Gertie Has a New Hat!

The roofers finished the roof yesterday!!! Gertie has a brand new hat and she is looking spiffy! Yes, I named the house. Gertie is a woman that was a good friend of the family who passed away. She was a petite woman and she was feisty! The other night when I was pulling away from the house Gertie popped into my mind. This house is feisty! She is worn down from years of abuse and neglect but she is strong and with everything we have been doing, and plan to do, she is going to be like brand new. Maybe it is crazy to name a house. Not that I think houses have feelings but just like people- family- they have a past, a future, and a story to tell. They keep us warm and protected from the elements and the outside world. They hold our loved ones, our treasures, our memories. I think they deserve a name. Besides, calling it Gertie sounds so much better than just saying "The House" all of the time. And yes, I think I am getting attached to the house.

Anyway, Back to Gertie's new roof! I failed to take a picture of the front view in all of my excitement but I did get some side views. Although there is not as much color variation as I had hoped, the new black roof looks fantastic!! We had them use the dimensional shingles and they give such a nice touch!

I am planning on painting all of the shutters when the weather warms up. The black shutters are so faded that they actually look blue!

We have started hanging drywall in the kitchen and it is coming along nicely. Drywall is heavy and not my favorite thing to do but when you see the room starting to look like a room you kind of forget about how much hanging drywall really sucks.

Marc had to buy a new toy...........er...........I mean new tool. He picked up a spiral saw and it has come in sooooo handy already! He has been very clingy with his new toy though and hasn't let me play with it yet. Hmph!

Kyle and Bella had a ball creating an amazing masterpiece with painter's tape. These kids can entertain themselves for hours with the simplest of things.

They are so creative! Now, this isn't the type of things we would allow hem to do at home but they have a little more leeway at the house. It is, after all, a construction site and, well- they gotta have some fun!!

I met with the roofers yesterday as they finished, met with the investor, and met with the carpet person who came to measure rooms and give us an estimate. Marc will be installing the carpet but we found a wholesale carpet place where we can get nice carpet for dirt cheap! Less than half price of what you would paid retail. So, carpet man Brad came to get measurements and called today with an exact figure. I was SO excited to know that we will be coming in almost $500 UNDER budget on flooring!! WooHoo!!!

Well, that's it for today. We are going to try and get more drywall hung in the kitchen tonight and if we finish that we are going to start hanging drywall in the bathroom.

Have a great day!

~Heather:)

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off to Work I go!

Wow! What a crazy busy weekend. Marc had Friday off so we worked a full three day weekend at the house. While Marc was working in the kitchen on the new electrical I tore out the old fiberglass tub and surround and then removed the toilet. At some point this little window had been installed.........and whoever installed it apparently didn't use a level. We had boards literally off by as much as two inches!! How to remedy that? Well, I got the bright idea of using a chisel and a hammer to shave the boards to the point that they would be level- don't worry, it doesn't interfere with any structural stability. We just had to rebuild a "frame" that would be flush and level in order to hang he concrete backer board so that we could tile the tub surround.


Once the tub area was ready to go Marc replaced the toilet flange in the basement toilet so we could remove this toilet. Once I took the toilet out I discovered a.......................issue. The toilet and remaining wallpaper was covering up a large patch of black mold. We weren't planning on ripping out all of the drywall in the bathroom but we were left with no choice. We can't leave moldy walls! So, I ripped the remaining drywall out and we are left with this.............

The above picture cracks me up. This house is a three level split. Here, I am standing in the kitchen and can see straight through the bathroom!! Not so good for privacy, eh? LOL!!!

Poor Marc worked for days on electrical. There were more than a few wires that were left in the wall that someone had just cut and tucked up in the rafters. Problem was most of the wires didn't even have wire nuts and tape on them................Oh! And they were live!!! How this house didn't catch on fire by now is beyond me. Some of the things we are finding makes me think that these "Do It Yourself" shows are waaaaaaaaaaay too encouraging.

Marc is installing can lights in the kitchen, new outlets, switches, everything will be brand new and up to code.

And just to give you an idea of how much we have gutted so far......................this is the trash and demo debris we have removed- thus far from the inside of the house................

To put this in perspective the house has a three car garage. The trash and debris take up a two car garage area and the pile is between 3 feet and 4 feet high!!!

And as much as I am for recycling and reselling to people who may be able to use this stuff, NOTHING and I mean NOTHING was salvageable. All of the doors had huge holes in them, cabinets were overtaken with mold, carpets were stained with animal......stink. Apparently the dogs were never taken outside to use the potty. Yuck.

