Beany's House Project.

[jbeany]

Emptied my bank account into a certified check for the house closing on Monday.  Went to the home store for 3 lock sets to install after the closing.  Found the locks, and a vanity/sink/mirror set that I love that will be perfect. Okay, what the heck, might as well buy it now.
 
Only one left, and the clerk pointed out that it was damaged. 

Ah, phooey. 

Wait, what part? 

There is the smallest scrape down the back left corner of the cabinet.  That part will be in the corner in my bathroom, where no one will ever see it.  Wheee...scratch and dent discount for me!

Started getting just the smallest amount of things on my list.  Between the locks, the vanity, and the random bits of things like TSP cleaner to scrub the laminate cupboards before painting them and paint rollers - $400 went *poof*. 
Auugh!  I don't even own it yet and it's already a money pit.   

[Chris]

OIY!   Buying a house does not sound fun! 

[okarol]

It is craft heaven!  Who wants to come craft at my house?   

Pick me!
I still owe you for those lovely fabric baskets. So sorry, but I haven't forgotten!

[Jean]

Ya know, JBeany, once you get the kitchen painted an appropriate color, it may throw a whole new light on the kitchen floor. I would love to tell you what color, but, I am shade blind and besides that you are already good at it.

[jbeany]

I'm going with white cupboards and some shade of yellow that tones in with the floor.  I still won't like it, but at least it won't stick out much!

Tomorrow - it's mine tomorrow! 

[paris]

Yeah for tomorrow!!   May 8, 2012 jbeany becomes owner of her home!  This is so exciting.  Of course, I had a migrane after we signed our papers and thought I would throw up on everyone.   I'm so happy for you.     

Now, if I start packing my crafts and sewing machines, I could be ready to live in your craft room in two days time -----      In a room like that, I could set up all my machines at the same time, pressing board, dress form, and all the fabrics and trips would have their own assigned space!   And a bar table height would be perfect for cutting fabrics, laying out patterns.    A craft lovers dream space!! 

Good luck tomorrow!!                  

[MaryJoe]

After we finished signing our names 1,000 times the real estate guy said "You can keep the pen."  I thought "Great, you get all our money for the rest of our lives, and we get a 99 cent pen! Thank you oh so much!"

 :clap;Congrats, jbeany!

MJ

[jbeany]

It's all mine - and all my money is all theirs!

And it only took me the first eight hours I owned it to start half a dozen projects already.  I'm done with one - the ugliest green shag carpet ever is no more!

I've still got to paint the stairs, but it's a fabulous first step.  I've a Before, and a Halfway picture.  I'll get an After shot to post  when it's daylight again.  For now, I'm dragging my sore bones to bed.  I've packed and hauled boxes the last three days straight, and then yanked up carpet for several hours today.  Hopefully, I'll still be able to move tomorrow!

Home Ownership is not for sissies!

[Bill Peckham]

It is not a sprint (:


Congrats.

[jbeany]

Thanks Bill!

Well, not a sprint, but my lease ends at the end of the month - so I don't get to coast along either!

[okarol]

  Love seeing photos as you go!
Best wishes in your new abode! 

[natnnnat]

Wowsers, that green shag carpet is quite something if you enlarge the photo, and then scroll up and down the stairs...  8-)

[Chris]

Personally, I would have kept that carpeting!
 
Stay hydrated jbeany

[MomoMcSleepy]

Yay, Jbeany, congratulations and good luck settling into your own home.

Just noticed you're pulling  up the carpet....I did that, it was dusty, gross work.  Do you have a good, filtered mask and goggles?  I am worried aborigines for you.  A side note-- friend helped me pull up carpet, and we were using those blades that are perforated so when they're dull, you can snap off the dull blade and have a fresh one.  My ex-marine, large, male friend broke his accidentally and said "Whoa, I broke this blade, I'm like Superman man or something!" LOL, I almost didn't  have the heart to tell him...almost.

[paris]

Take good care of yourself during this moving time.  Pulling out carpet is hard!   But, it is also very rewarding!   How are you feeling today?  Sore and tired?   

Chris is right --- keep drinking!  Wish I was there to help paint.  I love painting-----I especially love edging!    Looking forward to more pictures. 

[Deanne]

I love your new home. It reminds me a bit of my first house. I still miss that place. I only sold it because I was leaving the state. I check for it once in a while on Zillow to see if it's for sale. Not that I'd be able to buy it. It's in Minnesota. I'm in Oregon.

Is the kitchen floor in good shape? If so, I think I'd try to remodel around it. It could be very cool. That green carpet though - ug!  I hope you keep posting pictures as you progress.

[jbeany]

Ah, today the fun really started.   

My brother in law hooked up the water this morning.  It's all original 1949 galvanized plumbing.  I also found out from one of my neighbors that the house has been empty for at least 3 years.  These two facts do not lead to good things!  All the crud in the pipes flaked off and clogged everything as soon as the water started to flow.  This is not unexpected, but it's likely a large portion of the plumbing will need to be replaced.

On the bright side - the toilet is working now that BIL and I replaced the seal today.  This is an important priority when I'm spending 12 hours a day there working!  The gas station around the corner is soon going to tire of seeing my dusty self arrive to use the facilities and buy yet another tiny purchase so I don't get in trouble.  Honest, I'm not homeless!  Sort of.

Thankfully, I bought a home warranty insurance policy, so a large portion of the costs are covered.  The plumber is coming tomorrow morning to see what he can fix and begin the repairs.

