Green House Progress: Upstairs Downstairs Inside Out
January 29, 2017
Little by little we’re making progress on this flip house.
I find I am hesitant to post the progress because I’m loath to bore you all, but I’m realizing that the blog will serve as a nice reminder for us of what we’ve accomplished…if I document it!
But fair warning – this is no witty light scandal post, my friends, just a flippin’ update. 😉
UPSTAIRS:
Bruce has been convinced since day 1 that we need to skim-coat all the walls. In case you don’t know that term, it involves using drywall mud to literally cover the entire wall (sort of like frosting a cake). Then that layer has to be sanded, then recoated. Then sanded and recoated again. I have been saying he does not have TIME for that (really, aint nobody got time for that, am I right?). However, this is something he feels strongly is necessary to make the house feel fresh and clean. Bonus points that skim-coated walls remove the risk of bloody elbows and knuckles – a real possibility when you accidentally brush up against those rough plaster walls:
So I finally talked him into showing me how to skim-coat. And can I just tell you – it. is. FUN. I literally enjoy it so much! It was a nice surprise to realize I like the work, especially since it will be my primary focus for the next couple of months (I say months because I can only get over to the house a few hours here and there over the course of each week). This is time consuming, yes, but I am glad to be able to have a job that I’m good at and can work on while Bruce works on the ‘big stuff’. And it feels good to support Bruce on this – I certainly have wanted a lot of changes to the home and Bruce has been supportive of all of them. This pictures gives you an idea of the progress:
Next steps upstairs: skim-coat, skim-coat, skim-coat, skim-coat, skim-coat, skim-coat, skim-coat, skim-coat, skim-coat….
DOWNSTAIRS:
When I wrote about the four big things we wanted to change, one of them was to flip the stairs that lead down to the basement. In the picture below you can see the original staircase. Side note: you can also see that we moved the kitchen door over to the right and chose a glass door for maximum light! The sink will go under the window, next to the door.
We ripped out the staircase and for a few days used a ladder to get up and down:
Finally we got the stairs changed. The steps will get nicer treads and railings eventually, but for now rough pine planks work well since the home is still a work zone. I will take it over a ladder any day!
We’ve also decided to finish the majority of the basement. A basement bathroom, finished laundry room, and large family room are going to make this home feel so much bigger and nicer for a family’s use. The home will go from 3 bed, 1 bath, 900 square feet (with laundry in an unfinished area) to 3 bed, 2 bath 1330 square feet with finished laundry room! Bruce has started framing up some of the new basement walls:
Next steps downstairs: cutting the concrete basement floor to prepare for the plumbing work that needs to go in for the bathroom.
OUTSIDE:
Somehow I never shared the finished front view of the house, other than a few images on Instagram:
We put a new front door on the house (here it is in it’s pre-primed state – a finish that isn’t designed to hold up long term):
And then one day during my fall break Bruce pointed out that the weather that very day was perfect for painting the door. So five minutes before he walked out the door for work I threw some virtual paint on the front door and showed him these options:
We wanted it to be bold but ‘flip-friendly’ and decided the top right color was the way to go – a rich dark charcoal gray that ties into the light beside the door. I grabbed a few options from the paint store and ended up choosing Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.
Next steps outside: nothing! We’re pretty much done out there until spring arrives and I can get some pretty flowers in the ground.
And now you’re up to date! Any questions?