{ Basement Projects and a Dog }

A few big projects happened. It was just going to be one project, then one thing led to another and now the house has a new furnace (with central air), a hot water heater and a sump pump. The house came with a big hole in the basement and it was a mystery as to why it was there. Well, it turns out it was for a sump pump. All big ticket items. Nothing aesthetic, unfortunately. 

I didn’t take photos so will post a pic of Henry instead. He just turned four on October 1st. His adoption day was the day after Thanksgiving which is why his full name is “Henry the Black Friday Special”. 

He has his own instagram page @henrytheblackfridayspecial:

https://www.instagram.com/henrytheblackfridayspecial?igsh=MXdyeXE4ZWx1NXRodw==

🖤 Good Boy 🖤

{ My house }

 I painted the new front steps, lattice and deck black. The railings and posts are white. The paint job looks ok from a distance but close up not so good. My hand was too crippled to put much effort into it.

{ Neighborhood fire }

 In the summer of 2023, my neighbors house started on fire. Everyone got out safely but the building was destroyed. It was really scary and the fire started spreading so fast!

The fire damaged our back porch and I think 6 other properties. Insurance covered most of the damage except for 1/3 of it that wasn’t damaged. 

New siding, gutters and roof on the back porch:

Now that everything looks new, the door, windows and stairs look ratchety.

{ Exterior projects }

Along with building new front porch steps, that took me like 6 months to do, I installed a new porch light, address numbers, and a mailbox.

The original mailbox was an apartment style mailbox for 3 units because this house was divided into 3 apartments. There was a large empty spot in the fence for 15 years until I figured out how to make a normal one fit. Honestly, I forgot about replacing it. It was easy to ignore it when I walked by. I had hung a mailbox on the front gate that technically worked for many years.

When my mailman saw the new mailbox he said, “you have gone from having the worst mailbox on my route to having the best one”! Lol

A new exterior front door was also installed. It happened before Covid but I’ll put the photos here.

{ Front porch steps }

 I built new front porch steps and railings! 

The old ones were rotting and it wasn’t in the budget to hire someone. So ordered the supplies and somehow built everything by myself. They aren’t perfect and are a bit wonky, but they work.

It was a nightmare project that took forever. It took a lot of strength and I needed to take long breaks due to crippling pain and exhaustion. I was sobbing at some points when the neighbors would stop by to chat and check out the project. 

The posts need to be cut down a bit and everything needs to be painted.

So glad that project is over!

{ A kitchen tour }

During Covid, I installed a new farmhouse sink, faucet, tile backsplash, and lighting. 

A handyman came and installed the range hood. I could have done it but a hole needed to be drilled through brick and I wasn’t confident about doing that. 

I installed the light in the dining room. It needed to be hardwired so got to use some electrical skills I learned along the way.

Happy with the way it turned out. It was so much work for me over the years, and hard on my body, but it all came together. 

I love my kitchen. ❤️

{ kitchen cabinets }

The new kitchen cabinets arrived.

They were easy to install and just kind of slid into place.

 

{ Exterior structural projects }

The old roof was damaged by hail and needed to be replaced.

masonry repairs

{ Kitchen Updates: Floor, Countertop and Dishwasher }

Kitchen floors phase 1 - After moving in, I spent $50 on black & white tiles to cover the existing floor. It was a temporary fix.

🔗 https://housesixblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/kitchen-phase-one-fall-2009.html

Kitchen floors phase 2 - Where I lost my mind and removed 7 layers of tile, plus 2 layers of plywood subfloors, to find the original hardwood floors. * spoiler alert * They were not in good shape.

🔗 https://housesixblog.blogspot.com/search?q=kitchen+floors

Kitchen floors phase 3 - When a new level plywood subfloor was installed.

🔗 https://housesixblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/january-2016-kitchen-updates.html

Kitchen - future plans and inspiration

🔗 https://housesixblog.blogspot.com/2017/03/march-2017-kitchen-plans.html

I came up with a low cost design plan, and had all of the materials and supplies shipped directly to the house. New stock cabinets were also part of the plan but they arrived months later due to budget.

Because I have issues with strength and fatigue, the project took forever!!

I emptied out the room, put in new floors, built a new butcher block countertop, installed a dishwasher, and then put everything together. 

It was kind of like the tv show, "Trading Spaces", except it wasn't. It was only me.

Here it is right before I removed the sink and counter.

Everything in the kitchen got moved to the dining room or back porch,
turning the first floor into an obstacle course.

Back porch

Dining room

This is the water source in the kitchen.

My plan was to go with a dark slate-like tile, but the plan changed. The tiles, grout, and all of the supplies were making us go over budget. Plus I was too scared to DIY it and mess it all up.

So I found the perfect replacement, "The Easiest Floor Ever!" resilient plank flooring.
This is the one we went with:
 Allure Ultra 7.5 in. x 47.6 in. Aspen Oak Black Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring from Home Depot.

The pieces slide and snap into place right over the existing floor.
There is no adhesive, glue, or grout needed, so it will be really easy to remove if we decide to change the flooring in the future.

I also built a 12 foot countertop using 2 large butcher blocks. Just needed to cut a hole for the sink and mount it into place. Still need to install a backsplash.

Check out the new floor.
 I need to install a transition strip between the dining room and kitchen.

We got a new dishwasher! I haven't had a dishwasher since I lived with my parents in the 1980s.
I put up a little curtain to hide all of the junk under the sink until the new cabinets could be installed.

12 foot countertop

That silver thing sticking out of the wall is for the range hood that needs to be purchased and installed.

Coffee bar and pantry

This is the new refrigerator. It had some dings, so it was sent to the Sears outlet store.

I originally chose a beautiful black french door refrigerator, but the movers couldn't get it though our door. It was upsetting. So settled on this one and bought a freezer for extra storage.

floor trim and transition piece needs to be installed

This is a sample of the floor trim. It needs to be painted and installed.

That's it for now. Still needs work but happy to have such a large work space in the kitchen.

This was the kitchen in 2009 at closing.