Finally! The Sink is HOME!!

Being without a sink (THE SINK) is a lot harder than I imagined. I can't tell you how many times I turned to pour something down the drain, or fill a glass, only to feel like...an idiot. Using the hall bathroom to do dishes also felt "icky". So I either ate out or didn't cook much beyond eggs and toast. 2 weeks is a long time when you're used to eating clean and healthy. I survived...barely. 

In my efforts to save some cash, I decided to patch the gaping hole in the wall myself. Clearly because I know how, right? Not so much. But with the help of a few online videos (provided to me via "a friend" who thought he was being funny) and my awesome perseverance, I bought a 4 amp reciprocating saw and went to work cleaning up the edges of said hole. I have to admit, I felt kinda badass!

See! There's my saw (and my gardening knee pad...a MUST!)!! In the course of taking out the old cast iron, my awesome plumber, Tom, found a potentially big issue with the drain. It had rusted out! Not cool. 

what do you expect for 94 y/o

One cool thing I found... My support beams still have bark on them! Weird. 

So I set out to on my first attempt at drywall "patching" and... I did it!! There's so much satisfaction in doing this I can't even explain it! It wasn't pretty and I am really glad I bought extra concrete backer board because I measured at least 10 times and ended up cutting 3 different pieces for the the bottom half (only once for the top piece). But who cares! I did it!! Here's proof!! 

Drying Joint compound

All the walls in the kitchen (and previously in the hall bathroom) have this faux brick pattern to them. I'm sure there's some "right" way to do it, but I said screw it and used joint compound and made my own pretty pattern. It's not great, but it'll do. It's under the sink so really, if you're visiting my house, the LAST place you need to look is under the sink! Just look AT the sink. It's quite impressive!

Paint is still wet

I still can't believe that the sink is held on by those two brackets in the picture above. It's caste iron. It's SUPER heavy. But that's what's holding it on! Incredible. And OLD!

This is what i was dealing with before. The drain was broken, the sink itself was pitted and stained. I couldn't keep it clean, even with bleach. It just absorbed everything! Especially coffee. The drain "ring" was rusting. It was just awful.

But now...finally...with new hardware, pretty water shutoff values and a chrome drain pipe...she's a beauty!! I have hot water, a drain that I don't have to plug with a plastic lid. It's USABLE. And oh so pretty.  The guys at AAA Electrostatic Painting did an awesome job. It's smooth, there are no pits. Just incredible. (Look at the header of the blog if you don't believe me!)

I helped life this heavy thing onto the wall, thank you very much!

I spent the morning doing... you guess it. Dishes. I realize that everyone and their brother has a dishwasher. I could have one too, if I really wanted it. I can also install a garbage disposal. But right now, using this sink as it was intended makes me feel more connected to a restoration, as opposed to a renovation. Which is what I had intended. Now that the sink is usable, clean, easy to clean and a little stylish with the new fixture, I find that the house feels more...complete.

The remaining projects are smaller. Refinish the stairs going up to the master suite. Re-grout the tile in the main floor bath. Start on the windows. Cleaning out the garage (for the third time). Getting the piano off the front porch. Touching up paint in every room. Oh, and don't forget the yard! Lots of potential there! Next year, maybe electric to the garage and a window to replace the door where the laundry now sits.  That may be on the 10 year plan. It doesn't really matter at this point. 

I'm excited to be loving my new home. I'm excited to give the farm sink a new lease on life (top and bottom, btw). And now? Who knows what changes are in store for my little house, the sink and me going forward!

Day 9 - Retail Therapy - Fixtures, Lighting and more...

If you know me, you know I hate to shop. Unfortunately for me, renovation and shopping go hand in hand. If I had the money, I would have hired a designer/decorator and THEY could do the shopping and make the choices. But I do not, so...I will suffer.

My mom, however, keeps saying how "fun" and "exciting" this process should be for me. I keep pointing out that she could have stayed an extra week or three and finished this task for me. Then she reminds me that I "like weird shit" and our tastes are too different. Except when it comes to Wainscot. We both like that. And square toilets. Weird.

