It’s been a while since I updated so I’ll make a few individual posts to catch up.
I had to look back quite far to find where we had left off with the front porch. We had added it back before we had the metal roof put on.
July 2017 Progress
Once we had that on we basically left it and moved on to other projects. I covered the update when we installed the new front door in February. That was more for the inside hallway progress but it was partly porch work.
Then we started the dock project and we bought the trex for both the dock and the front porch in the spring. Ryan got the decking on but still no stairs. Once the dock was mostly finished though it was back to the front porch.
Steps – finally!!!
In July Ryan had 2 weeks between jobs so his main focus was in finishing the porch. Trim, trim and trim – always the longest part of the job. This is all AZEK so should last and never needs to be painted.
Finally finished!We love to sit out here when we get a chance
In September he finished up the porch. The final step was replacing the lights!
It’s been a quiet few months here … haha yea right! It’s been quiet on the house progress front only. We’ve had 2 birthdays (one party) for Alex and Evie. We bought a new piece of property (32 acres!) a short drive away and Ryan got a sawmill. The sawmill is related to the property 🙂 Ryan’s new hobby is everything wood. The property has some hard wood trees on it he hopes to saw down. He wants to build a barn to dry wood as well as store some of our larger tools and trailers over there.
Later on he hopes to build a woodshop into the new garage we will build so he can build furniture. He’s just planning for his early retirement at this point 🙂
In April we took a vacation week off an made some house progress. Ryan built the shelves for my built-ins and then he built the storage part of my new sewing table (happy birthday to me!)
Shelves – there are 14 total
The playroom was mostly done, I believe just the crown molding had to be finished up trim wise so he also finished that!
And I designed my new craft table for maximum storage and the proper height for cutting fabric (for me).
Sewing table base!
During this april break I got the trim in the playroom all sanded and primed.
Then Ryan got his new saw mill (new to him) and he’s gotten to play around with it a bit…
It’s over at Dad’s barn right now and I don’t think he minds at all
Another project was Ryan’s dad’s spring project – getting the back yard (lake side) all cleaned up, leveled out and seed planted. The grass came in wonderfully!
now it’s just a battle to keep the geese off of it!
And that catches us up to this past weekend. We had a very busy weekend – Ryan got the playroom floor all sanded down (it’s our last unfinished floor that’s been waiting for us to get to it). He got sanded and sanded and sanded while I sanded the shelves for the built-ins and got those primed.
14 shelves – all sanded, primed, sanded again
I used the sprayer on the shelves and they’ve been sanded after the priming but rain kept us from getting the first coat of paint on. Hopefully this week I’ll have some time to continue that project.
Finally Saturday night I got the first coat of poly on the playroom floor! Sunday I sanded it and got the second coat on – 1 more coat to go!
This is after the first coat
Final coat of poly will go on tonight – then next weekend (and any nights we can) we plan to get the painting finished in the playroom and have that room finished up for the next birthday party. Getting closer!
That’s our update – i’m sure it will be a month before I have another one (at least) 🙂
Both the office trim project (just installing – still have to paint) and the retaining walls project are done. Lots of good progress pics to show!
The office trim finished up installation on Sunday with the doorway caps and crown going up. The chair rail finished up Saturday. The trim looks amazing and now “just” needs all the paint prep, prime, painting. A little each night hopefully with a lot this coming weekend!
Crown around the built-ins really finish those off!
Door caps looks awesome
Chair rail is really show cases on the long wall!
Last week I finished painting the closet for the washer/dryer and we got that moved in Thursday night after all the electrical was done! I love having the washer/dryer in here and at a great height too!
And outside Mark finished up the caps on the retaining walls and installed our mailbox. It’s on a pivot so if a snow plow hits it it will just push out of the way instead of breaking/falling over.
Driveway entrance… Along with solar lights in the wall itself
Walls ready for a basement door
We seem to always have a big rush before xmas (last year it was the kitchen) – this year it’s the office. Hopefully we can stay motivated and get that room finished so I can move into it!!
The wood shed project was a kind of last minute decision – although it’s been talked about in theory for a couple years. It’s almost done – although we are waiting on the roof materials and there’s a bit more of the siding or soffit to do. Wood is going in, there’s some organization to it but I have not been involved so all I can do is show pics 🙂
wood shed
Vacation week (for Ryan) is over. There was a little more trim work done in the office which I’ll cover next time. Now it’s back to work for a short week then thanksgiving!
