tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89427518645111783532024-03-05T06:49:50.126-05:00Underneath the SycamoreDIY & home renovations in historic small-town AmericaStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08335013508140946028noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-80896266439244361192012-06-20T21:45:00.000-04:002012-06-20T21:46:26.859-04:00The (semi) finished productThe granite was installed while we were at a wedding - so we couldn't even validate our decision until well after it was installed. Thanks to Steph's mom, we got frequent updates throughout the evening. Thankfully, when we came home we were VERY happy with what we saw…</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7360219460/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8007/7360219460_bc0f4b1d1b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a>
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A beautiful stove that is just WAITING to be used…</br>
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Even the floor is accentuated by the new colors.</br>
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We have no idea what we are going to do with all the cabinets, but I am sure that we will fill them with something!</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7174998183/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7174998183_75553668f1.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a>
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The double-oven… so… beautiful…</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7360214770/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7360214770_c39b47d7f9.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a>
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Beautiful running water…</br>
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I think I'll boil some water…</br>
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And make some delicious breakfast!</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7168026281/" title="photo by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7075/7168026281_a2138936fc.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="photo"></a>
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We even got the under-cabinet lighting hooked up! So much light!!</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7168028493/" title="photo by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8006/7168028493_392b1c689e.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="photo"></a>
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We still have a fair amount of work to be done - we need to install a hood, put up crown molding, put down baseboard, touch up painting, pick out and install a back-splash, and so much more - but we are so happy with how everything has come out so far. Now its just the "little" things… yeah right…</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7353237872/" title="photo by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7353237872_c88cf13eb0.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="photo"></a>Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-62549489776767660162012-06-14T21:55:00.000-04:002012-06-20T21:28:38.551-04:00Building the kitchen.We started this whole house "project" with a new kitchen as the cornerstone of everything. Steph and I love to cook so despite the fact that our bathroom doesn't have molding or baseboard, we are still using our basement and future bathroom as a pantry, and we don't have deck rail up, we knew that as long as the kitchen was done, we would be happy. In case you forgot, this is what our kitchen looked like when we bought the house:</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6776058324/" title="Hawthorne Kitchen by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7046/6776058324_1ed27a40eb.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne Kitchen"></a> </br></br>We had a dream, and it is finally coming together…</br></br> After weeks of meticulously planning every last detail of a kitchen that was going into an addition that was not built yet, months of waiting for drywall, insulation, electricity, etc, and using a utility sink as a kitchen sink for too long to be proud of, it was time to begin work… We started with the "easy" stuff - no problem here….</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6916951214/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7230/6916951214_3605edf4e0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>This is going to be where our beautiful double-oven will go. We just hope it fits…</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7063032239/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/7063032239_1d42bc7366.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>Next, we had to start to work on the top layer of cabinets. Steph's dad had a spacer to ensure that the height of the cabinets was uniform. This thing must have been 30 years old (unfortunately no picture :( but envision a Gandalf-esque staff with a piece of carpet on the top), but it worked!</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7063033329/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7063033329_cc35ccce5f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>Always have to start with the corners.</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7063019763/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7063019763_ddafff2f66.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>After we were all done with the top, we had to start working on the bottom - this is always fun when your floors aren't 100% level. We had to cut this cabinet from 3/4" to nothing to be sure the countertop would be level.</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7133989855/" title="IMG_1088 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7184/7133989855_d0c2eeb7fc.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="IMG_1088"></a> </br></br>The view from our kitchen table. Its starting to come together…</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7133990373/" title="IMG_1093 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/7133990373_ac195d6f5e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_1093"></a> </br></br>Don't mind all the wires hanging down. Our electrician forgot to factor in that we were installing a floor when he measured for under-cabinet lighting so everthing is about 2 inches short. Oh well - whats a little more spackle.</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7353271510/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7071/7353271510_a3c87e493c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>We were seriously concerned that everything wouldn't fit, but in the end we were able to squeeze it all together (after shaving a few cabinets and using a whole stack of shims)</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7168070315/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7168070315_5f3e4908ec.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>After all the cabinets were installed, the next decision was the granite - and it was a big one. We were going back and forth between black granite (either honed or polished) and a more "traditional" granite look. We spent a couple hours in the granite warehouse going over different options and ultimately settled on "Steel Gray." The 2 weeks it took to get delivered was very nerve-wracking. All we had done was look at it in a huge room with other slabs - we had no idea if it would fit in our kitchen. There was no turning back now…..Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-60879125889508264652012-06-14T21:48:00.000-04:002012-06-18T08:32:48.185-04:00The two-toned houseI know it has been a while since we have posted anything, but we took a little bit of a hiatus from anything house-related to regain some sanity (and get some sleep). It is my job now to get you caught up on the work we did before the break! As you may or may not remember, on day one of renovations we took large chunk of siding off the back of the house where the new addition went. Now we had to replace it...<br />
<ahref="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6916518655/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6916518655_24f582a0ae.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Untitled"></a></br>We had a ton of conversations about what the best way to attack our siding problem would be. It came down to the following three options:</br>1. Match the new siding with the existing siding.</br>2. Re-side the whole house</br>3. Re-side only the back and the side where the new addition is.</br> </br></br>We quickly crossed off option 1 when we realized it is VERY expensive to get aluminum siding (and most places don't even carry it). There would be no way to match the same color using vinyl siding, and we didn't think the current yellow color would be in the long-term plan for the house. We would have loved to go with option 2, but alas time and monetary constraints kept us from going down this path. So we were left with the third option. </br></br>We picked out a color that we could see ourselves liking long-term and wouldn't clash too much with the current color of the house - after all, its only the back. We went with Savannah Wicker - we are thinking that this color will go very nicely with black shutters and a black door and some white trim (but that is all down the road). </br></br>As you can see, we only did the lower portion of the house. Here, you can see the contrast between the two colors. Surprisingly it doesn't look bad!</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7360220800/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8027/7360220800_012d4c5cc1.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>On the side of the house, you can see the difference between the new and old siding. We were just happy that the new addition was perfectly square - it made for an easy job lining up all the pieces!</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7174994345/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7174994345_a56b17425b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>Since we just did the back, the view from the front and side is unaffected!</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7174996913/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7099/7174996913_15d8a175ba.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>Well… almost ;)</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7174998533/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7174998533_230104569d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>From this view, it almost looks like a new house!</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7174999153/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7174999153_e41a988213.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7174991003/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8010/7174991003_3878806a30.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>This was definitely the hardest part of the siding. We had a huge window where our future bathroom is going to be. We had to re-use aluminum siding to patch this space up. It took a lot of patience and persistence…</br><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7360220418/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7094/7360220418_9b9a45e7a1.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a> </br></br>I am not sure if we will reside the whole house ourselves when the time comes or if we will just hire someone. It definitely wasn't a "hard" job, but very time-consuming. The real question is how long can we live with a two-toned house…Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-77049359805149661582012-05-13T12:00:00.000-04:002012-05-13T12:00:01.853-04:00Landscaping... oh my...We still don't have a completed kitchen, baseboard in the bathroom, a deck rail, or siding on one wall (or C.O. for that matter - don't tell the town)… But we decided that it was a good idea to make our yard a bit more aesthetically pleasing. Luckily, Steph's dad has a tractor at his disposal, so he brought it over and we went to work.
