Before, Before....wait, I want After!

We have made a royal mess, I keep looking at the BEFORE and I am so anxious to see the AFTER. I can assure you we are all working hard and as fast as we can. So much goes into the behind the scenes when you are remodeling before you can get to that spectacular AFTER moment....

This is floor leveler, similar to mortar. The floor was out of wack about 1 1/2 inches.

                                 "You said these were worms!"

Things among us!

We found prehistoric mice bones in our walls! Cool but also icky. What creeps behind our walls is unknown.

Speaking of walls, are there any left standing here? I don't know.....
What The?

We had to make an opening from the hallway into the new bathroom. You could only enter it through a bedroom and wanted to change that. 

As luck would have it, it actually used to be a doorway! You can tell by the size of the opening and the trim and ceiling wood were underneath the framing! How lucky is that?

There is the new opening!

Pipe cutting, it's not for wimpy girls!

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it! I look a fright, but see how you look after crawling under a house and cutting sewer pipes!

It's a SNAP!

This one just crumbling and we had to bust the rest with a hammer.

Ding Dong the Ugly Pipe is GONE!

Beware...this is what happens when you mess with an old house TOO much!
Where is Traci??? Toto? Click click, There is no place like home....

Getting rid of the ugly pipe sticking out of the wall in the kitchen. It is a sewer vent, but that size is not required and we can replace it with a smaller pvc 3 inch pipe. James is back to help and he brought a Bad Ass tool that cracks the pipe with a squeeze chain. It is very dangerous because it could shatter and shoot pipe pieces around the room. A goggle should be worn, but I just shut my eyes and turned my head away. I had to hold the cast iron pipe so it wouldn't fall out of the wall and when it CRACKED, it felt like a firework going off in my hand! PEEEEE EEEWWWWW! Stinky Stuff!

All gone! Now to repair the drywall, again.....

The walls...come tumbling tumblin'

The kitchen is still in process, but while we are waiting, why not multi task right? Right! The living room is almost ready to be primed, we thought..... My Mom, just tugged on one little piece of lose wall paper and it started a huge mess! We had mudded over painted on wallpaper, but some of the plaster behind all of this was crumbling and came tumbling. We already repaired this same type of situation on another wall, so it is only a minor set back. Here are some images of the wall and the paper and the tumbling!

That is my Mom peeling away! It is best to at least get the loose plaster off, then we can patch.

Notice the white paint over the plaster on the shelves, we tested an area to see how it would look and it will look great when it is done! What should I do with this fireplace? Hmmmm.....Ideas? Mirror, shells, art, tiles...??

Notice the new drywall mud on top of the old paper mess that we had to take down, darn it.

Look at that lovely old wallpaper, I am pretty sure it is at least 100 years old.

Results Regardless of Distraction! A Fishtraction?

Hello Friends! I had some internet issues for a few days now, but I think it is resolved. I had many other distractions as well, during my renovations! I have been working on projects other than my home, one of them being a Large Fish named LUNA!


 

She is the second fish that I have decorated for the Roanoke Valley Rocks event:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Roanoke-Valley-Rocks/171775356221414
I had done a mirrored Rockfish a few weeks back and that is set to be displayed soon.

 

So, in addition to remodeling this house, I have many other things going on! 

Work, Football Games, Art Projects, College Classes, Pets, etc....

So onward with the progress!

I have literally spent the past few weeks ( in my spare time) in the kitchen painting walls, ceiling, shelves, doors windows....lots of painting. Lots of white paint to cover dark knotty pine cabinets, inside & out and all over. We used 2 gallons of primer,  3 gallons of trim paint, 5 tubes of caulk, and about a gallon of drywall mud. It is really amazing to see the transformation!

There is still a lot going on in the kitchen....Yes, the white paint is done, Yes, the Green paint is done, but we have to leave one area for the upstairs plumbing work, and we have to attach some quarter round to the ceiling & we have to pick out a floor, & I have some tile selected for the counter tops....

I am really in love with this green glass, and that started the whole design & the paint color. I am searching for knobs to match & deciding where to put the dishwasher!

Painting, Painting & more Painting...

This is all I have done all week.....Painting and sanding and caulking and painting some more. 

There is still a LOT of work to be done and things are moving along, but mostly I have been spending time getting my 8 year old adjusted to the new school, football practice, going to work, dodging tornadoes & building fires. It's an exciting life here in Clarksville. 

I am still waiting on my internet connection at the new house, so bare with me if my posts are few.

I think I look funny when I dance, so I thought this was humorous!

Don't laugh at me, well, ok you can, I did it to amuse you all! This is all I have done for 5 days.....
These were actual events and no actors or animals were harmed while filming.

Heavy Tiles, Kitchen Coming Along

There has been so much happening, I can't say what day it is that these items took place, so I might start to call it Weeks instead! So this would be the 3rd Week, I think.....

 Tiles are HEAVY!!! 20 boxes unloaded.... I think they are 50 lbs a piece.

 The poodle tried to help, but she just got in the way.

 Before...... Had to use 5 tubes of Caulk, primer, paint, then some more primer, then more paint....

 Coming along, but not the finished product.

Beginning to paint the knotty pine cabinets.


TIP** I am using a spray on primer for the inside of the cabinets so I can see what I am painting. It helps give it a beginning hard surface and covers stains. Then I do a coat of paint on primer, then 2-3 coats of cabinet trim paint in semi-gloss.