Moving along!

 Future spice rack on counter

Everyone likes to pose here!

Morris with the new cabinets, sub-floor and sample of the flooring next to him.

The kitchen isn't finished but it is all rapidly coming together. This is just a quick catch up to yesterday's work.

Siding. Done.

The top photo is a shot from the east side of the house.

The second one is the west side of the house.

Now I took these same photos and put blue over the original house so you can find it.

What a difference right?

I may still let my critters graze in the yard once in a while though, just for old times sake!

Today after the siding was finished. The counter tops came, the kitchen cabinets came, and the flooring came. The washer and dryer were delivered too. We had to put them in the shed.

Now the intense inside work starts.

I made the best of things. I had nothing prepared for supper so I ventured into the garden and picked lettuce, beets, onions, kale, and made up a salad with a left over chicken breast.
And we ate on our new counter top.

Now wasn't that fun?

Things are pulling together!

Well it is time to catch up again!
Lights, action, siding!

Today the siding started going up in earnest.

Note the supervisor. The siding went up as well as the outside lights and all the outdoor outlets.

After the day was done. A new porch. I had a lot of straightening up and sweeping to do. But still with all of the stuff crowded on the porch it still looked pretty impressive.
Especially when compared to ... the old:

Much better!

So here is a view of the entrance we normally come into. It will now have an area to take off muddy boots and be much more open that it was in the past.

And for reference? The old.

Oh my, did I really live in this little red cottage for 20 yrs?

The peaks will be getting their barn red cedar shakes tomorrow. Color me very happy.
I adore barn red, and my home wouldn't be complete without it.
Oh, did you notice the 'barnish' red doors? Yes! Very cool, right?
I am pinching myself tonight.

Oh then reality hits. I am still living in chaos, but that is okay when I stop and admire the roof lines and the house.

When Rich decided he wanted vinyl board and batten, I surely was not convinced, but now I see it and love it.

Well now, let's catch up!

The orange peel spraying began/then the priming.

Oh the plastic! All over the place.

Everything got 'walled' off in plastic sheeting. And the orange peel was put on.
Unfortunately the day was humid so that was as far as they could go.



They returned the next day with plans on priming and painting. Kurt said he'd put down the flooring in the bathroom along with the vanity and the plumber would put the toilet in.

I secretly did the happy dance...several times. No midnight walks to the outhouse in a Thunderstorm!

Only the priming layer got put on, yet another hot and humid day prevented things from drying.

It looked like there was an alien in my new bathroom!
I couldn't resist a quick shot with my old pink camera.

The old part of the house is where most everything is stashed and covered. Thank goodness I had been putting a lot of thought to organizing how this mess was going to occur.

I have to climb over things to get the cereal, I have to wash very few dishes in the tub [I did it outside before the tub was installed], and we have become porch people.

Apparently we will be moving off the porch soon too. The siding is in as is the interior paint.

The kitchen cabinets should be delivered maybe...Tuesday?

Meanwhile, on Friday, they finished priming the bathroom, put in the floor and set the vanity and the toilet.

And the floor...

I was hoping that Rich liked the floor, I'd had to choose it on my own. 

I'll be getting some different pulls for the vanity, and I have a design for the shower curtain that may look pretty neat.  But one thing at a time.

So I don't forget, here is a photo of the OLD bathroom.

The new kitchen area looks enormous. I can't imagine it finished.
It echoes in there.

Things are really coming along. I am sorry to be at work Monday and Tuesday. But I should be happy with any progress that can be done.

Kurt from Crooked Creek Construction, LLC, is doing a fantastic job.
He thinks of everything.

Today's assignment is to go get the lights, the mirror and some groceries that are easy to fix on a grill, microwave, and crock pot.

Remodel Stress

Apparently we are in the 'worst' stage of remodeling.
The Drywall phase.
Put on the mud, and wait for it to dry. Nothing else can happen until the walls dry.

Well they have been sanding the portions of the walls that are dry.
Next is the spraying of 'orange peel'.
After that dries, they put on primer.

After that dries, the put on paint.

The bathroom is still not operable.  Not complaining, but this is the hardest part. They can only go by small steps at a time and you cannot rush a good job.

The guys have been great through it all and I couldn't ask for a better crew.

However, I felt bad for Morris last night when he went in the house -- he has been staying on the porch for most of this.
He began to gag and couldn't breath. Of course he is close to the ground and I image the drywall dust irritated his lungs. He does have issues with ragweed so much so that I have to be careful not to take him hiking when the pollen is heavy.
Anyway.
I vacuumed and worked on cleaning up an area. 

This morning heated water in the crockpot to wash with and felt like a true camper when I washed my hair and took 'a bath' standing up in the kitchen in the pre-dawn light.

