home renovation – Page 2 – Coffee Peace N' Homesteadin

Woodland House: Weeks 9 & 10

Week 9 started with painting, painting and more painting.

We painted cabinet doors, ceilings, walls.

We also got paint samples for the outside of the mobile home and my She-Shed.

Shane was very busy finishing up the bathroom. Shower was grouted and floor tile went down.

Then we had a rainy day, so we went to check out Campbell’s Covered Bridge.

We wrapped up the week getting grating quotes since everytime it rains, it was running in all the wrong directions, towards the house, the garage. We hired an awesome company that did amazing work and we ordered another bin to get rid of trash.

The best part….. our grating contractors used their equipment to load it which saved me a bunch of time.

They also cleaned out the overgrown garden area so I could get ready to start planting.

Meantime, I was learning to do subfloors.

Week 10: The grating was done and my garden area was ready.

Then more rain and with all the new grating, everything was a muddy mess. Planting rye seed to grow some grass and help our new slopes for water drainage not just wash away, became a priority.

I prepped the soil, planted and covered the seeds with hay so the birds and guinea hens would not eat the seed to give it a chance to grow.

Next week I start on the vegetable garden and Shane will begin repairing the fencing.

Woodland House: Week 7&8

Week 7 and 8 brought lost of progress.

I started painting the kitchen cabinets, which took several coats.

Shane was busy in the bathroom getting the shiplap paneling up and the sink and countertop in. We also picked out the paint colors and the bathroom flooring.

The yard began to bloom with some beautiful signs of Spring.

Then the bathtub tile went up and a shower nook was created by my talented husband.

The big excitement of Week 8 was the arrival of our new garage! The same day we also had an HVAC company out installing the new unit into the mobile home.

This gave us an opportunity to work in the yard and clear lots of overgrown, thorny areas. We found 3 burn piles and lots of trash that had not burned and bags of abandoned trash.

The week ended with more painting, Shane grouting the shower tile and a glass company coming out to replace broken window panes in the mobile home.

Woodland House Week 6

Week 6 finds me back home and ready to work.

We ordered a trash bin, scheduled quotes for HVAC systems for the house and mobile, glass quotes to repair broken windows in mobile and had our internet moved up to the mobile while the power is down to the main house. Shane continued to work on the mobile home.

He repaired the flooring under the water tank, ran the plumbing for the water tank and did all the plumbing under the mobile.

Water heater floor repair and installation

I got busy loading the trash bin as soon as it came.

I made a dent in the pile, but we are going to need another bin.

Meanwhile, Shane got the shower surround framing done with a shower nook, moisture barrier and backerboard up for the tub, and the drain working.

The power line was taken down, ready to be moved under ground and the cable line was taken down and moved under ground, so we are ready for the garage installation.

We wrapped up the week meeting with the architect and making some changes to the floor plan of the house and picking out paint and tile for the mobile home.

Woodland House Week 5

Week 5 began with a visit from our son and grandson. We took pictures at Ceasers Head, played in the water at Falls Park, had some delicious food and more playtime at an indoor playground.

Then, I was off to CA for a wedding and to visit my other 2 grandbabies.

But, my husband was busy at work on the mobile home.

He framed the new tub base, and got the backerboard down for tile.

And did more floor repairs to the hallway and laundry room and lots of cleaning

Then it was onto bathroom and laundry room plumbing.

The electrical inspector also signed of on the panel so next week power to the main house will be cut off so the power line and be moved and dug under ground.

Woodland House Week 4

Week 4 began with a date day to explore Greenville and to pull permits for the new service panel.

While my husband was busy working on the bathroom in the mobile home, I got busy doing demo in the pantry in the main house to get ready for the new location for the service panel.

And then my fun demo project took a turn.

I found severe damage and rot to the studs supporting the walls and had to go deliver the bad news to my husband.

He came down and took out the floor and the news was even worse.

How that corner of the house was standing, we have no idea. The bathtub in the adjoining room is falling through the floor. Studs were so rotted they were not touching the ground and support joists were crumbling in my husband’s hands.