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First order of business was straightening out the shed in our backyard. There are some massive roots in our yard and a bunch of them were under this shed. Using the tractor we lifted the shed up and started to clean out the mess that was underneath - roots, cement, blocks, dirt - it all had to go.</br>
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The main root was about two feet thick so we had to dig around it and chop it out with a chainsaw.</br>
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Next we used the tractor to clean out all the ivy and trees that were growing everywhere…</br>
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I thought we just got this mess cleaned up!</br>
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Cleaning up by hand seems so… manual… guh… But Steph was employed to clean up the more "delicate" areas.</br>
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The benefit is that we find lots of little suprises… like this little guy!</br>
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We also found something a little less "cute" - a partially decomposed squirrel… but I'll leave that off this blog.
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Look at these monster roots that came out - Thank goodness we had Steph's dad's truck and a couple chains to get these suckers up.</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7133991883/" title="IMG_1104 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7216/7133991883_a960a0f372.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_1104"></a>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6987907558/" title="IMG_1103 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8002/6987907558_fedd29b2c7.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_1103"></a>
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It looks nice and bare… and ready for improvement!
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7133990851/" title="IMG_1096 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/7133990851_e17550e203.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_1096"></a>
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Steph and her mom planted some amazing knock-out rose bushes out front… at 8:00pm. This is serious business!
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6997801832/" title="photo 1 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7216/6997801832_5ffc638c7e.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="photo 1"></a>
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And don't forget the fern, of course...</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7143890925/" title="photo 1 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5319/7143890925_6dd63379ce.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="photo 1"></a>
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In the end, it came out really nice for a start, though. </br>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7143889343/" title="photo 2 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7067/7143889343_1d1c97fd66.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="photo 2"></a>
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And this is just the front!</br>
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Originally we were just going to have to bring in "a few yards of dirt" to grade - no problem, right? Ha! Due to a slight "misjudgement" with the height of our deck steps, we needed just a little more… try 13 yards. Our neighbors love us.</br>
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What are we going to do with all this dirt!?</br>
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So we decided to cover our whole backyard with topsoil and grade everything. It probably would have been nice to do this piecemeal, but it will be awesome to have a level yard!</br>
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We had to put fertilizer and new seed down. Our lawn is going to be so plush!</br>
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But now I have to water it...daily - which might be the scariest thing I have ever had to do. I feel like if I cannot get this grass to grow I will fail at being a man and will be forever shunned.</br>
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As of this blog post, nothing has sprouted up yet… but there is still time… I hope.Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-3851318491096048442012-05-13T09:09:00.000-04:002012-05-13T09:09:00.179-04:00And the best part of summer will be....GRILLING! Living in an apartment for the last 4+ years has left us with a void in our lives. There has been a serious lack of deliciously grilled meat and charred veggies. We always had a grill pan, but its just not the same… While the purchase of a grill was certainly not a "necessary" one, after spending a month with very limited cooking resources we decided it was time to shake things up. Lowes had a great deal on a beautiful Chargriller with both propane and charcoal options (the foodies in us love the possibilities). We had gotten some money back from various returns so we decided to jump on it.
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Now, they offered to put it together for us, but it would have taken about 4 days… and we just couldn't wait. I got this…. No problem...
