Blogging Ketchup

I realize that I have left my fans and readers in the lurch.  I hate to leave you hanging, but the truth is that we have been sucked into the dark whole vortex called home renovation.  It can be a very dark, scary place.  A place where there is never enough time, money or progress.

I haven't been blogging because the projects are just too overwhelming.  The progress that we have made has been swallowed by the list of things yet to-do.  I think maybe we took on WAY too much this summer.  The finish line is still hazy, a milestone that we don't dare attach a date to.

The truth is that it is hard to balance work, the house, and life.  And it is not always fun.  The house is sucking up every spare cent and looking for more.. It has chewed up my husband and spit out a stressed snarling beast.  

So now you know why I have been neglecting you. I was trying not to drag you down with me.  We are too far in to do anything but trudge on, for better or worse.

Perhaps what we need right now is a break.  Or a vacation.  Or a winning lottery ticket...  Or just a very long nap with the cat.

Happy Anniversary - one year...

Well it's been ONE YEAR since we packed up and moved all our belongings and embarked upon our old farmhouse restoration project.  I really don't feel like we have accomplished all that much, maybe because nothing feels "done"...  It is encouraging when friends visit and they say they can't believe how much we've done... I am usually tempted to hook them up to a polygraph...

Here is the LIST of our (work in) progress...

1. Managed installation of new septic system on sellers dime.  Chased contractor around in fall and in spring (seeding).  Contractor reneged on loaming and seeding leach field.  Chased lawyers around.  Finally got remaining $ to finish project.  Timeline:  Sept 2010 - Sept 2011.  Lesson Learned:  Avoid septic escrow holdbacks at all costs!  If you find yourself in that situation insist that your lawyer hold funds (this really saved us).  Finally, never go with the cheapest bidder.  Unfortunately we were stuck with the sellers choice...


2. Installed gutters to try and redirect water from basement.  Helped somewhat (tip of the dampness iceberg down there)


3. Installed new windows in living room and dining room


4. Rebuilt wall under beam.  Still waiting for pocket doors and T to sheetrock.


5. Hired contractor to jack up basement and rebuild stairs.  He showed up twice.  Chased contractor via phone and in-person.  He sheepishly apologized but never finished job.  Gave up and T finished the supports.  Had another carpenter rebuild stairs.  They are now level.  Yea!


6. Removed one squirrel, one possum, one snake and lots of mice.


7. Gutted front living room - removed gas stove that was never fully vented.  Updated wiring.  Soundproofed ceiling.  Rebuilt back wall.  Living room is partially blue-boarded.


8. Gutted hallway.  Removed lots of mouse debris (poop, skeletons, pee).  Re-insulated and rewired.


9. Installed two new windows in hallway - much more light coming in.


10. Paid neighbor to remove pine tree in front of house.  Paid landscaper to put in walkway and fill, loam and seed front lawn.


11. Framed up area for half-bath under stairs.  Pulled plumbing permit.  Working on pipes in basement.  Should be roughed in soon.  Thanks Dad!


12. Disconnected baseboard from areas that are gutted.  Bought new baseboard to install.  Need blue boarding done first...


13. T got distracted by building a massive shed.  That needs roof and doors/windows, but it is coming along...


14. Removed defunct second chimney from the attic down to basement.  Gutted exterior wall.  Bought new slider in April...still waiting for it to be delivered...


15. Dug out sump pump area in basement so the pump is lower than the floor.


16. T put in at least three concrete footing to replace undersized or non-existent supports


17. Hired neighbor to dig footings for front bay window supports, tame back jungle and plow area for garden.


18. Gutted front bedroom wall in anticipation of 2 new windows being installed...still waiting for them to be put in...


19. Gutted exterior wall in downstairs office/study.  Replaced ugly window with more appropriate sized one to match others in house.  T needs to knock down that chimney so we can rewire and insulate that room.


