RENOVATION "Fixer Upper"

Kitchen Renovation~BEFORE and AFTER

2012-02-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

This was a big project (as they all seem to turn out to be). We got the bulk of the work done in about 5 weeks where we were displaced from using the space for that time. At the 5 week point we had finished the floors and installed the cabinets, leaving the counter tops to be installed and the detail work to be completed (like crown molding, floor and door trim, etc.).

We started our Kitchen Renovation in July 2011 and were completely finished in October 2011.

PROJECT INFORMATION:

Kitchen is a "U" shaped kitchen that is approximately 13' x 12'
We had a new dishwasher given to us from our Home Purchase Electrical Inspection (Budd Electric) when one of the workers accidently blew out the old dishwasher. They are a company in Corpus Christi of high integrity; thank you Budd Electric- you all are top rate!
We also had a fairly new refrigerator , so we didn't need to replace that either.
We did however, purchase a new double oven/stove with a matching mounted microwave (which is included in our budget). The oven/stove is in the "before" photos because the previous home owners took their old oven.
We took the room down to studs so we could add proper R-13 insulation.
All outdated electrical and plumbing was updated.
Wood Laminate Floors~ Lumber Liquidators
Solid Maple Cabinets~ Kitchenpro.com (RTA, dove tailed, anti slam drawer feature, euro hinges, raised panel)
Granite Counter Tops~ Corpus Christi Solid Surfaces
Tumbled Travertine Backsplash~ DIY by Teri

BUDGET= $10,000.

ACTUAL= $10,037. (OVER by just $37.)

Our "sweat equity" value on this project had we hired everything out ... ??? We can only guess!

Since we have so many photos of this project,

I selected some of the highlights in this video.

Living Room Renovation AFTER PHOTOS (finally!)

2012-02-17T16:12:00.000-08:00

We started this remodel quite some time ago, like over a year ago (November 2010)! We finished the remodel in April 2011. We have been very slow on getting our "after" photos posted since as soon as we finished this project we were immediately starting another room- our dining room and kitchen areas.

Just to re-cap the "Living Room Renovation" , as with every room in our fixer upper house, the renovation ended up being a much bigger project than we expected. We knew we would have to take the exterior facing walls down to the studs for the fact alone that this house has NO INSULATION and we want each room insulated. So as we took the drywall off the walls facing the outside, we discovered we got to 1/2 inch salvaged boards nailed to the studs under the drywall instead of exposed studs under drywall like in newer construction. This is a good and bad situation. Good that the boards add to a stronger structure, bad, that it's more time and challenge to get the walls insulated.

We took random boards off (numbering where they went) and got fresh insulation in, then replaced the boards. (this photo below shows before we replaced the random boards- you can see the insulation behind the boards)

Another time consuming project was getting all the electrical updated. We changed out all the old wiring in the walls, added several new outlets, and added recessed lighting in several places since there was no overhead lighting in the living room what so ever; a common situation in older home living rooms.

Dimmable recessed lighting

(both above TV cabinets and two separate pot lights)

The fireplace took a chunk of time as it was a major fire hazard and had to be eliminated completely! We considered replacing the old firebox that was broken in three places, but decided it wasn't worth the monetary investment especially since we live in south Texas and only have a week or two worth of winter that we would use the fire place. We decided to reconstruct the space for the "look" of a fireplace, but instead, make it a "candle place" that also has an electrical outlet for lighting and abundant storage (in cabinets) on each side.

This id after the demo.

Notice the burn spots on the wall?

YES... a fire waiting to happen!

PROJECT INFORMATION:

This Living Room is 11'2" wide x 17' long.

We budgeted $1,000. for this update.

We actually spent $2,413. (OVER budget by $1,413) Amazing how things add up!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

This hearth was out of proportion for the space, blocking the door and making it awkward to walk by! A number of ceramic tiles were missing.

AFTER

Storage cabinet (18" wide x 24" deep x 80" tall)

(unfinished oak from Home Depot)

We used two total, back to back,

one on each side of the "candle place".

Dimmable recessed lighting, two lights on each side.

Wonderful storage for photo albums and crafts.

The other side houses our DVD's, CD's, video games and misc. electronics items.

BEFORE

AFTER

The multi-colored slate and two cabinets is part of what put our budget way over, but well worth it!

The mood of a fire (year around) without the heat or fire hazard.

Flicker Electrical Lights~ I simply plug in a discrete outlet and enjoy.

See THIS POST for more "In Progress" photos of early stages of this remodel or THIS POSTfor a few photos of us laying the laminate floor.

Master Bedroom Re-Do

2011-06-09T06:40:00.001-07:00

My blogging on our Home Renovation progress has been quiet these days, mostly because the progress has been slow going and fragmented. Since November 2010 (over the past 6 months), Kirk and I have been working simultaneously on about 6 different areas of the house - a little bit here, there, and everywhere- very hit and miss! It has been a bit overwhelming and getting ANYTHING FINISHED with these six areas has felt like a far distant dream. There have been weeks where we are unable to work on any remodel projects because family and life events take priority; the kids have kept us busy with their school activities. Summer is here, and we're getting some time to press forward and get things done.

I'm thrilled to report that several areas ARE getting "FINISHED" (finally!) ... enough for me to blog before and after pictures which is like a "closure" of the project.

Here is our newly renovated MASTER BEDROOM:

BEFORE

Notice the window air conditioner unit? The previous owners used this to help cool this room on top of the regular central air that worked for the entire house. Three of the four walls in this room are hit directly by the south Texas sun most of the day and like the whole house, this room did not have any insulation in the walls, not to mention the single pan windows with poor caulking; it got VERY HOT & STUFFY in the summer.

