drywall

last weekend chad and his dad cut the drywall for the baby and spare bedroom:

today my brother, chad and i hung the drywall:

before:

after:

after this weekend i'll have pics of a more complete drywall job.

last weekend i finally finished removing the glue from the baby room closet:

before:

after removing glue:

meanwhile baby is getting closer.  this is me, 31 weeks.  we started our baby classes.  i've had two showers (out of 3 or 4) and we're getting closer to receiving the baby supplies we (think) we'll need.  i just need to find a place to organize it all while the baby room is being finished!

things are moving along.  hopefully paint, floor refinishing, and the bathroom/plumbing will happen soon.  keep you fingers crossed.  till next time!!

SLOWLY but surely

progress is, in fact, occurring but it is happening slowly.  wouldn't want to switch it up on all of you, now would we??

baby room -

we cleaned out the room, including the closet.  and i have been removing wall paper with the added bonus of a layer of paint!  so fun.

the closet progress.  i still need to remove the glue and then i'm officially finished removing paper in the baby room.  two more closets to go and i'm officially FINISHED!

we took an impromptu day trip to columbus, OH recently.  we went to an architectural salvage store and then out to eat in an area called german village.

we bought a coal shoot door (just like ours but in much better shape), a cold air return grate that matches our original grates we have in the house currently and a pair of sidelight windows.

close-up of the glass:

LOVE this glass!  we're going to use them (eventually) when we finish the attic space for the bedroom.

work still progresses on the duct work for the HVAC.  the tile still hasn't been ordered.  i have no idea why.  ugh.  till next time.

end of june progress report

so here we are.  the last day of june.  fifteen weeks left until our little bundle of joy is set to join us here at irvington bungalow.  and where are we in the progress of work on this old house?  read on, my friends.

bathroom - we received the tile sample for the floor. 

this is the design and basically the colors. we put white pieces of paper over the gray colored tile the tile guy suggested we use (you can see it in the top row of the whole sample).  the picture on the right shows a hex shaped tile but that is just to portray the actual shade of white that the tile will be (since the paper was a bright, stark white).

in the next couple of days we'll order the tile. so excited and a bit apprehensive as this guy has been taking FOREVER to get back to us about anything.  so annoying.  but i'm trying to be optimistic that once he has a down payment, things will move more smoothly???  maybe???  hopefully!!

air conditioner - did i mention our A/C unit went out a few weeks ago?  yes, it has been a fun challenge to add that huge project to our list completely unexpectedly.  after four quotes, we finally found a wonderful contractor who helped us out and temporarily fixed the problem for us because it turned so hot outside.  we're getting a whole new HVAC system installed within the next week.  so excited.  complete with duct work to the attic and basement which will one day be finished out for living space.

chad poured a new concrete slab where the new unit will go.  he is so proud (and so am i).  it looks great!

and that's about all that has happened since the last time i wrote.  things are moving forward, faster than they probably have up until this point.  from here on out it will be a whirlwind until the baby is due.  here is my wish list, not in the correct order:

walls painted in the whole house

floors refinished in the whole house

nursery finished (new drywall installed and paint)

guest bedroom finished (new drywall installed and paint)

wood blinds purchased and installed in the bedrooms

new HVAC

new bathroom

new plumbing

we can get this done in 15 weeks.  right???  hahahahaha...........

till next time.

bi-weekly update

what has been happening here?

well, we finally got our floor tile sample.  FINALLY.  seriously. looks great.  confirming the colors and the numbers and then we will order.  so thankful and maybe i can finally feel like i can relax.  a little.

chad worked on the future baby room.  removing plaster.

oh, so sad.  but it was so loose from the wall we had no choice.

this is the other side of the room. only a little needed to be removed here.

check out this horsehair in the plaster. it's true: they REALLY do not make things like they used to!

weekly update

let's see, what's been happening at irvington bungalow?  well, first we just returned from a long holiday weekend in pensacola, FL. thank God we were able to have our annual visit before stupid BP ruined the beaches.  jerks.

shelby enjoyed herself swimming in the bay. and we enjoyed watching her!

and this is chad and i, post beachtime, outside our favorite beachside eatery - Peg Leg Pete's. 
that's Peg Leg, of course.

just in time for the weather to turn warm (hot) and for me to be 20 weeks pregos (and have a summer cold), our air conditioner broke.  unfortunately, we have to buy a new one.  great.  i've been promised that this will not compromise the bathroom project.  this fan is my favorite heat relief:

our garden decided to grow by leaps and bounds while we were gone:

finally, i did finish removing the wall of wallpaper and glue last week before we left for vacation:

top two pics: left - before removal, right - before glue removal

bottom two pics: left - after glue removal (thanks Mom for helping me!), right - don't tell my doctor that i was on a ladder in 85 degree weather, with no air, removing wall paper. 

still waiting on our bathroom floor tile sample.  can't wait to tell you NOT to use this tile place. 

till next time!

updates

obviously my two-posts-per-week goal is too much for me.  i must try to aim lower.

we have indeed been working on the house.  still slowly despite the fact that baby will be here in about five months.  yikes.  we have a lot of work to do.  our two most important projects BB (before baby) are the bathroom renovation and the baby room.

the bathroom update:

we finally received our custom color sample a few weeks ago:

it is difficult to tell on the picture but there actually is a difference between the two colors.  the smaller one is a bit more blue and the larger one is more of a green-blue color.  so we're going with the larger one.  this will be the color for the subs on bathroom walls and shower, trimmed in black tile.  now we've asked for a floor tile in the same color.  hopefully that won't take us months like these two beauties.  we ordered and received (!!!) our radiant floor heating system.  SOOOO excited about that. 

baby room update:

well, as you may remember, there are two places in the ceiling that need fixed as well as one place on the wall.  there was also a ton of junk in the room.  it was our holding area, NEVER to be viewed by persons that do not live here.  we managed to sift through and donate most of it.  thank God for amvets.  love that place.  they pick your junk up for you!!  so great as i'm not a host-a-garage-sale type of gal.  too much work.  chad filled the holes from our insulation project.  and last weekend he dremmeled (that's a word, isn't it?) a portion of our plaster ceiling away in prep for drywall. 

for some reason i removed the ENTIRE house of wallpaper except for a small portion of this bedroom.  so i must do that soon.  then chad will work on replacing some of the walls with drywall.  there was water damage or something at some point previous to our ownership.

other than that we've been working on the yard, a garden specifically.  i decided to ditch the CSA this year and focus on growing the items i know i'll eat.  and then let the local farmer's markets fill in the gaps.  i chose a spot near our future outdoor dining area.  chad poured a concrete barrier to build the bed up a bit and steer the water in the correct direction.

this is a pic of the garden today.  and i already picked my first strawberry!

till next time.  hopefully not a month from now.  no promises.