Week by Week Progress

Today we have cabinets! Happy Birthday to ME!

Ok, backtrack to week-by-week progress...
I have to admit, before we started this project I estimated it would take 4 weeks. I expected to sign the documents at the closing table on a Friday, celebrate all weekend and start demo the following Monday. That didn't happen. Well, the celebration did happen, just not the prompt demolition.

We closed on the house and it was a full month before we got all the estimates and contract finalized.  Based on our requests, the contractor gave me a 9 week timeline. NINE!  Well.....somebody was a little off in her estimate.

We are currently on week 7 of the 9 week timeline and our contractor has done a great job to keep us on schedule. We have had very few unexpected issues, and for that I am thankful!

I am also EXTREMELY thankful for my parents who have allowed myself, our three boys and two dogs to live with them during the renovation. They agreed to four weeks but haven't kicked us out yet. We have taken over their home with NOISE & toys, many more mouths to feed and they haven't complained (to our face) once. Thank you Nona & Gpa! 

H1 has even helped with redecorating Nona's shelf.

This shelf holds all the toys he doesn't want his little brothers to reach. 

Eric's company has generously provided him a hotel room during the renovation, so none of us have to live in the reno dust and eat PB&J for nine weeks straight. 

When we come to visit Eric, we join him in the hotel. It is a little crowed with the queen bed, pull-out sofa and two pack-n-plays but we make it work. H1 thinks pull-out sofas are the greatest invention ever and he wants one for his birthday! H3 is at the door trying to escape. He has been successful once- mom fail!

Here the Week-by-Week details for the renovation nerds like me. 

WEEK ONE:

Demo of living/dining room wall, kitchen demo, doggie door install, carpet installation in bedrooms, back/side yard fence for dog run

want a 1976 double oven anyone? 

Window over what was the kitchen sink

 What was the wall separating the dining room and kitchen

 Dog door installed

Fingers crossed our dog will use this ramp and door. If not the kids will love it. 

 Dog run

Week Two: 

rough plumbing, reinforce joists, permit/engineering, add support jacks under foyer, replace rotted wood in bathroom

This is the week where I felt like we were taking handfuls of money and throwing it in the crawl space, never to be seen again. The contractor called it "reinforcing the joists" and I understand it is very important to be sure the house doesn't cave in when we take out all the load bearing walls, but really not much fun. 

Week Three:

add mudroom wall & door, foyer brick, bathroom tile floor, electrical phase1, install new potties

Week Four:

Structural Components: footers, temporary walls, steel beam manufacturing, two LVL manufacturing, beam installment.

Here she is: 30 foot long, 1500 pound steel beam

They had to make an opening in the garage wall to get the beam in the house

 I'm told a 30ft steel beam is not common in a residential setting. Getting this big girl up and in place was quite an undertaking. 

Footings going down to crawl space

 Steel beam flanked by two LVL (laminated veneer lumber)

Beam wrapped in wood that will be stained and remain exposed

Week Five:

framing for new kitchen window, subfloor removal and installation

In these photos, you can see how much bigger the new window will be. We are not going to have any upper cabinets on this window wall. The window will be a three lite casement window. The middle window will be fixed and the two outer window will crank open and have screens. This larger window will allow SO much natural light. Doing dishes will be a pleasure with a wide open view of the backyard.

Week Six:

complete trim on new mud room wall, new sheetrock, install sound proof barrier in plumbing bays, painting, white wash fireplace

With the open concept we had to reroute some of the plumbing. We were concerned we would hear the upstairs toilet flush while sitting in the kitchen, so just before the new sheetrock was installed we asked to add extra insulation around the pipes. Our contractor said most of the big box stores don't keep soundproofing materials in stock so he went to Guitar Center for the soundproofing materials. Eric (being a music-man, guitar lover, all around rockstar) thought that was pretty cool, but was bummed I didn't tell him sooner because he had a Guitar Center coupon. Ha! Week six, slightly over budget. 

Now that most of the "heavy lifting" is done, we are trying to get involved with cleaning this place up. I white-washed the fireplace stone and Eric started painting guest bathroom: white walls, gray trim: Before/during

If you are looking at this fireplace and thinking something about it looks familiar, you may of recently been to the zoo...or Africa. My fireplace looks like a giraffe. Well, it did look like a giraffe. Now it looks like an albino giraffe.

