Making our House a Home

We've been working hard since we moved in a month ago (can't believe it's been a month already!) to make our house a home. We've been painting room by room (well, hubby has since I've been recovering from my C-section) and getting things put where we want them.

A neighbor helped us patch the drywall

The other wall that got drywall patching

Hubby loves his new office!

The laundry room!

The laundry room

Max's bed

Max's room

The guest room

The hall bath

The living room

The den/school room

The dining room

Our new fridge!

The kitchen

The front entry way

 We are still unboxing things, cleaning, etc.  The den became our catch-all room, the guest room now holds all our tools, and the kitchen is going to be a long work in progress!  But all the blue rooms are painted (our room, Max's room, the office, and the hall bath)!  Next will be the lavender rooms (our bathroom, the laundry room, dining/kitchen, and the guest room).  After that will be the yellow rooms (the hallway, living room, and den).  We still have some mudding to do on the seams in most of the rooms and some of the flooring needs to be put down still (kitchen/dining room/laundry room).  But we're getting there and we're so happy to finally be in our new place!

Busy week of moving!

 We have had a crazy past few days, but we have finally got the trees taken care of, electric company has been notified, and now we are in the process of painting and getting ready to move things to the house!  The next few days will be super busy as we have a LOT to get done, but we should have electricity hooked up by Thursday and AT&T internet hooked up then too.  We're looking to rent a moving truck tomorrow so we can get everything out for the carpet cleaners on Thursday morning.  

 I'm recovering from my hospital birth on Friday so I'm unfortunately not much help except for being a secretary (but I'm good at that!).  This will be quite the ride! 

Work at the house. Still no electricity!

 Hubby and I went out to the house yesterday to get some more work done.  My dad and brother also came to help us get the sliding glass door taken care of.  They managed to get the old door out, though it was screwed in all the way around, and some of the siding had to be cut/removed.  They then had to cut the door frame a little bit so the new door, which is taller, would fit.  It got to be 8pm by that time so we left the actual installation for today.  

I also checked to see if the electric meter was installed and discovered it hadn't been yet.  I emailed the lady at the electric company back to tell her and she discovered that I should've been told, but wasn't, that some of the trees we trimmed back in November had grown out again and were now back in the way of them running the power lines.  UGH!  So I'm waiting to hear back about which trees and I'm also trying to find someone who can help us trim them ASAP.  At least everything has been approved.  I'm just tired of dealing with these stupid snags!

Hubby's family is planning to come down again this Wednesday for over a week to help us with the house/moving, etc.  I'm trying not to freak out but I'm 36 weeks pregnant and really need to be in our new house before the baby comes!    

Electricity This Week Confirmed!

 I got a call from the electric company this morning confirming that they would be out to hook up our meter and turn on our electricity this week!  So we are right on schedule for that, putting down the rest of the flooring, and moving in the first/second week of October!  Praise God! 

Power Poles Are Up! And more priming!

Hubby, Max, and I went out to the house today to get some work done.  As we were driving up/down the road to our house, we noticed that the electric company had put up our power poles!  There was also a wire running from the closest pole to our house!  However, they still have to run wires from pole to pole and put in our meter.  I have emailed them explaining our timeline/situation and I will call them on Monday to see when we can get the meter installed.  We need to be out of our current place in two weeks, so it needs to be done this week!  

Once in the house, I primarily focused on taking care of Max while hubby primed the master bath and touched up in the hall bath.  I did do a little cutting in in the kitchen, though.  So in the end, the hall bathroom is all done being primed, unless we opt to touch up a few spots and behind the toilet.  Kitchen needs a little cutting in above the cabinets on one side.  Master bath needs cutting in.  We ran out of primer and also didn't prime in the kitchen pantry or the back walls of the cabinets.  Those can be done another day/next year.  We used the last of the primer on the walls in our master bath linen closet, which is more important.

We have a moving date!

