to be without hot water (we've done that before -- check the post about when we decided it would be a good idea to renovate our only bathroom and shower at the local YMCA for a week...), we figured we'd better put a rush on getting the meter moved. Fortunately, National Grid (our local energy co.) was very responsive and moved the meter about 3 weeks sooner than we had anticipated.

In anticipation of relocating the gas meter, I got to use a gas powered demo saw to cut our driveway. It was obviously a lot of fun and completely unnecessary as I quickly found out that our driveway was only about an inch and a half thick. Regardless, it was still a great way to spend my lunch break..

Once the driveway was cut, all that we had to do was dig up some forsythias, bring the backhoe in and (have someone else) dig a trench from the existing gas line to the new location:

Henry and Lulu were so excited once the digging was completed that they decided to start wrestling:

The following day, National Grid showed up, installed the new gas meter and the trench got backfilled:

Now that the gas meter is out of the way, and the garage has been cleaned out, we are ready to start demolition.

Our house will look much different after tomorrow and will begin to change for the better starting almost right away. Stay tuned for updates on our project as we begin to transform our little old white house on Bensonhurst.

the mantel

2010-08-02T17:36:00.000-04:00

Finally to the mantel- the project Ben has been dying to finish up. I definitely don't blame him.. after all, the stone was done in January!

In previous posts I'm sure you saw that I had wrapped the old crown with burlap as a temporary fix..

We spent many months staring at the mint green molding below- it's much mintier in real life!

Over the last few months we really went through all of our options- what we wanted the mantel to look like, what the finish should be and what materials we wanted to use. Eventually we decided to wrap the existing crown with a large, clean beam that we would then stain.

I don't really have good pictures of the cutting process (or the assembling process) since all hands were needed on deck. But after cutting the three sides (with mitered corners), Ben sanded them all thoroughly..

After some trial and error we discovered assembling it and then installing it as a single piece was the easiest, so we fastened the sides to the front using brackets. This was taken right before we got ready to lift it into place..

After the sides were screwed in place I was able to let go and take the picture below..

From the side view you can see that the new mantel is higher than the existing- leaving about a 2" lip. We haven't really agreed on what to do with it at the moment- I'm pushing for a metal lined insert, Ben would prefer wood.. I'll keep you posted on who wins that battle.

That morning Ben said he wanted to finish up the mantel and move onto other projects since it would take "no time" to install. Five hours later the mantel was up..

But like all of our projects we aren't quite done yet.. the wood still needs to be stained. If only we knew what color stain the floor guy used..

updated house pictures.. before and afters

2010-07-19T14:21:00.001-04:00

I finally finished painting the bathroom trim last week- of course a few touch ups are needed here and there, but I thought now would be a good time to post a few before and after pictures..

BEFORE

AFTER

I apologize for the weird angles- it's hard to photograph such a small space! Either way, this makes the thousands of progress pictures all worth it. Just love seeing the improvements.

And while I'm at it, might as well post some more finished shots. While the office has yet to be furnished (pull out sofa is on order and desk is in progress) these pictures still show a vast improvement over the yellowed wallpaper and horrible blue carpeting..
BEFORE

AFTER

And the kitchen.. while we have yet to install the tile on all surrounding walls, or even paint the trim, at least this gives you an idea of the look we are going for..

BEFORE

AFTER

Next on the list? Finishing up the mudroom built ins and kitchen window casings, installing the fireplace mantle and then hopefully stripping all of the doors!

mudroom progress

2010-07-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately the bad weather prevented us from accomplishing too much last weekend- not to mention we were also still recovering from the 4th.

But here are a few quick updates..
The mudroom is almost done! All that's left is caulking, sanding and painting. Since we're expecting lots of fun visitors for the next couple of weeks I'm afraid it's unlikely I'll be posting the completion pictures anytime soon. But here are some good shots from this past weekend..

This time I'll admit I didn't help much. The mudroom was tight (and hot) so Ben got to work on facing the boxes while I started caulking other rooms in the house.

I didn't take pictures of the caulking- it's one of those things that's tedious and not much fun at all, but still has to be done! For some reason we hadn't gotten around to doing the bathroom or a corner in the living room where the base molding was replaced, so I decided to suck it up and just finish it!

Henry was exhausted by the time Ben was done!

Some pictures of the almost final product..

The corner unit

The back unit

And one last update to share (one I'm particularly proud of).. we have the beginnings of yellow cherry tomatoes!

the mudroom.. a sneak peek

2010-07-06T11:08:00.000-04:00

If only our calendar called for three day weekends every week..

We did absolutely no relaxing this fourth- we were way too busy tackling one of our major "to-dos"- the mudroom built-ins. I think we're both totally exhausted and the work week has just begun!

When we first moved into our house there was a teeny-tiny underutilized space right off of the kitchen that we immediately started calling the mudroom. Perhaps you remember it from this previous post.

It does have a door that leads outside, though we never really use it to get in and out of the house. Instead I had high hopes of turning it into a catch-all space- think outerwear storage, recycling center and dog treat mecca! Before our kitchen was even installed I had drawn up a plan of what our mudroom should look like- though with all of the other house projects to complete I had no expectations about when we would actually start to tackle it.

But low and behold last weekend I convinced Ben to put aside the mantle work and move onto something bigger.. so we started to "pre-cut" all of the boards, thinking it would help speed up the installation process scheduled for the long weekend.

Pre-cut is in parenthesis simply because everything obviously had to be cut again before it was installed- about ten minutes into the job both Ben and I agreed it all would have been a lot easier if at least one of us was decent at math. Thank goodness for construction calculators (is that what they're called?)

Anyway.. on Saturday Ben cleared out the mudroom and we started putting everything together. Little side note: I'm very aware that in all of the pictures it looks like Ben does all of the work with me on the sidelines snapping pictures and drinking margaritas, but that definitely is not the case. It may surprise those who know me but I actually have learned to operate a jigsaw and am very handy with a nail gun.

I had designed two pieces- one to run the entire length of the back wall and one to sit in the front left hand corner. A little diagram to help..

Back Unit

So for both units we started with a base.. The ceiling height in the mudroom is 8'4" so we built up 4" to start.

We opted to use wainscoting for the back and literally just attached it to the wall- as we were putting it all up Ben mentioned there was no taking it down unless we wanted the walls to come down with it.

With the paneling up we started building the structure..

Like most old homes we had a few sloping floor/wall problems. But nothing that couldn't be hidden with a little extra trim!

The wainscoting panel below the upper shelves is for lots of hooks- we desperately needed coat storage.

And the not quite finished shot.. we still have to add a 2" face to the outside edges of everything- then we'll caulk and I'm painting everything dark. But what I'm most excited for is filling them up. Here's a little taste of what's going inside them..

With the main piece done we only had the corner shelves left to do..

Corner Unit

Originally the mudroom had a small corner cabinet (pictured below).

It felt like unusable space to us- I didn't think I'd really be able to fit anything in it, not to mention we were planning on gutting the room anyway to insulate the walls so we had no choice- it had to come down. But when the corner cabinet was removed we discovered there was actually no hardwood installed underneath it- it truly was built into the room.

We had planned on building in that corner anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to "mask" the lack of flooring. This time around while we opted to go triangular again we decided to do full height open shelves instead.

Because the floor had to be built up before we even installed the base there was a little bit of an extra step..

We installed the wainscoting again..

And started placing shelves where we wanted them..

Again we still have to install the face, but it's still a huge improvement over what was there..

It felt like as soon as we were done the weekend was over!

We still have to finish up the window and door casings- maybe we'll get to it this week. I'm hoping next weekend we'll face everything, caulk and then I can get painting!

the garden

2010-06-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

At least somethings benefiting from all of this rain! We have a wet basement, but I can look past that since we have a few cherry tomatoes coming in..

let there be light

2010-06-14T18:02:00.000-04:00

Finally we installed some light fixtures! It's amazing what you get done inside when the weather is crummy. Ok so we didn't really accomplish that much- our workspace (aka the driveway) was rained out, but considering these light fixtures have been sitting around the house for 5 months, it felt like a lot more. I'm just thankful we don't have to jump over the boxes anymore..

We had to swag the bathroom fixture to allow clearance for the medicine cabinet to open..

A few touchups are needed but I'll get around to that.. eventually.

And it's amazing what a difference the sconces make in the living room. They're a huge improvement over the holes in the wall I've grown so used to. Not to mention the extra light was needed.

Next up we'll be installing the real mantel- I wrapped the old one in burlap because I just couldn't bear to look at the mint green molding anymore.

for sale..

2010-06-04T11:11:00.000-04:00

We're looking to sell Ben's Ford F150- if you've been following the blog I'm sure you've seen all the pictures.

It's a 2006 with 68,400 miles, new brakes and new tires. 4 wheel drive, regular cab in good, clean condition. $15,000 or best offer

If you're interested please email me for more info.. leah@leahmargolisdesign.com

garden update

2010-06-03T12:08:00.000-04:00

It's actually growing!

I also wanted to post a few "after" pictures of the front of the house. Not only were we able to relocate all of the lilies, but we also added a little stone to finish it off.

Of course all of this is somewhat temporary as I keep hoping (crossing fingers again) that we are able to pour the new concrete front steps/patio sometime soon, though it's looking like that may have to wait at least another year.

and the landscaping continues..

2010-06-01T13:55:00.000-04:00

We've spent the last few weeks clearing out the yard even more (yet there's still lots to do), planting a little in hopes that we'll be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor next year, and most importantly we've been taking advantage of our outdoor space. Because we've spent the last five summers in New York City traffic (like most New Yorkers we left the city every weekend and without fail got caught on the FDR for hours at a time) we are thrilled to be able to avoid major roads, stay home and still get to enjoy the warm weather, smell of fresh cut grass and hamburgers on the grill. So with that goal in mind we worked our bottoms off trying to get everything ready for the unofficial start of the summer- Memorial Day Weekend.

Our "Privacy" Bushes
Our plan was always to plant along Division Street- in hopes that obstructing Henry's view might bring a little peace and quiet to the neighbors- as much as I'm sure they all enjoy his following them along the perimeter of our lawn barking (more like screeching) along the way. We opted to go with round arborvitaes- just to be a little different..

I could joke about how you can barely even see the house anymore (I tend to joke about it with Ben all too often), but we're crossing our fingers they'll grow very quickly.. for the neighbors' sake!

The Patio
The patio turned out to not actually be a disaster. Can you believe it? Once we got our furniture on and grass started to grow in between the pavers, it started taking shape. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like at the end of the summer and whether or not the grass will just take over (there's a lot of finger crossing at our house). If all goes according to plan the patio will stay, but we're open to re-doing it next spring if need be.
You'll notice above, Ben also planted three of the arborvitae's around the patio (two in the back and one to the left).

The Lily Garden
Originally the yard had a random lily garden in the middle of the yard. Ben tried to kill it a few times in hopes of growing normal grass, but it didn't work. So instead we opted to dig them out and plant them in front of the house.

It took a lot of time and energy, but it was worth it- even if it's temporary.

The Vegetable Garden
My vegetable garden has become my pride and joy. I call it mine because Ben says it's my responsibility- I think he's worried that I'm going to just give up on it if I don't see any vegetables growing after a few weeks time. I'm sure he's right, but at the moment it's growing so I'm loving it and the fact that I actually did something right! We opted to go with a raised bed because we weren't sure if anything would really grow in our dirt. So Ben built the frame and then we positioned it in the best area with the most light.

I got rid of the weeds and grass underneath and started filling it with lots of different stuff..

Finally I planted all 15 varieties of fruits and vegetables and Ben offered to water for me..

I decided to plant tomato plants instead of seeds (maybe next year I'll get gutsy and go with the seeds), but everything else I planted was seeds.

Everything has grown a lot in the last few days- I'll keep posting updates, but in the meantime I'm hoping this weekend we'll get back to the interior of the house before we start scraping and painting the exterior. I'd love to get the rest of the trim work installed and painted and start working on the doors before all of our guests start arriving for track season!

landscaping update

2010-05-11T08:59:00.009-04:00

Since I last posted (three weeks ago!) we've been busy working on the yard and finishing up a few odds and ends in the house, but mostly we've just had some really fun visitors.. hence the lack of updates and small amounts of work that have been accomplished.

In the Yard..
This is our attempt at laying a patio..
Sad I know, but this is why.. When discussing landscaping we always knew exactly where we wanted to put a patio. We were both looking forward to taking advantage of an outdoor space, but because patios are hard to do (and very time consuming) we figured it would be a project for next year. Basically the area would have to be cleared of the MANY tree stumps, the ground would have to be levelled- and with all of the other work that still has to be done to the outside of the house, we put that all on the back burner.. until we found this..
What we thought was a random cement slab that we could break up and haul away turned out to be what we think is an abandoned sewer. While it may in fact have served a different purpose originally (if there's anyone more familiar with the history of our neighborhood who knows exactly what it is please email us!), we knew that no matter it was, it had to stay- and suddenly that became the new location of our patio! And not only that- while originally we had opted to be patient and do the patio the right way in a year or so, it suddenly became a priority for us to cover up the horrible manhole. So, we went to Home Depot and came home with a truck load of pavers..
While I won't go into detail about how we actually installed the patio since it was wrong and no one should ever do it that way- I'll share the highlights.. just remember, we had lots of things working against us, tree stumps, manholes and all..

I unloaded the truck as Ben moved the pavers to our patio site..
Don't worry there weren't any pavers in there while he was taking Henry for a spin.
Henry patiently looking on as I unloaded the truck.

