upstairs back room – nicole.groudasfamily.com

Floors!

Ryan and Dad have had a busy couple days already and the upstairs floors are looking amazing (from pictures anyway, they probably look even better in person). Dad is home and Ryan is still doing poly as I type evidently but the first coat they did was Shellac so this is already the second coat, last coat to go on tomorrow. Hopefully it dries fast.

Stairs sanded and scraped by hand — Ryan’s project while Dad did the sanding of the hallway and bedrooms upstairs

Poly on the stairs – i love the colors – old wood!

Late night for Ryan, hopefully he can sleep in a bit tomorrow since he has to wait for the poly to dry anyhow. This is a big ticket item getting checked off the list – the list is getting pretty small now thank goodness!

Oh and Ryan sent me a picture of the Diningroom – including the built-ins put back together and the new section of wainscoting/shadow boxes!

Finished ceiling with crown is impressive!

New wainscoting – just one small section of wall to paint there by the kitchen (I think that’s done by now actually).

Everything is really coming along, I wish I could be there to help but this weekend was my nephew’s birthday party and I can’t be by the poly fumes anyhow 🙁

Wrapping Things Up

This weekend was the last weekend I plan to go out to the house to work! We’re busy the month of may and with the baby coming I won’t travel out there in June. Ryan and Dad will go out next weekend to do the floors upstairs and Ryan will stay and finish a few more things. We have our contractor back working on some things this week and next if we need him. The house goes on the market on Monday next week!

Let’s try to recap the weekend a bit.

Friday night Ryan got the drawers installed in the built-ins so the tv-room built-ins are finally completely finished!

Since the doors are all painted I put the hardware back on all the downstairs doors and they look great. Ryan hung the tv-room closet door too that I had finished painting last week.

Saturday we got an early start, the first thing I did was clean and mom the diningroom which was scuffed up from the painter, then I covered the floor with paper and a new drop cloth knowing we’d have people working in there still but wanting to minimize damage. Our contractor came out (he’s back from Arizona!) and he did the crown molding in the ceiling over the weekend – it looks awesome!

Diningroom ceiling crown is done (just needs paint!)

His wife is actually going to do the painting for us, she painted the front closet on Sunday. She’s also going to do some cleaning downstairs for us this week to get the house show ready (wash windows and such).

I got the built-ins stripped (just the front face) and sanded. Ryan put up the last bit of trim on the built-ins and they are ready for caulking/prime/paint!

My project at home here this week is to strip/prime/paint the drawers and doors so ryan can put those back in next weekend.

Maribeth and Dan worked on outside projects mostly for us. First Maribeth painted the outside of the little upstairs porch!

Then she and Dan scraped the old paint off the back porch and got it primed (the 2 sides). Our contractor will do the siding on the back side of the porch this week and get the final paint on everything back there I think.

A big project Ryan did with Dan’s help is getting the ceiling of the front porches done (the wrap around and upstairs porch). They finished putting up the last pieces of paneling, then quarter round around the edges, then lattice, flat trim on the seams.

Once that was done I could put up the ceiling fan on the porch!

Speaking of fans, I got the back bedroom fan and closet light installed. I also go the master bedroom fan installed and fixed the master bedroom closet light wiring which was flaky/not working for some reason.

Ryan also got the hand rail on the front staircase installed (the second one) and finished the small railing by the side door which Maribeth then painted. The one last back railing he got the hand rail and bottom piece installed, but has to do some sort of railing still, it won’t match exactly but it never did anyhow before.

Maribeth got the final coat of yellow paint on the little porch off the master bedroom.

Little porch all cleaned up and finished

With a ton of help Ryan got the vanity upstairs, he had to cut the side of the vanity that sticks out further than the granite in order to fit it properly in the bathroom – (that was unplanned work) but it came out great!

Vanity installed! And he could put in the last piece of baseboard on the right there.

The bathroom list remaining is just : Paint touch ups (Last baseboard), hanging mirrors and bars, plumbing and glass. Then it’s done! That was definitely fast for a bathroom renovation!

Ryan and Dan also moved the washer and dryer upstairs on Saturday and I tested them out. They are awesome! Not too loud at all like everyone said, I ran a full heavy load through and you could barely hear it during the spin cycle. The dryer noise was actually louder (and not too loud). Man I wish we had done this particular project sooner so I could have enjoyed it!

Finally one of the projects that was just waiting to be done.. the banister! Everyone pitched in Saturday night and got the banister sanded. Maribeth and I stained it and she waxed it on sunday as I was packing to leave. It looks awesome! We’ll have it covered with plastic next weekend while the floors will be done so it won’t need to be dusted and it will certainly be a showcase feature!