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I spread all the tools out that I would need… a knife and a screwdriver. This should be "easy"…
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On step 4, I realized that there were no washers in the box. Luckily Steph was at Home Depot and picked some up for me. I was about to have to use this knife for evil… whew. Crisis averted…
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Well… its starting to look like a grill… why do I have so many parts left? Hmmm
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So many screws… so many…
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My dad looking on and "supervising"… no doubt remembering many a time when he had to put up with similar situations. This time, he is not getting involved. Smart man…
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Ain't nothing going to damper this guy's spirits… and yes, I look like a orphan. "Can I have some more (grilled meat), sir?"</br>
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Two day's work and a few mistakes later, we are ready to grill. Fire up that chicken! Too bad we have to grill by flashlight since we don't have outside lights yet… Oh well… baby steps…</br>
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Bring on the summer!Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-68172087536187659562012-05-12T09:00:00.000-04:002012-05-12T09:00:05.742-04:00Painting party take 2My parents were on their way home from a wedding in connecticut, and they decided to stop by for the night. Instead of just hanging out and relaxing, we put them to work! Mwuhaha… </br>
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They attack a painting job with a level of intensity and efficiency that we could never replicate on our own.</br>
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They were here for less than 24 hours, but got our hallway, stairway, and living room done… with two coats!</br>
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At about 6' 3", my dad is not a short man - but even he had a hard time painting this stairway. Seeing him standing on a ladder hanging over the edge of my strairs at full extension to edge the walls and ceiling made me fear for his life. Hence the lack of "action" shots…</br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7133988011/" title="IMG_1077 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7133988011_dfdba4e4f6.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="IMG_1077"></a></br>
They also brought us up some carpets to use throughout the house (pictures later). Its funny how a coat of paint and some carpets can really make a house feel a little bit more like home!Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-83612351654507782422012-05-11T22:36:00.000-04:002012-05-11T22:36:15.242-04:00The true owners finally show up...In the midst of all the chaos and destruction that is going on in our house, we decided it would be best if our cats, i.e. children, stayed at Steph's parents house until it all settled down. After a couple weeks, we had all the major deliveries in and we had spent a bit of time cat-proofing the house, so it was time for the little princesses to come home. We know they are very adaptable cats and do well in new situations, but we thought they might be a little hesitant in a new place... but nope... right back to walking over everything.<br />
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Thats a face looking for trouble.<br />
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Walking on boxes is possibly the <i>coolest</i> thing ever..<br />
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Bella agrees...<br />
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The first look out of the window...<br />
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And so on, and so on...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6939856556/" title="IMG_1071 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/6939856556_ddbcf8302b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_1071"></a><br />
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So the tall and skinny of it is that these guys seem to be doing just fine. Sure they probably don't like using the litter box in the basement... but hey, we cut out a "cat door" for them... har har...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7084208439/" title="photo by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/7084208439_178665a5e9.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="photo"></a>Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-68299375829570545662012-05-04T23:12:00.002-04:002012-05-04T23:12:55.685-04:00Sorry for the radio silence!!We have been keeping VERY busy with work on the house - painting, landscaping, siding, kitchen, oh my. Stand by for updates very soon!Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-81108643170153865022012-04-16T21:47:00.000-04:002012-04-16T21:47:45.614-04:00Appliances and Cabinets are HERE!Even though we don't have a kitchen, Lowes wouldn't hold the appliances we ordered last November any longer. A few days after we moved in, we had them delivered. Unfortunately, they are just going to have to sit in our dining room until we are ready to install them. Check out the double-oven! And it will definitely be nice to have dishwasher again - its getting tiring to have to wash everything in our utility sink… ha… #firstworldproblems<br />
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Steph was VERY excited to get these bad boys in. She was going through laundry withdrawl. AND they even sing to you when they are done. Almost makes laundry an enjoyable pastime…<br />
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The delivery guys called it "Big Boy" - this thing is a beast. I'm pretty sure we could fit a body in here…<br />
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A few short days later, the cabinets came - and boy were we in for a surprise. The guys show up and I ask them if we have enough room in our dining room for all the boxes… they look at me and almost with scorn tell me that our cabinets are taking up more than a quarter of their truck. I have no idea how we have this many boxes - I think we have enough for 2 kitchens!<br />
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I'm not quite sure how we're going to be able to walk through here.<br />
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Our massive lazy susans spilled into the living room….<br />
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This is going to be the true test of will-power and organization… We need to make sure that everything is perfect since we spent so much time designing everything, making sure that each detail was taken into account. We are so amazed that our kitchenless existence is slowly coming to an end. So far, we have been living on a Wegmans $6 meals (which are amazing) and various Crock Pot meals (also delicious). It will be nice when we don't have to dig through boxes to find a cutting board, or eat using plaster forks, but we know that things could be MUCH worse. In the end, we will look back on this as the "Dark Times" and laugh… hopefully… ;)Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-70116073997330668162012-04-11T22:20:00.001-04:002012-04-11T22:20:21.992-04:00More bathroom "fun"We have been very fortunate in this whole renovation process to have gotten a ton of help, free/cheap labor, and gifts to ease our financial burden. One such gift was a lovely tankless "Viking" toilet (yes, it made me feel like Thor when it was -- *ahem* -- in use, in case you were curious).<br />
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Now, we are definitely not people to look a gift horse in the mouth. However, when this horse is your only toilet, and it appears to have "issues" with its main function (i.e. flushing -- apologies for any nasty mental images this is conjouring up so far), that's when there is a problem. On a beautiful Sunday at approximately 6 pm, the decision was made -- we needed a new toilet, and STAT. <br />
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Off to Lowes we go, only to find that the Kohler Memoirs High-Performance toilet that we (Steph) ABSOLUTELY NEED is not in stock. With just 20 minutes remaining until the nearest store with it in stock closes and about 10 miles to travel on NJ roads -- which are known to be treacherously slow on Sundays -- we rush off, risking life and limb with just one thought in mind: "power flush technology." <br />
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We arrive with 1 minute to spare and run into the store, greeted by the angry looks of employees who loathe people like us. We make a beeline to the "Fashion Bath" section, and are greeted by the most wonderful site… a plethora of porcelain, all ours for the taking. We race through the store as gracefully as two people who are pushing a squeaky cart with a toilet on it can muster, use the self-pay option at checkout, and off we go with smiles on our faces.<br />
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It was at this point we decided that we needed to be the masters of our restroom destiny -- we decided to install this toilet ourselves. Alone. On a Sunday night at 9 pm. Armed with my newfound plumbing prowess, some borrowed tools, and a blog post from Young House Love (http://www.younghouselove.com/2012/02/loo-re-do-on-my-to-do/), we were ready to begin.<br />
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Step number one was to turn off the water. Now this might have been the scariest thing I have ever done -- all I was thinking about was a flooded bathroom and ripping up another round of tile floors -- but alas, all went according to plan.<br />
