Almost Finished!!

We have a few things left, but not much to completion! I bet you thought I forgot about this blog, huh? We didn't! Work was just so intense that we had to busy our hands to complete this remodel.

This project took more time than we originally anticipated, but the plan had to be modified to accomodate the recent fluctuations in the real estate market. What a gem this is shaping up to!

There are still a few details to shape up before we start showing the home; finishing baseboards, laying the bathroom flooring (guest bath), cleaning up the yard, finishing the fireplace, sliding doors, door handles, front door side-light, clean-up, touch-up painting in the interior and exterior, then final decoration touches and organization!

It is hard to tell from my bad photos, but this house is really shaping up!! Once we get it better organized, you will really be able to tell! In just three days, this house MUST be ready to show!!!

The time is ticking...

The living and Dining Areas are both finished (except fireplace).




I know it is very hard to tell what is going on with all of the clutter and the old windows still in place. It is going to look so amazing next week when the windows are installed!

It may be hard to live in a home you are remodeling, but it is 10x's harder to be moving into a home and remodeling it at the same time! :) It's been an amazing challenge, but we are nearing the end of the project (I hope).

I have been so busy working that I have not blogged!!

Here is our progress report:

1. Exterior is being painted. We have to rent a truck and get a tall ladder to finish, we plan to finish by Sunday.

2. New Windows will be installed on Monday morning!

3. The Kitchen is nearing completion!

4. Ray is installing the wood floors.

We are past our 1st target deadline of Jan. 31st. Now we are trying to make our default deadline of 2 weeks into February! Yikes!

Flurry of Action!

Light Fixtures
The light fixtures were installed this week. We had an electrician out again to assist in installing light fixtures, repair electrical circuits, install electrical, etc. The lights are beautiful! What a difference!





The wood flooring color choice we went with was walnut (not pictured, this is the newly carpeted dining room in the photo). It's gorgeous; a deep brown but with opacity. I could not find photographic proof, but we sensed that Mediterranean homes would have light, natural-toned walls and deep brown floors with sharp, wrought-iron accents.

Master Bedroom

Before:

Now:

Master Bath

(still under construction):

BEFORE: There was a lot of mold in the kitchen, which had to be treated, as well as the drywall replaced. It's Done!, but look at how bad it was:

Production!!

We've been so busy that I've hardly had the time to blog!

1. The kitchen cabinets have arrived and they are being installed now!

2. The carpet is being installed on the 26th.

3. The interior paint is more than 50% completed; we are waiting on Jimmy Watkins Drywall to return and make some last-minute repairs.

4. We had the trash and debris hauled from the property and three trees cut down to make the property visible form the street.

5. Sierra Windows has been paid a deposit and I handed the manager of SW the second of three checks.

6. The kitchen appliances have been purchased and are ready to be installed as soon as the kitchen assembly is completed.

7. Both bathrooms have new light fixtures, as well as the hallway, entry, and dining area.

8. The fireplace is in the process of being remodeled.

9. We have purchased new floor moldings and are having them installed!

Everything is looking great!

Termite tent is off and more work to commence!

The tent is off and the windows have been ordered!



Additionally, I am ordering the kitchen cabinets + counter tops. It looks like we may be going with white, paneled cabinets, stone-tile counter tops, and stainless steel appliances, if we can find a fridge that is stainless steel and counter-depth.





I have written the deposit check to Sierra Windows, but this week they will also need $1502.00 more for Sierra, so with cabinets and paint costs alone, we will need to re-up funds.



I am trying to fit the windows into the budget of $20,000, instead of $25,000. It looks like we will have something much nicer looking for the $25,000, but I really want to save the owners that last $5,000. For right now, I think receiving the next amount of $10,000 will put us in a position to be able to move faster, as Jan 1st is coming up and we also need to get moved into the house!



Next up is paint, we will need a painter to help us paint the taller areas of the house, but we think we will be able to paint the inside with no problem. We will have a helper or two to help us paint the interior and possibly even exterior.



The house looks great! With new windows and a new kitchen, it will look like a new house on the inside!



I am still researching the exterior yard project; trying to find the least expensive way to proceed with the front yard...