Ryan took his annual work on the house stay-cation. I couldn’t coordinate taking it with him fully because Evie has been home up until 2 weeks ago and with her just starting daycare I was finally able to start working more fully (more focused) just a week ago. I did take 2 days off (and gave up taking 2 days next week for thanksgiving as I had planned) and helped a little bit.
One of the main projects that has been going on is a new wood shed that Ryan and Mark have built. It’s not completely done but close (I think a little siding still to go on and waiting on roof materials). It looks awesome but I didn’t get a pic yet so I’ll do a post on that later. Today the guys are out cutting firewood to restock for the year.
The retaining wall project continues. Mark finished up the second wall. I think it’s pretty close to still in this state although we now have the blocks for the caps but he started a new project with the leftover block (plus some more purchased) and started retaining walls at the end of the driveway which are just about done with caps and all. Still some work to finish up the mail box installation but the walls look amazing!
This is from a wh ile ago but it’s the walls basically done except for caps. The end blocks have to be chiseled and installed still . This will be awesome next year when we put in the new door!
Here is one of the new walls (it was cold so I apologize for the inside the car pics 🙂 Mark said he has to snip the cap blocks still to finish but the main wall is done.
Here is the other wall – it was hard to get a picture of the whole thing (again lazy and cold) but I’ll get nice pics when they are fully done. Check out those cute solar lights Mark got too.
Moving inside…
Monday I got the washer dryer closet caulked and nails holes filled then I got a coat of wall paint on the ceiling/walls. Finally I finished up by priming the trim. I bought good Killz paint but it is oil based so it was very fumy (ugg) which I didn’t realize. I’m not sure I will use this in the rest of the room but maybe look for another good cover all primer (we have some bleed through in the upstairs trim I’m trying to avoid). I think Ryan mostly is using poplar now which shouldn’t bleed as much but still I’d rather not re-paint but use good primer.
Tuesday I got the second coat on the walls/ceilings so now I can finish up the electrical and then paint the trim.
Washer/Dryer closet – can’t wait to move them in here!!!!
Now for the main event… my built-ins and office trim work! Ryan has built the most beautiful built ins!!! I poly’d the counter tops he made and then Wednesday he built and installed the bookcase tops then started the chair rail and baseboards in the rest of the room!
Chair rail in one corner is done.
A view of the baseboard (which is done in the whole room) as well as 1 built-in … teaser 🙂
The other built-in … I love that we planned the electrical better this time (rather than in my master where I had to put extender boxes in for electrical)
A close up of those finished counter tops – matches the floor perfectly (since it is flooring)
Just picture how many shelves I can fit in those bottom cabinets and the book cases! Ryan won’t make the shelves or doors until the trim is all up in the room. Once the chair rail is finished it’s on to crown. This room is going to be the best looking room in the house I think and it’s all mine!!! I can’t wait to fill it up 🙂
The retaining wall project has been moving along quite fast! Mark has been spending lots of weekday time working on the walls and Ryan helped on Sunday as well.
Prep work completed here
First rows going in (these will be covered by dirt). Also drainage going in.
Starting to build up the one wall
Sunday’s progress!
The wall looks so great- I love the pattern! I think we’ve decided to wait on the door install till spring so we can order the correct height door we want/need (78″ instead of the standard 80″). It’s hard to get and wouldn’t come in until cold/snow has arrived. Safer to just wait till spring and get the walls done for now.
Mark picked up 2 more pallets of block today and I hear him out there on the tractor so I’m sure I’ll have more updates soon!
As I mentioned before Mark has been working on some outside projects around here while his tractor is here. The lake front looks amazing with all the clearing he did!
Hello fall 🙂
As you walk up the side of the house you can see the huge pile of dirt we have going…
This will be used for filling in behind retaining walls – and hopefully down by the lake if we get permit approval for that wall next year.
And the excavation by the house is coming along. This will be a big project – we have to build retaining walls on either side, a door for the basement (install that) and also insulate, put in drainage, some footings or something – I don’t know there’s a lot!
While we have the dirt Mark has been putting it up where we’ll split the driveway so it will run down by the side of the house here. Probably where we’ll build something for the boat some day.
This past weekend Ryan finished up the trim on the outside of the sliding doors so they are ready for winter. He also got the baseboard done around the built-in on the right side. Not bad for one day of work. Most weekends will be about 1 day each until his vacation in November when we hope to finish up the office I think (and also probably work on this basement door project).
