Framing

The framing has begun! The space is starting to take on a new shape. Walls separating family room and living room have been opened up and headers put in. Also our power lines have been buried underground and our service is being upgraded. Time for some grass seed! I am eager to get to some projects outside now that the inside work is moving forward. I see lots of pruning, weeding and landscaping in our near future.

Contractor walk through

We had a walk through with our contractor yesterday to get this project rolling! We went room by room and decided what walls and windows were staying/going and where closets are being added. We also settled on configuration of master bath. I'm really excited about the bathroom because we are using an old pedestal bathtub my Dad salvaged from an old house way back when. I remember it sitting in the old barn for as long as I can remember then it moved to my parents' new house and served as a planter for cucumbers last summer. We also lugged it to two antique shows. Guess there was a good reason it never sold, but man, that thing was HEAVY to tote around! Our contractor should get started by end of this week first of next. I'm ready for the porta-john (I'd say I'm pretty easy to please)! Our contractor tells us 3-4 months, so I'm hopeful for a September move in!
 

Family room

Kitchen

First floor bath and bedroom

Living Room



Master suite





It raining, its pouring, uh oh the bathroom is flooding

Demo began the day we closed and the whole place was pretty much cleared out in 5 days. So far, we've only ran across a few minor repairs that will need to be addressed, but nothing out of the scope of the original project. Demo day #2 did bring a small surprise as we turned the water on. Apparently a pipe had been disturbed during demo heading to the 2nd floor bathroom and we had water pouring from the ceiling in the first floor bathroom. I panicked at first, but was reassured that everything was going to be gutted anyway so really all was OK. All the wet ceiling tiles and drywall came out of the bathroom, the leak was quickly identified and pipe sealed. Crisis adverted and more demo ensued.

Closing

Wohoo! We finally closed on the house April 1, 2015. April Fools, I know how appropriate? The loan process has been daunting to say the least. We purchased our home using a HomeStyle Renovation Loan. This loan gives us the ability to bundle the purchase price of the house with our renovation costs upfront, leaving us with one monthly mortgage payment. We started the process back in December of 2014 so if you're ready for 4 months of intense paperwork, phone calls, emails and coordination of seller, contractor, loan officer, mortgage company and appraiser, then maybe this loan is for you? Although the process wasn't a breeze, we feel in the end this was the best product for us so we can begin renovations right away. Ready or not here we go! Welcome to The White House Reno!