We are slated to get electricity hooked up and turned on by next Friday the 27th and we are planning to finish getting the house ready to move in the week of the 2nd to the 12th.  I'm going to be keeping an eye out to see when they actually come out and hook us up because I'm curious (as are the movers) and in case they need a homeowner present for anything.

I can't wait to be moved in!

More Priming!

Foliage growing along the road that we'll want/need to trim back.

Weeds are growing along the sides of our house too.  We need to put grass seed back down.

First coat of primer in our master bathroom

Primer on the wall with the bathtub

Hubby did a great job priming the toilet room

Looking from the toilet room into the tub room

 Today, hubby & I were able to get some much needed priming done in the master bathroom.  We also put a second coat on the other half of the kitchen that needed it.  I also started cutting in along the kitchen edges, but didn't finish.  Next time we'll finish putting on a second coat in our bath and finish cutting in in the kitchen and hall bath.  

We've worked out a plan for the walkway up to the front of the house.  We'll use the cardboard Ram paper that we bought until we move in and then we'll put down a wooden walkway that can be rolled out.  It'll provide a firm walkway while not messing up the grading and allowing water to flow to the French drain. 

So much to do, so little time!

HVAC Reinspection should be Monday or Tuesday.  

Hubby and I are planning to go out to the house tomorrow to get more priming done.  We have half the kitchen done and the whole master bathroom to do.  That may be all we get done with me being 34 weeks pregnant.  I'll try to be as helpful as I can but it's harder for me to move around and bend over/squat now.  

Hubby will have to work on the floors (by himself or with other help) at some point.  We still have to finish his office, the living room, laundry room, kitchen, and dining room.

I need to see when my dad can come back out and help us finish trimming out the front door, and try to get him started on the sliding glass door...it's kind of in the way of the dining room.  

Just a matter of time seeing how long it takes to get electricity hooked up (and internet too) and the certificate of occupancy.  

I noticed there were some weeds growing around the house and along the road that need to be trimmed/pulled.  I have some packets of wildflowers and sunflowers I can't wait to plant!  We also need to put down more grass seed!   So much to do, so little time!

HVAC Rewiring Done!

 Today, I got up at the butt crack of dawn to first drive over to my mom's to pick up the guest bed and some wall decorations she had for me.  When I drove out to the house to meet the HVAC guy who was able to come out and rewire our condenser unit electric wires.  He not only got the work done but also upgraded the wire to one that can better handle the electric load (the old one was just barely passable, so for safety's sake he changed it).  It should pass now!    

As I was leaving, I noticed that the Highway Dept had gone down the other street and dug a drainage ditch along where our mailbox is going...and the little orange flag that was there to mark it was gone!  I got out to look for it to no avail and ended up talking to the neighbor across the street.  I learned that he and his wife have kids the same age as ours.  It's so nice meeting people that we can be close to and have future play dates!  

We should be getting the permit re-pulled so the inspection can be redone on Thursday (Lord willing!).  Once we pass we should be good for getting electricity!   

Inspection update

 We got word that the electric inspection happened on Tuesday and passed, but the HVAC portion didn't.  There are some wires that weren't run in the correct place and they have to be rerun.  So I am trying to get our new HVAC guy out there by Tuesday so we can have it reinspected then...or Thursday.  But the sooner, the better. Once the HVAC passes, we should be able to get power on!

Yesterday I went out to the house and installed the new smoke/carbon monoxide detectors while we had the ducts cleaned and sanitized.  The furnace was also cleaned so now when we turn on the system we don't have to worry about breathing in all the dirt and debris that was in our vents!  

There was another day I went out and put a 2nd coat of primer on half the kitchen walls, so we need to prime the other half, fix the master bath toilet, and continue work on the drywall patches before we can really start painting.  We also have a little bit more flooring to put down. 

Electric Sticker is Here!

 We received the purple sticker of approval for the electric box.  I've notified our electrician and he's going to put in for the electric permit and inspection! 

