Finishing the Office

So once the renovation was done - the entire house looked amazing, except for one remaining spot. The small office off of the master bedroom was now painfully unfinished. So in a quick 2-day sprint, we got it finished up. 

the office is just a collection of misplaced items

freezing cement floor

Paint

First up, I just cleared everything out of the way and painted the walls the same blue-gray as the bedroom. 

all emptied out - but still a mess

blue walls

all painted

Carpet

We knew the floor had to be finished because even though we had a new baseboard heater installed to warm the room, the cement slab was just freezing. We originally wanted to do an engineered floor, but decided wall to wall carpet would be easier. Without time to order anything nicer, we just picked the best in-stock option at home depot and brought it home. In a whirlwind nap break, Spouse got the materials, put down the nail strips, padding, and carpet all in a couple hours. 

exhausted but finished

carpet is in

Trim

So lastly to make it look a little more finished, we put up floor trim. I cut it all and then glued it in place because we knew there was brick behind the sheetrock. Then I painted it and called it a day. 

trim gets held in place while the glue dries

done

crown molding covers a gap in the ceiling. 

So - this is definitely not our best project. It looks significantly better than before, but we didn't have the time to really do it right. I am proud to say that house projects are done for a while - any every part of this house is now officially finished. 

Roof Stuff

So - two of our last major renovation projects just collided - 1) We had a contractor last summer install a vent through the roof of the sleeping porch to vent the toilet in the half bath below, and 2) we then sheetrocked the sleeping porch, trying to finish out the space. (10 points if you can guess what comes next)

we have a leak. 

So - it turns out that the vent was not installed properly, water slowly got into the roof, and one night during an intense storm - we heard dripping and saw a steady stream of water coming right through our newly sheetrocked ceiling.

this vent is somehow improper. 

Getting Estimates
We reached out to two roofing companies based on Angie's list and yelp reviews for quotes to fix the leaking roof. Since they were going to be up there anyway, we thought this would be a nice chance to put in some more skylights to add natural light to our bedroom and the spare room beside it (something we've always wanted to do), and to take a look at the nasty skylight in the bathroom, which is a constant eyesore. Inevitably, both companies also found a couple other problems on the roof, stuff that was either installed incorrectly or just old and needed to be replaced. Thankfully, both companies said that the main roof was in good shape - a huge relief.

a view of the bathroom skylight from below

I don't think it's supposed to do that.

 

our big old skylight with some chimney leftovers

Both companies had different approaches to the issues - one wanted to just patch the roof and clean up the old skylight, while the other wanted to rip off and replace both. One company wanted to install two new skylights in the bedroom, while the other wanted to install solar tubes. We weighed both options, decided we wanted to do half of one quote and half of the other - and then I managed to negotiate the one company to match the other - so we got 2 new skylights in the master suite, replacing the old skylight, and ripping off and replacing the sleeping porch roof - all for the cost of the original quote. (I am apparently a master negotiator). We signed the contract and were ready to go the next morning.

Placement Issues:
So once we knew who we were using and had settled on skylights (instead of solar tubes), we had to tell them where to put them. This was a bigger issue than you might think, since we have lots of future plans for these spaces. We wanted the skylights centered in their rooms, but we have plans that will change the size and shape of these rooms (adding a new master closet, removing the current one). So we had to quickly map out where the future walls for the walk-in closet are going to go and where the ceiling fan will be once the current master closet is removed to figure out where to put them. They will look super weird until those changes get made, so this more or less committed us to actually doing all of these projects.

time to finalize the plan for the master suite so we can figure out where to put the skylights

Work Day:
Amazingly, they were able to get everything done in one day. I would have loved to stay home and watch, but had to go to work. Thankfully, the roofing guy took a bunch of pictures for me.

cutting a hole for a new skylight

building a new frame (apparently called a curb)

frame gets covered in roofing material

then they plop the new skylight on top

old nasty bathroom one gets replaced

check out all my roof bubbles!

