Summer of 2010

Wow. Oops. I suppose we've neglected this blogspot for quite some time.

We had a pretty busy schedule with Chicago, Tennessee, & Colorado but we managed to do a few projects around the house (s):

Fuller:

We finished putting up/ staining the fence and getting a cute little backyard set up.

I managed to grow nice grass, over fertilize it, & then regrow nice grass.

I planted flowers around the patio (parking pad) and we have a tiki torch/ bonfire thing happening.

We painted the entryway/ trim/ upstairs hallway a soothing tan color.

We ripped up the carpet on the stairs to reveal beautiful wood stairs that we plan on refinishing along with the foyer floor.

Logan:

We enlisted the help of a skilled builder to fix & frame our walls.

We obtained a few quotes & are having plumbing started at the end of this week!

Seeing Logan's skeleton shape makes it a lot less depressing. It has such a clever design & will be very practical. It will really end up being a cool house.

I am so done with owning a fixer-upper!!

Things are happening!

Just wanted to make a quick post to assure everyone that things are getting done! All the walls in the bathroom have been painted, including the toilet room. We painted that an espresso color but, because of all the defects in the wall, will need to be repainted. The new paint & the hardware on the built-in makes a world a difference. Just a few more lights, a light switch, and some trim and we are done!! I was so anxious I had to add the towel

hooks & candles. And I'm excited to hang up our new art- the custom framed crochet place mats.

Our current motivation is our yard. We are very excited for summer & so we're a- building a fence!

Vanity. Check.

We are finally starting to wrap up this project just as it's starting to warm up (and thus, we'll need to start devoting our attention to Logan St). We have the mirror, sink, and the paint (well, we're half way there, 2 walls to go) set.

Paint: the color we picked ended up being too dark. We picked out a lighter color but considered texturing the wall. We picked out a texture roller and thought we'd give it a try and if we didn't like it we'd paint it solid. While we didn't do a perfect job, we actually really liked the effect (it kind of looked just like our tile) and with the trim and some artwork adding a splash of color, it will really come together. Also, texturing the wall really hid some of our obvious shortcomings in mudding the drywall. We'll also be getting some estimates concerning texturing the ceiling in the next few weeks.

Holes for the lights/ outlets/ switches are all ready to be hooked up. The wire has already been run to the basement/ attic. It shouldn't be too long before this bathroom is complete. And it's exactly how we've been picturing it. THIS is why we bought (2) fixer-uppers. Because the finished result is worth the wait/ time/ effort/ money. Yay!

Recessed Lighting all around!

I am very excited! We just sent back the old bath fan/combo we had because the new bath/fan combos I ordered look like recessed lighting! I am so excited not to have an obtrusive fan on our otherwise sleek lighting arrangements! Also, because I poured through hundreds upon hundreds of vanity lights and did not really find one that I liked, we decided to go untraditional and just have small 4 inch recessed lights above our vanity table. The thick-rimmed mirror is so prominent a light would be lost and/or out of place anyway. Yay! I am getting more and more eager to see this bathroom completed!

Almost Fully Functional Bath

Months in the making, our full bath at Fuller is almost fully functional. The shower, tub, and toilet are all usable but the aesthetics and the sink are lacking. We have discovered the joys of mudding drywall (and decided that we would hang but hopefully hire out to mud the drywall at Logan...). We have pictures of the progress. We've planned our outlets and switches, choose our lighting (mostly recessed), and snaked electrical wires. Also, we just got our new window installed today! So it's starting to come together. We need to finish up electrical, paint, and install the sink. Soon, we'll repaint the built-in storage, choose and put in crown molding and trim, and (in the long run) obtain our glass shower doors. It's looking better and better. How encouraging!

It's taking forever, I realize, but can we please reflect on what the bathroom used to look like?

Bathroom is tiled and shower ready!

