The street side front porch is coming along quite nicely. However, much of the progress since last week is not very noticeable or photo-worthy. Since I am not obligated to adhere to a strict ORC posting schedule now that the official challenge is over, I thought I’d check in with our 2018 Project List this week instead.
Now that it is finally spring, (No take backs, winter!) I have been referring to our list and scheduling the fair weather projects. We currently have a few in the queue.
Preliminary Work in the Upstairs Bathroom
The work in the bathroom does not necessarily require fair weather, but spring coincided with our budget this year. The upstairs bathroom still looks like this:
Yikes! I have not discussed this project in-depth since we got our first crazy-high bid for the entire renovation. As we move forward, I will write more informative posts about our plans. It looks like we will be tackling this project in stages and doing more DIY than we wanted to originally.
This week, I accepted a bid from a local company to do the plumbing, electrical work, and some duct-work in the bathroom. I am waiting to hear back about when our project will go on their schedule. Despite the lack of progress, I have been busily pinning ideas on Pinterest. If you follow our Bathroom Inspiration board, you already know that I am obsessed with historical reproduction tile floors. The pattern below is a little too busy for me, but it gives you some idea of what I am thinking. Be sure to follow us on Pinterest to see all of our inspiration and potential sources.
If I can pull off historical reproduction tiling, I should qualify for a pro-level DIY badge or a trophy or something. It already seems like a project that I will regret throughout but love at the end. Beginning a project with hate in my heart seems ill-advised.
Landscaping
I cannot believe that this was our reality a month ago.
Now, we are mowing the grass weekly, and the dandelions have taken over the flower beds.
Today, a large dump truck backed into our driveway and left the five cubic yards of black mulch that I ordered last week.
We have a ton of weeding to do, and then everyone in the family will be spreading mulch this weekend. Naturally, I am more excited about this than my children.
The landscaping we have planned is all wrapped into the street side front porch project which was designed to improve our curb appeal.
That street side of the house is undergoing an extensive renovation and restoration. The front porch project uncovered an avalanche of little things that need to be addressed. #oldhouseproblems
Sealing & Repairing the Driveway
For the past four years, we bumped this item off the list for various reasons. This year, it is happening.
The driveway is lumpy, bumpy, and cracked. We are planning to use the same company that our neighbors’ use. They should be here sometime next week to give us a bid.
Geez! This post has been a frightening scrapbook page of before photos. If you are a new follower of the BHH blog, hopefully, this post won’t scare you away. If you hang in there with us, I promise to make the after shots worth it.
***
We are cruising into the long weekend here at BHH. The weather will be a mixed bag. In addition to taking some time to reflect on those who lost their lives during active military service and our other loved ones, we will be making full use of every drop of sunshine.
What’s going on at your house this weekend? Do you have big plans? What are your memorial day traditions?
10 Comments
Chad
This weekend it looks like I get 2 mornings of suitable weather for stripping paint. Yay? After last weekend I think I need a break from the 10 square feet or so where it just won’t come off.
This year I’m once again doing nothing at all with plants. And the winter killed the camellia my parents gave me so now all I have is one little boxwood that could (survive my neglect).
The photo of your porch looks like the “nothing to see” progress is actually pretty big, so congrats on that.
Stacy
Yay. 🙂 Hope you’ll be able to take some time to relax too. Stripping paint is as bad as removing wallpaper.
I cannot say that our landscaping will be done this year, but we will have made some progress. Baby steps. I can’t picture where you grow things. Do you have planters in the front or the back of the house?
I finished the porch floor today! Party time.
SH
I’ve been so captivated by the porch that I’d forgotten about the upstairs bathroom. Looks like another busy summer at BHH. Hoping it is injury free.
Stacy
I hope it is injury-free too. I’m crossing my fingers. 🙂
Jenny
Our Memorial Weekend tradition is to drive 5 hours to Nebraska to visit family (at least that’s what we’ve done since our nephew was born!)–our nephew’s 7th birthday is the 26th and our son just turned one on the 23rd so we’ll be celebrating them as well as a cousin’s high school graduation. We were hoping to go to the zoo, too, but it’s going to be 97 degrees and I’m not sure I want to subject the baby (and myself) to that.
We desperately need to weed and mulch our flowerbeds but apparently it’s going to have to wait!
Stacy
Happy Birthday to your baby! You survived the first year. Ha! Sounds like have a wonderful family-filled weekend planned. Congratulations to your cousin, and Happy Birthday to your nephew too.
Vanessa
Five weeks ago snow, today the a/c is on. Wow. Wish I was closer, I’d get those dandelions for you, I have a personal vendetta against them and as they advertise themselves so blatantly, there is no escaping my gardening knife.
Stacy
I know! It is hard to believe. I wish you lived closer to me too. I’d even pay you to get those dandelions.
Miranda
You have wood floors in your bathroom currently right? Why the choice to go over it with tile? I ask because I’m kind of in the same predicament. There are wood floors (presumably) under some particleboard and sheet linoleum in our master bedroom. I’m not confident the wood floors are going to be in full shape because of how the previous owners reconfigured the upstairs layout to turn one bedroom into two bathrooms (one the en suite). Our bedroom is a jumbled mess of original hardwoods and crap filler boards (painted pink and blue, of course!) from the 70s. It’s not in the cards to refinish them right now, and with the baby on the way, I didn’t want to have to deal with them when the kid starts crawling around since they’re pretty uneven and rough in some spots.
Anyway, ALL that to say, I’m considering when the time comes to do our en suite, doing tile. So I’d love to know your thoughts!
Stacy
Hi Miranda,
I am sorry that it took so long to answer you. I missed this comment when you posted it. I decided on tile for a few reasons. The first is that BHH was built before indoor plumbing which means that I am not as concerned with historical accuracy. Our family is a big fan of hot showers and flushing toilets. We’re cool with the fact that we don’t have to use an outhouse. 😀 Next, in our busy house, I am concerned with the upkeep of wood floors in the bathroom. Although I can create guidelines regarding wet towels, standing water, etc. I cannot be sure that everyone will follow them. We’ve been a family for a long time. Some of us are more careful than others.
So, I suppose it boils down to durability and ease of care. However, we may be renovating this bathroom in stages, and the tile floor might have to wait. Is there something in particular that holds you back from choosing tile?