Three of Three

This past weekend was a doozy as far as diy-ing and blogging was concerned. Not only are we enjoying an amazingly mild and sunny January with temperatures hitting the high 70s during the day and beautiful breezy nights but we were also completely cut off from the world for three days thanks to a blown port on the utility pole outside the house. Two hours of troubleshooting, new cables and a new port later, we were finally back on the grid on Sunday, but this whole 'cut from the umbilical cord of the internet' teamed up with splendid outdoor weather had us "oot and aboot" instead.

We visited the first "Annual Timucuan Adventure Days" at Fort George, meeting Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, scorpions, owls and other critters, went kayaking, and shot crossbows. I also got chewed up by gnats and mosquitoes for the first time this year (a regular occurrence; I tend to keep the bug spray industry in business) and only while hopped up on antihistamine am I not scratching myself raw. They itch -so- bad! and I'm polka-dotted where ever skin showed (Thank GOD I wore jeans).

I'm still working on the staircase (D'uh!), the burns are slowly healing, and mentally I'm going over "The List." I think it was Apartment Therapy's "The Cure" that suggested to create a list of three projects per room to finish, and so I went and looked over my master list to assign priorities per room to kick start a more aggressive "get'er done" kind of approach in tackling stuff around the house. It was hard to limit myself to the three "sine qua non" items per room (I have at least half a dozen of "...and one day, I want to ...." projects for each and every one on top of the "...and I really need to do..." list, but here goes

 "Three of Three List"  aka "The Get'er Done" List

(*rooms in no particular order)


Laundry Room
1. paint (cabinets, tabletop and part wall)
2. install door knobs
3. cover the utilities


Kitchen
1. paint window
2. add lighting
3. add backsplash

Diningroom
1. organize drawers
2. paint door
3. Create or buy art for wall opposite of windows


Livingroom
1. paint walls
2. paint baseboard
3. add curtains for both windows


Vestibule
1. organize hall closet
2. window treatments
3. create wall art


Library
1. add more shelving
2. sort books
3. add desk


Upstair's hallway
1. paint door frames and doors
2. hang art over electric panel
3. finish painting stair case


Bathroom hall
1. new flooring
2. update ceiling light


Bathroom
1. install door for closet
2. new vanity light or add cover
3. refinish sink


Guest Bedroom
1. create and hang art
2. different curtains?


Little Man's Room
1. declutter
2. install shelves on either side of the window
3. create a work station
Master Bedroom
1. install fireplace mantle
2. build bed frame
3. paint doors

Dressing Room
1. decide on and install flooring
2. hang window treatments
3. create/hang art


Master Bathroom
1. shower rig
2. replace ceiling light
3. finish shelving in closet

It's still a massive list but here's to focusing on the most important parts rather than getting sidetracked by "Oh, shiny!" moments All.The.Time. because, you know, that's how I roll.(And you won't believe how much my fingers were itching to add points 4 and 5 and 6 to each room ..or maybe it's the mosquito bites, I dunno.)
...
...
Nawww, it's not the bug bites.
I'm just crazy that way.

Starting up again

After three great weeks, my parents embarked on their flight home again on Sunday. Yesterday morning, they arrived safe and sound in Germany and life is returning to its normal, pre-parental visit state.

That's right, we're back at it and working on polishing our Ugly Duckling.
Since it's Monday though, laundry and general picking-up came first before I spent an hour (or so ...) browsing pinterest for general inspiration and creating two lists: one master list of all the things I want to do and a shorter list of things I want to do this week.

Just as I mentioned earlier here, my Mom pointed out that perhaps we should tackle our project one room at a time, rather than project-hopping and having half-finished rooms all over the place. While in theory this is a great idea, you know since reading this entry here last week, that things aren't always that easy (one project leading to a multitude of others that weren't planned in the first place or if they were planned, they were on the list for a later time) when restoring/renovating an old home.

Not to mention that I can't stand the thought of painting trim and only trim for the next couple of weeks, every day of the week. Ugh! Shoot. Me. Now! Put me out of my trim painting misery, please!

Anyways, this week the kitchen made the top of the list!

[Before: Just ... gross]

It's close to completion and it'll be nice to have yet another more or less finished room. Heh ... there it is again, almost finished. Let's start with the list, that way it's easier to explain the "almost" bit about it.

[In Progress: Looking so much better already and despite all the
construction dirt, cleaner than before.]