Some great progress on the house this weekend. Ryan has been working on the built-ins in my office/sewing room (I’m so excited!). The base cabinet pieces are now done.
The bases were done last weekend
This one even has baseboard around it
And the right one – just needs baseboard.
Note the wires – we had to move the outlet that would have been down below/behind the cabinet. Luckily the wires are long enough that they can just be re-located up in the bookcases that will be on top – we can’t put the boxes in because they will go directly into the bookcase backs so for now – loose wires. (Electricity is off to this room of course).
And while ryan did that his dad worked on our back yard/lake front area with his tractor! It looks amazing. It’s even better today after 2 more days doing cleanup and raking it out.
This was Monday progress
Current progress
And separately Mark has also been starting the excavation that will allow us to put an entry to the basement on the side of the house. We planned on getting a back hoe but so far this has been working pretty well 🙂
First off Ryan got a lot more trim done in the ‘playroom’ – all except the crown molding is done – but we immediately filled the playroom with everything from the ‘office’ which is twice the size of it so I never got a picture and now you can’t see the wainscoting at all. I’ll do pics once we empty that room again to paint/finish it. The reason we were rushing was that the main goal was to use the playroom as office/playroom while the floors got finished in the real office during the end of Ryan’s paternity leave (now over).
Ryan with the help of his dad got the new floors installed in the office, front hallway and diningroom – that’s it for our flooring. The kitchen and livingroom will be tiled. We had planned to have enough wood for the kitchen too but it didn’t work out that way and tile will be easy enough (no long delays and needing to leave the house like we did for the wood floors).
Office floors installed
Hallway
Diningroom
This is all Cherry just like upstairs and we did a clear satin finish. The finish was tough because we had to get the kids (and ourselves) out of the house for a week so on Monday I moved the girls over to my parent’s house for the week. Ryan sanded the floors with some help from my dad on the drum sander. He had finished by about 4:30 pm so we decided to test out Evie taking a bottle for the first time and he took the girls to gymnastics and then to mom and dad’s for the night. I stayed and vacuumed and put down the first coat of poly. Evie took the bottle splendidly.
First coat – still wet
Tuesday night we swapped and Ryan did the sanding/vacuum/poly.
Wednesday Ryan was back to work so we decided to tackle the rooms together late at night using babysitters for the kids. Luckily we have awesome grandparents on both sides that helped out with piano lessons and the baby duties. Ryan and I got the floors sanded, vacuumed (twice) and poly’d and back by just after 9pm (basically 3 hour job). Evie did great with her bottles again (and no issues going back to nursing – yay!).
Office floor finished!
Hallway finished!
Diningroom finished
We moved back in kind of on Friday but then we were away for 1/2 of the weekend so we really moved back in late Saturday night. We’re keeping the floors empty for now although we are using them, just no furniture – giving it until next Saturday when our new diningroom table arrives before anything heavy goes on. The office will stay pretty empty so Ryan can work on trim in there and we can hopefully completely finish that room! Once that’s done we’ll empty the playroom again and finish that room (including poly the floor in there which is still waiting). We shouldnt’ have to move out for that at least as we can close that room off and open windows to air it out quickly.
Lots of house progress and now it’s getting toward summer and yard work. Ryan got a new mower and has started the process of seeding the lawn to make it look nice this year. I’m going to clean up the gardens next to the house and use them as a veggie garden this year (just a little bit – nothing major) – maybe next year we’ll actually put in our real gardens but for now it will be good to have a little something as our kids LOVE fresh veggies.
The latest big house project has been hiring a crew to put on a new metal roof (standing seam) and then we had some solar panels installed on the back dormer roof (the flat one).
New roof!!!
We’ve only had the solar on for a week and of course it was very rainy and cloudy last week but we’re generating electricity more than we use (which is great since this solar is only enough to cover approx 40% of our annual usage. So summer it covers us, in winter it won’t until we put more panels up in future.
Hard to see but there are the solar panels up on the dormer roof
And secondly last week (a month after we ordered it) our new fridge came! Technically Fridge and Freezer as they are separate units – like our old house! I didn’t want to wait until our kitchen renovation to buy them – I would rather use them now! They are installed and running great and I love finally having space in the fridge for everything!
dont’ mind the kitchen mess this was late when i finished installing it
I had to remove the cabinet that was above the old fridge so everything that was in that cabinet is now just sitting on the fridge. Luckily when we redo the kitchen we can customize our cabinets 🙂
