It's been a couple of weeks since our last update, and although there isn't much to show that's new, we have been working away on various areas. At the moment, we seem to have lost our focus on sticking to one-room-at-a-time and are currently divided working on 1) the primary bedroom, 2) the secondary bathroom, and 3) the laundry/mudroom area. Partly, this happened because we were trying not to run into each other while working and because there are some things that require that I work on them and some that need Sam's hands on the job, so we're figuring it out as we go.
The unfortunate part is that when we divide up our time and work on multiple areas at the same time, it really feels as though nothing is getting done. I know I've said that a lot during this process, but it is true - the little things that seem insignificant have to get done in order to have something to show for the work. It doesn't make it any less frustrating during the process though.
We are trying to get these bits done so that we can move on to the kitchen (which is what I'm excited to see transform because it's a room that gets used a lot) and because we need to get to work on the secondary bedroom (and primary bathroom) because we have family planning to come and visit before the end of the year. We've tried to stall visits, but everyone wants to come and see our new area. While we understand, it makes for a bit of needless pressure and stress. We know we can't finish the house before people come, but hopefully, we can at least get to a point that someone can sleep in the guest bedroom.
During all of this, we have also learned that our furnace is going to heater-heaven. When we bought the house, the owner professed that the furnace did work and that it just needed to be plugged in and have the gas utilities turned on. But, after doing so, and having experienced some quite cold evenings recently, we couldn't get the heater to come on. Sam did some fiddling and fixing, trying to get it to cooperate, but eventually had to call out an expert to see what needed to happen. Unfortunately, it's a nearly 40-year-old furnace, so has surpassed its life expectancy and we'll need to replace it. Big bummer for us because it's going to take a huge chunk out of our funds to renovate, but having lived through some low-20F degree overnights this autumn, we definitely need heat, so it isn't going to be optional (even with the wood-burning stove). All part of the "fun" of buying an old house, and particularly one that hasn't been well-cared for over the last few decades.
As far as the rooms we are working on, the primary bedroom is almost complete as far as paint, but we have some newly-acquired furniture pieces that will need some painting, but hopefully we'll be able to get off the floor soon (sleeping on the floor makes me feel like a kid - and not in a good way).
Sam's been busy working on the underneath bits in the secondary bathroom so that we'll be able to have a functional bath for guests. He also had to do some wall re-arranging because the area between the bathroom wall and the laundry was not large enough to allow us to get a washer or dryer in to the space. It is making the already tiny bathroom even smaller, but we figured it was more important to both have a sink in the bathroom (it didn't have one at all for some unknown reason) and have the ability to use the laundry room, even though we'll have to lose the tub in that bathroom. The nice thing is that because that bathroom is so small, once the fittings/plumbing are in place, it should move along fairly quickly.
I am excited to see the laundry come together too because I've been visiting the local laundromat on a weekly basis since June, and I will be very excited to have our own washer and dryer again to be able to do laundry at home. Plus, getting the washer and dryer out of the garage will free up some space so that we can begin bringing in a few more things to use in the house.
So, in summary, work is taking place but we don't have any exciting photos to share quite yet... but, they will come soon enough (hopefully). As we plod along, we look forward to finishing each project, but know that we don't want to get careless and then have to redo work, so we're trying to make sure things are done the way we want the first time.
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