 

oh - and they solved the original issue, by replacing everything on the sleeping porch

Closing thoughts - 
1) I am consistently disappointed every time we hire a contractor (who caused the original damage that led to all this). I feel like we decide to pay the extra money to have a professional do the work instead of doing it ourselves, because we think that means the work will be guaranteed to be done correctly, to code, and whatever else -- but every time, even well reviewed ones cut corners, create new problems, and leave me thinking I should've just done it myself, or hired the subcontractors directly. Working directly with the roofers on this one made things so much easier, even though we now have to find someone else to do the sheetrock work so we can actually see the skylights from below.

2) We now have quite a few sheetrock projects that are accumulating, between closing in the skylights, patching the sheetrock in the sleeping porch, and closing in the air conditioning vents, and maybe a couple more new ones I'm thinking about. I'm thinking about just hiring out sheetrock work in general, since this is really hard to do ourselves and a team that just does sheetrock is quick and relatively cheap.

3) Light is nice. Already the bathroom seems brighter. I very much look forward to cutting into the bedroom ceiling to see the new skylights to let in more light. This is a major downside of rowhouses - inherently dark.

4) It seems like we have to spend a lot of money just to maintain the house, and get to spend much less on actually making it nicer. I don't know if that's just a general rule for houses or old houses in particular - but I think I previously had the impression that houses were a little more resilient. Since we bought this house, we've spent a lot more money on maintenancy stuff than improvementy stuff - we've totally replaced all the guts of the house (water heater, boiler, pump), and replaced most of the pipes in the walls - all projects that aren't even noticeable.  Thankfully, because of the skylight work, the project was at least half about something that makes the house nicer. I'm ready to start working on projects that make the house feel nicer and more functional.

5) We are now committed to the master suite idea - so we are about to get moving on that project. Since it's on top of the kitchen, which also needs to be done - we're about to start both of those projects at once. It's going to be more complicated to do them together, but ultimately cheaper and better than having to tear things back out down the line - so stay tuned.

Progress on the Sleeping Porch

So - most of our projects have been rather short-term and distinct - we like to push through and get things done as quickly as possible to avoid projects just dragging on forever. This project is the exact opposite - we have been working on the sleeping porch in fits and starts for several years now. I think it's time to finally post this one, in hopes that this will encourage me to actually finish it all the way.

2012 - Starting Point
So, when we first moved into our house (>4 years ago), there was a wide but shallow room along the back of the upstairs that had really nasty crankable window panes, that was completely unusable in cold weather and obviously in need of renovation. Because the windows were made of many small panes of glass, it was completely open to the weather and thus freezing in the winter and filthy - so we didn't use it at all.

original sleeping porch with floor-to-ceiling crankable windows

2014 - Contractors Fix the Windows
In 2014, as part of our big renovation which fixed up the basement and did some stuff on the first floor, our contractors removed the nasty windows and replaced them with walls and a few real windows. It was closed off but not insulated, so still freezing in the winter and not really usable. At this point, we figured out that our long-term plan for the space is to make half of it a master bathroom, and then other half an office (with a wall in between), even though we couldn't actually make all that happen yet. So - the windows were placed based on the long-term plan and nothing else happened for a while.

after the contractors close in the walls and install real windows

2015 - Good Intentions but No Real Progress
Then, in early 2015, I boldly laid out my design plan and goal to have the room finished in a couple weeks. This was part of the push to finish up big projects before the baby arrived - which didn't happen for obvious reasons. I got only as far as removing the nasty paneling from the ceiling, which made it slightly more attractive but just a bit colder in the winter - so still not usable space.

view to the right

view to the left. basically just a spot for a litter box to go. 

