D-Type (not a Jag, but a new shop/house/life)

Thanks, guys. The good vibes are very much appreciated.

I have a decent job. Low pay, but also low effort, low responsibility, and excellent benefits. I get fairly serious PTO, including all major holidays. The week between Christmas and New Years is PTO, too. 1.5 mile commute, and I'm done by 2PM Monday through Friday. Hardly ever OT, and they give it back as comp time. 

My special lady friend is going to teach one more semester in Middle TN, sell her house, and move here, job or no job. It's a big change.

Here's the ceiling around one smoke detector. YUK!

wheelsmithy said:

My special lady friend is going to teach one more semester in Middle TN, sell her house, and move here, job or no job. It's a big change.

Having a buddy in this sort of adventure makes it great fun. I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving if your new, if slightly dingy, home. 

Not so much visual progress to report. Spak, sand, repeat for me, while my special lady friend steams wallpaper off. It is slow going.

Here's a before and after of an alcove in what is to be the study.

Here's the view we wake up to over our very expensive deck.

Basically, tons of prep work. I plan to have authentic progress pictures in the next couple of days.

All the detail work in the closets, and filling the holes from shelves/pictures/Christmas lights/curtains/who-knows-what is maddening. I'm also trying to be cheap, and as such, am recycling trim I pull down, and generally trying to stretch our $ as far as I can. The master bedroom is jacked, and we'll be going down to studs in there. My plan is to get two rooms "complete", so I can make huge messes of other areas. 

More to come.

I had hoped to post one completed room by the end of the holiday weekend, but this was as far as I got:

My Special Lady Friend worked on another room (The Study), While I worked on the "mural room". A place that formerly looked as if it had been molested by the Keebler elves. Let me simply iterate that popcorn ceilings suck. In our rush to get one room "finished", I chose to paint over the popcorn in this one. I got as far as that and KILZ on everything. Asbestos testing to come, and we'll see if the other ceilings get scraped. 

In other news, the air matress popped, hastening our former living room arrangemetnts to this:

One neat detail about this house is these glass door knobs. Only one important one has been replaced, and I can rob a closet so all in the common living area are alike.

That photo of the rail is exactly what I wanted to see.  Thanks!  Looks like a bit more effort than the way I do it, but their way is probably stronger.

I'm a sucker for glass door knobs.  Our last house had all the original glass knobs and solid wood doors.  They were really cool.  The new house has hollow doors and stamped, brass-coated knobs.  They are not cool.

you berkeley so hard you broke your mattress.   good work!

also, if the popcorn ceilings haven't been painted, spray them with hot water from a garden sprayer and the scraping will be easy peasy.  

In reply to AngryCorvair :

You know, I have long held with my younger constituients that after 30, home improvement is an aphrodisiac for the ladies...

Also, there's a knob joke in there somewhere, but this is a family site.

Today, a spankin new washer was delivered (no pics-lame), and I got a dryer set up

Ahhh, the luxuries of homeownership...

The "mural room". I promise more exciting posts to come...

Tomorrow promises a mattress, if the weather holds.

That cigarette filth around the window will be taken care of in due time. For now, some whiskey and Murphy's oil soap.

wheelsmithy said:

Not so much visual progress to report. Spak, sand, repeat for me, while my special lady friend steams wallpaper off. It is slow going.

Here's a before and after of an alcove in what is to be the study.

Here's the view we wake up to over our very expensive deck.

Basically, tons of prep work. I plan to have authentic progress pictures in the next couple of days.

All the detail work in the closets, and filling the holes from shelves/pictures/Christmas lights/curtains/who-knows-what is maddening. I'm also trying to be cheap, and as such, am recycling trim I pull down, and generally trying to stretch our $ as far as I can. The master bedroom is jacked, and we'll be going down to studs in there. My plan is to get two rooms "complete", so I can make huge messes of other areas. 

More to come.

Please take some advice.  Do not stretch your finances to get things done.  Invariably after you move in there will be a big unexpected, ••••• Something!  ( that’s why it’s called unexpected) that will stress your finances. 

