$200k - HA!

HA!  I say!  I laugh in the face of $200k.

If you pay attention to the sidebar on this blog you will notice that the amount of money we're saving is totally different.  And by totally different - I really mean double.
*Hint - it's listed in my profile info.*

What led to that drastic change was a meeting with this lady: Lynn Taylor
She is a pseudo architect that has a bajillion years of experience with old houses.  And we spent almost 2 hours walking through our house and talking about all the stuff that's floating around in our heads.

Good News -
What we want to do inside is completely doable.
Bad News -
We don't think we can change the front of the house b/c we're in a historical conservation overlay - boo.
This means that this:

May not be possible.  The front of a house is sacred in historical overlay land. 
Poops.

And then there's the bottom line - we've got a LOT of saving to do, otherwise none of it really matters.

House Tour

Because our house is one big circle and mighty confusing if you don't live here (so I've been told,) I thought a pictoral house tour may help.
I'm only including the dowstairs since we don't live upstairs yet.
Let's start at the front, shall we?
We come in the front door:

Turn to the left, through a doorway and enter the living room:

Walk behind the loveseat to see the rest of the room and down the looong hall way type situation:

Let's walk through that door way - and you'll find my "closet" and where I'm supposed to work out:

We'll continue down the "hallway situation":

The door way to the left in the above picture is the master bedroom:

The doorway to the right in the master bedroom is the master bath which is dirty and I'm not showing you.  Privacy, please.

The doorway at the end of the loong hallway situation is the laundry room and my shoe closet:

Now, lets go back to the front of the house and come in the front door again:

This time we're turning to the right and through another doorway:

Step into the room and look down another looong hallway type situation:

Let's walk through this door way and find the dining room:

Continue down the "hallway situation" to this:

Through the door on the right is the downstairs bathroom:

And through the door on the left is a cut through to the other hallway, the one with the red runner just past the room with my closet and workout gear, and a door to the creepy, flooding basement.  No picture necessary, not really much to look at.

Past the bathroom door is the breakfast area, where the "china cabinet" lives, which you cannot see in this picture:

At the very back of the house through the last doorway down the looong "hallway situation" is the kitchen:

I called all the walkways "hallway situations" b/c all it really is a walk through a bunch of rooms.  I've left out the stairway doors (one in the landry room and one in the workout room) since we're not visiting the upstairs today.  It's much too cold up there, we only keep the heat set to 45 degrees since we don't live up there yet.

So there you have it, a tour of the Ringger Hudson Compound.  Hopefully, this will help you follow along when we start making changes and I start talking about where the new kitchen, new dining room, new living room, etc will live.

Not So Fun Must Do House List for 2011

There will be no fun, pretty, before and after shots of this stuff.
It's just down and dirty must-be-done maintenance for an old ass house.
We're planning to it all ourselves except the tree tending. 
Matt and pole saw = Very Bad Idea.

• Insulation in basement and attic.
• Clean the outside of the windows (there are over 30 windows in our house.)
• Install the attic door
• Seed the lawn
• Have trees tended (they're getting more and more top heavy)
• Continue to clean out the basement
• Fill gaps in the basement foundation and walls
• Test for radon.

Fun Before and After House List for 2011

In the last few months we've been discussing the big reno, how to pay for the big reno, and what we can do now that won't seem wasteful when the big reno comes around but still will turn this house into OUR house.
Here's the plan:

• PAINT.  Paint.  And more paint.  The next room on our list is the bedroom downstairs, currently the master.  
• But we're only painting the downstairs b/c we live down there and it just doesn't make sense to waste energy and time on rooms we never see.
• Hallways, the laundry room, the breakfast area...there are plenty of rooms still left down here.
• Plant a garden.  Brown thumb and all, this year we're planting a vegetable garden.  Raised beds on the side of the house that won't be touched by any reno at all.
• It's all about the accessories kiddos.  Even though we have a millions rooms, every room has a purpose and we should change the decor to fit that purpose.

I know that doesn't seem like much of a list but it really is b/c with all that paint comes a ton of prep, putty, sanding, trim, etc.  That first bullet up there is gonna be quite a doozy!