All good things come to those who wait, right?
I also got called into work for today so we'll see how things progress today without me around.

Yesterday I avoided the dust and mess by going to the neighbor's house to do 3 giant loads of laundry. 

I am a bit thrown off by all the things that I can't do during this portion of the remodel.
So yes, I'm feeling a bit stressed today.

Dry walling is dusty

And so is ripping apart the house.

Which is exactly what has gone on since I last posted.  The dryer, wash machine, toilet, ... all gone. 
Most of the week was spent without power during the day time hours as the electricians and plumbers worked on putting in outlets in the new sections.  The plumbers drilled through the concrete floor and hooked up to the existing sewer lines.
These lines were a mystery as the builder of this house is deceased.

New water was run for the shower, the toilet, the vanity, the washer, and the new kitchen sink.

Old:

New:

Not exactly the same angle as the old shot, but the 'new' door was boarded over to keep critters out until the real new door can go in.

New bathroom, sort of partially done.  It is bigger than the old and there will be room to actually store my towels in it instead of the coat closet!

What you don't see in this shot is my dish pan and Dawn detergent for washing bowels and cups up.
And was is nice to be able to wash up or take a bath!

New bedroom with hole in the wall. An in the wall dresser is being custom made for us to save on wall space.  Cool right?

The entrance to the bedroom is on the far left of this photo. The doorway is the entrance to our new basement.
Maybe it won't make sense to those who read this, but it is a perfect solution to the addition for us.
Wait until you see the door we use for that entrance!

Last but not least, is a shot from the dining area towards the back door. The frig is stored right now in the future washer/dryer cubby.
I will have the frig near the back door. 
I will have gained 9 ft of kitchen when I only had 2 ft of kitchen previously.

To me, it is a big deal all the way around.  
Today is more sheet rock work and mudding work.

It is supposed to be 95 degrees and very hot today. I do not envy the guys doing this work, but I am also happy they are not on the metal roof trying to work.

I think after chores I will retreat to the porch and busy myself with something 'crafty'.  I don't believe that I can do anything in the house but stay out of their way until they are done this evening.

Then I will have the weekend to enjoy some peace and quiet.

We had storms yesterday and that made things quite muddy around our place.
It is also evident that after all the work is done, we will also have to redo the driveway.

We will hopefully get at the yard mowing before the weekend is out too.  But the weather has not been cooperating!

I'm looking forward to when the guys pack up their stuff for the last time.
I bet they are too!

Goodbye bathroom and entryway...

Morris assists as I take the last items out of the nearly empty backroom/utility room/mudroom/entryway.

Yes, it has served all of those purposes over 20 some years. Monday morning the water heater and the ancient washer will bid adieu also.

I have mixed feelings about this, I think I am happy but then I am a bit nervous about the whole thing.

The old outer wall of the house is coming apart as well as this little room.

Tonight we take our last showers in the old bathroom.  It too will be torn out tomorrow.

Goodness knows we really needed an updated bathroom.  But it was functional and we were used to it.

Now we are faced with going to pick out a new vanity and perhaps a linen tower.

It seems that after the remodel I will actually be able to keep spare towels inside the bathroom and not in the coat closet!
That will be interesting!

Last but not least.  The kitchen.  I leave for a midnight shift in a bit and will get back after the workers arrive in the morning.  I wasn't sure how much destruction they were going to wreak on our little place so I cleaned out the cabinets also.

I can't say that I will miss the ugly z-brick on the tiny work space.  But this all is on the same wall to be removed and changed.

I assume I will have time to move the coffee maker toaster and microwave before they start in on that.

However, we are down to just a few dishes and living on the bare minimum we could possibly could and still able to make regular meals.  It gets interesting when we need something, I have to recall which plastic storage tub it is in and then go digging.  

So tomorrow this portion is changing:

The window behind the closet lettering is the bathroom window on the original house....

Lest we forget what the old place looked like.

Yup, Pink House!

The windows are in and the insulation is on!
Someone turned my house pink!

Yesterday was spent re-organizing the house and packing up what was under the kitchen sink [nasty place!], the bathroom, and ALL both kitchen cabinets near the sink in prep for the plumbers arrival on Monday.

Walls will come down, and the wash machine, dryer, old water heater, old tub, old toilet will go out.
Yes.
No shower,  toilet, or wash machine for a while.  Thank goodness for the outhouse right?

I have the creek to wash in right?  Hah.  We will have water.

I am taking some inside shots so that I can compare before, during and after the construction.
This is getting interesting!

Somehow I am still managing to keep the place somewhat organized.

Incredible right?

Oh and the concrete guys should be here to prep and perhaps pour the porch today.