It always happens.  If not the house, the transportation or medical or something.  

That’s what set’s up future financial failure.  It’s not because you bought the drapes or a new refrigerator, whatever. It’s because you bought the new table or furniture that you need to borrow money for the future•••••? Whatever.  Since you don’t have the cash, now you borrow money at too high an interest rate  to be prudent. 

My advice is hard because you don’t want to drag out the finishing of your new home.  You want to get it done so you can relax, and maybe show it to family and friends.  Hard to do with things still left to be finished.  

My own daughter failed to follow my advice and that cost her a serious set back.  

In reply to frenchyd :

As always, Frenchy, Thank You for the advice. We aren't stretching...yet. All this talk of trying to stretch dollars is in reference to the idea that we have to save our bullets. Recycled trim and 5 gal. buckets of paint may well equal a new water heater/AC unit. We're middle aged, and quite frugal. That said, all this penny pinching will hopefully result in extravagances, but only where they have the maximum payoff.

Lookee, a new, real mattress. Not cheap, but, "economical" at our local mattress store. Luckily, packaged in plastic, so we could strap it to the roof of my Matrix using the two tie-downs I had in the car (IDIOT!), and my belt. We made it the 1.75 miles home in the rain without incident. Also note, the "mural room", our current bedroom is more or less done. Electrical and closet door to come whenever.

My Special Lady Friend took an action shot of me stripping up some flooring. 

We both hated the mantle, and its ornate underpinnings, so, I brilliantly hit it with a hammer, and broke the bottom bit off relatively flush. Turns out, it needed that bottom bit to rest against the chimney. Way to create projects for yourself, dummy.

This is just a random shot of a door, showing the nasty.

It has been a lot of E36M3ing and getting over here. Boring stuff like prying up nail strips and floor tiles, spackling, painting, endless painting, and the like. 

We're pulling stuff apart to paint, and reinstall, saving screws, and generally being cheap. We're talking towel hooks, doorknobs, light bulbs. It is all filthy, and if it can be cleaned and re-used, we're trying to do that, in order to have cash for Columns, Beams, and to remove walls. The unit, water heater, and plumbing are all holding together, which is nice.

Here's the mantle now:

Asbestos testing came back negative!

Here's something else vaguely picture worthy. The bottom half of this window was just a sheet of plywood, then the vinyl siding, as far as I could tell. 

I re-purposed some wainscotting I ripped out of the master, along with a couple of 1" layers of foam board. I am okay with the result in what is to be the mud room.

Not painted, not primed, yet. I'm still using finishing nails, and a nail-set, like a chump.

Am I the only one who uses bondo as a construction material?

A lot more than the following has happened, but it is not photo worthy. I ripped out the old garage door opener, pulled a zajillion staples out of garage spaces, and removed an upstairs switch to control said garage door opener. I swear, some people put a staple/nail/screw in every available surface. Furthermore, hoarder types don't mind attaching, say an electrical box with three different types of fasteners. For instance, one flat head, one phillips, and one 5/16 hex. Grrr...

On a more positive note, I ripped up the last remaining carpet and padding (in the basement!).

You have to love the previous owners' color choices.

So, I decided to do something fun today. Below is a picture of the "machine shop" (basement), leading into the "sewing room".

Before:

Note, I had already removed the door, trim, pergo flooring, etc.

and After:

This took much longer than it should have, as I was removing every (ha!) screw and staple, so as to re-purpose anything I can.

Also, I apologize for the flakes in the last pictures. I really was better about taking care of my camera when I was doing car stuff. I sanded, rust treated, and spray bombed the fireplace insert.

It looks better in real life than pictures.

Nice progress. After nine houses in 21 years, “ugly” homes in need of cosmetics possess a special place in my heart.. but tearing down walls is still the best.

Keep it going. It’s worth it. 

Lots of mundane E36M3 going on over here. SLF is done teaching for the semester, and spends days painting while I'm at work. Generally, I come home, we have a little Fireball, and a quick hike, and get to work until we eat, watch a movie, and pass out. Still, here are some pictures to keep the thread going.

