Preview of the new bedroom

Okay, okay I know I said that I wasn't going to talk about the bedroom until it was done but I figure it has taken so long and you all have been very patient; here is a preview.  Due to buying Christmas gifts and most recently having a touch of the flu I have not had the time/money/want to work on the room.  But… now that Joe’s promotion has gone through and Christmas is over I want this to be done in the next two-ish weeks so we can get the bathroom going.

We started out by ripping out the walls and ceiling as well as every bit of insulation (it was moldy and gross).  We covered the outside wall beams with bleach and Kilz to prevent any further mold problems, put up new insulation and now have most all of the sheet rock back up.  We have the wall where the closet is going completely up, the other two walls and ceiling is almost all up.  There are just a few things to fix on the ceiling because Joey knows nothing about construction and he put it up.  I also started to putty the on the walls and ceiling but had to stop because some of the screws weren't in all the way and the drills died so let’s hope that they will charge soon so I can get that done tonight. 

So this is a preview of what the closet will look like. 

I found this closet design at Home Depot so I just need to install it.  It will go the entire length of the side wall.  I also need to find the perfect doors… but… I also want to find a pivot that will turn completely around so it will have a full length mirror on one side and what looks like part of the closet door on the other.  There is also a spot next to the bedroom door that will is only about a foot wide from the wall to the door frame that will have two pull out towel racks that will hold my belts and scarves.  It will be FANTASTIC!!!

So what is left you ask?

--> Finish the little bit of walls and ceiling

--> Install the fan

--> Paint

--> Install the floors

--> Decorate

--> Move in

It seems like a lot to do but once I get all the supplies it will be a breeze.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. 

Ceiling fan is started

Moldy installation 

Day... umm... 65? Okay so I lost count

So on Saturday Joey went to work at 9 (I think).  Before work, he went to Dunks and got me a breakfast sandwich and a tea.  This is the day my parents usually come over but they didn't this time -- Mom grounded Dad (not in the good way either --- eeeewwwwww).  He has kind of been putting their bathroom on hold in order to help me with my house so mom told him to put in the new bathroom sink or he can't come to my house and play.  I hope he finished it because I really want to get the ceiling put so I can finish putting the walls up.

Anyways, I digress.........

So outside Lady and I went to rake the leaves and finish cleaning up the yard.  We got 90% of the yard raked and most of it bagged and I painted the picnic table before I had to pick up Joey at 2.  When we got home, we finished raking and bagging the leaves in the back yard.  Now just the front is left but that should be easy.  Oh, I also took apart the strange wooden structure that was entrapping my snow blower.  Great news though (and all you environmentalists out there are going to love this)!!!!  I measured the width of my bed and the width of the wood on the snow blower's prison and there is more than enough to make my rustic headboard.

See, I found this head board on Pintrest  (where I find most, okay, all of my home design ideas)

The only problem was finding the prefect wood that was just ruffed up enough to do it.  I found the wood sitting right in my back yard this whole time.  The only problem being, how to I keep the roughness of the wood and get the wood back to it's natural color so I can stain it?  I'm sure my Dad will have ideas, if not Ralph will. 

This is a rough idea of what the finished product will be.

So here are the before and after pictures from Saturday for you to enjoy.

Before:

During:

Lady was helping me... Just look at that beautiful smile!!

After: 

I don't think the leaves were ever raked here, there was no grass!!!
The lawn mower and snow blower are going to Dad's house to be fixed
then into the shed.  Although, I will most likely just get a new set.

Joey was picking up the last of it while I rested.  It was a REALLY
long day.

I also cleaned off the trailer pad behind my house.  It had
tons of large and small branches and other brush on it from Sandy.

All the bags we filled. and the wood for my headboard.  The yard
looks great!!!

Day 37 -- The rest of the ceiling comes down

Please forgive me for being so neglectful!! I have been quit lazy in my fixer-uping.  Anyways, today we worked on the master bedroom some more; we are planning on getting it done next weekend.  The plan is, over the week, the walls finish going up and the outside closet wall will get started.  Then next Saturday the ceiling fan goes up, super plush carpet goes in, and closet gets finished.

