Home Improvement

Dude, I feel like I did a bit of work today. I was a sanding machine… I spent most of the day sanding joint compound and applying more. I think the office is almost ready to start texturing and painting. At least that’s what my shoulders are telling me, when they aren’t aching! Ouch! Dad was trapped all day in the bathroom. We locked him in there and wouldn’t let him out. Actually, he was working like crazy on the bathtub/shower. Prepping for and then caulking all of it took a while, but it was worth the wait. It is looking awesome! We are so close to having a working shower now. Yay! Bill was all over finishing up my access panel in the closet and helping me get the last of the drywall up.

Mom, Edith and I tackled the backyard again. We are trying to get it cut down more and let it dry out. It stays really wet back there. As we get it cut shorter and keep it shorter it is starting to dry as we go. Mom and Edith pulled out 3 big bags of this crazy vine we’ve got growing back there. It’s kinda cool looking but it was literally taking over the yard. I think it was gonna eat the shed! It’s like something out of the Little Shop of Horrors. I think I’ll name it Audry III! Just don’t bleed on it right?

Anyways, we are getting closer and closer every day. This weekend’s goal is to have a working shower. We might start Texturing and painting. We’re going to try out some BEHR Texturing Paint. I’ll post how well it works. It looks cool. I guess it’s really thick and you roll it on with this funky roller brush that gives it the texture. We’ll see how it comes out and I’ll let y’all know. We might even look at laying the new tile in the bathroom too. Hopefully things keep moving smoothly (knock on wood.) And with that, the Red Beer I just downed while writing this is kicking in. I think I’ll sign off for tonight. We’ll post ya later.

We love our huge backyard!

P.S. Here’s a panorama shot of the backyard. It’s crazy! It looks twice as big as it used to before we mowed it and everything.

“I love it when a plan comes together!” -Hannibal (the A-Team)

It is sooooo cool to see things start to take shape. Bill and Dad are just going crazy on this bathroom. By the time they are done with it, it will be brand new from floor to ceiling. Seriously, new floor tiles, new sink with cabinet, new tub, new surround, new walls, new light fixture, new outlet, and last but not least… a new toilet! So sweet! Today they pulled the floor tiles (where we found more of the dreaded “M” word!) They have the surround up and curing. We can seal it up tomorrow an might be able to use it in a day or two! (And there was much rejoicing!)

Mom mowed the rest of the back yard. It now looks twice as big! Now maybe it will dry out. It’s kind of been a swamp with all of the rain we’ve had. I’d hate to breed West Nile virus back there or something! Now we just need to keep it short. I love having a big yard. I was running around with Maggie (the dog) and it’s just awesome! We can’t wait to have a dog of our own… That’s another one of those infamous “down the road” happenings. Anyways, Tony got some more exterior painting done and got some of the water out of the moat. In all it was a good day. It doesn’t seem like much happened, but a lot is going on. This weekend is going to be a big one. I’m off tomorrow and hope to actually be of some help finally this week. Here’s a few pics of what’s going on. Hopefully this bathroom will be pretty done by Sunday. We’ll post ya’ll later.

Well another day, more progress. Dad and Bill are going like gangbusters on the shower surround (or as Edith calls it, the sound around.)

The tub surround starts going up!

We all can’t wait till it’s done! It’s kind of a slow process, especially for something called an Easy Install Surround! Bill’s glad we didn’t buy the Hard Install Surround! He he he! Anyways, it is definitely coming along. After quite a bit of research, this seemed the best option for dealing with the window sitting so low into the shower. It’s something that goes up (fairly) easily and could be cut to fit the window. More work was done on the office walls too! Even Estela got into the act, mudding some of the closet.

Not bad for a girl that doesn't like to get her hands dirty!

Yet again, it was another day where Everyone did a lot more than we did (which was about nothing.) Estela and I only ended up going to Home Depot to pick out hardware for the shower. We got some cool handles that match the knobs on the sink. Oh, and Bill and Edith gave us the gift of a new toilet. Thanks guys! They know me well… it is truly a gift that keeps on giving (or should I say taking? I’m sorry, that was bad. I really should avoid the toilet humor. Oh no, I can’t stop the toilet jokes!!! Make it stop.) Wow, now that I’ve regained what little sanity I had, I’ll continue.

Mom and Edith finished up the painting on the living room, it looks so awesome. I don’t know why, but we loooooooooooooooooooove the high gloss white. Thank you Behr for making a great product and thank you Home Depot for having a good sale on it. Anyhoo, another day down and big steps made. We are getting closer and closer every day. As my dad said the other day, “We can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not even a train!” Ha ha, he has an interesting sense of humor. I guess that’s where some of mine comes from… We look forward to getting some more done and maybe even moving in. I know, it’s a crazy idea. Buying a house to actually live in, not just work on. That’s just crazy talk. Maybe I should lay off the Miller Lite! Oh well, we’ll keep you updated. Post ya later.