As Ben poured a mixture of sand and top soil, I tried to level the surface (obviously unsuccessfully!)..
He then staked out the area..
It looks like Henry was watching Ben's every move but really he was just plotting when he could sneak in and and grab the orange string out of his hands. We wasted lots of time chasing him around the yard trying to get it back!
Once the pavers were down we dumped top soil over them. We're hoping to grow grass in between them to make it a more rustic and almost natural looking patio- not to mention we're hoping the grass will help to mask all the problem areas- and believe me, there are plenty to mask!

While our patio skills aren't exactly up to snuff, I also did a little planting- Ben did some more recently that I have yet to photograph. I was very proud of my work- I planted three peony bushes, two hydrangeas and two rose bushes (all by myself!). Below are the peonies that will hopefully bloom just in time for the summer of 2015..
Don't worry, I can't see them either.

In the House..
We've done minimal work in the house recently- with the beautiful weather we've had Ben and I have done everything in our power to work outside! But this past weekend he finished up installing the base molding in the bathroom..
And he was able to repair the window frame and install the new hardware..
I guess that means it's time for me to pull out the paint brush again..

plea to HGTV

2010-04-19T14:46:00.002-04:00

I know I owe you all another update- so here goes..

The Interior
Ben has continued working on the window and door casings throughout the house. He recently finished the bathroom window- though our new nickel hardware has yet to arrive so all of his handy work is hidden under blue tape!

the bathroom window- before and after

He also outfitted his closet with new shelves just in time for me to paint it!

Ben's closet before

Unfortunately he hasn't had the time to install the new rod and no organizing has been done but I still think it looks better than the original mint green!

Ben's closet after

And our kitchen backsplash tile has arrived!
I can't wait to get it up!

The Exterior
As promised a few weeks back, we did get gutters! Nothing fancy, but they work. Luckily they've been helping to keep our basement dry!

And then there's the landscaping.. Ben fertilized, spread grass seed and has been watering the "dirt" on a daily basis..
With no success. One side of our yard has an abundance of grass..
So he's holding out hope- but I on the other hand secretly hope that we get a call from HGTV ASAP! Oh we need a landscaping makeover like no other!
I'll admit the interior work was a little overwhelming at first, but never did I think we wouldn't be able to get it done. This stuff- the landscaping work all seems so unattainable. I have visions of sitting on our patio, enjoying the warm weather- with the smell of fresh cut grass in the air, but I'm pretty sure that's only going to be a reality if one of three things happen:

1. We hire a landscaper
2. We move to a house with an already perfectly manicured lawn
3. If HGTVs Curb Appeal comes knocking at our door (you know the show that's always on at the Y while you're on the elliptical)

Since 1 and 2 aren't going to happen (due to lack of funds and trying to maintain our sanity), I'm holding out for #3 and I've been putting together my plea to HGTV. So here goes..

Dear HGTV (and the Curb Appeal crew),

We've put blood, sweat and tears (lots and lots of them) into our home for the past 8 months. We've turned a tired, old house into a livable, functional and sometimes beautiful (depending on if we've had time to pick up after ourselves) home. We've done things I never thought we'd be able to do and we're actually beginning to reap the benefits.

But chances are if you were to do a drive by you'd never guess it. Our yard is more like a tree cemetery than anything else. After years of neglect we were forced to cut down tons of trees and brush. Every now and then we find a random slab of concrete and traces of gravel hidden beneath the dirt- which might be why we just can't grow any grass! We have no front walkway and the lifespan of our "temporary" front stairs is coming to an end. This is a job for an army and unfortunately my husband is at it alone because I have the curse of a brown thumb (it's a real thing) and anything I touch shrivels up and dies. Our dog Henry thinks he's helping by digging up rotten roots, but in the meantime he's turned half off our yard into swiss cheese.. I'm really not kidding.

Oh HGTV you have no idea how much we need you! If you come help us fill our yard with grass in exchange I promise to fill your bellies with fresh home baked goods. You'd love my mothers banana bread!

Sincerely,

I'll let you know how it goes! In the meantime any landscaping tips are very much appreciated.

much needed house update..

2010-03-30T12:43:00.016-04:00

I must admit the last few weeks we have been busy with lots of little "stuff." Things that don't seem worth posting about, but are still huge improvements on the house. I didn't think anyone would really be interested in every step of the painting process, or Ben installing new hardware on the windows, but because I haven't posted in so long, I thought I'd do a little update anyway- even though none of it is quite as exciting (or dirty) as demo and sheetrocking..

With the weather warming up a bit last weekend Ben really spent some time outside. We decided to start repairs to the outside of the house- though we're trying to limit them as much as possible in order to save some money for what I believe to be other necessary items- like furnishings!

But the fascia was something that had to be repaired, so Ben asked a siding installer he works with frequently to take care of it. While originally Ben was considering removing the existing rotted fascia, he decided that it was more practical for us to have the everything covered with aluminum instead. Below you can see what a big difference the aluminum makes..
The area over the garage was completed last weekend- just a taste of what the rest of the house is going to look like when it's done!
Most of the work was completed last weekend and the rest of it will be finished up this weekend.

While all of that work was underway Ben started removing the horrible chain link fence that ran across the front of our property. It was in such bad shape trees had literally grown into and around it.. it was quite an eyesore.
Now we just need to do a little landscaping out front.

And wondering what I've been up to?
Henry's new white patches are a sure hint. I've been painting and he's been rubbing up against every wet surface he can get his paws on.. literally. But this past weekend the walls proved to be childs play- he dipped three paws in a paint tray (full of paint) and ran circles around the living room and on the couch. After I stopped laughing I almost cried, but luckily we were able to clean up his mess. No need to yell at Henry- the bath I gave him afterwards was punishment enough.

Here are a few freshly painted areas..

I was dying to get organized and finally unpack so I started tackling the closets- sanding, cleaning and painting every surface I could get my hands on..

linen closet

bedroom closet

I have one more closet to tackle..

Once I finished those I moved on to the mess of the hall. Those ugly white ceiling tiles were driving me crazy- especially since the other ceilings have all been nicely sheetrocked. I thought painting the tiles would help a bit..
and even though it has, I'm still dying to get rid of them!

And with the ceiling done, I couldn't help my self but get started with the walls. I'd had enough of the dark paneling! That room was begging for a little light!
One more coat is still needed on the walls and of course the trim has to be painted, but I still can't believe how drastic the transformation is..

before

after

Next week we're getting gutters.. yay!! And I'm having the windows measured for window treatments.. I'm sure the neighbors will be happy to hear that!

painting the bathroom

2010-03-07T17:48:00.009-05:00

Still elbow deep in latex paint. To be honest we've taken a few days off- painting is exhausting! I would write that I have a new-found respect for professional painters, but in all honesty, I've always thought really good quality painters have to have incredible talent and patience.

Recently I'd been feeling like the bathroom paint job just wasn't up to par- I thought it needed something else.
So on a whim I decided to try something a little different..
I taped a 3" border around the perimeter of the bathroom- thinking it would accentuate all of the great angles in the bath.
And I continued the grey wall color on the ceiling- creating a great detail that surprisingly added a little visual height to the room.
We're still needing new window and door casings and the light fixture is in the attic waiting to be installed, but it's already a huge improvement!

painting update

2010-02-25T16:25:00.013-05:00

We've been very busy since I last posted.. but unfortunately the pictures don't do it any justice. I feel like we've been nonstop since the taping was done but it's still a disaster and I'm starting to think our poor house will never be clean! I guess you could say it's a getting a little frustrating.

With all of the colors picked we've been going back and forth between taping, sanding, painting, caulking.. for the last two weeks.
The crown molding was installed- it looks great but painting around it has been a little challenging (I'm getting better).
Ben spent much of last weekend replacing areas of the base molding in the living room and bedroom as well as installing shoe molding throughout.
Ben was also able to install some of our bath hardware (meaning no more drying our bath towels on doorknobs!) until he ran out of anchors.
I still need to do a second coat on the bath ceiling and clean up the walls a bit- the bathroom was the first thing we painted so it's still a little messy. Window and door casings as well as base molding is also in the plans. But we were able to re-install the medicine cabinet without any disasters!

And just today I worked on the living room radiators!
They definitely aren't perfect but anything is an improvement over the old, dirty, mustardy yellow..
And finally- as I had promised.. our big kitchen "reveal"..
Keep in mind we still have a ways to go in terms of work- we still need a backsplash and window and door casings. We're still missing some hardware and I need to clean and organize.. it's dusty and guarantee that if you open a cabinet door something will fall out- we've been stuffing things everywhere just to get them out of the way! But it's definitely taking shape.. and we can finally use it!

taping & finishing the walls

2010-02-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

Taping the Walls
So as I had mentioned in previous posts, Ben and I opted to not tape the house ourselves. I have no doubt we would have been able to do it, but because every single room needed to be done, it would have taken us months. Not to mention its an incredibly messy process so in this case we went for practicality over saving money and we decided to clear out the house and let the professionals get to work. Henry and I took off for a few days- a dusty house is even worse with a mischievous dog..
and Ben sent me pictures of the progress along the way..

Remember we had those horrible tiled ceilings in the living room and office?
We decided to replace them because the house was already going to be a mess and it just seemed like the right time to do it.

living room (aka Ben's living quarters)

office

Even without primer on them you can tell it's a huge improvement. If you look closely you can see that there's a little gap between the new ceiling and the walls, so to correct it, we're installing crown throughout the house.

kitchen

bedroom

Scarily they took out the huge medicine cabinet.. which makes sense but I'm dreading putting it back in..

bathroom

Priming
The taper told us he was going to prime all of the rooms when he was done sanding so he could tell if he missed an spots. And I have to say, I'm thrilled he did- not only is it making the painting easier, but it also meant I came home to white walls!
A huge improvement over the grey sheetrock we've grown so used to.

Painting
As to be expected the last four days have been non stop painting. And it doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon.

Here's a little sneak peek..

bathroom

bedroom

office
kitchen

Check back next week for the big kitchen reveal!!

winter planting

2010-02-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

Ben sent me pictures of the house in progress last night and I'll be sure to post them early next week. By then I'll be able to follow them up with shots of the final product (final meaning primed but still not painted).

In the meantime I thought I'd share our winter planting adventures- for a few laughs!

About three weeks ago Ben was offered a couple of "bushes" and because we are desperately in need of some landscaping around the house, he didn't want to pass them up. Thinking it would be easy to load them into the back of his truck and bring them home, he was more worried about getting them into the ground- the Weather Channel was calling it one of the coldest weeks of the year.

I wasn't entirely sure of Ben's plans and was on my way out the door when he called me and said "get ready, I'm on my way home and I've got two TREES in the back of my truck." Meaning a) they were clearly bigger than bushes and b) I was actually going to have to help plant them! When Ben first mentioned we might have to do a little landscaping he actually used the word "I" and he didn't say it was going to have to be done on the coldest day of the week (I'm pretty sure it was 15 degrees outside)!

Before I get on with the story I just want to mention for those of you who don't know, I have the opposite of a green thumb and made it very clear when we first bought the house that Ben would in charge of the landscaping and I would stick to the interior of the house.

Anyway, Ben pulled the truck up to the front of the house and soon realized getting the "bushes" (particularly the 500lb. one wedged in front) was not going to be so easy.
He started chipping away at the frozen roots to try to break some of the excess dirt off. He was hoping it would lighten the load a little, but it was too frozen and little to no progress was being made.
After much frustration it became very clear that the only way we were going to get the bush out of the back of the car was by tying a rope to it, tying a rope to a nearby tree on our property..
and Ben pulling the truck away.. very quickly!
In the meantime, I was running in and out of the house to warm up.
Once the tree fell off the truck, we shockingly were able to pretty easily dig a hole..
And then the bigger issue became getting the tree into the hole.. as it was way too heavy to drag ourselves.
Ben was able to hitch it to the truck and drag it a little closer and he continued to try to chip away at it with no luck.

After a few more minutes of frozen fingers and toes, we opted to call it a day. We dropped the other (much lighter) bush into the hole..
and decided next time we'll wait for the ground to thaw before we make any landscaping decisions!

Ben was able to cut the bigger bush up and get rid of the branches, but the frozen stump is still hanging out in our yard- as it will until the temperature warms up.

house update

2010-02-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

I know you're all wondering what we've been up to this week.. and the truth is, not much!

We're hard at work trying to clear everything out of the house for the tapers to move in and do their thing next week.
They should be done by Friday at the latest, meaning this time next week we'll not only have sheetrocked walls, but they'll be taped and primed as well! Considering both Ben and I have technically been living without finished walls since October it is quite exciting!

I'll be out of town, but I expect Ben will take lots of progress pictures and I'll be sure to post them as soon as I can.

Upcoming Posts and News
Check back next week for details on our winter planting.
And make sure to pick up a copy of The Daily Gazette on February 21st for more pictures of the house!

the vestibule

2010-01-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend's project was supposed to be a cinch (and take no time). But after a late start and with a few obstacles in the way, what I thought would take a couple hours ended up taking two days.. to be fair Ben said it would when we started so he gets extra points for that.

Our little house has a very cute little vestibule and I really wanted to finish it..
Originally it was framed, painted and that was about it..
Unfortunately the small size makes it hard to photograph, but the vestibule is basically a structure made out of plywood. We decided we wanted to treat it like a transition into the house and felt the best way to do that was by insulating and sheetrocking to make it feel like a real room with real walls! The image above is an old picture.. you'll notice below that we had the floors refinished to match the rest of the house with the intention of finishing out the room.