Today, I got out of work about 12:15-ish then met my parents at Home Depot in Hooksett, NH.  In case you don’t know this, sheet rock comes in a package of two.  The plan was to buy two packages of ¾ inch and two packages of ½ inch, the sign above each stated $8.98.  What they are not telling you is that it is actually $17.96 per package… dude… I was so f*cking pissed!!  Apparently it is $8.98 per sheet.  With the help of my momma (thanks momma) we bought what we needed.  What I didn’t know was that my dad bought a light for the porch, something Joey and I was going to buy but never gotten a chance to (thanks daddy). 

We get home and my dad got to work on the porch light.  Amy, mom, and I got to work taking the rest of the old ceiling out.  We still have some at the edges to take care of but the majority is done. 

My dad built this structure to help hold up the sheetrock while it gets screwed into the ceiling. 

 

While all this was going on, Joey did all the dishes, laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and cleaned the cat puke off the floor… all the stuff I hate doing!!

We then sat outside and grilled and had a good time just chillin’.

Amy and Mom ripping out the rest of the wall

Doesn't sound think much, but we did so much today!!  I can’t wait for my beautiful bedroom to be done. 

P.S.  I just want to draw your attention to this

This is a circular saw plugged into an extension cord.  My father is the person who used it and I found this about 15 minutes after my parents and Amy left.  If this was me, I’d be in so much trouble!! 

Day 14 -- Lesson learned from Daddy: "Wear a mask or you will loose a lung"

After an early start at work, I went to my parent’s house to borrow Ralph’s circular saw and take a roll of fiberglass and I ended up also borrowing a saw table and some paper masks.  I will need to go back tomorrow to borrow my dad’s drill so I can start to put the new sheetrock and fiberglass up. 

We gutted out the master bedroom and most of the hallway today took out all of the moldy fiberglass.  The master bedroom used to have two doors because before we moved in, it was a three bedroom and they took out a wall to make a fabulous master bedroom.  I say use to because I added a stud to one of the doorways so we can put sheetrock over it.  I can’t wait for my beautiful new bedroom to be done!!  I plan to put in a great closet that has an arm on one side and rolls out on the other so I can have double the closet using less space.  Upon walking to the dumpster, we stopped and got some great ideas from the land owner to make the house airtight.  He said that there is this thick foam sheet at Home Depot and if we get that expandable foam stuff and use the expandable foam to stick the foam sheet to the plastic that is on the inside of the metal siding no water will ever get in again.

Tomorrow’s plan isn’t a big one because I won’t be home until 5-ish.  I am going to get a scrub brush from the dollar store and do bleach water on all the exposed wood and paint it with Kilz on either Tuesday after school or Wednesday after work.

The following picture is a before picture of a wall in my office.  I actually forgot (once again) to take a before picture of the hallway walls (there was one wall in the bedroom with a wall).  The picture here is actually one of the better walls.  There was one spot that my dad wanted to know if a bear got in a scratched away… lol. 

*No, I didn't do the spray paint on the wall*

These pictures are the end of today’s work.  The flat wall with the metal is the hallway and the other side is my bedroom.  The beams are going to have sheet rock up after I paint with Kilz.

Well, my lungs are full of sheetrock dust (hate it when my dad is right), I’m sore and exhausted.  Going to have some Hostess cupcakes and moo juice and drift off to dreamland…. Goodnight to my amazing friends and family.  Knowing that you are all living this experience with me keeps me going, with your emotional support; I know we can get this done. 

Day 13 -- Have you ever seen the movie Arachnophobia?

Well, today started at about 7:30 in the bright and cheerful morning.  Joey went to work at Kirby for a few hours and I went to work on the porch.  Since the previous owner still hasn’t picked up her couch and the shed is still full of her stuff we shoved the couch and living room chair into the shed.  I emptied out the porch, we tore out the rug, and I vacuumed up the hundreds to thousands of spiders and spider eggs what's strange is have a huge fear of spiders.  My parents and Uncle Jack showed up around 1pm-ish and we loaded up my dad’s trailer and went to the dump.  We then loaded up another trailer full and unloaded it into the dumpster in the trailer park.  After all of that, Joey and I (kind of) painted the inside of the porch with that white Kilz primer.  We didn’t do a super great job because we are going to fill it up with the boxes that are currently in our master bedroom; we are also going to be tearing the porch down and building a new one next spring anyways.  I only wanted to paint it so I know if any rodents or spiders getting back inside. Oh, and I found a really sweet massively huge desk on the porch I can’t wait to fix up and put in my office. 

