A Week of Projects: Day 5

Day 5 was not a good day. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

First, Kyle came down with something. He does not feel well and so I talked him into resting today (it didn't take much convincing).

Secondly, Kyle's projects did not go as he hoped. His frustration level was at an all time high. I felt so bad for him and there was absolutely no way I could help. I did get a picture of the vent he installed... otherwise I tried to stay out of his way and avoided pictures and any talk of "how are things going?"

Thirdly, the one way I could help him (food) flopped. I tried pizza in a crockpot (Pinterest) and it... was... terrible!

The day was so bad that Kyle reminded me, "If I ever get the urge to remodel again, remind me of this day!"

Okey dokey.

On the other hand, I did get a lot accomplished in painting the trim. The only part I could not accomplish was the parts I couldn't reach (Kyle was using the ladder).

Porch progress...

Finished back porch!

Progress...

...at the end of the day...

Why it needed to be done, yesterday!

Right now our week of projects were semi successful. I'll finish the trim next week. Kyle gutted the bathroom, installed a new microwave, completed the electrical work for the vent in the bathroom and other misc. outlets, completed the necessary framing in the bathroom, dug out sticker plants and created a lovely flower garden in the front and back yards. When I list those things it doesn't sound like much, but each project was a lot of work and took a lot of time. This week flew by without being able to check "bathroom complete" off our looooooong TO DO list, which looks like this:

• Office shelves above desk
• Office trim
• Downstairs bathroom trim
• Downstairs bathroom shelves
• Install door in downstairs bathroom
• Rip out "closet" in downstairs hallway
• Lay carpet on the stairs & hall way to bathroom (basement)
• Install new ceiling fan in Living Room
• Install new ceiling fan in our bedroom
• Vent covers in our bedroom
• Upstairs Bathroom (plaster, mud, paint, new floor, install vanity, mirrors/cabinet, toilet, &etc.)

I'm going to stop there... yes, the list is longer... (sigh)...

Today Kyle is down for the count. I wish he could take another week off for a much needed VACATION vacation. We can't afford to go anywhere, but he seriously needs something, even if it's disappearing in the woods with our tent and a cooler full of beer. Pray for him that he gets better and keeps his sanity, especially when he goes back to work on Monday.

A Week of Projects: Day 3 & 4

These last two days have been a blur. This is the first time I've had a chance to sit down and blog, so I'm combining Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday Kyle finished gutting the bathroom. (WooHoo!)

And he installed a new microwave in the kitchen. He was thoroughly disgusted with the instructions, saying that they were horrible, BUT, he got it up and it works like a charm. It only took us 4 minutes to warm up roast, potatoes and carrots! With our old, old, antique microwave it would've taken 2 minutes (rotate) 2 minutes (rotate) 2 minutes (rotate)...  Plus we would've had HOT spots and cold, cold, icy spots. This new microwave is all fancy shmancy!

Old microwave before I painted it and the cabinets.

Old microwave after a touch of paint...

NEW microwave (with lots of buttons)!

I was working on painting the trim around doors and windows. I'm liking the turnout! I just wish it was a faster job. It's going to take three coats (at least).

I can't wait to show you all the before and after pictures of the house once this is done. I think it's going to look really nice (which means I need to hurry up and hit "publish" so I can get to work on it while Bean is still sleeping!). If she's not sleeping I rotate her between a sand box, her jumper thingy, and a tub of water (always last, can you imagine going from the tub of water to the sandbox? lol). By the end of the day she is a dirty dirty mess.

Most of the time these "stations" entertain her, however, there are times the only thing she wants is my attention. I'm okay with that, I knew that having children makes completing a "to do" list twice as long. It's impossible to work at the rate I worked before I had her. BUT, look at her smile and tell me it isn't worth it? :)

Kyle was disappointed with how Wednesday turned out. He was hoping to have sheetrock in place (or at least some of it) but realized that we needed to make a supply run. Since we live in the boondocks, a supply run could take all day. So he worked on one of the plethora of projects that need completed (like the microwave) and made our supply run Thursday morning.

