Our new big FIRE adventure

[FUEGO]

Isn't home ownership swell? Renting a condo was fun, but I sometimes missed the tinkering.

If you ever end up with the renter lifestyle again and find yourself missing the tinkering, I have a near-endless list of opportunities around the house that you can have fun with.

 

[W2R]

If you ever end up with the renter lifestyle again and find yourself missing the tinkering, I have a near-endless list of opportunities around the house that you can have fun with.

That's so interesting. I only have one thing on my "tinkering list" right now, a broken handrail. Maybe I am not searching for these opportunities enough.

 

[Dreamer]

Thanks for keeping us updated. You and your DW have been extremely busy the last month. We had our house renovated in 2014 and it was costly. It would have been much cheaper to do it ourselves, but did not want to do it at our ages. It sure would be nice to have those dollars back in our checking account though.

Good luck with your future renovations and exploring AL. I am sure that your DMIL is happy to have you back in AL.

 

[Huston55]

FIREd my Friend!

Just saw your update & happy to know things are going well for you & DW.

I think that, regardless of whether you remain in AL, you will look back on this time with MIL fondly.

All the best & pls keep us updated.

 

[FIREd]

The hardwood floors are coming along nicely. I also cut down a couple of trees and overgrown bushes that blocked some of the light coming through the windows. Finally, I used white marble rocks to mulch the flower bed in front of the house. They reflect the sunlight back into the front rooms. Overall, the brightness in the house has vastly improved (because of the trees all around the house, the interior is darkest from late Spring through early Fall because the trees have a full canopy).

 

[W2R]

The hardwood floors are coming along nicely. I also cut down a couple of trees and overgrown bushes that blocked some of the light coming through the windows. Finally, I used white marble rocks to mulch the flower bed in front of the house. They reflect the sunlight back into the front rooms. Overall, the brightness in the house has vastly improved (because of the trees all around the house, the interior is darkest from late Spring through early Fall because the trees have a full canopy).

Beautiful!!! Those floors are very attractive. I love how light and bright your house is, too.

 

[MBAustin]

Count me in as another fan of light hardwood floors - we had natural maple in our last house and put pecan in this house (both engineered wood). Your floors look great, FIREd!

 

[Moemg]

Fired ,Your house looks great . I remember when you used to live in it and really enjoyed it so I hope you can enjoy it again.

 

[FIREd]

Update:

We have been very busy for the past 2 months with the house renovation. We are 90% done.

So far we have:
- Replaced the wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors
- Repainted the walls, ceilings, trims, doors, windows in the bedrooms, living room, den, and dining room (we decided to keep the popcorn ceiling and just repaint it bright white, it looks good enough)- We painted everything white to increase the brightness inside the house. It looks super clean.
- Removed the wall paneling and "decorative" ceiling beams in the living room (bye bye 1970's)
- Changed one storm door and repaired the hardware on another one
- Changed the countertops and backsplashes in the kitchen and bathrooms (that, we contracted out). We decided to go with quartz countertops based on suggestions earlier in this thread. It looks fantastic.
- Changed all the faucets, sinks, and garbage disposal.
- Installed custom wardrobes in the master walk-in closet

The house looks so much brighter now.

What we have left to do (after a short break because our bodies are getting really sore):
- Replace the bathtubs (we will contract that out)
- Retile the kitchens and bathrooms
- Repaint the kitchen and bathrooms (including the cabinets)
- Reinstall blinds in windows facing the street.

So far we are ahead of schedule (I had given myself until Christmas to complete the renovation!) and under budget (by doing most if the work ourselves). .

 

[REWahoo]

Wow. After reading all the work you've done yourself I need some ibuprofen!

 

[W2R]

That's a lot of work, FIREd!! Soon you will be done.

 

[FIREd]

It was a lot of work, but we are very happy with the results.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Bet you could sell it for a nice return when you're done, as it sounds lovely!

 

[FIREd]

Update:

The kitchen cabinets, doors, and drawers were still in good shape (despite being 40 years old), so we decided to just repaint them, inside and out, in white. We just finished this tedious job and I am pleased with the results. We updated the cabinet hardware, changed the countertop, sink and faucet, and we purchased a new range and hood. We still need to change the flooring - we are thinking about larger rectangular tiles in grey to break the white on white look and pick up some of the grey tones in the quartz countertop. The living room update has been even more remarkable IMO (replacing the carpet with HW floors, removing the wall paneling and the ceiling beams, repainting everything except the brick fireplace, replacing the fireplace mantel). We put in a lot of sweat equity in this remodel and haven't had to spend a lot of coin so far (we bought all the materials and paid for the countertop installation).

 

[REWahoo]

Looks great!

Had to be a ton of work!

 

[Koolau]

FIREd needs to be on one of the remodeling shows! Looks fantastic!

 

[Huston55]

Well done!

A once in a lifetime job. Time to have APosteclipse party!

 

[MichaelB]

Looks great!

Had to be a ton of work!

+1

FIREd needs to be on one of the remodeling shows! Looks fantastic!

+1

Very nice choice of colors - really brightens things up.

 

[ivinsfan]

Looks great..JMO but I think the kitchen floor looks fine..are you doing that just to improve the looks?

 

[Moemg]

Looks great !

 

[Dreamer]

Wow! You did a great job. Looks fantastic!

 

[W2R]

Very nice! I especially like the fireplace mantel.

I'm a big fan of mantels because they provide a nice place to display things. Mine has a statue of Napoleon on his horse at the center, and also my crystal ball, a small but evil looking gargoyle statue, ceramic lovebirds, a glass turtle, and a photo of my DD and DSIL.

 

[FIREd]

Thanks everyone! It was a lot of work and I am glad that the remodel is mostly behind us... I hope to never have to go through this again!

 

[Meadbh]

The renovations look great. Before spending money on a new kitchen floor, consider putting a rug there as a temporary fix. I think a touch of colour would make the white kitchen "pop".

 

[FIREd]

Looks great..JMO but I think the kitchen floor looks fine..are you doing that just to improve the looks?

Yes, we want to change the tiles mostly for aesthetic reasons. But it is not a priority at the moment. The old tile flooring is still in fairly good condition and we can live with it for a while.

The renovations look great. Before spending money on a new kitchen floor, consider putting a rug there as a temporary fix. I think a touch of colour would make the white kitchen "pop".

Using a rug as a temporary fix is an excellent idea!