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After a couple flushes, most of the water was out of the toilet. With a cup in hand, we scooped out the remaining water from the bowl and the back.<br />
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We used a sponge to get up the rest of the water, and were left with a nice dry toilet that was ready to be removed.<br />
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We had to take the two screws off the base of the toilet, rock it slowly to break the line of caulk, and then carefully lift it up and out of the bathroom and onto our porch (where it still sits today. Our neighbors must love us by now). We were left with a very gross ring of wax around the flange...<br />
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...and a line of caulk that I had to scrape off. Lucky me…<br />
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Next, we had to attach the new wax ring onto the new toilet, making sure that it is tight around the hole.<br />
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We had to carefully place the new throne on the screws attached to the flange. To make sure that the wax ring has a nice firm seal, we had to take a seat (and a nice photo op?) and squeeze everything down nice and tight. How cute…<br />
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Now in reverse! Perfect time to catch up on reading material.<br />
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The final step was to attach the screws to the base and to attach the tank onto the top. Steph's tiny, flexible arms were perfect for this!<br />
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After the final hookup, we gingerly turned the water on without any issues. There were no leaks so we caulked around the base, flushed often with glee, and patted ourselves on the backs for a job well done!<br />
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Ta-Daaaaa! What a beautiful sight to behold…<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7048495829/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/7048495829_e5a3e307b0.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a>Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-46748061652533340472012-04-11T22:20:00.000-04:002012-04-11T22:20:05.308-04:00A little adhoc plumbing<div><p>We had done the plumbing in the bathroom in a bit of a hurry so a couple things needed to be adjusted. Now, I am no plumber, but I think I have a pretty good head on my shoulders (and I'm not afraid to read the instruction manual), so I thought that I could figure it out.</p><p>First of all, the shower would not get hotter than a mild lukewarm. As much as we like to save money on water heating costs, a hot shower is essential, especially at 5am before work. After a little bit of fumbling around and reading on the internet, I found a tiny plastic piece under the handle that you can adjust to make the water hotter. A twist here and a tweak there and we are good to go.</p><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgI7e09sZKKAkCR350RCt0ZhKERq5fa5_jdfh-1US2advImRMFHIJ6nxFHQitFSClEEINE_5DUpRsm6BtVvkHqeMUHLirSLobyjmJPZsIOeql0pdYa07wsl-xZkddYOIr5lmtvSv7esD8/' /></div></p><p>Next our vanity faucet needed to be adjusted. The hot water side was off-center and the nozzles were loose. Also, they were up too high and the brass screws were showing. Luckily I have a pipe wrench in my possession... After spending a little bit of time figuring out how it works (haha), I made some minor adjustments and the faucet is perfect now. Personally, I'm just impressed that I figured all this out on my own. I think I missed my calling in life! </p><p>Next step is the toilet...</p><br />
<img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5xhGupwwmoOMO736YdIUcBEUdBiFmy00dQ56fM_BYjj2-6CQ0N3EMzicup-dt75A0FhtTofgIRv-hjvpbEUHbnBHzKyNWFoHAxMGoi17aeekTL4X_zg4IXzlDecLYwm2iYC5if_8GNE/' />Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-33070889976650603172012-04-04T22:35:00.000-04:002012-04-04T22:35:55.020-04:00Moving Day!So Friday was moving day… by the time the *big* day came, we were about 2/3 packed up (and that’s being generous…). <br />
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We had hired a moving company to move our furniture, and we were planning on moving everything else ourselves. In theory, had we planned a little better, we probably could have packed everything up and had them moved it for us - but hey, we have a ton of stuff in our kitchen (not to mention the rest of our apartment) and a serious lack of free time. All I want to know is how we (*I*) acquired so much stuff in such a short amount of time!<br />
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All in all, the movers were done in about 4 hours with no issues at all… they even put the old appliances out into the yard (classy?)…<br />
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Even though we had our furniture moved, we still had until Saturday @ 5:00 to turn in our key. We spent the rest of the day Friday packing up what we could. I even had a couple friends drop by for a couple hours to help. Luckily I have save EVERY SINGLE appliance box… ever.<br />
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We ended up finishing up around 3am and still had a fair amount to do. Steph and her mom headed over Saturday morning to finish up, but (as predicted) there was no way they were going to finish on time. I got the call while I was working on the house and got "permission" to rush out the door and head over the the apartment to clean up. 3 hours later and as many trips back and forth, we were finally done… at 4:55 - we like to keep things interesting.<br />
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Of course, now that we were moved, we have to do that annoying thing known as "unpacking".<br />
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As you can see by her closet, Steph is MUCH better at it than I am.<br />
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Day 3 in the house, and I still have my junk everywhere!<br />
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Since we don't have a kitchen yet, all of our kitchen stuff is sitting in the basement. Of course that means that we are running up an down the stairs anytime we need a cup… boo…<br />
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It is still surreal that we have made it this far and are actually sleeping in our house. We know that we still have work to do, but it is starting to feel less like a house, and more like our home...Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-32757224629474402172012-03-31T22:06:00.000-04:002012-03-31T22:06:08.178-04:00Steph's Birthday Weekend!So last weekend was Steph's birthday so we vowed to take at least one day "off" from working on the house. We figured with the impending move, the big-ticket projects, and the work we had put in that we deserved a day off. That didn't mean that we got to take the whole weekend off of course though! Steph and her mom were at the house painting until 1am on Friday, so I stopped by to help and to bring a little birthday snack...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6887572840/" title="photo 2 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/6887572840_d63ae4b652.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="photo 2"></a><br />
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Magnolia's cupcakes and some beer make any painting party better.<br />
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My Saturday was spent in the normal fashion... working on something or other. This weekend's project was putting down a new sub-floor in the kitchen. We wanted to even out the new and old spaces and clean everything up. I think that I literally used about 1,000 tacks to put it down. If anyone goes to rip it up in the future they are in for a very unwelcome surprise...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6884338682/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6044/6884338682_f7944065dd.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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We also spent the day cleaning up everything, from the yard to the basement. Since we we moving in a week later, we wanted to make sure that everything was nice and clean. Sorry - I know you really wanted to see pictures of our nice clean basement aka temporary living space / kitchen, but I did not snap any... don't be too disappointed.<br />
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So after a "relatively" relaxing work day, Steph and I got into bed with the thought that we did not have to get up at all the following day. The day started as any Sunday should... with brunch! I made her a <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/cinnamon-baked-french-toast/">Cinnamon Baked French Toast</a> (courtesy of Pioneer Woman). We cut up some berries and made some nice strong coffee. It was pretty much perfection. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7030401173/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7030401173_db1f47a40f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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After that, it was off to a 1:30 showing of the Hunger Games... which was AWESOME. We decided that we need to make a Sunday matinee movie a staple in our lives - especially on rainy days. Even though we had vowed to do nothing house-related, we couldn't resist a trip to Target. Then, we had to (of course) drop off everything... I mean, we had to do SOMETHING productive! Here's the birthday girl now!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6884330204/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6884330204_d42c9b374d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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After that, it was dinner at one of our favorite Indian restaurants, Indie Blue and then a stop at Steph's parent's house for "cake"... We aren't sure what happened here....<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6887531856/" title="C360_2012-03-25-21-29-33 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/6887531856_e457fb045a.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="C360_2012-03-25-21-29-33"></a><br />
