Remodel Update

The remodel is close to coming to an end, the major work anyway. The drywall is pretty much all up with the exception of the interior part of the patio door we installed. They were waiting for the electrician to come and wire for an exterior light, which has since been done. So now there is just some patching and smoothing and repairing of cracks to be done and the construction crew will be done.

Once said patching and smoothing is done, we will start painting prior to the wood floors being refinished. We also need the plumbers to come and move a floor vent. Then the downstairs floors will be refinished with the exception of our bedroom (which is in good enough shape and separated by a doorway) and the bathroom (which will be tiled). When the floors are done, we should be able to start cleaning up and moving stuff in.

The kitchen will be a work in process and will mostly be done after we move in. First, we will paint the existing cabinets from a dark brown to a shade of white. The hardware will be replaced as well. Then we will probably live with it as-is for a while until we save up and decide exactly what we want to do. I have several ideas but due to our budget, we will have to do things in a certain order. So it could take a while to get everything done the way we want it.

The other thing that will be done probably around the time we move in is the electrical work. We need to switch out our fuse box with a breaker box and increase the voltage running from the pole to the house. There are several light switches that we disconnected for construction that will need to be wired. I would also like to add some can lighting in the kitchen, living room, and hallway. And we are going to add a ceiling fan/light to the living room which currently has no overhead lighting. We will also need to get the switch put in for the exterior (backyard) light.

The bathroom is ready to be tiled and Brett has decided to do that himself because of what we had spent on the construction (nearly $3500 so far). We had a tub installed by the local plumbers, and that bill ($560 - which didn't include the tub itself) was a little shocking to us. We haven't received a bill for some additional work they did - replacing some seal on our toilet drain. We have also purchased paint and supplies, a dining room and pendant light fixture, bathroom faucets, shower curtain rod, some cheap blinds, and tile. We still need to buy a toilet, vanity, vanity top, bathroom light fixture, many more window coverings, dishwasher, and garbage disposal to make the house functional.

After we move in, we will need to buy new light fixtures (probably with ceiling fans) for the bedrooms and a new light/fan in the bathroom. We will replace the exterior door knobs/locks. We will paint the two doors in the garage. Our overhead garage door will be replaced. New shutters will be put on. A new front railing will be added. We will put a step with a trap door on our back patio (the trap door to maintain access to the crawlspace which is directly under the patio door we added). We also need to do some landscaping in the spring and add a fence for our dogs. Plus the kitchen, as mentioned earlier.

Lots of work to do but the big stuff is pretty much out of the way so we are excited for the progress!