Day 2

Got a lot done today on the little house. Tony came by and was a one man wrecking crew. He removed the carpet from the bathroom and totally cleaned out the old closet install from the small bedroom. The removal of the makeshift closet proved to be quite the task as it was built heavy, rock solid and not ever meant to be dismantled.

Day 2 Accomplishments and Observations

• Bathroom Carpet Removed
• Small Bedroom Walk-In-Closet Dismantled
• Small Bedroom Carpet Removed
• Decided to work with the Closet in the Big Bedroom (Removed the shelf and started on getting rid of the old nails. Most of the nails were from the outside in. Used my handy dremel tool to cut them off.
• Primed the windows and door trim in the Main Bedroom
• Painted the ceiling in the Big Bedroom (Went with Flat White) Looks oh so much better
• Replaced wall corner trim with Drywall tape and Joint Compound in the Main Bedroom
• 14 Estimated Hours Worked
• A crowbar in hand makes me feel grand.

Day 1

Glory halleluiah we finally closed, but it wasn't without it's last minute drama. The Bank called to verify my wife's employment the day just before we closed and was told that my wife had retired. The HR department confused her with someone with the same last name. Fortunately we were able to resolve the issue and still close today.

When it rains it pours - and I mean literally. To make a long story short I came home on lunch the day before we closed to find the upstairs, downstairs and basement flooded in the house we live in. It was a huge mess.  We sucked up what we could and brought in a professional Drying and Recovery Team to do the rest. More on that later, but lets just say the DIY project board just got a lot more crowded.  Looks like I now have two houses to work on. I hate when that happens.

Day 1 Accomplishments and Observations Main Bedroom

• Removed all the old window hardware
• Removed all the old nails in the walls
• Removed all the baseboard trim
• Unmounted the baseboard heater
•  Removed carpet, padding and tack strips
• Removed old peal and stick tile (Found Under the Carpet)
• Removed all the staples and and nails from floor from previous installs
• When removing old flooring I would suggest wearing gloves. I did not and suffered some minor injuries.
• We are going to have to replace the Baseboard Trim, I was hoping to be able to salvage it but that is not going to work out.
• The walls and ceiling were painted the same color, we decided to paint the ceiling eggshell white and the walls stone grey. 
• There are some issues with the built-in closet that we have to resolve. Still ciphering on that one.
• The ceiling was not installed very well and sags in places. I want to tear it down and replace it with drywall but think that might have to wait for another day. It's not horrible so I guess we live with it for now.
• My son Tony stopped by after work and help with some of the demo. It was nice to have a helper and to work with my son.
• Lisa stopped by with supper - Good Food and a Good Excuses to take a much need break.
• I was hoping to be farther along in the process but removing the staples and nails from the floor took a lot longer and more out of me than I thought it would. The good news is that we found the sub-floor in pretty good shape.
• We are looking to take our time and try and have the house ready to move in April 1. If I didn't have a full time job I wouldn't hesitate to pull down the ceilings but this is going to have to be a weekend and after work project.
• 10 Hours Estimated work completed

Pictures to come soon.

Bathroom Wiring

The Current Medicine Cabinet is a mess. The florescent lights are integrated with the cabinet and don't even work. Replacing the bulbs would probably fix that but lets face it the cabinet has to go. There is no other light in the bathroom other than the ones on the cabinet. The bathroom is also missing a ceiling Vent Fan and light. I will be adding a light above the new mirror door faced medicine cabinet and a ceiling fan/vent with a light. this will call for a three switch outlet similar to the one in the video. The house was built in the 1940's so I am pretty sure I will be dealing with the old lath plaster walls and not conventional drywall. This should be interesting. I found this YouTube video very informative. It doesn't hurt that I have a qualified electrician in the family to check my work or bail me out if I can't figure it out on my own.

 

Floetrol

"Floetrol® is a latex paint additive that makes interior and exterior emulsion / acrylic paint flow and level like oil-based paints while compensating for the adverse effects that weather and surface conditions have on paints and primers."

I have never used this product before but plan on giving it a try to see if it helps with a smoother finish on the Doors, Trim and Cabinets. Check out the link below for more info.

Floetrol Information

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

Okay lets try this one more and hopefully the last time. We are scheduled to close once again. The bank has assured me that all the paper work is in order and all systems are a go. The new closing date is February 20th at 1:00 PM. I plan on taking the rest of the day off as well as Thursday and Friday to get started on the growing list of things we want to get done before my son Tony moves in.

Why Me

Without going into too much detail our closing has been even more derailed / delayed as we have to wait on a response from the state concerning a Medicaid issue with clearing the deed.  Just when I thought we were close to closing we get even farther behind. I am beginning to think it was just not meant to be.  I am not anticipating a quick response so who knows when and if we will ever close. After the 26 of February we will have to refile for the loan with the bank.  It's got to the point where it has become a sore subject and no one wants to discuss it. With having already invested this much we have no choice but to try and ride it out.

Laundry Center Makeover

While waiting to close on the house, I spent sometime looking at what could be done to improve the Laundry Center that sits against one wall of the kitchen. I would really like to enclose it but that will have to wait for another time. To make better use of the space I am thinking of replacing the top left cabinet with this Laundry Center Wire Rack Organizer from WalMart.

The bottom cabinet goes as well and would be replaced with this nifty tilt out laundry bin from Home depot.

Another reason that I want to ditch the two cabinets is that they slightly stick out past the door frame. It's not much but it looks crowded and unsightly too me. This is what it looks like from the bedroom.

Expect Delays

Closing Day, was not a closing day after all. There was one more I to dot and T to cross. It was a little upsetting but what can you do. When buying a house all the paper work has to be just right. Soooooooo it looks like we will get to close sometime next week. Not Holding my Breath but I hope it happens this time.

Trim Identity Crisis

The wood trim, molding, doors, and cabinets are all different shades and woods. We plan on solving that by going WHITE. I found this great link on  How To Paint Trim on the Live Love DIY Web page.  The before and after shots are what sold me on going white. Work starts this Wednesday.

Finally Closing

Well the bank called and we close Wednesday Feb 6. Things were delayed again after the second inspection/appriasil went bad because of a breaker that had been flipped by some bad wiring on the range. Fixed that and we finally got the bank approval for the loan. Besides the range we had the electrician fix the light above the sink, the outlet above the counter and rewire the outlet on the enclosed porch to the tune of another $275.

Wednesday Punch List
Utilities - Gas, Electric and Water
General Clean-Up
Get Master Bed Room Ready for Painting