Our River House Fixer Upper - Week 18

Where does the time go?  Weeks are flying by and August is almost over!  Initially we thought we would be done with most of this house by July...surely by August.  Then certainly by September.  Nope, not going to happen.  Can't say why our initial time frame was so off base. 😕

More scraping

I have plugging along with the continuous trim work.  Started and finished the large window in the dining room.  My mom keeps asking me "what have you done this week?"  and I keep telling her "still painting".  Which is then followed by "the house is not that big, you have been painting for months", which is then followed by "I know!"  

I wish the process was that simple...just paint it.  But it is the prep work with the trim that takes SO LONG!  It's a tedious job and my wrists are tired.  There are 19 windows in this house and each one was painted with latex over oil based paint without primer in between.  If you have been following, you will remember that means most of the paint has to be removed, because latex does not adhere to oil base paint if not sanded/prime properly first.  Whoever painted it previously just slapped the latex on without any prep and I suppose it looked good for a short while, but IT DOESN'T STAY ON!  I have completed 10 out of 19 windows.   Oh, and the trim around doors and floors and ceilings must be done too, because 'whoever' painted that as well. 😧😧😧

Window trim scraping

Floor trim

More of the same, it goes on and on

That is why is takes so long.  I scrape as much of the paint as I can get off, then I sand with coarse and fine sandpaper.   I can then tape off the area and get ready for priming with a primer made for latex over oil based paint.  It is then ready for painting!   I am surprised I have come this far since April!

We finally made a choice for our counter top, and ordered it this week.  Should be arriving in about 10 days.  The captain has been working on our kitchen island frame.  It is SOLID!  He tells me that if we have a tornado or hurricane, the inside of the island is our "shelter".  Tells me "one of those huge pecan trees out back could fall on it and it ain't going anywhere".  Ok, so we know where to go in case of imminent storm threat.

Island beginnings

Another view

Progressing along

Making sure it is level

It is not cabinetry style built, as the shape along with the post (which is a structural support for the back of the house) prohibits having cabinet storage underneath.  And our range will be housed in this island.  So really, cabinets would have been very time consuming and extremely hard to match the new kitchen cabinets.  But we will have a decent sized island, with plenty of surface area...(and somewhere to hide out in case of severe weather threat! 😉)

I park my car there sometimes!!

Joking aside,  we did have a storm pass over a couple of nights ago.  Lots of rain and lightning and apparently some wind.  Woke up to this large limb in our driveway.  This limb fell out of our neighbor's pecan tree and it's a good thing I did not park in the drive that night!  Our other neighbor asked to remove it as he is going to use the wood for his smoker/cooker.  So good use of the debris.

All in all, a busy week.  We are coming along and although it is hard work, we are enjoying our accomplishments.  

Until next time...

Enjoy!

Our River House Fixer Upper - Week 17

The painters have finished the first coat on the exterior.  Captain Man and I will do the second coat (maybe).  We are happy with the results and love the color. Now we need to decide on a front door color.  Family, friends and neighbors have all indicated what they would choose.  I have my preference, but am still undecided at this point.  

 

One coat on

Looking clean!

Side view

This is what it looked like before!

We have had people walking by and telling us they like our front door color (the color when we bought the house is a bluish green) and they would not change it.  But we think we will change it. 

Our now turguoise front door with our new mailbox

 

We finally have a door on the bathroom! YAY!!!  We chose a sliding barn door.  Looks great, but was not a fun project for the captain.  This old house is not level or square, and trying to hang the door so that it looked level to the eye, but not slide on its own (it wants to move to the center)...well, it was a challenge.  So after many adjustments and several unneeded drilled holes, it is hung.  However, the hardware is not level and the door is not level with the floor, BUT the door slides open and closes without moving on its own.  Whew...we did not think it would be so difficult.  😟  It needs a handle and a lock on the inside, but then it is done.

Bathroom with a door!

I have been busy with the dining room ceiling.  I have painted it twice and still am not getting coverage.  I suppose I should have primed it first, but I did not think it was needed.  Obviously, I was wrong.  I really do not enjoy painting overhead and was hoping the second coat would do the trick, but it didn't.  

Not a good paint job 😕

Captain Man says I should probably cover it with some Kilz paint primer and then go back over with the ceiling paint.  That means I will have painted this ceiling 4 times!

Marking our kitchen island

We are now designing our kitchen island which will include our stove.  It will be nice to cook dinner while looking out of the big windows onto the river.  We are also looking at options for counter tops and kitchen flooring.  So still several choices to be made within the next week or so.