More Priming!

 Today, hubby and I were able to get out to the house to do some more priming.  We got the first coat on the kitchen walls and did a second coat and some cutting in on the hall bath walls.  We also had a neighbor help us finish installing the hall bath toilet (just need to put on the toilet seat!) and figure out that it's the master toilet flapper gasket, not the flapper itself, that's causing the leak.  So we'll have to get a new gasket for it.  If that doesn't end up working, we'll just replace the whole toilet with one that's like the hall bath.  But we're trying the cheaper fix first.

Hopefully we'll hear about approval soon - I'd love to have it this week!  We'll see!  It would be so much easier to do all this work while in the house so we're not having to make so many trips.  Please, Lord, let it be soon!

Short Day of Work

 Yesterday, I ran out to the house to check and see if the master toilet was leaking through the flapper.  I got some food dye, added it to the tank, and left it for a bit while I sanded the few spots I'd re-mudded in the kitchen and master bath sink area.  When I came back, there was dye in the bowl, telling us it was indeed a flapper leak.  So now I gotta buy another flapper and hope it doesn't leak too.

Before

After

I also set about installing the new longer water supply line in the hall bath, which I got on just fine, but the bowl and tank need to be secured to each other better so they don't leak.  Thankfully, our neighbors have agreed to help us with that, probably this weekend when we get out there again.  We still need to finish priming the hall bath, and then start on the kitchen and master bath.  We got the paint colors for the whole house, ready and waiting!

Second Coat of Bathroom Primer

 Hubby and I returned to the house today while Max hung out with my mom and sister for the afternoon.  We picked up all the paint for the whole house on the way!  We also brought another car load of boxes, which will probably be our last load until we rent a moving truck for the rest of our stuff.  We don't want too many boxes in the way while we're painting but we needed a bit more space to move around in the old apartment.  

When we got to the house, we unloaded everything, I started touching up a few drywall spots that needed more mud, and hubby went under the house to tape up a section under the water heater than had come loose.  Then we got to work putting on another coat of primer in the hall bathroom, and adding a coat where there hadn't been one before.  The bathroom already looks much improved!  We still need to cut in around the edges/doors/counter/cabinet, but we had to head out to pick up Max since it was already 6 and he was getting clingy/fussy.  I also took off the old water line for the hall bath toilet since it was too short - I then ordered the new one and the bolt caps for underneath, which I'll pick up tomorrow.  

Hopefully we can get back out there soon to do more work.  And we're praying we hear from the inspector/movers this week about the approval.

Starting to Prime!

 Today hubby and I went to the house with bro-in-law and fiancee.  We worked on finishing taping, sanding the drywall mud on the patches, and priming the hall bathroom (first coat)!  Once we finish with the drywall patches, and sand them, we can prime in the master bathroom and kitchen as well.   

We have also been working on putting together our new toilet, but realized we are short the water supply line so we need to buy one of those.  

We are going to take advantage of the sale going on at the paint store until Monday and get the paint we need all at once.

We are still waiting to hear about approval from the inspector.  Hopefully by the end of the week! 

Inspection Update and Working on the House

We've been hard at work on the flooring, taping, and other projects in the house.  Turns out the toilets both need their guts replaced so hubby's dad has been working on that.  I've been working on preparing the drywall for mud where the paper was torn by applying a coat of protective sealant on it.  Hubby's been working on the floor, and doing a great job!  Hubby's mom has been enjoying her time watching Max for us.  Then hubby's youngest brother and his fiancee came and were helping us tape so that we can start priming the kitchen for paint.  We got the primer and a panel of sheet rock to make the drywall repairs.

We finally heard back about the inspection.  There were two pipes under the house that became disconnected so we will be putting them back in place and taping whatever needs taping tomorrow.  We also have to send the inspector via the movers the copy of the geological report that was done in December for the compaction test.  Then we should be good to go!  Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have the green light for getting the electric!  Mom & Dad are leaving on Tuesday so we're trying to get as much work done as we can before they go.  