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After an enjoyable visit, it was back to the apartment to prepare for the next day of packing and other fun...Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-11006100884090779032012-03-31T21:30:00.001-04:002012-04-01T14:34:55.415-04:00Goodbye carpet, hello hardwood.<div>As you most likely remember, our lovely home was covered from top to bottom by beautiful carpeting. The color schemes ranged from green, to yellow, to red shag. Now, we have nothing against carpet (we have had it in our apartment for the past few years and have been very happy with it), but if we have hardwood that has not seen the light of day in at least 50 years, you know we are going for it. All we had done to date was lift up the edges to see that there was some sort of hardwood under this sea of carpet - we were really rolling the dice by assuming a) the floor was in good condition, and b) that it would be in a decent state throughout. Either way, we were to doing it. We booked the floor refinishers to start on Monday so we had to get all the carpet up before then. We brought in a dumpster to clean up and went to town. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6852569004/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7078/6852569004_758a3a2e6a.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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We had a lot of junk to get rid of besides just the carpet! Look at how clean the yard looks.<br />
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Steph and I attacked the upstairs and my friend Jon and I took care of downstairs. We were very pleased to find that the floors were actually in great condition. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6998703737/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7230/6998703737_430b786779.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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A couple places needed to be patched, but nothing terrible. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6998714675/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6048/6998714675_d4a8004afd.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Untitled"></a><br />
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Who rips up carpets in Uggs? Honestly...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7012922307/" title="C360_2012-03-17-18-40-56 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/7012922307_67e55ab979.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="C360_2012-03-17-18-40-56"></a><br />
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The biggest crapshoot was the middle bedroom. We took up all the tile, but there was still cement on the wood. Everyone told us there was *no* way they were getting it up. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7012924107/" title="C360_2012-03-17-16-45-17 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/7012924107_bbec184208.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="C360_2012-03-17-16-45-17"></a><br />
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But they were wrong!!!<br />
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What we found underneath were the original antique heart pine floors. People pay a premium to get these installed in their home, and we had it hidden under our carpet.<br />
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In a house where we have had a few issues along the way, it is definitely nice to have something come out so nice. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6887601780/" title="Image 2 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/6887601780_90e8016952.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="Image 2"></a><br />
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We have some paper down to protect the floors, but we are are all set for our furniture...</div>Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-88751971911695947072012-03-25T10:23:00.000-04:002012-03-25T10:23:06.442-04:00Painting!A couple weeks back, my parents made the trek up to help us paint some of our rooms. We started off by wiping down the walls to get some of the dust off, but found that the walls were not primed quite as well as we had hoped! Not to fear... we had allotted plenty of time to get the main rooms done and my parents have proved be master painters with an uncanny ability to be incredibly efficient. My parents, Steph's parents, Steph and I all joined forces and re-primed the bedrooms and the hallway in no time flat. Then came the fun part!<br />
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The mast bedroom was the main goal.<br />
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The color (not pink, as Steph says.. haha) is actually really warm will compliment the furniture that we already have.<br />
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The middle bedroom got a nice light grey color.<br />
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The back bedroom is "carmel" - Steph definitely has good taste - I trust her judgement.<br />
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My dad hard at work. Some visit! This is supposed to be a vacation, right!?<br />
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My mom taking a much-needed break! Poor guys just got back from hiking the Grand Canyon.<br />
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Unfortunately, as with everything (it seems) with the house, there were some issues! We we went to remove the tape, full <b><i>chunks</i></b> of the paint came off with it! We think that the walls weren't properly washed before the first coat of primer was put on my the drywall workers. This caused some unsightly spots along the edge. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6852567748/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7278/6852567748_6b3f898b90.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Fortunately, we had still gotten a lot done and we were able to fix the problem spots for the most part. There will always be time to touch up in the future!<br />
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We were also able to put the first coat of paint on the kitchen while they were here. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6852579368/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6228/6852579368_47cd2713e6.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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When all was said and done, we got the 3 bedrooms painted, the hallway primed, and the kitchen got its first coat. It was a "fun" visit and we hope next time we won't have to do so much work!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6852568164/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6109/6852568164_fc88412423.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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We got a lot of painting done, but we still have more to go. Steph and her mother have been attacking the areas that need to be painted whenever they have free time. <br />
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See - even painting until 1am can't keep Steph from smiling! <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6866808400/" title="C360_2012-03-23-22-04-59 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/6866808400_3bcb407299.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="C360_2012-03-23-22-04-59"></a><br />
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Moving day is LESS than a week away!! We will get there - not that we have a choice now! :)Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-84941141869135391242012-03-24T00:50:00.000-04:002012-03-24T00:50:51.635-04:00End of the bathroom saga... Hopefully...<div>So the saga of the bathroom is *almost* at an end. After the firing of deadbeat tile guy (and still not getting back the funds we were promised) we kept our heads high and decided to attack the floor ourselves - or that was the plan at least. Steph's dad and a family friend, Gary, have been leading most of the projects and hand-holding us because they have done this work before, but the bathroom floor was one job that they were hoping to avoid. However, when I showed up bright and early on Satuday morning, they were attacking it vigorously. Maybe it was because they didn't want to hear about from us anymore… maybe it was because they were tired of not having a bathroom… or maybe it was because they needed a project / challenge… but either way, they were getting it done! <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/7003521585/" title="C360_2012-03-17-09-06-26 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6051/7003521585_48a3cf416b.jpg" width="300" height="500" alt="C360_2012-03-17-09-06-26"></a><br />