We did take a day off to spend with a dear friend.  Had a relaxing lunch and listened to some live music.  Nice.  I miss that!!

But need to get back to work...so for now...

Enjoy!

 

Our River House Fixer Upper - Week 16

Four months...and we are moving along.  The weather has not been very cooperative in allowing the painters to get much done.  We are hoping the upcoming week will better for outside work.  Inside...Captain Man has been working on installing the cabinets.  This house is old and nothing is straight or square, so it was a bit of a challenge to get the cabinets aligned and leveled on the walls and floor.  But he did it (with some verbal encouragement 😟) and it looks great thus far.  

 

Upper cabinets

Different view

Opposite side-pantry cabinet

The captain also installed our over the sink and ceiling lighting.  There were so many beautiful choices, and I had a hard time choosing.  But once installed, we are both happy with the result.  

Over the sink, and the ceiling light

Upper and lower cabinets are in!

Opposite side with pantry

It looks like a kitchen now, not a work zone.  Still much to do...new floor, moldings, hardware, etc...but excited to have this much done.

Oops!

I have been painting along.  I went to work on Tuesday in our laundry closet, but when Captain Man looked, he noted no electrical outlet for the washer 😕   The outlet for the dryer is there, and the plumbing for the washer is there...but where is the washer electrical outlet?  So our electrician had to come back and install the outlet.  

Electrical outlet added

Painting in the hallway

More painting

And more painting

Yep,  I am riddled with paint specks that refuse to come off despite soap water scrubbing.  It is in my hair, and on my exposed skin areas.  I need to wear readers to see up close and all of these are speckled with paint.  My new perfume is Valspar.  But it is amazing to see the huge difference once each room has been painted. 

Another busy week for us.  We did take a few hours off this week.  I spent a wonderful afternoon with my two favorite girls, my daughter and granddaughter.  They came for a visit on Thursday and we had lunch and spent a few hours strolling around town.  Then last night, Captain Man and I had dinner with our great friends at Cinnamon's...a fantastic Indian restaurant.  It was a wonderfully relaxing evening.  

But...it is time to get back into work mode...so we are off to do exactly that.

Until next time...

Enjoy!

Our River House Fixer Upper - Week 15

It is hard to believe that we are into August.  Almost 4 months have gone by since starting this project.  We do love this place, and are so happy we have it.  But it has been hard work...and a lot of it.  We are sore and tired.  We smell like paint and look like hard laborers.  My hair is tinged white, and although I have some natural gray, most of the white is primer that will not wash out.  When I am not wearing scrubs for work, my attire consists of faded, paint splotched T shirts and shorts.  Haven't worn make up since when? And forget about manicured hands and feet.  Captain Man did make time for a haircut last week, as he was looking like he had stepped back into the 60"s.  I am not complaining, just stating that we are working hard trying to make our house our home.

New window spot

Level and plumb?

The back of the house with new window added

What it looked like before the new window installation

Our new window is in and it was a huge process.  This property is in the historical district and before changing anything on the outside of the house, it must be approved by the Historical Committee.  This involves submitting a request along with pictures, drawing, etc., anything to show and impress upon the panel that any changes you plan to make will not take away from the historical value or integrity of the property.  Thankfully, Captain Man did his homework and provided them with clear explanation and supporting documentation to get their approval.   Once approved, then we had to find a triple wood window (the Historical Committee will not approve vinyl windows) to match the existing one.  That was much more difficult.  He found a company online that makes windows according to your specifications, and the shipping date was supposed to be approximately 3 weeks, which turned out to be a bit longer.   So that was probably over 2 months ago.  Finally the window arrived and it was damaged.  Bummer!!!   Apparently, it was dropped somewhere along the way.  So we had to wait for a replacement.  But once we got the new undamaged window installed, Captain Man was a happy camper.  The back of the house now provides us with a beautiful view of the property and river.  We love it!

Our view towards the side of the property

Our view of facing the river

The exterior is getting its much needed love as well.  One side is scraped, primed, caulked and painted.  All except for the trim.  

One side done minus the trim

The paint color choice that won out ... Muslin, with trim being Straw Harvest.  Excited!   

A few days ago

Our unpainted living room is being filled with kitchen cabinets.  Captain Man has been assembling the cabinets this week and hopefully most of them will be installed in the kitchen soon.  I have painted the kitchen/dining room and the laundry closet.  

Living room - that's a toilet in there?

Yep...working hard to get this home in shape.   We are so pleased and we are thankful that we can do this.  We hope to have many wonderful, happy memories to share with our family and friends in this place.   Can't wait!!! 


Until next time...

Enjoy!