Moved In-YAY!!

Thanks to 9 wonderful people helping on Saturday we are all moved in (everything from storage at least). A big thank you to both sets of parents, Olaf, Jason, Richard, Aunt Sally and Uncle Jon. I was so tired that afternoon. I took a nap before going to the Blue Man Group concert. Then the next day we were back there again to get the bathroom ready. Since we didn't have the shower cleaned and the shower rod up we stayed one more night at Hostel del Moritz. Yesterday we packed up enough work clothes for this week and the toiletries. It will be our first night in the house tonight. We don't have the cable/internet hooked up yet. That will happen April 10th. We have to get the basement ready before they come. All blogging will be from work for a while and will not have pictures. I will update the blogs later with pictures once we are hooked back up with the computers at home.

Carpet

I had to take the day off today for the carpet to be installed. They said they would be there between 8 and 10. The last company we had that gave us a 11-2 time, they showed up at 2. I figured this would be about the same. The were there at 8:30am. They were quick too. I thought I would get all the cabinet doors hung before they were done. I had the bottom done and half the top and they were done. They even took a smoke break. They were vacuumed and cleared by 11:30. I love the smell of new carpet. There were just a few strings here and there that need to be cut-don't pull, it will unravel all the way down.

Pergo!

The kitchen floor is in! The carpet people called this afternoon and said they would be by tomorrow to put in the carpet. I had to take the day off because someone has to be there the whole time they are there. So Jared and Nate let themselves into the house around 1 and started laying the floor in the kitchen. I stopped by on my lunch to see how things were going. They hadn't really started yet. I was just hoping they wouldn't have everything done before I got off work so I could take pictures. No problem there. Jon was actually there before I was and was already helping lay the floor also. While they worked in the kitchen I painted another coat on the ceiling in bedroom 2. Margaret, Mike and Bumby showed up later to help with cleanup so we would be ready for the carpet tomorrow.

I am just amazed at how great everything is turning out. Once again, if it wasn't for friends and family with all this talent and knowhow we wouldn't have this great looking house. We really appreciate everything and all the help everyone has put forth.





Jared laying the Pergo.







Jared's helpers: Nate and Jon.

Day 7

First of all, Happy Easter!

Jon and I went to my aunts for the holiday. After a brief visit, it was back to the house. I really wanted to get the cabinets done or off to a good start. I would say we did just that. Jon and I started on the cabinets themselves. Mike and Margaret showed up a little later and did some work on the bathroom and then Mike started on the cabinet doors. We finished up 2 coats on one side of the doors. Tomorrow I will put another 2 on the other side and then possible put them up.

Day 6

Day 5 was one room done. Today was another productive day. There were a few surprises towards the end, but nothing our great team can't handle. There is so much knowledge with all the people working on this house, that if one person doesn't know how to do it, someone else will or will know someone that does it professionally.
We started a bit late in the afternoon, but still accomplished a lot. Tomorrow is Easter and we will be with family for part of the day, but hope to finish the kitchen cabinets tomorrow.

We are very proud of our color choice for the kitchen. It turned out very nice. (It's blue)




Knute, Olaf, and Nate worked on the Nursery/Wedding room. Jon said it has to be a wedding room (place to put all the wedding planning stuff) until it can be a nursery.

Olaf was my edger for the day. He was Cool Hand Luke-or steady hand Olaf. All the ceiling work was done with his steady hand. He has been a great help every day that we have been working on the house. We thank him SOOOO much for all his help.

This is where we had our big surprise for the day. When removing the flooring we found that the hose for the water to the fridge had been leaking and went under the laminate and the underlayment. We tore everything up and then the moms tackled scrubbing/disinfecting the floor. The dads cut out a portion of the floor that was rotting next to the door. Lots of tools got used here. You could almost hear the toolman grunt.

While the moms and dads were up in the kitchen, Olaf and Jon took to the entry way. We are going to put real tile in this small section. This will be a first for all us DIYers so we wanted to try it in a small space.

I almost forgot to mention today was also the day of The Great Migration of the Refrigerators. The old one upstairs was cleaned and brought downstairs. The old one downstairs was cleaned and put out in the garage to be sent away when the new appliances come. This was quite the feet for Nate and Jason to haul a side by side frig down two flights of stairs. Remember this is a split level, so the entry way was the turning point. They had to back it outside then bring it forward to shut the door, then rock it to the left and tilt forward. Does this sound like the dance of the refrigerator? It was well orchestrated and no walls were damaged in the process.

