Wow what a busy weekend!!
We kicked off Saturday morning by getting up early and heading out the door before 8am. We had an appointment at 9am with a cleaning company to give an estimate for kitchen and bathroom cleaning, and carpet installers were scheduled for 10am. That gave us a short window of time to do things before we needed to be out of the way of the installers.
First up for me and my mom…. retaking a ‘retro’ photo:
that was fun to do….and harder than we thought to get the same angles. Usually I’m the one behind the lens trying to line everything up just right! I think we succeeded though. What a dramatic change- all around!
Jim’s first task of the morning was to get rid of all the wood shavings/chips from the stump grinding.
This was the only “before” picture I snapped- he was working too fast!
After two trailer loads were hauled away, he got out the pressure washer and started washing the house. He even pressure washed the retaining walls where the trees were!
Didn’t get a before picture of that, either. The yard is looking sooo much better already! We’re going to leave the landscaping suggestions to the renters- and do what they want for this first round (do they want a lawn? barkdust? Are they willing to fix the retaining wall or is that somethign I’ll have to come work on? Etc…)
I didn’t get my touch-up painting done before the installers showed up- and I wanted to stay out of their way, so I focused on bathroom repairs and cleaning. Specifically removing the rest of the mildewy caulk, scraping the weird crystallized goo stuff that someone used as “caulk” but it wasn’t caulk! I also figured out that the crack in the tub surround is a lot worse than originally thought…
That crack is about 16″ long! I Googled the problem and learned that there’s kits available- but Home Depot, Lowes and Ace don’t carry them! I ended up using some vinyl spackle, then went over it again with some silicone caulk. It’s not pretty, but at least it’s water-proof and more stable! When that was done I caulked both bathrooms- the surrounds/shower door, floor, toilets, etc.
My mom was over- she was finishing up the windows. Jim was pressure washing the house- the entry area and shutters look tremendously better! Again, no nasty before pictures.
The carpet guys were there until after 3:00! As soon as they left, I went through with touch-up paint to fix any boo-boos (either mess ups from when we painted, or mess ups from the installers being too rough with the walls!). Then we put the closet organizers back in place and I installed the curtain rods for the closet ‘drapes’. We are not putting the closet doors back in place- they were so wonky and dirty and flimsy anyway.
Bedroom #2:
Bedroom #1:
And the staircase and upstairs?? LOVE IT!
Here’s the before and after for the attic room:
I also got the curtain rods hung in the living room and family room. And Jim and I finished installing the remaining trim in the house- it’s DONE!
We worked from just before 8am through 10:30pm. Ugh. I’m pooped.
SUNDAY was a major clean-up day. We put some flooring into the “sealed” attic access space so we could store the closet doors, extra trim, old kitchen drawers and guides and paint in that space. My next task was to change the flooring in the laundry closet to something a little more modern:
Before:
And the before before:
It was used as a bonus closet- with two rods for hanging clothes.
I also walked around snapping pictures of the major appliances with their model numbers and serial numbers so I can have those logged and provide user manuals to the tenants (my project for the coming week).
Anyway… we hauled two trailer loads of supplies back home and then loaded the trailer with stuff to haul to the dump. Trevor spent some time helping Jim unload and load the trailer, and he also cleaned up the backyard- hauling all the trash, raking leaves, etc.
Todd came over and dug out the three remaining posts (stubs/concrete) from the former picket fence.
Jim gathered yard debris and did some basic trimming of a few things- that all needs to be hauled away as well.
By the end of the day, the rooms had all been emptied and 95% of our tools and supplies taken back home.
All that’s left to do inside are a couple outlets that need replacing, some cable connections that need new plates, the upstairs attic access door needs to be trimmed and a latch installed, and the dryer venting needs to be done. OH, and I need to shampoo the carpet in the purple room and the living room.
We’ll take care of that stuff during the next few days. Professional cleaning is scheduled for Wednesday, renters are hoping to sign papers Friday at 5:30!
Elisa's Ramblings 