Surviving The January Doldrums

It's been a bit slow in the news department for this project over the past week or two.  My mini melt down came last weekend (general frustration over delays and lack of activity).  Some things got moving this week and although there's not that much to show yet, much was accomplished in the planning and purchasing.   A big contractor pow-wow had us reviewing insulation, plumbing, electrical, drywall and carpentry.  Next week:  we are looking for the big hole in the roof!

A 4-hour round trip road trip to Ikea (involving 2 suv's, a precocious 5 year old and a westie) produced  new kitchen cabinets.  There's a bit of work left to be done... like complete assembly and installation.

The most exciting find of the week!  A remnant piece of soapstone from Konkus Granite and Marble is going to make for fabulous kitchen counters.  Sometimes it pays to be small.

Brandon the plumber has been busy tearing out drywall and replumbing.  This is the back of the bath tub as currently viewed from the kitchen.

The laundry room is shrinking as pipes come in from one side and hvac ducts occupy the opposite side.  It seems everyone wants a piece of the smallest room in the house.

Who knew the arrival of a gas meter could be so exciting?

Or a dumpster?

Meanwhile we've been averaging one college visit a week.  Last week's snowstorm found us in Youngstown.  This week's snowstorm finds Logan and Brian in Boston.  Hopefully no snowstorms will follow us to northern Indiana next week.

Natural Gas Arrives

Columbia Gas installing the new gas line today for our conversion to natural gas. Must be a pretty cold job in these sub-zero temps. Meter tomorrow-- then we can say good bye to the old money sucking furnace!

Future Vision

"Think Napa not Tuscany."  Those were her exact words. While researching design ideas last year for my friend Jane's wine cellar, I came across this delightful little house located in Napa Valley, CA. It was love at first sight for me. The simplicity and clean design both inside and out made me want to chuck all the clutter in my life. Ironically at the time, I didn't really have a use for it.  I just found that I kept looking at the photos over and over, studying every detail.

 

After my epiphany and we had targeted the Jerome area as where we wanted to be, Roy found our house.  The first time I looked at it, I had no interest at all. It just seemed ridiculously small and right in the middle of everything. After looking at a couple more fixer uppers and eliminating them we revisited the house and I saw it in a new light.  Suddenly I saw all the similarities to this Napa house and saw new potential. Even the idea that it was right in the middle of everything sounded kind of fun. There would be a lot to do and much of it within walking distance, yet we could still maintain a rural environment.

Our Jerome house had so many similarities to this Napa house even down to the side entrance. The Napa house was listed for $1.8M and sold for $1.4M.  Our budget is several 0's less.
View more of this Napa house here:

http://premieredesigners.com/index.php?option=com_premiere&view=magarticle&aid=21&Itemid=91

To bring our vision to life, we are working with Smucker Construction of Plain City &

Our To Do List includes:

• all new plumbing, electrical, heating & cooling
• new detached garage
• upstairs dormer creating space for tub/shower in half bath
• new vinyl siding and metal roof
• front porch addition
• side entrance overhang
• bath fixtures in 2 bathrooms
• kitchen cabinets & appliances
• refinish old pine floors first floor
• install new pine floors upstairs
• paint entire interior
• some new interior & exterior doors
• stair railings and trim
• gravel driveway
• back paver patio
• clearing the lot of all the dead trees and brush
• probably a few other major things I've forgotten or am not aware of yet

Minor Progress

We ripped out the engineered floor that was installed on top of original pine floors in kitchen and laundry room.  It didn't match and it created two different levels. Stanley Steemer will be sanding down all the original floors on the first floor.  Paper backing and glue in forefront from old linoleum will get sanded off. Floors in the front rooms look okay at first glance (it's a theme with this house) but have quite a bit spilled paint and polyurethane and the dark oil based varnish really darkened the pine. We will attempt to match it all and lighten it a bit. Maybe a light white wash? Stay tuned on this one.

Oddly enough there is a section of flooring running the opposite direction also.  We're calling it character and going with it. We were actually pleasantly surprised at the condition we found the floors in underneath the engineered floor.

New Paint color throughout house, a nice creamy white by Benjamin Moore called Vermont Cream. Living room and bedroom done so far with one coat in kitchen.  I was surprised how much it took to cover the cafe au lait tan that was already there. Painting every room in the house a different color is a thing of the past. In this small space consistent flow from one space to the next is a must. I will have 2 paint colors: one wall and one trim. Much of the trim was already painted a reasonable color which we'll keep Valspar Swiss Coffee.

Timberrrr!

A little tree clearing work has begun. Making room for the new garage and clearing away several dead trees.



HVAC Update

Out with the old...

And in with the new. High efficiency gas furnace replacing old energy sucking electric furnace. The accompanying heat pump bit the dust long ago. Bryan from Mission Mechanical has been terrific to work with. Waiting for Columbia Gas to do their thing outside.

Meet Mulligan

Mr. Mulligan MacTavish, the West Highland Terrier sporting his winter jacket.  At 18 lbs he thinks he rules the roost. (He pretty much does.)

Interior "Before"

The front room- not sure if we will call it the living room or the family room.  I guess if you don't have both it's a living room. Charming arched doorways and original pine floors.

View from living room through to kitchen and out back door.  Most people that have come inside the house seem pleasantly surprised.  I guess they expect worse based on what it looks like outside.

Kitchen... blank slate = good.  All plumbing and electrical done wrong and needing to be re-done = bad.  Oh well, at least we will get new lighting fixtures along the way.  Nothing wrong with the existing ones, just not the style we're going for.  They say mission or tuscan and we're going more for farmhouse.

Opposite end of kitchen which will be dining area. At 24' long and less than 9' wide it's a little like a bowling alley.  Fortuately we've got the perfect dining table to make it work.  Convenient laundry room at far end makes mom really happy.

I actually love these "distressed" wood stairs leading upstairs.  A little repair work and a fresh coat of paint will do wonders. Remnants of blue shag carpet cling in the corners!

Upstairs room 1

The upstairs ceiling height is no problem when you're 5.

 Upstairs room 2

Exterior "Before"

Exterior front as it exists. Looks especially sad in the snow. The house was built in 1950.  780 s.f. downstairs with a traditional cape cod attic upstairs of about 360 s.f.

Existing detached concrete block garage built in 1960. Since it sits only 27" from the right side property line nothing can be done to make it more functional because it is a non-conforming structure. It will be coming down soon.

Rear Exterior.  French doors leading from the kitchen outside were a nice addition by the previous owner.  Other than that it's a pretty blank slate.