We got busy cutting wood and my husband was able to save that corner of the house. He attached new studs to the old ones, replaced floor joists, added moisture barrier and replaced the subfloors.

Me learning to cut wood and the new studs.

The one highlight of the week is I did find some tongue and groove wood in the kitchen walls.

And the new service panel did make it’s way into it’s new location.

Woodland House Week 3

Week 3 we started with setting up our little RV to live in for the next several months.

It took two trips to an RV store for parts to get the toilet working and advice on the water heater but we are all set up. Having heat again has been nice.

We were even able to have a little Super Bowl party for 2.

The concrete slab was poured and turned out great. Now we need to move the power line that hanging too low across the property and is in the way of where the garage is going.

More demo on the mobile happened.

The subfloor in the bathroom was replaced and we got some great deals on materials and staged it. We bought the vanity for $45 and the toilet for $25. Both at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.

We wrapped up the week with a meeting with our electricians and a visit from a Duke Energy engineer to approve the new location for our power line and service panel.

Woodland House: Week 2

Week 2 we had some rainy days so we decided to get started on the Mobile Home.

I went through and pictures of where we were starting.

Then we began demo. Removing carpets and wall panel’s to see how much damage was beneath.

It was more than we anticipated but it also made us even more determined to give this home some love and bring it back.

Water damage here, water damage there, water damage everywhere

After that, it was back to finish the garage tear down for the new concrete slab to come in for the new garage. This time it only took 1 pull with truck to bring it down after all our prep work we did before.

Next week, setting up an RV to live in, the concrete gets poured and a new electrical panel for the main house.

Stay tuned.

Coffee, Life and Plumbing

This morning I am sitting bundled up in a house cold enough to see my breath, by a wood burning stove my husband is using muffler tape to hold together and am listening to the team prepare our driveway to pour the concrete for our new garage. I am writing in my gratitude journal and my husband come in to tell me that our water main has been hit. I look out the window to see water bubbling up through ground.

Another aspect of this house incorrectly done. It is barely below ground and a plastic pipe is all that is bringing water into our home. Without this find, it would have been below our new slab and new garage and when it burst…which is inevitable with it not being copper piping and would have been leaking under the work we are having done.

So now we have trenching and digging and copper piping to buy to make it correct. I have no water to the house, so that will make today interesting but I still sit in gratitude.

I am still warm and safe even though there is chaos around me. I have clean, bottled water to drink. Fortunately, my husband made coffee this morning start my day with as I set my intentions for the week. There is always a silver lining, a new perspective to see, an opportunity to grow.

So it looks like this week, I will be learning plumbing and getting a workout digging. Good thing I have dry shampoo until I can wash my hair again.

Woodland House Week One

Hello all, here is an update on our 1st week renovating our property in South Carolina.

Our very 1st day, my husband got stuck in the mud pulling our work trailer onto the property with our tools in it. After an hour of trying to get out, we called a tow company and the driver was able to attach a chain and pull out the trailer and truck. He had to do it from the street to avoid getting stuck himself.

Friendly neighborhood tow truck driver to the rescue

We were staying near by at an AirBnB on a farm so we were able to clean and check out the wiring! Oh what we found!

Lot’s of car wiring, muliple splices, hot wires with no ground. Some very creative and dangerous solutions.

There is a wire coming through the window frame to power an outlet in the kitchen.

Then we moved on to tearing down the carport. We have a new concrete slab being poured and a new garage coming so getting prepared was a priority.

It took 5 attempts to pull it down with the truck and a chain but we finally got it down.

Then we took it apart and saved the wood to be reused on other projects or for firewood in the fire pit. Unfortunately we could not save any of the metal roofing. It was thin and had large nails hammered in so there were large holes after we took it off.

To wrap up the week, we started taking down the garage. We cleared out the inside and took the walls down. Next will be the roof and studs.

Day 2: Lessons in Electrical Work

As we dig into this house, we are finding lots of eletrical issues and we will need to do a full rewire an updated eletrical panel to make this house safe. Luckily, my husband is a talented electrician and has already started disconnecting unsafe wiring he has found.