What an exhausting weekend, everyone worked so hard and we were all sore after but so much is done. My list of what’s left to do finally fits on a single page! That’s amazing! After this week I can focus on getting ready for the pig roast and then baby coming. As we move more and more stuff out of the house (mostly attic and basement/tools left to move) we’ll have to find a place to store more stuff (another storage unit!?) like tools but it’s a good problem to have as it means we’re getting close to not paying a mortgage on a house we don’t live in (after 8 months already of doing so!), i’m hoping we can keep it to 1 year total.

Goodbye Nashua – hopefully I’ll see the house finished when we sell it if baby arrival works out well with that! (She has to come a couple weeks before we close in order for me to deal with the drive out!). I think that’s very likely.

April Staycation… in NH

Well this was our last stay-cation at our NH house where we take a week off of work to work on the house, definitely not as much fun when it’s finishing a house that will get sold 🙁 Add to that my back has been killing me (sciatic) with this part of pregnancy (so much fun) but we got a ton done and we are on track to get the house listed in mid-may i think. Let’s see if I can recap the vacation a bit…

We drove out Friday night (Alex’s birthday). Saturday Ryan worked on getting trim installed, the painter was starting on monday so he wanted all but the master bathroom trim done if possible. He got the back bedroom windows and doors trimmed, then the window by the washer/dryer…

Baseboards done … the old baseboard tops had to be stripped of paint and cleaned up a bit then the caps put on, plus a small piece had to be pieced in.

When i had time I focused on electrical. These lights were done the last weekend we were out but I didn’t take pics so here are the lights i installed in the stairway and top of stairs.

I got the back bedroom outlets all wired up at some point during the week (a naptime – there weren’t many naptimes). So master bedroom and bathroom are really the last outlets left.

Sunday Ryan worked on the master bedroom trim (baseboards again) and also patched up the floor where the radiator had done damage. The floors are officially ready to be refinished now (well when we have time!).

Over the weekend our neighbor finished spackling the bathroom and then sanded it on sunday so I could prime it and Mark could paint it Mon-Tue, we went with a light grey paint.

Monday started the master bathroom project in earnest, Ryan had to get the shower pan installed which took some work and included putting the drain in, then the foam floor insert (Kerdi system). Ryan’s dad came out to help Monday afternoon-Wednesday which was a huge help. The kerdi system involved putting down the underlayment then letting it dry so working on something else until they could tile again. It slowed down the project but hopefully is worth it.

The project they chose as extra was putting up most of the front porch (wrap-around) ceiling! They put upstrapping to nail the new ceiling to and then put up bead board panels. We’ll need to put up some trim on the seams and around the edges to make it look really finished but it’s a huge improvement and looks great. Over the 3 days they got all but 2 panels installed.

In the bathroom on Tuesday they got the floor to the shower done AND the floor to the whole bathroom tiled! All day on hands/knees as this is a large bathroom! Oh and Mark also painted the entire bathroom

Starting the floor tile, simple subway layout of 12×12 on the floor.

Unfortunately they needed to give the tile 24 hours to dry so the shower project had to wait until Wed night before starting. So that’s when they worked on the porch ceiling the most.

I got some lights in the master bathroom wired up so Ryan would have light in there at night if he tiled the shower. I also worked a little on the banister project I have planned. I’m sanding it lightly with 300 grit, cleaning it well, staining it dark so it hides any knicks then i’ll give it a wax. Here is a section I did with just stain, no wax yet…

It darkens a bit but really hides the old knicks well and looks awesome in person! This section only took about an hour so won’t take too long to do the rest!

The painter started on Monday with prepping (filling holes and sanding) the trim we had installed. Then he got to priming – he’s doing all the trim upstairs, some downstairs and all the doors we’ve had dipped. I actually drove the last 3 doors down to Worcester on Tuesday to be dipped and they’ll be brought back this week when I make another trip out!

Painter got the trim all primed in the back bedroom

Some great progress this week… Alex, Mark and I headed back late Wednesday night so I could clean the house and prep for the birthday party Thur and Fri. Ryan stayed through Thursday, tiling the shower!

The glass guys came and measured on Thursday once the shower was tiled and Ryan also met with the realtor … about 4 more weeks and we’ll be listing hopefully!

We have a few big projects left and lots of little things. We need to fit in finishing the floors, the painting is being handled so that’s not a concern. The bathroom has to be grouted – this weekend! And then the glass can be installed in the shower. We have to get the vanity upstairs and put in – that is crazy heavy and will be tough but hopefully soon.

Trim and Outlets

This past weekend we went out to work on the house but had Alex so that left Ryan doing most of the work and I got naptime and tvtime to work a bit on electrical. First Ryan started by attempting to install the master bathroom door however it doesn’t fit in the old frame without being cut down so he put that on hold with a partial install. Once you clean up the old door frames and screw them together they get a bit tighter and the door needs probably 1/4″ taken off the hinge side which is fine, just annoying to bring down to the basement and needs 2 people to do well.