*Note: The office is our current bedroom and will be the next room to be fixed up after the actual bedroom.* 

Plans for tomorrow include moving the boxes from the master bedroom onto the porch and prepping the room for construction.  Hoping it won’t be too bad because the walls are already down.  They just need to be reinforced, we are also going to reinforcing the floor and replace the ceiling too, thanks to Ralphie because he is letting me use his circular saw, something of which I need in order to cut the wood for said walls and ceiling.  I’m planning on building a sweet closet.  I found this thing on Pintrest where if the closet shares a wall with the laundry room (which mines does) you can put a door into the back wall of the closet so when you are doing laundry, you can just put them right into the closet.  It also includes a side out dirty laundry hamper… love that website!!

Things are starting to really move along and rooms are being to looking like beautiful rooms instead of the disgusting heap they are now.  I have some ideas floating in my head for the bedroom but nothing solid because I haven’t been able to measure the room out yet.

 

Going to have dinner then bed for early morning work.  Goodnight all!!

*This is the before picture (the crate and what use to be in front is all dog poop), for some reason it won't let me upload the after picture from my phone, I will try again with tomorrows blog but use my camrea (I know what your thinking, but both of my cameras are dead and will be charging tonight*

Day 8 -- We get a certified pre-owned fridge

Well, I had the day off but I didn’t do much because I was still sore from Thursday.  I should have been unpacking some boxes or finishing the yard but I decided that doing nothing sounded like more fun.

My parents came over in the evening to bring my dad’s garage fridge up because my fridge is broken and am currently using my tiny portable.  He and Joey spend a few hours trying to fix mine but with no luck.  Actually it was so cute because my dad was trying to teach Joey how to fix it, they looked so deep in thought that I swear I saw smoke at one point… ha ha!!  So around 10pm they brought in my dad’s.

 Meanwhile my mom and I grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and corn.  The guys took a food break.  My mom and I then watched TV… we were big helps.

 I have no pictures of this because I didn’t think of it until now although video probably would have been better.

Day 6 -- The really hot roofers in cowboy hats offer me the use of their truck

First of all, I would like to apologize for being so neglectful… I have no excuse.

Secondly, let’s talk about Thursday.

I started off the day like every other this week with cleaning up the lawn.  We had filled up the wheelbarrow the night before so before Joey went to his new job we emptied it.  Then I proceeded to fill up four more loads and haul them to the dumpster which is (without a wheelbarrow) about a minute walk.  Yeah well, my wheelbarrow has a flat tire and I do not have a pump for it (hint hint Santa).  Have you ever pulled what felt like a ton of lead down the street?  I have and it sucks!! My neighbor next to me comes by to tell me about this program the USDA has to loan money out for low income families to fix up their homes and as he was walking away I asked him if he has a pump – that god he did.  I did one more load until it happened.  Said neighbor was getting a new roof, one of the roofers yelled down at me and said “I can’t watch this for one more second; please let me back my pick up in your yard, fill it up, and we can drive it over and empty it.  OH LORDY LORDY ME THERE IS A GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Within a half hour I filled it up and made a massive dent in the remainder of the yard.  The great thing is, they didn’t want any money.  They liked some of the stuff I was throwing away and I told them to consider that payment, they happily agreed.  Now all that is left is the back and one side of the shed… oh yeah and the furniture and tires (I think they are 16s and are slightly used if anyone is interested) I found by the shed.  My parents came by and picked up some lawn chairs and a slide to deliver to my Nana’s house but the rest remains.  Going to drop them off at the dump next time my dad comes by

I was sore and beyond exhausted by 1pm so I stopped and became a vegetable for the rest of the day. 

I was such a long day but I got so much done (thanks to the amazing roofers across the way).

 

*I really thought that I got pictures of the outside of the shed but I guess I didn't... sorry*

Day 4 -- The Filthy Outdoors

Not much to report today. 

