Rabbit Force Field Activate

We bought our first plant for the yard. We haven't really done much landscaping except for removing the old wooden trim from around the yard.

The rose bush we bought yesterday. 

The hole for the plant.

Plant in the hole. Note the little buds/new growth on the plant.

 Upon returning to the house today, I found that the new growth had been eaten, probably by the rabbit that lives in the woodpile.

Used the leftover edging from the previous owner and created the rabbit force field. Try and get at it now Rabbit!

Wow! We have a toilet! 

The forgotten room. We haven't spent a lot of time in the little closet off the kitchen, in fact in became a dumping zone for a lot of junk. Since I needed to clean for the appliances, I spent some time in that room and made a path to the basement steps that we haven't been able to use in a few months. We still have junk in it, a big box of wires and some doors.

Finishing Touches?!

 





Slowly but surely the bathroom tile is getting laid. Due to dry time it has been easier for Kevin to lay a few tiles each day and we are getting closer to it all being in. The weather has also been incredibly wet and he hasn't been able to get the tile cutter out. Since a lot of the final tile needs cutting to finish the edges it has put this project on hold for a bit.

The other project that has come a long way is the kitchen. Most of the backwall insulation is in, what's missing are the small uneven portions that will need scraps or cutting in order to finish it off. Kevin has got the ceiling ready for the next step. The vents have been prepped for the new design and the insulation and strips in place as well.

Now that everything is ready we can actually get some finishing touches up!

Drywall lift in its first use

Attached drywall!!!

Dangerous when left to my own devices...

 Remember when we said we weren't doing anything to the upstairs? Well, that didn't happen. The stupid plaster and slats caused issues with finding the wires for the lighting and switches. Kevin gave me the go ahead to take out part of the  wall and ceiling of the hallway. I took this opportunity to keep going and strip the entire area. The response I received was that I'm too efficient.

Open concept just keeps expanding.

Bricks fell out of the ceiling

Insulation in the kitchen

 That was mostly what I did yesterday. This morning we did the insulation in the kitchen before lunch. I went back this afternoon to get rid of some nails in the bedroom and remove some of the old wiring.

The junction box monster lost a tentacle

Actual Install, Not Destruction

Inside a water meter

Much progress has been made, I just haven't had a chance for updates. We found out that our water meter was cracked and getting the replacement plate took longer than expected thanks to the Post Office losing it in Elk Grove Cottage (or something like that), Illinois. Now that it has arrived and been installed we are able to move forward with plumbing and not haul 5 gallon pails of water from the apartment to the house. It also makes clean up a lot easier.

Currently our only source of water at the house is the outside spigot

 Getting the bathtub in and level seemed difficult enough, but getting the floor level is proving even more difficult. We've used cement board and a bunch of mortar in an attempt to hide the 1" slant of the room. It has been a messy job.

We've built the supporting wall for the plumbing of the shower

Kevin's parents came out yesterday and helped us with the tiling of the bathroom floor

They also helped with insulation in the kitchen ceiling.

Our Kitchen Cabinets have been delivered. One whole pallet of boxes.

Why I Can't Shop Alone...

We got the bathtub leveled and installed today. The bathroom has a serious slant to it and that meant throwing some mortar down on the floor to build it up and get everything on the same level.

You can see the gap between tub and floor on the drain side. This is what we were fighting.

We built out the wall to make sure everything was plumb. Still need to make a wall for the plumbing though.

Getting the tub in took more time than expected today. We also found out we had miscalculated the amount of tile we are going to need for the floor. Since the floor is so badly slanted and there is such a clear gap with the tub bottom, we are going to use mortar and level the entire floor which meant we needed more mortar and tile. This sent me on a solo run for supplies. I had a very well set list of 4 items: tile, three 50 lbs bags of mortar to level, a 50 lbs bag of mortar for the tiles, tiles, and 2 extra sheets of subfloor. I had to return two 10 lbs bags of the tile mortar we had bought with before we recalculated the space. It was more cost effective to return and get a bigger bag.

I couldn't find the proper concrete subfloor at the store I went to and they didn't have nearly enough tiles. It would have been 11 days to get a special order in but the Madison West store had plenty of tile and I knew where the boards are too. After picking 200 pounds of mortar and a vanity light (not on the initial list, but something we needed and had already decided on) I made the choice to jump in the car and run to the other store for the last items on the list.

Got to the other stir and found the items easily enough. Also picked up a bird feeder and some seed since we have a yard! Why not feed the birds?

After getting the tiles to the car I realized there was one more item that we needed and had to run back inside before running to the lumber yard to pick up the concrete boards. After trying to stir the batch that was under the tub by hand, I picked up an oversized egg beater attachment that will work on a drill to stir the mortar. 

Kevin doesn't know what all I've been up to yet... Wish me luck...

Put this in place and there wasn't a single bird in the yard

Lots of Steps

The subfloor is completed!!!

 And the interior back door is also in! It is a pain shimming a door straight.

We changed the front porch light.

 Our new outdoor fireplace is proving efficient for getting rid of the slat pile

New living room light

That center spot is what our carpet used to look like before we started.

 We uncovered our bathtub for the first time and dry fitted it into the bathroom and sorted out the drain fittings.