Remodeling

Our five acres came with a 1920s bungalow that had been neglected for quite awhile. Originally we thought we would do a complete restoration, but quickly figured out how expensive and time consuming that would be to complete. We finally decided that we weren't really after a showpiece, but a comfortable home, that we could live in and enjoy. We've slowly but surely been making repairs, doing upgrades, and remodeling. Most of it we're doing ourselves.

Click to enlarge

Below are the house projects we've both completed, and are currently working on, with links to details and pictures. 

Living Room - Photos of original room, click here

Fireplace, Chimney, & Woodstove Alcove 

Tah-dah!
Completed October 2009

The original fireplace that had to be torn down 1st
Painting, installing vent covers & cleaning the bricks
Project complete

Dining Room - Photos of original room, click here.

Completed July 2010

What the original linoleum floor looked like
Beefing up the floor (pillars, support beam, & bridging)
Color for the cement board walls, built-ins, & trim
Removing the old linoleum floor
Racking the new hardwood floor
Nailing the T&G oak floor
Sanding & staining dining & living room floors
Problems with the finish -
Thresholds, base boards, hinges, & doors
Project complete with before & after photos

Kitchen Bathroom (2nd bath)

Completed February 2011

Bathroom problems & possible solutions
Exploring options on graph paper
Problems & rethinking my plans
Starting on the floor & plumbing
Replacing old drywall tape
Plumbing for a corner sink
Wallpapering the bathroom
Wainscoting: making our own
Tiling The Bathroom Floor (In Pictures)
Wonky walls & bathroom trim - dealing with not square
Why we had to buy a new toilet
Window treatment - DIY Roman shades
Project complete with before & after photos

Back Porch - to be completed after kitchen

a work in progress

Plans for the back porch - with before photos
Replacing the porch door & repairing rain damage
Leveling the floor & new vinyl flooring
Installing an approved kitty door
Installing a laundry sink
Remodeler's Temporary Kitchen - and my summer & canning kitchen

Kitchen - Current project

Photos of original kitchen
Temporary changes (to make the kitchen livable) 
Analyzing the kitchen - what I liked, what I didn't
Proposed floor plan & notes
Remodelers Temporary Kitchen
Tearing out the herb cabinet (& what we found underneath)
Thinking ahead about details: cabinets, color, tile & ceiling
Milling our own ceiling beam
Removing a load bearing post in the middle of the room
Installing support posts for the load bearing beam
New Kitchen Back Door
Buying new kitchen windows from a surplus supplier
Repairing rotted rim joists & stiffening the floor
Installing the 1st of 2 new kitchen windows
Ideas for cabinets & shelf storage
Tearing out the old wall cabinets
Decorative Ceiling Beams
Moving the pantry door
Installing a wood cookstove floor protector on an uneven floor
Tearing out the sink, floor cabinets, & wall
Installing the 2nd kitchen window; insulating & drywalling the wall
Wallpapering the dining nook
Tin ceiling for the dining nook
Wood cookstove installed
Dining light, finishing cabinets, pot rack, key holder, ceiling fan
Floor cabinets & countertops
Cabinet door panels with leftover tin ceiling squares
Original hardwood floor, problems with
Preparing the old floor to become a subfloor
Installing the new plank floor
Staining the new plank floor
Applying the polyurethane (1st coat)
Floor finished
Beginning to install the cabinetry

Hall Bathroom - Photos of original room, click here

This project has just entered the planning stage

Other

Electrical


Our old electric meter, attached to a utility pole

Updating some knob & tube wiring

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)