Insulation and other Sundry Items

Here in TN, we're in the middle of Snowpacolypse 2011.
This means a few things:

1. I left work before dark.  Before all that slush on the roads was able to freeze again.
2. I was able to see my roof, during the snow, in the daylight.
3. There is nary a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, or dozen eggs to be found in this city right now.

While outside watching the dogs, run around and try to figure out what the hell this stuff is, I was able to get some pictures of our roof.
This is what it looks like now:

I am not tall enough to get a better shot unless I go across the street - NOT happening. 
Anywhoo, see all those visible shingles up there, the ones that aren't covered in snow.  Not good, not good at all.
This is what the roof should look like.
Witness my neighbor's roof:

Obviously, my yard has a better view of their roof.

Since we don't allow it to get above 40 degrees upstairs in the winter (gas heat is expensive,) I'd be willing to bet that if we did, there wouldn't a flake one up top. 

Pretty sure - this means insulation in the attic will come BEFORE the big reno and insulation in the walls (there isn't any in there either.)
I think this is one that we can handle ourselves too....Famous last words.

The Big Reno Plan

On the outside, we want to go from this:

To this:

Extend the roof line, giving us a covered deck upstairs.  We're also planning to extend the porch and the roof over the porch around each side of the house to give access to the doors that are/will be on the sides of the house.

The interior will go through a complete over haul as well.  There are too many walls in this house and we plan to knock some down.  It's a work in progress but once complete I will share.

Now we just need to save about $200k so we can make all this happen.  Top Ramen at every meal for the next 20 years should do it.

Before and Afters

The rooms that we've completed are the living room, office, dining room, bathroom, foyer, and kitchen.
We're only documented two of those rooms here (the bathroom and foyer) and I think it's about time I changed that.
Because everyone loves a good before and after picture, here are ours.
Living Room - Before:

Curtains that aren't long enough or lined.  Yellow walls.  Spackle and putty spots all over the walls.

And After:

We kept the couches, unfortunately.  They're just too comfortable to give up right now.  We painted the walls builder beige and the ceiling a shimmery brown.  New lined curtains and pictures are on the walls.

Office - Before:

This is the day we moved in.  Nothing much to report here.  Some more trim to patch from the old HVAC and more yellow walls.  Hooray.

And After:

We painted the stripes with the same paint from the ceiling of the living room since they are adjacent to one another.  Still need a new rug and curtains but for now, we're calling it done.

Dining Room - Before:

Those damn yellow walls were everywhere plus more trim patching from old HVAC and termite damage.  This room shows the most dramatic change but was also the most work.

After:

New light fixture, new paint, added wanescotting up two thirds of the wall with a picture rail topping it off, and crown molding underneath.  Plus new curtains.  I'm not completely pleased with the curtain rod length or the tablecloth but from where we've come - this is my favorite room in the house now.

Kitchen - Before:

This room is entirely new in this photo.  Remember there was no kitchen when we moved in.  In this photo, we've already added knobs to the cabinets but our new fridge hasn't been delivered yet.

After:

We added a copper back splash, painted the walls chocolate brown, rearranged some of the counter top appliances, added shelving, and one behemoth of a fridge.  I'm still on the hunt for curtains.  

 

Now you've seen everything that's worth taking a picture of - soon (hopefully) we'll be before and aftering the bedroom.

Work, work, work.

That's all we're doing lately...so much so that I cannot find the time to update this little window into our lives.
I can't even find to take the pictures of the finished product BUT what I do have are pictures of the work in progress.
Enjoy.

Living Room 1 - Before.

Yellow paint - same color as the rest of the house.

Someone got a crazy good deal on yellow paint.

Dining Room.

I think the vacuum cleaner and pile of randomness really set this room off.

Quick - Someone call HGTV, we've got a genius interior to show off here.

I don't have any before pics of Living Room 2 but you can get a little taste from this post.

And now the fun photos of exactly why it's taking over 3 months to get through only 5 rooms:

All that pink stuff is caulk.  After caulk dries, you get to sand, and clean, and then clean some more.