Ben took on the insulating alone- leaving me to document the progress..
Once the insulation was in, three of the walls were fairly easy to sheetrock..
Ben opted to just install full sheets over the windowed walls and cut out the windows once they were secured in place..
Because the vestibule was an addition the exterior siding surrounds the front door.. as expected, sheet rocking over it was a little challenging.
Ben had to remove the doorbell..
He asked me to help him fish the wires through a piece of sheetrock, but after he gave me all of the instructions (don't touch the wires and don't let the wires touch each other.. or else!) we both decided it would be best if I didn't go near them.
Once the doorbell was back in place screwing the sheetrock into the siding wasn't really an issue, but it was the area above the door that proved to be the most challenging.
When we first looked at the space Ben declared he wasn't cutting sheetrock for that area because of the curve and all of the other details. So if he wasn't going to do it.. I guess I had no choice but to finish the job! So I approached the challenge as any good former art student would- I drew a template. Then I taped it onto a board of sheetrock and started cutting.
And I was so proud of myself.. it actually fit. Ben is marking the final details below- like where to cut out for the door.
Once I cut the door out, Ben tried to screw it in and the piece cracked in half. Unfortunately the very top of the wall is slanted where it meets the ceiling. Obviously sheetrock has no flexibility to it so as soon as he put a drill to it and tried to secure it to the slanted area it broke.

And with that, we called it a day. It was clear that sheetrock wasn't really the right material to use in that area, so we might go back to it with plywood but we may also just cover the area with the door casing- we haven't really decided yet.

Like all of our projects, this one is still clearly in the works. Next we have to install casings around the windows and other decorative molding. We'll paint the interior and exterior as soon as it gets a little warmer, install a new light fixture (I already have one in mind), and in the spring Ben promised me a new door to go with our new front steps!

the mudroom

2010-01-21T11:45:00.007-05:00

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to take off knowing that work was still being accomplished on the house, even in my time away. Ben had the entire weekend to himself, so he invited his parents up north to help- meaning they had a fun, "working" visit and I got a much needed insulating and sheetrocking break!

Now because I wasn't present during the gutting of the existing walls, insulating and sheetrocking I unfortunately cannot offer much dialogue, but luckily my mother-in-law was able to document the process along the way.

Gutting the Walls
Because the mudroom can be treated as an extension of the kitchen we felt it was important to re-do the walls out there like we had in the kitchen. Simply put, the sheetrock was brittle and begged to be replaced.
After gutting the entire space Ben and his dad discovered that the existing ceiling had been dropped- similar to the bathroom ceiling (I posted about that here). The mudroom appears to have been an addition and unfortunately the way it was constructed would not allow them to raise the ceiling at all.

Insulating
As was expected, no insulation was found in the walls or ceiling. The truth is that small space is often times colder in temperature than it is outside- having found many frozen diet coke bottles out there in recent months pretty much convinced us that the walls were absolutely hollow.

Because we're planning on creating a multi-functional space- think outerwear, cleaning supplies and random groceries, it was important to go crazy with the insulation. Because there isn't a heating supply out there the smallest amount of cold air that seeps in- the better.

Sheetrocking
While not much explanation is needed I would like to add that Ben has absolutely perfected his skill. If anyone out there needs a sheetrocker I would absolutely volunteer his skills- if he didn't despise doing it at this point.. I can't imagine why.
I do have to mention that while the guys were busy working in the mudroom my mother-in-law was hardly lounging. I left the house in a rush so she was left not only to clear out the stone debris from the living room but she had to move everything out of the mudroom before any work began- the mudroom had been serving as an extra closet, so there was plenty to take care of. Anyway, she made it very easy for me- I came home from a weekend away with a clean house (she had to clean the floors 3 times!) and a home cooked meal.. everything was greatly appreciated!

finished fireplace

2010-01-18T19:37:00.004-05:00

And finally the big reveal!

Everyday last week the guys made significant progress..
Unfortunately their last day of work was Friday- meaning I had to leave town before I saw the finished product. But coming home to it last night definitely made it worth the wait!
Ben even had a fire going for my return.

Next up Ben and I will install a new, bigger crown around the top to create a larger mantle.

fireplace progress

2010-01-12T20:00:00.002-05:00

The fireplace face lift is officially underway- a few days later than expected, but worth the wait! Here's the progress to date..

Preparing the Hearth
Originally old marble tiles served as the hearth- I posted about my mother-in-law scrubbing them clean here. All of her hard work hasn't gone to complete waste- we definitely enjoyed them while we used them, but with the new stone facade we opted to replace the existing tiles with a slab of blue stone. But before that could be done, Ben had to chip away at the old tiles and cut the floor to the exact dimensions that we wanted the hearth to be.

So while we started out with this..
after an evening of chipping the hearth looked like this..
and then Ben got out the saw and started cutting away..

Acclimating the Stone
Last week I had mentioned the stone was being moved into the living room. Cold stone really can't be cemented and affixed so in an effort to warm it up it was given a few days to adjust to the temperature of the house. Meaning our living room is now basically a pile of rocks..

Installing the Stone
So with the stone acclimated the hearth was set yesterday- unfortunately I missed my chance to photograph it but now you have that much more to look forward to when I post the big reveal! But this afternoon they started setting the rest of the stone and I thought you might enjoy a little sneak peek..

the fireplace

2010-01-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

The fireplace face lift is happening this week! While I hope to have an update for you at the beginning of next week I thought I'd share a few pictures of the stone so you'll have an idea of what's to come!

Last week the stone was delivered- unfortunately I couldn't get out to photograph it fast enough..

But the pile was well protected from the elements.

We decided since the face was getting an update the hearth should as well. We've opted to go with a 2" piece of blue stone that's currently living in the garage.
I was told the stone would be moved into the house tomorrow to help the temperatures adjust. I'll try to post a few pictures as soon as it makes it's way into the middle of our living room.

Poor Henry isn't too happy we've moved around his furniture again but he's adjusting as well as can be expected.

weekend update

2010-01-04T11:05:00.013-05:00

I hope most of you enjoyed a relaxing New Years weekend. Snowed in or not, it's a wonderful weekend to reflect and prepare for the year to come. Unfortunately, as usual, this weekend allowed us little time to sit, let alone reflect. Here's a quick day by day of what was done.. and why there was no time to nurse any hangovers.

Thursday
The plumber came and once again made our lives so much easier- he hooked up our gas range and our dishwasher.
Meaning we started our New Year off with a working kitchen- it's amazing how something so little can improve your lifestyle so much! So leave it to me.. I canceled our dinner reservations and made something that resembled a home cooked meal though there's still no sink so it wasn't all that easy.. not to mention most of our kitchen supplies are still packed up in the garage.
Don't the red Solo cups just make the tablescape?!?!

Friday Morning
New Years Day and we were up early- according to me, but if you ask Ben, we slept in. Ben got right to work as I enjoyed a cup of tea. He was in the shower trying to clean up a little grout residue. Looking back you'll see we haven't done much in the bathroom recently. In fact the last time I brought up Ben's tile grout job was here.. months ago. And it's taken us that long to actually get back to it. We knew when it was done that it had to be touched up just a little (which is why we opted to hire a professional to do the floor)
and this weekends project proved to help. Ben lined the floor and protected the new bath fixtures before using Acid Sulfamic Cleaner on the tile. I steered clear of the area (he was well protected with a mask) because of the chemicals so I wasn't able to take any good pictures. But it helped tremendously. Now we need to get a few spots with a razor but other than that it looks great. While in there Ben also caulked around the perimeter of the tub.

Friday Afternoon
Jason from Progressive Finishes was back to install the crown and the base around the cabinets. As usual the afternoon didn't go as planned and it was looking like my "full" height cabinets weren't going to look so full height. Kraftmaid provided us with a two piece crown- which normally would have been fine except that our ceiling is not perfectly level (remember we went with the wood paneling.. I posted about it here). Because our ceiling isn't level the filler has to be installed and a crown has to be applied on the face of it. With a two piece crown (pictured below), it can only be mounted on the top of the filler, not on the face.
And instead of me just letting the issue go.. Jason patiently let me try to work it out in my head. Normally I'm easy to work with but because the ceilings are so low in our house to being with it was even more important for us to have full height cabinets- the lower they hang the shorter the room feels. I just knew there was a way that it could be done somewhat easily and the way I wanted it done originally- full height! So we came up with a solution- we decided to go with a regular crown that we'll mount around the cabinets and the full perimeter of the room- giving the cabinets the full height look I was going for and the easier install for Jason because he won't need to work with the two piece crown!

Of course all that means I now need to buy crown.. so the cabinet installation still isn't complete. But as I always say.. practice patience! I don't mind waiting if it means it will be done the right way in the end.

Saturday
Saturday was literally spent in the kitchen. Ben installed the microwave- which by the way also serves as a convection oven.. I even baked cookies in it to make sure that it worked!
And I unpacked kitchen boxes, ran the dishwasher, unpacked some more and ran it again.. over and over. We finally have plates and flatware- and glasses.. oh my!

I'm sure they'll need to be moved again, but Ben's been eating off of paper for four months (usually we're much more sensitive to the environment) and I could tell he wouldn't last much longer.

Ben also hooked up the tv for me!
Sunday
And Sunday we took a break.. from the kitchen. When we first bought the house Ben and I had an agreement and me insulating was not part of it. But like our budget all agreements were thrown out of the window as soon as we closed. Turns out, I too have to get down and dirty. It's no fun, but better for Ben that he doesn't have to go it alone.

Our day started out in the attic where insulation was greatly needed. Originally Ben told me all I had to do was cut and hand him the insulation. Within minutes I was on my hands and knees guiding it through the nailing strips, securing it into place.
I know we didn't do a good job- Ben even said it as we were cleaning up. But really- it was my first time and I wasn't even supposed to be there! I wanted to go to the movies. But I have to admit it is worth the pain and suffering if it brings our heating costs down.

happy new year!

2009-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

All I asked Santa for this year was a working refrigerator to help us ring in the new year...
Looks like he pulled through.. 2010 is off to a great start!

We look forward to sharing our continued renovating adventures with you.. Happy New Year!!

just a peek..

2009-12-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

kitchen update

2009-12-22T12:52:00.005-05:00

Quick little update on the kitchen progress..

Cabinets
Because the Home Depot installers weren't able to fit us into their schedule until after the holiday we asked Jason of Progressive Finishes to do the job. He was able to get started on Sunday..
While he wasn't able to finish the whole job- he has to come back to install all of the crown and base moldings, but he worked hard to get all of the cabinets in so Capital Stone could come in and template for our counter tops this afternoon.

Counter Tops
A few weeks back Ben and I went to pick out granite for the kitchen. We opted to not even look at marbles because we wanted the most durable options- I tend to be all over the place when I cook and don't want to have to worry about being careful in the kitchen. We ended up going with White Diamond..
Obviously all slabs vary but at least you get the idea of the coloring and movement I'm going for. Luckily Capital Stone was nice enough and planned to come out so quickly to template. They even said we could possibly have our counter tops next week!

Appliances
After months of postponing delivery dates we are finally having the appliances delivered tomorrow! I know they won't be up and running right away but I must say, I'm looking forward to having a room that actually resembles a kitchen- in the last few months we've been calling an empty room with a cabinet or two our kitchen and it was very depressing.

So with everything starting to take shape I'm now worrying about the little details- cabinet hardware (I bought some already and now think I may have to reconsider my selection), the backsplash, the trash can/storage, paint and molding colors.. really all of the things I didn't get into earlier because I knew I wouldn't need them for a while. But it will all get done eventually.

I just can't help but think it would be a small miracle if we actually had a full-size working refrigerator to ring in the New Year with.. but if not I'll just have to clean out the mini fridge and make way for a bottle of champagne. Either way we've made great progress and it's worth celebrating!

Check back for more updates!

ready to install

2009-12-19T17:55:00.003-05:00

The cabinets are being installed tomorrow..
and we couldn't be more ready for them.

frozen pipes.. yuck!

2009-12-18T12:25:00.006-05:00

We knew it was a possibility.. I guess crossing our fingers didn't help much, but at least they didn't burst, right?

Ben woke up this morning to discover we couldn't use the shower because our cold water pipe was frozen solid. No we weren't shocked since the pipes back up to the garage where there is no heat or room for insulation. We had planned on installing heat trace around the pipes anyway, but the temperature dropped a little too quickly and we never actually got to cross that off our list. So as the temperatures dropped way into the single digits (weren't we at 2 degrees last night?) the water began to froze.

So tonight, when Ben got home from work he spent what seemed like hours positioned "in" the wall like so..
wrapping the pipes with heat trace- a wire that conducts heat, then wrapping the wires with insulation in hopes that tonight's 5 degree temperatures don't cause another freeze.

last minute kitchen prep

2009-12-16T17:26:00.001-05:00

As I had mentioned in previous posts we've been working on the kitchen in preparation for the cabinet installation. In the last few days three projects have really taken over.

The Ceiling
Once we decided to go with the rustic paneled ceiling look (something I first saw and posted about here) we quickly got to work. Last week I took a trip to Allerdice and looked at a few boards that we thought might work. We were limited on the depth of the boards since the cabinets have already been ordered and delivered.

We ended up going with an 8" tongue and groove pine plank. I posted about it getting acclimated here.

The installation went pretty quickly, one board at a time. While a few were slightly warped and gave us a little bit of a challenge in the end we decided any uneven gaps just added to the "rustic" feel.

The installation took place one step at a time..
1. Ben cut each to the width of the room- we measured each one beforehand to try to prevent any major mistakes.
2. We then applied sub floor adhesive to the back of the board- an extra step and probably not a necessary one, but it made us feel a little better about them staying in place.
3. On ladders we each took an end of the board and used mallets to fit the boards together.
4. With the board up Ben used a nail gun (pictured below) to nail the boards into place.. After the first couple of boards I decided the nail gun wasn't for me.