DEMO

Joe loves to pound on the walls and demo! - even in his Sponge Bob P.J.'s! All drywall in this room had to be removed.

... a place where there at one time used to be a window! We found two other previous window openings that had once existed on the opposite wall. This room once had 5 different windows (three now covered by wall)! I wonder if it used to be a sun room at one time years ago?

R13 insulation in the whole room! ...and the brown door? It's getting replaced!

Here's the AFTER of this particular corner~ we have kept the walls all white to help it feel like a bigger room, crisp and fresh. And we love the new door!

MORE DEMO and repair... from another angle.

AFTER~

After adding insulation, we finished the walls with 1/2" drywall covered in "bead board" panels. To trim off the room we added crown moulding and over sized baseboards.

This Master Bedroom is smaller than what we're used to (because it's an older house), but we've managed to fit our things in it and make it nice and cozy.

Quilt set from The Company Store.

New bedroom carpet (professionally installed) meets up with our laminate wood floor (Kirk and Teri installed) from the hall area outside the master.

Close-up showing the bead board and crown. This room originally did not have any trim around the ceiling, so this crown and corner pieces are a nice added detail. The windows are new energy efficient double paned windows with 2" Bali (faux wood) mini blind.

Function, Practicality, and Common Sense

2011-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

We are still in the progression of our home renovation with only about 40 percent of the interior complete. A definate "work in progress". When working on a particular room in our fixer upper, these three questions go through my mind when evaluating our space~

Does this space FUNCTION the way my family needs it to? (storage has been an issue)
Are the changes we're making to this space PRACTICAL to the construction and era of the house? (since it's a 1930's home we don't want overly "contemporary" features.
Are we exercising a level of COMMON SENSE when updating the space not to "over improve"?

Over the past 4 months we've been working simultaneously on updating the living room and two hallways. The light at the end of the tunnel for these spaces is getting brighter to actually seeing completion!!! I hope to have some "AFTER" pictures posted very soon. I know, I know, I say that all the time. For now, here's some more "IN PROGRESS" pictures.

Kirk working on crown moulding in one of the hallways-
it's harder than it looks!

Our living room carpet in the process of being taken out. When you live in the space you're renovating it's a bit harder to get jobs done; many obstacles!

O.K.~ since we've never laid laminate floor before, "how do we do this"?
Kirk reads the instructions.

...we're on a roll, now! (I'm actually enjoying this)

The kids think it's a new play area to slip and slide on. Fun, Fun, Fun!

Living Room Remodel -"IN PROGRESS"

2011-02-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

We started the living room in October and have slowly been making progress. Here's some "in progress" photos.

OVERVIEW

of BEFORE REMODEL:

Dark wood paneling, dated carpet, oversized fireplace...

...damaged ceiling. Notice the tape by the ceiling trim on the fireplace? This tape is covering a crack in the ceiling.

FIRE PLACE~

The "monster hearth" as we referred to it, is too big for the space. The living room is small (11'2" x 17') and this hearth doesn't make sense in front of this door way.

The monster hearth has to go! With our furniture in place, it's a tight squeeze to get through this walk way space.

Demo time!!! Joe loves to help demo!

As we took the fireplace out, our original intentions were to drop the existing firebox to the floor. As we took the fireplace apart, we discovered that the existing firebox was cracked in three places with a small hole on the back side.

The hole on the backside of the firebox created a burn mark (hot spot) on the drywall behind it. SCARY for the previous owners and for us with the high risk of a fire starting; we hadn't built a fire since we'd moved in, so we are thankful nothing bad happened.

After considering our options, we decided to get rid of the "real" fireplace. We covered the hole and damaged ceiling with a reinforcement piece of plywood with the plan to create a new unit that would serve as much needed entertainment storage, a "faux" fireplace, more lighting, a focal point for the room and a backdrop for our flat screen TV.

I (Teri) designed the plan and built the framing while everyone was at school and work. Notice the duck tape? Since I was working the framing project by myself, DUCK TAPE was my extra pair of hands. In the photo above, the tape is holding the 2 x 4 so I can screw my other corner piece to complete the soffit.
What a beautiful frame job! Kirk did the electrical on this job, adding another circuit to the breaker to accommodate the extra lights (in the soffit) and additional outlets.

We installed the dry wall together, I did the mud and texturing, and Kirk did the painting... WHAT A TEAM we are!!!
No longer a "fire place", I have created a "candle place". No more "monster hearth"... you can see how far it had come out (where the wood floor shows) compared to where we have it now. Also included, an electrical outlet inside the "candle place" to plug in a string of lights during holidays or when ever.

I love to tile!!! Kirk and I had a hard time agreeing on how we wanted to finish our fireplace. We ended up deciding on slate- a natural stone that will add balance to the room and be a smaller scale tile than what was previously there. (I'll post AFTER pictures later!)

ELECTRICAL & LIGHTING ISSUES~

Three light switches by the front door; one goes to the front porch light, one goes to the dining room light, and the middle was a "mysterious" switch that we could not determine what it went to (it had live wires going to it). Notice the OLD wiring that is frayed out in places?
We got ALL NEW wiring!!! And the middle light switch, now goes to our two new ceiling can lights. Beautiful!

And God said, "Let there be light".

Two soffit lights on each side around the "candle place"... they are on a dimmer switch that make it real nice for the times when we're watching TV and don't want bright lights, but have them on as mood lights.

INSULATION~

This wall had no insulation. I pulled down dry wall and everyother board to fit in R13 Insulation. As we do each room of our fixer upper, adding insulation has been a priority.

CEILING~

...time to replace? YEP! Hummmm? why is that tape there?
As we took the fireplace apart, we discovered the "gaping crack" that was taped at the top of the fireplace; that's o.k., we can fix it...