2016 - Impending Deadlines Make Things Happen
So - last year we decided to refinance our mortgage, based on the value of our house increasing. We were told that an inspector would need to come see the house and that nothing could still be under construction, so we got to work finishing all the open, constructiony spaces. We decided to go ahead and finish the halfbath and mudroom, but were torn about the kitchen and sleeping porch - knowing that we weren't ready to really renovate those spaces. So instead, the plan was just to patch the holes in the kitchen and stick up sheetrock in the sleeping porch - minimizing our costs for things that would just get torn out later. We hired a contractor for some of the plumbing and electrical work in the half bath, which included venting the toilet all the way to the roof through the sleeping porch. So they didn't do anything else to the sleeping porch except to install a huge pipe right through the middle of the room. Then, we spent all summer and most of the fall on the halfbath/mudroom project, leaving only a couple days before the inspector was scheduled to arrive. So we finally just took a couple days off work to get it done. We stapled up insulation, rented a van to get sheetrock and a lift to put it up, and then I mudded and primed almost everything (until I ran out of paint). I also used leftover cement paint to fix up the floor. When the inspector came through, it looked like a livable space, but certainly not a nice room. And once that deadline had passed, no more work happened.

 the pipe in the middle of the room

sheetrock going up

more sheetrock going up

the last piece of sheetrock goes up around 2am. there is joy and mirth all around. 

mudding the walls. making a mess. 

after priming and moving some plants back in

(shout-out to our Vienna contingent - Rubberto is still alive!)

view to the right - looking sort of like an office

2017 -  Finish it Up
So, my goal is to finish all of the remaining renovations to the house this year. That means that in a couple months, we will hopefully make the whole master bathroom thing happen. In the meantime, I can finish up the office space myself - which will make the house better organized in the process. My goal is to paint the walls, trim the windows and add some curtains, add some bookcases, get a new desk and chair, and basically do everything that can be done now that won't have to be ripped out for the bathroom project (ie, no floor yet). Meanwhile - we are moving forward on the bathroom and kitchen projects, so more on that hopefully soon.

The 15 Week Shape Up

So at some point I read that men are more likely to view their houses as the places that they live, whereas women are more likely to view their houses as a part of themselves-  which allows a messy, disorganized house to reduce a woman's self confidence, while it would have little to no impact on a man's confidence. (I can't find the article, but here's another interesting read on the gender gap of self confidence).  For sure, I feel like my house reflects on me, so it messes with my confidence when I know it's a disaster. But then again, my confidence is already kind of messed up right now anyway. There are aspects of both the house and myself that are kind of embarrassing and cringe-worthy, that I've been very slowly trying to fix up or just putting off altogether. For a variety of reasons, the time has come to get both the house and myself back in shape.

house shame 1: the plywood gap-filler between the dining room and kitchen floors

Part A: Me
So, more than a year since having a kid, I'm still carrying pregnancy weight that just won't get lost. I'm tired of not fitting into a bunch of my clothes and feeling not like myself. I have been losing weight steadily over the past 8 or 9 months, but not fast enough - so it's time to get in gear. My goal: in 15 weeks, I will lose 15 pounds. I don't want to turn this into a weight loss blog, but I'm tired of feeling crappy about myself and ready to be back to normal.

Part B: The House
If you've seen our house lately, you would think that we're in the middle of major construction - but really nothing much has happened in quite a while. After the Great Renovation of 2014, we left a bunch of half-finished spaces that we thought we could close up ourselves, but never got around to. Other spaces, like the bathroom and kitchen, have not been touched really since we moved in - more than 3 years ago. The time has come. First, the spaces are just hideously ugly and constantly filthy, which drives me crazy. Second, the kid is basically walking now, and can easily and quickly get to all of the hazardous and dangerous places - which are of course, exactly where he wants to be. He crawls over plywood floors, tries to eat bits of plaster that fall from the ceiling, and picks at the chipping paint and black mold - so, as a well-intentioned parent, I need to do something for his safety. Third, most of these spaces are completely nonfunctional - we have piles of books and office supplies in the office, and piles of trash and donations in the half bath. So, the goal is to finish up all the partially finished spaces (half bath, mudroom, dining room, kitchen, sleeping porch/office) and to redo the main bathroom - or, generally to fix anything that makes me cringe. This is a considerable amount of work to do, but not quite the entire house to-do list - these are just the big projects that have safety/health issues, or major functionality issues. I'll leave the smaller cosmetic things, like refinishing the fireplace hearth, for another time. We've already got a contractor lined up to get started on some of this, but will do most of the work ourselves.

house shame 2: "mudroom"

Here's the list:

• Finish the back porch
• Close in open ceilings and floors in kitchen and dining room
• Fix the eyesores & other hazards in the kitchen
• Finish Mudroom
• Finish Half Bath
• Finish Office
• Refinish main bathroom
• Finish the entryway
• Renovate the kitchen?

