I apologize for not updating in a
while, but since I got a promotion at work and new days off, it has
thrown our work schedule into disarray. The good news is that we
(mostly Lawrence) have gotten a lot done in the past three weeks, and
we can finally see some progress!
Most of the walls have been stripped,
sanded and textured, but we still have a few rooms to go. The three
guest rooms have been done, as well as the living room and the
breakfast area. Today we applied our first paint with what turned out
to be interesting choices of color. We used an online application
from Behr Paint that allows you to see various colors on walls,
ceilings, etc. We looked them over and decided on a kind of brown
color for one guest room, and a slight green color for one of the
others. We opened up the cans and the brown looked like liquid baby
poop. Not good. We went ahead and applied it to the wall and after it
dried, it didn't look too bad. We will have bright white trim and
moldings on the ceilings and floor, as well as around the windows, so
that will hopefully lighten it up a bit and give some good contrast.
On to the other room and our green
paint. It looked like pea soup. Oops. We applied it
and again, it didn't look too bad once it dried. We're hoping the
white trim will do the same magic as with the baby poop room.
All of the ceilings in the house will
be painted with a standard flat white paint specifically for
ceilings. It will give good reflectivity for lighting and allow for
contrast with the “interesting” colors. We have picked colors for
the other rooms, but we might have to go back and rethink some of
them.
I contacted a buddy of mine about the
need for an electrician to replace our main breaker box outside. His
ex-son-in-law was recommended, and he came out today and looked
everything over. We bought all the parts at Home Depot (of course),
and he will come back on Thursday and finish the work. He quoted me
an excellent price that turns out to be about 1/3 of what I was
expecting. Awesome!
Lawrence and I are in the process of
penny-pinching as we try to save up enough to buy new carpet for the
house. It's going to be between $3500 and $4000, and will be our last
big expense, that is until we have to replace the roof, but that can
wait a couple of years. We also need to purchase a new table saw so
Lawrence can make our new moldings along with a few other items, and
that is about $500. This house rehab stuff is expensive, but still
cheaper than hiring a bunch of people to do it for us.
As I mentioned a few entries ago, we
have wrought iron fencing across the front door and along one side of
the house. It was tan in color, like everything else in and around
this house, so we decided to change it to gloss black, and it looks
amazing! Lawrence sanded and primed the fence since it had some rust
on it, and the painting began. It took three days to paint that damn
fence as it has a bunch or ornamentation on it like grapes and leaves
and other stuff. It takes a small brush to get in all the nooks and
crannies, but we finally did, but not before ruining a number of
articles of clothing. One good pair of jeans and a couple of t-shirts
were sacrificed for the effort, but it was worth it since it turned
out so well. I needed to update my very old wardrobe anyway...now I
have an excuse. Look out Old Navy, I'm coming to see you, but not
until we get new carpet and a table saw.
On the gardening front, we have
purchased and planted a number of different pretty flowers with names
I can't pronounce, a banana tree, a lemon tree, a lime tree, an
orange tree, and the backyard is looking very colorful.
We also did an inventory of what we
have already purchased in the way of various lighting fixtures and
other electrical items, and made a list of what we still need to buy.
It includes three more ceiling fans with lights, lights for both
bathrooms, exhaust fans for both bathrooms, a couple of hallway
lights, a few closet lights, and some nice large light fixtures for
the kitchen and dining room.
I mentioned earlier that we will be
installing molding in all the rooms, but we aren't going to buy
pre-fab moldings. Lawrence is buying his own wood and will make them
all himself. He has already made his own rolling wood platform for a
ladder to stand on which allows someone (me) to push him around any
room while he is texturing or painting the ceilings and tall walls
and not have to climb down the ladder. It worked better than I
thought it would, but he was confident all along. I could just see
him and that ladder go tumbling to the floor, but it didn't. Pretty
damn clever, this Lawrence fella!
On the weekends while we are working,
we both do the laundry. Or should I say, I do the laundry. He is much
too busy thinking of something clever to design and build to be
bothered with laundry. Slave Boy Bill does the laundry, pushes him
around on his ladder-mobile, drives him to Home Depot, brings him
lunch, and whatever else The Master desires. It's all worth it so I
don't have to climb on that movable ladder thingy.
Rusty McNose has been joining us on the
weekends, and he loves the backyard. He gets good exercise and works
himself up to a good nap. Which is good since it keeps him out of the
way, most of the time. Last weekend he was watching Lawrence texture
one of the rooms and promptly got sprayed with texture himself.
Here's a reddish-brown dog with white texture firmly adhered to his
fur. It looked like he had dandruff. He got a good brushing when we
got home to get it out, so he didn't mind.
We still have a long way to go, but
it's great to see some color on the walls, even if they are a little
out of the ordinary. We now watch TV shows not necessarily for the
storyline, but more for their decorating tips. Need some
decorating ideas for your home? Watch Desperate Housewives.
Fab-u-lous!
