Idiomatic Expression

After three years of ignoring most of the non-structural needs of the house, It was back to work about four weeks ago. So far, the unfinished section of the basement has been re-organized, the finished section of the basement has been organized and cleaned into usable space, the third bedroom has been emptied and the wallpaper removed, and the dining room is mostly emptied of random stuff and usable as needed. The next steps are to sand off the loose paint in the third bedroom, paint the third bedroom, and remodel the upstairs bathroom. Every time I think I have accomplished enough to be proud of myself, I make the mistake of reading up on Paul’s exploits and it reminds me to put down the computer and go back to work.

I estimate that I have tripled the usable space in the house, so given the current housing market in an emergency we could now sell the house for a handful of shiny beads, and some mittens.

Since moving in on January we have been steadily working on tasks around the house. I always feel like I haven’t accomplished anything useful around the house, but after compiling the following list, I feel a bit better about not getting anything done over the last two weeks of vacation.

Projects completed around the house in 2005

• Removed carpets
• Refinished the hardwood floors on main and upper levels
• Moved in
• Remodeled master bedroom (remove fixture, remove wallpaper, repair walls, paint, new fixtures other than the toilet)
• Removed two layers of wallpaper in master bedroom
• Primed and painted most of master bedroom*
• Replaced laundry sink plumbing and faucet
• Ran two new circuits with wall sockets to the basement
• Replaced roof
• Repaired brick wall surrounding the backyard
• Installed master bedroom ceiling fan

* Katherine is still working on the painting, the ceilings and walls are done, but the trim needs to be finished.

It is a rather large list, and the cost for the things that I could not do my self (floors, roof, and brick wall) totals around $10K. I have no idea what the cost of all of the small projects would add up to. Hopefully the master bedroom will be done and furnished by the end of the year and I really will feel accomplished!

While not as surprising as a roof pig and not entirely unexpected, I found a small leak upstairs when I was examining the attic for the need for additional insulation, and any other problems. It is right beside the chimney, so probably just a flashing problem. The roof is rather old, and over the original set of shingle, so I am probably going to replace the whole thing.

It is killing me that there is a structural problem with the house that I can’t act on immediately I have requested a quote from one Shiner Roofing through their website, and plan on calling a couple of other companies today. After a rough night sleep (partially because of some more rain) I am still anxious over the problem. I don’t know how some of my friends with actually old and historic homes, deal with setbacks and discoveries of this nature .

I love this townhouse, and I love the fact that it is 30+ years old, but with a house of this age there are going to be problems. I knew that the roof would need to replaced within a couple of years of moving in, I knew that the furnace would need to be replaced, and last winter I determined that our brick fence needed the top re-pointed. But it still kills me that I haven’t been able to take care of all of those needs yet.

On the positive side with my step-father’s help, I have replaced the leaking valve in the master bath tub, run two new electrical lines to the work area of the basement, and replaced the failing plumbing fixtures and faucet for the tub sink in the basement (now I even have shut off valves in case it starts leaking). I am also doing a good (if slow) job on the master bedroom. The master bath is done and ready for use, the walls are painted, and the new ceiling fan is going up today. Once we get the trim painted we can move out of the guest bedroom.

I managed to install the new light fixture in the master bath, while only slightly electrocuting myself (twice). I also tripped a breaker, but not during one of the mild electrocution.

Now I have a working light that turns on and off from a light switch in the master bathroom. All of the problems started when my original wiring job had the light on at all times. Who in their right mind runs the hot side on a black wire?

I just want to take a minute to bitch about Gypsum Board! Our new house was built in 1972 and most of the walls have been covered with wall paper for all of those 32 years, leaving the walls dry and brittle. The bathrooms are the worst as the builder didn’t bother to put a coat of primer on the walls prior to wallpapering.

I did a relatively good job in removing the wallpaper. I only damaged 5-10% of the dry wall (when you rip the outer layer of paper off it exposes the fibrous inner layer of the paper and you have to patch it prior to painting). I repaired this reasonably well with joint compound, considering this was my first experience with joint compound. The walls have been primed and painted giving me the illusion of steady forward progress.

What put me over the edge was the area over the door when removing the masking tape, a large chunk of paint along with the first layer of drywall paper came off. Upon further inspection the area where the tear started was in a suspiciously straight line. Apparently when installing the wall paper the builder used a razor knife to trim the wallpaper to size after it was on the wall, and at the same time scored the drywall underneath. Why oh why couldn’t the contractor cut the wallpaper to size prior to installing it on the wall?

Happily the damaged area is patched and primed; now I just need to apply a coat of paint.

It only set me back a couple of days, now I can prime and paint the trim and ceiling, install the new fixtures (vanity, mirror, and wall cabinet), replace the toilet, and keep my fingers crossed that I don’t F something else up in the process.

After way too many weeks of packing and moving, I am 100% out of the house in Vienna. The house is emptied cleaned and I am done with it 8 days early! Thank Jeebus!

Thanks, James, Mike, and John.

Katherine and I recently bought a house. Most of the house is covered in wallpaper that is offensive to my delicate sensibilities.

The master bath was also decked out in wallpaper with a 70’s era sink and cabinet.

So far I have removed all of the wallpaper from the Master Bathroom and trashed the sink and vanity from the Master Bathroom. Katherine has started in on the wallpaper in the Master Bedroom, and much to our delight we discovered a layer of older uglier wallpaper.

After two weeks I now have 90% of my crap into the new house, including all but two of the items that require two or more people to carry. I will have to stop procrastinating soon and tackle the elliptical training machine that I have been avoiding. Thankfully, a couple of people have volunteered to help with that tomorrow afternoon.

I think that we are still on track to have vacated the Vienna house by the end of February. I still have a huge load of stuff to take to the Salvation Army, unless I can convince someone that they want some of my useless junk. You know you want that cheap kite I never used!

If you want to volunteer for cheerleader, or assistant mover this week let me know.

Have you ever moved into a carpeted house or an apartment with the comforting knowledge that the carpets have been “steam cleaned” to remove all of the dirt, grime, and filth of the previous tenants? If you want to keep that feeling of comfort don’t read the rest of the entry.

Katherine and I are in the process of buying a house! It is both exciting and scary. I guess this means that I am finally an adult. Some pictures are here for your viewing pleasure. We really feel that we found the best house in our price range, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t hit any snags. Thanks Mike!