That dust you see isn't on my camera lens, it's floating in the air.

Note the dust mask Matt's wearing - Safety First.

The pictures I've left out are the ones showing the cracks and holes in the walls that have to be patched.

And sometimes when we're really lucky, we get to fill in the cut outs in the trim where the old HVAC vents were.

Isn't that pretty? 

The folder taped to the floor in front of it is covering the brand spanking new HVAC vent.

The good news is that we've finished Living Rooms 1 and 2 but the contents of the Dining Room are currently residing in both so I cannot show you any finished pictures.  Maybe someday this house will be put back together into something that sort of resembles a home.

"I'm gonna write you a letter."

I stole that title from Mike's parents.  When they are not pleased with each other, this phrase always makes an appearance and I love it. 
Completely unrelated to that story is this:
Today we received this letter in the mail -

Very official looking and scary.

This lovely letter is from Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Department of Codes Administration.  Great.

We have been "notified as owner" of our house of the following violations:

Section 16.24.330 - Accessory Structures: All accesory structures, including detached garages, fences, and walls, shall be maintained structurally sound, in good repair, and in an otherwise safe, clean and sanitary condition.

Section  16.24.330 - Open Storage: It is inlawful to store in the open area of tha yard or structure, trash, rubbish, furniture, appliances, automobile parts, including dead trees, weeds and garbage, etc (Junk, Trash, and Debris).

That is a verbatim quote of the code law from the letter. 

And what exactly are they talking about, you ask.  It's this:

Our delapidated carport.

Yes, it looks gross.  Yes, there is a fridge, a window, a shopping cart, a trash can full of metal, and about 1000 square feet of tile in there.  I know, Metro, I know, I HATE it too.

But for the love of the Golden Cow, today is the first nice day we've had since we moved into this place.  I cannot believe that you honestly think we should have been out there in 12 degree weather and 6 inches of snow taking care of this.  Nevermind the fact that a whole lot of that "junk, trash, and debris" was left by the previous owners.  Thanks.

Here's another doozy of a quote for you:

Therefore, you are to have the violation or cause removed and/or corrected before April 26, 2010.
Removed? Right, b/c we have about $8k lying around just burning a hole in our bank accounts for this very purpose. 
And the deadline...seriously?  Sorry but we're a little busy trying to work on the inside of the house Where We LIVE.  And plan a wedding.  And work full time jobs. 

So Thank You Metro Nashville Codes Department.  I'm gonna write you a letter.

And another one down.

Not that I didn't love our house before but now when I walk in the front door, I LOVE our house.
The foyer was this:

More yellow walls and trim that showed it's age, including hinge and door cut outs. Since this was a quad at one time, the foyer had a door on each side to separate the 2 apartments on each side of the house.

Matt turned it into this:

It's good to be home.

One Down...

Ok, so I'm serious this time...
We have one room done. D.O.N.E. DONE.
And we're so happy that there is a room in this house finally that isn't yellow.
Some before, during, and after pictures for your viewing pleasure

Before:
Please appreciate the untiled tub and subfloor covered in beautiful pink shag rugs, plus the cloudy mirrored medicine cabinet, and what looks like a light fixture that should be an old gas station bathroom.

During:
We were so happy to have a room a color other than yellow we left it primed for a whole week before painting it a color.
Please note the missing medicine cabinet, that is a different light fixture (I know you can't tell) and the beautiful tile work now in place.

And finally, the after shots:
New light fixture, new mirror, new wall color, freshly painted ceiling and trim, new towel ring, tp holder, shower rod and curtain, freshly painted details like door knobs and heat/air vent...

And Matt's favorite part, finally, there is a door in this house that locks:

Snow Pics

Now that it's 60 degrees outside and I can finally appreciate the pictures of our house in the snow, I'll share them.  Before I was too busy cursing and shoveling/sweeping the driveway...thankfully, we got some use out of some of the crap that last owners left behind...
I mean really, how many people down here own a good snow shovel - we do now.
Enjoy -

A photographer, I am not.  ....maybe someday I'll grow some talent until then, you just have to suffer through my lack of skill.  Night time pictures never turn out as great as I think they should.