A nice, sturdy piece of plywood screwed securely in the ceiling studs fixes our ceiling issues and creates a nice guide for the soffit framing.

I continue to be amazed at what a new coat of fresh paint can do!

BEFORE & AFTER~Bathroom #2 Renovation

2010-11-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

"Bathroom #2" is our second bathroom renovation for our ranch house fixer upper. We did some work on it back in February out of desperate necessity (see THIS POST) to replace a leaking toilet and rotten sub-floor. After the repairs, we lived with the out of date bathroom for just over 7 months before we got time to renovate it. That's what's hard about this house- everything needs attention, so it's a matter of prioritizing.

We officially started our Bathroom #2 renovation the first week of September while the kids were on a break from school. We had this vision that we'd start and finish in a couple weeks. HA HA! Just like ALL the other rooms in our home, we discovered there's much more to the updates than we realized once we started, and the length of time it would take would be much longer than we expected.

Bathroom #2 took 6 weeks of hardcore demo and reconstruction before we could install the toilet and sink to even begin using part of the space again; that means six people coordinating bathroom time and showers in one bathroom (we just got done doing that with the first bathroom renovation!). We've learned to persevere because time has not been our friend! Officially as of today- 10 weeks after we began this Bathroom project- I am able to take good "AFTER" pictures. With the exception of a few painting details, a small piece of molding to install, and several knobs on the built-in cabinet, we are done with Bathroom #2!

Check it out~ (forgive me for so many pictures; I'm a "visual" learner and communicator and believe the photos speak volumes).

BEFORE & AFTER

The kids picked out the "cool" shade of blue on the wall~ "Aqua Ice" by Kilz
The mirror has a recessed cabinet in the wall.

This is a close up of the corner of the floor by the bathtub that had rotted. What you can't tell by the photo is the corner space is stuffed with steel wool and is about 1" x 2" . When the steel wool is pulled out, you're able to look straight to the ground.

Repaired and pretty!

This original built-in cabinet had five layers of different colors of paint from over the many years of it's life (I sanded a small section to investigate). Since the layers of paint most likely contains some lead, we chose to repaint! The piece went from an antique cream color...

...to an "Ultra Pure White" semi gloss, just like the trim. What a difference a fresh coat of paint makes! New hinges and knobs (still needed to be installed), give this original built-in cabinet the face lift it needed.

...love all the storage space. The bottom cupboard space was originally a wood hamper (the smelled musty and not practical). We converted the old hamper to a storage for toilet paper and cleaner- salvaged the original front of the hamper and added a hinge.

Looking into the bathroom from the hall.

The bath tub had seen better days.

New and fresh!

EXTRAS WE ADDED~

...I love stained glass! This window adds some nice light to the bathroom.
...the molding around the ceiling dress up the space as well.
...the mosaic border is our personal touch to accent and compliment the window.

We saw the mosaic border idea at our Home Depot for $10.00 a 12" section. There was no way I wanted to spend that kind of money since we needed 22 sections, so we made our own for about $.50 a section using tile "left overs" from Bathroom #1 and this project. We saved over $200. as DIY'ers and got to make it more special with handpicked colors. Making the mosaic sections was a family project with the kids each doing at least one section piece (12" long)- Jessie did 3 or 4 sections!

Soap and razor niche.

No more arguing over where the shampoo belongs!

Jessie and Joe are the first to initiate the new bathtub. Both in swimsuits, they think it's a fun place to play!

THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION

Joe was excited to help tear down the old tile...

This chunk of wall with tile on it came down in one big piece and scared Joe as it was falling. We were blessed he wasn't hurt.

We knew there would be water damage, just not sure how much! The smell was gross.

...the tile backer board that was used (many, many years ago) was 1/2" plywood. After years of leaking around the broken chalking seal, the plywood rotted and crumbled around the bathtub upon touch.

Joe having a grand time lifting the brittle laminate tile pieces off the floor...

When we lifted the old bathtub to get it out, we discovered previous evidence of "critters"-mice or rats?- under the tub!

..and a rat snake in the wall by the tub! FREAK OUT TIME! We never caught him since he was so fast to escape straight up the wall into a crack next to some plumbing that goes to the attic! YES, HE MAY STILL BE IN THE ATTIC SOMEWHERE! But, that's a good thing, since rat snakes are non-venomous and eat rodents!

A bathroom down to nothing... time to put it back together~

...notice the opening above the shower area? (an opening for a transom window to let light in this room with no other windows!)
... how about the new tub? (we went from a 14" depth to an 18 " soaker tub depth)
...notice the niches near where the shower nozzle goes? (a place for soaps and razors- another is on the opposite side for the kids' shampoos- photo below)
...notice the shelf along the back wall? (perfect for kids to line their toys up, or candles for a nice bubble bath)

...the opposite side- four separate "cubby niches" for the kids to put their shampoos; each child has their own space!

...the transom window arrives!
(ordered from eBay- an artist in Canada)

Getting it installed was a challenge, but well worth it! The other side of the window faces the laundry room; we changed out the laundry room back door to an exterior door that has a window on the top half to let natural light in the space (which also comes into the stained glass window in addition to the ceiling light from the laundry room).

Our fixer upper has been a labor of love. Kirk has become the expert in updating the electrical and plumbing, while I (Teri) have done everything else- carpentry, framing, sheet rocking, all the tile work, chalking, painting, trim work, - a jack of all trades, master of none. Our house has a total of 12 indoor spaces (halls included) and we have 6 completed. Master Bedroom Before and After coming soon.

Bathroom Renovation #1... is Finally DONE!

2010-08-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

...Finally done except for a door that needs painted and a few areas of touch up paint, BUT I'm feeling like good things come to those who wait... AND WORK HARD!

