Remodel Photos (During Construction)

Here are some of the photos I've been taking through the different stages of the remodel up to this point.  Some were on my iPhone camera and the quality is horrible because I wasn't holding very still, but this should at least give an idea of what it is like around here.

The first few pics are of the ceiling texture stage when everything except the ceiling was covered in plastic to protect it from the stuff being sprayed on overhead to smooth out the 20-some patches that Paul had to make to fix lighting problems, previous damage, or big sections where we removed a kitchen wall.  You can also see in some of these where the wall texture had been applied but not yet sanded, painted or primed, which has all been finished at this point.

We have some friends in the ward who are flooring contractors and they are helping us with some of the projects around the house, including tearing up the press-board that was underneath the kitchen linoleum so new ply-wood subfloor could be laid through the entire remodel area bringing everything to one level prior to installing the hardwood (which won't happen for at least another week-and-a-half or so).

In this hallway picture you can see that the walls and ceiling are painted (and look SO much better than the old awful walls) but that the subfloor is exposed and the plywood is going in.  We lived with the completely exposed subfloor for a couple of weeks and it was pretty hard on me and Clara since I couldn't let her down to toddle around anywhere except for the bedrooms (which are pretty tiny) for that three-week period.  The plywood flooring is in now, so she can walk around the house again as long as she is wearing long pants and her shoes to avoid splinters, and she is loving it.  So am I, frankly.
   

Paul installed our new front door with the help of our friends.  The new door is 3/4 glass (as opposed to our previous solid-wood door) and lets in a lot of light, which we really needed in our house.  The exterior color doesn't really go with the rest of the house, but we plan on redoing the exterior stucco and siding at some point in the future (possibly next year - we'll see) so we went with the door color we like best rather than matching the blah cream-scheme that is on the house now.

There have been tools everywhere.  Handsaws, drills, hammers, screwdrivers, sanders, power-vac, etc.

During the plywood subfloor installation, we had to move all of our stuff into the backyard.  The rest of our kitchen things are in the garage, along with the new cabinets and appliances, which were delivered a few weeks ago.  There were also piles of torn-up cabinetry, flooring, and drywall covering our patio.

This is how the garage looks.  The boxes are all our new cabinets.  We put our fridge out here and set up cardtables to store plates and silverware and food.  I know it looks terrible, but we've been getting by okay by using the crockpot, rice cooker, electric skillet, grill, and microwave.

This is our new fridge.  I feel a little silly to be super excited that we are going to be able to get water out of the fridge door. 

Check out this box.  It is a thing of beauty in my eyes and I am so very excited to FINALLY have a dishwasher again since we haven't had one since we moved out of our apartment almost two years ago.

This last picture is of my kitchen set-up as I was making breakfast for Clara a week ago.  The little tub is my sink that I have been using for washing dishes.  Yeah, looking at this, I am wondering what we were thinking attempting this remodel because this is some pretty rough living.  Every person who has come by (the plumber, the flooring guy, the ceiling guys, etc.) have asked where we have been staying during the remodel when they see me with Clara on my hip and they are all shocked when I tell them that we have been toughing it out here.  Oh well, it makes for a good story and an adventure, right? 

Dr. Pepper Big Gulp for Paul.  Because it is his favorite and he doesn't drink it very often.  And because he has been working really hard on the house as well as being busier than usual at the office.

Cabinets are being installed on Thursday and Friday, and the flooring can go down a week later with granite being installed hopefully the following week.  We are so excited!