Day 9

Here's an update on what's been happening this week: The ceilings have been re-textured, the dry wall is almost complete, the roof has been repaired and termites have been taken care of.

Painting will begin on Monday and take most of the week.

Now we just need to make the final decisions on laminate, tile and bathroom vanities. The people at Home Depot and Lowe's are getting to know us. :)

No pictures this time - it will be easier to see how great the walls look once they're painted. Stay tuned!

Day 5

Here are the highlights of what's been happening in the house over the last 48 hours:

• 2 trips to the dump to haul away the demolition mess
• Carpet ripped up throughout the house
• Popcorn on ceilings removed and the ceilings re-textured (still in progress)
• Re-textured walls throughout (still in progress)
• Wall installed in master bedroom (to separate the sink area from the main room)
• Vines removed along the exterior of the house (still in progress) - Troy put some blood, sweat and tears into this exercise...and his allergies have paid the price. Thank goodness for Benadryl!
• Walked through the place with the electrician - no major issues!
• Began hanging drywall (still in process)
• Kitchen cabinets ordered (due to arrive Feb 19th)

We did run into our first minor setback: in order to install new windows, we're required to get our neighbor's approval (because the units are attached and colors need to match), which we have to then submit to the HOA for approval. Unfortunately, the neighbors rent from the owner and we've been having trouble getting the owner's contact information (we find it worrisome that it's this difficult for the HOA to get in contact with them - what if there was an emergency?). Therefore, our request cannot be processed, which means the windows cannot be ordered. While not a major issue, we are anxious to get this done since it takes 2 weeks for the windows to arrive (and we're actually missing windows throughout the house!). Hopefully, we'll get in touch with them in the next week.

Next steps: finish dry wall, install lighting in the kitchen, and fix the roof. We just need the rain to stop for 2 days in a row for the roofer to get to work - who thought that would be a problem in sunny San Diego?

Main living area - carpet ripped out, popcorn removed and ceiling re-textured

Dining area

Half bath downstairs - new walls!

Carpet removed from the stairs

Upstairs landing

The new wall in the master bedroom - so excited about this!

Vine removal from the exterior (excellent work, Troy!)

Day 3

Great progress was made this weekend!

We got to the place at 6:45am on Saturday and the demo crew was outside waiting for us. Much to our new neighbors dismay, demos began about 7am. Fortunately, no complaints yet...

The kitchen and bathrooms were gutted on Saturday and the crew was able to take off all of the wallpaper. What a mess!

The biggest excitement is the plumbing is done! The plumbers worked for 2 days and re-piped the entire house. Although not without difficulty - the previous piping layout was up, down and sideways, with no particular structure. However, the new cooper pipes look great and we're excited to have what we're hoping is the biggest challenge complete.

Tomorrow the termite repairs will be made, the carpets will come up and the popcorn will begin to be scraped off (that will be a big job). We hope the crew has a productive week!

See pictures below of the weekend's destruction.

The kitchen - nothing left!

The hole the plumbers cut in the ceiling to access the upstairs

Half bath

The piping behind the water heater - so much better than the awful plastic that was in there!

Wallpaper removed in the stairwell

The plumbers working area for 2 days (upstairs behind the bathrooms)

New cooper pipes!

2nd bathroom

Master bath sink area - they plumbed for double sinks

Master bath - this shower was the hardest for them to plumb

The mess from the weekend

Day 1 - Closing Day

We officially closed on our first home today!

We were anxiously awaiting the word all day (and so was the demolition crew, who was waiting to be told "go!"), which didn't come until about 3pm. But it is now officially ours - let the renovations begin!

While we wouldn't normally journal our lives for the public, we know our friends and family (near and far) are eager to hear about the crazy adventure we're about to undertake in completing our first home renovation.

First order of business: re-pipe the plumbing in the house, which is scheduled to begin tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are the "before" pictures. The house actually doesn't look as bad as it is - probably because you can't smell it.

The house!!

There's a bay window in the kitchen

Come on in!

Main entry - all the carpet is coming out (laminate flooring is going in downstairs), the popcorn on the ceiling will be scraped off and new paint throughout

Kitchen - nothing is staying

Kitchen Bay Window - all windows are being replaced

Main living area

Smoke much?

Dining area and patio door (the wall color we chose is on the far left - silver aluminum)

Backyard - not being touched until we find some more money

Back inside - this is an example of the piping that needs to be replaced

Let's head upstairs!

The garage is on the left

And a half bath on the right...this is coming out

...so is this

The stairs, landing and guest rooms will get new carpet

At the top of the stairs, you can see into the guest bathroom

Some cabinets at the top of the stairs...

2nd bathroom - this is all coming out!

We're going to leave the tub, but spruce it up a little

Let's check out the guest rooms

Guest room #1 - come visit (but wait until we clean it up first!)

Guest room #2 - more room for visitors!

Master bedroom - carpet is coming out and laminate is going in

Closet (not sure where Troy's clothes are going...)

We're tearing this out, plumbing for double sinks and putting in a wall to separate the bedroom from the sinks

Another closet (maybe Troy can take this one...)

Master bathroom - putting in a new shower door, new floor tile and out with that disgusting toilet!

Need we say more?