Look What I Found!

I decided my need to hang Christmas lights outside far out-weighed my need to eat this month (I kid, it was quite reasonable, just not planned).  So I now have 2 outdoor outlets, which are pretty cool looking. They are expandable and weather proof. I'm a happy nerd girl, or I will be after I get those Christmas lights out. And hung.

But in the process of running conduit in the basement, my friend Jenn (that's right, this was a group effort) found this incredible piece of history in my north coal room! 

That, my friends, is the builders mark! I had been hoping to find this when the renovation was going on. But honestly, I spend as little time as possible in the coal rooms. They're... Icky. Maybe even scary.

Thank you, E. Sauers, for leaving your mark! Even if it's not easy to show off! 

5/18/23 That's my houses' birthday. I think we'll be celebrating it every year. Especially in about 7 years!

Back At It AND... I'm Touching the SINK!

After a 5 month hiatus, I'm back at it. Ripping things out and making my home...truly mine. I'm so proud of this little beauty! And proud of myself. 

This weekend marks the second "change" I've made since I moved in. I changed the main floor bath color in November because I just couldn't stand it. I also put in a soft close toilet seat (it's the little things, people!). I've yet to finish the floor, but soon! I have my first house guests coming in April and I'm so excited!! They'll be using that bathroom so I really do need to get it done. Even family deserves a pretty floor!

The reason I restarted demo was, in part, to get the tub "fixed". Something touched it, or bled through, after the initial re-plating.  So when Gregg from AAA Electrostatic Painting came to assess the fix (back in October) we talked about the prized kitchen sink. He gave me a price painting it in place and a price taking it out. Something to think about. Initially, I figured I'd do it in place. Even though it was a bigger hassle (think taping off the entire kitchen and staying out of the room for 36 hours).

But...after trying to hand wash dishes with a trickle of hot water (I swear I could spit harder!) for 5 months, I decided that something had to be done. I also realized that I had some main drain issues and the plumbing to the sink was the only plumbing that hadn't been updated. Definitely something to consider. 

So this weekend, I had the sink removed, I cleaned it up and...I'm without a kitchen for at least 10 days. Having lived through a reno before, I'm pretty sure I'm looking at longer, but I'll deal with it. As long as I don't have to travel for work!!

93 plus years of...ick

Here's the initial removal. And a little demo (which I did myself!). I can't wait to see the new paint job and the new faucet. So excited!!

The first wall I've every demo'ed!

I also had 8 outlets changed out. The old plugs were wiggly and 2 prong! I also had a new outlet put in my office, which will help with the lack of plugs for the computer, wifi, lights etc. These were things I didn't think about when the house was empty and unpainted. As soon as I put furniture in, I knew I had "old home" electrical issues. However, it wasn't as time consuming as I thought. 

As we move into spring, my list consists of windows and dealing with the 1970's storm windows, the windows in the new master suite and "dressing room" may need replaced and finally, FINALLY, I'll be able to start hacking back the horrible bushes that have taken over the front of the house. Yep... I have a bit of cabin fever!!

Days 35 thru 37 - Slow And Steady

For the most part, the progress has been slow and steady. If I didn't go and check out the site every day, I probably wouldn't notice the changes in the house. With the exception of the work I'm doing on the cabinets, the progress is almost unnoticeable. Almost.

The inspections on the mechanical and electrical are done and have passed. That's a major accomplishment. There are a few concerns I have (the electrical runs through where I thought I would have a couple of access doors) but for the most part, it looks pretty slick. The lights are all where they should be and there are outlets galore. That's due to the new building codes. The mechanical is the HVAC. 

Next is the plumbing inspection. My choice of hot water heater has resulted in a little delay. I'm having an electric exhaust fan thingy put in (on?) to extend the life of the tank itself. The only issue is that this old house has exactly ONE outlet in the basement, right by the electrical panel. There will be a little extra expense to run another outlet, but I don't think it'll be too bad. I've got an awesome electrician! 

The plumbing has been pretty extensive. The majority of the plumbing in the house has been redone. I'm up to code! Below are some pictures of the plumbing for the master bath. The impact of adding a second floor bathroom to a 93 year old home is complicated. I got lucky. I only had to lose a little closet space in the "office" and about 6 inches of ceiling height in the main floor bathroom. There's very little space between the attic floor and the ceiling of the house and I was willing to drop the ceiling in order to make the bathroom happen. The ceiling height will still be 9 feet, at least (I won't be able to reach it, which is all that matters). But these are the things that you don't think of when you start planning (apparently Mike did, because he was prepared). The end result was that I was limited to where I could put the bathroom in the attic. Ultimately, it gave me a huge dressing room on the other side of the bathroom, but I couldn't have placed it in any other location without compromising the rest of the house. And I wasn't willing to do that. It did, however, give me an exhaust fan. Very uncommon in a house this old! Bonus!