I did something Friday that I never thought I would have to do. I fired an Amish person. I did. I feel terrible. However, when I spoke with him Thursday he had still not pulled the permit and was trying once again to push the start date back another two weeks. URGH!! We can not wait that long...............or try and count on him then and have him push it back again. We can not hang drywall until the roof is complete. So, I called four roofers Thursday afternoon, had three bids in by Friday morning and hired a crew Friday morning. The owner was back within an hour with the permit and the supplies were delivered within two hours. Now THAT is what I am talkin' about!

I was so happy until we pulled in the next day and found out just how bad the roof was. When all of the old layers were removed we were left with the bitter fact that over half of the boards on the roof are bad and need to be replaced. cha ching! cha ching! cha ching! Well, there goes an extra thousand bucks. But, it has to be done.

We were actually surprised that the roof hadn't collapsed with the weight of snow!

The crew was very busy this weekend and I think they are hoping to finish by Tuesday if the weather holds out.

Kind of weird to see big gaping holes in the roof!!!

It is so exciting though and I can not wait to see what the finished roof looks like!! I was left in charge of picking the shingles so hopefully they will look good!!!

When the drywall finisher came out to price his labor he advised us to rip out the remaining kitchen drywall so that we would get a smoother finish. Which means- easier and less time consuming for him which means- cheaper for us!! So, we gutted the rest of the kitchen. I do have to say the pry bar is, by far , one of my favorite tools!! I think every girl should have one!! LOL!!!

My husband told me Saturday when I was gutting the bathroom that I work like a man. I got all sappy and thanked him. I thought it was a huge compliment. I asked him if ,when we got married , if he had hoped for a prissy ladylike woman for a wife or a crazy tom-boy that isn't afraid to get dirty. He laughed and said he had hoped for a good combination of both! And that I could be a tom boy while we are working on the house but he would prefer I go back into "lady mode" when we leave!!! LOL!!!

We picked up the flooring that we will be using in the kitchen and living room. We don't need it for a while still but it was on clearance and it was too good of a deal to pass up.

Bruce laminate flooring- actually looks pretty darn close to real wood and even has the wood texture. The color is "Brazillian Cherry" and I think it will be gorgeous. All 25 boxes of it.

We also have a window!!! Woohoo!! This was Marc's favorite project so far. I thought the kitchen needed to be open to the living room so that it would have a more updated look and to allow the kitchen to seem larger than it actually is. So far, it is doing just what I had hoped!!

On the living room side here will be a little bar area where people can sit on stools and watch the cook in the kitchen. The wall is high enough on the kitchen side, however, that all of your dirty dishes and kitchen mess will be hidden when people walk in your front door.

Marc and the kids are very happy with the way it turned out!!

After a VERY long weekend we were all tired and ready to go home. I can't remember the last time I was this tired or this sore but I am turning into my kids. Every morning I think "Can we go to the house now!" It is that that great novel that you just can't put down. You stay awake until all hours of the morning because you are so eager to see how it ends. Although we still have 6 weeks left in our time frame and a lot to do, we are excited. We are now at the point where stuff is being put back together and we will be able to see big results with almost everything we do.

The kids are still having a great time and so are Marc and I. Maybe I am officially nuts now. We have had so many people tell us that we have taken on too much, that it is going to be impossible- especially with three small kids in tow. Although I admit that it is a huge undertaking.............. we will be able to do it. Our kids are amazing and enjoy being at the house. I just hope we all keep this same enthusiasm for the remaining 6 weeks!!

~Heather:)

Trying to Hold it Together

Have you ever had to deal with contractors? If you have it isn't always fun. Fortunately for us we don't have to use contractors too often because Marc and I know how to do most everything ourselves. However, our project house needs a new roof.........and it's a big one. With the weather in Ohio as it is right now we would have to take a week off to get it done. With Marc's busy schedule at work that is not an option. So, we hired a roofer to do the roof. An Amish crew that claims they will have it done in two days. It is a three layer tear-off with damaged wood replacement and new dimensional shingles. Two days. I suppose with their 12 man crew it is possible..................IF they would ever get it started. They were supposed to star this past Monday and with scheduling conflicts, permit issues and now bad weather...........possibly Friday.

