Built in 1975 and still in original condition when I bought it, this is the story of my journey through all the steps of remodeling the house into my dream home.
Original Condition
Built in 1975, this is the house that I intended to fix up and sell.
Little did I know it would quickly become Mr. Toad's wild ride...
I regularly feel like it's the Brady Bunch house and expect Florence Henderson to walk through the door.
It was so kind of the sellers to leave the curtains for me.
The wood pile in the far right-hand corner was a special treat too!
This would make the perfect master bedroom entrance.
A quaint little back yard, perfect for a shade garden.
The spiders liked the house too.
Desi approves - should I keep the light fixture? What about the tile?
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Cottage cheese cielings! Wow, it'll be quiet and cozy for sure.
Wood paneling on the wall and genuine ?fake volcanic rock? fireplace. Wow!
Original Congoleum flooring with matching countertops.
Designer kitchen with ?harvest Gold? appliances.
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Second bedroom - desi doing security inspection.
The master bedroom was built for midgets. Counter height of 30?!
Master bedroom - note the black dirt on the bottom of the drapes.
Looks so much better with the drapes open.
Demolition
Something about that front door grew on me. I ended up keeping it and rehanging it in a new frame.
The carpet came out easily. In fact, it just sort of fell apart. The walls put up more of a fight.
I was worried about removing the entire center wall, but the roof stayed where it was.
I kept for refrigerator to keep the water (and beer) cold.
But the original carpenters had likely had a refrigerator full of beer, too
The genuine ?fake volcanic rock? facade came off slowly.
In fact, I ended up removing the entire front of the house.
Their sloppy work resulted in the entire corner of the house being rotten. (That's mold).
I built a temporary wall a few feet back to hold the roof up.
While I rebuilt the corner of the house.
The kitchen walls were intact.
But the openings were in the wrong places, so it came down, too. Another temporary wall.
Ventalation was not a problem during this phase of construction.
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One day, I thought to myself, this would be the master bath...
But not before I cleaned out the cobwebs.
Look at all that good plumbing to reuse.
One day, there would be a door to the pool in that wall.
This demo actually happened at the end of the project.
And it was quickly insulated and returned to service.
I tore out the old heating system, too.
Framing
So the old rotten wood was gone,
and I replaced it with new. Nice new heating registers, too.
Not much wall to rebuild; it was all glass under a big header.
Look at all of the light they let in!
I bravely cut holes in the roof...
Later, I installed the electric sky-lights. They remained open all summer to let the hot air escape.
We couldn't vault the whole cieling, so I built lightwells inder each skylight. It's easier to see once the insulation goes in.
Now it just looks like lincoln logs on acid.
Lifting the french doors into their openings was easy work for two stron, young (sic) men.
Well, it wasn't that hard.
And there was the refrig full of beer to look forward to.
It's almost straight!
Strong like bull (did you say chicken legs?)
Whew!
Now, onward to the back of the hosue. No rotten wood here.
New sliding doors and a big picture window to go over the kitchen counter.
From the outside...
Sliding doors are in.
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At least these openings were right in the master bedroom.
Electricity and Plumbing
This is what I started with; barely enough juice to run the saws.
I pulled lots and lots of new wire.
Up and over...
Back and forth...
Past the kitchen...
Ten halogen down-lights to wash the new wood wall.
Four over the kitchen island...
Four over the dining table with boxes for two hanging lights...
And six ovedr the kitchen counter.
I even put eight in the lightwells to refelct down.
Four each over the double master bath sinks.
A view from above.
Large conduit to the media center in case technology changes.
It pops out in the attic in case you need to pull new cabes through.
Lighting control for all outdoor spaces in the master bedroom (don't you hate it when you have to go all the way to the kitchen at night).
Speaker wire, TV cable, network cable... it all runs over the cieling.
Eventually the wires were all pulled...
And all roads lead to Rome. This is a new 200Amp service panel.
Fancy fans for the shower (hot showers to your heart's content).
Located remotely so there's no sound to disturb your shower.
All new plumbing too (I didn't do this part).
But Dave did a rock-star job.
Waiting for the new toilet.
Time to start building the shower.
A cricket so that it drains rights starts with the proper slope.
I bet that you didn't know what a cricket was before this; I didn't.
But I do now, and I used lots of glue.
The support wall for the double sink in the master bath.
I put plugs here, too.
The utilities for hte kitchen island are ready.
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Insulation and Sheetrock
We did the fireplace wall early on. Once the volcanic rock was off, the rest went quickly.