So he moved to trim while Alex and I went shopping at various lumber yards to buy what is hopefully the last bit of trim we need to buy. We bought the rest of the window apron and baseboard cap trim in Brookline then over to Hudson to get the rest of the chair rail and shadow box trim (hopefully). Ryan got the master bedroom windows finished up (just aprons really were left), then got the back bedroom windows trimmed out except for the tops – we leave the tops to last so we know which pieces of trim to cut/use as we are limited and need to use the longer pieces for doors first.

Baseboard cap in the hallway – top of stairs

He also installed the last door in the back hallway once we realized we couldn’t bring the washer/dryer up that way anyhow due to the basement door being too small, so they will come up the front steps – no reason not to install the door and get it trimmed out too.

Last door installed and trimmed out in hallway (minus the top of course)

Ryan put the trim up around the washer/dryer stand and I caulked and water proofed it with redguard. It’s ready to be sanded (front) and painted then the washer and dryer can be installed!

washer/dryer stand waterproofed and trimmed out

Note the baseboard is capped all around the stand too – so the upstairs hallway is pretty much done trim wise. The top of the stairs section still has to be done – we need to install our bedroom door and do the chair rail and boxes there so more work.

Aprons installed on the last 3 master bedroom windows!

During my breaks I got the outlets in the upstairs hallway wired up/installed and hooked up the washer/dryer outlets to the panel box so the upstairs hallway is all wired. The only electrical left is to wire up the master bathroom and install the rest of the outlets in the 2 bedrooms, then install the light at the top of the stairs. Getting so close!

It was a pretty productive weekend, we stayed until noon on Sunday and then packed up the truck and headed home. Ryan helped my dad on their new house for a bit and man were we all wiped out that night!

This weekend we are home and celebrating my nieces’ first birthday! Then next weekend it’s back out to work on more trim, hopefully finish up electrical and work on cleaning up the diningroom built-ins if we can!

Quick/Short Day

We went out to work on the house this weekend but had a holiday party to attend Saturday night so it was a short day of progress. Still progress none-the-less.

Ryan started with installing the door for the back bedroom. We’re using new doors for the 3 doors across the back hallway and the installation of a new door is so much easier than an old one 🙂

I got the smoke detector in the back bedroom installed. I need to order more smoke detectors and get them all wired up but it was nice to check one off the list 😉

smoke detector (covered from dust since it’s not even hooked up to the panel yet)

Ryan worked on trim in the upstairs hallway, plinth blocks, the sides pieces (need rosettes stripped to finish), and getting the wood installed around the arch so it could get trim too. This moves along pretty nicely, faster if we had rosettes done!

Hard to get a picture of the arch but here’s one side (both sides are done).

Our neighbor got the first coat of tape/spackle on the back stairway last weekend, this weekend he finished sheetrocking the bottom area of the stairway. I got the 3-way switch/light wired/hooked up so the stairs have proper lighting now!

We have a lot left to do but a little here and there was good to get done. I think it’s fun working on the back room because it has less trim to do so it’s so much closer to finished 🙂 Looking forward to next weekend!

Happy New Year

The new year started out about the same as last year – a weekend trip up to the NH house to work 🙂 We had Alex with us so I mostly just spent time with her and Ryan worked. He got the final coat of spackle on the upstairs hallway (above the staircase).

During ‘naptime’ – otherwise known as Alex screaming or talking in her bedroom time – we got the first coat of paint on the 2 bedrooms (the back room and master). We are playing around with color, we bought white paint and we’re tinting it with the leftover orange from the gym to give it just a bit of yellow. The back bedroom came out perfect, the master I think had a bit more orange so we’ll lighten the bucket a bit more before second coat time and then save the leftover for touchups.

At this point I think we’re still planning on finishing up 2 coats of paint before we install trim so we only have to cut in on the trim painting. The ceilings are done so we can install the heat vents and lights/smoke detectors when we have time. One big thing holding us up right now is getting rosettes stripped. We can’t install all the trim until we have rosettes and they need to be de-nailed and stripped – ugg.

We’re hoping to work the next 2 weekends – maybe even get a kid free weekend in there. We’ll see. Lot’s to do and goes faster if both of us can work!

Another work weekend

This weekend we brought along the peanut and she was a big help 🙂

I found her like this when I came downstairs from doing something – she’s ‘making lists’ and has her tools ready.

Don’t ever change alex – you are too perfect 🙂

We had a busy day Saturday. Alex and I ran to home depot while Ryan started with some spackling. We have this tough to reach spot at the top of the staircase (ceiling and walls) that is taped but not finished. Ryan got a good coat on that area.

We also managed to get 2 coats of paint on all of the ceilings that were ready – that’s the 2 bedrooms and the hallway (minus the stairway area). Next time we’re out I can do smoke detectors and lights now!

