Renovation Update #6

We are in.  A great group of wonderful and strong friends joined us a week and a half ago to move us and our trailers loadS of *stuff* into our new home.  We are so grateful for their hard work and help.

Just before we moved in, David was able to finish the bathroom enough for use. Boy, is it beautiful! We still have shelving to put up and some of the walls have already been patched a bit and need their final coat of paint, but it's gorgeous. I'm so proud of my hard-working Honey. :)

I'll post final pics of the room once it's fully done.

Once we moved in, we arranged some furniture and boxes but haven't unpacked much. The first night we worked just to get the beds arranged and figure out the best placement for those rooms. We're still needing to get closet rods up, shelving, and more odds and ends so a lot is yet to stay in boxes.  That's okay. The house stays more tidy that way. Especially since the main priority right now is getting that kitchen done and useable.  The drywall is now up with 2 coats of mud. One more and we should have it painted and maybe even the counters, sink, cabinets, and appliances ready to go by the weekend!  Sure hope so because we only have a couple of weeks left to get some meals in the freezer for Baby Dear. :)

 One of the biggest challenges in this room was getting the wiring done right. It was a mess and David had some deconstruction to do before he could get it all put together properly. This wall was a real mess, where the stove will be placed.

 The kitchen originally had one island light and one small light above the sink.  With only one small window, it was a very dark place. David and his dad spent last Saturday installing 7 recessed lights for our new ceiling. When it was all said and done and he flipped the switch, David exclaimed, "Hey, it's like living on Broadway now!"  Our kitchen is bright and shining now. :)

 The new soffit they built to house the new plumbing that went in for the bathroom above.

The next step, once the kitchen is finished, is to take on the tin ceiling in the dining room. It's such a monster of a project. The paint was peeling when we first bought the house...

...and because of the potential dangers with lead paint, we chose to strip the ceiling completely with a liquid stripper. Ugh. What a stinky, sticky mess that makes!

And, it's not coming off well, even with scrubbing with a wire brush. Also, parts of the ceiling have rusted due to water damage, so we're finding holes that will need repair. As it stands right now, we're going to give it one more go before we call it quits and tear it down to be replaced with drywall. The plan is to seal off that room, use a special plastic over stripper to let it "set" stronger and vent the room with window fans.  I'm really hoping it works, as I *hate* the thought of losing such a unique piece of this dear old house. Yet, it's just a ceiling and I don't want anyone in the family getting sick or stressed over something that doesn't last.  You'll have to wait for an update later to see how it all works out. :)

With all that construction going on, you better believe that we've had to do our share of sweeping, dusting, vacuuming and mopping. Still, it's pretty tough to keep the house *clean* no matter what you do at this point. However, with the pitter patter of so many feet, *dirty* never looked so cute. :)