Terminex Tenting and Drywall results!!!

The house was tented today!!

Terminex insisted in getting a key to be able to lock up the house, so I made a copy and purchased a lockbox (which can be used for all service providers and Realty a the box access) and copied out house key, then added it to the lockbox.

The drywall is finished, also. Jimmy Watkins Drywall did an excellent job- for a great price. Jimmy Watkins Drywall can be reached at: (803) 215-9359 (local) or: gdigrazia25@hotmail.com. I will post photos of the new walls after the tent is removed.

I am very happy with Terminex, as well. We first had another company, Fowler Pest Control, bid on the termite tenting and they wanted us to tear down both patio covers before they would tent the house to get the same price that Terminex offered us. Terminex offered to do both patio covers + the house for $1992.00. Fowler Pest Control bid $2298.00 "as is": or @ $2000.00 of we ripped down the patio covers. We were pleased with Fowler, but wanted a price that was cheaper and Terminex beat Fowler's bid...so we went with Terminex!

Additionally, we contracted with Jim Christie of Sierra Windows (1-800- 958-5777) to do all windows (not the patio sliders, though) for $ 3755.00 @ 11 windows. We will have to replace the vertical window next to the front door and two patio sliders ourselves, because they could net get these windows at a special price, but it's a great deal for the other windows and will make a great impact.

I went to Ikea yesterday to purchase cabinets, only to find that the cabinets we chose are now completely sold out unitl February! I am going to a company in Mira Mesa tomorrow to check another place that has affordable cabinets. We truly love the cabinet add-ons that Ikea offers, but we need to stick to the budget and for our budgeted price, we can only get flat paneled cabinets from Ikea or that price... We are ready to order the cabinets and kitchen appliances, but we need a better price and a nice kitchen...

Additionally, we will be needing more funds very soon to order kitchen cabinets, buy appliances, and pay the residual of the windows.

The house is already looking great because of the wall retexturing, bull-nose corners, and scraped ceilings. The house looks newer and bigger inside because of the drywall work Jimmy Watkins Drywall completed! Now 101 Rodney is termite free, as well! As soon as the tent is removed and the gas is clear, we will start painting. We have also chosen the carpet, which is cashew colored cut-pile berber and will be installed as soon as the paint is finished!

Our exterior painting will begin around December 15th! Things are moving right along!!

Progress Report...

This House is Going to look great when we finish.. I just know it.


For exterior paint, we chose Pony Tail as the base color and Crescent Moon for the Trim, from Olympic Paint. Painting will start @ December 15th for the exterior.

The ceilings are finished!
Here are pictures while work was going on:

The walls have been repaired and re-textured for painting, thanks to Jimmy Watkins drywall. Jimmy also rounded all of the corners and scraped the ceilings; he did an excellent job and gave us a warranty on his work. We chose a smooth hand texture for the ceilings and a smooth orange peel for the walls (though we would have loved the re-texture with the hand trowel, it's a costly job).

This is the granite we looked at having installed. For $2,000 we can have the whole kitchen in granite with a 6" backsplash... Still a bit pricey, we may need to just do the island in granite and the other countertops wood OR vice versa. I personally think it is better to get good cabinets over flashy countertops, though the kitchen does need some eye appeal. The GRANITE we like is in the 3rd row (middle) and the second from the left-hand side. Its called Santa Cecilia and it's warm and nice looking. We also like the one at the bottom right corner, Baltic Brown.


We are working right along, now needing to get the termites and windows taken care of, which requires paperwork. My Terminex rep is really slacking, which is annoying me. I think I will get another quote while I wait for him to get his act together; he is not following up fast enough for my timeline...


Choosing a Kitchen Design...
White Cabinetry with Stainless Steel creates a tidy look...

...Or MIX white cabinets with a dark walnut-stained island to give dimension and add warmth to an all-white kitchen.






...Or go with all dark-stained cabinets with
Stainless Steel and solid surface like white laminate or sandstone (a softer stone).

I really like the walnut stained cabinets, perhaps I can find some unfinished cabinets and treat them with a dark color to save money...