Taking down walls, putting up walls and playing chase

Last weekend, I took the girls up to Hyrum on Saturday because Michaela wanted to help take the sheet rock down in her room.   There were a lot of electrical issues in there that Curtis couldn't figure out otherwise.  So, he gave the girls hammers and pry-bars and put them to work. 

Those kids were amazing -- they pulled sheet rock off the walls, they hauled it down the stairs and out to the trailer, and they helped pull screws and nails out of the walls.    We found a bird's nest in one of the walls, not to mention a few other surprises.

Curtis could have done the work a lot faster himself, but we both had a lot of fun seeing how excited the girls were with their project.  Cara was so thrilled to work with "the big boy toys!"

Mandy has a wall to her bedroom now, and with any luck, Curtis will finish the wiring today.  Rewiring has been a long, tedious and sometimes difficult project, but I am so glad Curtis is the kind of person who can't just "hope" there is nothing bad buried in the walls. He has found several things that were hazardous at best, and now it is just safer for our family to live there.

And, of course, you just have to know that for all of the work in that house, there is a lot of play time too! That George may be big and obnoxious, and he makes a big ol' mess in my kitchen. But he does what almost no one else can do..... he can get Curtis to take a break and play!   Those two are just crazy.  Can you believe they play "chase" in the house?  It isn't so bad now with everything wide open. 

I couldn't do anything but laugh the other day when Curtis told me that one of the boards where the closet is framed in downstairs needs to be replaced.   He tried to tell me that the break might have had something to do with a giant knot in the board.  What he didn't tell me is whether it was Curtis or George who was responsible.  Silly boys!!

More pictures of the girls on demo duty:

We interupt this house for a bit of vacation

Ten Days in North Carolina with Emily & James, and Joe & Roxanna.  I am excited to see them all.  Be back soon! ! 

More buried treasures from the house

Random photos of this week' s work

Yeah! Ugly brass goes away...new light is pretty!!

Under the window bay in the TV room.... notches in the rock for the floor joists

It's a good thing Curtis is little bitty. He fits in a lot of tight spaces.

Had to add some support to the floor

And.... the arches, made to match the one in the living room....love them!! (The one in the brick was already there, hidden behind a wall.)

Buried Treasures

Curtis hit paydirt the other day when he was working at the house.  All of these items were found in one area of the house, buried behind a partial wall in the cellar.  I know this house has been around for ages, but sometimes it is strange to think of the people who lived in this house when it was built in 1890.... or even in the roaring twenties. 

Most of the items were pretty easy to identify.  But there is one... we have NO IDEA what it is.  Do you??  It is about 5 inches from the curved end to the broken link, and about 3-4 inches wide.

Moving quickly now

It seems like a ton of time has passed, because we have done so much, but really, it has only been a week or so.  Wow!! 

In the last week, we finished up the laundry room.  Curtis let me do the plumbing for the washer while he worked on running new gas line for the dryer. Curtis built the arches for the doorways in the kitchen and I LOVE THEM!!! They will be so pretty when we get the sheetrock and painting all done.  I am almost done doing the insulation for Cara's room, and I have a couple more pieces to do by the back door. 

Now Curtis is working on the electrical in the living room. Every day I spend up there with him, I can't help but know how lucky I am.  We could have moved in as soon as he bought the place, and most people would have.  But Curtis isn't "most people."   It was really important to him to know that the plumbing all works right before he turns the water on, and he wanted to check out the electrical, because it was very difficult to determine what went where. 

And I am so glad. 

To date, Curtis has pulled just over a half a mile of new wire for the house and the shop.  I say it is worth it.

The Laundry Room & Other Odds 'n Ends

No pictures this week, because, really, photos of wiring, plumbing and insulation are just boring.  But the things we have accomplished this week are really very exciting. 

After we got the backer board down in the kitchen, Curtis took a grinder to the concrete so that concrete floor would be level with the wood floor.  The tile is going to be pretty pricey, mostly because of the sheer volume.... 753 square feet!! So, we want the subfloor to be as good as possible so the tiles dont crack.  Using the grinder worked like a charm and we may even be able to get away without using the extra membrane. 

