No Going Back

Saturday, November 22, 2008

I'm back! Today, I finally had enough courage to start the demolition of our main floor bathroom. First stop, Home Depot. Thankfully Scott suggested I get a respiratory mask! I also bought some protective paper and plastic in hopes of decreasing the mess (yeah right!). Because Aaron may be able to start our project soon, I bought the light fixture, fan and recessed mirror. I am trying to spread the remodeling wealth around the house so I went ultra budget on all items.




This photo really doesn't do justice to how disgusting the shower surround was.

I took great pleasure in ripping that thing down.

The glass block window will be preserved. We will tile around it with bullnose tile and by we I mean Jed.

Here is Day 1 of Project Demolition:

Why did I wait 32 years for my first DIY project?

I could get used to wearing this type of get up!

I ran into a few problems with the light fixtures in that I couldn't figure out how to remove the wires. Don't worry- I had the electricity turned off during the actual demo process. Scott and I decided to put the light bulbs back in so we wouldn't accidentally stick our fingers in the sockets.

This photo would lead you to believe that Scott did a lot of the work on day one. Well, you'd be wrong. This was a photo op like you wouldn't believe. As I was documenting my hard work, he grabbed the crow bar and started pulling nails. Nice try Scott!

I didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked but I got a late start. I didn't really get going until after 4:30 PM. Hopefully I'll have time to devote to this tomorrow with my goal being to remove the pedestal sink and the toilet.

Once a month check in...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Good thing my readership is limited to like 2 people- I'd be letting lots of people down! I have been very busy gathering data for the 2009 remodeling project. What is the remodeling project you ask? I am actually *hoping* for two:

1) Remodel the main floor bathroom including tackling the demo myself. I figure I can break stuff as long as I don't have to put it back together. I'd like to do this sooner rather than later so it may actually be during the remaining days of 2008 depending on the availability of my "crew". That's right- I am going to act as contractor on this project! I figure we hardly use this bathroom anymore now that we have the diamond in the rough.

2) Remodel the kitchen. I have received plans from Schlangen Custom Cabinets, Inc. for a new cabinets including a new layout for our tiny kitchen.

I have priced out all aspects of the kitchen remodel. One area I am hoping to find a less expensive alternative on is the flooring. I want Forbo marmoleum but the labor is uber expensive. Any ideas?





Here's my token photo for the post- wall decals are cool and I want to figure out a way to use them.

The Remodeling Bug Bit Me

Friday, October 31, 2008




After completing a major home renovation in my head this past week, I decided to out my obsession with Scott. As it turns out, he wants to move more than I thought! We talked through the pros and cons and we have decided that we will not in fact grow old in this little green house. Keep in mind that early in our marriage I was trying to figure out all kinds of tricks to move sooner rather than later so his change of heart took me by surprise. Since I have found that remodeling can fix most any problem I an actually less eager to move. However, our main complaint with this little green house is that it sits on a fairly busy street. No matter what, we won't be able to fix that so bye bye little green house!


So, now with sights putting our house on the market in 2011, here is my project list for home resale:


1) Renovate main floor bathroom

2) Install a fixed dishwasher (we have the portable kind!).

3) Basement flooring

4) Refinish stairs leading down to the basement

5) Install a new back door




I know some of my regular readers have moved, do you have tips? How in the heck can you make improvements AND save for the new down payment at the same time?

I think it is odd not to have a photo on this post so here is the first IKEA product that I am actually really excited about. Too bad my intensive savings plan just went into effect. For those of you who like IKEA, here are a couple of sites that may interest you:
http://www.ikeafans.com/ and http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/

Remodeled Me

August 8, 2008

Since we need to save funds for our next home project, I opted to renovate my personal look. As a person with a love for bobs and a fear of too much change, cutting bangs was the best I could do for a new look! Perhaps some day I'll do something really funky!

Thanks Amy for taking the photos! What a way to spend your work day!

Fenced In

July 23, 2008

It feels so great to have our privacy back! I think the fence turned out great and even though I'd like to be the girl who says she installed a fence all by herself, I am quite content that it was erected in 2 days (not counting the days it took for the posts to set).

Random Update

July 20, 2008

While purchasing the final fixture for our new bathroom (TP holder), I found these striped towels. I thought it would add a much needed burst of color in the room. What do you think?

After 8 hours of organizing the basement and garage, I could barely see out of my dirty glasses so I gave them a good cleaning. I guess I rubbed too hard! Because my readership is as visually impaired as I am, I knew they would appreciate the challenges this creates for me. I do have an old pair of glasses but the prescription is way off and it is almost like I have bifocals because my eyes have to work hard to adjust from looking close up to looking far away. I hope our flex spending plan starts soon!

Don't know what ya got 'til it's gone...

During one of the many thunderstorms experienced in the Twin Cities, we found our fence looking a little sad.

We tried to fix this fence many times in the last few years. The fence is deceptive in appearance- if you are close up you'll see the wood is fastened together by staples!

Again, the fence looks great. But it had seen better days so we called Midwest Fence to replace it.

Day 1: Tuesday, July 15

Fence gone. New posts in place. It is weird to be able to have a view of the street and the alley from the backyard now.