Insulation and sheetrock first.
Then a brick wall from floor to cieling.
It set overovernight...
Then the new fake rock was applied.
It was real fake rock.
The insulation really made the place start to feel like a house again.
My friend, Memo and I did the whole house in two days.
The fancy plastic facing eliminated the itching and keeps moisture out.
The new tub arrives.
GWB or sheetrock is even better than insulation to make a guy feel at home.
The cieling is hard! especially by yourself.
Did I use too many screws?
But eventually everything gets done.
Even the hallway.
The licing room was last. The lightwells were a pain.
Over the kitchen.
Over the living room.
Even the garage got a face-lift.
The tapers work magic with the 30 year old walls.
Using a darby to make a flat surface. Actually, I think it was a piece of plywood.
A good week's work.
Level five surface in the lightewells
Greenboard with tape only in the tile areas
and Dan and Alfonso had earned their keep for a long time.
Paint and Tile
The painters masked the openings and used a sprayer to apply the paint.
The exterior was to be four different colors.
One for the body, one for the trim, darker for the gutters and flashings and light for under the eaves.
Four men did the work in four days, incuding prep time.
They were real pros!
They even cleaned everything up!
And covered all of my many mistakes.
Inside took longer. There are six colors inside and lots of spackling.
But they got the job done.
Lots of color!
Once the wall was paneled, the place started to take shape.
And mustard in the second bath.
I did ask for green, right?
Lots of anil holes to fill in the trim.
The trim is actually an extension of the door jambs.
Before the tile goes on, you need to make the surface completely flat, known as floating the surface. Here the floor has been floated with mud.
The walls around the tub have been floated, too. Now the tile can go on.
All done with the plumbing fixtures installed! Still waiting for the glass shower wall...
Oh my God, it's really orange!
The kitchen splash ready for tile.
Hmm... might need sun glasses in the kitchen.
Alright, mabe not too bad. The grout will help.
First step for the double shower is the waterproof liner. No leaks!
The walls are ready to be floated.
Perfectly flat and square.
This heating mat will go under the tile.
The heating mat all glued down... oops, it's under the sink! Oh well...
Warm toes, even in the, um, water closet.
All floated and ready for tile.
The shower looks nice...
So does the floor!
The grout really brightens everything up.
Notice the difference.
Final Steps of Construction
Finally, the house was built and the fun stuff started to arrive. I did ask for an orange door, right?
Hmm... sure is bright.
The toys came on the first truck-load. Now we can have microwave popcorn.
Where am I going to put all of this shit?
At least they got part of the cabinets done the first day. Then Memo and I put the groovy hood up!
The end of day one for the cabinetmakers.
Day two started with a few bumps; the counter was too long! The last cabinet wouldn't fit! Had to make a new one...
But all's well that ends well.
Plumbing fixtures come next.
and maybe roast chicken.
The bathroom cabinets went in without a hitch. The countertop will have to come later.
Worth waiting for... temporary faucet because we're waiting for the groovy one to arrive from Germany.
Waiting for the shower surround, too. At least the toilet works.
OK, now onto the floor. I sorted the wood from the nicest grain to the ugliest. The ugly stuff went into the closet and under the bed.
First step was to lay a vynal slip-sheet and moisture barrier.
Glue it down tight!
Like fitting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together, Russ was a total pro (and as much a perfectionist and I am).
Moving right along...
It's starting to look like home.
We used the expensive glue, too.
Half way through the floor, I decided to indulge in a fire.
The last day of flooring.
Looks great!
A pom-set to choose carpet fibers. I went with brown...
With the tape removed, it really started to feel like home. Time to wash the floor.
Ready for another fire.
or dinner.
Time to start on the shoji screens in the master suite.
The frames look good - very minimal.
The sinks don't look bad either. Will this project EVER be done?
Finally I get to take a shower.
and, um, use the water closet. Now for furniture, lights and art.
Notice the difference.
The grout really brightens everything up.
So does the floor!
This heating mat will go under the tile.
The heating mat all glued down... oops, it's under the sink! Oh well...
Warm toes, even in the, um, water closet.
All floated and ready for tile.
The walls are ready to be floated.
The shower looks nice...
The Finished Home
Entry and living
Living Room
Living Room
Dining room
Dining
Kitchen
Kitchen Storage
Storage
Kitchen
Second bedroom
Guest bath
Master Bedroom
Master Bedroom
14_mbr_3
15_mba_1
16_mba_2
Double Shower
Halway to back yard
Hallway to back yard
My happy spot