Our neighbor was over to work and he sheetrocked (which included some 2×4 installation) the attic stairwell – we are only doing the first section to the 2x4s they have up because the attic is unfinished but this way when you open the hopefully soon to be installed attic door, it opens to a seemingly finished stairwell. We will probably leave this untaped since the rest is unfinished but we’ll see.

Attic stairwell – calling it done for now

All in all we had a productive weekend when you consider 6 hours of that is driving 🙁 Sunday we ran errands then drove home after packing up. Attempted to drive during naptime (no nap). All well.

Now it’s time to enjoy Christmas and family. In the new year we’ll return to the home building 🙂

Weekend away

Ryan and I had our first kid free weekend since Alex was born! And that weekend involved driving to NH to work on the house – and Ryan’s back is still out. It was definitely worth it though, although the 5 hour drive back was horrible (it’s normally under 3 hours).

We drove out Friday night after dropping Alex over at the grandparents for a sleepover. Saturday we slept in until 9am – oh so glorious! Then it was time to start painting (for me, Ryan’s back was horrible). We had our neighbor paint the last 3 windows (first coat inside) and I started by finishing up the bit of red molding around the porch (of course it rained!) – but the red is all protected so not biggie.

Friday, our neighbor got the yellow by the stairs and all around the skirting sanded and painted final coat! He also finished painting the last railing so we just have the 1/2 railing and the back railing we plan to rebuild still left!

Next I started on the little porch off the master bedroom, I got the last tiny bit stripped, everything sanded, cleaned up and then primed – priming until after dark! Then I went in and did a coat of paint on one window that was lagging behind (it needed a coat of outside paint). Then I called it a night!

Sunday Ryan was feeling a bit better so after breakfast and a trip to home depot we both worked on painting the little porch. He painted anything he could reach without bending at all – which was the red and then the posts in yellow. I started by caulking and filling any holes that had been missed, then painted the green siding, then the rest of the red and yellow that Ryan couldn’t finish. We were done by 1:30, then time to clean up and pack up and hit the road (and hit the closed i-90 resulting in a 5 hour drive).

And the porch is painted – the green is just primer but the yellow is first coat of paint!

Red! The ceiling will be a new drop ceiling, so that can be ignored.

Another view. The shiplap that’s white will probably be green, undecided still.

Good progress for a weekend where Ryan’s back is out. We decided we’re going to have to have our contractor finish the back porch- no way we will be able to before it’s winter with Ryan’s back in bad shape. So now we can switch to inside projects and if we get a nice day by chance we can do the final coat of paint on that porch but no worries, it’s protected for winter!

Sheetrock

Been a while since I updated! We were just very busy with working on the house, moving, vacation, moving some more. The week after insulation we spent prepping for sheetrock. The first day of our vacation I spent the first 1/2 the day finishing the electrical (wiring smoke detectors, washer, dryer, last light). All the sheetrock prep we hired my neighbor to do, just filling in corners with nailers, fixing fir strips, removing nails etc. So there wasn’t much else for us to do except the last bit of wiring.

While on vacation my neighbor and our contractor hung the sheetrock in the master bedroom, the hallway and the back bedroom. It took 3 days to hang everything (and we lost a day because the sheetrock didn’t show up the first day even though I was guaranteed it would be there by 8am!) Not a good way to start our vacation 🙁

Our neighbor spent the rest of the week/weekend taping and when we got back on Saturday he had just finished taping all the seams. He had 3 days the next week to spackle and he got the hallway and master bedroom all done. The back bedroom is the only thing left (needs a bit of spackle) and it will be ready for sanding and painting!

The list of what to do next is long. We need to focus on finishing up the bit of painting we have left outside, finish the porch/deck (stain the deck!) before the weather gets cold. The rooms need to be sanded and primed, then trim installed, doors installed. Lots of painting etc.

We’re going to get really good at the 3 hour drive on weekends to work on the house (out friday night, back sunday). That means with someone watching Alex we’ll get 1 person working all day saturday (2 during naptime) and sunday morning. We’ll probably drive sunday naptime so we get a little time to relax on sundays before it’s back to work. We’ll see how this goes in September, by October we may be leaving Alex with the grandparents to take a weekend out alone and really make good progress. Until we start to go out, it’s hard to say how long this will take us but our goal is by spring to be done! Until then we’re living in 2 places 🙂

Insulation

Our last chunk of insulation is done! If you don’t count the windows – we’ll have to insulate around the windows ourselves with cans because their sprayer was broken but we weren’t charged for it so no biggie. Either way – we are very close to ready for sheetrock now!

Coming up the attic stairs we had them cut it back for more head room

under the master bathroom windows (just the small space) had to be done

Hopefully this weekend we can finish prepping the hallway and get the windows sprayed – then we really are ready for sheetrock!