Three months and about $3,800 later, we have our newly renovated bathroom that we are enjoying on a daily basis! This bathroom is somewhat small-6 feet by 9 feet- and to make the space more practical and functional, we did several things. First, we moved the door over about 6 inches and changed the door size from a 32" door to a 28 " door to help make the shower stall wider; we eliminated one of the double sinks to add space to the length of the shower as well as include a linen cupboard. Eliminating one of the double sinks was a hard choice since a double sink vanity is good for re-sale, but a sacrifice we felt was worth it to create an updated space that has more storage and a shower that was bigger and more comfortable to take a shower in. We're feeling like we're in a "spa setting" with our new tile shower and all the nifty details. See for yourself!

View standing in the door way, looking in the bathroom as you enter (BEFORE)

(AFTER)

12" porcelain tile floor, 5" floor baseboards, new walls, new toilet... NEW EVERYTHING!

Sink area (BEFORE)

Sink Area (AFTER)

WOW... it's so much nicer to wash up and brush teeth in a sink area that doesn't have "crusty- black" stuff growing around it.

Shower stall (BEFORE)

Shower Stall (AFTER)

...several built-in's for soap and shampoo.

(below) View from sitting on the throne.
The door still needs to be painted white.

When we moved the door over, we decided to add a transom window that was handcrafted by an artist in Canada (we found him on Ebay-superb craftsmanship!). This window adds a novelty touch to this bathroom space... and it's pleasant to look at while taking care of business.

If you're interested in your own beautiful stained glass window, check out creationeuropeenne. We have been very pleased with this purchase. As we continue to renovate "la vieja casa", I'm keeping my eyes open for another place I could add another window like this one.

Time line... WHAT TIME LINE???

2010-08-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

BATHROOM UPDATE~ we're STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS with our bathroom renovation! Our mantra for this house is "It's taking a lot longer than we thought!" We demolished our bathroom in mid-May, and we're still not finished! We are doing a lot of special things to add charm and function to this bathroom that you'll see in the "After" pictures. (hopefully will be done to post pictures in a couple weeks)

For a sneak peak~ here's some of our "in progress" pictures.

This bathroom was a total gut job. It had 1/4" drywall that had cracked over the years of foundation shifting and from the previous post, you can see that it had many other issues.

Kirk installing the new mold & mildew resistant drywall.

We also did all new insulation, which none of the walls previously had. Can't wait to start seeing the savings in our electric bills with all the work we're doing in the areas of energy efficiency!

This is my (Teri), special project that I am single handily constructing- the custom shower stall. Well, I'm doing it all myself, except for updating the plumbing, Kirk did that part for me. I, however, framed out the entire custom shower stall, poured the pre-slope shower pan, did the membrane, then the mud floor, did all the walls, and constructed this corner bench and a couple special shower niches. Thank God for DIYnetwork and several other resources I've used to learn what do do and how to do it right.

I am currently in the process of doing a custom tile job that has been a blast to do... it's just "taking a lot longer than I thought!" As of today, I am half done and hope to be done within two weeks. We'll see!

Bathroom #1 - "Before" pictures and demo

2010-06-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

After finishing the kids' bedrooms, we are now moved onto gutting the first of two bathrooms. This bathroom is the one closest to the master bedroom. Since this is an old house, the "master bedroom" does not actually have it's own bathroom within the room, but one just outside the door. This bathroom is 8'9" x 6'; we are taking the whole room down to the studs. The walls are not insulated and most of the drywall is cracking (a theme to this whole house!), taking the room down to the studs is necessary for our work to be done right. Here are the "BEFORE" pictures and our current work in process:

Close up pictures of the blue easter egg looking sink with the fixture all corroded and the nasty old caulking against the bold yellow wall.The previous owners has lots of bathroom throw rugs on the floor... ... we discovered the throw rugs had purpose! The were protecting the crusty linoleum that was breaking away!
Yes... a leaking shower, getting the sub floor all wet under the crusty linoleum! As each layer of sub floor was peeled off, more water was discovered.

No wall insulation... a very common situation in older homes. Let's get rid of this vanity! First- I must disconnect the plumbing.A very small shower stall we will be replacing with a larger all tiled shower.

Steel wool is stuffed around the opening in the drywall to keep "critters" (like mice) out of the shower.

With any major renovation, comes major garbage! Thankfully we live in the country with no neighbors... otherwise we would have some neighbor complaints about our garbage I'm thinking. This pile took two trips to the dump (in the back of Kirk's truck) to clean up!
Kirk and Andrew getting a bathroom ceiling fan installed. There was none before and the steam from the shower created quite a steamy, humid mess in the space.

When I was telling my sister, Traci, that we were renovating one of the two bathrooms, I expressed the challenge of being down to one functioning bathroom and six people having to choreograph our "bathroom time". She chuckled when the reality hit her about all 6 of us sharing the bathroom for the several weeks the other bathroom is under construction. I assured her that I have equipped our functioning bathroom with a variety of air fresheners in case of a previous visitor's presence still lingering...

...take your pick!

Check back for "after" pictures... hopefully sooner than later!

Home Renovation... Kid's Bedrooms - "BEFORE" & "AFTER"

2010-06-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the "before" & "after" pictures we have to this point on our home renovations on our fixer upper. We have completed three bedrooms (the kids' rooms) except for some detail decorating (window treatments and wall accessories) and are currently in the middle of a bathroom "gut job". We have done all the work ourselves on these projects (except for new window installation) and are getting to be experts at framing and drywall since we have taken each of these rooms down to the studs and had to make massive repairs.

