Five Week Fixes - Week Five — mel makes a mess

Dec 11

Dec 11 Five Week Fixes - Week Five

Sorry for the delay on this post! The five weeks came to an end and we moved in but the renovations are ongoing so it’s been hard to set aside time to write this post. A lot has happened since we moved in on November 30th but I’m going to try to stick to what the house looked like at the end of the five weeks in this post! Stay tuned over the coming weeks and months as we complete the full bath, kitchen, and more styling and finishing touches in the rest of the house!

We had so much help from our incredible family and friends during and leading up to our move on November 30th and we couldn’t be more grateful to them. In the end we moved into a house with a finished bedroom, updated kitchen, fresh paint on the entire second floor as well as the majority of the main floor, brand new laminate upstairs, and new vinyl tile everywhere on the main floor that didn’t have hardwood. We also had new plumbing and reinforced floors for the full bathroom, a bunch of new light fixtures, a new tub, and I managed to finish tiling about half the shower surround pre-move.

Bathroom Before: The jacuzzi tub was poorly plumbed and supported and everything in the shower surround was stained and peeling.

Bathroom During: We’ve replaced and replumbed the tub and are tiling a new shower surround with built-in niches for toiletries. We also removed the arch above the shower.

Honestly, it’s hard not to show more than this because so much more has happened in the week and a half since we moved in but I want to be true to exactly what got done in those first five weeks. Stay tuned, I’ll have full posts about the bathroom gut job and reno and more details on all the other spaces within the next few weeks! We didn’t quite get to everything in my initial plans because #OldHouseProblems but we accomplished SO much. The new fence and gate, roof, paint, flooring, and major cleaning were all in the plans but we didn’t expect to have to overhaul so much of the plumbing, patch so many walls, cut down so many doors, and otherwise problem-solve the previous owner’s… creative decision-making.

I’m so so thrilled with what’s gotten done so far but I can’t even wait to share what’s next!

Kitchen Before: The sheet vinyl flooring was damaged, leaving lots of holes and areas that were impossible to clean. The walls and everything else were coating in a layer of grime.

Kitchen After: Fresh paint and some intense cleaning helped this space so much. This is still just a holdover facelift for the kitchen which is getting a full reno within the next 18 months.

Kitchen After: This new flooring is so much easier to clean and feels warm and comfortable underfoot. It flexes with the floor of the house so it can’t crack. And the new fridge is life-changing.

To Do

Fence along one side of the yard - this is on hold until the spring!
Frame out the new fireplace enclosure
Run new water line for toilet
Install new toilet
Install new sink/vanity

In Progress

Clean all the walls with TSP to prep for paint (main floor, upstairs) - all cleaned except for the two downstairs bedrooms.
Prime and paint all walls and ceilings in the entire house - Everything primed and painted except the two downstairs bedrooms and bathrooms.
Clean door hardware - upstairs door hardware removed and cleaned.
Replace light fixtures - upstairs bedrooms, entry, hallway fixtures replaced.
Install new quarter round upstairs - master installed.
Tile both bathroom floors and the shower - shower in progress.