I'm pretty sure this is Ben trying to hammer in one of the my nails...
We were able to get a little variation in the color of the boards, but they're still a little too "golden" for me, so I'm planning on lightly staining them with a custom stain we've already purchased.

The Radiator
With the cabinets still in the garage we felt like this was our opportunity to finally clean up the radiator and spray it before everything was put in it's place.

Before I got sanding, I protected the floors and walls and the functional parts of the radiator that couldn't be painted.
To prep for the painting I first used a compressor on the radiator to remove all the loose dust and dirt. Then I sanded to get rid of the old chipped paint and any extra dirt. After the sanding process was over I wiped the unit down with bleach and once it was dry I primed it with a spray primer.
With the primer dry I started spraying it with the semi gloss white paint. I went over it and over it- going through three cans, but in the end I was pleased with the result.
But then again, anything beats what we started with.

The Windows
I'm in the process of working on sanding the windows before the cabinets go in- anything to prevent more mess once we can finally put things away!
I still have two and a half windows to go- its been a little bit of a challenge because of the layers and layers of old paint. Not to mention I take frequent breaks- even with a dust mask, working with old lead paint isn't fun!

I know I won't get to painting them before the cabinets go in, but we're going to replace the window and door casings after the installation so I'll plan on doing all of the painting at once. Definitely looking forward to getting rid of the minty green!

rebuilding the kitchen

2009-12-14T19:40:00.009-05:00

This past weekend has been quite busy on the corner of Bensonhurst and Division. We've been nonstop since the cabinets were delivered on Friday and we're still not done, but here's a quick look into what the last few days have been for us (and why it really hurt to get out of bed this morning).

Thursday
So might as well start where I left off. Last week Ben and I literally demolished the kitchen to make way for new electrical and plumbing. It was easier for them to have full access and as you can tell by the picture below- we now have lots of new wiring for everything..
And the plumber disconnected the sink allowing us to remove the final base cabinet..

Friday
With the electrical in and no major problems along the way I was pretty sure the cabinets wouldn't arrive when they promised they would.. but I was wrong. Instead they arrived early and now our garage is packed with them!
Once they arrived I called Home Depot to set up the installation. I was told that the installer would call me, but I haven't heard from them yet. I'm dying to get them in.. so installers, if you're reading this call me!!! I'm crossing my fingers I'll be able to get them in this week because I've put off the appliance delivery yet again (about the 5th time) and hope that Friday's delivery won't have to be postponed.

And with the cabinets delivered we knew we had a busy weekend ahead of us. But before we started doing anything, we needed to figure out what to do about the ceiling. After a little research we decided to go with the wood paneling I posted about here, so I headed to Allerdice to pick out the wood before it got dark. Once I opted to use the 8" pine and got Ben's approval, we headed back to Allerdice and picked it up. Ben wanted to give it a couple days to acclimate before we started actually installing it..
hence the new obstacle on our living room floor. I apologize for the mess, but we might as well be honest- I consider our living quarters fairly "rough" these days. Not to mention our housekeeper (me) has been a little preoccupied and hasn't really had the time to maintain the household.. but at least I'm keeping everyone fed!

Saturday
We spent Saturday morning cleaning up the rest of the walls, including behind the sink base cabinet. When we first started removing the sheetrock we didn't do the cleanest of jobs- we were trying to get it done quickly, so we had to go back over some of the areas and I had to remove the nails along the studs.
Ben spent the afternoon insulating three out of four walls- we opted not to insulate the wall between the living room and kitchen.
And while he finished up that I got the fun job of removing all of the staples used to hold up the ceiling tiles.

Sunday
We were hoping to get to the sheetrock by Saturday afternoon, but as to be expected we were a little behind schedule. That and the electrician cut all of the electricity on that side of the house until the cabinets are in so we're limited to daylight hours meaning our workday ends at 4:30. So Sunday was our day of catch up. We decided we were going to do all of the sheetrock and start on the ceiling before we called it a day.

In the morning we picked up all of the sheetrock and then we got moving.
Ben cut the sheetrock panels with a knife and we (yes Ben and me) cut out the outlets with a dremel.
Once we were done with the sheetrock it was getting late, but we still wanted to get moving on the ceiling. Because we're not quite done yet I'll wait to post about the ceiling later this week. Also happening this week- sanding and painting the kitchen radiator, sanding the windows and prepping the rest of the kitchen for the installation..

removing the ceiling

2009-12-10T08:51:00.007-05:00

Our little house is plagued with ugly ceilings and unfortunately they have to stay put for the moment. Originally we were afraid replacing them would be a huge challenge- we were sure the ugly cardboard tiles were installed to cover up water damage. We just don't have the money to start messing with major repairs at the moment. My short term plans include teaching myself how to install wallpaper and lining a couple of the ceilings with a textured grasscloth but until that happens we're going to live with the ugliness above (just don't look up when you come visit).
But because we are doing such an over hall in the kitchen we thought it would be a shame to ignore the big elephant in the room. Again, we couldn't imagine why anyone would mask a perfectly fine ceilings with ugly tiles, so we prepared ourselves for a disaster and we were pleasantly surprised (you can count how many times that has happened throughout the renovation process on one hand).

Ben started taking the crown molding down last night and the cardboard tiles just started popping out.
We discovered that nailing strips were put into place to hold up the boards- which will make it easier for us to install a new ceiling when we figure out what we're going to do.
A few weeks ago I posted about a kitchen design that was very similar to ours here. I loved the idea of the reclaimed wood on the ceiling and had mentioned to Ben that I might want to take advantage of our clean slate and do something a little more interesting. He quickly told me he loved the idea but didn't think it would work- he was afraid we'd have nothing to secure the wood to. But now that we have nailing strips he said it may still be a possibility.. I'm crossing my fingers!

Since the kitchen turned out so well, I've started questioning our originally decision to let the rest of the house be. I just don't want to push our luck..

demolishing the kitchen

2009-12-08T14:14:00.005-05:00

The kitchen is coming!! But before the cabinets can be installed we have to prep the walls and get the new plumbing and electrical done.

Earlier I had mentioned that we had to remove all of the existing sheetrock for the guys to get in there so last week I started moving our "kitchen" into our living room.. I'll spare you the details.. just know we are now living in very cramped corners!

We started with this..
and over the weekend Ben and I began hacking away at the kitchen walls..
Ben first removed all of the window and door casings, as well as the rest of the moldings and I made my way through some of the walls.
Ben cut the base cabinet in half so we could remove the area that was not attached to the sink. The plumber will come in and disconnect the sink before we remove the other half.
Just a little treat found underneath the cabinets..
There were two existing corner units that proved to be the most difficult to remove. They were built in such a way that they almost appeared to be original to the house. We quickly found out they were not (the corner cabinet was built over many old layers of vinyl flooring) but they were fastened to the walls in such a way that in many areas the walls came off with the pieces.
By Sunday night we were exhausted and while we still had a ways to go Ben started cleaning up and we decided we'd finish the rest later this week..
I've made my way through a few more areas the last couple of days and tonight we have to finish it up by removing the crown molding and getting rid of the rest of the nails.

By Thursday the plumber and electrician will have full access to the walls. The cabinets are being delivered on Friday afternoon- giving us the weekend to insulate the walls and install the new sheetrock. We had hoped that the cabinets would be installed early next week- in time for the appliance delivery on Wednesday, though it's looking like that might not happen. Unfortunately both Ben and I know delays are common and to be expected so we'll be patient.. once we have a finished kitchen it won't matter how many more days or weeks we waited for it.

In the meantime I still need to work on the counter tops and hardware!

the fireplace

2009-12-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

The previous owner of our house had turned the wood burning fireplace into gas. While gas is a great clean option (and much more practical for most), Ben and I decided early on that if it was possible our gas fireplace would be turned back to wood burning as soon as possible. To me, there's something wonderful about the smell- and I really don't mind the mess/smoke much either.

So while we have yet to give our fireplace a face lift- that will come in the next month or so, we worked to pull out the gas line and make it functional.

There were many repairs that had to be done in order to make it work

Removing the Gas Line
The plumber started working on disconnecting the gas line that ran up to the fireplace from the basement. Once the gas was shut down and the line was removed he removed the "innards" of the fireplace- including the faux logs and grate. So we went from having this..
to having this..
The black iron piece above is the new ash door that has yet to be installed- it's a little smaller than the one that we had to replace.

Repairing the Damper
Once the gas line was removed we knew we had to have a new damper installed. The old damper that was originally installed inside the chimney was broken. Because we had to install the damper on top of the chimney, we opted to go with one that seals shut, preventing not only snow and rain from coming in, but it also stops the hot air from escaping.
I was told that because we were going with such a great design we would be able to remove the doors and use a freestanding screen instead- something I've been fighting for.

While the damper was being repaired we had the chimney swept- something that's always recommended.

The Firewood
I assume you're supposed to have the fireplace repaired before you actually buy the wood- but as usual we didn't really follow the rules. A few weekends ago Ben and I went in search for firewood and came home with an entire cord.
And while Ben worked on the bathroom I started stacking. It may have taken me an entire Saturday, but I was happy to do it- knowing that in the end we'd get our fire.
And on Monday night we finally did..
Next on the list is removing the doors- I'm hoping to make my way to Saratoga Fireplace to buy a new screen and some proper tools later this week. We also have to have the chimney repointed and we're going to work on the facade. More to come in the next few weeks.

a working bathroom

2009-11-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

The holiday threw us off a bit. Our week was filled with holiday celebrations (and lots of food) leaving me with no time to update the blog. But we are definitely still making progress on the house.

Here's a quick update on the renovation of the bathroom.. we aren't quite there yet, but we're definitely on our way!

floor
We survived the lack of toilet and it was all worth it. Once Ben finished the floor prep the tile went in- we opted to have a professional do it this time around.
It turned out really well and after we let it set for a night on the following afternoon the toilet and pedestal were installed once again.

medicine cabinet
With the floor done, it was time to finish up the walls and install the much needed medicine cabinet. We've been without a mirror in the bathroom since we first started demo weeks ago. But before the mirror could be installed the studs had to be reworked to make room for it.

Originally the studs were positioned running vertically up the wall, not allowing any room for the cabinet.
Ben had to cut out the 2x4 that ran up the center and framed the area around the medicine cabinet..
With the studs reconfigured, Ben installed sheetrock and we screwed in the medicine cabinet.

Notice we removed the door (at the suggestion of Restoration Hardware). Originally Ben thought it would be impossible to reinstall the door and he wanted to keep it intact, but because the weight of the door was so heavy I thought we should follow the directions. Another little side note: we photographed the level on purpose. Ben said he never knew the bubble could actually make it to the middle of the center lines..

And finally what I consider our "finished" bathroom..
Yes there is still a long way to go- the taping and sanding of the walls, finish paint and moldings. We even need a light fixture. But we're thrilled with the outcome- especially considering what we started with.
Next up..
The fireplace is almost ready.. and just in time for the winter weather.

bathroom floor prep

2009-11-19T07:24:00.014-05:00

14 hours down and 29 to go.. without a toilet of course! I must say that going without one when you're sleeping isn't a huge deal but getting up knowing you just have to hold it isn't the greatest way to wake up in the morning.

But the good news is the floor tile will be installed today! And once that sets the most challenging part of the renovation process will be done.. living without a kitchen is nothing compared to this.

So in an effort to prepare the floor for the tile Ben installed a new base floor and hardibacker last night.

Step 1- toilet and sink removal
Ben had asked the plumber to stop by yesterday afternoon and remove both the toilet and the pedestal. Unfortunately he never came so it was up to us to get it done. Obviously I don't have pictures of us taking them out (all hands were needed for the actual removal), but because there was still water in them we couldn't put them in the garage- Ben was worried they would freeze.
Doesn't everyone keep their toilet in the hall?

Step 2- base floor installation
Ben started installing the base on the pedestal side of the bathroom a couple of weeks ago, so last night he had to work in the toilet area.

sink area

toilet area

Step 3- hardibacker
Once the base floor was down Ben had to cut the hardibacker. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of that either (my documenting skills have been suffering recently), but when he was cutting the hole for the toilet one of the boards snapped in half. Once it was cut to fit he installed it by using a layer of thinset between the base and the hardibacker. The same thinset will be used for the tile installation.
You can see the crack around the toilet hole above. But because the tile we opted to go with is small he didn't think that little snafu would be a problem.
I must admit the clean hardibacker floor is a huge improvement from the original. Remember what we started with??

original vinyl tile to the right, quick-fix contact paper lined floor to the left

Let's just hope the plumber shows up to re-install the fixtures so we don't have to go the weekend without a toilet..

Side note: Not sure if you all noticed but we do have new sheetrock in the bathroom! The new professional installer (Ben) was busy earlier this week. There are still a few areas to go but we're on our way to a fully insulated bathroom, with walls no less!

insulating the bathroom

2009-11-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

We're at a point where we have so much to do we can't decide what should be done next. We know we have to demolish the kitchen walls- gut it entirely, so that the electrician can get in there and do his thing before the cabinets are delivered on December 11th. But I refuse to tear down the walls in the kitchen before we finish the bathroom- the idea of two exposed rooms during some of the coldest months terrifies me. So in an effort to rush and get stuff done in the bathroom Ben began insulating the remaining walls last night.
He also did a little demo on the areas that still had old sheetrock so that tomorrow night he can work on closing them all up..
The wall over the sink is all set for our new medicine cabinet (it arrived today)..
We opted to go with Restoration Hardware's frameless inset cabinet. It's just so much heavier than we thought it would be so we're also going to have to install some additional support so that it doesn't just rip right out of the wall.