Here are pictures as promised:

Initially it looked so simple and small

And then it grew

And grew

And led to somewhere

This is my HUGE shower

Ceiling framing

Now that this is done, we can move forward to the Framing Inspection. As soon as that is done, the insulation will be put in and then the drywall goes up. That's followed by the installation of the cabinets and doors. And finally, the tile in the bathroom floor. Light fixtures are after the floor (lucky me, since I haven't picked them out!!)

It's going to start moving quickly after this. It's all about finishes. Then I remember that I need to pick out bedroom carpet (the rest of the house will remain hardwood). And paint. And trim. And paint for the trim. Do I paint the door? Do I stain it? So many decisions.

I also found time to go back to ProSource. I found the exact back splash tile I originally wanted. Walked in and there it was (this after all the angst of thinking I was going to have to come up with a new plan). I picked out the subway tile for the main bath (seriously, why are there so many choices for white subway tile?) and the grout. This is a huge weight off of my shoulders.

And the cabinets are finally all stripped and ready to be primed. I realize that it seems (to others) that I know what I'm doing with the cabinets, but... I really don't! I just hope this turns out OK. If not, that's alright as well. It's mine and it's my sweat equity. I'll own every bump and imperfection. 

Days 29 thru...(it feels like FOREVER)... Day 33

To be fair, I took 3 days off to go to a wedding in Minnesota. 3 days in which I didn't think about cabinets, or paint colors, or tile or even vanities. It was glorious...until the guilt kicked in.

I took 3 days away from finishing up those damn cabinets. What the hell was I thinking? But honestly, I was on the verge of burnout. So it was good to get away.

Basically nothing was accomplished on days 29 thru 31. No one, except me, works weekends on the house, therefore, it wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But when I got back into town, well... things escalated quickly.

Day 32 - Cabinets. Have I mentioned how much sweat equity I've put into these damn things? Yeah, well. I thought I could finish the striping on day 32, but no...it's like the cabinets want to keep me as their captive. They're holding on to the last vestiges of paint like they never want to let go. LET GO, I say! PLEASE. No luck on this day.

Day 33 - Tile shopping. Yes, my most favorite thing in the world. Shopping. Please insert sarcasm accordingly. I got the call from Austin saying that I had to finish up ordering the important pieces. What, exactly, are the important pieces? Well, the biggest item was the shower stall and trim. That was easy. I picked out a  36" X 77" shower surround mainly because it was ultimately less expensive. It's HUGE. And I do mean huge. Like, 2 people huge. Yay (single) me! Beyond that, I had only committed to the 60" vanity. Not a damn thing else. I've said it before, it's the homeowner that slows progress down, and I was doing exactly what I had set out NOT to do. I thought I better just go pick out the tile and be done with it. I went to ProSource, and while they have a nice selection, I couldn't find the backsplash tile that I wanted. The tile that I have my heart set on. The tile that I refuse to compromise on. I did, however, walk immediately up to the tile for the master bath floor that I knew I wanted but couldn't actually find. Had that picked out in 3 minutes (only decision was on the size of the tile; 6X24 or 12X24). I ended up walking out of there without an "alternate" choice for the backsplash. And I totally forgot the tile for the main floor bath. Which means another damn trip. I had a bit of a meltdown in the car on the way back to the house (just to check progress and lights out) and decided it would be a good night to probably take a little step back. In the meantime, here's the list of things I still have to order (and in some cases, pick out) and my thoughts.

• Carpet - Master Bedroom - OMG, it's carpet. Someone make this decision for me.
• Tile - Main Floor  Bathroom - white subway tile, grey grout - I forgot to order it!
• Paint - Kitchen, Main floor bath, Master bath, bedroom - Eh...come ON. Why is this so HARD. Why can't the color fairy come to my house or whisper in my ear "pick this". I know my mom's a retired art teacher, but I can't match socks. This is STRESSFUL!!!
• Plumbing fixtures - both bathrooms - obviously this is important. But the toilets I want don't fit my budget. The faucets I want are also expensive. OH, I have to pick out another damn shower trim set? Great. I'll pick this out when prices meet my princess requirements.
• Ceiling Fan - Master bedroom - OMG, they gave me an easy one! I CAN DO THIS!!!
• Ceiling light - Master bathroom - The differences between what I think I want, what I can afford and what is "in" right now are vast. HUGE differences. But I think I can manage this one.
• Vanity lights - both bathrooms - Again. I think I can stay in budget. I will become "the little reno that could" and my new mantra will be "I think I can stay on budget, I think I can stay on budget". If you're a betting person, and you're reading this.. do NOT take this bet.
• Bathroom window - main floor bath - I will admit that I punted on this one. I gave up. I told Mike to just make this decision. It really wasn't all that important to me as long as it didn't leak, didn't share my guests shower time with the neighbors and didn't ruin the look of the bathroom. I have faith that this was a good item to pass on.
• Main floor bath vanity - I'm back to "it's too expensive, let's think about rehabbing what we have" which is really a pipe dream. I'm going to have to compromise on this one too (and by that, I mean compromise with myself. I can't always get what I want.)

