Kitchen Cabinets are in!

A lot has happened since my last post. Most notably, the kitchen cabinets are in and the exterior has been primed. The outside looks better already!


I almost finished glazing all the windows. Only 4 sashes left. The house looks so good with the windows back in and not boarded up anymore. They are very dirty from all the paint and glazing but I think that window washing would be a great project for when Mom gets here!!


View from the dining room to the living room now that it is somewhat clean.


New Cabinets! View from the dining room



I had the cabinets made to match the existing ones and they look great!


Cook top centered in front of this window. Glad I went with a downdraft.



Sink under this window. Pendant lights will be above the stove and sink.


Cabinet for wall oven. Refrigerator will be next to it.



Next up is counter tops. I am going to attempt to put in black granite tile myself. I have to start picking out paint colors this week. The interior painting will probably start next week.

Expected move in date is now August 15th. Fortunately I have found some friends to stay with for two weeks once my lease is up here.

"you have to crack eggs to make an omelet"

Things are moving along, a little slowly, but they are moving. I am already a bit behind schedule but I should be able to catch up and finish on time. I can't wait to move in!

The plumber and electrician began work yesterday. They cut a giant hole in the ceiling of the living room and the front bedroom so that they could get the plumbing in for the upstairs bathroom. In the process, they made a HUGE mess... so I added to it and scraped all the flaking paint of the ceiling and walls in the kitchen and my bedroom. Also, I removed all the shoe molding. I was supposed to clean all the walls this week but I don't see much point in cleaning before the plumbers and electricians finish making their mess. Hopefully they will be done early next week.

I get really nervous when I go in to the house because it was so well preserved before and now I have gone and cut giant holes in walls and removed cabintet. I know in the end though it will turn out perfectly and will be beautifully restored.

I cant wait to take a bath!!


Big mess

Benny helping scrape paint

Yay for an Empty House!

Finally, the accumulation of empty boxes, newspapers, empty boxes, clothes, empty boxes, furniture, empty boxes, old car parts, and of course.... more empty boxes has been emptied from the house and basement. I wish I had a picture of my bedroom before it was cleaned out. It was literally full of shoe size boxes. The empty boxes were stacked from floor to ceiling. It is much easier to focus on what needs to be done now that I can get in to all the rooms and they are not full. There is still a huge pile of trash in the backyard, but it is very manageable. I am just waiting till I can borrow a dump truck again to clear it out. I got the kitchen cabinets torn out that I am going to be replacing. A majority of the original cabinets will remain, but the sink/stove area will be new so that it can be reworked to fit a cooktop and dishwasher.

So far all that has been done is the installation of a new furnace and air conditioner. The basement is full of shiny new ducts! Tomorrow the electric and plumbing begin. All the pipes are being replaced out to the sewer line, a tankless water heater will be installed, bathroom will be added upstairs, and of course new toilets. All the old knob and tube wiring will also be replaced. I am actually excited about all the new lighting. Lots of recessed lights throughout, 5 fans and pendant lights in the kitchen. I nixed the under cabinet lighting... had to cut costs somewhere.

The rest of the week I will be cleaning. All the walls need to be washed and the floors need to be vacuumed. On friday morning I will be planning out the kitchen cabinets with Joe, my contractor. Sunday, if its not raining, I will be filling up a dumptruck again with all the trash from the yard. Also, Ben and Don, two guys from work, will be coming over to help replace some floor joists. There are 3 that got eaten by termites, but thats not too bad considering how bad the infestation is down there. I will also be replacing a portion of the porch floor with new tongue and groove floor boards.

Hopefully I will remember my camera this week. I will try and get more pictures taken now that the house is empty. For tonight I need to do some work here at the apartment. My room needs to be cleaned tonight so tomorrow I can have my window fixed. A few weeks ago my window fell out when i tried to open it. This wasnt a problem since it was warm and sunny out but since it has been thunderstorming now I think it is time to get it fixed.

Here is the link to some pictures so far. They arent great but I will get more up soon.
http://picasaweb.google.com/SarahLHodge/BellevueHouse#

Also, a link to the Greensboro News and Record article about the house.
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/04/29/article/1923_bungalow_gets_a_new_shot_at_life

Finally Closed!

After many many months today I finally closed on the house. Signed all the papers this morning. I never thought I would start blogging but here you go Mom. I will probably forget about this in a few weeks but I will try to keep this updated with everything going on at the house. Tomorrow work begins! I will try to get some before pictures posted soon.