If you've been following our adventures from the beginning I'm sure you'll remember that originally we weren't going to do a medicine cabinet (you can read about it here). Originally I was hoping to install a floor to ceiling cabinet with a flush door. Unfortunately plans changed when the electrical wiring was installed where the cabinet was supposed to go- we didn't really think about light switches until the electrician started. So once the switches were installed Ben and I started thinking about a new storage solution. I have always loved the quality of Restoration Hardware bathware, so once we decided the easiest, fastest and most practical solution for us was a medicine cabinet, RH was the only place I considered looking. I loved the simplicity of the frameless option and luckily they offered a large and small version. With our added height (you can read about demolishing the dropped ceiling here), and with our need for storage, I obviously went with their biggest size. And now our 70 lb. medicine cabinet awaits while the rest of the sheetrock is installed.

What the rest of our week looks like..
On Wednesday the plumber returns to remove the toilet and pedestal.. The floor tile will be installed on Thursday and by Friday evening we should have a working bathroom once again.

In the meantime I'm considering taking a mini vacation while the toilet is inoperable. Any suggestions?

yard work

2009-11-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

Ever imagine a yard of this size..
could produce this many leaves??
One leaf blower, a rake and four days later..
Now if only we could figure out how to grow some grass before the snow begins to fall..

tiling the bathroom

2009-11-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to have a guest contractor this past weekend. Ben's friend Mike of Katek Construction in Ambler, Pennsylvania spent the weekend hard at work on our bathroom- showing Ben the correct tiling technique along the way.

But before the guys could get going on the tiling the plumber and electrician needed to get their stuff done while the walls were open and everything was exposed.

The Plumber
Much of the plumbers work happened in the basement. New piping was installed throughout the house- the old pipes were, just that.. very old! The water pressure was terrible because of the rust build up from age. While the new piping wasn't something that necessarily had to be done immediately we figured we might as well get it done while everything was open and exposed.

new set up for the shower

new piping for the pedestal sink

But the major more visible work that the plumber got done was relocating the sink and radiator. I first posted about the new layout here.

Originally the bathroom layout looked like this..
It was a little tight getting into the bathroom because the sink was practically installed in the middle of the doorway. And the awkward radiator placement felt like a huge waste of space.
So we opted to swap them and chose to go with a pedestal sink so we could put the radiator underneath it..
Actually planning out when we're going to get everything done is a little bit of a challenge since we are trying to do the work ourselves and because it's our only bathroom. We're trying to make it as functional as possible (I just can't let go of the toilet), so the plumber was nice enough to install the pedestal and the new toilet until we're ready to install the floor.
Above you can see the radiator hasn't been installed yet. The plumber pulled it out and kept it out long enough so I was able to give it a fresh new coat of paint. I must say it was a little challenging- not the painting, but cleaning it out enough beforehand (decades of dust collected in all of the little crevices).
But after some sanding, cleaning, a coat of primer and two coats of paint we now have a clean and very white radiator.
I just love it and can't wait to see it in place.

And of course what's a new bathroom without a new toilet?

The Electrician
The electrician has also been working all over the house. It wasn't surprising that lots of rewiring had to be done- and we opted to install new light fixtures to lots of very dark rooms in the house. But in the bathroom there were really only three major things we needed from him.

1. an outlet
Can you believe there wasn't one in there? He positioned it just to the right of the sink- so it's not a huge eyesore and but still in a convenient location.

2. an exhaust fan
Definitely something every bathroom should have. Installing an exhaust fan is a great way to help preserve the walls and keep moisture out of the space.

3. lighting
With the new high ceiling (you can read about it here) we opted to go with a flush mount fixture over the original recessed light we had discussed. Unfortunately I have yet to find one but I've told Ben from the beginning- I have no problem living with light bulbs, I just don't want to rush and buy something I don't absolutely love.

The Tile Guys
So on Friday both the electrician and the plumber finished up their work and Saturday morning Ben and Mike started in with the transformation.

Installing Insulation..
Because the sheetrock had been removed it gave them the perfect opportunity to insulate the walls. Now we'll have a very toasty bathroom!

Installing the Hardibacker..
After the insulation they installed hardibacker around the tub walls. The hardibacker is much stronger than sheetrock- it will hold up against mildew and mold.

Tiling..
Once the hardibacker was up they started the very slow process of tiling.
It truly was a two man job. Mike cut while Ben tiled.
Unfortunately the tiling took so long they were able to finish the installation but they didn't get to the grout. Luckily Ben was feeling like that was something he could handle by himself and last night he finished it up..

Spreading the Grout..
We opted to go with a grey grout- I love the contrast with the white subway tiles.
Once the grout was spread and covered the entire area, Ben washed it off and we got a hint of the finished product.
Wiping Down with Cheese Cloth..
I'll post the big "reveal" when the bathroom is complete, but at least you got a peek.

We want to send a quick thanks to Mike for his amazing help this weekend. Unfortunately we weren't such great hosts this time around- without a kitchen he didn't get the fresh baked goods he's gotten used to over the years and Ben put him to work all weekend. But we so appreciate all he did to make this process much less painful than it could have been. At least next time he comes to visit he'll get to take a shower! Thanks Mike!

And now on to the floor..

setting up house

2009-11-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

I'm beginning to get a little worried we're going to get too comfortable living with unpainted walls..
The sheetrock look is in, isn't it?

The plumber is hard at work pulling together our new bathroom layout. I'll update with pictures soon!

bathroom work begins

2009-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

With the electrician and plumbers scheduled to begin work this week, Ben spent this past weekend preparing the bathroom...

Demolition Day 1
The first step was removing the sheetrock on the walls. Because we are essentially gutting the space (you can read about the new bathroom layout here), Ben thought it would be easier for the plumber if he had full access to everything.
When he first started removing the tile he discovered that it actually wasn't installed directly on the sheetrock, but instead the previous owner had it installed on a board of masonite. This made the tile removal pretty simple..
but it did add an additional step. Once all of the masonite was removed Ben had to begin removing the actual walls.
Because we haven't discovered mold in any other areas of the house (shocking!) we were sure we would discover lots of different things growing behind the bathroom walls, but we were pleasantly surprised. Most of the mold was easily removed with the sheetrock and there were only a few moist areas left.
Also surprising? There was actual insulation in the walls! Yes it was in bad shape, crumbling in Ben's hands, but we had definitely expected the walls to be hollow since lots of older homes were built without.
By the end of the day Ben had gotten through the tub surround. He lined the walls with heavy plastic so he could take a much needed shower..

Demolition Day 2
Ben started off day 2 wanting to get through the rest of the sheetrock- including the ceiling.
Once Ben really started pulling things down it began to smell- and the dust was overwhelming.
When we met with the electrician last week we agreed that we could only do recessed lighting in the bathroom because the ceilings were so low, but I was thrilled to find out the previous owner had actually dropped the ceiling in front of the vanity and we really had 8 feet in there!
Once Ben shared that great news with me I immediately hit the internet in search for the perfect fixture!

Unfortunately our bathroom will probably look like a variation of the images above for the next week or so. The plumber is beginning today- he'll work on the shower set up and the electrician will be in later this week to figure out the lighting situation. We are scheduled to install the new Duroc and to begin tiling next weekend (we even have a little helper coming up!) Hopefully on Sunday we'll be able to set the new toilet so we're only without it for a few hours or so. When Ben and I were on our way to the YMCA to take showers last night (oh the joy of renovating!) he said he expects the entire bathroom to be usable by the end of next weekend. Expect more updates in the weeks to come!

two steps ahead.. one step back

2009-10-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Invisible Fence Installation.. check
Remember our debate about what to do with the yard? In the beginning Ben and I just could not agree. Ben wanted a traditional fenced in yard and I wanted the Invisible Fence. You can read about the details and why I won that one here, but in the end all of that back and forth didn't matter anyway. Once I called the Zoning Board I found out that being on a corner lot meant that our fence could only be 30" high- anything else would block visibility at the intersection. While that would be fine for normal dogs, somehow we ended up with a dog who thinks he's a cat and there is no way he wouldn't jump over a 30" fence. Note to any other couples who are having the same argument- do yourself a favor and make sure there's something to argue over before it turns into a bigger deal than it has to.
So in pouring rain Henry was introduced to new limits and he couldn't be responding any better. As soon as he gets too close to the fence his collar starts to beep and you can literally see him jump up and run in the opposite direction. I don't care who is on the other side of the fence- Ben, an elementary school class or a squirrel, he's scared enough of the beeping sound that instead of charging he's retreating. I'd like to say we have a changed dog, but it's only been a day. Who knows how long it will take him to begin "testing" the system.

Kitchen Cabinets Ordered.. check
Ben and I have been struggling with where to order our kitchen cabinets for weeks now. Originally when we first started doing the research we figured Home Depot would be the least expensive option (they advertised a 10x10 kitchen would cost approximately $3,000). Because that seemed incredibly reasonable we scheduled the measure and I started working with the kitchen designer the day after we closed on the house. I've written about the kitchen in many of my previous posts this has been quite the process, as it should be, but you can read about the most recent kitchen dilemma here. To put it simply when they finally priced out what I considered to be the only design that was functional for our 10x10 space it turned out to be triple the price. I had a little bit of sticker shock (as did Ben) and we decided to think about it.

So what made us change our mind? A few things..
1. Promotions. Home Depot offers a variety of promotions including no payments for 12 months with no interest- something that seemed like a great back up plan if necessary. On top of that the Kraftmaid cabinets I picked (which by the way were some of the least expensive they offered) were an extra 10% off. Plus Home Depot now has a "Buy More Save More" promotion going on for the next few months that ended up giving us an additional $1000 off. And because we waited a couple weeks to place the order they threw in a free sink base cabinet which was an additional savings of almost $500.

2. Convenience and Reliability. There's just something nice about knowing that if there are any problems- with the cabinets themselves or the installation of them that we can call the local store and have it taken care of. Also, while there are always delivery delays, I still feel like the installation will take place in a reasonable amount of time. Of course the number one rule is to practice patience, but we were told approximately 4 weeks for delivery so to say they'll be installed before Christmas makes me feel like we're allowing for plenty of delays!

3. Availability. A kitchen is something you don't want to have to redo often. It's incredibly costly and should last a number of years (depending on the quality of the cabinets of course!) But we wanted to be realistic. If we end up staying in the house long term and eventually having kids here, we'll probably have to make the kitchen bigger. While that could be 8 years away it could also be more like 4 years away- there's just no way of knowing. By picking classic Home Depot cabinets I felt like we'd have the option if or when we enlarged the kitchen to just add onto the cabinets instead of starting over entirely.

So when we finally placed the order I signed a waiver saying I had 72 hours to change my mind. The truth is I didn't think I needed it- I generally make my decision and stick to it. And remember it was the cost, not the design that was holding the order up. But either way when I saw this picture on the House Beautiful website I knew we had made the right decision..

House Beautiful, October 2007

I'm a sucker for House Beautiful emails that suggest I check out "classic and modern kitchen designs"- I'm sure I'll still waste hours perusing other designers' kitchens even once ours is installed. But this one really caught my attention because it's exactly what I had in mind when I first schemed our space. Here Kay Douglass used the same style and color cabinets I ordered with a light marble counter top. While I haven't looked at stones yet I know I'm going white on the counters, just not sure if I'll opt for marble or granite (granite is more durable so I'll probably stick with that). As I'm sure many of you know we also went with stainless steel- though I'll be using polished chrome accents to bring everything up a notch. And I've already picked a very special white tile backsplash that may have to wait until our funds are replenished- but I'll wait for anything as long as it's perfect once I get it! The only thing we haven't finalized yet is how we are going to treat the ceilings- at the moment what we have is hideous and has to be replaced before our brand new kitchen is installed..
But I have to admit I do love the reclaimed Cyprus Douglass used above. I might just have to ask Ben how hard installing it would be...

Flooding of the Basement.. yuck
Henry and I were welcomed to the Saratoga area with heavy rainfall and a down right messy day Wednesday. The perfect day to unpack and do the months of laundry we've been saving for our very own washer and dryer- don't you think? The answer would probably be yes if our washer and dryer weren't located in our very wet basement. I started the day with a load or two but by noon there was one very large puddle in the middle of the floor that was spreading to all four walls.. very quickly.
Should I be embarrassed that I have THAT much laundry to do? The back of the basement (where the bikes and air conditioners are) is higher ground, but I guess if there's enough water coming the "higher" ground doesn't seem to matter much.
We weren't really sure why the previous homeowners had left a pump in the basement and Wednesday's wet discovery cleared that question up. Ben set up the pump to empty into the sump pump..
By the end of the night most of the puddle was gone but the concrete was obviously still soaking wet and muddy. We're hoping that the next couple of dry days will help us out a bit.

And believe it or not that was all just day 1. Imagine what the next day will bring..

packing and moving

2009-10-28T09:46:00.013-04:00

Work on the actual house was put on hold over the weekend and into this week as we packed our lives up in a Uhaul and drove everything upstate for our official move!

In an effort to save a little money we opted to move ourselves. We knew we had to stop at my mother's in Connecticut on the way (over the years anything we couldn't fit in our apartment went straight to her basement) and with the drive up to Saratoga we thought it would be more cost affective to rent a Uhaul and drive up ourselves. But with the fourth floor walk up we figured moving out ourselves would be somewhat impossible (I'm strong but not THAT strong). So in addition to the Uhaul we hired two guys to pack it in New York City- thinking actually unloading it into the house wouldn't be a problem at all.