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Steph showed up and helped lay the tile out, and with a keen eye and a precise mind she figured out a way to make it look good despite the fact that this 100 year old bathroom is not quite as square as we might have thought! After hours of work, carefully laying out tile pieces, we had everything set up. The following day (our "day off") Steph's dad and Gary went to town cementing the floor and laying the tile. Gary had never laid tile before, but Steph's dad has some experience (and luckily a wet saw too). The cuts were perfect and everything lined up - it was truly amazing that these two could do an exponentially better job than someone who claimed to be a professional. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6852582046/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7269/6852582046_5f9d5da218.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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We still have to grout the floor this weekend, but the hard part is done and we couldn't be happier with the results.<br />
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Also, we decided to have our tub refinished because it was in dire need of some TLC. This was a job that deemed a little too large for us, so we brought in someone who knew what they were doing - and thank goodness we did. It looks like a brand new tub!! <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6852586392/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7064/6852586392_4fb44eb3f6.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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This weekend, we will finish this room once and for all - and it couldn't have been done soon enough! A little over a week until we move in!!</div>Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-52761201858598940952012-03-22T06:16:00.004-04:002012-03-22T10:16:35.431-04:00Who said plaster walls couldn't look new?<div>So once we were done with a lot of the tearing down and rebuilding, we decided that it was time to focus on our walls. The benefit of not living in a house you are renovating is that there is no furniture to move and nothing to worry about damaging. Add that to the fact that the floors were covered with a semi-permanent drop cloth (i.e. the carpet we are planning to rip up), and you have a perfect opportunity to make a mess. Now, as you may or may not remember, most of the house was overed in plaster walls that were not in the *best* condition. Once the wallpaper came off, there were some significant cracks that had been covered up. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911507649/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6911507649_b6b660f196.jpg" width="500" /></a> <br />
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We also had a number of walls/rooms that needed to have new drywall put up. The plan was to do all the patching and hanging of drywall ourselves and bring in someone to tape and finish. In the end, the "all in" price the drywall company quoted us to skim-coat all the walls, hang the drywall everywhere, and make the place "ready to paint" within a week was too good to pass up. This was something that I, personally, was very hestitant about. I felt like we could have handled the work - I had done drywall and Gary had already hung a couple walls himself in the house. In the end, though, we decided to hire Jesus and his crew. Let me tell you… watching them work was <b>amazing</b>. I showed up at 8 to work on something else, and by the time left at 1, they had finished the first coat in all the rooms. They worked with the efficiency of a well-oiled machine. After day 1, the results were astounding! <br />
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Are these the same walls?! <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808088434/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/6808088434_7250132547.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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In the end, we decided to bring them in to prime all the walls too - thanks to Steph's parents who got it for us as a birthday present. So clean! <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808088434/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/6808088434_7250132547.jpg" width="500" /></a> <br />
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They are like new walls! <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808105162/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7045/6808105162_130c2f297b.jpg" width="500" /></a> <br />
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Some people are just very good at their job! In the end we were so happy that we brought these guys in. A little extra money spent in the right places goes a long, long way… <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6954217179/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6954217179_7397d573af.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808108296/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6808108296_0ee531a219.jpg" width="500" /></a> <br />
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We had some snags with them - having to re-prime a lot of the walls before we painted, a couple spots that needed to be "touched up", and an unfortunate and unwelcomed incident involving a bucket (don't ask…) - but on the whole, this was one place that I was glad we reached out for some help. The work they did in a week would have taken up at least 3 weekends, and we are crunched for time as is. Now the "fun stuff" begins!</div>Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-65073989730057102612012-03-13T09:35:00.001-04:002012-03-13T09:35:00.343-04:00Starting to tie it all together...This past weekend, we decided to build the deck! Steph and I weren't sold on putting up a deck right off the bat because of the cash that we have spent already, but we need one to pass inspection - and lets be honest, decks are pretty much the best things for the summer. We hitched up the trailer and headed over to Lowes. We opted for the Trex Saddle color, which actually turned out to look great! <br />
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There is a neat little tool out there that you can use to space the individual boards out and allow us to drill into the sides of the planks. Halfway there... only took a couple hours!<br />
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We still need to pick out the railing for the deck, but we will get there! I think that is this weekend's project... or at least one of them... It'll be nice to have a nice cold beer on this deck in a month!!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6974426987/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6974426987_7bf587003b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a>Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-33507192603203828972012-03-12T21:14:00.000-04:002012-03-12T21:14:29.196-04:00The bathroom will be the death of us.Once our tile "professional" finished the walls of the shower, we figured... hey, maybe he redeemed himself and the initial hiccups were just a fluke. And then he put in the floor for a second time...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6974461791/" title="Photo1 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/6974461791_84691f3e8e.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="Photo1"></a><br />
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Apparently he did not get the concept of spacing the sheets out evenly. There is a ~1/8" space in between each of the mosaics, so one would think that it would mean that this spacing would continue between the individual sheets. We were wrong... He put them completely flush in most places. Sometimes there were even larger spaces.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6974462413/" title="Photo1 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6974462413_c81cb8b342.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="Photo1"></a><br />
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When he did decide to put in spacers, he used rolled up paper... sometimes cardboard! At least he was creative!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6829783778/" title="0307121907 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6829783778_7574d5d862.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="0307121907"></a><br />
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So, unfortunately, I had to show up in my shirt and tie and take a shovel to the floor for a second time! And we are back to square one. We had an un-grouted shower and no floor... and of course a promise of half of our money back (which we will never get). Luckily, we have some good help... Gary and Steph worked on the grout on Sunday and it came out GREAT. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6828306818/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6828306818_18801e78e6.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6828305732/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6828305732_8187609246.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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After they finished, we decided that we are going to lay the floor ourselves. Steph is unbelievably precise - and OCD ;) - and Gary is basically a Jack-of-all-trades. I think it will come out great! As we have been saying all along... onward and upward. We are in the home stretch.Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-6315309211114160372012-03-11T20:53:00.000-04:002012-03-11T20:53:24.436-04:00Kitchen: Part 2So whats behind that wall??<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911591647/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/6911591647_fb100bcf96.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Our new fancy-pants addition!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911579179/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6911579179_f21aa99e72.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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"Someone" was supposed to order a door before this went up, but thats ok... we improvised (doorknob was our attempt at a "joke"... )<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911579639/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/6911579639_6ae060c02a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Love this window!! A gift from Steph's parents.