Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Reflecting

I came across this blog post from exactly a year ago today.

    Top 10 Signs that Renovations Aren't Complete
    10. Your lunch sack is a plastic bag from Home Depot
    9. You worry about falling through the kitchen ceiling every morning when going into the tub
    8. Contractors come to your house more often than your friends
    7. You go to the dog park and someone points out that the dog has paint on him
    6. Plastic drop cloths are considered a home decor
    5. Sundays are spent mudding & taping instead of watching football.
    4. The upstairs foyer table is actually a piece of OSB. With a mitre saw on it.
    3. Fixing the main roof truss that is 100% cut through is on the same 'to do list' along with purchasing 1/2" screws for the closet.
    2. You get certified letters for the weeds & junk in your back yard.
    1. Two words - drywall boogers

I'll never forget moving into the house when renovations were nowhere near complete in August 2008. My brother's friend helped move all my stuff, and when he first walked in you could tell he was thinking, "Kevin, this is where your sister is going to live?" Everything was torn up, tools were everywhere, and there was a hole in the bathroom floor. We ended up just piling all my boxes of things in the guest room to the ceiling until the dust settled and I could unpack. I lived out of moving boxes for months because I couldn't put things in my closet while we were frantically finishing the master bedroom. At the same time, we went to the gym every day for several weeks, not because we were diligently trying to get in shape (I think we burned enough calories working on the house every night and weekend). But because we had no shower while the bathroom was being renovated. Ahhh, the good old days!

It's still hard for me to believe that renovations are 'done'. I'm proud of all the work we did ourselves, and I never thought in my life I would learn how to install wood floors or be a mudding and taping guru. Although demolition is still my favorite renovating duty :) Luckily, we don't have to worry much about drywall boogers these days, and we no longer decorate with drop cloths. In fact, now we spend many evenings relaxing on the most comfortable sofa in the world.

Kudos to anybody in the midst of renovating right now! You deserve major props for all your hard work - keep at it!

P.S. Don't forget to vote for Baltimore Rowhouse every day until October 9th! We are in sixth place now, movin on up!

8 Comments:

Blogger momnipotent said...

Fun blog post, nice to reminisce. That is one of my favorite Top 10 lists, especially #7. You and Corey have come a long way, you deserve to relax on your sofa. I do miss the more frequent blog posts though; maybe you can re-purpose the blog, and take turns writing and posting pictures.

October 7, 2009 6:04:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Tim said...

I just bought a Baltimore row home myself in Canton. I was wondering what (in your experience) was the best DIY way to expose the brick underneath the walls. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Also, your place looks great.

October 20, 2009 4:31:00 PM EDT  
Blogger woodpick said...

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

October 21, 2009 11:13:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Corey said...

Hi Tim - If you search back on the blog by exposed brick, and you read the comments it will give you a really good tutorial on this. One thing to note is that I used a metal brush to get the final dust off the bricks, but you could also use an angle grinder with a metal brush wheel.

October 22, 2009 8:47:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Evie Simpson said...

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

October 23, 2009 4:55:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Kitchen Remodeling Maryland said...

So funny but true. My kitchen and bathroom are currently under the works. After reading this, I better pay attention to the remodeling team.

November 15, 2009 9:24:00 PM EST  
Anonymous Real estate Philippines said...

This was WONDERFUL. HUGE thanks for the tips. You made this a wonderful, but simple, blog. This is a great resource.
KUDOS!!!

Deirdre G

November 18, 2009 1:00:00 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

November 23, 2009 4:40:00 AM EST  

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