Merry Christmas! Our shower is finally useable! As soon as we put the shower head on and seal the grout we can finally shower in our Fuller house!! Komodo took the maiden voyage in the bathtub- great success. We just need to caulk around it so us humans can use it. I'm glad we sprung for the expensive faucet fixtures- they are beautiful and we would always think about them if we didn't. I'll post pictures in a few days when the bathroom phase #1 is done.

Though it looks a million times better with that tile, we still have a ton of things to do: drywall, paint, add trim, add outlets and lighting, and add the vanity and sink, and eventually put in our glass doors for the shower. Phew. One day this project will be done! At least we can see how nice it's looking to keep us going...

Eric and I took a day to clean Logan. We have pretty much all of the wood debris out of there and it's ready for framing. There are still some insulation fluffies but without masks we couldn't remove them.

Now that we are both college graduates (!!) we will have more time to spend working on our houses. Merry Christmas!

Full Bath Inspiration

Someone is coming to finish the shower floor this weekend and then Eric & will tile that puppy so we can have a shower! I've been pretty into Numbers and whipped up this "inspiration spread" so everyone can share my vision: Hm. It copied strange. I'll work on that next time.

Full bath

Well, we see the makings of our bathroom of our dreams. Though it's taking a little longer than we thought/ hoped, it will definitely be worth the wait. Finally. A photo posted of our full bath in progress. It's our "pottery barn" bath . Good thing its so pretty & I know that It will be worth the wait otherwise I'd be more flustered at the time situation. Also, I ordered faucets yesterday. Beautiful faucets at 40% off. Unfortunately, they are so expensive that even 40% is outrageous. Owning a home/ having expensive taste is not going to be good for us!

Eric and I finally had a day off to just clean the house last week before our thanksgiving guests arrives. It looks like a real house now! We even have the guest room almost functional (except for the minor detail of a mattress...). So it's been really exciting to see our house become a little more home-like.

Also, our furnace has been turning off more frequently. It's a good thing we were financially and mentally prepared to have another furnace installed otherwise we might be freaking out. What we weren't prepared for was the kitchen sink/drain leaking. We have yet to address that. Ugh.

Sorry, Logan. You're on hold again... I feel like this may be a reoccurring statement :/

39 Fuller

Oh, perhaps I should have mentioned we closed on Fuller (finally). The day I signed my life away was the day we slept in our wonderful pillowtop mattress in our first [real] home! Moving in has been a slow process due to multiple jobs, logan, and school but it will look pretty good once we're fairly settled. We are homeowners. x2.

We are working on the 1.5 baths immediately (currently) and then stepping back and working on Logan. We may have to get another furnace though because the pilot light switches off quite frequently. Is this normal? Oh well, it's not ideal. Plus, it's pretty inefficient. As far as I'm concerned getting an energy efficient furnace now will spare us unprepared disaster (bills, the furnace dying) in the future. It will be difficult living at Fuller and daydreaming about renovations (the attic will be AMAZING finished, new kitchen, etc.) but we must remember that we have to finish & rent or sell Logan. Ugh. We do not have a good track history with self control and spontaneity. We'll see how this new project goes...

Bathroom!

Fuller is a hot mess right now because our guest room (the lower floor bedroom) is full of bath fixtures (a tub, a sink vanity, and a toilet) and there is tiling equipment everywhere else. We have the roughed in plumbing (Rearranging the whole room's fixture), previous walls and fixtures removed, and the framing for our shower/drop in tub built thus far. I am so excited though because in a few days we will have a gorgeous tiled bathroom. Though we have been getting exceptional prices for labor, we have expensive taste (go figure) and have been choosing things based on (a) what we'll really like and (b) resale value. We are decorating this house on a different (and more fun) strategy than Logan.