After work, Joey went to his job interview and got the job!! We are so excited!!  It’s with the Kirby Company selling modular homes.  It’s much different from the steak house, this one is not door to door- people set up appointments and it is base pay and commission.  Finally we can get the walls in this place torn down and redone.

Upon returning home, Joey went to the food store and I went to work on the yard.  I filled two wheel barrels and a large trash can, raked the leaves/ trash wrappers and pulled the old, dead plants and weeds from the gardens.

I met one of our neighbors and he suggested that we rent a dumpster.  The park owner suggested it and we didn’t think we needed it but we might if the old owner doesn’t want the stuff in the shed.  I hope she makes up her mind soon because I need to clean out what will be our bedroom so we can put the walls up.

Well, I’m going to finish my late dinner, watch some TV and go to bed… I’m so sleepy!!

 

Enjoy these before and after photos-- I worked my butt off!!!

Day 3 -- I almost die, Joey wishes he completely lost his smell

So you’d think that after working 8 hours that time at home would be uneventful…WRONG!!  After stopping at my parent’s house for mail and bouncing ideas off my dad I picked up Joey in Manchester and headed home.  Upon returning to our lovely home we instantly got to work. 

We started on the corner with the two trash cans.  Gosh, they smelled so bad!!  I thought that this spot would make a fabulous flower garden so we decided to tear out the small, strange, bent tree and the other weeds and greenery that was sitting under the enormous pile of trash.   

We began by getting all the big stuff; strange metal poles of various lengths, colors, widths, and shapes, some kind thick moldy tarp, a ton and a half of every kind of wrapper out there, New Hampshire state license plates (the second set found so far), and two very full trash cans… oh let us talk about the trash cans.  I’d get a vomit bag if I were you—oh yes I’m gonna go there.  Don’t stop reading though because as good of a picture I will attempt to create just remember—you didn’t smell it in person!! 

These trash cans were full of the obvious as well as a half full large bag of dog food and bags of dirt.  Why the dirt wasn’t just thrown on the floor the world may never know.  Now close your eyes and let’s imagine – no peaking—let’s picture the above mentioned trash cans.  Now let them sit in the sun for many moons.  Now let’s add water to each can, about half full each.  Now let them, once again, sit in the sun for another undetermined amount of time.  Let’s add in the aroma; old trash mixed with lots of dirty diapers, in a small enclosed area.  The smell almost made both of us revisit our lunches; Joey barely has a sense of smell so if it was so overwhelming to make him sick for the rest of us it was 10 times worse. 

After getting rid of three full wheel barrels and two trash cans we raked out the whole area, pulled all the weeds and the aforementioned tree, oh yeah and threw away one of Joey’s work gloves because there was a Brown Recluse on it (with my hand still in it) we filled one more box and called it a day around 7:30pm – or so we thought. 

We got back inside and I began to pet my Lady and noticed the little black bugs.  OMFG ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!  I then checked Buddy because he is blonde and he had a few also.  So now my two cats and dog are no longer speaking to Joey or myself because they all got baths.  Babygirl and Lady dried off pretty quickly but Buddy is still wet and it has been almost an hour.  It’s kind of funny though because Buddy shakes his little feet every time he takes a step. 

Well, I’m beat!  Joey is already in bed; I think I’m gonna get some Lucky Charms, finish an episode or two of Roseanne and go to bed myself. 

Goodnight all!!

Day 2 -- Bleaching the kitchen and part of the porch

So we got up pretty early today (6:30am) and got right to work.  It seems that this previous owner has a dog, bunny, and a couple of ferrets.  Apparently the ferrets lived in an open cage on the KITCHEN COUNTER.  She also said that she would be back for her couch and recliner on Monday (tomorrow) because she ran out of room in her box filled apartment.  Since we will not be home tomorrow I told her we would put them on the porch.

Joey immediately got to work on the porch.  There was literally a mountain of poop and also a small pile of hay along with tools, toys, wire bathroom things, a couple of old recliners, a 300 year old dishwasher, and most likely everything else in the free world on said porch.  There was even a rug under it all so some of the rug got torn up today and the wood was scrubbed with bleach water.  He got about half of it done when he had to stop because the park’s dumpster got pretty full.  The rest will get done as soon as the dumpster empties.

