Where we strip
First, I would like to thank P's dad for coming out for 10 days to help with the house. It was above and beyond and he really helped us out. He's always there to help with what you need and we loved having him. Thanks L! We and The Hat will miss you.
At this part of the renovations, I feel like no matter how many man hours go into the house, it never looks like anything has been done. So even though it doesn't look that much different, here is what we have been up to.
1. New copper pipes: We have re-plumbed the entire house as well as added new gas lines. P went under the house and cut the old sewer line which is a dirty job for sure. I figure he gets to bless the new toilet first since he crawled under the house and dealt with the **it, literally! The waste line in our house was severely cracked which is why the previous tenants had horrible problems with things backing up. Unfortunately, while we are working on the plumbing, this means no running water or bathroom to use. Just ask P about his bucket! Also, if you ever come over when the house is finished, I would stay away from behind the water heater. Just sayin.'
2. Central heating and A/C: Before the house had just one big vent in the dining room with a furnace. Now, we have vents in each room and it will be so nice. We also decided to move the doors to make our mini-hallway so the floor furnace needed to move. Now, if we can just make sure the city will approve where we want to put the A/C unit. It isn't exactly the smallest eye sore. The AC is something we could have done down the road but P likes his AC and I will enjoy it as well come August!
3. Tankless water heater. This hasn't been installed yet but it has been purchased and it is on order from Home Depot. It will go outside on the same wall the previous heater was. This was where a disagreement popped up since I would rather have waited on this, since the other water heater worked fine for now, and purchased other items up front. Oh well! It's all about compromise right??
4. Electrical upgrade: We have installed a 200AMP box so that we can power all these new upgraded appliances.
5. Kitchen cabinets We have decided on our cabinet maker who will also make our new back door and a replacement window. Mission Millworks out of South Pasadena is very familiar to the craftsman/bungalow homes of this area and has worked on the Greene & Greene homes which are famous in Pasadena and the surrounding area. Larry Lee, the owner, is actually my Mom's cousin and a good friend of my Dad's. I am getting a great deal on custom cabinets and can't wait to design them and see them up!
6. Many trips and dollars spent at Home Depot - We took advantage of their contractor pricing since we were right at the minimum to get that discount. Of course we were running around to grab things we might need to get right over that hump and get $300 off our purchase. At this point, it would be great if Pasadena had a Home Depot all of their own.
7. Kitchen - After much "discussion", research and thinking, we purchased our kitchen appliances. We went with the GE Cafe series for gas range, hood vent, french-door counter depth fridge and dishwasher. I found a Viking range on a floor sale but I decided to go with the GE for now. The GE Cafe had good reviews, has the look I want but has lots of feature/function. The kitchen was a source of contention as you can imagine. It was a very difficult layout to get the right flow and look we wanted. We had to fit a lot into a small space (story of this house) and our priorities were different. P just needs a place for cold beer. I want to make sure the kitchen has the right flow for when I am using it and make it appealing to buyers down the road. Kitchens are always the most expensive room in the house and we are understanding why. Thanks P, you are the best!!!! I visited many kitchens on the street to see what I liked and didn't. The key for us will be creativity with the cabinetry. Well in addition to paying for it all!
8. Bathroom - Tile is something we both basically agree on. We want white subway tile in the bathroom with some accent in black. The tile will cover the walls around the tub/shower. It may also be used as the wainscoting on all of the walls but we are still up in the air between that and wood wainscoting. I think the tile will be easier to keep clean but I will let P decide. No trump card needed. For the floors, we are going to use 1" hexagon tiles floor with black accent. I am thinking shiny/polished white with a matte black. The black will be randomly placed in the floor rather than following a set pattern.
Storage is going to be a concern for us as a whole but being female, bathroom storage is important. I like having clean counters and everything hidden! Since we decided to go with a pedestal sink, which did keep me up one night, we will have to buy storage for the bathroom. I don't want it to look cluttered so we are thinking a large Restoration Hardware Cartwright medicine cabinet (inset), a matching cabinet over the toilet, a tall cabinet for towels (maybe with glass doors, and then something else to the right of the sink for general "stuff." I am most likely going with the RH because for once, it isn't overpriced in comparison to other brands and it also feels solid where some of the cheaper ones, seemed just that, cheap! I'd like to get the matching overhead cabinet but we shall see.
Just found this on P's camera and thought I'd share. Copley and laundry day!!
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