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911583729/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6911583729_3eb7ed7541.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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We are making sure that we have LOTS of lights!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808101152/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7056/6808101152_c82d5757a2.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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One of the downfalls of gutting an older house... you can't always see the issues until the wall comes down. We discovered that this was a bearing wall so we had to put an extra support beam in.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808095124/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6808095124_8a8a1dd01d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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When the door finally came in, it went in with no problem at all!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6954212777/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6954212777_0587be3f22.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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New window too!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6954200695/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6954200695_b00fa82a08.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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Next came the insulation... Fun fun times...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6828339274/" title="Photo1 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/6828339274_641277c9ed.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="Photo1"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6828338622/" title="Photo1 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6828338622_0dda88f773.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="Photo1"></a><br />
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Its truly amazing what this has turned into - we are so excited to see the next steps...Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-8258405102943878142012-03-06T22:16:00.000-05:002012-03-06T22:16:33.849-05:00The kitchen... part 1When we were looking at houses, the one main thing we would always look for was the kitchen. Steph and I both love to cook (and eat) so we were always drawn to places with awesome appliances, updated cabinets, and the works... So why this?<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6776058324/" title="Hawthorne Kitchen by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7046/6776058324_1ed27a40eb.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne Kitchen"></a><br />
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I mean, its nice - clean and sunny - but definitely not a chef's dream. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6776054240/" title="Hawthorne Kitchen 2 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6776054240_5e7d36b036.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne Kitchen 2"></a><br />
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We salvaged what we could (fridge, cabinets for basement storage, appliances for resale, etc) and moved forward with the demo...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6922169055/" title="Hawthorne Kitchen 3 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6922169055_fb188ecd77.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne Kitchen 3"></a><br />
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Oh yeah - wallpaper on the door...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911476399/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6911476399_5b6552f6e6.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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And it became this...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6916528201/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7201/6916528201_e6af08bb3c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a><br />
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And this...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6916526013/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/6916526013_d27556df71.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a><br />
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Some high-quality insulation!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911495107/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7193/6911495107_5f2b7a833b.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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Thats better!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911504519/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7192/6911504519_183745c770.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Wallpaper.... OFF!!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911505319/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/6911505319_71732b5530.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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And the walls came down...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911516325/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/6911516325_a2879376b0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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We needed about 10 inches for our cabinets... so Steph's dad's response: "No problem - we'll just move the door! You want it wider too? Sure!!"<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911556155/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6911556155_84728cdb8e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Beautiful view from our basement... <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911562959/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7056/6911562959_bb6a9de81e.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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And whats behind that wall...????<br />
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I guess you'll have to wait and see!Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-16200580443369577082012-03-06T17:58:00.000-05:002012-03-06T17:58:19.218-05:00Frustrating, but fruitful weekend...Sorry for the radio silence the past couple days. We have been keeping very busy trying to get things back on track. Sorry about the upcoming rant in 3, 2, 1...<br />
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We are putting tile around the bathtub, but unfortunately its a project that would be a little big for our britches right now - so we brought in a "professional." First of all, thanks to Steph's parents' connections, we got some free tile for the bathroom walls. Steph wasn't 100% sold on it, but the price was definitely right, and if it was laid correctly it could have worked. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The cuts around the corner were uneven, the lines weren't straight, and Steph described it as an insane asylum shower (haha). <br />
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To add insult to injury, Lowes sent us 5 boxes of tile for the floor - an awesome black and while mosaic. However, one of the boxes was from a different dye lot. Unfortunately this wasn't caught by the tile guy until the four boxes were laid. Not to fear... off to Lowes goes Steph. Only to find that not only do no stores have it in stock - but it has been discontinued. <br />
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So in the end, it all had to come off and we have to start again. The nail in the coffin was that the tile guy left with the promise to take up the floor on Monday. However, we knew that it would be impossible to get off without taking the whole cement board up, so we had to work quickly to get it up ourselves. So close to having a working toilet and yet so far. The positive is that we noticed the mistakes and we know what we want so we can correct them this time around. <br />
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This is the bathroom post tile apocolypse.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808093800/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7187/6808093800_de280d1762.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Lowes said they needed the tile back in full sheets to be able to return it. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808088850/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/6808088850_954e5a8643.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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That will work... right?<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808107178/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/6808107178_a977ebcc23.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Annnnnnd (last rant, I promise) we had to get inspection this week so we had to bring everything up to code. One the the most annoying parts of this is filling in the balloon construction with Fire-board and Fire Caulk - this was my job. It took me almost all night on Saturday and a good part of Sunday to get it done. This stuff is brutal...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808094586/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7192/6808094586_4df29d7c8f.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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And having to fit it in all sorts of awkward spots is no fun at all.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6954199617/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/6954199617_6128ce9c5c.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6808091972/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6808091972_b65fc6cf88.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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One of the great things from this weekend is that we got the roof up on the addition! I (obviously) have never done a roof before so it was great to see how its done. We worked through the morning and got most of it done by around 2pm. Sorry - no pictures yet, but I'll upload some of my handiwork soon!<br />
