Little by Little

Recently, I hauled away most of the debris from ripping out baseboards and trim. Sometimes just cleaning up a mess feels like progress.

Both closets in the bedrooms have new shelves and are painted.

 Both bedroom ceilings and walls are painted. 

The living room ceiling and walls are painted.

Both bathrooms have bright white ceilings again.

We experimented with wood stain and finally settled on the one we liked and thought matched current stain the best. We will continue to work on staining trim.

Next steps include more electrical work, some plumbing work, a visit from a ReBath rep to discuss a new walk in shower possibility, and trimming out closets and doors.

I created a flower garden right outside mom's bedroom window in remembrance of dad and shared it with her on what would have been his 84th birthday.

Stay tuned for more remodeling.

A Little Electrical Work

 A house built in 1910 most likely needs a LITTLE updating, especially regarding electricity. But that little bit of work has turned into a BIG project. Today the electrician began rewiring our kitchen. Unknown to us, he had to cut out some of the drywall.

Here's the kitchen as he started the morning.

Look at the walls now.

We did find a few interesting things when he opened up the walls. First there is portion of a brick wall. Might have been a fireplace wall. Second, there was a hole that was stuffed with old newspapers. I pulled them out and they were dated June 6, 1996. It was the Council Bluffs paper called The Nonpareil. Here's the front page from that day.

They will be back a couple more days to finish all the electrical work.

And He Can Be Taught

 Over Easter weekend LW came to Iowa to celebrate with the family, check the progress of the house, and help with some of the work.

His brother "taught" him how to paint walls, build shelving for our closet and even stain woodwork.

LW helped us with a full day of work and really helped move us along on this remodel.  The trim work he stained looks so good.  I can't wait to get it up on the walls.

Side note:  Look at the linoleum we found hiding under the cabinets in the kitchen.

I'll be working at the house this week taking out more baseboards and trim.  The electrician comes on Wednesday to update electrical items. Then Saturday we hope to paint bathrooms and our bedroom.

Stay tuned.

A Guest Contractor Arrives

On Wednesday, April 6 my favorite independent contractor arrived....my dad and step mom.  After touring the house, he began tearing out our kitchen cabinets.  New cabinets are on order but will not arrive until May or June.

This same day I received my first package in the mail at our new address.  It was from my cousin Becky.  It was a box of sunshine.  Inside the box everything was yellow like sunshine.  What a cute idea!

 

Stay connected for my next post.

Next Steps in Oakland

I spent Sunday, April 3, at the new house tearing out more baseboards, door trim and window trim.  I took off all electrical socket covers and light switch covers in preparation for paint.

Then ceilings in the living room, our bedroom and our closet were painted.

Our bedroom ceiling

Our closet ceiling

Living room ceiling

Living room ceiling half painted

The next steps involve a guest contractor.  Stay tuned.

And So It Begins

 On Saturday, April 2, our new home has begun to change.  We decided to start with the bedroom and ensuite bathroom that will be mom's.  I pulled out all the wire shelving from her closet that had fallen apart and was hanging down because the previous owners did not take the time to secure the shelving correctly.  

Fun Fact #1  This house was built in 1910.

Fun Fact #2 This house has plaster walls so if you are not careful, any holes you put in the plaster must be done correctly or they will just grow even larger.

Here are the before pictures.

Mom's room before starting

Mom's mess of a closet

Mom's room before

Mom's bathroom before starting

Zeke created new wood shelves for the closet and stained 2 rods for hanging items.  He painted the ceiling in mom's room and painted the closet and two walls of her bedroom.  I tore off the baseboards and door trim.  Here is where it is at this point.

After painting the ceiling

Mom's new closet

One wall painted

Second wall almost done

Stay tuned for the next step.

Big Day Today March 28, 2022

Well today March 28, 2022) was the day we closed on a house in Oakland, Iowa.  We are moving back to Iowa after 37 years in Texas.  We bought this beauty of a house, gonna fix her up, and mom (Lester's mom) is going to live with us.

Keep following our adventures as we make this place our own by remodeling or renovating the inside.  I'm so excited!