Jessie and Joe's Room

Notice the window to the left with an air conditioner unit half covered by wood and the funky "pass through"? In the "after" photos, you'll notice they are both gone- drywalled in.

The air conditioner unit was in this window and had created lots of damage! Much more than we ever planned for!

We had to not only replace most of the wall, but also part of the rotten subfloor.

We felt like we were rebuilding this room!
We decided NOT to keep the window, framing it completely in so we could build a closet for the kids (this room originally had no closet). Thank you very much, I (Teri) single handedly framed, drywalled, and custom organized this closet. No more "pass through" or large window, making this space more functional and appealing.
Down with old dark wood panel...

up with new 1/2" dry wall, soft yellow paint and 5 1/2" base boards.

EWWWW! A combination of damage from moisture and pests on the old 1/4" drywall... it was all replaced!

All new everything!!!

Andrew's Room

"Before" "After"

Lots of cracks in the walls. This was above his closet. "Before" "After"... no more cracks and newly painted black closet doors.

"Before" "After" It's so nice to have new walls, fresh paint, and clean white doors and trim!

Kelsie's Room

Parts of the wall was damaged by previous moisture, critters, and age, that it was crumbling away...
In this "AFTER" picture, the area above the lamp was where the original "pass through" opening used to be.

What bold colors the previous owners selected! It was themed as a "john deer" room.
Out with the old... in with the new!

This mirrored closet door makes this small room (10 x 12) feel much bigger!
Where the book shelf is, there was a second door to the room which didn't make much sense. We closed it off, creating more usable wall space.

Practical closet organization!
Orange door frame & bold sponged painted walls...
to clean white and eye soothing "spring cactus" green walls.

Lessons from Our Fixer Upper

2010-06-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, my family and I recently moved from a beautiful "newer construction home" (built in 2003) inside city limits of Corpus Christi ...

...to an "older fixer-upper" (70+ years old) out in the country, outside city limits of Corpus, in the middle of acres upon acres of farmland:

Kirk and I are avid watchers of HGTV and DIYnetwork; and for the past couple of years, we have been wanting to have a major renovation project to call our own. This house fulfills that desire as every room... I'm not kidding~ ever square inch~ needs to be renovated or updated in some way or anoth. I have affectionately named this blog, "la vieja casa" (translated from google~ "the old house", but I was told by my spanish speaking friends is actually saying "the house old"... oops!).

As we are beginning our 5th month of fixing and updating our ranch house, I'm being reminded of MANY valuable lessons and learning a few new ones (just what God had intended to happen when we bought this property!). In no particular order, these are some things Kirk and I have learned:

Most things accomplished take longer than we expect... the key is not to give up! (whether it's with a home renovation project, losing weight/getting in shape, getting your dream job, whatever... you name your goal)
Things are never as easy as you think they should be- thus taking longer to accomplish! If you plan for a week... triple that time; the reality is it will most likely take three weeks to get done. (that's our experience so far!)
Be sure to add a "10-15% cushion" to the budget... like time~ it always seems to take more of what is planned.
Any goal set will involve some level of planning, labor, perseverance, and patience. With out a balance of these, frustration and some insanity will set in.
We're losing trust in hiring "professional" contractors. (Our carpet guys were great!!!, But we hired window guys to replace all our windows, and air conditioner guys to replace our air conditioner and repair our ducting. Both situations we did a thorough research to hire good, quality service guys. The products installed are great, but the installation was horrible. The guys cut corners and messed up areas of our house that they probably figured we wouldn't notice. We are having to fix things left by these guys and finish up detail work that should have been done by these contractors.)
If you want something done right, do it yourself. OR get referrals of the person you are wanting to hire. OR BETTER YET~ personally know the person you are hiring!
Attitude is EVERYTHING!
A thankful and content heart comes from remembering all the blessings we have. Don't look at what you don't have, look at ALL that you do have! (we are missing our old pool about now with temperatures getting HOT! We are learning to be content without.)
People are more important than things. (Spending hours and hours on a project shouldn't be at the expense of spending family time together)
Life is always full of "surprises". Embrace the good "surprises" and the bad "surprises" and learn from them both.
When ever possible~ renew, reuse, & recycle!
Corpus Christi has rattle snakes whether you're in the country OR a city sub-division! (I was recently informed the people who bought our previous house found a rattle snake on their property)
Any neglected house has the potential to be beautiful... it's a matter of how much love you are willing to pour into it. (same goes for our bodies, too.)
Through it all... the Lord is our source. He is the reason we are who we are, doing what we're doing. He shares in our frustrations; He shares in our victories. When we feel overloaded, he is always there to lift our burdens. What a fun adventure life is with Jesus by our side! He is the Master of restoration and renovations... making that which is broken fixed! Praise the Lord!

Stay tuned...

I will be posting "before" and "after" pictures of the kids' bedrooms at the end of next week, as well as some "before" pictures of the bathroom we're currently in the process of renovating. This bathroom could seriously qualify among "The Ugliest Bathrooms in America Award"! I can't wait for this bathroom to get done!

A New Appreciation!

2010-04-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

FOR ANYONE WHO DOES DRY WALL FOR A LIVING! Hat's off to you. Dry walling takes patience and is truly an art form I have learned!

We have been getting the kids' bedrooms moving ahead these past several weeks with getting the walls fit for new drywall, installed, plastered, and finished out.

Kirk and I put up new 1/2" dry wall on the 3 bedrooms- replacing most of the 1/4" stuff that was on there. After installing the drywall, we've learned that "taping" & "mudding" the seams, getting all the finishing work done is a lengthy and time consuming process. All to be done in preparation of primering and painting. WOW! ...talk about labor intensive!!! I have muscles hurting I forgot I had.

Joe helping with cleaning.

