19 posts tagged “home remodeling”

Well!  After five months and a few minor setbacks, I'm very happy to announce that our bathroom remodel is finally DONE!

(OK, calling this an announcement is a little grandiose since obviously I'm more excited about this than anyone who would read this, but humor me.)

It wasn't five months of having an unuseable bathroom; I'd say it was only completely out-of-commission for about a month, then it was brought back to life in stages.  The main reason for our remodel was to add a shower since prior to this, we lived in a 4-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom house.  Today I can proudly say that we live in a 4-bedroom, 1.75-bathroom house.  That 0.25 bathroom is a huge addition - with the kids getting older it sure is nice to have a second shower!  Not to mention for the few times per year we have company.

Here you go - what do you think?

Oh, wait.  That's the before picture. 

As you can see, there was only a vanity and toilet.  The door went into a (very) small laundry area.  Moving the laundry out of that area and into a new mudroom was Phase I of this project and happened last year.  (Check it here.)

So this was Phase II.  Here's the short version of the project:

Look at Brian!  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now, the finished product!

 

 

 (By the way, for those who took my countertop poll several months ago, we did go with the Antique Gold.)

All of the fixtures are an oil-rubbed bronze, look, which I totally love. 

I'm so glad it's done!  Well, almost done.  Unfortunately, we did have a water accident over Labor Day weekend that involved an emergency visit from the plumber.  The short version of the story is that when the sheetrock guys came, they accidentally put a screw through the copper pipe that supplies the upstairs bathroom (it runs perpendicularly through the ceiling joists in this bathroom).  So there's a hole in the ceiling where they had to cut through the sheetrock and hopefully it'll get fixed within the next week or two.  But it's work that we don't have to do.  And the bathroom is now useable again!  Yay!

We're done with home improvement for a while.....until November, when we'll have new windows installed......

Man, it's been a long time since I've written on here!  It's been a couple of those "stop-the-world-I-want-to-get-off" type of weeks.  One thing after another.  I'm not complaining because I hate it when people complain about how busy they are.  I feel like some people "wear their busyness as a badge of pride" (to quote a friend).  I haven't been doing anything that I haven't chosen to do.

Anyway.

School's out for a couple of weeks, except my phlebotomy rotation, which will be in October.  It was supposed to take place while I was actually taking phlebotomy class but didn't due to the instructor's schedule.  No problem.  One less thing I have to deal with right now.  This week the kids have VBS.  I was asked to be the preschool director, which didn't end up entailing much.  Our theme this year is Power Lab, so I did a couple of experiments during the closing on Sunday and Tuesday.  The kids loved it.  (Did you know that a 6-lb bowling ball floats?  Did you also know that if you put the straw of a can of that compressed air you buy to clean your electronics under warm water, it smokes?)

My big - and I mean really big - project right now is trying to get my house ready for company.  Heather and another friend, Le-Ann, are coming to Minnesota for the weekend!  I'm pretty excited.  However, my house is anything but company-ready at the moment.  I already know that I'm going to be at least a little bit embarrassed because there are some things I want to do that I'm just not going to get to.  Of course, they're completely gracious and say that I don't have to worry about it, but unless my house is spotless I'm going to feel embarrassed.  It's just the way I am.  I just kind of assume that everyone else lives in immaculate houses and I'm the only one with dust & cobwebs.  Stupid high standards I set for myself.  I cleaned the window wells today.  Now that was a dirty job.  You can about imagine where a task like that would normally fall on my priority list.  Needless to say, it hadn't been done in a while.  I got so much dirt & crud out of them....I don't even want to know how much of it was alive.  But my windows look great.  I told Brian that it was probably in my head, but the breeze blowing in smelled a little fresher.  He agreed that it was probably in my head.

The bathroom's coming along.  The cabinets are installed except for the built-in linen closet.  Those doors were ordered later and aren't in yet.  The shower is done except we have no door on it.  Finding a shower door has been a saga in itself.  I have the floorboards and crown moulding (I know!  Crown moulding in the loo!) stained & finished & ready to be installed tomorrow.  The electrician came & hooked up the outlets, lights, and exhaust fan today.  So we are definitely on the home stretch.  I think the vanity top will be here in another week or so.  I really wanted this all to be done by the time Heather & Le-Ann came, but what are you gonna do?

OK, off to check up on some blogs.  I still have lots to do around here.

I just wrote a long post about my week and now it's gone.  Internet Explorer just completely flaked out.