I needed a break from the oppressive heat in the house (I can't turn the air conditioning on until the mold remediation is complete. Which can't come soon enough!) and again, I had read that most renovations are held up by the homeowner not being prepared, or the materials on back order, or something that would, ultimately, be my fault. I wish this to be a blame free reno. So shopping it will be...

Have you ever heard of a woman procrastinating about SHOPPING?!?!

I took the morning to get rid of the old stacked washer/dryer and a few file cabinets and the old hot water heater. And then I tackled the front porch.

Here's a before and after of said porch. It definitely doesn't look an abandoned house any more!

Just enough effort to work up a good sweat and call it a day before noon. I'm looking forward to sitting out here, enjoying my coffee some morning very soon.


And then, because it had to be done. I broke out my list and went shopping. 

I started with granite, mainly because I new where that showroom was located! I went to Mr. Granite and found my choice relatively quickly. I really wanted quartz, but I found a granite in a similar shade/pattern. It's called Black Palmares. I have no idea what that means. Here's the sample: 


It's amazing how many different styles of granite exist. While I didn't find this in the showroom, they have a remnants warehouse/parking lot right around the corner. With the help of Eddie, I found a remnant that would A) fit in my kitchen and B) not break the bank. In fact, I think it'll help the bank. It's black with green and tan/gold-ish flecks. It should be great with "old white" cabinets and dark hardwood floors and my beloved sink.  Or, it'll look like shit, but I'll be able to say that I picked it out all by myself! That's mature, right?!

Next unplanned stop... Ferguson's Bath, Kitchen and Lighting. Talk about being completely overwhelmed. This showroom is spectacular! And huge. I recommend (as does the receptionist as you walk in the door) having an appointment with a sales person if you are ready to purchase/make selections. I got lucky. Originally I just wanted to walk around, browse, take pictures, and write things down, at my own pace.

That actually would have been a really bad idea for someone like me who doesn't have a fricking clue! Luckily, as I was standing there, someone cancelled their appointment and I was paired with Stephanie. She was awesome. Kid you not. We started with my main floor bathroom. Since I knew what I wanted for toilets in the house, that was easy. Then came the sink/vanity. I've chosen a console style pretty close to what would have been original in the house in 1922. Then I had to pick out the faucets, and the shower fixtures and lighting. I had that deer in the headlights look.Poor Stephanie. And trust me, Pinterest does NOT help like I thought it would. Except on the lighting. So here are the winners for the main floor bath vanity and faucets:

I had some ideas for the lighting. But when you see things in real life, they look different. The biggest thing I'm dealing with in this bathroom is the square accents on the vanity/console. In my mind if that is square, it sets the tone for the rest of the items to be square as well. And chrome. I like Chrome. So that's what I'm going with downstairs. As I said, the toilets are both the same, and you can see it here, at this link: A Pretty Toilet

At this point, I'm feeling pretty sure of myself and am ready to move on to the master bathroom. Same toilet, different style vanity, brushed nickel (no chrome) and a walk in shower. Those are my requirements. Easy, right? Again, why do I fool myself?! Here's what I picked for a vanity, faucets and lighting. All of which are subject to change. Repeatedly. I'm crazy in love with this vanity and porcelain sink combo. In my minds eye, the bathroom will be gray and yellow, with a gray floor of some sort. I was thinking the faux woodgrain look. But when I saw it up close, I wasn't in love with it like I thought I would be. I am in love with the Edison Lights. I would turn the fixtures so that the lights were up and down. And have 2 of them. The downside of this is that they only take 40 watt bulbs. So lighting has become a concern for me. These were my initial selections, and I felt reasonably good about my choices. Even though I knew that my tastes were running a little, ahem, higher than my potential budget. We'll see how this works out.

At this point, I'm thinking I'm making incredible headway and I resolutely continue onward. My new quest; a suitable kitchen back splash. All the tiles stores had closed by this point so I decided to head to Home Depot. Where I promptly struck out. I will give major props to the saleslady in that area. Darlene, you were awesome. I hope Home Depot knows they have an awesome employee in Darlene. No kidding. Awesome.

My shopping done, I was officially exhausted and completely over the day.