Oh!  We also discovered water dripping down under the house from the hot water heater!  Looked like it had just rusted out on us so Monday morning we are getting a new one installed!  Crazy about the timing - the inspector didn't mention it (thankfully) so we think it happened after he came by.  And when the plumbers tested our water the hardness level came back at a 7-8 (medium hard) and the chlorine level was as high as a swimming pool!  So we know we'll need a whole house water softener and chlorine remover.  But that will probably have to wait until a little later.     

Working on the house

 So we were just informed today that the state has 21 business days to do the inspection, if they so choose.  Apparently, they can choose not to.  If the movers don't hear anything by Aug 5 (the 21st day), they can tell us we passed and we can move in.  It makes no sense since we were told that they are strict about mobile homes meeting certain criteria, but I guess if they're backlogged enough and a good contractor like the movers are in charge of making sure things are up to standard, they can pass it without looking at it.  Anyway, we are going to continue to work on the inside this week and next with the goal of moving as much stuff over there as we can when the work is done to satisfaction on the inside.

 Hubby's family drove down yesterday and we went over to the house after church and lunch today for a few hours.  We worked on removing the old vanity in the master bath, removing the old baseboard trim in the dining room, and figuring out floor stuff.  My dad is also planning to come out to work on the front door tomorrow and we're going to pick up his generator for him.  Pray the rain holds off enough!  Thankfully, all our work is inside so the rain doesn't matter as much but it does make it muddy.  

Our plan is to work on the rest of the baseboards, laying the flooring, and making the drywall repairs.  Then the paint store is having a sale this weekend so we're getting the paint so we can put it on the walls.  Yay!  Then we will start moving stuff over to the house.

No pictures because my phone screen is broken and is being repaired at the shop until Tuesday.

Request for Inspection has been Submitted!

I met the new chimney guy yesterday morning to get the pipe vent hooked back up to the skirting. 

He was done in 30 minutes and was able to reuse the existing materials, so the cost was under budget.  We'll use him in the future for our chimney needs, since not many others will come out to our area.

I contacted the movers and told them it was done.  They submitted our request for the state inspection and told us it'd be done within 2 weeks, so we are hoping to be able to move the last week(s) of July! 

After he left I decided to stay and finish painting the fireplace.  I got the hearth and bottom stones done, but there are a few spots that need some touch up work.  But I'm very happy with it!

The finished fireplace

Last night I called my dad to see when he could make it out to work on re-framing the doors. He couldn't promise anything but said he'd try for tomorrow (today).  I want to go out there and see him if he does go, but I also have stuff to pack at home.  Hubby's family has told us that they'll be coming to visit and help with getting the house ready and moving in the weekend of the 20th.  We have so much to do, and we also want to be able to just spend time with them.

Today's Project: Whitewashing the Fireplace!

I have been wanting to start on this project for a while now and we finally took the time to get it going! 

Close up

Showing the fireplace with the floor

 It took us longer than I thought but I absolutely love it!  Next time we'll finish it by painting the hearth step and bottom row of blocks.  But I think it will only need one coat.   

Trim Delivery and Work Outside

 I drove out to the house this afternoon to meet the trim delivery guy.  Everything went smoothly.  Now I'm working out which miter saw to buy so we can cut it.  

Baseboard Trim & Shoe Molding

Of course, the rest of the flooring needs to be installed first, and power is needed for the saw, so we'll have to wait until after we pass inspection and get electric hooked up to work on the trim.  BUT I talked to the mover guys at the house as well as the head guy and he said they should be finished and ready for the follow-up inspection tomorrow and then they can contact the state for approval!  So not much longer!  Here are the pictures of the outside that was done today:

I got some pictures of the inside/floors today.

Den/School Room

Guest Room

Hubby's Office

The Hallway (rough cut, no glue)

Our bedroom

 So July should be our move-in month!  Praying!