So over the weekend as we continued to pack but it started to feel like we weren't getting anywhere. I must admit we did take some time to say our goodbyes- Martha stopped by to give us very thoughtful and useful going away gifts..
We were scheduled to pick up the truck on Monday morning and by Sunday night it still looked like we had a ways to go...
On Monday morning we ran into a few obstacles but ended up getting the truck to the apartment in just enough time to meet the movers..
It was decided very early on that I was not to drive the truck..
Ben didn't really appreciate the crazy photographer in the passenger seat.

Due to the street sweeper we were able to park right in front of the building which made it all a little easier!

When we hired the movers we scheduled two guys for three hours. Each additional hour was to be paid in cash and while they did a decent job- as of now I haven't found anything that was damaged too badly (though the boxes with dishes and breakables have yet to be unpacked), they definitely took their time.
In the end it took them six hours to move us out of a small one bedroom apartment. I tried to practice patience but by the fifth hour I was ready to get on the road!

We had expected to get to Connecticut around four but by then we were walking through the empty apartment for the very last time..
Unfortunately after that I didn't take anymore pictures. The process was getting a little painful at that point and I just wanted to get it over with! We ended up getting to Connecticut too late and decided not to drive up to Saratoga that night. We opted to stay at my mother's instead (picked a good meal and real bed over drive thru and an air mattress) and drove up to the house to unpack the following day.

On Tuesday morning we got a bit of a late start (a little accident along the way) and finally made it to the house just before noon. Luckily my father had offered to help us unload and we spent the entire day emptying the truck- we really wouldn't have been able to do it without his help! While we started putting the house together we still have quite a lot of work ahead of us (I'll update on the unpacking process later this week). But I don't mind- I'm happy everyone (and everything) is finally all in one place!

sheetrock update

2009-10-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

Time for another sheetrock update!

Ben's been hard at work to finish laminating the existing messy walls with new sheets of 1/4" sheetrock. While I haven't been there to actually see the progress myself he's been trying to keep me updated with lots of phone calls and emails of pictures of the completed work. You can read about the process in the living room and bedroom here and here.

The Bedroom
While he's pretty much gotten the hang of the installation process, the bedroom required a few extra steps before he could just laminate the walls.

Remember this?
Originally when Ben and I purchased the house there was an extra door between the kitchen and bedroom. We opted to close it up in an effort to provide us with more wall space in the kitchen and the bedroom- you can read about the decision to close it off here. Ben removed the door frame and installed stud. He easily closed it off on the kitchen side- not being too concerned with the finished product because cabinets will be covering the unevenness of the wall. You can read about that here.

On the bedroom side he needed to insulate the wall..
cover up the door frame and then laminate the entire wall with 1/4" sheetrock..
You'd never know there was ever a door there!

The rest of the walls were covered like the rest of the house transforming the space from this..
to this..

And onto the next.. taping, sanding and then I'm ready to paint!!!

update on ben's progress

2009-10-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

Because Ben has been spending all of his weekends in the New York City area with me his hours spent on the house have been limited to after work. Though he doesn't seem to complain- if he didn't have sheetrock to install he says he'd be bored to tears. There's only so much TV a guy can watch (even with the Phillies in the playoffs).

Anyway, I gave you a little preview of the work he's been doing in last weeks post (you can read it here), but much more has been accomplished so I wanted to update you all.

Ben was determined to get the living room and office walls done before the end of the week.. and he did!

Living Room
Remember before?
This is what it looks like after hours of Ben's hard work..
I'm sure you've noticed that the small areas above the doors and windows were left uncovered. Ben is leaving those areas for "scraps." He didn't want to cut up a full sheet until he saw what what left over.

The Office
These walls weren't as bad as the living room but it's still a big improvement.
Before..
and now..
You can see it's actually still being used as the bedroom. Of course that would mean there's a bed in it and it's looking like Ben will now be sleeping on the floor for the next week- there's nothing like a slow leaking air mattress to help you wake up on a Monday morning!

The Finishing Process
Now the walls still aren't done. Of course Ben still needs to get the bedroom walls done..
but after he finishes installing all of the sheetrock a professional was supposed to come in and tape up the seams and then sand them down to make sure they're smooth enough to paint over. Originally when we decided to install the sheetrock we had discussed hiring a someone to tape them since it really has to be done perfectly. If it's not done well we'd be stuck with messy walls even after investing all of the time and money to laminate them. To tell you the truth, this wasn't even really a discussion- I think we ultimately just both said that would be the best thing to do and that was the end of it.

On Friday night Ben and I grabbed a quick dinner when he finally got into the city and like most of our conversations these days, we started in with the house again. I asked Ben if he had spoken to anyone about taping the walls and he then informed me that HE was taping the walls.

I argued that it would be a waste of money and time if he did it and did it badly, he counter argued by saying it's expensive to hire someone to do it and it makes a mess so he wants it done in the next week before everything is moved into the house.

So to be honest, I'm not sure who is taping the walls and when it will be done, but chances are it won't get done before moving day so we'll figure it out once I get up there.
But the walls look great now, don't they?

busy ben

2009-10-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Lucky me, Ben's been busy, busy while I've been in Manhattan. He's trying desperately to laminate all of the walls with sheetrock before Henry and I pack our bags and join him upstate for good. I've been getting nightly updates- I try not to bother him until the sun goes down so he can take full advantage of the light. As he updates me I try to imagine what a difference covering up all of the layers of wallpaper will make, but last night I was lucky enough to get pictures to go along with the detailed descriptions..

Remember this?

Well now it looks like this..
These are only pictures of the first nights work. He promised to send more along in the next few days, so look out for more major improvements!

bad news ben

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

Because Ben and I are currently living separately- he's in Saratoga starting our lives up there while I'm in New York City trying to clean up and pack up the lives we're leaving behind- our communication has turned to regular phone calls. Often times he starts the call with an update on his job, sometimes he talks about the weather and how unbelievably cold it got very quickly, then I start complaining about packing and suddenly he hits me with bombshell. Something has gone wrong on the house.. again! But there are times when he doesn't sugar coat the situation- he skips the weather and lays it on me.

The process goes something like this..
1. Ben updates me on the "crisis"
2. I make sure he's not kidding and then I have a minor panic attack because whatever the solution it's going to cost MORE money that we don't have
3. Ben says he has a solution
4. I veto the solution and give him a **better solution
5. We argue
6. I'm right

** I must point out that I added the asterisk because if he were writing this post his opinion would differ drastically. The reality is (and I'm not going to sugarcoat it for the readers) Ben and I are two very strong personalities- though, I think I give in a lot (whether my family believes it or not)! But when it comes down to it, Ben makes decisions to get things done where as I think them through, thoroughly. And while one is not necessarily better than the other, in our situation (due to our tight budget and wreck of a house), thinking these things through is so necessary.. hence me being right all the time.

A little peak inside our "renovating relationship" It's important to mention that our communication during this process is VERY different than how we normally behave- but that's to be expected due to the added stress.
On Monday night I announced to Ben that from now on every time one of us is right about something we get a notch on our belts. Ben made it a point to say the notches are not retroactive (which is unfortunate for me and very lucky for him). But even with that little clause in the agreement, I currently have four notches.. Ben has zero.

Back to the bad news..
Remember the original wallpaper issues I posted about here? Well they just don't seem to end.
On one particular afternoon a couple weeks ago Ben started plastering and sanding the walls in one of the bedrooms and I got a call. The plaster was pulling what appeared to be a wallpaper liner off the wall, revealing another layer of wallpaper underneath.
We had seen a hint of the paper pictured above when we were stripping the walls, but neither of us ever thought that this was something that had to be removed as well.

But not to worry, Ben decided there was no getting around the issue, so he acted quickly and bought a steamer at Home Depot. He called to let me know he was going to strip the liner and the layer of wallpaper and then all of our problems would be solved (in that room, of course). After a couple hours of him trying to steam and strip, he said the moisture from the steamer was collecting on the ceiling and drops of dirt were falling from overhead. Everything was wet and the wallpaper and the liner just weren't coming off as quickly as they were supposed to. When he got lucky he'd get a hold of a strip and pull, though often times he'd not only pull the liner and the wallpaper, but he'd get a chunk of plaster too.
Leaving us with far from perfect walls (remember we are no professional painters so our patching skills can't be trusted) and a steamer. Just perfect.

Once Ben started seeing the plaster pieces come loose my phone rang again. This time he said his solution wasn't working. So what's Plan B you may ask? Plan B in our renovation diaries seems to always be the same.. laminating the walls in 1/4" sheetrock... Remember when Ben called me lazy for throwing in the towel during my living room wallpaper removal adventures? You can read about that lovely argument here. And by the way, he still denys he ever said that.

1/4" sheetrock seems like a good solution- Ben swears he knows how to install it, it's going to cost more but once again the fact that our house is small is looking more and more beneficial everyday. While we're adding two new rooms to the "re-sheetrocking" list, (both the bedroom and office have the awful liner) the extra expense is almost worth it to know in the end we'll have clean walls and will hopefully have spared the headache or two that could have been caused by the patching and sanding.

Here's the catch..
While all of the professionals say when a situation like this arises to install 1/4" sheetrock as a lining. It's easy to use, not heavy and can be installed right over the imperfect walls. It masks all minor wall damage, just keep in mind it does not hide slopes in the walls unless you level them off beforehand. We have this slope on one of the bedroom walls that Ben would like to correct-
though it doesn't bother me for two reasons.. 1) it's an old house, therefore to be expected and 2) I pick my battles. I'm desperate for clean, painted walls.. clean, painted, sloped walls still sounds pretty good to me.

While the 1/4" sheetrock sounds like a wonderful solution here are some of the issues that we had to take into consideration:

- Delivery. Sheetrock comes in large sheets and cannot just be put into any vehicle. While delivery is always an option we have been trying to cut costs by forgoing any delivery fees and picking up items ourselves.

- Time. We're moving in two weeks, Ben's working full time and I'm not available to help which means there's no chance any of the installation will get done before our furniture arrives.

- Availability. 1/4" sheetrock is that it's considered a "specialty" item. Home Depot doesn't carry it, nor does Lowes. And because it's specialty means it's more expensive.

But with every issue we have come across in the last two months, we have come up with solutions for these as well..

- Delivery. I've never been so happy to have a very big, very real pick up truck (even if I still have a terrible time getting into it.. I pulled a muscle on my first try).

-Time. There was no avoiding the issue of time. The truth is, everything is taking longer than we first expected and nothing will be done before the move in date. Again, in order to practice patience I'm trying to let the time thing go. Ben did say he'd try to get the living room done first so we could live out of there while the other rooms are getting done- not to mention our bedroom is now serving as a closet..
and because I want to organize before we start just putting things away, I asked him to work on that room after I get in there and figure out where we should put everything (clothing storage is a little bit of an issue).

- Availability. We looked into ordering 1/4" at our local hardware store Allerdice, but it was about $2.00 more a sheet than the in stock options. Because we're trying to save our pennies Ben and I went from room to room with a piece that is 3/8" thick and stocked at all major stores (aka Home Depot).
As you can see above since our moldings are so thick, the 3/8" worked, but in considering all of the details of the room we came into another problem- the ugly crown molding that we desperately want to replace is only 1/4" thick.
You may not think that's an issue because we do want to replace it- you may even think we can use the money we saved on the sheetrock to buy new crown molding, but in reality molding is expensive, hard to install and very time consuming. New crown molding goes on the list with new ceilings and overhead lighting- all things we won't be able to begin discussing for a couple of years. So with that said I made an executive decision. In order to spare ourselves from living in a home (for an unspecified amount of time) with unfinished crown, I decided we should spring for the more expensive sheetrock- not to mention the 1/4" will be a little easier for Ben to install himself.

And we took a trip to the lumber yard..
Having a husband who works for a contractor has its benefits (and I'm not just talking about the truck). Yes the truck helped- how else would we have traveled to the lumber yard and actually fit in??.. but having a sales rep he deals with regularly and receiving pricing based on a contractors account is also very helpful. I must point out that a lot of what we have been able to do was made possible through our various vendor relations- we can't overlook that. So on Thursday night we hopped into the truck (again I had some difficulty) and drove down to Curtis Lumber in Ballston Spa. And that is exactly where I whipped out my camera to document our picking up close to 40 sheets of 1/4" sheetrock.

I must also point out that these pictures were not easy to get. Ben was complaining as I clicked away.. he even said he'd never be able to show his face there again. After that comment I felt compelled to inform the guy that helped us that this was for a blog.. not that he cared.

looking back at the sheetrock through the truck

Just fyi for all of you who were concerned.. Ben was able to show his face there again. In fact, the following morning he made another trip there for something work related.. and the same lucky guy helped him.

busy bee

2009-10-09T10:58:00.016-04:00

My posts have been lacking recently- here and on Deliciously Determined. I hope we don't lose any readers because of it but I promise I have a good excuse... this house has been taking over my life!! And it's not only that- it's hard to pick up and move to a very different place. Everyday is about learning new things- about ourselves, each other and this place we've decided to call our home. And the last week has been no exception. I have been up in Saratoga trying desperately to pull things together- knowing that the next time I come up here I'm here for good.. and while I started the week thinking I was going to get lots done, I've run out of time and it feels like very little has been accomplished.

In this post I'll share a few things that were done, but mostly I'm hoping to throw in a little bit of reality. Both Ben and I have gotten wonderful words of encouragement from friends, family and readers, but as exciting as it all looks- it's even more overwhelming. I have often times said I never get stressed out about work, only about my personal life, so this is a whole new thing for me as my personal life and work have now meshed into one.