I am so distracted at home because I only think about cleaning, rearranging, and fixing up Fuller. After the two bathrooms are near completion, we have to be patient because we can't have two project houses. We need to focus on Logan so we can complete it and THEN devote our time to Fuller. As far as Logan is concerned, it has taken a backseat to this bathroom project. Everything is finally cleared out of the yard (so it doesn't look quite so trashy), but the inside still has debris that needs to be removed before framing/furnace can be started. Ugh. I am already ready to sell this project house and concentrate on Fuller!! Graduation is a month away- I can't wait until we can devote extensive time to Logan St so that we can finish it up and my updates aren't so redundant.

Results?

Alright! For the first time since we bought Logan the yard is nearly free of debris!! I'm very excited about this. Also, excited about not getting another Notice to Abate... With structural, roofing, and windows done and paid for, we just need to clear out the access lumber in the house and start framing!

We are supposed to close on the house on Fuller tomorrow at 8:30 AM. I am highly skeptical of this because we have been misled into thinking we were going to close within the next few days for the past 6 weeks. Just in case, I've made a few emails on Heritage Hill house rentals. (I wish we could buy one of those!) Based on our experience with Chase, we have decided that we really never want a mortgage again. Hopefully, these 2 house transactions will put us in a good financial situation. Otherwise, we will enjoy the mobility of renting!

Notice to Abate

Let's just see how nice these windows are looking (do not note the siding- that is not as nice). Nice, beautiful energy efficient windows! We decided not to replace the windows in the enclosed porch because we have plans to make that an open porch. And now, let's note how nice the roof is looking. Looks nice, no more leaks, and a warranty for 10 years. Things are finally starting to turn around. I am a lot more excited about the beginning stages of reconstruction than looking at the hot mess of the deconstruction.
Which reminds me. We may or may not have recieved a notice to clean out our lawn. And by that I mean an actual Notice to Abate. Oops. Our lawn may also be synonomous with the neighborhood dump. Hopefully, once this dumpster comes and is loaded, our friendly neighbors will refrain from dumping their furniture and trash bags in our lawn. Cleaning up after them and footing the bill is not ideal. But, as aforementioned, a couple of hours and a couple hundred dollars will hopefully solve this problem once and for all.
Yay! This logan house is more encouraging than our Fuller transaction. I don't understand how we could have gotten preapproved for an amount but it not actually work out and why this process is so long. We are exhausted from being homeless. Not that we aren't indebted to our friends who have let us live at their house, but because we haven't slept on our luxury mattress in a month. That air mattress is not the same. If we don't get approval with a closing date by the end of this week, we are giving up with the house purchase. We'll be disappointed, but we could use that money in other ways (Logan St., a 4wd car, an iMac...) and we can just rent in Eastown. It will give us more mobility when we graduate anyway. So torn! Augh, well, I guess we'll see at the end of the week.

STAIRS!

I've never been so excited about stairs before! In order to understand my excitement for normal stairs, let's reflect back on what they used to look like. Steep, inclosed, and with a ridiculous landing. But I took a peak into the house yesterday to see how the structural stuff was coming along and I was very excited! We have the beam to open up our kitchen/ dining room up, our stairs installed (and cut into the floors), and the structural work finished on the bottom floor. The stairway is now opened up and the top landing isn't janky anymore! Click on our photo page for my pictures of the stairs and other structural goodies

SO blessed!

We are so blessed by the people who have helped us using their skills for this house. Everything we have done/ are going to do for this house have been at really good prices. Part of it is because I am a bargain rat but mostly it is because we are surrounded by good people with lots of talent. When this house is near complete, I'll probably post the excel spreadsheet I'm using to keep track of the costs. I went by the house the other day to collect the mail, and I saw the trimmed tree (which I'll post as soon as I locate my camera cord) and the builders working on the inside. I can't wait to see the stairs!

Wed: The Builders should be finishing up the structural work (about 6 days work)

Thurs: The windows that haven't been installed will be in and all exteriors should be finished.

Mon: The roofer will start the new roof.

Tues: The roofer will finish the new roof!

