No, that's not a Political Cry. Four years ago this week, we purchased our home. We had basic requirements: Land, out buildings, big kitchen. At the time I was a Realtor. We committed the cardinal sin of purchasing the first and only house we looked at. How's that for taking your own advice? :o)
Warning: Long Picture Post
We weren't picky and we weren't scared. Here is what the second floor looked like:
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| Master Bedroom...for "Shrimpy" People |
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| Second Bedroom |
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| Third Bedroom |
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| Hallway |
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| Hall...Closet??? |
The main structure of the house, including the upstairs, is over 150 years old. Suffice it to say, there was one heat vent and one pass thru vent. No insulation.
Less than 24 hours of closing, here is how the neighbors met us:
We didn't mess around! And thankfully, we had lots of help. Lots. Pig Pen, Pops, his family and friends. These guys worked their fannies off! Seriously...
Ryan and Keith got the honor of throwing the first sledge hammer and crow bar:
And the mess....oh my gosh...I still remember that first hammer crash! Because we forgot to cover the 'pass thru' vent and it all came piling down thru it and straight into my livingroom! Makes me laugh... :o)
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| Old Master Bedroom/Window |
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| Master Bedroom Window gone...He's like a monkey up there! |
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| Pops and Pig Pen framing in old window. |
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| Hallway and Second Bedroom gone! Hey, we found a hidden window too! |
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| Lots of stuff went down "The Slide" |
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| LLL roasting marshmallows... |
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| Hey look...we raised the ceiling so Pig Pen wouldn't bump his head! |
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And we leveled the floors! Funny, main level was fine...hmmm
Can you see the difference??? |
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| First piece of drywall goes up! Did ya notice the INSULATION? |
It took exactly ONE MONTH. But we went from that...to this:
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Two side windows where large one used to be.
King Size Bed Heehehee! |
The hallway is forever gone. The little green bedroom is now this area:
It is now one, very large master bedroom. The second bedroom, which is not pictured...is now one really nice sized walk-in closet! :0)
All the work was done mostly on nights and weekends. This is just one of many projects. But this one was by far the biggest yet. As soon as this was done, we ripped out the full bath and front bedroom. That's another storey...
So it's been four years and after that mess, now you know why I shudder at the thought of doing the livingroom. It's in the same condition (or lack thereof). Ugh....
Well on the bright side, we did it together! With lots and lots of help. Did I mention that? Thank you, All!
LETS GO!!!! I'm ready. nothing like ripping apart a house and making a home. I love it!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh...it's hard to remember your house before all the work!! I can't wait until you guys get started on the living room. Your house is so cozy...I love it!!
ReplyDeleteI'm ready too! Let's get that living room done once and for all!!! Or maybe the addition...or maybe your sewing room!!! Or...or...or...!!! You get the picture! We are ALWAYS here for you!
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a transformation. I'm sure the mess was awful but look at it now, how nice as will your living room be. Get going!! LOL.
ReplyDeletePops, without your enthusiasm and hard work, it would have taken two months! Thank you for always being there with us!
ReplyDeleteJen, realtor buzz word alert! Cozy = small.
That said...
Jan, addition first, living room later!!! Now, pardon me while I suit up in all black and ski mask and go rob a bank. :)
Alla, all hands on deck! Hey, we always return the favor! And food...feed the workers realllll good!
Love it! Ours was a mess too before we got ahold of it! Whaddaya mean you redid that AWESOME green third bedroom??!!! Haha! There's nothing more satisfying than making a house a real home and doing it yourself, bravo!
ReplyDeleteAren't you glad you're on this side of all that remodeling looking back? But great job just tearing into it rather than trying to live with it the way it was and never being happy. Seems like you've done a lot considering you only had week nights and week ends. A whole heckuva lot of hard work. Good job! Fun pictures to see.
ReplyDeleteErin, funny how that green has never 'come back' yet. Wonder why??? Lucky for us, we love projects! Never a shortage here!