Before: this stone had lots of yellowish, brown and orange tones that didn't go with my color scheme.  

During: The top half is white-washed and the bottom half is not. Can you see the subtle difference? I just wanted to tone down the heavy bold colors.

After: it is not a drastic transformation but now it is a little softer feeling. Just took a dab of white latex paint mixed with lots of water and brush on until absorbed. Painting is therapy for me.

I plan to hang the same wood planks and Magnolia wreath over this fireplace like we did in our previous home. This will help cover some of the giraffes spots-ha!

Painted walls!!

The crew hard at work while I take pictures and cheer them on. They have done quality work and have been great in communicating with me. If you are looking to remodel in the Chattanooga, TN area, call Lewis Construction & Waterproofiing! I HIGHLY recommend Rod and his team!

White cabinets will be along this left wall.

Week Seven:

hardwood floors, carpet runner on stairs, LVT (luxury vinyl tile) installed

 Hardwood & underlayment being installed

Holy Moly I thought this day would never come: our house looks a little more like a home and not a construction site!

Upstairs hallway

Chair rail wall trim removed and prepped for board & batten

Foyer: they removed the trim around the opening and replaced with 1x6 that will be stained. Top trim installed for board & batten.

THIS WINDOW! Have I told you about this window? It is one of my favorite parts of the original home. This beauty is SIXTEEN feet wide and 7 feet tall. SWEET 16! Now that the "formal living room" walls are removed, the natural light front this window spreads throughout the main floor. Our dining room table will be centered in front of this window!

New trim around openings in foyer

Lighting is poor in these next few photos but the hardwoods are all in and stained! 

This photo shows the true stain color- brownish with a hint of gray. 

Week Eight:

kitchen cabinets installed, move furniture from storage to the house, stain header and cased openings in foyer, foyer Board & Batten Trim

Week Nine:

electrical phase2, countertops, backsplash, install appliances, install mudroom desk using re-purposed kitchen cabinets

(MORE PHOTOS TO COME AS WE PROGRESS)

Shopping & Selections

Warning: the next few posts are for my kindred spirits who really really LOVE remodeling. If you are a wanna-be designer and contractor like me, keep reading. If you sometimes wander around Lowes aimlessly while dreaming of the projects you could tackle if you just had a little more time and money, keep reading.
If you only want to see the fun before and after photos, these next few posts will be boring for you BUT stay tuned during the upcoming weeks for the final reveal. We are getting really close to completion and move in day!

Here are the selections we...well, I have made and Eric has approved with a trusting "sure, if you think it will look good".  Eric has been awesome in allowing me to make selections for the house without any major objections. Thanks E!

Most people have something that really excites them. Some ladies enjoy designer purses, a collections of shoes, outfits that coordinate head to toe, fancy jewelry, addictive TV shows, trips to the hair or nail salon. That is great. To each her own. But, none of those things get me excited.

I lay in bed at night and think about the items listed in this post- the selections that go into a home. Instead of new shoes, I think about being barefoot on beautiful hardwoods and soft plush carpet. Instead of jewelry on my neck, I'd rather jewelry on my cabinets aka knobs and pulls.
Neither Eric nor I have the love language of " recieving gifts" so this renovation is my birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas, Valentines Day presents all in one for years and years... and years to come. (and hopefully a wise real estate investment) Once again, thanks E!

OH! I forgot to add this photo to the first post with all the before photos. Have you ever seen a hose in an interior coat closet??? So strange!!!! This will be removed ASAP before the kids decide to make an indoor sprinkler park!

Our contractor has been great and allowed me to do much of the sub-contracting myself. I really enjoy the hunt of finding exactly what I want and the best value.
Here are our selections:

Countertops: Silestone Quartz "Grey Expo" color (from Scenic City Granite in Chattanooga)
Are you familiar with quartz counters? I have not ever lived in a home that has quartz but from what I have researched, they are the best when it comes to being maintenance free, impact resistant and stain resistant.
If I remember correctly from science class, Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO₂. (thanks wikipedia) 
 Some other quartz fun facts: Made from one of the hardest minerals on earth, quartz countertops are arguably the most durable option for kitchens. But unlike natural-stone slabs, which are mined, these slabs are engineered in a factory. Their primary ingredient is ground quartz (about 94 percent), combined with polyester resins to bind it and pigments to give it color. For some designs, small amounts of recycled glass or metallic flecks are added to the mix. The resins also help make these counters stain and scratch resistant—and nonporous, so they never need to be sealed. Compare that with granite, the reigning king of high-end countertops, which typically requires a new protective top coat at least once a year. (I warned you this might get boring haha)

Cabinets White Nottingham Shaker Door Style- this photo is from Hitson Cabinets showroom showing the same door style we selected. Simple Shaker with clean lines.