The furnace repair arrives tomorrow at noon.   Everyone cross your fingers for me that my vintage "octopus" style furnace is still chugging along.  It's also covered under my policy, but I'd prefer that it runs with a simple service and cleaning.  I wasn't brave enough to have my brother-in-law even light it.  I just bought the place - I'm not ready to build a new one from scratch!

I spent a tedious couple of hours on the phone today, getting the appointments set up with companies that work with my insurance company, and getting the insurance company to enter my brand new policy in the computer system so I could do that.  Then I spent another tedious couple of hours doing the most boring cleaning job ever - scrubbing the slats on the closet doors.  They were nasty after all that time the house was empty.  Each and every slat had to be scrubbed with a rag wedged over a screwdriver, to get the dust and grime out from between the slats.

My sister arrived at 6 pm, and she helped me make some decisions about interior design things, like paint, and what color appliances, and whether or not to remove the ancient, freestanding dishwasher immediately.  (The final decision was yes.  I'm going to put the fridge in the spot the dishwasher is when I remodel the whole kitchen.  Might as well do it now so I don't have to mess with reversing doors on the fridge, and the odds that the dishwasher actually works well is pretty slim anyhow.)  Then we headed to Lowes to spend my money.

Fridge, range, 4 gallons of paint just to start on various projects like trim and ceilings and kitchen, spray paint for outside plastic shutters and rusting iron railings on the porch, new mailbox, mop (since I don't own one.  I didn't need one in the apartment - I just scrubbed on my hands and knees.), assorted spackling, painting tools and cleaning products...$1400 bucks later (ouch, but it's not like I can skip the appliances)....I got to go back to the house and unload more stuff.

Then I loaded trash and the milk crates that I had brought full of books this morning into the car, and headed back to the apartment.  I emptied the car, reloaded the car with more boxes of stuff to move, and it's now time to get organized for tomorrow....

I'm still upright and mobile, so apparently, my sore muscles have decided it's not worth the effort to protest!

[okarol]

  You're a busy bee!

[jbeany]

The furnace works!     A $68 service call, and the repairman started it, cleaned it, and explained all the dampers and various quirks with the pilot light.  Hurray!  It works, it works!

So does the set of sprinklers on the front lawn, and my automatic garage door.   

The plumber was a no-show.     Tomorrow, 9 am,  here we go again.

But, I got the antique dishwasher removed, as well as all the wallpaper off the walls in the kitchen today.  It was like opening a time capsule.  There was the original white laminate, covered in 40's mint green paint, topped with some amazing 50's gingerbread cookie patterned wallpaper, covered with 60's flower power, toned down with the 70's dusty beige roses that were on the top of the stack. 

I also found out that the creamy wallpaper on top was actually white when it was put up.  For that matter, so is the paint on the ceiling - under the grease.  Ewwww.  Going through lots of heavy duty cleaner for the kitchen.

[galvo]

The adventure continues. I am following this eagerly.

[Chris]

Maybe the picture does not show the full detail, but the wood on the stairs looks good. Clean and stain/clear coat? Forgot what you said you were going to do with the stairs, just remember the shagadelic carpet.

[jbeany]

The last owners didn't tape them off when they painted the stairwell pre-carpet, so the tops and edges are a paint splattered mess.  I'm going to primer and use some white porch paint on them.   I might wait and do it after the furniture is moved upstairs, though!

[Deanne]

You're making fast progress! It looks like you might want to check in with an electrician, judging from that outlet (not grounded).

I used white porch paint on the stairs in my old house, too. They came out very nicely and held up well. If you decide you like the wood, except for the sloppy paint on it, it isn't as bad as you'd think to have someone come in and sand them down.

[okarol]

I love the wallpaper photos!
It's great to hear about the furnace!! What a relief!

[jbeany]

Total shock #2 for my vintage house - the plumbing is now functional!  I was certain it would have to be replaced.  Even the plumber thought he was going to have to tear out my shower wall to make it run.  But he managed to clear the lines with an air compressor and there's a good chance they will be fine.       I just need to keep running the shower for a bit every time I'm there for the next week or so.

$130 dollars total got both major systems I thought might need replacing up and running.  I was so happy, I went downstairs to the basement after the plumber left to jump up and down in excitement.  (No blinds on any of the upstairs windows yet.  Didn't want to scare the new neighbors!)   

The plumber thinks the reason I have no hot water in the bathroom sink is because of a problem with the faucet, not the lines.  Since I'm replacing that anyhow, we're just waiting for the rest of the remodeling to find out if he has to come back and fix anything else. 

I didn't do any projects today - except shop 'til I dropped.  I found the mystery tile from the last owner's half-finished bathroom project at Home Depot, so at least I can finish it with identical tile.  (Also found out it's floor tile, not wall tile, but it's too far gone to start over now.  Hopefully, with only me using it, it will hold up for a long time.)  My hatchback is full with what I purchased - all the little things you don't need in an apartment that are necessities in a house.  Rakes, hoses, window cleaner that runs off the hose for second story windows, weed eater, ladder, etc...  I just walked up and down every aisle in Home Depot. Tomorrow I'll hit Lowes and do the same to see what I missed.  I need to get a lawn mower, too, but there wasn't room today.

Deanne, I bought all new outlets and switches, too.  That's a good day's project right there.  Thankfully, those are easy to replace.

The wood on the steps is sturdy, but nothing fabulous like oak that would be worth refinishing.  I think a large dose of wood putty and some fresh white paint will do wonders.  I also want to be able to paint cute designs on them, like I keep seeing on pinterest.  I like the one with "Come on up" printed on it, with each word on a different riser.  I want to add "And get crafty" on the last step as the stairs turn to enter my craft heaven.