Kitchen:
- rip out old cabinets
- rip out linoleum
- repair heart pine floors
- refinish heart pine floors
- re-plumb kitchen
- update electrical wiring
- hang new drywall
- finish new drywall
- prep, prime and paint walls
- repair base molding and add quarter rounds
- prep, prime and paint ceiling
- install ceiling fan
- install kitchen cabinets
- install appliances
- install cabinet hardware
- prep, prime and paint window trim
- prep, prime and paint base molding
- prep, prime and paint trim around doorway to breezeway
- create open shelving with brackets and boards
- create/ add window treatment
Optional:
- update lighting*
- build built-in breakfast nook *
- add small round pedestal table*
- install back splash*

[After: I looove my new kitchen!]

Optional items are "would be nice to have" items I'm envisioning for our place that don't need to happen right.now. I'm sure I can scramble up enough patience to postpone these for a later time. For now.

Unless there is a delay ordering and/or acquiring certain items on my list (shelf brackets and fabric for my window treatment) , I should be able to wring enough free time out of this week's schedule to get this all wrapped up so stay tuned for bit by bit updates.

Alright, so I won't be writing about every inch of trim I've painted but, you know, share a before and after with you.

Sounds good?

Must-do List

Here's our immediate to-do list for the Ugly Duckling so we can finalize our transition from rental into our own house. I get tired and achey just reading it - argh! So many projects, so little time!

Oh, well, no rest for the wicked

1. finish painting stairs [in-progress: one half is painted]
   


2. finish painting hallway [Done!]


3. finish painting living room [Done!]


4. finish painting Master bedroom


5. open up fireplace [Done!]


6. install locks [In-progress]
   


7. install stair handrail [In-progress]
   


8. patch around new outlet in hall bathroom [Done!]
   


9. touch up paint in hall bathroom [Done!]
   


10. touch up paint in kitchen [Done!]


11. paint downstairs' half bath [Done!]


12. scrub downstairs' half bath


13. apply last coat of Waterlox on kitchen counters [Done!]


14. wipe down kitchen [Done!]


15. install cabinet knobs [Scary project. I mean, it requires drilling holes into my pretty pretty cabinet doors! Ack! Knobs and tools are in place, now we just need to find the courage to do it]
    


16. lay floor in laundry room [In-progress: Flooring is ordered and scheduled to arrive next Wednesday]
    


17. paint laundry room [Done!]


18. install wall cabinets in laundry room


19. install shelves in the hall closet


20. sand and paint floor in dressing room


21. build and install shelving in dressing room


22. paint dressing room


23. scrape old paint off of trim all over the house

After that the fun continues with the painting gobs of trim all over the house, laying first cement board and then tile in the Master bathroom and finally installing all bathroom fixtures in the Master bathroom as well. Once that's out of the way we can then turn our attention to the outside of our darling house: the fence, re-caulking windows, painting and landscaping.

Wheeeeee!
Thud -

Big steps - little steps

Learning to dance an Old English Folk Dance we loved to imitate our dance teacher's "BIG step, BIG step, leeetle step, leeetle step" with a slightly exaggerated Eastern European accent. Our contractor's warning that the beginning and the end of a rehab feel like a whirlwind and that the middle seems to drag, somehow follows the same idea. Looks like she's spot on, too :o)

Right now, things are dragging a bit. Our electrician is working at repairing, updating, moving and installing fixtures and outlets so that electricity can be restored to our Ugly Duckling. This is such a lengthy process [most likely a week] because the Ugly Duckling has been vacant for so long that JEA requires a re-inspection before turning on the "juice" again. Until then, all carpentry work and any work after 5:30pm is on hold because you can't use any power tools and it still gets dark early.

We got bids for the HVAC system which of course turned out a little higher than we'd hoped because code now requires that the compressors are at least 4 ft from the next house. That means the one that was installed on the right side of the house needs to move into the backyard and copper lines ain't cheap.

Plumbing will be equally fun since we discovered that the original cast-iron stack is still in use. As we're vehemently opposed to "shit hitting fan" moments in the near future should that stack decide to rust through on us, we'll have it replaced. After all, the walls are open and the plumber is already in the house. Right? Right.

In good news we have word that my super special tub beauty will be delivered today, the kitchen plans are finalized, my pretty pretty sink is here, the walls in the Little Man's room got their second coat of paint and the rain gave us a 2-day break (it'll be back for a brief stint tomorrow and then leave fo good).