When making cabinet selections I had to be careful. You can easily double your cabinet cost by adding all the extras to trick out your cabinets with soft close doors and drawers, trim & moldings, caddies, pull outs and Roll Out....Roll Out reminds me of an old favorite Ludacris song. Ah, now I'm going to be singing that the rest of the day, and you are too...Get out my business, my BIZNASS! 

Kitchen hardware: Here is the JEWELRY! I selected pulls in the black matte finish on all drawers and doors. Size: second from the bottom.

Faucet & Sinks:Main Kitchen Sink & Faucet: Delta Essa in black, Kohler Vault double basin; 

Bar Faucet & Sink: Kraus Modern Crespo, Emodern Decor bar sink 23"x8.5

Backsplash: White Subway tile 4x16 off set pattern, white grout. Shaw Elegance (A&H Flooring, Chattanooga TN)

Appliances: GE 5-burner gas cooktop and GE Double Wall Oven (on super sale at Lowes- thanks Ware's!), Beverage Fridge Magic Chef 16-bottle 77-Can dual zone temp (Home Depot)

Flooring:
Mudroom, Half Bath & Laundry Room Flooring:
Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) Barnwood (from Hanks Carpet, Dalton GA)
This flooring is practically waterproof so it will be great for kids and dogs in this messy drop zone.

Hardwoods in kitchen, dining, living, hallways: Minwax Classic Gray & Jacobean 50/50 mix

Foyer Brick Shaw San Francisco Pacific Heights 4x8 laid on a herringbone pattern (A&H flooring, Chattanooga TN)

Carpet in bedrooms & closets: frieze flecked (Hanks Carpet, Dalton GA)

Carpet warehouse = boys can run free without breaking anything! And, they got a free ride on the golf cart!

Runner on stairs:

Tile for all full bathroom floors: Charcoal gray with dark grout (The Tile Shop) 

Paint: we will paint most of the house ourself...in time, but the renovated area will be done before we move in.

Main living areas, Wall Paint Color: Martha Stewart Mushroom. 

It is a dark color, but with all the natural light from the windows and white cabinets, it should be a good balance. Also, we took out most of the walls during demo so there really won't be all that much surface area to be painted. 

(Im not sure why there is a sound symbol on my paint swatch ?!?  )

We used this same paint color on the short walls in our Collierville living room and loved it. 

Wallpaper: Its back! You might associate wall paper with the 1980's and early 1990's but it is back on trend with lots of fun patterns and colors to choose from. Because the kitchen will have really clean lines and soft colors, I wanted to add a pop of color and pattern behind the open shelves, over the bar. Because it is in such a small space, we can easily change it out if we ever want to shake things up. (from Decorating Mart, Marietta GA)

(Look at that sweet chubby hand in the upper left corner- my little design helpers)

The wallpaper will go in this open area in the kitchen. 

We will add two stained open shelves with iron brackets over the wall paper.

Open shelves over bar sink will be similar to these in our Collierville house.

With these iron brackets (from Etsy Cascade Iron Co)

Lighting:

dining room will have 2 chandeliers over our table. I love the simplicity of these black 6 light fixtures. (Lowes Portfolio)

library lamps: 3 will be over kitchen sink and 3 over bar area (Amazon: Ecopower Vintage Style Simplicity Orb)

 Potties: all new potties, American Standard
The boys got really excited when they saw the side of the new potty box. They advertise that they are "engineered to prevent clogs, flushes a bucket of golf balls in a single flush". Im sorry but if you need a potty that can flush all that, you need to see a doctor because something isn't right!
H1 said MOM can we do that????!!!!! No, son! Please keep the golf balls in the garage!

the end.