GGville

While Mark and I are home toiling away on the house, the girls are happily ensconced in GGville.  (For those of you not familiar with this, it stands for Gramma and Grampa ville.)  We've discovered that GGville is a lot like Disneyland, only with less rules...
GGville has things not seen in the normal world.  Like breakfast dessert.  There are no chores required, and things like teeth and hair brushing, and showers are not required.  I'm not even sure if they are suggested.  But, really, what are grandparents for if not to spoil your children and then send them home, right?

Life is rough...

Since the girls were gone,  Mark and I took a trip to IKEA in Salt Lake to outfit Syd's bathroom (also the main/guest bath) with a vanity.  Unfortunately, I should never enter IKEA.  We came home with a pick-up load of stuff.  We bought light fixtures, towel racks, toilet paper holders, and a myriad of other things that we just had to have.  And when I say "we" this is not a figurative "we".  Mark was just as bad as I was!

One of our projects upon returning home was finding a place for the tv in the family room.  I think what we came up with will look pretty cool.

This is a picture of the fireplace in the family room before...

That area now looks like this...

The tv will go above that box.  The box is actually a built in for the DVR etc.  You can't really tell from this picture, but the wall is actually built out a bit...a little architectural flair, if you will.  I think once it's painted it will be pretty cool.  We opted to take out the fireplace since it was one of two wood burning fireplaces in the house.  We really would never have used this one.  The one in the living room will stay however.

As for the rest of the house, the drywallers are done, as is the roofer.  The tape/mud guys were there for part of today and will be back tomorrow.  Once they are done, I take over.  I've got to prime and paint the entire house.  Seriously. 

We will prime the entire house using one type of primer for the existing, and one type for the new drywall.  Why?  Really, it all comes down to money.  We are using Kilz on the existing house to cover any gross smells, and or stains (I haven't seen any, but I'm not taking my chances.  Yes, I DO have issues...).  The Kilz is way more expensive than the primer we are using for the new drywall. 

After I/we prime, they will come back and texture.  Once the texture is done, I can put on the first coat of paint.  We still have floors to put down, as well as all the new doors, mouldings, cabinets, backsplashes, tile in the shower, another coat of paint, etc, etc, etc.  Some of the remaining work will be done by us.  The rest we will hire out.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it. 

The past couple days, Mark has been home.  We've gone over around 7am and not been home until 9pm at the earliest.  He goes back to work tomorrow, so since the kids are gone, we'll head over when he gets off work.  We both were excited to get done by 5 today, and couldn't wait to come home and sit on the couch.  Just about the time we started talking about it, we got a call that someone wanted to show our current house.  So, we headed to our home away from home...Home Depot.  The employees there are starting to recognize us.  I don't think that's a good sign...

The drywall truck

Our bedroom with drywall. 
The blue area is the entrance to the master bath.

That's how we roll...

Throughout this process, we've come to realize we have some pretty great friends.  Not only are our friends great, they've also got some really cool stuff we can borrow.  Between nail-guns, screw-guns, pry bars, miscellaneous power tools, and the dump truck, we've hardly had to buy anything.  Oh, and yes, I said dump truck.  Don't any of your friends own a dump truck?

This truck has been instrumental in our latest project, removing the shingles.  We've decided that we are in fact replacing the roof on the existing part of the house.  There were a couple leaks that needed fixing and since we had planned to replace it next summer anyway, we figured we should just do it now.  After all, it's only money, right?  However, since our budget has already taken a hit in the form of HVAC and a water heater for the addition, we decided we'd be wise to save the money it would cost to have the roofers remove the existing shingles and do it ourselves.  Honestly, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Mark's brother Chris, nephew Tilson, Mark and I are the crew.  My brother-in-law saw an article somewhere that said it should take a 4 man crew about a day and a half to remove the shingles from a 1700 sq. ft. house.  Well, since we have a crew of 3, 3 1/2 if you count me, and our square footage is more than 1700 sq. ft., it's taken the better part of 2 days to get about 2/3 done.  Add in that we have not one, but two layers of shingles, and I think we're doing quite well.  Unfortunately, Mark and I will have to finish the rest tomorrow without Chris and Tilson.

Day 1, I seemed to be considered pretty helpful.  By day 2, my job was not nearly as glamorous, as you can clearly see.

The girls quite enjoyed being able to get on the roof whenever they wanted.  Even Syd, who is afraid of heights.  Her first couple times up and down the ladder were quite traumatic for all involved though.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated.  It wasn't too hot, we had a slight breeze and so far, no rain.  Lots of water was consumed, and a whole lot of sunscreen applied.  Since all 6 of us have red hair, and only Sydney and I tan, it could have been quite disastrous.

A new twist on family meal time...

Below is a snapshot into one night of the Tverdy family's new existence.

This is what happens to family dinners when you're knee deep in a home remodel...

The sub floor seems to be coming along nicely...

The room that still needs sub floor...

The super fun circular saw with laser...

The fireplace that is no more...

The Bossman...

The Bossman's Boss...doing the grunt work...

These photos are courtesy of Sydney, our 9 year old, and resident photographer.  Without her, I'm pretty sure there would never be any proof that I actually contributed to this project! 

Genius!

The person who invented the belt feed screw gun has got to be one of my favorite people ever!  We are replacing the sub-flooring throughout the existing portion of the house.  I can't imagine what a chore this would be if not for the fabulous screw gun.  Really, it's quite a chore with it, so without might be unbearable.

Apparently, I've earned my stripes.  I've been allowed to use the screw gun, as well as the circular saw.  I can't say I'd be mistaken for a professional, but I'm holding my own.  :-)

This week, we are finalizing bids on siding, roofing, and flooring.  Basically, we have visions of our checking account dwindling faster than the hands of a clock.  I keep telling Mark that it's okay, he can just make more money.  He's starting to lose his ability to appreciate my humor, I'm afraid.  Good thing I still think I'm funny...

The electrician is nearly done.  The plumber should be finished tomorrow, I think.  The roofers were scheduled to come this week, but as we haven't received the bid, I'm not super comfortable with them starting.

I have to admit, as much as I love working on the house, I sometimes feel like life is spiraling out of control.  It seems we're running here and there, and never have a chance to stop and appreciate the coolness of the project.  Thankfully, Jim is good at calming my fears.  Notice I said Jim, and not Mark.  Frankly, that's because I see our contractor more than I see my husband.  ;-)   Actually, they're both pretty good at handling my neuroses.  They are also getting pretty skilled at heading off my panic attacks.  They probably both deserve hazard pay..

A picture is worth a thousand words...

I thought that it might be a good change for all of you to get a break from my ramblings.  (Witty as they may be).  So, here are some pictures of the house progress.  It's possible we could be in around mid July.  Wow!

The entrance to the master bedroom.  Love the windows!

From the master bedroom to the end of the hallway.

Kind of before...

After the wall was removed...

The 3 foot addition to Sydney's room

I guess I should go ahead and post this since it's been hanging out on my computer for almost a week.  I do have some actual updates, so will post again in the next couple days.  I'm sure you all can hardly wait! ;-)