This Week
Maybe I wasn't very fair to myself when I said I got very little accomplished. I have been working non stop, trying to make decisions and get things done- then trying to convince Ben to agree with them. I have been to Home Depot and back about 7 times in the last 5 days, I had hours of meetings about the kitchen and the yard, I finalized our bathroom plan.. you can read about it here, and I've even managed to do loads and loads of laundry, organize the house so that it's "livable" for Ben and most nights I've made dinner with just a microwave and a mini fridge.. all while dealing with our devil dog who won't leave my lap unless it's to pull a sock out of the laundry basket and do laps around the house while trying to "kill" it. To put it simply, I'm tired and very much looking forward to sleeping on a REAL mattress for the next couple of weeks. But I must say yesterday afternoon when I was driving back from Albany with all of our bathroom tile in my trunk and the dog in the passenger seat I thought to myself- "how do people with 9-5 jobs get any of this stuff done?" And just as I finished my thought the phone rang, it was the Invisible Fence lady.

Sunday
We've had a little bit of a standstill at the house. We're at a point where we can't do much until the walls have been lined in sheetrock and everything's been sanded- Ben said that's when I start painting..(notice the I?) So we mostly cleaned up a bit, Ben did a few odds and ends around the house while I paid bills, but we did accomplish a good amount by buying our appliances!

A few weeks ago Ben and I started to scope out appliances. We began talking to people with a little more experience than us. I must point out that I am in no way clueless about this kind of stuff- I knew what I wanted and I'm very aware of what the "best" is, but I also was realistic and knew I couldn't have the best. After talking to experienced appliance buyers and referencing our issue of Consumer Reports (it has become our bible), we opted to look at Sears and see if we liked any of the Kenmore options. And surprise, surprise (people upstate are so nice), we were told to wait and purchase everything on October 4th during their Friends and Family night so we could get 30% off everything. I guarantee no New York City salesperson would ever share that kind of information. Our decision was made- we found lots of wonderful options and felt like the extra 30% definitely made the deal-and because we got 30% off we were able to get better appliances and somewhat stick to our original budget (of course we went a little over but that's to be expected). On Sunday we walked into Sears knowing we were going to be spending A LOT of money, which we did. But we also walked out the new owners of:

a stainless steel gas range with 5 burners and a convection oven..

Kenmore Stainless Range model #78883

a convection microwave hood..

Kenmore Elite Microhood Combination model #88513

a stainless side by side, counter depth refrigerator..

Kenmore Elite model #45423

and an LG (Kenmore was too expensive) stainless dishwasher..

LG Built-In Dishwasher model #15533

It's amazing how grown up you feel once you own your own appliances.. now I just have to wait until November to use them!

Monday
Most of my day was spent at Home Depot going over the kitchen design. While I'll get into it later I'll share some of the the reasons why I was there for so long.

First I think I should mention that the Home Depot designers are GREAT if you don't know what you want/need. I knew exactly what we needed and felt a little bad telling him where to put everything, but there's nothing worse than a kitchen that isn't functional, so here goes..

My dream kitchen would have a big prep area like an island, unlimited storage, a baking station and a butlers pantry about as big as the kitchen (I'd also like a fireplace but I think that may be asking too much). Our kitchen is a 10x10 space and I needed to find a way to incorporate all of these things even though I wasn't going to get them. In other words I need to be able to do everything I could do in a much larger space. I need a prep area, an abundance of storage, a place where I can bake (I do that often) and food storage- I always buy too much, on sale and in bulk. And I have to say I take my kitchen VERY seriously. I am no chef, but I do love entertaining "stuff" so while I knew I would never have enough space for all of my platters and china I still wanted the kitchen to be able to hold most of our mini appliances and everyday dishes. I've now met with the designer 3 times and after our first phone "meeting" he prepared a layout based on what I described. And at first glance I was pretty sure there wouldn't even be room for our water glasses. But after a few hours of me really plotting out where everything will go- and even doing things he told me not to (like moving the dishwasher right next to the corner sink) I know that our kitchen will be entirely functional for us.

Just a few words for those of you who are or will be doing something like this in the near future. I am someone who doesn't tell anyone how to do their job, but if they're steering me in a direction that I know is not best for us, I always appreciate their words of wisdom but any decision I make is always based on our needs. When designing a kitchen it's wonderful to be able to incorporate the workspace triangle below..
But no two spaces are the same, so you need to do what works for you. Due to our space constraints our refrigerator, sink and dishwasher are really tight. I know it's going to be problematic at times, but if we didn't do it that way I would have lost every one of my base cabinets- leaving me with only three upper cabinets. I knew I'd rather be wedged in a corner doing dishes while Ben was getting something out of the fridge or loading the dishwasher instead of running up to the attic every time I needed an extra platter for the dinner table. And that is exactly why I basically spent my Monday at Home Depot.

Tuesday
When Ben and I bought our little house we made three lists..
1) things that need to be taken care of immediately
2) things that we'd like to do soon
3) things that we dream about doing if we decided to stay in the house forever

Many of the things from list 1 have been moved to list 2 and Ben has said from the beginning that he thinks we can start working on list 2 in the spring (don't tell him but I know it's never going to happen and that he only says that to make me feel better). And the chances of list 3 ever happening are so slim.. right now I'm feeling like we'll forever live in a house with messy walls and a nasty bathroom so life with a garage and a dining room is totally unimaginable. But our list 1 probably differs from your list 1.
Mine always consisted of: doing the kitchen, the bathroom and transforming the garage into a bedroom we can fit dressers in. Ben's consisted of: doing the kitchen, landscaping the yard and getting a fence for the dog! Because we're now married and I've heard the secret to a good marriage is compromise.. our joint list consists of: doing the kitchen, eventually getting to the bathroom, landscaping half of the yard and getting a fence for the dog. Can you believe it? Henry took one of the top priority spots- god forbid he ran on a line for the next few months..

Anyway, if any of you have looked into fencing in a yard before (and not a small one for city living at that), it's VERY costly and as soon as Ben got quotes the list began to look more like we were skipping everything else all together and just installing a fence for the dog! But then I jumped in and decided to schedule an appointment with an Invisible Fence rep without telling him (he was VERY against it) so that is how I spent my Tuesday. Eventually I did tell Ben I scheduled the appointment (yes a few days before they came) and we had a great meeting, figured out what package was best for us (even the most expensive option is a fraction of the cost of a real fence), convinced Ben there was no other way to let the dog run loose, and we even got another fence company to come and price out their product as well. Now we're just hoping Henry won't be tempted to run through the fence at dismissal everyday (we live across the street from a school).

Wednesday
I can't remember what I did on Wednesday.. seriously.

Thursday
On Thursday morning I headed to Albany to pick up our bathroom tile. I finally got to meet the guys at the Daltile showroom- they've been so helpful throughout this whole process and I'm looking forward to working with them in the future with my clients- (I'm hoping we're done at our house for a while). Now our garage is filled with boxes of tile that probably won't be used for a while, but I really want to be ready so that when Ben gives the bathroom the "green light" I'm fully prepared and nothing is held up.

Peeking at the tile this morning made me VERY excited for a clean, white bathroom! We also got the shower valve and now we're just waiting on the faucet (it's expected to arrive next week).

I spent the rest of my day finalizing the details with Invisible Fence and scheduling the installation, scoping out privacy fence options- in an effort to compromise again we have decided we'd put a privacy fence up to block the school and any temptation for Henry, and once again I took a trip to the Home Depot kitchen department.

possible privacy fence option

When I was driving from place to place (I drove almost 100 miles yesterday) I kept thinking about how much of this I could have gotten done in New York City in one day. I figured with public transportation, traffic and walking time I probably could have gotten one thing done.

Then to top it all off Ben and I ended our day with a trip to the lumber yard in his pick up truck (more to come on this). That was definitely the icing on the cake..
Friday
While the day is still young, I've spent most of the morning packing up to go back to New York City.. cleaning along the way. I also made some important calls to the Zoning Board (about fence and driveway questions). While I am looking forward to a real bed, I'm dreading the packing part- as once I get back it's up to me to get everything ready for the big move. I also know that there's so much more I need to get done here (and wish I could get done before our furniture was delivered). But I am practicing patience and hoping that I don't have a panic attack once moving day comes on the 26th.

Anyway, now can you see why I haven't had time to post?!?!

Monday I'll post about all of the bad news Ben has been delivering via phone calls during our time apart.

the kitchen takes shape

2009-10-06T10:35:00.009-04:00

I literally spent 2 hours yesterday designing our kitchen with the lovely Home Depot designers. I think I might have driven him a little crazy, but the truth is, I was trying desperately to make a very small space VERY functional. So just when he thought I had settled on a cabinet style I changed my mind and we were back to square one. I tried to charm him with my bubbly personality to make up for all of my switcheroos, but that only goes so far...

But in the meantime Ben was busy in the kitchen this weekend filling in the odd doorway that once served as a second entrance to the bedroom. I originally posted about it here.

Here's a review in pictures:

Ben removing the door frame

view from the kitchen side

Of course it wasn't as simple as just hanging sheetrock- Ben had to also cut and install a stud, but he did that when there weren't any cameras around to document his every move (aka I was in Manhattan).

And the end result:

view from the kitchen side

view from the bedroom side

You can see the stud on the picture above from the bedroom side.

He hung 3/8" sheetrock on the kitchen side but the bedroom side is still visible.. that's a project for another day. We were both eager to get the kitchen blocked in to help keep the dog on lock down- he's been quit the troublemaker lately..

bathroom updates

2009-10-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are interested in design over renovation this post might be a little more enjoyable. I know the last few weeks have been about chainsaws- not always fun for all of us, but necessary in order to get things moving. Well throughout the last few weeks of hard labor and stress I have also taken some time to pick out a few design related elements for our home. While we really haven't budgeted for new furniture, we have set aside money to get what we want in terms of permanent fixtures.

Because the bathroom and kitchen need to be heavily updated, I've really been focusing on them. We'll be able to do wonders on the rest of the house with some new sheet rock, paint and moldings, but more thought, time and money need to be spent on the bathroom and kitchen. I'll get to the kitchen another time- it's more involved and hasn't been totally flushed out yet, but as of now this is the bathroom design.. step by step.

Tile
I'm not even kidding when I say before we closed on the house we had picked out the tile. And maybe even more impressive than that- it literally took us about 15 minutes in the showroom to finalize what we wanted on the walls and on the floor.

A little information about my tile "style": I love anything clean with white tile.. bathroom, kitchen, laundry room.. you name it. I prefer it all white. Maybe it's harder to clean, but I can't help it. I don't mind colorful accents- and in someone else's bathroom I would absolutely go that route, but for us, white was the way to go.

All things considered: Remember we are moving to a house but the upgrade in terms of size is not THAT great. It's still more of a cottage than a house which means we have one bathroom central to the house. Yes right now it's a powder room/guest bath/master bath, but I have dreams of it becoming just a powder room. The truth is I love the house for it's potential- we can build up and/or over which means hopefully one day we'll be able to afford at least one more bathroom. So at the moment I picked white thinking it would be good for all bathroom options including the possible future of a powder room and maybe even a laundry room.. a girl can dream.

Existing finishes: At the moment our lovely bathroom walls are covered in plastic tiles. Bet you didn't even know they existed!
They're a very classy faux marble that can literally be pulled off the wall with your hands. I'm also not kidding when I say that after we closed we realized the previous owner had generously left us a bottle of tile "adhesive" in the vanity for any necessary repairs. In my first demolition post I mentioned that I covered the floor with contact paper because I deemed it unsanitary and basically un-cleanable. But before I covered it in polka dots..
it was covered with vinyl tiles (shown on the top right) that were pealing up one by one, exposing the plywood floor underneath. Also keep in mind as I mentioned in my post about wallpaper removal- the walls and floor will have to be outfitted with new sheet rock before we install any tile so we basically have to gut the space (minus the tub) before we can get to work. Should be an interesting few days without a toilet. I've already asked Ben if we can rent a porta potty and his response was somewhere along the line of.. "are you serious? NO!".. so I'm guessing I'll be making the trip to Connecticut and staying with my mother during that part of the renovation. Can you blame me?

What 15 minutes at the tile showroom will buy you: Because what I wanted was so basic we opted to go with Daltile. It is less expensive than going to a place like Ann Sacks or Waterworks, but it's still high quality tile. And on top of that there's a wonderful showroom available to the trade in Chelsea so one night when Ben and I were in the neighborhood we stopped in and made our final decision.
On the walls surrounding the bath tub we opted to go with a basic white subway tile- to be installed to the ceiling but not on the ceiling.
Again, because we are also treating this space as a "powder room" we chose not to tile the walls and only protect the area around the tub.

And remember those lovely vinyl floors? I originally wanted to go very traditional with a hexagonal tiled floor (also white, of course), but when we walked into the showroom this caught my eye..
This petite tile feels a little more modern and unique. I apologize for the terrible picture- for those of you who are having a hard time "seeing" it, it's more of a tiny square tile with rounded corners.

I haven't decided on a grout color yet- originally I was thinking white, white, white.. all white. But just last week I was at my aunt and uncles- they are doing a much larger project that includes a new kitchen, a large three-story addition and they gutted two bathrooms. Coincidentally they used the same white subway tile that Ben and I will be installing, but their installer picked a grey-ish grout- a look I hadn't even considered, but really loved.

