Sunday, January 30, 2011

And the Remodel Continues

This is the view from my bedroom door.  Most of the
house is pretty well gutted!
This is my kitchen, most of which is on wheels
so it can move around as construction demands.
Well, some days it doesn't seem as if much progress is actually taking place, but in fact, I know it is.  Since the last post when the disheartening news of the bad roof was revealed, I've managed to look at roofing options, decide on a lovely blue metal roof (for both the house and the garage, complete with matching gutters with leaf guards and trim), and that install will actually begin within the next day or two, so that is excellent progress.  
This is the laundry/utility area with the new gas furnace
installed.  The gas water heater is to be installed in the next
day or so and eventually the closet will be finished off as
the orange portion of my rainbow home.
I don't want anything done on the interior until that nasty plywood is gone, so I'm very glad the roofing can start immediately or I'd be living in my new "studio" apartment for forever!  And I really, really want the demolishing/destruction phase over so that new wonderful construction can happen.  The roof is now the end of that phase, and that can't happen soon enough!  And I'm thrilled with every aspect of the metal roof from its environmental/ecological soundness, its fireproof nature, the energy conservation pluses, etc.  It matches all my values on every level, including color.  The only downside is that it is pricey, but it will also definitely outlast me, so this has the decided advantage of being my last roof!

This is the view back toward my bedroom.  Chauncey is
eating and Poosa is exploring.  After I took this photo I
moved the two tall pieces of cat furniture into my shower
(for new readers, I shower outside), so that the cats
would have more of their space in our tiny studio.

I am cooking my first dinner on my new gas cooktop.
I also have seven jars of sprouts in various stages
of growth which I am rinsing.
They were very yummy crimini mushrooms!

So we are all cozy in our little studio apartment, and thankfully still have access to the kitchen and laundry out in the main part of the house (except during certain construction phases when my bedroom door gets covered with plastic and we are "locked up").  My gas cooktop was put in this week and hooked up on Friday evening, so last night I sauteed mushrooms for my first adventure on it and that went really well.  I think everyone who has told me how much I will enjoy the cooktop are right and once things settle down (that will happen, won't it?!), I look forward to being able to learn to cook properly.  
Anyway, the roof disaster means that the six of us have moved earlier (and faster) into my bedroom which has now become a mini-studio apartment.  We are now living in about 331 sq ft.  The room is long and narrow which makes the sorting of it a challenge (30' x 11'), but we are managing fairly comfortably, and since this is also the only place in the house with any insulation, we are appreciating its warmth!  

The view from my desk which (the view that is)
now magnificent!  Thanks, Kathy!
This shows the length of our studio.  Sasha loves to
sleep and relax on my piano keyboard.
Poosa likes the fact that she can now get up on my bed!






This is the new look to the south side of my home!
 The rest of the house will, of course, get insulation, but not until after the roof and the rewiring of the house (which also should happen this week).  My electrician is thrilled to have such open access as he normally doesn't see that except in new construction, but face it, this poor house is being pretty well newly constructed.  Except in my bedroom all I have are studs, beams, trusses, and exterior siding.  The wiring which is currently in place is, of course, badly done and potentially hazardous, so it is nice that it will actually be cheaper and faster (both wonderful words as far as I'm concerned) to remove all the existing wire and re-run it properly (instead of trying to figure out what previous folks thought they were doing!).














Another big event this week was the final filling of the utility trench and the re-landscaping of the south side of my yard from front to back.  The area which had been grass (and not very good grass at that) has now become a giant bed since the grass was really toasted after all the digging not only for the utility trench but also for the downspout drainage.  My best friend, Kathy, owns a nursery and she found plants to put in it (she doesn't have huge stock at this time of year, but I got what she did have) and she also ordered some winter color for me in terms of pansies and primroses, so I now have lovely views where just a short while ago there were hazardous ugly trenches and dirt mounds.  The change is really heartening and helps me to realize that sometime my interior will 
be similarly transformed.


This is the view of the south side from my backyard.
My wonderful outside shower is shown as well.  This bed
will be getting lots more plants as winter ends, but it is
already a vast improvement!


