Five Week Fixes - Week Three
This week was a long one and to be honest it felt like the house was fighting every step of the way.
We actually managed to finish priming and painting all the walls, trim, and doors in the upstairs bedrooms which is incredible! We also got the laminate flooring almost completely installed in the master bedroom and it’s looking really good but we’ve got a lot of tricky cuts still to go in order to finish the rest of the upstairs.
We again got a ton of help from friends and family this week and on Wednesday we tried to install a new ceiling fan in the master. I’d bought the fan opened but unused on Facebook Marketplace and once opened we realized it was missing a lot of pieces including the light kit. So currently we have a bladeless lightless fan hanging out in our master bedroom and we’re still using work lights in there.
We decided to rotate the toilet in the full bath which means shifting the drain a few inches. Honestly this shouldn’t have been an enormous plumbing project except that it made us realize all the weird choices the previous owners made plumbing so we’ll now be replumbing all the bathroom drains to tidy things up. The tub is installed (though not fully plumbed) and I’m trying to use my imagination to remind myself that this bathroom is really going to be beautiful if it ever gets done. And it really needs to get done before November 30th or we’ll have nowhere to shower when we move in.
On Sunday night I decided I needed to see some progress to make myself feel better so I decided to go down and switch out the electrical outlets and light switches upstairs for the fresh ones I bought to replace them. The existing ones were painted over multiple times and so dirty I didn’t know how I’d ever get them clean. Changing out outlets should be a pretty easy process. You switch off the appropriate breaker, disconnect the wires from the old outlet, connect them to the new one, carefully put everything back in the wall, add a new switch plate, and done! Not so much this time. I spent an hour and a half trying to replace one outlet with no success before finally replacing a light switch just so I could feel like I’d done something before going home. Turns out the outlets are likely corroded inside which is why they won’t release the wires. That’s all honestly a great metaphor for the last week.
Wins for the week are that the black trim and doors look awesome against the white walls, I was able to find an almost perfect match for the upstairs baseboard, and the original brass hardware cleaned up nice and looks awesome on the freshly painted doors.
We got a lot done this week but it really doesn’t feel like a lot and I don’t have a ton to show. Cross your fingers for me for a strong second last week that not only feels but looks productive!
To Do
Remove flooring in the entry, kitchen, hallway, landings, upstairs bedrooms, and bathrooms
Install vinyl tile downstairs
Tile both bathroom floors and the shower
Fence along one side of the yard
Frame out the new fireplace enclosure
Run new water line for toilet
Replumb toilet, sink, and tub drains
Install new toilet
Install new sink/vanity
Install new quarter round upstairs
In Progress
Install blinds on all the windows (main floor, upstairs) - main floor done!
Clean all the walls with TSP to prep for paint (main floor, upstairs) - upstairs cleaned!
Prime and paint all walls and ceilings in the entire house - upstairs all primed with two coats, bedrooms and hallway painted!
Prime and paint all the upstairs trim and doors - upstairs trim and doors primed, bedroom trim and doors painted!
Clean door hardware - upstairs door hardware removed and cleaned.
Replace light fixtures - upstairs bedroom fixtures removed for painting.
Install laminate flooring upstairs - master bedroom mostly installed.
Done
New roof
Install gate to close off the backyard
Remove quarter round upstairs
Demo the bathroom
Install new tub