Before we finished putting up the dry wall, we had the kids write their favorite verses and anything they wanted to express on the walls of their bedrooms that would be under the drywall.

Andrew has always had a small concern of this house being haunted since it's over 70 years old. He's asked several times, "do you think there's ghosts in this house?" When we told the kids to write things on their walls, he decided to include a word of protection on his wall.

I wrote a special message on each of the kid's walls...

"I love Jesus" written by Jessie.

Joe had a certain Super Hero on his mind when he did his wall writing!

I've become quite the "pro" at cutting dry wall!

The stages of "taping" is a messy job! I'm SO READY for a shower & manicure!

Jessie and Joe's Room (before closet, above)

Jessie and Joes's room (after closet added)

Andrew's room

Kelsie's Room

Kelsie paints her room "Spring Cactus" by Glidden.
The orange ceiling fan HAS TO GO!

We are currently at the place of getting the painting on the walls finished and have ordered the new carpet- a nice neutral frieze by Mohawk. We will hopefully have the carpet installed (by professionals) no later than April 23 (according to who we ordered it from).

Besides getting the painting finished, the other things we'll be working on in all the bedrooms over the next couple weeks in preparation of the kid's having their rooms done:

install new doors and paint them
install door hardware
replace ceiling fans
caulking around all windows (inside)
caulking around air conditioner ceiling vents (to prevent further condensation which has been an ongoing problem)
paint and install door & window trim molding
paint and install base boards
install new 2" Bali wood blinds (faux wood , that is)
add customized units to Kelsie and Jessie & Joe's closets
DECORATE the rooms to feel fresh and cozy!

We are starting see this phase of renovation FINALLY coming close to an end! I will soon be able to post the official "after" pictures! I can't wait!!!

Our renovation continues!

2010-03-11T15:57:00.001-08:00

By now we thought we'd be a lot further along on the kid's bedrooms than we are, but the good news is, each day we move forward a little bit more, even if it's at a snail's pace.

Since my last update, we've had all new double pane (energy efficient)windows installed on the entire house. The new window installation is the only project (so far) we hired people to do the work for us. Even as DIY'ers, Kirk and I know that an entire house needing windows is something we'd rather have the professionals do.

Over the past couple weeks, Kirk and I replaced a section of rotten subfloor (in Jessie and Joe's room); we framed out a wall that used to be a big window; we installed moisture barrier and prepped an exterior wall for siding (where a window used to be); Kirk updated a number of electrical cables under the house, old junction boxes, old outlets, and old switches for the bedrooms we're working on... they are all new! We are feeling little victories in each accomplished task.

New windows being installed!!!

This is the opening that used to have a large window. The window had an air conditioner unit in it that leaked and rotted out the wall and a small section of the floor. We've decided to NOT replace the window, but fix the rotten places and make a solid wall.

Little did we know when we bought this house that we were going to be rebuilding this much of it. It's a fun experience, that's for sure!

...all ready for new insulation!

...moisture barrier, and exterior insulation panels.

Our electrical issues... old cables that made a "crunchy" noise when they are moved around and several places that had exposed wires where critters had chewed through. YIKES!

(this photo is just a sampling of what Kirk replaced)

Kirk fit snug under the house getting the cables updated. Bless his heart, he spent a total of 8-10 hours total under the house. He even got bit/stung by a bug on his hand (we suspect a scorpion), which freaked him out when his hand hurt, tingled and went numb for a day.

...new outlets! Oh JOY! (a total of 10, so far)

What a beautiful sight... updated electrical!

We found a friendly gecko in Andrew's room, wondering why we disrupted his home behind some old wall boards. We relocated him outside where it's nice and warm.

We continue our renovation "process" at a snails pace . This week we've been putting up drywall (in 3 bedrooms) and are hoping to get the walls finished out over the next 4-7 days. I'm motivated to post "after" pictures of the three bedrooms all finished and decorated. But more than posting "after" pictures, to have the kids in their own bedrooms, with all their stuff, for the comfort and convenience of them having their own spaces again, this will be a reason to celebrate!

If It's Not One Thing, It's Another! Such is Life!

2010-02-24T15:56:00.000-08:00

La vieja casa is keeping us busy as we knew it would. Officially this past Sunday, Kirk and I were doing a happy dance for saving over $1,500. by not hiring a plumber to re-route plumbing (washing machine, dishwasher, a shower, a bathroom sink and the kitchen sink) to our septic system. All these items were going into a mysterious location in the ground next to the house (we still don't know exactly where it was going for sure). We bought all our own supplies, and after 5 trips to Home Depot on Saturday with Kirk and I working on the project together all day Saturday and part of Sunday, we successfully completed the work and got our plumbing updated, new bathroom floor down, and new toilet up and running! We are very happy DIY'ers!

A beautiful sight! Plumbing going where it's supposed to!

A PVC "Wye" Connection. A week ago I wouldn't have known what that was... now I have a new vocabulary of plumbing terminology!

Another beautiful sight. A 1/2 " cement floor thin-set and screwed on top of a 3/4" plywood sub floor; nice and sturdy for our new toilet and future tile floor (end of March)!

A toilet that is brand new and doesn't leak!!! The box it came in even says "flushes a bucket of golf balls". I'm hoping it's safe to assume our toilet won't get plugged too often.; a bucket of golf balls is quite a load if you know what I mean.

My plumber man, Kirk! Just finished the last connection and realized his place on the ground is quite comfortable... a body shaped hole (that used to be where our grey water drained down a pipe); a clear blue sky above, a dryer vent blowing warm air on him; and a weekend plumbing job that just got done! All he needs now is a nice hot shower.

