Progress: The guts

I didn’t realize my last update on the remodel was more than a month ago. Lots has happened since then, and we are almost to the fun stuff! Here’s a recap of what was done in May and early June with a few before and after shots:

Kitchen before

Kitchen progress—the wall on the right was bumped out six feet, and we added new windows that matched the originals in size.

All the plumbing was updated. I can’t tell you how much peace of mind this gives me. No more old pipes that could leach chemicals into our water!

Master bedroom before

Master progress—there’s a master bath behind the wall on the right.

All the electrical was updated. This was no small task, and we shelled out a TON of money to have it done. But we had knob-and-tube most places and some pretty dangerous spots where new wires had been connected to old. I further complicated the rewiring by insisting that my original plaster walls and ceiling in the front room not be disturbed at all. Somehow the electricians fished wire everywhere it needed to go, and I can now confidently say the knob and tube is out of there.

Boys’ bedroom before

Boys’ room progress—the old chimney is now exposed.

Boys’ bedroom before

Boys’ room progress. The niche on the left will conceal part of the HVAC system, and the niche on the right will house a desk.

We have new HVAC. No more 95-degree nights in our upstairs bedrooms! I’m going to write a separate post about what we did with HVAC because it was tricky too.

Fixing up an old house is tricky.

    

Two tiny bathrooms upstairs were combined into one Jack-and-Jill bath.

Bathroom progress

We also have new insulation, sheetrock, and texture. We went with a very light, tight Santa-Fe texture on the walls and most ceilings because it’s practically flat and closely matches what we already had on the walls. But for the kitchen ceiling, I wanted a heavier texture to match the plaster ceilings we preserved in the front room. The sheetrock guy did such a good job and spent a decent amount of time with me, trying to figure out the best way to get the look. Drywall crews do not texture like they used to, so these guys had to use more tools and more mud, and they did a bang-up job.

On Friday, I’ll post a few of my favorite details outside because the guys have been busy there too. Within the next week, we are hoping to have the driveway and walkway poured, the floors prepped for tile, and stucco started outside. So much fun and so much left to do. •

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