Day 33 ended with the inspections for the electrical and the mechanical being ordered. I also, oddly enough, decided that I wanted a khaki paint in my den. Don't ask. I haven't actually looked at a paint sample yet.

Days 25 - 28 Caution, Men at Work

As the days move along, things are starting to take shape in the attic addition. Especially the plumbing and electrical. I think pictures will do a better job of explaining than I can.  As all this was going on during the day, I've still been coming to the house every night, plugging away at my little projects. Cabinets are on hold until I can get a full day of work in. I can't finish much up in 2 or 3 hours. I'm already burning the candle at both ends. Which is my own damn fault.

So, without further ado... here are some changes from previous posts, in the attic (or affecting the attic).

A doorway appeared

I'm going to have a 60" Vanity 

To fit the plumbing upstairs, we will drop the ceiling 5" or so in the main floor bath. I'm short, it'll be OK

Looking up into the attic

The finished product as viewed from the main floor bath

Looks like more than 5" to me.

This freaks me out... holes in the floor leading to the shower

More plumbing stuff

Water lines for my excessively large vanity

Here will be the "stool" (I hate that term)

Um... plumbing

Lots of new wires in my box

Day 20 - Behind Schedule

Today was the day it sort of hit me in the face...I was slightly behind schedule (me, not the contractors!) and potentially over budget.

Mind you, I was only over on quotes. So I hadn't actually SPENT any money yet. But still. I was bummed. My "caviar tastes on a beer budget" were catching up with me. Drat.

Today was also the day that I met with the electrician for the placement of the outlets and lights in the attic. You can tell a good electrician by the notations he makes on the boards. Weird hieroglyphic like things that only electricians know. So strange.

Anyhow, he liked my ideas for the placement of outlets/switches. And we agreed on most everything. He thought for sure I was a "can light" kinda girl (I am not) and was pleased when I gave the big negative on can lights. My rationale (which is probably outdated) is that they are hot. And it's an attic. I don't need a spot light on my bed. I need to be able to enjoy my space, and soft lighting through strategically placed lamps will suit my purpose. He did, however, give me a little bonus. He placed the switch for the outside light (motion light on the driveway) at the top of the stairs. That way, if I was concerned about anything outside, I could turn the light on while still upstairs. I thought that was pretty cool. So I like John. 

I'm going to have almost 10 foot ceilings at the tallest point, where the collar ties will be placed. So I'm putting in a ceiling fan. I still have to decide on my lights in the bathroom, although I'm pretty sure I've made that (overpriced) decision.

Feeling rather good about things, I should have known it would be short lived. The plumber was ready to rough in the shower, but...he was waiting on an inspection at another location. I thought I had gotten a reprieve from making decisions.  Nope, not so much. It appears that because I've been stalling on the vanity decision, I may have unwittingly delayed the bathroom installation. While that choice was still up in the air, the tile had to be picked out. I got the "get on it" talk. The only saving item was that the plumber was waiting to finish up the other location, but I could potentially be pushing back my own work. Bad homeowner. I'm back on the hunt from a vanity this weekend. Sigh...And floor tile.

I started the sanding of the kitchen cabinets. That's kinda fun and mindless. And tedious. I

"During"

 did impress myself by removing a few layers of paint, made easier by the fact that the previous owners did NOT prep the old surface at all. Only being able to work on these a few hours a night may not be enough to keep up the pace. So I'll probably change tactics this weekend, sand the lower cabinets so that IF the counter tops need to be placed, I'll have that at least sanded and primed. But again... I haven't

Obviously "the before"

even picked out a color. Well, I have, but I haven't made my final decision. It's on the "List".


One step forward, a couple to the side. Nothing backwards just yet. But at least it's just my fault. I can handle being angry with myself!