Special Lady Friend steaming some wallpaper.

The mud room.

The study.

My job gives me time off over the holidays-I work tomorrow, and don't return until the 2nd. My Mom, Uncle, and Sister all have plans to come out and help in that time. As such, I've been trying to organize. Over Christmas, I'm going to go get my truck, and Mom is going to bring a full Honda Odyssey of tools, implements of destruction, and the like. With more resources and time, I expect more progress.

Over Christmas, we got more troops and ammo.

My Uncle came down, and is handling kitchen cabinets.

And my Mom is painting doors, as is my Special Lady Friend.

Finally, I can remove building waste as it is removed/created. Mad rush before NYE to see what 4 people can get done.

I have sincerely missed my truck.

I also brought back an assortment of tools. Table saw, tile saw, brad nailer, various jacks, jack stands, funnels and drain pans. I feel almost human. I also have my automotive toolbox, lathe, torches, and some better seating. The motorcycle even made the trip. Just last week, we got an electric sander. Progress. More to come.

That truck is a beast!

I love seeing the family show up and throw down! Keep plugging away, home ownership is always another project but so worth it.

Please tell me you have a good supply of these: 

The thing that I have learned about DIY is that it is easy to overlook your lungs, especially when sanding drywall and demolishing old, dusty stuff.  You should be concerned, and with asbestos, even more so.  

I missed this the first time around but one of my FIL's best friends was there in the 40's building houses when that place was set up.  

That truck is the awesomest thing I have seen today!

Replies:

We are buying respirators in bulk. We even have some with the big round filters on each side for special occasions.

My uncle, Mom, and I have restored many e36m3holes together. They are great help. He's 76, and she 72. The fact that they drag themselves through this purely in the name of being helpful is highly motivational, and humbling. I hope to be getting around half as well at 60. I am truly fortunate to have their help.

In general, all the kind words are appreciated. It's nice to have the GRM momentum behind us on this endeavor. 

The truck is a star. In every way. Not only did it star in a buddy of mine's short film, but people stop me every day to compliment it. When I returned the trailer, the U-haul guy, a cool old guy at the gas station, and even a guy at the dump all complimented its awesomeness. People love a diesel. I love a truck that isn't afraid to get scratched.

Now, back to the house. We've been painting. Lots. I'll get some pictures posted after we get the kitchen back together. I've been rebuilding window surrounds, mudding, and sanding in the living/dining room. My special lady friend continues her war on wallpaper, but a new enemy has emerged. She's using the steamer to attack the popcorn ceilings. The results are incredible. She's faster and better than I am at popcorn removal. The job is hers.

   As to the elephant in the room, he stirs, but is not up to full rampage yet. His name is Plumbing. 

It started with a slow sink SLF wanted to clear. One twist, and...

which resulted in this...

All that went so well, I decided I'd put one of those bladder things down the downstairs toilet drain, after pulling the toilet, of course. The result? 

   You guessed it, a river of e36m3 running under the house.

Well, dummies have to learn somehow. The thing I previously thought was a sump pump, I now believe to be a macerator/pump. This thing, which is in the dirt part of the basement, overflowed with the pressure from the bladder on the hose. The downstairs shower was the best in the house until now, but now flows out the toilet drain. A new wax ring, and resetting the toilet should get us back there in the AM.

This is a problem I've been circling for a while. In the basement, there is a 3" drain about chest level. Into this, a 4" drain from 2 toilets, 2 sinks, a shower and a bathtub go (the upstairs stuff). I had ASSumed the toilet had a lower drain, and the "top" drain met up with it somewhere underground, where I couldn't see. Well, it now appears the downstairs toilet, sink, and shower all drain into this well, and are pumped up into the earlier mentioned clusterberk. I am quite a bit closer to knowing how to handle the plumbing than I was this morning. 

First thing, reset toilet.

Second thing, check for power to the above beaut.

Third, remove that lid.

None of this is unexpected, and my spirits are quite high, both with what we've accomplished so far, and the fact that as I progress, the plan reveals itself.