As you can see in this picture they roof is desperate. See the pretty blue tarp on the roof? That is covering a series of holes that are leaking into the house. Fortunately all of the water is running down the outside of the chimney so the damage is staying to one area. However, we are going to come to a point where work will be haulted until the roof is complete. No sense hanging new drywall when there is water coming down! I have made several calls to the roofer and he is HOPING to be on the roof Friday. I certainly hope so, otherwise I will have no choice than to fire the poor Amish man who hasn't even technically started and find someone else. Don't want to do that. And in case you are wondering- no, we have not paid them any money yet.



Last night I finally figured out how to convert the weird bedroom layout into a more conducive space. Two of the bedrooms are connected due to a more recent addition. You have to walk through one bedroom to get to another.

So, I got out my tape measure and my painter's tape and played around with a "chalk line" as my husband calls it, until I go it right. I won't leave the door there though.

The "new" room will still be a decent size at 10x10. So that works.

I also removed all of the old door casings and prepped the spaces for the new, pre-hung, white paneled doors.

Picture me jamming the pry bar above the top casing and hanging from it like a monkey trying to get that bad boy down. Fun.

After that I started removing the wallpaper from one of the bedrooms...........

Stripping wallpaper is SO not my favorite thing to do.

We framed in one of the doorways that leads into the kitchen to allow for a better layout and more cabinet space. Marc had the frame ready to go and asked me if I would go cut the stud for him. I told him no, no way. I am terrified of the miter saw! So, he gave me an "Okay, I understand" look" and asked if I would measure and mark it for him. To that I happily agreed. As I was measuring the board I had this terrible wave of guilt come over me. I thought to myself, "we are in this together.............Marc can't do all of this himself.......it's time to step out of your comfort zone Heather." And without dwelling on it further I grabbed that 2x4 up, marched out to the garage and made my first ever cut with a miter saw. It was still scary, but I did it. Power tools do not bother me, I love them actually, but the miter saw scares the daylights out of me. However, I know I can do it now so I will keep cutting............and hopefully keep all of my fingers in the process.

Marc was extremely proud of me to say the least and I even had to mark my stud.........

LOL!! Doesn't our wall look good??? To the right of the newly framed wall will be a large opening/window to open the kitchen to the living room. It will span about 7 feet and really give a nice look. There will be about a foot of wall to the right of the opening and then the entrance into the kitchen.

Our plans to vault the kitchen were going to be costly and set us back quite a bit so a window is the next best thing- if you can even compare the two plans. As if!

While we were busy working Kyle was busy on a project of his own. He was building a "bench" and spent about two hours just like this hammering nails into the boards.

Bella ended up falling asleep while she was drawing so we decided to pack up and head home for the night.

Cali..................what a hoot she is. While we were sawing and hammering and demolishing this is what she was doing..............

Hee Hee!!! Isn't that funny!!! She is a great sleeper. I could watch her sleep for hours though. I love how she pulls her little legs up. She looks like a bug on it's back!!!

Again, first thing this morning the kids were asking if we could go to the house!! They love it there! One of the reasons I am sure is because-unlike our apartment- they can run and jump and be as noisy as they want and not disturb the neighbors. The house is a lot bigger than our apartment too and with no furniture in there they have a LOT of room to run around and play.

Have a great day!!

~Heather:)

PS Thank You ALL for your sweet comments............... you are all so encouraging!!! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!!!

Flippin' Houses & Holdin' Babies

Yesterday was another busy day for us. We started off our day shopping at the Home Depot for materials. Good way to start a day, right? hee hee Once we got to the house Marc installed some overhead lighting in the family room so the kids could play down there even after dark. Then, while Marc was in the kitchen getting rid of multiple "mystery" electrical wires I started demo on the bathroom.

Here is the before...................


The medicine cabinet and vanity was not only disgustingly dirty but it was covered in mold. Can we say rubber gloves?? And the tub......well, there are no words. Hopefully they wore shoes when they bathed in there but I doubt it.

I went to work and ripped up the old linoleum and cove base............

And then I removed the yucky vanity which it turns out was a condo complex that housed many, many spiders. They were not happy about being evicted. The plumbing went smoothly and I had it out and carried to the garage in less than 10 minutes.

When I pulled the sink off the cabinet section this black glob went flying through the room. The kids screamed! It looked like a mouse but it was a ginormous glob of nasty, sink clogging hair and yuck. I am wondering if these people ever cleaned!

Since Marc was still busy with the electrical I moved on to removing the doors and trim throughout the house. By this time Cali started getting fussy.

So, I literally had the pry bar in my right hand removing trim from around the doors and windows and Cali was nursing while I held her in my left arm!!! My husband, bless his heart, said "I don't know how you do that! I wouldn't be able to!" I didn't tell him that with one pull the trim just popped off!!! LOL!!