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The final step to bring the construction up to code was running a vent pipe from the bathroom sink all the way through our new crawl-space and out the roof. That was quite a task, but thanks to my ingenuity (harhar) and a lot of PVC pipe, we were able to make it work.<br />
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Tensions were running high and we can definitely say that we have had better weekends in our lives. We were just talking about it, and hopefully that is the worst of it - smooth sailing the rest of the way!<br />
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And the good news is that we passed all our inspections yesterday (which was a surprise because typically it takes a couple days to get it all done) so I am taking off from work today to put in insulation! Yay!! That way, we can get drywall up in the addition and get ready for cabinets!!<br />
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Onward and upwards! Kitchen pictures coming tonight!Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-70218680793098665752012-03-03T15:19:00.001-05:002012-03-03T15:19:00.095-05:00The outside...I figure its about time to post a little bit from the outside of the house... <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6776043114/" title="Hawthorne Front 2 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6776043114_7f9c4488db.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Hawthorne Front 2"></a><br />
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Right from the start it has a really quaint feel about it. We LOVE the porch. The plan is to take down the screens, put up new railing, and move the steps in front of the door... but that is a project for later...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6922181019/" title="Hawthorne Porch by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/6922181019_1d9bc9f53b.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne Porch"></a><br />
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Private driveway... no garage, but we can always build that later!!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6776044552/" title="Hawthorne Front by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6776044552_e8b96b8347.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne Front"></a><br />
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Its full of quaint little things like this that serve to remind us how old this house is and how many memories have been made in it. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911482675/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7040/6911482675_62d8901645.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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My plan tomorrow/tonight is to show the progression of the kitchen... Sit tight!!Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-82997877610418938362012-03-03T09:07:00.003-05:002012-03-03T09:07:00.084-05:00And now the dinning room!Keeping up the same yellow and blue... the previous owner definitely knew what she liked. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6922156017/" title="Hawthorne DR1 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6922156017_0678a746ec.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne DR1"></a><br />
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It was definitely pretty and in great shape, but just not our jam.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911473353/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6911473353_e55572c310.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Started with the frames around the windows. I guess you have to start somewhere!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911502043/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7178/6911502043_66850a418b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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And then hey... why not a wall?! Woops... found some asbestos. No big deal ;)<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911524699/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7200/6911524699_a3bd34bd24.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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And then another wall! This was about the time I got nervous! I guess this is why people don't do demolition on their own houses!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6916467517/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7062/6916467517_ba48f5d154.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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That was some nasty stuff!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911531829/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6911531829_a27f5fea6d.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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And lots of it!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911532331/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6911532331_58d28b1e25.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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At least its nice and open now :)<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911595161/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6911595161_1399a5ca30.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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Even though everything here wasn't our style, part of the reason we were drawn to this house was the fact that everything looked like it was in great condition. It just felt like it was a home that had been loved - so we want to do it the same justice. We are definitely in the building stage now - those pics will hopefully be up here this weekend.Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8942751864511178353.post-27464836455863322862012-03-02T23:06:00.000-05:002012-03-02T23:06:31.110-05:00Onto the downstairs....Starting with the living room! When you come in from the porch, you enter this front room. As you can seem it was VERY yellow when we first saw it - But definitely a bright room and a very nice size.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6776062002/" title="Hawthorne LR3 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7046/6776062002_56d74940d0.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorne LR3"></a><br />
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It is really a great space - lots of potential! Especially looking forward to using that fireplace!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6922153029/" title="Hawthorne LR2 by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6922153029_c73aef49cc.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Hawthorne LR2"></a><br />
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Kinda looked like it might be cool up close, but alas, it all had to come off...<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6916538965/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6916538965_ec4da14122.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt=""></a><br />
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First step was the panelling on the ceiling. Luckily it popped right off. Wasn't terrible, but we wanted to start fresh!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911494057/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7038/6911494057_74048ed22a.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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We get a preview of what our mantel might look like... <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911522849/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6911522849_919048ae75.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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So naturally these bricks all had to come off! This is why we need to always have projects to do during these renovations for everyone involved! ;)<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911530207/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7045/6911530207_815dc17b8e.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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But that's OK! It cleans up nicely. Ready for some new tile!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911545541/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/6911545541_c9827ccd4b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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All the wallpaper is down... Now what?!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77781436@N00/6911547679/" title="Untitled by See Pugs, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6911547679_787559aa33.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt=""></a><br />
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This room is now also serving as a staging area for all drywall, tools, and other miscellaneous items. I fear they will be here for ever!!Chris Pugshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08521761739085947497noreply@blogger.com0