Short version:

1. I'm exhausted.  It's been a long week.  Not in a bad way, just a lot going on.
2. Charter sucks.  Fortunately it will soon be gone from our lives.  I don't care if they offer it free, after next week we will never be Charter customers again.
3. My Norwex party went well.  I'm getting free stuff!  If none of my guests end up booking a party, I might book a second one so I can get a free mop.  (I can't talk about having a mop without thinking about Michael Richards' character in UHF.  Yep, the Weird Al movie.  Rent it if you want a mindless laugh.)
4. For the first time in a month I'm feeling semi-caught up on school.  I think it's because I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  Just a couple more weeks, hopefully, until I get a break.
5. Bailey came home from camp yesterday.  She had fun.
6. The bathroom remodel is going well.  Brian had the place gutted as of last week and Monday-Wednesday, the plumber, electrician, and ductwork guy came & went.  Yesterday Dale Earnhardt, Jr. came and hung the sheetrock.  Who knew that was what he did during the week?  I wouldn't think he'd need a second job, but whatever.  :)  Some pictures:
   

   Kind of a before shot

Brian's on his way to pick me up from work, so in lieu of doing actual work while I wait (as if), here's my lowdown.

• My main floor bathroom has now been officially gutted.  I moved out yesterday* so every morning for the next month or so I'll be getting ready for work in the upstairs bathroom.  I'm going to miss listening to my beloved Fox & Friends from the kitchen TV, but being as it's temporary, I think I'll live.  Construction was supposed to start tomorrow, but our contractor guy had to take an emergency call from some mutual friends who have some kind of hole in their basement wall with water gushing in.  I suppose that is more important at the moment than my bathroom.
• My little guy left for church camp this morning.  He comes home on Saturday.  I'm not worried at all about him getting homesick, especially given that he went last year so this isn't his first time.  He's going to have a blast.
• Speaking of Joey, we signed him up for 3rd grade football in the fall.  How funny is that?  How funny is spending $132 on second-hand equipment for an 8-year-old?  Ack!  Thank goodness for Play It Again Sports!  But he really wants to play.  He weighed in at 74 pounds.  I'm curious as to whether that'll qualify him as a lightweight or heavyweight.  He's neither fat nor skinny, but he's kind of tall, so I'd guess on a team of 2nd and 3rd graders, he might be among the bigger ones.  I hope he doesn't get pummelled.
• Speaking of camp, Bailey goes on Sunday - the day after Joey gets home.  Our church camp is about 4 hours away, and I get to be one of the vehicles in the caravan taking them up there.  So my Sunday will go something like this: Go to church.  Leave for camp from church, drive 4 hours.  Help get kids settled in and hopefully say hi to a couple of friends up there.  Drive back home 4 hours, hopefully with a stop at Trader Joe's while passing through the Twin Cities.  Get home around 8 or 9 and crash, all the while thinking I should do some homework before going to bed.  But I'm going to let myself not do any.
• Speaking of homework, I have so much this summer it's not even funny.  I'm wishing right now that I'd have taken a clue from Hannah and taken the summer off.  There are too many other things to do, like go to Joey's baseball games and try to get my house ready for some of my girlfriends to come in a few weeks (I apologize in advance if the house looks like crap when you get here!!).  One class has me reading government regulations, which I expect to have to do for work, but it's kind of depressing to have to do it for school.
• I'm having a party on Wednesday.  You know those parties where you send out about 7 million invitiations to everyone you've ever met, and about 3 people come because the goal of the party is to sell stuff?  Yeah, one of those.  This party is for Norwex cleaning products.  The best part is that she wants to demonstrate the products so I really don't have to clean my house!  Woo-hoo!  I need some ideas for quick, easy hors d'oeuvre that don't look like they were quick and easy.  Ideas?

OK, I got a call that Brian's on his way.  See ya!

*I mean I moved all my makeup & stuff out.  I personally didn't move out of the house.  :)

What I’m annoyed by today:

·      Cranky coworkers

·      Anemia – the exhaustion, headache, and coldness.  I’m going to take iron for a few days; eventually I should feel better.

·      My messy desk

·      Computer trouble that keeps me from doing my job and drives me to blog instead.

·      That the only color printer on this floor is under my desk and everyone and their brother knows about it and uses it, then expects me to drop what I’m doing and get their crap off of it.

 

What I like today:

·      The arrival of Season 3 of The Muppet Show in the mail yesterday!

·      That my kids still want to watch the Muppets with their parents. J

·      The bathroom cabinets we ordered have arrived at Home Depot.  We’re going to go get them tomorrow after work.

·      Pepsi Points – we’ve already gotten Bailey her own mp3 player and we’re close to getting one for Joey.  My coworkers are helping me amass bottle caps.

·      Interesting lab experiences – I spent 3 hours in the coag lab today and diagnosed DIC, Hemophilia A, and the effects of anticoagulants.  I like coag.

