Our neighbors have 11 chickens (used to be 12, but a possum ate one), raise bees, have 4 cats, 2 dogs (Rhodesian Ridgebacks - I love them!), and one adorable adopted daughter. Not to mention the heirloom and organic gardens that take over a large part of their yard. Amazing.
I have to wonder whether every home-buyer, at some point or another, wonders whether they bought a lemon. Not seriously, of course, but right now things are definitely frustrating. We're still trying to get a lot of stuff done before we can get our occupancy permit and actually LIVE there.
New HVAC system being installed on Monday morning. Met with electrician #1 yesterday afternoon, #2 is coming this morning. We'll have to weigh the differences. Still need to find a plumber, but now a much more pressing issue...our kitchen sink pipes fell apart on us last night. The sink was stopped up, pipes weren't sealed correctly, water EVERYWHERE. Finding the humor in it all.
Last night Mr. P and I decided that a good motto for us would be "Are you F***ing kidding me???" just because of the situations we've been in over the past 7+ years. We always make it work, but also know the next obstacle is just around the corner.
Mr. P's been busy during the day at the house, and I've been there every evening since we closed (minus Friday nights) working on things here and there. Painting trim is a bitch, but it really does look a lot better than the 50s style boring wood underneath...and it brightens the space quite a bit.
I'm hoping Mr. P can get the living room ceiling done today, so I can get started on the walls. Painting walls excites me, painting trim annoys me, and my one attempt at a ceiling was an epic FAIL, though highly amusing. I looked as if I had pigeon poop all over, including chunks in my hair. BRING ON THE WALLS :)
Overall, as each room starts coming together, the place truly does feel like ours, and I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. It's like when you do a deep-clean, and things always look worse somewhere in the middle of the process.
Need to find good, inexpensive carpet for the hall and bedrooms. Gotta cover the nasty asbestos tile. Recommendations?
My hope is that people will find the humor in all of this along with me, laugh with (or at) us, and know that this is nothing if not a labor of love. Would I do this again? Probably not...but ask me down the road years from now when we're buying our next home after we've turned this one into something worth writing about :)
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8 comments:
I really can relate, Jen. Yes, every homeowner wonders at some point or another if they've bought a lemon. Like the day after our closing when suddenly, water came gushing from the wall in our bathroom. Yep, that's right. Water gushing out of the wall. You'll hit a hundred obstacles, but then it will be done and you'll look around you and be so happy with and thankful for your home. :)
It will be all worth it Jen... It will!! You and Mr. P are going to create one gorgeous home together, be able to make some money off of it when you do eventually sell it and buy the following home that will require a little less work and frustration. Good things take time :).
oh girl, chickens? this is going to be a fabulous journey for sure and i'm willing to be it will be all worth it.
I totally know how you are feeling. When we first moved in, it seemed like EVERYTHING was messed up and needed fixing. THEN, when we actually started working on things around the house (like the kitchen, plumbing, replacing the fan), everything was done ass-backwards. Thats what we get for buying an old house though...
Good luck! Sounds like you are doing a lot of good work!
i really enjoyed this post, jen. it shows that you and your husband are willing to tackle something so huge as a TEAM, but more importantly, you're able to laugh when things don't go as planned... they never do. i really can't wait to hear more about it, and i'm sure we'll all be stunned if you post before/after pics. :)
Welcome to home ownership and renovation! We've definitely felt like that before, keep that chin up though, it'll all be worth it!
As far as a plumber, we're in South City so I don't know if it will help, but Aries Plumbing was wonderful! Also, if you're redoing all the plumbing, you might want to consider PEX instead of copper.
It will definitely be worth all the troubles you're having now. In the end, you'll absolutely love your house and know that you are the reason it's perfect.
It will mean so much more to live in that house after putting so much hard work in it. I'm excited to see the end product. You're a really good sport to be able to laugh at all the setbacks too.
I can't believe you like painting walls, but I guess I can understand why if you've been painting trim.
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