Moving on to other things, we have been working in the laundry room this week.  One of the things Curtis really didn't like was having the washer on one wall, and the dryer on a different wall. So, he fixed it.  He had to put in a rigid dryer vent, run gas lines for for the dryer, re-do the plumbing and electrical. 

It was the cutest thing tonight when the girls got home -- he sounded so proud of me when he told them all about how their mama cut the wood, ran the nailgun, pulled the wires, put in the Pex lines for the washer & dryer.... and I hung the insulation in Cara's room upstairs.   That is quite the compliment coming from Curtis -- he has really high standards when he is working and it isn't easy for other people to meet those standards. 

I had a blast working on the house this week -- finally there are things I can do so to help, which is nice because I really like spending time with Curtis.

We have a mudroom!!!!

Just a quick post....... the mudroom/bath is framed, plumbed, wired and the backerboard is down.  I am so excited to have a place for all of the shoes/coats/backpacks to land.  That part is all ready for sheetrock, and we did some shopping today for a mirror and light fixtures. 

We also have the backerboard finished in the kitchen.  I got to spend the day with Curtis yesterday, so I was able to help him get the screws in .  Of course, if you ask him he will tell you I am not allowed to help anymore.... because I ran out of screws. 

I have picked out the tile I want..... problem is, we have a LOT of tile to put down.  For the kitchen/dining, pantry, mudroom, entry and half bath, it is 753 square feet.  Yikes..... maybe I need to shop around some more!!!

The bathroom in the living room, BEFORE

One bathroom gutted

New crawl space, plumbing and floor

Walls framed, backerboard done.  Half bath on the left. 

The mudroom. 

And we have a floor in the kitchen, almost.  OK, maybe it will be a while.

Used to be an entry door to the garage, now a wider entry to mudroom on right, & garage on left.

From the garage.... (entry, mudroom.  Kitchen is on the right)

And just for kicks..... you can see that Curtis is under close supervision!

Fire in the Neighborhood

Nothing like someone else's loss to make you feel grateful for what you have.  This was the view from our front porch this afternoon.  The home behind this one burned today.  I wonder if this homeowner is the one who planted the beautiful poppies on the hillside.  

As for progress, I couldn't even tell you.  Today is one of those days when there is just too much kid chaos to actually carry on a conversation.

That old bathroom off the living room is NO MORE

The very first time Curtis & I walked through the house, I told him the bathroom had to go.  What a weird place to put a bathroom... in the formal living room, directly across from the front door.  With a few "little" changes, it will be gone -- wahoo!!  That space will now be a mudroom/half bath, to be accessed from the back of the house, with a nice coat closet now in the living room.  Of course, everything is a work in progress, so right now, it is just a gigantic empty shell.  But one of these days, this place is going to start to resemble a real house, not just a real old house.

Before it can be anything, it must first be a big ol' hole.

The new doorway into the mudroom

Looking from the new doorway through the mudroom, into the living room. 

What a bargain!!

 I was hanging out online the other day, and was browsing through the antiques on KSL... one of my favorite time-wasters.  Normally, this is a pretty safe way for me to shop because I generally can't afford anything I really want on there -- and I am OK with that. But this time, I stumbled upon a really great deal and I really couldn't pass it up.  

For $180, we got 7 lights, four of which are shown above.  We also got 17 really ornate light switch and electrical outlet covers, and a whole bunch of cabinet hardware.  Granted, we didn't necessarily like all of the hardware.  And, we are not certain that we even have definite homes for all of the lights.  But..... we can worry about that later.

Work on the house is progressing ever so slowly.  Curtis is basically done with what he can do in the kitchen, and he has moved on to what used to be a bathroom right off the living room.  The first time we ever walked through the house, I just thought that was the dumbest place for a bathroom.  So, that area is now going to become a coat closet in the living room, and a mudroom/small bathroom, to be accessed back by the kitchen/back door.

And, just because it is now 2011, I can now say.... we will be moving this summer.  Not next year, or next summer.  We won't be at all done, and we will be living in the madness.  But, we will be living IN OUR HOUSE.  Me and the girls can take a little walk down to our favorite spot on the "beach" at Hyrum Dam.  On the one hand, I am thrilled.  On the other...... it is going to be a very long winter.