20. Hired contractor to replace the front siding with Hardy Board.  Contractor having intense personal issues and does not show up to work.  Waiting about a year to finish front windows and five months on siding.  Lesson learned:  do not mix friendship and business.


21. Put cover on well!!!


22. Cut up dead tree by stream


23. Took time out to build a duck house and predator proof cage and raise four baby ducklings into adults.

It looks like it is going to be another cold winter folks!  As of right now there are only three rooms in the entire house that are untouched.  So much for one room at a time... although we are focusing on doors, windows and insulation.

Our goal this year was cleaning up the front of the house.  I don't know if we are going to make this due to circumstances out of our control (aka mia contractor), but we are still hopeful...  It has been a busy year!

Phase two and three...

[slideshow]

Phase two is complete.  The chimney is down!  There was a nice hole from the 2nd floor all the way down to the basement.  The kids tried to talk us into a laundry shoot.

T knocked down the stone tablet that was supporting the whole thing.  His theory is that originally that part of the basement was a crawl space.  They build the chimney on the rock then decided to dig out the basement and left the dirt under the tablet in a big clay pile.

Then the cursed stairs came down.  Boy will we miss them...

Happy New Year 2011!

2011 promises to be a year full of renovations!  We are hoping to finish the living room, add a half bath, rip out and insulate the hall way, build a barn and get to the upstairs bedroom and bath remodel.  Ambitious? Yes.  Feasible - probably not.  The barn I am sure will deplete our rapidly dwindling funds...but it will be so nice to have at least one room done!

The nine new windows finally arrived on December 30th, about a month late.  They started to get installed on New Years Day (happy birthday to me!) and are still in the process of finishing the insulating and outside trim.  I will get some pictures up soon - I am waiting for the trim!  The one we put back in the living room has a wonderful view of the sunrise each morning.  It is quite stunning actually and makes the room so much brighter.

I'd like to share with you a poem from my contributing friend, author and quasi-cousin Jen

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS RENOVATION


On the first Day of Christmas my old house gave to me:

1) Some screwed up and scary wiring

2) TWO leaky radiators

3) THREE rotted windows

4) FOUR layers of wallpaper

5) FIVE ugly shrubberies

6) SIX bees nests

7) SEVEN cans of paint

8) EIGHT rotted floorboards

9) NINE thousand hex tiles

10) TEN musty cabinets

11) ELEVEN crumbling bricks

12) TWELVE months of Lowe’s Bills

Antique Farmhouse 101

This is the story of a lovely farmhouse...the issues as we know them:

1. wet basement - moisture seeps in via old leaky bulkhead, via porch roof that is no longer there, via peaks and valleys. Furnace has a concrete moat (never a good sign)
2. critters abound - lots of holes in roofline which allow attic access to furry friends - lots of scratching in walls, especially in living room remuddling - yup I'll be getting to that
3. kitchen - ugh - patched ceiling, patched floors (flooring is hardwood, tile and plywood), hideous light fixtures - old school track lighting with florescent bar and art deco -
4. crap rooms - unfinished rooms - originally a porch built with scraps, workmanship amateurish think 3rd grader - live wires - bouncy floors - gaps in walls and roofing but a new roof!
5. ONE bathroom. Upstairs. Hot toilet (seriously, the tank water is hot and makes lots of condensation), salon sink with sprayer, no ventilation, awkward layout...need I go on. You could stop me at the word "one"
6. Living room "project" - must see to believe. I think this one deserves an entire post. Let's just point out the basics here... Hard wood floors cut up to make tile hearth (tile not secured and broken in more than one place). Plywood firebox?! Flue to nowhere with collapsible stovepipe that goes up to 2nd floor and stops. Load bearing supporting wall removed not sure if there is a beam...
7. Access to fourth bedroom is through another bedroom's closet and a "z" shape so you cannot get a boxspring or any other large furniture through.

I am going to stop now before I get depressed...to be continued...