September.....

September began with hopes of finished wood floors, finished baths and possible lounging in our new open living room space. Well, the month has brought a few challenges. I ordered all of the fixtures for the new baths on line, left for a 7-day work trip and imagined all of the hardware, sinks and tub would arrive as ordered on the doorstep and be installed by the time I returned from my travels.

Not so, I needed to confirm, by phone, the biggest order and, though they called me multiple times, while I am on the road, working like a dog, I do not respond to "unknown caller" calls. So the bathroom hardware sat in some warehouse, waiting for me to call. Upon my return, we had to backtrack to find out what happened.  In the mean time, our construction crew went to work on another house, and our project sat untouched.

I take the blame on that one, will put G's phone number on orders next time. So today we are back in business. It took us one day to activate the delivery, pick up the sinks, unload the 350 pound cast iron tub and get the bath completion in motion. Oops, the "corner toilet" we thought would be so cute and unique, doesn't fit in the corner, and the beautiful china sink doesn't fit with the "huge" tub (smallest available) in our tiny, tiny bathroom.

We have never had a tub in this room, so it seems to overwhelm the space.  Why a tub?  Well... I must remind everyone that we have two darling grand kids and hope to have many more, who enjoy an evening soak in a tub. Showers are just not the gig for the 12-month old. Every grand parent's abode needs at least one tub. Hence, the tub went in first, and now we are struggling to fit a toilet and sink around it.

The best part is, we are back in our house after spending 4 weeks away at the in-laws. Though we totally enjoyed our time with G and G, we are glad to be back on the front porch with our coffee and wine routines.

So today was the first BIG work day since I left 10 days ago and boy were the hammers flying.

Unfortunately, much of the work revolved around keeping us comfortable.  The air conditioning is back in business (they had to re route, re-duct and generally create a new circuit) to keep us cool.  The porch fan is re-installed and wobbling and clicking as every high-end fan should:/

They also rewired the back bedroom, where we are staying, in order to keep the lights on and the fans working. This is wonderful, but a serious waste of builder energy since that room will be completely demolished in a few months.  Moving back home was the right decision, but contractors are really more efficient when working on an empty house.

They dropped in the tub, wow, only one scratch on the newly finished floors. And continued to try to plumb the mystery toilets and sinks that seem to move while we are contemplating other things.  The plumber continues to be pleasant and cheery, despite the constant frustration with changing the sinks and toilets. G and I  are totally the worst at predicting where we want things. Note to self:  Get exact measurements, create miniature models, design an exact replica of the house and position each piece in the replica before buying or designing anything. This is for "next time" and clearly, there will be no "next time". This is it for this little house. Hence, we will probably ask the plumber to change the toilet, hot water and cold water at least on more time before we settle on this design. It is not that we are total idiots, it is just that we keep changing the tub size, the toilet size, the cabinet dimensions and, in the end, it just doesn't fit. The room doesn't seem to get any bigger.

We are almost returning as much of the hardware as we are installing. But G and I are calmly riding the waves and keeping the "M" attitude going.  Our contractor (M) smiles, laughs and says "it is all part of the fun". In the end, it is "only money" and though we have stretched our budget to the limit we want to love it in the end. And not step over the elongated toilet seat every day with a "why did we pick that stupid seat" feeling.

I worked today from 4:30 am -7:00 am, took care of grand babies from 8-2pm and met with architect from 2-3. Trying to nail down "Stage 3" if possible and use the left over corner toilet, mirrors, sinks  and bars if possible.

It was a good day and best of all, "G" is cooking on the grill and I am drinking wine on the porch. The heat has eased a bit and life on the restoration path is looking pretty good.

The mess gets bigger and bigger as we near the end

Since the floor fiasco has been completed, things have not gotten back to "normal" at the old house.  We now have a plywood kitchen floor, both bathrooms are down to the studs and the ceiling is open showing us the attic. Needless to say, we have taken up residency elsewhere, but visit the site daily.

Every open wall shows years and years of patch work that the 16 prior owners used to "fix" things. In the bathroom, we found 4 different materials used to "build" a 4-foot stretch of wall. Each new material was added on top of the last, leaving a 3 inch wide patch on the wall that intrudes into the already tiny space. Pulling all of the layers off and disposing of them continues to keep the level of dust high and the fear of asbestos and lead in our thoughts. Our contractor is very, very careful with his "guys", which allows us to sleep at night.

Accomplishments this week are few and far between. The biggest jobs are the invisible ones.  Though the plumber had me get down on my knees to see his handy work under the house so I could appreciate the "totally new house" we have. And the old knob and tube electrical wires have all been removed and lay in the driveway reminding us of how lucky we are that this old house never had a fire.  But the progress on the aesthetic items, like the double hung windows is slow. The beautiful floors have made it hard to drag equipment in and out, so all of the prep work has to be done outside. Torrential rains put an end to the outside work and we are wishing we had a covered space to protect everything.

My "monster oak desk" got completely drenched with water as did the discarded electrical fixtures from the house. These "monsoon-ish" days with 90 degree heat and 100 percent humidity are horrible.

