Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Updating "Home Renovation" To-Do List from 2008!

Long time readers may recall a post from early 2008 in which I listed all the things we needed to do in the house (titled "Long Term Home Renovation To-Do List" -- I don't know why I put "long term" since most were done within 5 months! Added after writing post -- now I understand why!).

Here is the updated version (I had to use approximate dates because most of my photos -- the best way to date the conclusion of the jobs -- are in the desktop, not the laptop that I have right now):

First, a quick review:
1) The Ground Level comprises: the garage, family room, 4th bedroom (home office), front door to back door hallway in which the laundry is located, and a small full bathroom.
2) The Second Level: living-room, dining-room, and kitchen.
3) The Third Level: master bedroom with small full bathroom, two bedrooms, hall bathroom.
4) The Partial Basement: one large "finished" room, the unfinished furnace and oil tank room, and another room where there's a sump pump and the electricity "control panel."

Ground Level Projects:
- Put vinyl floor in laundry area and paint wall (9/18/07)
- Paint* 4th bedroom/home office (10/2/07)
- Paint home office closet - NOT DONE!
- Paint pink wall to the left of entrance hallway 4/08 (my dad)
- Remove wall paper from wall by living-room stairs 4/08 (my dad)
- Replace the "Technicolor Dreamcoat Carpet" by laminate or other flooring - July 08
- Deal with wood paneling in family room (paint? remove?) Painted two weeks ago by K - 3/20/09 (concluded)
- Do something to the ugly fireplace - I looks BEAUTIFUL now with the painted wall! (photos coming soon)
- Get the remote controls to the garage door to work -- OOOPS! We have to take care of that before closing!
- Fix cracked concrete floor in the garage - NOT GOING TO BE DONE
- Renovate small bathroom (floors, etc) - NOPE :-(
- Install exhaust fan to bathroom (through outside wall) NOPE...

First Level Projects
- Remove ugly border from dining-room and paint May 08 (my dad)
- Replace light fixture in dining-room July 08 (because of MY insistence!)
- ? Patch huge hole left from air conditioner removal (after stucco wall is replaced) - YES! Done in May 08.
- Remove wall-paper from living-room back wall (after previous project) May 08 (my dad)
Redo whole kitchen - YES! Redone!:
- Replace all cabinets - All were sanded and refinished with clear stain!!!
- Replace all appliances (except for white new fridge we bought for previous house. The stove is really bad right now, I can't wait to have another one) July 08
- Put an island at the middle of the room - For future owner :-(
- Put new light fixtures Aug 08 (eating area) and March 09 (above sink) - both from IKEA, where else? (we live at IKEA, basically0
- Tile the floors July 08
- ? Granite countertops? - I must have been kidding, right? Formica countertops - July 08
- Install stove exhaust fan (through attic? how?) - NAH!!!
- Transform corner into a closet with built-in-pantry (a pantry like that is my wildest dream!! - Keep on dreaming, Lilian!) Aug. 08 (IVAR shelving from IKEA) and March 09 - sliding panels from IKEA.

Second Level Projects
- Paint (dark pink) closet in boy's bedroom (9/21/07)
- Paint (even darker pink) closet in master bedroom (9/25/07)
- Remove hideous carpet from hall bathroom (10/14/07)
- Replace rusted baseboard heat cover (required toilet removal) (10/18/07)
- Cover old flooring with (cheap) vinyl tiles (10/17/07)
- Paint boy's bedroom (1/24/08)
- Remove old carpet in boy's bedroom (1/24/08)
- Paint guest bedroom and closet (2/6/08)
- Remove old carpet in guest bedroom (2/7/08)
- Paint master bedroom (after removing ugly border)(2/27/08)
- Remove old carpet in master bathroom (2/28/08)
- [partly done] Install exhaust fans/vents in both upstairs bathrooms (through the attic) Only done in Master Bath, Nov. 08, I think
Re-do tiny master bathroom:
- Put ceramic tiles in shower stall (or buy a new plastic one - NO WAY!) July 08
- Add swinging door to shower - NEXT OWNER
- Ceramic tiles on floor - SURE! July 08
- Replace white tiles on wall July 08
Re-do "long" hall bathroom: NAH :-(
- Replace the ugliest bathroom vanity in history
- Put attractive light fixtures
- (Only a dream) Replace tub with a whirlpool tub
- Add sliding doors to tub (?)
- Re-tile floors, walls and shower/tub

Basement:
- Redo the whole thing, new flooring, walls, ceiling, etc. - SORRY, NOT POSSIBLE!
- Install water softener - NOPE
- Paint outside cement block walls with impermeable paint - Poor K is doing this as I type this 3/31/09

Outdoor Projects
- Replace, and level to correct angle the soil by the foundation of the house/ basement, so water doesn't seep into basement walls - Not really :-(
- Redo buckling stucco wall on the right side of house (living/dining room wall) and all stucco around the house (close to 10K) -- will include demolition and probable replacement of plywood walls. April 08 - It was less than 10K! I love me some nice Mexicans (roof too).
- Transform the back porch in a screened in porch - NAH...
- Add two or three skylights to back porch (too dark) - only a dream anyway
- In two year's time -- replace roof. HA!!!! See here for the reason why it was replaced in Aug. 08.

* Painting rooms in our book involves: painting the window, door frames, and baseboard (including heater) "pure white," painting the ceiling (white), painting the walls and the closet, and replacing all the black outlets and light switch with white, sleek ones.

As I wrote back in September, we have come a long way! But, lemme tell ya, I was THRILLED to see that I didn't get to cross everything in the list above. We did a lot, but not everything, and that's a great consolation to me. And, you know, we're addicted to this, we LOVE renovating and we'll probably do it again! We're actually looking forward to it now. We're incorrigible, that's what, or, we just enjoy it, that's all.

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