Baseboards, doors, trim, and window casings are gone. And as soon as the drywall is finished and the walls are painted we will be ready to install the new white trim and six panel doors. I can't wait to see the house then!!!

When we were at the Home Depot yesterday I found the tile I want for the bathroom. The floor tile just happened to be on clearance for 68 cents a square foot!! We needed 3 boxes and spent about $30 for the bathroom floor. Once the new tub goes in I will be ready to install the floor and the tile for the tub surround. This is the tile I will be using for the surround......

It is so much prettier in person and I love it! The floor tile is a light creamy beige much like the bottom left piece of tile in the above picture. We will be using brushed nickle finishes throughout the house and purchased the faucets and light fixture yesterday. We were going to wait for those but the clearance isles were full of treasures yesterday so we couldn't pass them up.

Here is the new light Marc installed in the family room yesterday.....

He installed two because it is such a large room. Again, they look better in person but you get the idea!

Bella had a ball playing with the box. She turned into a Doritos eating Robot!!

And Marc gave Kyle bags of plumbing pieces and he was content for hours making the most amazing contraptions!!!

As soon as the kids woke up this morning hey asked if we could go back to the house!!! When I told them we had to wait until after nap they were both disappointed!! LOL!!! It really eases my mind that they enjoy it there. Maybe my husband is right- maybe I do worry too much.

Tonight we have to build a temporary support wall so we can cut an opening in the kitchen to open it into the living room. If all goes well and we stay on schedule we hope to be hanging drywall by this weekend. Woohoo!!!

Have a great day!!

~Heather:)

A Good Days Work

Today Marc and the kids and I spent over half of the day at the house. There is a lot to do and we jumped in head first. I started ripping up carpet while Marc set up his tools and showed the investor our plans for the renovations. Later, we did my favorite part- DEMO!!! There is something about demo that makes me very happy. Ripping out the old to make way for the new. Once the dust settles you are left with an empty shell of opportunity. It excites me! My head has been spinning with all of the ideas for this house but the kitchen has been "my baby" in this house. It is very small but that isn't stopping me from big ideas. Right now it is a narrow, galley style kitchen but we will be opening it up to the living room to make it feel larger.
Today was a good day. And although there is not one part of my body that doesn't ache..........it feels very good that we accomplished what we did.

So, here is what the kitchen looked liked until yesterday.............


Cabinets are removed...................

And this is how it looks now.........................

Ahhhh..........possibilities. Kyle and Bella were right beside us swinging their hammers (which I failed to get a picture of- URGH!) and knocking out the walls. I gave them small hammers and then wrapped a sponge around the claw and then covered the sponge with a sock so that when they swung the hammer it wouldn't come back and hurt them. They had a ball! And they were very proud of their work!!

When it was time to clean up Bella wanted to help with that too!! She loved the little dust pan!! She would sit it on the floor, pick up handfuls of trash, load it on to the dust pan and then dump it in the trash can. It was so fun to watch. Kyle was exhausted and chose to supervise!! LOL!!

We took a lot of toys to the house for the kids to play with. There is a nice size family room in the basement for them to play in. However, they thought what we were doing was more fun!! I have to brag on my kids here- they are fantastic! Little helpers every step of the way. I was so proud of them today. They never cease to amaze me. Marc and I were worried when we decided to take this project. We weren't sure how the kids would feel, if we would be "losing" time with them. if they would feel left out, etc. We had the best time the last two days and it has become a family affair. And although we know it won't be this easy every day, we are doing this for our kids. If we do well on this flip, or maybe two, we will be able to get into the neighborhood we want. The school system is one of the best in the state and the neighborhood is extremely desirable. So desirable that we otherwise couldn't afford it. Yikes!

I want to share a picture of the living room. The house is a split level and this is the first room you walk into when you come into the house. The entry door would be to the right in this photo. The kitchen door is the opening you see on the left. When I took the picture I was standing upstairs on the landing. I love the vaulted ceiling. I am trying to convince Marc to vault the kitchen too so that the entire room will be open with soaring ceilings. We have some concerns with wiring and a gas line though. If it was going to be our house we would probably do it, but being a flip house that may be too time consuming. We are on a two month schedule for this house so time is money.

Can't you picture it though?!?! Yes, it would be beautiful. I guess we'll see what happens!!

Well, that is all for now. More to come. Much, much, much more!!!

~Heather:)