one room done

A jam packed day considering the weather. I was up at 5:30 for an oil change in Burnsville at 6:45. The weather was crazy. No snow, then white out. A little over an hour for the oil change and another hour later for driving, I was back to the house.
My mom met me there and helped get the upstairs picked up so we could tear out the carpet. The air duct cleaner was supposed to be there between 11 and 2. His job before us was in Bloomington, so with the weather he ended up at our place at 2. It turned out well for us. My mom and I finished prep on the kitchen-so that is ready to paint. Then Olaf came over and we scored the carpet so it was ready to be rolled up.
When the air duct guy came he was really nice and did about $200 worth of work for free. Every time he would come up he would say "usually this service is not included in what you purchased, but since I'm here and you're my last stop of the day, I'll just do it anyway". Then we had some repairs that were needed on the furnace-small, but still he could have charged, but he didn't. We had a special disinfectant sprayed in the ducts. Normally they use a small bottle and charge $89-this is for the Level 1 stuff. He used the Level 2, which is normally by the ounce, and only charged $65. I felt really bad that he was throwing in all this extra work and not charging, so I tipped him $50. He tried to not take it, but I insisted since he put in so much extra work. The air quality did seem a lot better after he was done.
He left and so did my mom. Olaf and I started tearing out the carpet. By the time Jon got home we had all the carpet out and were working on the padding. He was just in time to take out staples! YAY!
We got all that done, Mike, Margaret, and Nate showed up with food. Break time!
Margaret locked herself back in the bathroom scraping wallpaper and cleaning up for Mike to spackle more tomorrow. The rest of us tackled the main room upstairs. Jon, Nate and Olaf finished the prep in the two rooms upstairs-so they will be ready for paint tomorrow also. Mike and I started painting the main room, then everyone else joined in. We were done by 11:30 or so. Tomorrow should be a breeze. The main room is the hardest room because it is so big and there is the vaulted ceiling to deal with in the entry way.
I didn't take any photos today, but will get some tomorrow.

Day 4

Jon's brain is in off mode. That will tell you how things are. We didn't do any work on the house today. Instead we went pricing/buying flooring for the upstairs. Home Depot came in under our expected amount for everything. They will come out on Thursday to do the measuring. We are going to have a friend help install the Pergo flooring in the kitchen. We have to remove the carpet, but installation is included in our carpet quote. Hopefully we can get that all installed next week. We moved the delivery of the appliances to 3/30 so we can get the floor in before they arrive. Jon got a rental truck for 3/29 from 8am-noon. This will be moving day. The truck has a lift so hopefully it will be easier than going up and down a ramp. Oh, we got all the hardware for the kitchen today also.

Day 3

Another great day. I am so thankful for the family and friends we have. In two and half days we have taken out all the wallpaper, replaced a toilet, door, locks, cleaned the cupboards, and primed the entire upstairs for painting. This was not an easy task. With everyone's hard work and skills we were able to get a lot done in one weekend.
I think we will be taking it easy the next few days and working on getting the little things now. We have to price out carpeting for the upstairs and stair-well; and wood flooring for the kitchen. The little details are what are left to purchase-hinges for cabinets, handles for cabinets, sockets and light switches and plates for both. This is what the next few days will be.

Margaret is the master of taking down wallpaper!

Nate: Greatest-Wallpaper-Taker-Downer!

Day 2

It was a very productive day. Jason and Nate came and helped, along with the parents and Olaf.

Olaf and Jon replaced the locks on the front door.

Mike supervised the work of the Roto Rooter guy. He capped off the leaking shower downstairs and put in a floater ball in the drain so it wouldn't back up again. Our problem before was that roots had grown in the sewer line from the house to the street, so he cleaned that out.

Margaret spent her day in the upstairs bathroom, stripping wallpaper and scraping the popcorn ceiling off.

The living room and kitchen are ready for painting, as well as our room and the nursery. Jon spent his day filling holes in all the rooms.

Day 1

We finally did it. We are home owners! It took a while to do the signing because we kept talking with our loan officer (Shelly) and our realtor (Darbi). After an hour and only 1/3 of the papers signed the closer said we had to stop talking and get to signing because she had another appointment at 3:30. Darbi offered to buy lunch for anyone helping move next Saturday. She is going to stop over and if there is anymore work also pitch in on that.

Today we painted the ceiling in the kitchen and dining room and our room. Mike and Bumby were patching holes. My mom was cleaning and painting. Margaret was painting, scraping popcorn ceiling from the bathroom, and peeling wallpaper from the dining room. Olaf came over later in the day and helped take down wallpaper also. I painted the ceiling in our room and peeled wallpaper. Jon was helping his dad install the toilets, but found out that one was cracked (manufacturers fault). So he took that back to Menards-turns out they were on sale this week so we ended up getting a credit! Then Mike was installing the toilet downstairs and when he flushed it didn't go down. He went in the back room by the washer and dryer and noticed the sewer was backed up. Now we have to call Roto-Rooter tomorrow.

A lot of progress was made on day 1-my sore back is proof of it. Here are some first looks:

Paint!

Well things are finally starting to come together. The gears are starting to move in regards to the house. *Crosses fingers* We close on Friday at 1:30. We went and bought the paint for the house tonight. I will not disclose the price cause it was outrageous but it will be worth it. Cleaning and Painting will start on Friday. Pizza will be provided on Saturday for anyone who would like to come and help. That is all.

Toilets

First major purchase...toilets. Did you know you can get a $250 toilet that is guaranteed to "get it down" in one flush? For those of you that may be helping with the house, you will be happy to know that the toilets will be new to you. Unless, of course, Jon breaks them in first.
We didn't get the double toilet you see here-I just thought it was funny.