Bedrooms & Pantries

Let there be light in the pantry!

 The task of sheet rocking the main bedroom has come a LONG way :)

Amazingly, white makes the entire space look bigger

Laid a concrete slab to try and keep some water out of the basement

We got a truck. Truck has proven useful, especially hauling drywall

Hey Remember This?

Ok, so we have been really bad about updating this summer. Part of this is due to work and other projects and us putting ourselves out of commission as well as just plain moving in! Our lease expired on the apartment at the end of June so we had to pack up and move in before the beginning of July. The upstairs is a work in progress so we've been living in the kitchen and living room which hinders working on those rooms because so much stuff is piled into them. Couches will fit on dressers if properly sized, for your information.

What have we been doing? Well, upstairs has gotten some more insulation in the bedroom as well as electricity in the hallway! There's even some drywall on the walls and ceiling! Which I would have pictures of, but I would have to move a box spring and boxes that is our makeshift wall to keep the cats out from up there. Instead, I present you: backyard photos!

You'll remember that in spring we had a duck pond for a backyard, well we found out part of the reason, there is a giant concrete slab under six inches of topsoil and grass. To remedy all these issues, we are putting in a drainage well. Kevin was working on the hole for it today. Which meant, I couldn't resist getting into it once it was done.

 I am 5'4" so that gives you an idea of the size of the hole.

The tree roots that were getting in the way.

Using the shovel for size comparison.

We also planted some Lilac seedlings that I transplanted from my grandma's yard!

This is our new compost box

Getting Closer

We're getting closer to moving day. Kevin finished putting up the bathroom ceiling and spent today mudding the bathroom. My dad came down and helped move a bunch of the heavy things ^_^ so it should be easier to get the rest there.

Making Habitable

We are getting close to the expiration of our lease which means that the house needs to be at the minimum habitable even if it isn't finished. 

Living room light works now. This is the only room we haven't gutted. That might not last long once we get in so we can redo the wires because we don't trust anything the former owners did at this point.

The floor is finished to the point of getting the appliances in. 

The washer and dryer are off the front porch and in place. AND the washer works.

Did we show you that the kitchen sink is in? or that the dishwasher? or the counter top?

Water lines and drain pipe

MANIFOLD MONSTER

CIRCUIT BREAKER MONSTER

Upstairs is stupidly hot! Partly because there is nothing between the sun-baked roof and the house so today, insulation went up in the main bedroom where all the wiring has been run.

well that escalated quickly

Lots of things going on. I accidentally made my book public two weeks early. This isn't horrible, in fact it may prove beneficial since I don't really need to stress about it, just promote it and I can get my focus back on the house. Kevin will really like that bit. Especially because we only have til the end of the month to make it livable before our apartment lease is up.

 Today was supposed to be an upstairs clean up day. You remember, that part of the house we weren't going to touch yet? Well, That didn't really happen. It's stripped bare. Including the 2nd bedroom, that one room we weren't going to bother with. Well, I had errand's to run this morning and they took a lot longer than expected. On a positive note, my car no longer has a faulty brake switch and my window no longer goes 'clunk' when closing, but the 1 hour I booked for the appointment turned into 2 because of the clunking issue. Then I went to get my ring inspected since it's that time of year and all the prongs need to be replaced, but company policy is they can only do 10 at a time so they will do that and I'll have to return to have the rest done. @.@ Then Lunch and Menards. Loaded up on rebate \items and educated someone on the rebate program, all because I had the LED solar lights in the cart. Finally, at 2 I made it to the house where Kevin had been busy...

We figured that if we're living in the place the single bulbs weren't going to cut it so he hung the  light in the kitchen

We haven't seen this much Living Room carpet since we bought the place!

Because I did such a great job prepping and insulating the kitchen, I am in charge of doing the upstairs. We decided that cleaning the 2nd bedroom up and moving everything from the main bedroom into it would be a good first step.

This is all the stuff I need to move

Cleaned up Master Bedroom. I spent some time pulling nails, but I think I may have dehydrated. Even though we do have drinking water thanks to Kevin hooking up the fridge! It is an oven upstairs, exposed roof vents didn't vent enough and even with all four windows open and a fan, I was sweaty and lightheaded. I also wasn't wearing my hardhat and bonked my head three times on nails, dropped the acoustical tiles on my non-steeled toes, and scraped my finger raw on a joist....  So I'm going to relax the rest of the evening. Maybe pack some more of the apartment.

More Kitchen Work

 Kevin's parents came out and helped get the upper cabinets up on the sink side of the kitchen. Once everything was in place, Kevin was able to start laying out the plumbing for the sink and connect the dishwasher. The counter tops are on order and are supposed to be in by the 6th.

A hint of what the counter tops will look like

This is the invisible microwave. 

The side wall has drywall on it and the ceiling is completed!

Had to start laying the floor so that the stove and refrigerator could be put in place

This is why I can't find tools. I put them up on top of the window on a very little ledge. 

My job today was to finish insulating the side walls. There is a space on the one wall around the window that I couldn't get at because that corner is blocked by a whole bunch of stuff.

The only thing we kept , or so it seems, was the vanity for the bathroom. Kevin actually lifted this thing all by himself.