The house no longer has air conditioning vents (they were patched along with the new wood floor) so there is virtually no circulation in the house. We would like to move back in soon, but the reality of living without air and with the loads of dust isn't a pleasant one. We do miss our front porch and our easy walks down town.  Being out in the "burbs" seems inconvenient now that we are "city dwellers". We do greatly appreciate our lovely hosts and the great space they have given us to live.

I will be out-of-town for a bit and progress will mostly involve putting up the picture rails, finishing the window framing, re-installing the base boards, and hopefully getting the bathrooms going. The bathroom fixtures and tub still haven't arrived and the toilet arrived with a crack, so that scene is not great.

We met with a interior decorator last week. She was quite the champ, we couldn't walk on the unfinished floors so we sat on the front porch in 105 degree heat, looking at color swatches and talking interior design.  I couldn't even offer her a drink of water because the kitchen floor was missing, thus I couldn't get to the fridge. When she told me she has 7 children, I started to understand her hardiness and unwavering focus on the goal.

I, on the other hand, was so uncomfortable, I would have agreed to anything she could offer as long as it meant getting into my cool car and driving away.  We spent 2-hours talking colors, area rugs, focal points and accent walls. In the end, I am thrilled that she has started us down a path that I hope will make this little house come to life. Me and design are not friends, so finding a designer that I like and one who can tolerate the inconvenience of our current situation has been a blessing.

We have decided to accept all of her recommendations and move ahead, knowing that anything we can add will just muddy up the brilliance of her art.

I am feeling pretty cocky since we have made all of the big decisions.  We have chosen all of the floorings, counter tops, and selected a cabinet maker, I have even ordered all of the bathroom fixtures down to the toilet paper holders. Whew, for those who have been here, you know what an accomplishment that is. I am using my son's philosophy of "make as few decisions as possible". So, I found one faucet I liked and used that design for everything in both baths and the kitchen. I found one counter I liked and we will use it everywhere there is a counter, matched the mirrors, lights, sinks. Not terribly colorful or interesting, but I love just focusing on what I really like and then going for it. We are also "embracing the age of our house". So if something doesn't fit the 1890's it is not even considered. Luckily, restoration hardware, Victorian fixtures and 1890's elements are really in right now, so I haven't had any trouble finding anything.

October update: Half of the fixtures were too big and had to be returned. The cute corner toilet didn't fit, and the cabinet maker turned out to be, let's just say, a bad fit. 

Not sure our contractor is as enthusiastic about our progress.  He and his crew have still not seen the fixtures (lost in transit), they are waiting for us to put paint samples on the walls (it is too hot to paint in the house), and the plumber was using a prior draft of the building plans so he put the toilet in the wrong place and now we have to pay another $1,000 to correct that mistake.

But, all-in-all, things are going along, we hope to be sleeping back in the house next week. The hot water is on, and the electrical is mostly working.

Things I am really grateful for include:
1. We love our contractor and the guys are just great. So glad we went with someone we liked, rather than someone who was less expensive.
2. The money hasn't run out yet!
3. We love everything that has been done to the house and can't wait to move back in.
4. The stress of remodeling hasn't worn us out yet.
5. We decided to do this in phases and phase 1 and 2 are nearly done. Then we get a 3-month hiatus before ripping off the roof.

I would post some photos, but I have lost my tiny little connector that allows me to load photos. Darn, another thing lost along the way.

October update:

Hardware piles grow as the correct sizes arrive.

My photo library is growing

I was out of town from August 24 through 29, 2015, so the photos stopped, but the destruction, reconstruction, and dust continued.  "G" moved to his parents as the dust got too intense. As soon as I returned, we had to move all of our furniture out of the house to allow the "floor guy" to get started. Everything is happening so fast now, we have lost hold of our "stuff" and are just putting random things in boxes and getting it out of the "line of fire".

Here is some of the progress so far.

 Walls are finished and sealed on August 28, 2015

 Old windows still in place, ceilings not yet painted.

 Walls finished and sealed.

 Floors are being patched using wood from the kitchen floor. The dark areas are the patches.

 Selecting a stain, we went with the middle stain, not willing to commit to a dark or a light:)

The kitchen floor has been literally sacrificed for the good of the dining room. All of this floor only provided a few good/usable pieces. Now we can see the basement from the dining room. A bit scary, but a plywood floor will soon be in place.

 This was taken before the kitchen floor was removed. Say good-by to our little old kitchen.

Say "Hello" to our beautiful wood floors. Carpet, staples, nails and first layers of old varnish are gone. Patches going in place where the old vents had been and where the prior owners put plywood patches. Careful removal of damaged areas leaves slots for the new/old pieces to be inserted.  Not sure how he does it, but by the end of two days, all of the patches are in place and time for the wood putty "face mask" to remove all of the pits, imperfections and holes. Wish my face could get one of these.

Left to dry overnight before the four cycles of sanding begin.  Note the new windows are in place, waiting for framing. The floor is as smooth as paint at this point, the wood putty is coated on to fill  every crack.  It won't stay this smooth, but sure looks interesting today. In three days the floors will be stained, varnished and sanded repeatedly until they reveal their true selves.  I should be back in town just in time to see the finished product. I'm meeting "M" and driving her and her doggy home for a quick visit.