Ugh

Kitchen glue is up. Sam can start putting down the new floor. Still have to finish hall and the bit of kitchen that is going to be in the living room. Tired. This stuff is so gross.

Ding Dong the Tiles are Dead

All the tiles are off the kitchen floor now. The glue is not. We've still got a few more spots of that stinky black stuff on the floor in the kitchen and a little in the hall. If all goes to plan it will get done tomorrow. But we've underestimated that floor before. So if it doesn't get done then we'll get it done Wednesday. One way or another, we're going to start painting this weekend.

Sam is still working strong. he would have done the kitchen floor today, but we needed more time to get it done. He's caulked the windows today and between today and tomorrow will finish the trap door for the attic and finish the dry wall on the stairs.

Basement Clutter

We had planned to get the kitchen floor done today. But since Sam was working, we let him do his thing without getting in his way. Let him work while he's motivated. Instead we started cleaning out the basement.

Tony and I are at the polar opposite on what to keep and what not to keep. He's a pack rat and looks at things as 'we might use it someday.' I am not. If its old, rusty and unused I would rather throw it out. We never fought over things but a lot of day was him saying 'we should keep it. It might come in handy.' Then me saying 'are we really going to use it? Really?' Some things were kept and other things (most things) were put in the 'if we don't use it in a year it gets thrown out' pile. Even though we spent 3 hours there we barely budged the basement clutter. A lot of stuff down there is either mine or building supplies (paint, lights, etc.). It'll be easier to organize once that stuff is gone.

Sam got a bunch of the dry wall sanded. So as soon as we are done with the floor we're going to start painting.

The Decision: Ugly for Cheap or Pretty for Bend-Over-And-Take-It Prices

Tonight's adventure was buying a whole house full of moldings. First we went to the Home Depot closest to us and found out that they didn't have anymore truck to rent out. Because it was getting late so we went, undaunted, to another Home Depot. This Home Depot didn't have Tony's information in their system (driver's license, proof of insurance, etc.) so Tony had to make a run back home to get that while I picked out the trim with Sam.

This time we had actually thought in advance and picked out what we wanted. Unfortunately we grossly under estimated how much we needed and how much it would cost. Plus our educated minds forgot to read the fine print. What we thought was dirt cheap at $5 or so for a 12 foot piece of molding was actually $5 a foot.

You can see where this might be a problem.

So the next 45 minutes or so I'm on and off the phone with Tony how much he wants to spend on 'pretty'. And we killed some time while waiting and got some stuff we needed for the floor, a garbage disposal and a hood for the stove. When Tony finally got back we added up how much it would cost to do it either way. At first we wanted to put cheap crap on and replace it later. But then Tony decided just to do it right the first time. So we pretty much wiped all of the molding they had in the particular design we wanted (which only ended up being about $1.50 per square foot for the base, we haven't gotten the crown yet).

The drive back was interesting. A 16 foot piece of wood in a 10 foot or so truck bed doesn't exactly work right. The pieces wiggled all around. We had to drive extra slow over the bumps when the pieces started flapping up and down. We had to stop twice to make sure they weren't sliding out. we still need to get crown, but that comes in 7 foot pieces and can be transported in Tony's car.

We also decided, over teh last few days, to do the countes on the cheap for now. we're just going to get an oiled wood or laminate from Ikea and get better ones later. Counters are easier to replace than other things, so the money should go there. And we'd be saving like $2500 in the meanwhile.

Tough Decisions

Well, we ran into Sam last night and told him he has to move the board. He didn't like that much. Can't sympathizes much. He should have waited for measurements. He knew the cabinets and grate would overlap though. So I'm wondering why he wanted to proceed with it there.

Anyway, Tony talked to Sam about the rest of the stuff that needs to get done. Sam wants to do most of the rest of the job, the wall moldings, install cabinets, finish the bathroom, put in the floors and install a new set of stairs for $3000. Its a lot of money. And a lot to think about. It would almost remove us entirely from the project. Well, the essential stuff really. We'd still have to paint and refinish the floors. And we'd get to do the fun stuff like landscaping. But things would get done faster and more professionally (provided there aren't anymore strokes, muggings or flu's). We're both getting to the point that we just want it done.

Besides that, and we picked up some more floor glue remover, we decided to take today off. Probably going out to order counters tomorrow.

This Weekend

Well, I don't think we got everything done on the 'to-do' list, but we gave it the old college try.

Yesterday we went over to the house early to meet the plumber to get the gas line moved. We went through Len the Plumber. The guy was really friendly and got the job done pretty quick. Meanwhile I worked on taking out the old shower stall and Tony worked on the shed. I tried playing nice with the shower and unscrewing it, but it ultimately came down to (like most things in the house) smacking it with a sledge hammer. The shower stall in now done, except for the base which did not respond to sledge hammer smacking.

Between yesterday and today Tony got most of the crap out of the shed. We ran out of room in the dumpster, unfortunately. So there are a few big things in the back yard, including the rusty shed, which will have to go in the next one when we get the basement sorted. At least we got the brunt on the trash in there, including the cast iron heater, which also was smacked by a sledge hammer into bite-sized dumpster pieces.

We couldn't prime the walls this weekend. Turns out we've gone another week with Sam not doing his part. And now its time for:

Sam's Excuse for the Week

This week's excuse: Sam had a stroke. Yeah, he said he went out one day and then woke up in the hospital. I guess I believe him, because Tony gave him a ride to the store to get pills, but its getting old.

We also ordered the floor. I wish I would have taken a picture of it because I can't find a picture online. Oh well. After sweat, tears and a little confusion, we finally (and accurately) got the measurements we needed. So that should arrive in about a week. The tears came up because we discovered that the board Sam put in incorrectly can't be used. Its a few inches short. If he put it in there The cabinets would cover one of the air vents. It was a the perfect end of a long, frustrating day really.