Sure enough the supply run did take all day. So I felt like it was a wasted day, but Kyle told me later that he needed a sanity break, even if it meant a trip to the Menards in Cheyenne and lunch at Sonic. When we got home he worked on a few projects here and there. Like finishing the front flower bed...

Before...

After...
You can't really tell in the before and after pictures how much better it looks! So crisp, so weedless, so clean! We were over run with sticker plants and weeds galore. It was a needed project that took a lot of time and effort.

I painted some more and Kyle made it easier to get to stuff in his garage that is over flowing with garage sale items and remodeling supplies so he doesn't lose his mind as he works (quite frankly I don't blame him, I mean, imagine making dinner with an unorganized, messy kitchen?!).

Progress is slow and time flies by (it's already FRIDAY! Nooooooo!), but if you're remodeling that's one of the rules: (#4) It always takes longer than you originally thought it would. (sigh.) Fact of life.

A Week of Projects: Day 2

Two Days down of Kyle's vacation has proven successful. Granted, we didn't get as much done as we hoped, but that's what you should expect when remodeling (#4 in 10 Reasons I Hate Remodeling). Funny story about remodeling. Kyle shares my dislike. He said he'd add one more to my list, but for him it would be #1. He HATES destruction! The construction part he doesn't mind, but ripping out plaster and dry wall and old nails isn't on his "this is fun to do" list. So last night as we walked to Tuesday night Bible study, he casually mentioned that he never wants to remodel again. This was my response,

"REALLY?! YAY! I'm so, so glad."

We both agreed that we will be more picky about the purchase of our next home. We don't mind yard work (or work work period) but if a gallon of paint can't fix it, we don't want it. So we're praying that God provides the means to afford a home that requires no remodeling, just some elbow grease cleaning, painting, or normal home repairs (not a "-crap- we have to replace ALL of the plumbing?" kind of job). We have learned so much with this home about what to look for, what we value and appreciate, construction, destruction, and cost effectiveness.

Back to our projects yesterday...

We underestimated how big the backyard garden was going to be, so we're short a few bricks and day lilies. Finishing the flower bed project will have to wait. That's okay. We got the hard part done and that was pulling the weed mess. That's the whole reason we decided to do it.

How we started the morning...

What it will look like all done, we have 8 feet (ish) so I won't show you an after picture just yet...

Remember reason #3 in my "10 Reasons I Hate Remodeling" blog? If you're remodeling, expect a dirty mess everywhere. Yeah, this is my living room floor....

And then, because your husband has to use a sledgehammer to crack through a layer of plaster and a layer of drywall (BTW, Kyle said he'd like to meet whoever-so-kindly did that and ask him WHY!?!), you have messes like this...

Uh Oh...

Cockeyed L...

All better...

I am not kidding when I say the entire house was shaken up. There is a stairway between our kitchen and the upstairs bathroom and a crystal bowl (that was a wedding gift) that hung out on the shelving above the sink crashed...

Now... FUNNY story... that little black dot you see in the top left corner is a fly who was in the wrong place at the wrong time... HAHA.

When the bowl came crashing down into the sink it smashed the fly. LOL.

 Oh well, it's just a bowl. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter. Besides, the fly story is a good one.

Kyle is finishing the destruction of the bathroom TODAY (Day 3)! He can hardly wait to get it done and quite frankly, I do not blame him. Here's some pictures of what he accomplished...

When you walk through the door, this is what you see...

Bathtub...

Ceiling mid-day

Ceiling at the end of the day...

Bathtub at the end of the day (I'm not sure why it's all cloudy like that, sorry)...

We went to church utterly exhausted (Kyle more than me) but hey, we may not be getting done what we'd like to get done at the rate we'd like to do it, but we're working our butt off to finish the bathroom THIS WEEK! (Pray for us, especially Kyle!) 