Bath Floorplan
I thought the easiest way to show the awkwardness of the existing bathroom layout would be to do a little floorplan for you.. keep in mind it isn't to scale.
While the tile could be considered an easy upgrade we knew re-tiling wasn't worth it unless we did something about the positioning of the sink and the radiator. I wanted the layout to flow- both for practical and aesthetic reasons. Obviously, as you can see above, the positioning of the radiator makes this a little challenging. Ben gave me a few options in terms of dealing with it:
- Install radiant floor heat under the new tile
- Install base board heating
- Move the radiator
While originally we had discussed installing radiant floor heat ourselves, it became a bigger project and we lost interest along the way. I decided early on I didn't want base board heating because the bathroom is so small as it is, I didn't want any additional floor space taken up- even if it is just around the perimeter of the walls. So I chose the third option and we looked into moving the radiator. So where could we move it?

We had a plumber come over and we came up with this solution..
As I tried to show above, we would move the radiator to the long wall and install a pedestal sink that would just hover over it... kind of like this..
By swapping the radiator and sink locations we are able to push the pedestal into the nook, allowing for more walkable space in the bathroom- no more scooting around the sink to get to the toilet.

But why a pedestal?
The Sink
The original awkward "homemade" vanity was not only positioned to block the doorway, but the chunkiness of the piece also takes up a lot of unnecessary space visually..
While a pedestal sink is not the most practical to have in a heavily used bathroom due to lack of storage (my mother likes to remind me of that frequently), aesthetically it's what will work best in the space, both due to the radiator swap and visually- the bathroom will appear to feel more "open." Some may say that if it isn't practical they won't have it, but I must point out that Ben and I have lived very comfortably with a pedestal sink for four years now..
so there's no reason why we wouldn't be able to handle it now. Because I opted to go with expensive fittings for the shower and faucet, I wanted to go less expensive with the sink.. hence my Home Depot choice..
Kohler's Archer Pedestal Sink
Just a very simple, clean design.

Notice how I italicized the "I" above? I think it's important to point out that I gave Ben a very hard time about the faucet and bath fittings. I decided what I wanted and I had to have it- and of course it was more than he wanted to spend. But I stood my ground and offered to go cheaper on other things so that I could have this..

Kohler's Pinstripe Faucet
You can obviously order the Pinstripe set up on Kohler's website. You can also special order it at some Home Depots, but I was lucky enough to work with Ben's rep at Davis & Warshow in Manhattan- they have a great showroom for those of you who have no idea what you want.

Bathroom Storage
OK just because I've passed up the whole vanity storage thing doesn't mean I don't want any storage. Above the existing sink there is a very old and very broken medicine cabinet-remember when I lined it in contact paper here?

Well the obvious thing would be to install a medicine cabinet over the new pedestal sink in the nook, but that would mean we'd have to push the sink out into the bathroom..
something I don't want to do. Not to mention a medicine cabinet is very useful, but still doesn't provide THAT much storage. So I decided to take a hint from the existing medicine cabinet and carve out a storage area in the existing sink wall- floor to ceiling as shown below..
I asked Ben if he knows how to make an invisible door- something to look like this..
minus the door knobs of course (and on a much smaller scale). I'd love for the space to just go away. I'd fill the small space with shelves from top to bottom- I hope we'd be able to store everything from our toothbrushes to extra soap in there. I definitely want to make it as practical as possible.
I measured the area to be about 12" wide and the existing medicine cabinet is about 4" deep so we can break the wall open at least that much. I obviously would like to go as high and as low as I can, so unless we run into any issues I'm hoping to only lose a few inches both above the floor and below the ceiling.

If our storage space works out we'll have the perfect niche to hang a fabulous decorative mirror over the sink- which will be both practical and beautiful for the master bath/guest bath/powder room.

The Toilet
Our original plan was to replace, replace, replace.. and then we were told we need a 14" toilet instead of the typical 12".. figures. Ben grumbled something along the lines of "nothing is easy" a few days ago and we have quickly figured out that should be our official motto. So just like everything else.. the old toilet cannot be replaced with anything in stock or inexpensive. Toto makes some toilets that fit the 14" guidelines, but I obviously picked out one of their most expensive options..
Don't you just love the Lloyd?
but Ben put the kibosh on spending that kind of money on a toilet.. I can't blame him- and I opted not to argue.. remember I got my faucet!!

So for a while we thought we would keep the existing toilet (from 1934). I scrubbed it and Ben installed a new toilet seat, but because the bottom is a little rusty and I hate to reinstall it on the brand new tile floor that way we might actually purchase the Kohler Archer toilet to match the pedestal sink..
Now it obviously isn't the 14" needed, but when the plumber first came to give us a quote he said we could go for the standard 12" but then we'd have about an inch between the tank and the wall. Originally that bothered me which is why I started my quest for the 14" option, but in the last few weeks I've been noticing how many other toilets are installed that way. Amazing how I've never seen them before! Anyway, I might just give in and get the very simple option above.

The Tub
Finally something we can really keep! I actually like the tub and the deco feel of it.
Eventually we'll have it reglazed I'm sure, but for now it works.

But in keeping with our motto "nothing is easy," not only does the tub not have a shower head, the piping is also installed inside a wall that the bathroom shares with the garage- meaning a shower head was quite possibly never installed because the pipes can (and probably will) freeze. In the next few months we're going to start planning to convert the garage into a master bedroom- which will solve the freezing issue, but until we insulate those walls and install heat in the garage, the only thing we can do is install the pipes, check on them frequently and cross our fingers. With that said, we're using the Kohler Pinstripe set up in the shower to match the faucet and I couldn't be happier!!
But figuring this all out was only half the battle.. now we actually have to get working on it if I ever want a chance at buying new bath towels.

packing party

2009-10-02T10:10:00.009-04:00

Thankfully my mother has volunteered her time (and her muscles) to help me pack up our apartment. We aren't moving for a few more weeks but our very crowded kitchen was beginning to scare me.. so we've decided to get a head start on the process.

It used to look like this...
and now it looks like this..
It doesn't look like we've made much progress, but the truth is most of the cabinets are empty and it's starting to look like Henry and I will be living among piles and piles of boxes in the next few weeks..
Before I end this quick post to get back to bubble wrapping our flatware I'd like to thank the Margolis side of my family for "donating" their old boxes and bubble wrap (there's nothing like recycling). And of course my mother.. I was having panic attacks last week and they are just starting to subside.

I'll be back with a much bigger (and more exciting) post on Monday about our bathroom.. woo hoo!!

weekend in pictures

2009-09-29T08:25:00.024-04:00

In my last post I mentioned Ben and I have parted ways- temporarily of course! He spent the weekend upstate, working on the house and trying to get a few more things done before he started his new job today and I split my weekend between Manhattan for my sister-in-laws fabulous bachelorette bash and Connecticut for the holiday. I've been surrounded by fun people and lots of scheduled events (not to mention I got temporary custody of the dog), but I was afraid Ben would be lonely in Saratoga (and in the house) by himself. But luckily his parents were kind enough to keep him company for much of the weekend- and I've heard they were a huge help with the house as well!

I was afraid much of the progress would go undocumented- even though I have continuously asked Ben to take pictures and write everything down. I even went as far to ask for emailed updates.. no luck. And while I haven't gotten a definite answer as to whether or not he's kept track of it all, at least I know my mother-in-law did. And yesterday she sent me lots of pictures to prove it.

So here is the weekend update- thanks to Cathy!

The Truck
Here's the back story: When Ben was offered his job he was told he'd have to buy a truck. We knew we were going to have to buy a second car, but we were hoping to hold out as long as possible.. the more money we spent elsewhere the less we knew we could spend on the house. Naturally that plan lasted about 20 minutes. And as soon as he was given the news he ran into the kitchen with a smirk on his face, told me he didn't have a choice (I was hoping we could get a station wagon) and then he basically blurted out.. "this is like my dream job!" Meanwhile I was thinking.. in a matter of minutes I lost any chance I had of buying a new sofa and then I started picturing myself going into town on a Saturday night for a nice dinner.. in a pick up. Oh well.. lots of new things to adjust to!

So Ben called his uncle, Eric Nathan- an auctioneer in Manchester, Vermont, and asked if he could help him find a truck. In days, he delivered and suddenly Ben was the proud owner of a very real F150.

On Saturday Ben and his parents went to pick it up..
I'm pretty sure the first stop with the truck was Home Depot.. but I can't be sure. I guess I'll have to get used to this scene in our driveway..

The Yard
This has become a very familiar theme on our blog..
I know you're all thinking "enough with the trees!", but the yard was really a mess and trees had to be cut down.
Many of the trees were way too close to the house and not in very good shape. Meaning any bad wind storm and they'd pretty much be in our Living Room.
They also cleared more from the street end.
Much of the yard on that half of the property was so heavily shaded by overgrown trees that no grass was able to grow and the lawn was really just dirt and mud.
The yard of brush Ben has been complaining about..
He said we have to hire someone with a chipper. I say let's call the neighbors and ask if they need any mulch. If you have your own chipper- it's all yours!

The Sink
This back story is actually pretty short: The kitchen sink was disgusting when we closed on the house- it was old, dirty, scummy.. you name it. The truth is, I didn't want to touch it- especially after working so hard on the bathroom. I just couldn't stomach scrubbing the kitchen sink on the same visit. Not to mention we were kind of up in the air as to when we were going to get rid of the base cabinets in there and if we would even really need a "faux" kitchen before our new cabinets and appliances were installed. And the dirty kitchen sink became a place to clean paint brushes, throw a garbage bag and fill the dogs water bowl.. but that was it.

Once Ben's job was set and it looked like he'd be moving up on his own the existing kitchen kind of had to function. I sent him up with our microwave, a coffee maker and he decided he'd start using the toaster oven. At that point using the sink became more and more of a necessity and that's where my mother-in-law stepped up and saved me from the dreaded kitchen sink!
It's as good as new! Maybe we should skip on buying a new one and save a few pennies!
The Hearth
While those were the only two projects Ben really shared with me, I can tell lots more was accomplished through Cathy's pictures.. and the hearth was included.

The fireplace needs a little work, but as always.. I have big plans for it! We'll definitely paint it, we're going to switch it back to the original wood burning (the previous owners changed it to gas), and we may even replace the mantle. But luckily we never really had to do much to the original marble tiled hearth... except clean it, of course. And it looks like that was taken care of while I was off getting manicures with the bridesmaids!

Motherly Touches
When I was growing up, whenever I left for overnight camp or even college, my mom always made my bed before she dropped me off. It's something about a mother leaving a child behind at a new place or in a new stage at life.. it's almost like they want them to start off on the right foot or they want the child to have the comfort of sleeping in a bed their mother made. I'm guessing Cathy skipped on that part because I had made the bed before we left Saratoga last weekend, but she didn't skimp on anything else! A couple other surprises in her catalog of photos..

Temporary shades in the bedrooms..
Should I be offended she didn't like my beach towel shades duct taped to the window frame?

Our first mum plants..
I know these definitely weren't Ben's doing!

Housewarming basket..
As if cleaning wasn't enough of a gift!

I'm sorry I wasn't able to share in the work, but clearly the house was in good hands. Maybe they can take the ride up next weekend too?!?! Thanks to all of the little elves who worked very hard and didn't get much of a relaxing weekend of their own. xo

prepping the kitchen

2009-09-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

I'm in the process of designing the kitchen (more to come later), but in the meantime some adjustments had to be made in the space in order for my design to work. The biggest issue? The extra door into the bedroom (and right smack in the middle of my "U" shaped design).

Below is a rough floor plan of the house so you can see what I'm talking about..

(not to scale)

The bedroom to the top right has two door openings, one coming through the hall and one through the kitchen. In an effort to make both rooms more useable (at the moment the bedroom has very few furniture walls because of the doors and windows), we knew we needed to close off the extra doorway.

You can kind of see the actual door orientation through the picture below..
On Saturday Ben started hacking away at the existing door frame. He didn't get very far in terms of filling in the wall and installing studs- by the time the frame was out we took a dinner break. But he says the few more steps he needs to take aren't too involved- he keeps saying he knows what he's doing..
Apparently there was also a panel on the kitchen wall I had never really noticed before. You can see all of the left over adhesive on the wall.

I hope Ben will take pictures as he continues to work on it.

On Saturday Ben will officially become a Saratoga resident. He's starting a new job next week and I, unfortunately, am going to be living the life of a single New Yorker until all of my business is wrapped up. I'll join him here and there, as I can, and he'll be back in the Manhattan area most weekends. But until our boxes are packed and the truck arrives, I'll be sleeping on a bed in a very well furnished apartment, eating dinner made out of our All Clad pots and pans and he will be resting on an air mattress, watching tv on the floor and eating cheap take out most nights. And did I mention doing hard labor after work to finish up the house before I arrive?

landscaping continued

2009-09-24T09:51:00.009-04:00

Over the weekend Ben took just a few minutes to work on the yard, but in that time he really did make some more huge improvements.

From Bensonhurst, the front of the house was so overgrown that you were barely even able to see a hint of a house. Like I mentioned originally in my previous landscaping post, once the spring comes we'll really work on the yard, figure out what we want to plant and where we want to plant it, but for the time being we're really just trying to clean up what is already existing. So here goes..

no sign of the house behind that mess

a good perspective- the Division Street side of the house is open while the Bensonhurst side is all closed in

Ben starting to make some progress

huge difference

you can actually see the street from the house now

Ben mentioned yesterday that while he's up there this weekend he might take some of the smaller trees down too. Not sure if it's because he wants another chance to use his chainsaw or if he really thinks we need to clear out more. Either way, I'm all for it- the more light the better!