Lots of improvement in the next week- SO relieved.

Housing/ Life update

As fun as being homeless has been, we are ready to move into our new house. We faxed (knock on wood) the last of the seemingly endless documents for our mortgage over to get the underwriting started. Even though it delayed everything, that appraisal holdup (fixing the water damage/ mold/cracks) has been a good thing. I'm hoping for the end of this week but I don't want to get my hopes up.

As far as Logan is concerned, the builder is starting to work on it tomorrow and the roofer is scheduled to start the roof in two weeks. Of course, that roof work is contingent upon the construction work. I have no idea (and neither does the builder) how much that is going to cost. I'm a little worried. Eep. Oh well, I just have to keep telling myself it was a $9k house.

Back on track!

Logan street status: Our trees are getting trimmed tomorrow! We are getting a cabinet estimate too! But it's back to the drawing board for the structural engineering stuff. Augh, that house can be such a pain! But at least little things are getting done. We can't get other things done (like the roof, furnace, plumbing, electrical, drywall) until that is taken care of.

The good news is that we are really excited about 39 Fuller. Like I previously said, we are going to fix up the bathrooms and then focus all the funds on Logan. But at least we will have beautiful bathrooms. We are having Jason do our tile just like the picture (!!). So we'll have a tiled in shower and a garden bath. Yay. Okay, it's time to hurry up and close on this house.

Google street view: 49 Fuller St SE

2 houses?

There have been a lack of posts due to the lack of activity at Logan. It's disheartening to watch all of our money disappear with little results. For the past month we've been waiting on an engineer's draft for repairing the house's structural issues and then waiting for someone to then carry out those plans. We are helpless.

Worse yet, we need someplace to live in 16 days. That being said, we are considering buying 39 Fuller Ave SE. This is a better location, a safer area, and a more impressive house. 39 Fuller needs work. A lot of work. However, it is move in ready. They have accepted our offer and we are scribbling up a purchase agreement tonight.

While it will be difficult not to concentrate fully on fixing up Fuller (except the master bath- that needs our immediate attention), we just need to fix up Logan. Also, in light of the circumstances, we are revising some of the previous plans we had for Logan. More on those details as we get closer!

the Doors

Today we bought insulation and doors from Menards. It was fun. It's nice to be reminded that we will have a house one day and that eventually we will be done with deconstruction. Considering we've knocked everything down (all walls and ceilings) and we're just about done with cleaning it, we are entering the final leg of deconstruction. Soon it'll be time to choose things and decorate. But first we need to fix the structural concerns, get the furnace ducts, update electrical, and install plumbing. I hope that flies by because I want to design our house!! By the way, I'm pretty excited about our doors! This is the front door. It has blinds in the glass that you control. How come I never knew about this before?!

Burgled

This house is full of surprises! Mainly, that it was built/remodeled so poorly. We found out that there are a couple of boards missing from the floor upstairs (tucked away behind a wall) and that a weight bearing beam isn't actually connected to anything on the main floor. Also, the upstairs roof isn't really structurally sound and we'll have to throw a couple of beams up top in the master bedroom. Not that big of a deal, but we will have to alter our window selection (even though we already ordered them) and get an engineer out to ensure that we are making this house sound.

Yesterday was also quite discouraging because we found out that we had been robbed. They took Jason's saws, Eric's tool box, our bag of empty bottles, and coke from the fridge. Dead serious. Cokes. It's quite unfortunate, but it could have been worse. Some of our tools were scattered throughout the house so they didn't gank everything. They also left the ladders. We are a little smarter now about our tools and take them home. We don't even know how they got in, which is a little frightening.

Here, for the most part, is what our house is going to look like! The only problem with this design is that we had wanted a slider in the kitchen to lead to the deck we are going to eventually build. We realize we may not have room for a slider, but a french door will do. The light will really open up the room. The new main floor design will be posted as soon as it is available.