hated it!!!!

we primed over the dark blue wall paint in the bathroom...this is a photo of the first coat- it will take at least 2 coats of primer to cover that blue. not only was it too dark, it revealed all of the imperfections in the wall (which are many)- so we have also decided to skim coat a layer of plaster over the walls before we re-paint them.



the bathroom was sans-fan, so we had to install one...here it is, and its up and running!

we also installed the bath shower and tub faucets...after we sealed all of the grout.

we still have to seal the corners and around the tub.

oops

i would love to show y'all how the kitchen looks with the newly installed cabinets...but i forgot to bring the camera to the house today!

my bad. i will try to remember tomorrow.

a little shout out to our homies...and mommie

thank you keith for the plastering advice (and demo!)--the ceiling turned out great!

thank you mom for the help with painting!

just paint...brain surgery it aint!

so, we chose a nice neutral Valspar paint color called 'seagull gray' to paint all of the interior walls. we think that the gray will look clean and sharp against the bright white trim and crown moulding. depending on the lighting conditions and time of day, the walls look anywhere from beige to blue...and sometimes gray. we are really pleased with the results. (not easy to see in these photos...)





(those are the kitchen cabinets in the background...we are installing them tomorrow!)


now, for the bathroom, we are breaking a cardinal rule of house flipping--which is to use only neutral and light paint colors. BUT, since there is a lot of white and not so much wall space in the bathroom, we decided to go with a bold blue that matches the blue mosaic tile in the floor. we are still 2nd guessing it, but here it is...a picture of the first coat (we will probably need at least 3 coats for good coverage)

we also think that the blue will look good with the satin nickel accents: faucets, light fixture, and accessories. oh well, no turning back now!

update

we are finally finished with the plaster work...and we are now priming/painting! it is starting to feel less like a construction site and more like a house.

next week we will install the kitchen cabinets and tile floor. we are also hoping to begin the installation of the hardwood floors.

the carpet for the master bedroom will be installed on the 26th.

so much dust!

we dont need no stinkin plumber!

this is the new pvc drain pipe ...that scott installed.


it was easy!

not the walk of fame...

...at the end of a long day of plastering...whoops, that was wet plaster!

plastering and sanding, and plastering and sanding, and plastering and sanding...this has to be the most challenging phase of the whole process...believe it or not. you just dont feel as though you are making much progress.

we probably have 1-2 days left of this phase, then on to painting. we bought a new toy- a paint sprayer- and we cant wait to use it! for one thing, it will mean that the plastering is over.

oh my...

we removed a section of the 1-1/2" diameter galvanized drain pipe that runs from the bathroom sink because we are replacing the trap for the new pedestal sink.

this is a picture of the cross section of that pipe...with 60 years worth of build up. there is barely 1/2" left of passage.








DIS-GUS-TING!

so, if you have old galvanized drain pipes in your house...you might consider having them replaced. well, at least, if your drains are slow, you'll know why.

update

we continue to work on the drywall joints; mudding and sanding...everything is covered in dust (note the plywood floor in this picture)

in addition, we finished the tile in the bathroom (including grout)...we are planning on having the cast iron bathtub refinished.

we have also made progress on the installation of the tile fireplace surround

bathroom tile progress

so the wall tile is now finished and grouted...
we just need to seal the corners.


we will finish and grout the floor tomorrow.

lots-o-muddin'

new front door

busted grill

the fireplace lost a tooth!
but the others seem to be okay...

Fireplace

we starting tiling the fireplace surround today...only got the top center section completed. we also worked on the framing of the opening for the new entry door and we primed the bath walls and wainscotting.


we really need to clean out the firebox!

so we first roughed up the surface of the paint using a wire brush wheel that you attach to your drill...it seemed to work well; let's just hope the tile sticks!

here is a closeup image of the tile. it is tumbled marble so it is very rough and irregular--because of its irregularity, it is not as easy to install as the ceramic tile (well, you cant be as precise with it)

budgets

i though y'all might be interested in some of the work that goes on behind the scenes...such as budgeting and accounting. we have an 11 page comprehensive budget that we arranged as a checklist so that we can plug in a quantity and unit cost, and it then gets tallied into the total budget. the budget, of course, began as projected costs and estimates, but whenever we actually purchase an item, it gets marked in the budget with an "X", and the actual cost is then entered. here is a glimpse of that budget... (click to enlarge)

almost there...

mud

finally!!!

the plumber put in a long day today and he finished the rough plumbing. it will be inspected tomorrow, and then we can finish drywalling the kitchen--we can't wait to install those cabinets!

tile

here is the beginning of the bathroom tile work...it feels good to be able to install the final finishes.

this is what the bath used to look like:

the work boot makes a surprisingly poor trowel...whoops!