It's the spirit of the season

Since I'm obviously in the mood for making lists I thought I'd add our "Master List of Projects" as well as a time line of events for easy reference to the blog. See? Up there underneath the header of the blog? It says "House Hunting Timeline" and "Ugly Duckling to Pretty Swan" and links to two static pages that I can update quickly without having to wreck my brain for content for an entire blog post.

Just for kicks and giggles :o)

She's making a list and checking it twice ...

The Ugly Ducking was built in 1919 and hasn't seen much love in the past 2 years (and more...).

Abandoned by her last owner in spring 2009, this little old lady has been vacant for more than a year and sat neglected until we came along with enough vision to see the potential in her old but sturdy bones and the charm in her grey facade (we also had a little help from the Ugly Duckling's sister houses to the left who look sharp in apple-green and mandarin-orange).

There is -lots- that needs to be done, from fixing deferred maintenance issues over bringing things to code to giving both the exterior and the interior a facelift, and the Ugly Duckling is not yet move-in ready.For one, she doesn't have a kitchen :o) Not a real one, you know, where the only thing missing are the appliances. Nuh-uh, we need an entire kitchen, top to bottom, because what's in there now needs to go. Far, far away! Where nobody will be able to find it. Ever again. (Yes, it's that bad. It's "I don't take pictures for the parents" bad ... heh)

And you know what? We're so stinkin' excited to start our first foray into home ownership with mega demolition you wouldn't believe it. Yeah baby! That's the good stuff ... ahem, well, maybe we romanticize this renovation idea a bit and we'll see how we feel about it once we're knee-deep in construction but for now it has us all giddy with excitement.

So, here's a...ahem, basic list of things we want to do/will do once we've got the keys:

• update/repair plumbing in entire house


• update/repair electricity in entire house


• update/replace hvac system


• repair damaged trim/molding where necessary in entire house


• make roof repairs as needed


• scrub entire house to within an inch of its life


• turn downstairs full bath into half bath


• take space from downstairs bath and add to mudroom for laundry space


• tile downstairs half bath


• tile mudroom/laundry room


• demo kitchen


• salvage hardwood floors underneath linoleum or lay tile


• install kitchen cabinets


• install appliances


• open wall to staircase (remember, the Ugly Duckling is currently chopped up into a downstairs and an upstairs apartment) to create a single-family home


• open wall between entry hall and living room


• refinish all downstairs wood floors


• paint fireplace brick


• paint downstairs, walls and ceilings and trim


• update light fixtures

Now we're moving on to the upstairs

• refinish stairs


• salvage hardwood flooring underneath linoleum on landing and upstairs hallway or lay new floors


• get proper door for closet to heat pump


• re-caulk tub in upstairs bathroom


• refinish wood floors upstairs


• turn upstairs kitchen into Master bath and walk-in closet by building a wall and creating two rooms out of the existing upstairs kitchen


• update plumbing for future Master bath


• lay tile in Master bath


• install bathroom fixtures


• turn secondary hallway into 2 hall closet (this will make sense once I show you the floor plans)


• paint downstairs, walls and ceilings and trim


• update light fixtures

Outside we'd love to

• install a fence for the front yard


• replace the chain link fence in the back yard with something prettier


• update the landscaping


• paint the window frames white


• paint the gable a pretty creamy-yellow color


• install a deck or patio with a pergola
  

And some time down the line we'd love to

• add batten and board or wainscoting to some rooms (like the dining room, for example)


• rip out the linen closet in the upstairs bath


• move the door of the upstairs bath one wall over (those two steps will make bathroom much bigger)


• replace tub with a big walk-in shower with a glass enclosure


• install all new windows


• paint the entire house a new fresh color


• get rid of the old tank on the right side of the house
  

Are we crazy? Maybe a bit. We realize it's a long to-do list (not to mention these are just the projects I can come up with of the top of my head...heh ) and without the beauty of a streamlined 203k Rehab loan this wouldn't be possible at all but we love the old historic houses in our neighborhood and - knowing how beautiful they are when they are revived and restored - we know it's worth it. No, the Ugly Duckling doesn't have a smidgen of Victorian Grandeur or Greek revival classiness but it's a home with a history in the best neighborhood in the world :o) What's a little construction dust compared to that?