Getting Started

The first thing we did was head to Home Depot and Lowes to get stuff. What stuff? Well, lots of little things (broom, garbage bags, etc.) and then the roofing supplies. I applied for a Home Depot card and immediately maxed it out (I had to put the rest on another card).

We also went to a homebuilder’s show that happened to be going on that day. We got lots of information on things ranging from fencing to geothermal to tubular skylights. Big George’s was also having an appliance sale there, so we got a new washer and dryer (the place didn’t come with one). So in one day we racked up a lot of bills. Way it goes, I guess.

Orsi’s dad wanted to start on the roof, but the weather was bad, so we decided to start on the master bedroom instead. The plan was to move the closet wall (the existing placement made the room bigger, but the extra space was unusable). We also needed to fix the ceiling (it was done incorrectly) and rip out the bathroom.

One week in, things were coming along nicely. He was essentially doing demo work during the day and we were doing cleanup at night. Then he got to the bathroom. It turns out that there was no plastic lining under the shower in the master or the guest bathroom (which share a wall) and no moisture resistant drywall, which means that parts of the floor and wall were rotted. It was so bad, it wasn’t safe to walk on certain parts of the floor. Bottom line, both bathrooms needed to be ripped out together. On top of this, the vanity in the guest bath was built into the wall, so there was no way to get at the wall without destroying that, too. So we won’t have a finished bathroom when we move in, but Orsi’s dad promises that there will be a functioning sink, toilet, and shower. The good news is, we get to move the wall between the bathrooms a little, so there will be more room for Orsi’s claw-foot tub in the master. We’ve purchased a shower/tub (one-piece acrylic, no gelcoat – that’s hard to find!) and a toilet for the guest bathroom, but we still need to get tile, a vanity, and a fan.

Lots of other minor things have been touched as well. Orsi and I ripped out about half of the overgrown plants and brush around the house and cleaned up the backyard. We also vacuumed the guest bedrooms that we won’t redoing for a while. Orsi’s dad also removed the random (live!) wires hanging from the ceiling in the basement. And we got all of the appliances from Orsi’s parents in the house (but not yet hooked up). The garage door has been fixed, and the utilities are all turned on. See, there’s been progress…:)

My dad and uncle came last week to help with the roof, but that’s another (comical) entry.