Now that this plumbing saga is behind us, I wanted to get our focus back on finishing the kids' bedrooms... we started getting back on track with the four kids actually getting in on the action working on the rooms~

Andrew pulling out carpet staples from his bedroom floor...

...and getting rid of the old vinyl 1" mini blinds.

Kelsie starting first layer of primer in her closet.

Joe and Jessie want to get in on the primer job in Kelsie's room since theirs isn't ready for work yet.

Our focus back on the bedrooms only lasted about a day. We are NOW contending with some very outdated electrical cable and outlets we discovered in the process of getting the kids' rooms a few steps closer to progressing. GO FIGURE!!! The electrical issues are from the original part of the house that was built in the mid 30's. As Kirk and I have taken the 3 kids' bedrooms down to the studs in most places, we've discovered that only part of the electrical has been updated and much of it hasn't. The electrical is this old black fabric covered stuff that sounds after 70+ years sounds "crunchy" when it's moved. Kirk crawled under the house and found places where mice (or some critter) had chewed away the electrical casing exposing bare wire. YIKES! Not something we want to overlook so we will be side tracking our attention to electrical instead of bedroom drywall.

I'm frustrated about this because we had two separate inspections done that should have caught this- one done by a general inspector, and one by a reputable local electrician. Why the outdated, chewed up electrical cables under the house wasn't caught, I don't know. Kirk saw them almost immediately among the many old electric cables. He is now taking off his "plumber hat" and putting on his "electrician hat". I'm so proud of him. He has his DIY strengths, I have mine. The electrical updating project seems pretty basic and thank God for web sites like THIS ONE.

As the title of this blog post states,

"If it's not one thing,

it's another!

Such is life!"

Through this home renovation experience I am learning so much...

one thing I've learned~

I have learned the secret to being content in ANY and EVERY situation. (Philippians 4:12)

the secret

A Week in the Toilet...LITERALLY!

2010-02-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

We started working on renovating our fixer upper exactly two weeks ago today with our primary focus on the kids' bedrooms as our top priority. We stripped each room down to the studs, ripped out carpet, and were preparing to put up new drywall, WHEN... the first major distraction occurred. One of our two bathroom toilets were in need of immediate attention! We knew there was a problem with the toilet leaking (from our general home inspection we had done prior to closing), but we didn't realize how bad until this past weekend. Every time a person would sit down on the toilet, it almost felt like the toilet might fall through the floor; it seemed to be getting progressively worse over the two weeks we had been living in the house. Our thought was, we would hurry and get the kids' rooms done so they could get moved in (we're sleeping in our travel trailer at the present), then gut out the bathroom with the leaking toilet. Both bathrooms in the house are in need of complete over hauls and could qualify for one of America's Ugliest Bathrooms ever! (I'll post the "before" pictures once we get to the actual remodel)

Our first distraction from the kids' bedrooms happened on Saturday morning (Valentines Day). I used the bathroom and as I flushed the toilet, something caught the corner of my eye. I looked down and this is what I saw (look real close at the base)~

Needless to say, our focus was now on taking care of a scary toilet situation. We spent the entire day pulling out an old toilet and soggy sub floor.

Notice the back of the toilet leaning against the wall? We think this helped it NOT fall through the floor! Actually... it wouldn't fall through the floor because of the floor beams, even though it felt like it would.

A very soft, rotton sub floor. (Kirk isn't in the mood to be filmed.)

Thankfully the floor beams weren't rotten (YET!) and just the sub floor needs replaced. Kirk adds cross braces to help re-enforce our floor since we plan to put tile down during the remodel stage.

We had to set up a fan to dry out our wet floor beams before our new sub floor and toilet can be installed. As of today, the fan is still running and they are pretty much dry! Guess what we'll be doing tomorrow?!

Since our toilet situation happened, our second distraction happened! We discovered this house has most of it's plumbing going into an unknown holding tank/septic (that, as of this week is overflowing any time water is used). This holding tank, or what ever it is, is in addition to the new septic system that was installed in 1998. Apparently when the new septic system was installed 10 years ago, only about 30% of the plumbing was routed to the new septic we discovered through investigation! We had NO IDEA there was an old system next to our kitchen window that a shower, a bathroom sink, washing machine, dishwasher, and kitchen sink ALL drained into! All of a sudden, early this week, we notice a mini pond on the side of our house! After investigation and Kirk digging the area up, we realized what was going on.

We asked the septic guy who installed the newer system 10 years ago to come over to give us his opinion of our mini pond. When he came over, he let on he didn't know what was happening with the mini pond situation, but said, no matter, we need to get our plumbing straightened out to be going into the newer septic. He said we could do it ourselves if we're up for it... the cost of materials would be around $100. IF we hired a plumber, the labor costs alone would be around $1,500 plus cost of materials. Guess what we'll be doing tomorrow/this weekend in addition to installing a bathroom sub floor and new toilet?... you guessed it~ we'll be plumbers, re-routing our shower, bathroom sink, washing machine, dish washer, and kitchen sink to drain into the newer septic system. OH JOY! SERIOUSLY! I'm so thankful this house is a pier and beam, so we can do the job ourselves. When the septic guy was talking about the newer system. he also made a comment in passing about the "old septic" and pointed on the opposite side of the house the kitchen is located. What???... "An old septic over there?" I wondered.... that's not on the same side as our kitchen that has the over flowing mini pond.