·      A local grocery store that gives out gas coupons – the good kind that actually make a difference in your total.  We get 1 cent off per gallon for every $10 spent.  On a $100 grocery bill (or $250 grocery bill but who’s counting), that can add up!

·      Homemade beef jerky.  Mmmmmm………..and for all practical purposes, sugar free too.  Try to find that in the store.

·      Diet Pepsi.  Lots of it.

·      Last but not least, my husband of 13 years – as of today!  Happy anniversary to us!

I wasn't going to do this today (because if I do it every week I'll become predictable), but what the hey.  Here goes:

Today I loathe:

• Spending all day at work reading about FDA inspections.  I'm writing a mock inspection for our students to do as a learning tool.  Important stuff, but reading about the FDA all day sure makes me tired.
• That I slept horribly last night and as a result am quite tired today.
• That it's only Tuesday (see above bullet item).
• Being unmotivated to study for my coag final.
• Bad hair days.

Today I love:

• Red wine.
• The killer lasagna I have in the oven.  I can't wait to eat it!!
• That I fixed a door at work today.
• Long, painted fingernails, makeup, great shoes, jewelry, and other things that make me feel like a girl.
• The color scheme we've decided on for our bathroom.
• My kids.
• Spring - finally!  I'm even ok with those fabled April showers, as long as they're not snow showers.

That'll do it.  :)  Gotta go get my lasagna out of the oven.

Let the remodeling begin.

Remember last spring (some of you might anyway) when I chronicled the building of our new laundry/mud room?  That was Phase 1.  I think we can officially say that Phase 2 is underway.  If you follow the above link and look at the first picture, you can barely make out the trim that surrounds the door into the main floor bathroom.  Currently, it's a 1/2 bath.  You can actually go through the bathroom into what's now an empty room (with the walls and floor partially missing now), the room formerly known as the laundry/storage room.  Eventually, the wall between the two rooms will come down and we will gut it all and build a 3/4 bath.  I say "we" - hah!  I'm just the designer.  I'll also be the painter when the time comes, and the stainer of woodwork. 

Does anyone have any ideas of how to keep sheetrock dust from taking over the house, namely my kitchen?

Oh, here's another question.  Would it be absolutely over the top if I was able to talk Brian into letting me get a small flat-screen TV to put on the wall in there?  I use that bathroom to get ready for work, and there's a TV in the adjacent kitchen that's tuned to Fox & Friends 7 mornings a week.  So I can always hear it; I just can't see it.  Plus the TV in the kitchen is distracting to the kids, because apparently it's impossible for them to watch TV and eat their breakfast at the same time.  Not to mention that when your son starts singing "Viva Viagra!" it might mean he's watching too much Fox News Channel.

We have the flooring (we bought enough travertine last year to use for both rooms - got a fantastic deal at Home Depot), the faucet, towel bars, sink accessories, and even towels (found a great deal yesterday).  My color scheme is going to be cabinetry in a darker/cherry finish (to match the rest of the house), natural travertine tile on the floor, and a coordinating tile on the shower walls (I think it's ceramic but it's got a nice look to it).  I have a Silestone picked out that we're going to order for the sinktop - it looks a lot like the travertine on the floors.  I think the walls will be a cream-dust-taupe color, something that coordnates with the cabinetry when we get it.  I got brown towels (I debated burgundy but eventually decided on a monochromatic look).  All of my fixtures and the trash can/soap dispenser-type stuff are bronze.  Even my shower door will be finished in antique bronze.  I'm going to have to special-order it, but for once I'm being insistent that I get what I want.  Usually Brian wants to do the prefab, bottom-of-the-line stuff, but if we're going to be in this house forever and eventually sell it, I don't want the main floor bathroom to look cheap.

New stuff is always fun.  Now I just have to live through the nightmare of getting there.  At least we have a deadline - August, when a bunch of girlfriends are coming to spend the weekend here.  I'm not sure yet just how many there will be in my house, but it's going to be more than one shower can accommodate, I'm sure!  And it'll be nice for us too.  Although my girlfriends are awesome, they're not the only reason we're remodeling....sorry guys.)  :)

Things I love:

• Let the demo begin!  Brian is using his spring break week to start tearing out walls for the bathroom remodel.
• Cinnamint tea from Caribou.  I think I've mentioned this before but it bears repeating.  If you appreciate herbal teas at all, you must try it.
• Healthy food that actually tastes good.  I made a killer lasagna last night with lots of veggies & whole wheat noodles.  I did use Italian sausage, though.  Even Picky Bailey liked it!
• My coag test this morning.  I think I did well!  It was easier than I expected.
• It's Steve and Janie's anniversary!  I love that they found each other.
• The B-52's have a new CD out.  I'm streaming it right now.  I'm only on the first song but I love it!  It sounds pretty much like their 80's stuff, which in my book is great.
• Raising Sand, a duet CD by Robert Plant & Allison Krauss.  Whoever thought of putting the two of them together is a genius!  One of my favorites is below.  I think it's actually used in a commercial of some kind.  (I'm not sure who that guy in the picture below is but if you click the video you can hear the song.  You will see pictures of RP & AK.  I had to link to YouTube because while I think I'm going to download the whole CD, I haven't yet.)