I think that is about it for the remodel update for this Sunday.  I've picked a bunch of photos to put into this post but there are even more at the remodel link at the top of this page if you are interested.


The utilities are nearly done.  The electric meter should be
moved in the next day or two and soon also the phone.  Then
all my utilities will be underground.

7 comments:

  1. Wow.

    I'm so glad that you have a proper stove now. It's going to make cooking so much easier!

    This might be a dumb question, but why did you originally decide to paint your house purple?

    It's one of my favourite colours but sadly you so rarely see it on buildings.

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  2. Great news about the stove! After the commotion has settled down, you can really get stuck in and enjoy it.

    All of you in your bedroom must be a bit tight, but it looks cozy just the same.

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  3. So you're all excited about doing your own cooking and growing sprouts for fresh food, have you thought about planting a garden outside? This is the time of year to get a garden ready and it looks like you have plenty of room for it! Just think, all those fresh veggies and tomatoes to eat and cook with all summer long and into the Fall. Doesn't get any better than food from your own garden!

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  4. Hi Lydia--yes the new stove should make things much easier once life returns to some semblance of normal. And your question about color is not dumb! I just love color in the first place, what I call "real color," not beiges and browns and off-whites, etc. On top of that, it is frequently gray in the Pacific Northwest, so it seems to me brightening things up with color is a good plan. And I used to live in the SF Bay Area and there you find the Painted Ladies. The Victorians, as I understand it, loved to use bright colors and I'm a Victorian in many ways. I've also never thought that the color palette had to be limited by its use (had one lady in a neighborhood where I was forced out for being gay and having a purple house tell me that purple wasn't a house color. Oh well, that limiting seems sad to me). I love purple and after the first purple home (this is my third and last as I will never move now!), it just became my signature color, along with every interior room being a different color so I have the entire rainbow!

    Hi Rose--yes, once the commotion settles down I'm sure I will enjoy it! Done mushrooms twice (and again tonight) and the stove has a simmer feature where it turns itself on and off at regular intervals which is cool and has kept me, so far, from burning anything. And the bedroom is cosy and especially appreciated today as I have most of the world here at the moment!

    Hi Anonymous--I have thought about having a garden outside and I know it makes a ton of sense, etc. but truly I am someone who enjoys the outside from inside my home through my big windows. The best part about the sprouts is that it is totally indoors, in addition to being almost instant gratification and I can also see the little sprouts growing and I don't know it just works for me. But maybe I'll think about having something outside if my life ever returns to normal and the remodel ends!

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  5. I just wanted to say your home looks sooo fun! I love it. I get it moods to paint everything like that in my house. My husband wouldn't stop me, but I don't go through with everything since I know it wouldn't be his first choice. However, I did paint the laundry room of my last house bubble gum pink, and I have plans to make a whimsical and happy garden area outside soon.

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  6. Thanks, Jenny! I do think the colors help keep things cheery and fun. And a whimsical happy garden area will be wonderful! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy following the construction chaos saga!

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  7. Exciting news about both your new cooktop and your metal roof!

    The cooktop's fantastic - a simmer feature?! I WANT ONE!!! :-) And what better thing to make for your cooktop's maiden voyage than sautéed mushrooms (says I, the mushroom lover!)?

    Your sprout production is impressive! What are you sprouting besides lentils?

    I remember your saying in an earlier post that you wanted a blue metal roof but weren't sure it would be a possibility, so I'm glad you were able to get the roof of your dreams! That'll be so nice!

    That view from your desk is glorious (and hey, we have the same iMac!) :-) Your long narrow bedroom area might be a challenge to sort through (and I've always found long, narrow rooms a challenge to decorate as well), but you're lucky to have that extra space to live in during your "rebuild" (which is a more accurate term than remodel for what you're having done!). If we had to move many of our belongings and all of our critters into our bedroom for several weeks we'd be so crammed in there that none of us would be able to move! I think the Holiday Inn would be hearing from us after the first night. LOL

    Glad that things are progressing so well!

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