Hey kids, sorry it took a couple of days to update the blog… It’s been a tough week. But that’s another story for another time (actually a couple of them really.) Anyways, day 18 showed even more progress. Mom, dad, Bill, and Edith continue to bang it all out while everyone else is at their jobs. They have done some serious damage. Mom and Edith were painting fiends almost finishing the living room and even slapping some primer on the kitchen! There is less and less of the ugly colors every day! Woo hoo! Dad and Bill are just cranking on the bathroom. They finished all of the green board in the bathroom and drywall in the office.

New valves in addition to the green board. Thanks guys!

Bill had a good idea to leave a plywood access panel in the closet that is on the plumbing side of the bathroom in case we ever need access to the plumbing. I was thinking of using a cabinet door but this is even easier. Just remove a few screws and the entire lower wall comes off if we need to get to the plumbing. “I’ll buy that for a dollar!” Good idea! In addition to they framed out the window that is in the shower too. Bill went nuts mudding the office and sanding. In all a good day. I’m sorry that I haven’t gotten to do much so far this week, but gotta pay the bills too. We appreciate all the work that they are putting in. Can’t wait to see the bathroom when it’s done, and they can’t wait to use it I’m sure. A big thanks to Tony and Anna letting everyone come over for showers. That’s about all for today, I’m sure I missed a bunch but things are really coming together now. We’ll see you next time on the next installment of this old blog.

PS. Here’s a pic of Maggie. She’s been a big help too, keeping Estela sane and giving me some exercise. We’re really glad Bill and Edith brought her with!

Maggie Joe keeps us all entertained...

Things are coming together!

Woo hoo! Things is a happenin baby!!! We are actually making progress. I don’t want to jinx it but it was awesome to some home and see green board around the tub and dry wall in the closet next door. Mom, dad, Bill, and Edith were busy while we were at work today. I’m excited to finish out the bath and start on the surround. I was even excited to see an outlet in the bathroom. This house is old enough that there weren’t any outlets in the bathrooms.

I never thought I'd be so excited about an outlet.

Those wacky 60’s. What were they thinking not having hair dryers and electric shavers?!?! That’s just crazy! Well, Estela wasn’t feeling well today, so her job was to go home and relax. I didn’t get to help much but I did get to start laying joint compound on the new drywall. Not too bad if I say so myself… J/k I pretty much just made a mess, but that’s what sanding is for right? I can’t wait till tomorrow to see what happens while we’re at work. It’s cool having our own house elves! Just kiddin’. We appreciate all the help we are getting. We couldn’t get it all done in time without everyone’s help. We love y’all. By the way, for those that haven’t seen it yet, here’s a picture of what the outside is starting to look like.

I definately like white better than pink! How's about you?

Waterproofer white is working for us. How about you? Anyways, a rerun of My Name is Earl keeps distracting me and I should be going to sleep. Got plenty to do tomorrow. Take it easy, we’ll post you later.

We have turned a bit of a corner. As my mom said, “we’re putting things back in now.” At least less and less is being torn out and more is being put in. Bill, dad, and I (ok, mainly them) got the tub in place.

The jacuzzi suite!!! J/k it's our new tub. Saaaweeeet!

We had some small setbacks figuring out the plumbing and setting it up for the surround (shower walls.) Once we got a game plan and the plumbing got lined up, the day was pretty much over. Tony got a lot of the Drylok on the problem wall, the front of the house and a bit of the back. It looks great! So much better than the pink!!! It’s white by the way. It looks awesome, even with the burgundy trim. It makes a big difference. Sorry I don’t have a pic. It was dark before I thought about it. Anyways, we got quite a bit of other things done today too. Mom and Edith started on the window screens. Estela was an unpacking and cabinet lining fiend. Anna busted out the lawn mower again and I was all over the place. From scraping grease out of the kitchen to tearing out drywall and helping with the tub. Estela and I even got some touch up painting done. In all a pretty productive weekend came to a close. We are excited to keep things moving along. I’m sure that I’ve forgotten some of what we did again but, I’m just jazzed to see things start to come together. Well, tomorrow it’s back to regular work for most of us. We can only be thankful for the fact that mom and dad, Bill and Edith are retired and think we are worth helping out. It’s gonna be a long hard week, but it will be worth it. For now, however, it’s off to sleep. I’m exhausted. As are everyone else. We’ll post ya laters…

Man am I beat. Today we worked our butts off! We got a little bit of a late start because Estela, dad, and I got stuck in the Home Depot vortex for about 2.5 hours! We got there shortly after 10am and didn’t leave until about 12:30pm. Mom thought we were taking the scenic tour she took the day before. We finally made it out of there and were able to get started. Our friends Kay and Bob showed up to help us paint and our friends from Arizona Bill and Edith arrived to stay and help us out for a while too. Estela, Kay, Bob, and Mom painted the big part of the living room.

It looks awesome!!! I didn’t take a picture because it wouldn’t come out very well. White walls aren’t very Photogenic. If I haven’t mentioned it before, we are giving the entire interior a coating of Behr high gloss white paint. We love it! We have a thing for clean white walls. It really makes the stone fireplace jump off the wall. You’ll have to come see it!