*there is actually one more picture but I couldn't get it to load*

I, on the other hand, require a sanitary kitchen (I know I’m a freak, right?).  Every counter was full of ferret poop, cabinet doors coming off the hinges (some of the doors missing), the freezer works but the fridge is broken with mold and dead flies caked inside (not to worry, my dad has an extra one in his garage he is letting me have), and the portable dishwasher is broken and caked with mold.  The floors have rabbit and ferret poop all over, oh and the cabinets still had some of her dishes in them with dead flies and dead spiders all over.  All along the celling corners was covered with daddy long leg spiders along with their webs same with underside of the breakfast bar.  Food 2 or 3 years expired.

I bleached every inch of that kitchen, literally floor to walls to ceiling.  I can still smell a faint whiff of poop so I think either the bunny must have gotten under the broken cabinet or the smell is permanently embedded in the wood.  Either way, the kitchen is the very first thing that is getting gutted so I will try not to stress to bad about it.

When Joey stopped doing the porch he helped me start the living room and got the TV set up while I set up my desk top computer.  Dish Network won’t be called for at least another week or two so just the DVD player and HDMI got set up.

I have plans going on in my head for when we gut the kitchen… what do you think?

I currently hate the layout and can’t wait to change it.  Taking out the bar will make it look so much bigger. 

Oh and, my dad and I were talking on the phone today about whether or not to reinforce this wall or that, this floor or that he said “don’t throw away those tools she left on the porch, I’ll need them when I come up to fix everything.”  I told him not to worry about fixing my place and to worry about the projects at his own house but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.  “I wanna get under it and check the floor and I wanna get in the roof crawl space and check for rodents and we need to get those windows fixed before the winter.”  I was in shock and really didn’t expect him to say such things.  It is really exciting that we will have daddy/daughter time together.  Anyways, I digress. 

After doing all this cleaning it makes me wonder how someone can live in such squalor.  It looks like no one has lived here in years but she has for about 2 with her ex-husband.  She is currently about a month pregnant and I grow concerned for her and her baby’s health.  Let’s just hope she gets better with her cleaning.

We did so much today and we are both exhausted!! Can’t wait for the days to come: demolition, construction, cookouts with family, and just having a good time.

Oh yeah… and after doing so much bleach cleaning today most of the flies and spiders are gone!!

Day 1 -- Moving Day

Okay; so I’m not the blog writing type but I thought it would be interesting to keep log of the misadventures of fixing up a run down home while living in it.  Well… here it goes. 

About a month ago, I bought a mobile home for $5000 from a young girl who is recently pregnant and divorced.  After the monthly loan and land rental fee I will be saving about $200 a month to own my own home.  I know what you’re thinking “ARE YOU INSANE!?!?”  The answer is probably. 

 

Our new home is just under 700 square feet (I think 680 actually) has two bedrooms, a bathroom with laundry, and of course a living room and kitchen. 

Yesterday was moving day and it was great!!  With the help of my parents, Uncle Jack, Rodney, George, two SUVs, a minivan, and a 17 foot truck we made it all in one trip.  It took all day and had to dodge the psycho lady that use to live above me (she wouldn’t leave us alone the WHOLE TIME!!!) but it got done.  I got a bunch of emails from the girl I bought the place from and she said that she’d pay us $50 if we cleaned out the porch for her.  “Throw it out or keep it, I don’t care” I’m thinking sweet deal and instantly agree.

We finally get to beautiful Hillsborough and I got super stressed out.  My parents and uncle get really nervous about the place (as they should because worrying is what family does and that is okay) because… well… it needs A LOT of work; that and I’m the type of person that will clean for a week just because my mom is making a quick trip over for tea and cookies.  After pizza, I finally de-stress and things move along.

Joey found his computer first and put a DVD of the Simpsons in it for us to fall asleep to.  The entire time I keep thinking that the volume is up very loud and kept turning it down until I remembered that my home is no longer attached to anyone else’s so up the volume went.  It was pretty tough to sleep because it doesn’t feel or smell like home just yet but that will soon change.

                                                                                                        *Back (ignore the mess)*
*Front*