What We’ve Done

Want to know what we’ve done to the house since we bought it in April 2014? Of course, the renovation didn’t really start until June (or was it July?). I did what I could myself—mostly painting and refinishing cabinet pieces— and hired professionals to do what I couldn’t…

Here’s a list, more or less in chronological order:

  • Repaired plumbing leaks and installed new water heater
  • Replaced the roof—on the house and detached garage
  • Rebuilt the chimney
  • Repaved the driveway
  • Installed rain gutters
  • Cleaned up the overgrown landscaping
  • Repainted all of the interior spaces—walls and trim. Those that weren’t part of the remodel, I repainted myself. My friend, Linda helped with a lot of the downstairs (interior) windows.
  • Gutted the kitchen; tore down a portion of one wall to expand the kitchen into the old utility room, installed all new drywall, insulation, cabinets,  appliances, electrical, lighting, plumbing, and plumbing fixtures, paint, etc.
  • Sub-divided the “5th” bedroom into a new laundry room, half bath and storage closet: new walls, insulation, drywall, texture, paint, electrical, plumbing and electrical and plumbing fixtures; re-purposed cabinets and (new) countertop.
  • Relocated the door to the “5th” bedroom to accommodate the laundry room cabinets (repurposed from the old kitchen and utility room)
  • Added new french door to laundry room entrance
  • Replaced two exterior doors: the kitchen door to the driveway and the door to the back yard.
  • Reused interior doors for half bath and storage closet.
  • Refurbished and reused existing glass door knobs
  • Replaced the flooring in the kitchen with new oak to match existing floors
  • Removed the oversized tile fireplace hearth to reveal the original tile hearth (still needs re-grouting)
  • Installed gas log insert in fireplace
  • Refinished the hardwood floors (main floor)
  • Gutted the main floor (master) bathroom; borrowed some space from the new “laundry room” to accommodate the new shower. Installed insulation, drywall, and beadboard wainscoting, paint; New electrical, lighting, fan, plumbing and fixtures, medicine cabinets, marble tile floor, ceramic subway tile in shower with marble tile shower floor and ledges.
  • Installed in-floor radiant heat (electric) in master bath
  • Repurposed a 1930s sideboard and converted it into a double vanity with custom marble top.
  • Refurbished a 1907 clawfoot tub for master bath (still needs interior re-glazing).
  • Repurposed a 1930s china cabinet to serve as bathroom storage.
  • Restored all of the original windows—inside and out—scraping, sanding, priming, filling cracked wood, reglazing window panes where needed, painting (painting window exteriors is still in progress completed as of 10/15/15!), and caulking.
  • Replaced missing shingles on exterior and painted to match
  • Added new electrical circuits upstairs and in basement, in addition to new electrical in remodeled areas.
  • Replaced air conditioning unit
  • Painted all of the upstairs rooms—walls, (most) ceilings, trim and windows, except for the bathroom which was repainted in 2011 (I found the can of leftover paint with the date).
  • Stripped old (ugly) carpet off (which had been glued down!) and re-carpeted stairs
  • Installed a garage door opener, perhaps the best spent $<300!

Whew, that’s quite a list! I’m not telling you what it all cost! But the single biggest ticket item, other than the contractor, was the roof at almost $14,000.

The three biggest things I did myself were:

  1. Order and/or purchase all of the plumbing and electrical fixtures, appliances, cabinets, tile, etc.,
  2. Choose paint colors and purchase paint, and
  3. Supervise the work to make sure it was being done the way I wanted it.

I also drew up the plans and submitted them to the Building Department for permits.

Making decisions is a big component of a remodel. Luckily, I’m pretty good at that. 😉