Rehabber’s Rehab

In the past months things have been happening that have lifted my spirits and made my life better.  The shower is wonderful, and I love looking at the tile I painstakingly cleaned off for hours.  I don’t think anyone else will ever enjoy that bath as much as I do.  Then I wander into the kitchen where I have CABINETS with stuff in them.  Tuesday night was spent joyfully, finally unwrapping our wedding presents and getting to put everything in its proper place.  We just kept everything stored in their boxes waiting for the day we would have a place to put it all in.  It was like Christmas all over again.

In honor of this wonderful progress, we finally updated our Projects sidebar.  The backyard got an extra percent because one of the horrible pine bushes we were going to take down fell on its own under all of the snow this winter.  We argued about the rest of them, Thor wanted to represent everything as a little more done, but I say that he doesn’t factor in the details enough.  I am afraid this is a sign that they will never get done because they don’t “count”.

It is freezing cold here in Chi-town, so Thor spent the evening trying to insulate the attic a little more.  I am huddled under a mound of blankets as I write this because it is 59 degrees in our house.  Our ancient heater just can’t seem to keep up with the -11 degree temperatures outside.  We just hope it makes it through the winter and gives us a little more breathing room before having to buy another big ticket item.  The new windows are doing great, though, at helping to keep the cold out.  The main chinks in our armor are the uninsulated area where the new back door is supposed to go, the entryway to the basement, and the attic door.  I do think this will help me win the argument about tiling the sunroom with a heated floor.  The floor right now is enough to freeze your toes off.  We will see.

As of today we have one working sink, one shower and one toilet, and they are all in different rooms of the house.  Pictures coming soon.

Here’s how it works.  You can take a shower upstairs, but there’s only 3 walls in the bathroom with the fourth covered in plastic.  Needless to say, it’s a bit drafty.  You can go to the bathroom, but you have to go to the basement, steer clear of the mess, and wearing shoes is a must, and the toilet is in a room Liz refers to as the dungeon.  Then you can wash your hands, do your dishes rinse your face, and clean out your painting tools in the utility sink.  One stop shopping, if you can find the basement light, which Liz still has no idea where it is.  I just leave it on all the time for her.

The plumber arrived and started taking out the old cobbled together lead pipes and backed up drains.  Not only were we adding new plumbing for the new shower, second vanity sink, kitchen sink and gas range, but we were also taking the opportunity to do some cleanup and upgrading.  (more…)

We checked today into waste removal for all the demo’d drywall, 2×4’s and who knows what else we’re going to have. This is the dirty side of a project, but this is the part that can quickly turn it from manageable to overwhelming. It is also all of the dirt and dust that gets to me the most quickly, when I can’t keep anything clean and am running run into stray boards all the time. It is what makes me hate these projects sometimes because things are ALWAYS messy, and you can’t even have a bowl of cereal with out rinsing out the dishes first.

Waste management is important to us from an environmental standpoint as well, as this has the largest initial impact. So we want to deal with our refuse not only quickly and safely, but also as enviornmentally as possible. (more…)