In honor of Father’s Day (…and because all we did this past week was paint), I wanted to dedicate this post to my dad…a.k.a. my contractor, my plumber, my electrician, my everything! Seriously, my dad is the best guy I know. I mean there is not many dads that will get up in front of thousands of people to do the “Single Ladies” that he just learned from my sister (I really wish there was video footage of this).
Ever since I was a little girl, my dad and I were together while my mom took my sister to dance. For 8 years, my dad coached my soccer teams and would take me to my Sunday tennis matches. Because we spent a lot of time together, I took up a lot of my dad’s hobbies. One of these hobbies was home development. I loved creating my own floor plans and waiting for my dad to get home from work to show him my drawing. As I got older, I enjoyed designing furniture and watching him make it. I love that I will always share this passion with my dad. I honestly cannot tell you how lucky I am to have a dad like him. He is the one that keeps us girls sane…especially during this process. He has a work ethic that I strive to work up to. He will go above and beyond for others and never asks for something in return. He also is the one that keep us laughing no matter what. So today, I want to say “Happy Father’s Day” to the best dad ever! I am so lucky to have you in my life!
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I’m back!! It was been a busy couple of weeks…not just with the house, but also my personal and professional lives. Last week, the Section, within the Department of Emergency Medicine, I will be managing/directing (we haven’t decided on my title quite yet) was announced. My close family friends (and neighbors) got married. My goddaughter turned 6. I ran a 5K for breast cancer. Made my first mortgage payment! I am probably missing more important life events…thank goodness I have my calendar on my phone or else I would not know where I need to be. On top of all of this, we have made A LOT of progress on the house! Project 1: The Full Bathroom This project is moving right along and is looking good! Since the last post, all the drywall was put up. Drywall mud was applied by my dad and fixed by our plaster guys (They said they have seen worse). The tub was installed. Tile for the walls and floor was bought as well as the cabinet. I am really pleased with this the archway for the shower. My dad placed wood where the plaster was removed and our plaster guys were able to come in and smooth it all out. It looks AMAZING!!! Project 2: The Basement My house is not jacked up anymore!!!! It was a great day when all the support walls were completed. We (I mean my dad and his best friend Tony) placed a metal support on the pier where the wood was rotting underground and cemented it in place. The house is so much more level now. It is crazy to think the house was raised about 3 inches in this one area. While the men were handling the manly things, I got to work cleaning the dryer and washing machine. For the washing machine, I cleaned it by:
Project 3: Scraping the Basement Walls Brick foundations are very strong; however, when water and brick mix, you can have efflorescence develop on the brick’s surface. It is really important to scrape this off and repair it. I used a steel wool scraper to remove the efflorescence. When we do the wood floors upstairs, I will be in the basement cleaning the walls with Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) and painting them. Project 4: First Wall Down I helped my dad take down a wall. And let me tell you, open concepts are the way to go. The wall we took down was between the stairs in front of the side door and kitchen. The kitchen already looks bigger and brighter.
Project 6: Fixing Plaster/Drywall Mudding You have probably noticed that there were many cracks in the walls…especially from jacking up the house! Well my dad and I tried to fix some on the minor cracks with drywall mud. I have fixed holes in the wall from nails before, but not for cracks. So my dad attempted to show me how to do it…and this is our conversation: Me: I want to learn how to do this. My Dad: Try this steam. (He hands me the tools and mud…I give it a try…I notice my dad getting antsy/annoyed) Me: Is something wrong? Am I doing this right? My Dad: Well I could have done this whole room in the time it took you to this one seam. (He then took the tools back and I went back to my wallpaper.) My drywall; mudding career lasted like 10 minutes before I was kicked out. Project 7: Picking Paint Colors Now this is the fun part! My mom and I went to Sherwin Williams and picked out paint. One thing about my family is that when we go shopping we know what we want and do not spend time looking around. We have an idea, and we go with it. I had the main floor paint color picked out within 10 minutes. I was between two colors. I went with the lighter of the two, knowing that I can adjust the color to the darker one if I change my mind. One of the bedrooms is a nice gray and the full bathroom will be a light blue. We have already started painting the bedroom and all the ceilings are done. It is looking nice. I am grateful of our family friend Mark coming out to paint because painting is not my dad’s specialty. He rushes through it and it gets messy (Yes, Dad, I am calling you out!). Project 8: Backyard We have not just been working on the inside. We have been moving dirt to get the grade to move away from the house. First, my mom moved about 800 pavers from the backyard to the dumpster. I dug out an old cement slab that was under a layer of dirt. Then, my mom and I moved the dirt from a flowerbed that was on the driveway (why this was on a driveway is beyond me). This flowerbed was about 8ft x 2.5ft x 1ft. It was not small, and it took a full afternoon to move. I’m not quite sure how the girls got stuck with this task while my dad was in the air-conditioned house just mudding. Learning the Area: In between projects, I have started learning about my new community. I moved to this specific area because of the community. People are always outside riding bikes, walking dogs, and going for a run. I like the little downtown areas. |
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AuthorA twenty something about to embark on one of the biggest adventures of my life…buying a fixer upper. Archives
September 2016
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