 

Things I loathe:

• All the mess from the aforementioned remodel.  I hate sheetrock dust.  I hate it.  I suffer through because the end result will be well worth the hassle.
• Snow on April 1.  I only wish it were a joke.  I heard it's supposed to be in the fifties by Friday.  We'll see.
• Speaking of commercials, there's this one for Benadryl where the person can't sing at all.  I think it's intentional, like it's supposed to be cool or edgy or something, but it just comes across as tone-deaf.  I wonder if that means I'm getting old.  (Back in my day, people who sang could actually sing!.....well, not really.  Anyone remember Tiffany?)

Hey, how 'bout that?  The good outweighs the bad!

I haven't blogged much this week because for most of it I've been cranky, extremely tired, and just generally mad at the world.  So right now I'm going to share a few things that have made me happy today.

1
It's finally raining.  We need this moisture pretty bad.  And it's in the form of a storm to boot!  I love storms.

2
I took a test today and I think I did pretty well.  I finally have a handle on her teaching/testing style, and just in time for the final!  Good thing, because I found out that she is going to be my Micro teacher in the fall.

3
My nails are long and nicely painted with a great new color.  And I found a topcoat that doesn't chip!  (This is totally a girl thing.)

4
The mud/laundry room is finally done!  We wanted to get it done before we left for vacation, but that didn't happen; we got to about 90%.  Having company motivated us to get our lazy post-vacation butts in gear.  Here are some pictures.  I apologize that I couldn't get real great angles - the room is quite small so I just had to do the best I could.

The blue walls are the kitchen, and this used to be the back door going out into the garage.  As you can see, we basically stole a corner of the garage for this project.  We debated whether to leave the door in or take it out, but in the end decided that keeping the big heavy wooden door in would look bulky.  Plus the door was kind of beat-up from being a back door for 30+ years.  You know, I'm thinking now I might have to change the color of the kitchen walls.  It was put here by the previous owners and I like it, but it doesn't jive too well with the olivey brown of the laundry room.  Big job, painting it.  Maybe after I'm done with school.  On we go:

As you can see, the room already has that lived-in look.  We've been using it for quite a while.  The washer, dryer, & deep freeze work amazingly well, even when there was no trim around the doors.  Who knew?

Here we have a lovely shot of the underside of the cabinets.

My new washer & dryer.  The three of us are still in the honeymoon stage.  And finally, below is the view out to the back patio.  You can see that I still have a little touching up to do around the bottom part of the door.  But then we'll be done!  Yay! 

Moral of the story: There are good things to be found, even on the crappy days.

Yesterday we visited the grand opening of our city's newest home improvement warehouse, Lowe's.  Rochester has been waiting for this store for a long time.  We already have a Home Depot, and two Menards, as well as other various lumberyards and hardware stores, so it wasn't like we needed it, but like most Americans we think we need to have every possible option available to us.  It wasn't actually that busy there, probably because the company chose to build the store way on the outskirts of the city (or at least what's the outskirts right now), so it was lots of fun to walk around and see what was there.  This will be really nice next year when it comes time to remodel our main floor bathroom.  And a couple years from now when we need to have new windows installed.  As much as I dread the thought of all that running around, it'll be really good to be able to price-compare.

I think what I love so much about home improvement stores is the potential that exists inside of them.  I've written before about my interest in interior design.  I love to wander through these stores, checking out the flooring, the lighting, the paint, the appliances, the model kitchens, just imagining the possibilities.  I'd love to someday go into one of these stores with carte blanche access and a room that needs help.

Speaking of remodeling & home improvement, the laundry room project is finally nearing "finished" status.  We kind of slacked off for a while - we could have had this done a long time ago, but we have problems with follow-through.  The upper cabinets are installed now, and we have to trim out a couple of doors yet.  Brian's also still trying to figure out how to extend the kitchen floor so that it'll be a nice top step down into the room.  We wanted to be able to finish everything before we leave on vacation on Wednesday, but it's probably not going to happen since I have to study for a test too.  I'll be so glad when this is done!  I've definitely OD'd on painting and polyurethaning for a while.