Well this was our last stay-cation at our NH house where we take a week off of work to work on the house, definitely not as much fun when it’s finishing a house that will get sold 🙁 Add to that my back has been killing me (sciatic) with this part of pregnancy (so much fun) but we got a ton done and we are on track to get the house listed in mid-may i think. Let’s see if I can recap the vacation a bit…
We drove out Friday night (Alex’s birthday). Saturday Ryan worked on getting trim installed, the painter was starting on monday so he wanted all but the master bathroom trim done if possible. He got the back bedroom windows and doors trimmed, then the window by the washer/dryer…
Baseboards done … the old baseboard tops had to be stripped of paint and cleaned up a bit then the caps put on, plus a small piece had to be pieced in.
Doors trimmed
Window trimmed by washer/dryer
When i had time I focused on electrical. These lights were done the last weekend we were out but I didn’t take pics so here are the lights i installed in the stairway and top of stairs.
These will have shades on top
Chandelier at the top
I got the back bedroom outlets all wired up at some point during the week (a naptime – there weren’t many naptimes). So master bedroom and bathroom are really the last outlets left.
Sunday Ryan worked on the master bedroom trim (baseboards again) and also patched up the floor where the radiator had done damage. The floors are officially ready to be refinished now (well when we have time!).
Over the weekend our neighbor finished spackling the bathroom and then sanded it on sunday so I could prime it and Mark could paint it Mon-Tue, we went with a light grey paint.
Spackled
All done!
Monday started the master bathroom project in earnest, Ryan had to get the shower pan installed which took some work and included putting the drain in, then the foam floor insert (Kerdi system). Ryan’s dad came out to help Monday afternoon-Wednesday which was a huge help. The kerdi system involved putting down the underlayment then letting it dry so working on something else until they could tile again. It slowed down the project but hopefully is worth it.
The project they chose as extra was putting up most of the front porch (wrap-around) ceiling! They put upstrapping to nail the new ceiling to and then put up bead board panels. We’ll need to put up some trim on the seams and around the edges to make it look really finished but it’s a huge improvement and looks great. Over the 3 days they got all but 2 panels installed.
In the bathroom on Tuesday they got the floor to the shower done AND the floor to the whole bathroom tiled! All day on hands/knees as this is a large bathroom! Oh and Mark also painted the entire bathroom
Shower floor – charcoal – love it!
Starting the floor tile, simple subway layout of 12×12 on the floor.
Finished!
The bumpout part
Unfortunately they needed to give the tile 24 hours to dry so the shower project had to wait until Wed night before starting. So that’s when they worked on the porch ceiling the most.
I got some lights in the master bathroom wired up so Ryan would have light in there at night if he tiled the shower. I also worked a little on the banister project I have planned. I’m sanding it lightly with 300 grit, cleaning it well, staining it dark so it hides any knicks then i’ll give it a wax. Here is a section I did with just stain, no wax yet…
It darkens a bit but really hides the old knicks well and looks awesome in person! This section only took about an hour so won’t take too long to do the rest!
The painter started on Monday with prepping (filling holes and sanding) the trim we had installed. Then he got to priming – he’s doing all the trim upstairs, some downstairs and all the doors we’ve had dipped. I actually drove the last 3 doors down to Worcester on Tuesday to be dipped and they’ll be brought back this week when I make another trip out!
Painter got the trim all primed in the back bedroom
Hallway trim all primed
Trim at the top of the stairs primed
Master bedroom windows all primed
Some great progress this week… Alex, Mark and I headed back late Wednesday night so I could clean the house and prep for the birthday party Thur and Fri. Ryan stayed through Thursday, tiling the shower!
Matching tile in 12×24 for the shower.
The glass guys came and measured on Thursday once the shower was tiled and Ryan also met with the realtor … about 4 more weeks and we’ll be listing hopefully!
We have a few big projects left and lots of little things. We need to fit in finishing the floors, the painting is being handled so that’s not a concern. The bathroom has to be grouted – this weekend! And then the glass can be installed in the shower. We have to get the vanity upstairs and put in – that is crazy heavy and will be tough but hopefully soon.