This morning we made a trip to Home Depot to get some stuff for the tile glue remover. Just standard stuff, push broom, mop, face masks, meat smoker/charcoal grill.... Okay, so we may have made an impulsive buy. Anyway, after spending the last few hours pulling up more tiles and using a few gallons of elbow (really shoulder) grease most of the floor tiles are up. There are only a few small spots left. The glue remover worked sub-par. If took up a bit in the kitchen, but will need at least 2 or 3 more applications. I used most of it already though :( It came up better in the hall, but I think that's cause I gave it more time there. Guess I shouldn't have followed the directions and gave it two hours to work instead of one. Silly me. That floor has been a long, hard, painful process.

Kitchen Floor Before


Kitchen Floor After

Hall Floor Before

Hall Floor After

Fashion vs. Function

I don't know why we thought we could just walk into a store and make a decision on what to get for the kitchen floor.

Okay, yeah, back up a little. When Tony got home from work tonight he talked to Sam. Sam said he put another layer of dry wall mud in the corners of the upstairs, so it would be best if we worked downstairs. I wasn't really up for another night of work. So I had the idea that we would buy the tile instead. I thought we would just stroll in, since I had a pretty good idea of the exact tile I wanted, order and be done with it.

Yeah, fat chance of that. Not when you could take two steps in a showroom with dozens of samples and find yet another pattern that was really pretty and went with both the wall color and cabinets. The biggest problem now is that there are too many choices for the kitchen and not enough for the bathroom. Both the floors I picked out online were not on display. And, since the floors are un-level, getting laminate tiles, which are jointed, is impossible. We need a sheet of vinyl which we can roll out. The website which I picked the floor out on originally is very unclear which the one I had wanted is.

Anyway, back to the kitchen, the salesman allowed us to take a couple of sample books home. We've narrowed it down to two (I think). One is made of a thicker material which is noticeably cushier to stand on. Its pretty but the other one we're considering looks really, really like actual stone tile and is beautiful. The problem is its thinner and less cushioned. Both are pretty even price-wise.

We have until this weekend to return the sample books. Lets hope by then we decide.

Can This House Get Any Weirder?

Okay, so more news from the 'fun and quirky' department. Sam went over to the place today to work on the walls. I don't know how he stumbled across this but he said that putting in the molding was going to be a real pain in the ass. Why? Because the floors aren't level. And I mean really un-level. He said that each corner of the house was at a slightly different elevation. Once again I have to ask myself what joker built this house.

Sam also went over impulsively and decided that even though we didn't give him the measurements for the bar yet and even though he didn't have the plans the cabinet-store-man gave him he was going to cut a hole in the dry wall and put in the support for the counter. He put it in about 2 inches back from where he really needed it. It can still be used, but we're going to be screwing it in to the edge of the beam. Guess I'm annoyed that he could have finished the kitchen shelf or the closet door or any number of things, but he decided to do that instead. Anyway...

We have a new list of things that need to get done in order to get the cabinets in. Lists on top of lists. Sheesh. We need the new kitchen floor down, the walls primed (at least) and the gas line moved. The plumber has already been scheduled for Saturday and we're planning on getting tiles some time this weekend.

We did more cleaning today. I got up more floor tiles. The rest of them are really plastered on. And Tony took off the old screen door cleaned out more of the shed until the wasps decided enough was enough.

Back to the Grind

Well, a few updates. Firstly the counters are in at the counter store. They aren't in the house yet, because Sam (surprise!!) hasn't finished the dry wall yet. We went over last week so the counter-store-man could explain how the bar was supposed to be built. Tony and he went to Home Depot Saturday to pick up the stuff he'd need to build the wall. The slightly bad news is that there's no stud where we need it. So Sam's going to have to do some handy work (cutting off a piece of wall to put in a board) to mount the cabinets on.

This week we've decided to hit the house as much as possible to get the trash out so the dumpster can be taken away. We need to get the following done in order to get rid of the dumpster:

1. Finish cleaning out the shed and take down the rusty old thing
2. Trash the back screen door
3. Get rid of all the floor coverings
4. Take out the shower stall in the basement
5. Throw away the loose clothes hanging pole in the backyard
6. Get rid of the old electric heater-stove-fire-thing (really we'd love to keep it, but we don't know if all of the parts are there or how to put it together)
7. Clean up all the large rubble from the floor
8. With any left over time, start sorting out old boxes in the basement

We went over tonight with not much time before sunset. With what little time we had I got up the vinyl coverings in the bedrooms, the old pantry and scraped up a couple more kitchen tiles. The wood under the coverings in the bedrooms is gorgeous. I am convinced more than ever that we're going to restore the floor in the living room. We're going to go over tomorrow when we have more daylight to work.

Long Time No See

Wow, its been a while since I've posted o.o

I was hesitant to go over to the house today (I've been spoiled with free time these past couple of weeks). But then I remembered how neat it feels to demolish things. And tiring too. Most of the kitchen floor is up. It was a struggle too. Those little bastard tiles can cling. We got the old dishwasher loaded into the dumpster too.

Tony took care of the jungle outside. Guess we should be mowing it more often considering how much rain we've had. He had to use a machete on the driveway overgrowth when the string trimmer quit. I got to play with *erm* use the machete too.

Sam's nearly done all his work now. The doors are all up. The kitchen shelf is nearly complete. He has to put up more layers of dry wall goo. How many layers does it need? The floor is covered in that stuff now. I can't wait to mop it. Anyway, next week he's going to make the wall for the bar.