ReplyDeleteMamaPea, there was never a thought of moving right in up there. We camped in the bedroom (office now) downstairs. As soon as we had it done, we tore the front half of the house off! Adam is like the Energizer Bunny when it comes to work, so it was non-stop until Spring. Then we got to do our first 'real' garden! :)
Remodeling is fun...right?! Loose cabinets and all!
It looks wonderful now, but how could you have gotten rid of that lovely green room? Someone looked a long time to find that wall paper, and curtains and carpet to match! It was one of a kind. I bet you regret it now, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteJane, ummmm...no regrets. But I do remember a wall paper when I was a kid. It was supposed to be like old newspaper clippings. I thought it was cool because you never needed any other 'reading material' when you went in!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing transformation! I really like the two side windows as opposed to the one - smack dab in the middle of the wall! Y'all did a great job. What's planned for the living room?
ReplyDeleteI'm ready.
ReplyDeleteWow what a great transformation! Looks awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed. Whenever we do anything around our house, it takes forever. I'm pretty good at helping, but not being the main dudette. Sometimes I just start tearing into something (nothing as big as your project!) but it never really turns out like I see it in my mind. And I want it to be perfect.
ReplyDeleteNice job on your home! I'm sure we'll be hearing about the next project this spring???
~~Lori
Susan, the living room needs to be gutted entirely. Just not looking forward to it since it is smack dab in the middle of the house. boo hiss!
ReplyDeleteRyan, you are all good for a long time bud! Unless you like chicken poop. Then we could work something out ;)
Cindy, well thank you ma'am for the compliment and for stopping by!
Lori, nothing ever really turns out like our minds eye, huh? Which is why I already want to repaint up there! It just never hit me the way I wanted it to!
Wow-we did just about the same thing. We were lucky that a trailer down the road was empty-we lived there for three months while re-doing the whole house. We took 3 tiny bedrooms upstairs and made it one HUGE bedroom and a bathroom. I just can't see running all the way downstairs in the middle of the night to use the facilities.........
ReplyDelete:D
Holy....well, just holy. That's amazing! I love that people can see the potential in a house and are willing to put the work into it. When we buy again (hopefully next year!) our house will probably look something like your before...and not nearly as SUPER CUTE as your after...but by that time we will have hooked up in real life so you can start to assist me with all your fabulous decorating ideas. So i'll at least be on my way to a SUPER CUTE "Apple Pie Gal" house!! Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteSue...ah yes, you hit on the one thing we didn't do up there...YET. Because we didn't tear into the downstairs (running pipes up), we have no bathroom on the second floor. I can't stand that! When it's the dead of night and nature calls, you have to fumble your way down! But when we get around to the living room everything will get put into place and we will be modifying the upstairs yet again. I want my bathroom!! That would be one good thing for sure that you took the time in the trailer to wait for! Well, that and no dust other than what you drug in on your feet, right??? :o)
ReplyDeleteMamaTea, no fear for you either little girl! And as for the decorating, well I will just send my SIL and MIL your way. Cuz I used to be good with that stuff, but anymore, eh...whatever. Although I do always have the ideas. Maybe your 'execution' would be better. And if we get the little sewing man on it for you, you could have some fabulous drapes and comfortors, pillows, duvets....so many things!!!
Wow! What a difference. Fantastic! Encouraging too, because we've been living with one mess or another since we moved in our place, less than 2 years ago. Still, I feel like its a constructive thing to do. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! That is impressive! You should've been on one of those home improvement shows. Very nice work. Can you come to my house? :o)
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I have learned to live with messes. The way I see it, no point sweatin' it! I don't call him PigPen for nothing and I sure as heck wouldn't trade him in! :o) So I am good with mess...hehehee
ReplyDeleteGina, waaay back I told him he was never-ever allowed to go to Hollywood. He'd be the next Ty Pennington. Skinny, little, hard working, hottie. But I may be biased. ;) But sure, he can come to your house!