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!
21 comments:
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.
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.
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.
So funny but true. My kitchen and bathroom are currently under the works. After reading this, I better pay attention to the remodeling team.
This was WONDERFUL. HUGE thanks for the tips. You made this a wonderful, but simple, blog. This is a great resource.
KUDOS!!!
Deirdre G
i read your post about this through another blog -- ironically, before i found yours -- and decided to add to it a while back: http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com/2009/10/you-know-youre-in-depths-of-remodeling.html
too funny! love your list!
kelly
wahahha,, ilove to read your top ten renovations hahhaha lol^^
Hi Guys,
I just saw your episode of "Bang for Your Buck" (I'm in Canada, so our HGTV programming is a little behind compared to the US), and I have to say, your home is BEAUTIFUL. The photos on the blog do not NEARLY do it justice...it's stunning!!! And, I liked the peek we got of the bedrooms and upstairs bathroom!!!
Thanks Ms. Homeowner! You've inspired me to take a few pictures of further transformations. Now I just need to dust off my camera. :-)
Thanks for all the inspiration.
http://locustpointrowhouse.blogspot.com/
Hey Matt - glad to see another B-more house blogger! Good luck with your renos.
Hey guys - I bought my Bmore Rowhouse in Fed Hill 2008 and it was 'livable but in need of work (hahaaaha)'. I've renovated the kitchen and bathroom, but anyway livable enough my wife and 2 kiddos have done fine, but she's a saint.
First off I'm right about in the middle of a project where I paid a friend/GC to pull off my roof and add a 3rd floor and doghouse that opens to a front and back deck atop the 3rd floor (lucky to get that thru BMZA). All the work except tile in the master suite and hardwoods he is doing.
That said, now I have a 2nd floor that looks terrible (roof removal is not a 'low-impact' process) so when this job is closer to complete next month I'll be pulling up the old carpet and putting down more hardwood.
OK finally to my question...I also have 2 or 3 walls in the 2nd floor that are covered in plaster that I want to expose, and reading through all of the exposed brick tagged posts and comments I don't see any 'final answers' on what you used to seal them with after cleaning them with the muriatic acid dilution. Can you reply or fire me an email or better yet if you are down here in Fed Hill let me see how they turned out?
thanks, nate
natewv@hotmail.com
Hey Nate - Glad to hear you and the fam are enjoying your renovation. I took a look to see if I mentioned the sealer, and indeed there is no mention of it.
We ended up going with this matte sealer by behr, which worked great. I even tried to use a mixture of elmer's glue and watter for a more matte look, but this just ended up looking like elmer's glue on the wall. Not pretty. If you want more of a wet look, behr also has a wet look sealer. Why folks would want a wet look inside a house is beyond me, but seeing lots of houses with this makes me think some people like it...
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