In addition to that, Tony pulled the stupid planter shelf (that was falling off anyways) off the wall and patched the holes. Thank you Tony!!! That thing was a hazard. The house already looks better with just that gone. Dad got to patching and treating our problem wall from the outside. Hopefully after that and a few coats of the Drylok we should have the moisture problem beat.

Bill and Edith got our old tub out of the bathroom and I tore out what was left of the bathroom to make way for the new green board, tub and surround. By the way, Home Depot was having a crazy sale this weekend, that’s part of the reason we were there for so long. We scored an awesome marble top sink and cabinet on sale today. We’re stoked about it. The main bath is gonna rock when we are done with it. Hopefully that’s very soon. Anyways, we got a lot done again today and I’m sure I forgot a few things. Edith brought their little Shih-Tzu Maggy Joe with them and we got distracted a few times. I’ll take a picture of her tomorrow. She’s so cute. She does look just like an Ewok.

Well, gotta crash, we are getting at it early tomorrow. Tune back in to see if we get that bathroom back in commision. Post ya later!

Well, today, I had 2 of the weirder experiences in my life working on this house. The 1st may not seem so weird to you, and it didn’t to me at first either. The 2nd one however is classic, especially for this house. Here goes… The first weird thing was that Estela and I bought a bathtub for the house. We decided since we were rebuilding the shower walls and the tub was chipped up and flimsy, we might as well replace it with a tub that didn’t feel like my big bum was gonna crash through it. So after looking online and seeing some options we loaded up the truck and headed to Lowe’s. We picked up a nice enameled steel tub for a great deal and a decent surround that looks like we’ll be able to adapt to fit around the window in the shower. Anyways, as I said, it didn’t seem weird at first but after I got home I thought, “we just bought a bathtub.” How grown up of a purchase is that? “We just bought a bathtub”, just keeps bouncing around my mind. I can’t really explain why it feels so weird since we’ve been working on “our house” for like 2 weeks, but it does sink in a little when you’re pushing a cart around with a bathtub on it. Wow.

Anyways, now that I’ve put you to sleep, the second thing was that I was removing some more drywall today and was lucky enough to find this:

Dude, I always wondered what happened to the mighty trash heap...

There was a little bit of everything stuffed in this wall. There was a dinner knife, matches, a lighter, a ball point pen, a felt tipped pen, lots of chewed up gum, candy wrappers, tags from clothing, bottle caps, and tons of trash. I couldn’t believe it. This is quite possibly nastier than all the m*ld we keep finding. Seriously, what kind of animals lived here? Bunch of savages in this town, I tell you. This one ranked 5 gags on the Gag-o-meter! I don’t even want to know what might be in some of our other walls. I was just about ready to grab my hole saw drill bit and start core sampling all over our house just so I can sleep at night. Yikes! This one really blew my mind. I’d like to think that there happened to be a hole in the wall and some kid was just shoving stuff in there, but there were cigarette butts and a condom wrapper in there. Blarf!!! Here’s a shot of everything after I got it all out of the wall:

The might trash heap has spoken!!!

Well, in addition to that, dad and I got a new light fixture in the Master Bathroom. The old fluorescent was making noise even when it was off. Turns out that even in the off position the switch was allowing electricity to flow to the fixture so the ballast was making noise even when off. Nice huh? That had to go. Estela found some cute globes for the hallway lights, mom was a cleaning machine (when she wasn’t taking a scenic tour of San Diego…that’s a funny story for later.) Dad got some Drylock on the outer wall of the office and the stuff seems pretty cool. Tony dug more on the moat and I had all the trash fun. We actually are getting quite a bit done. This weekend will hoepfully bear the fruit of a new bathroom! That’s about all for today. We’ll post you later.

Well between both sets of parents, grass, mud, and junk were cleared away from the house. A lot of cracks and holes in the Stucco were repaired. Here’s hoping that moisture won’t be able to seep into the office anymore. We did some exploring in the walls and we’re probably going to have to replace about 75% of the Drywall back there once it all dries out. We’ll also be doing some exterior waterproofing. I’ll be letting y’all know how we like Drylok brand waterproofer. That seemed to be the highest recommended fix for our problem. I have the day off work so I hope to get some major work done. Also, our goal is to get the bathroom back in commision by the end of the weekend. That would be awesome. Plus, anybody who wants to help do some painting is welcome this weekend. We still have plenty of walls to paint! Take it easy guys.

We have heat!!! We replaced some hoses on our 2 little furnaces and now both of them are working. Yay! Now hopefully mom and dad don’t feel like they are living in a cave anymore. It feels so much more like a house now just having heat. I know we don’t have a main bathroom or even carpet yet but heat made it feel a lot better. We were planning on getting some work done on the bathroom, but we hit another derailing point today. Cracks and holes in the exterior wall of what will eventually be our office have allowed moisture in for who knows how long. So, more drywall is coming out and now we need to do some major exterior cleanup and some Stucco repair. That’ll be fun. Since we all had to work today, mom and dad were the main ones working again today. Thanks guys! We owe you big time. Anyways, tomorrow will bring some digging, weed pulling, and grass cutting to help stop the exterior seeping. We’ll keep you posted.