Speaking of Kyle, one of my thankfuls this week is that I married a hard working man. I cannot even fathom the rate at which Kyle works on a daily basis. On a typical week he gets up around 4:30 in the morning so he can work out. He's at work by 7 and does not typically come home until 6ish. He has to work occasional weekends, and despite a 50+ hour week he comes home and works on the house without complaining. Now, he's using VACATION time to complete one (of many) jobs and is working HARD to complete it before he has to go back to work on Monday and start his 4:30 am - 9 pm routine. I admire this man and his work ethic. He inspires me.

A Week of Projects: Day 1

Kyle took the week off. Not for a vacation. Not to visit family. Only to work on the house. His goal? To finish the upstairs bathroom and then some. There's quite a few projects that need to be done, but as we go along I take before, during, and after pictures of the progress. Not only does it help me appreciate the "after" that much more, but it helps me remember how much work went into completing it.

Remember when I wrote about how much I hated remodeling? Those reasons have not changed one iota.

1. One project always leads to another. Almost a year ago we tackled the bathroom downstairs (which is near completion - it's just missing some trim work and a door - ya know minor things) and in the process realized that we needed a completely new electrical board and all new plumbing. Which meant we had to tear the vanity out of the upstairs bathroom so that we could access the plumbing. The vanity sat in our backyard for a few months until someone decided they wanted it. Our toothbrushes have been in the kitchen ever sense. It's going to be weird having them back in the bathroom, lol. We are praying that this week does not produce more projects.

2. If we're working on one room, everything from that room must  be moved to another room, creating complete chaos! Like our bathroom items being moved into our living room... :)

3. It's a dusty, dirty mess everywhere. It doesn't matter how much you sweep, or even if you take protective measurements like plastic or shutting doors and windows. Dust seeps through everything. I'm typing this and am disgusted with how dirty I am right now. Bleh.

4. It always takes longer than you originally thought it would, which forces you to LIVE in it LONGER. (Reason? See #1) But hey, I'm going to be optimistic here. I'm hoping this week doesn't lead to more projects, but the flower beds I thought I'd finish today did not happen. Mostly because I have an 8 month old who now requires a lot of my attention, but also because it started to thunder. We finished the flower bed in the back yard...

This corner doesn't get hit with the sprinklers very well, so the grass died. We came up with this...

The picture does not do it justice.

Still the flower bed lining the drive way is not complete...

Before I dug in...

Digging in after measuring and marking...

SLOW going...

Where we had to stop for the day. I love the brick work and it will have plants. I can't wait to take a finished picture (hopefully tomorrow, again remember every project takes longer than what you anticipate!).

Aaaaaaand then there's the upstairs bathroom. It's taking twice as long as we thought it would when we started it. The destruction of the bathroom has been daunting for Kyle. There are three layers he must bust through: the ugly "flower" board, plaster, then drywall. (Yeah, we don't get it either.)

UGLY flower board "stuff"

Going into the bathroom...

Bye Bye Flower BOARD!

Where the bathroom vanity used to be... it's been this way for almost a year now...

He was thinking that it'd take him a day to destroy the walls. The day isn't over yet, but it doesn't look promising. It's a crazy difficult job and I'm glad I'm downstairs with Bean.

5. It's noisy. As I'm typing this I hear, "Bang, Clang, Bam, Bam, Bam, UGH! Bang, GRRRR... Bam, Bam, OW!"

6. It's smelly. (Right now I'm smelly, I'm hurrying so that I can go and shower!)

7. It's expensive. Kyle and I saved and saved and saved for three years to complete these projects. We had fun shopping for all the stuff, and then we had to check out. Way to pop our balloon check out lady!

8. It's exhausting. Now add taking care of a baby to remodeling. Gah!

9. Living without electricity or water while something is being worked on makes day to day living difficult. Boy am I ever thankful that I don't have to deal with this one right now. We have electricity and we have a full working bathroom (with running water). Woohoo!

10. Exhaustion and frustration are a deadly combination, and they go hand in hand with remodeling. Today is day 1, I'll let you know how we feel by Friday. :)

We have so much to do and I'm not even going to share the list for fear of feeling overwhelmed. Stay tuned all week for more before, during and after pictures of our projects this week!