With all this toilet stuff and plumbing issues happening, our THIRD distraction for the week happened. Our one and only functioning toilet got major plugged up on Wednesday evening. I guess that's what happens when 6 people are using it, and the kids always seem very generous with the toilet paper. Kirk had to go to Home Depot at 8:30 PM Wednesday night and buy a 40' snake to unplug it. While we're looking for the opening to snake our system, I remembered what the septic guy said about the "old septic". Sure enough we found a make shift cover (a 18x18x2 concrete block) over this hole that was filled with sludge! OH GROSS! We were mad, frustrated and sick! Mad, because when the new septic was put in, the old wasn't filled with gravel or anything. Not even emptied! We were frustrated because this was NOT disclosed to us prior to us purchasing this home. Sick because the thought of our 5 year old boy discovering this block, being curious, pulling the block away, and possible falling in... he sink down and drown. The thought maddens and sickens me. Kirk put a much safer block over the hole until we can get it properly filled in the next couple weeks.

Our week has literally been in the toilet!

Are we having regrets for buying this house... NO.

Are we discouraged about all the work... NO.

Are we being surprised every other day... YES.

My hope is a year from now, we'll look back and celebrate our progress and successes. As DIY'ers we like things done right; we like to save money we would otherwise pay someone else a job we can do. Obviously, there's a lot about this house that hadn't been done right, and we're thankful we're discovering them so we can get it right and be confident in a job well done- plus save a bunch of money.

I reflect on all God is teaching me through this experience. I think about how appropriate it is that God gave me my memory verses for this two week period of time! While the Apostle Paul writes these words of my memory verses, he's imprisoned amidst nasty circumstances, most likely angle high in human waste among other things. I am certainly not going through what Paul went through as he was imprisoned, but the God inspired words he wrote encourage me "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation... I can do everything through him who gives me strength.... And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." The whole chapter 4 of Philippians inspire me as I go through these home renovation trials.

More later~

SURPRISES

2010-02-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

We are simultaneously working on the kids' bedrooms of our ranch style house, totally gutting all three of them! The past couple days I've been focusing on my 16 yea old daughter, Kelsie's room; the one with the lovely sponged walls.

Everyday a little more progress; everyday some SURPRISES.

SURPRISE! I love this vintage wall paper!
Although it is coming down, I am saving some to use as a background in a framed collage of some sort (still brainstorming ideas).

After pulling up the old carpet, there were two layers of carpet pads. One stapled on top of an older yellow foam pad glued down. Thank God for a floor scraper to get the glued one up!

Just for the heck of it, I got some Mineral Spirits and steel wool pads to scrub a patch of the glue off. WOW, to my SURPRISE the floor looks pretty good. (Especially visualizing their beauty once they get sanded, stained, and varnished). I'm hoping my teenager will want to have her bedroom floor re-finished to show off the original floor rather than put the berber carpet down that we had talked about. I'll have to test my skills of persuasion on her.

I'll post more and be sure to keep revealing pictures as we progress (before and after)! I can't wait to start showing the "AFTER" pictures!

A few friends asked me about the rest of the house... Yes, we will be renovating the entire house with a timeline of one year. The kids' rooms are first so they can get moved in (we're sleeping in a travel trailer right now). Our goal is to be complete with the 3 bedrooms by mid March. This includes having all new windows installed on the entire house in the next couple weeks. After the bedrooms, we'll be conquering the two bathrooms- one at a time! Talk about scary "before" pictures! Check back and you'll see what I mean.

This house is a labor of love and I have to say, I'm feeling obsessed about renovating and decorating it- in a good way. I like the good SURPRISES, too!

Our Fixer Upper!

2010-02-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

As home owners of 4 different houses in the past 13 years, my husband (Kirk) and I have always had "new construction" homes with the exception of our last house we just moved from. The house we just moved from was 3 years old when we bought it; a new house, none the less.

Kirk is in the US Navy (a pilot/flight instructor) getting ready to leave the military in September 2011. When he departs the Navy, his plans are to fly for a commercial airline. When this happens, typically the first year of flying commercial, the military pilot takes a pay cut from what they had been earning. We want to remain debt free (with the exception of our home loan) and prepare ourselves for this transition time from military life to civilian life. Also over the past year, we've had a yearning to renovate an old "fixer upper".

With Kirk getting out of the Navy in just over 18 months, as well as the desire to do a major renovation on a house as DIY'ers, we felt God's lead to sell our large house in a beautiful city subdivision, and buy a smaller, more modest home in the country amidst farm land. We prayed about it, acted on God's lead and have been blessed every step of the way.

Several weeks ago we purchased our 5th house, closer to our kids' school and our church. We are so in God's will as He has supernaturally put everything in place for us to sell and buy as only He can. Kirk and I are so excited to be out in the country on 2 acres and living in our new "old house". To many, we look crazy for moving as we did. But to our God, we are obedient to his voice and this pleases him. Our goal is to fix up the existing floor plan of our new home and eventually add onto the the floor plan to create a bit more space after our major renovations are completed, or build a new home next to it, using the fixer upper as a guest house or rental property. For now, we take one step at a time.

This past weekend we have officially begun the first stages of our renovation with getting the kids' bedrooms ready for rehabilitating~ ... old carpet ripped out, down with 1970's wood wall paneling, cracked drywall getting ripped down, walls getting patched, some need re-framed, insulated, and repaired... so much work... SO MUCH FUN!

Lots of fun projects to keep us busy!

Kirk accessing the kids' bedroom projects...

Many places the walls cracked from the foundation
repair we had done prior to moving in.

I will have victory!!!

We expected to find "SURPRISES" behind the old wood paneling and dry wall...

...the insulation behind this drywall was even worse!

As we lifted paneling, little "presents" fell from the ceiling!

YUCK! Is it roach or mouse droppings? YUCK, YUCK!
Do I even want to know?
Thankfully we had this place fumigated!

yes~ we're wearing masks, goggles and gloves!

YUCK!

before (above)... after (below)

...what do we have here?

Looks like we'll be completely replacing some framing!

How do we get rid of drywall & trash?

ONE BAG AT A TIME!