For the Boy
So, obviously, this is largely for myself, but it is also hugely related to the kid (as is, basically everything we do now). On the house front, most of the projects on the list are there because they pose health or safety risks to the kid - either rough edges that he could cut himself on or flaking paint and plaster that he could choke or poison himself with.  It's impossible to make a completely hazard-free house, but it would be damn close to irresponsible if we don't fix these things. On the me front, while he isn't quite talking yet, he is already absorbing and repeating just about everything we do in front of him, so we are clearly teaching him all kinds of things right now, including both healthy and unhealthy habits. Just as I wouldn't want him eating junk food and sitting around playing video games all day, I wouldn't want him to feel self conscious about his body when he's older - and that all starts right now. So my goal is to create both healthy lifestyle and habits that he will see and repeat - like exercising and eating lots of produce, and to eliminate unhealthy body shaming and weight loss mentalities.  If we had a girl - I would be even more psycho about this, but even boys get a lot of pressure about body image, so I want to get him off to a good start.

this guy. 

The Plan
So, for me - the plan is the obvious  "exercise more, eat less bad stuff" plan. I'm signing up for a 10 mile race in October to keep me on track - so I have plenty of time to build my base before starting a 10 week training plan. I'll plan to mostly use my lunch hour at work for running and a couple yoga classes for weight training/flexibility to reduce my likelihood of injuring my bad knee. I'll have to do long runs on the weekend, so scheduling that around the boy will be a little tricky. For food,  I'm going to make an effort to bring in my lunch and snacks so that I don't have to buy food at work, and will cut back on useless calories at home.

house shame 3: the current office/sleeping porch

For the house - we have already hired a contractor to get started on some of the stuff we can't do ourselves. For the rest of the stuff, the plan will be to work  mostly during weekend nap times, with some minor work during weeknights after the boy goes to bed. We might also have to take a day off here and there. Balance will be key - since we also want to do fun summer stuff and don't want to waste the whole summer working on miserable projects.

So, a very ambitious, but hopefully doable plan to get everything back in shape by the fall. I'll report back with updates as we proceed. Wish me luck!

Babyproofing

So - maternity leave was mostly pretty slow and uneventful, house-wise. There was not a lot of time to get anything done on the many, many house projects that I want to work on. However- in the past month we did rather frantically end up making a lot of changes to the house.

You see, finding day care in DC is really hard to do. As soon as I knew I was pregnant, I signed up for the waitlists for 5 different day cares in the area. We paid our waitlisting fees and waited patiently, hoping that by the time maternity leave was over, we would have a spot somewhere. As the end of my leave approached, I reached out to all the daycares to find out where we stood and discovered that we didn't have a chance of getting into any of them. At best, we may be able to get into one in a couple years, and at worst, we managed to move backwards on a list from 150th to 175th.

So, we frantically started researching other childcare options and found a nannyshare that was available with a family in our neighborhood. The great news was that a good nanny would watch our son, starting exactly when we needed her, at a much more convenient location. The bad news was that a 1.5 year old would now also be staying in our house every other week, which was chockfull of baby death traps everywhere we looked. Since our son is only starting to roll over and months away from being really mobile, we hadn't even thought about baby proofing. The other kid though, is running around and great at getting into trouble- so we needed to babyproof asap.

Step 1. Remove the Breakables
There were two bookcases full of breakables - one of our fancy crystal and stuff in the living room and one of our liquor and glasses in the fireplace room. The alcohol got moved into the dining room buffet so its bookcase could go back upstairs to hold books in the new office. The other got moved up to the green room, replacing the console table that was a bad fit up there anyway.

The old liquor cabinet in the fireplace room

new empty wall in the fireplace room- perfect for a basket of toys

old bookcase from the living room moves up to the green room

Step 2. Remove the Deathtrap Shelving Units
After the Great Renovation last year, we got two metal shelving units to replace the walk-in pantry that we lost. One was full of small appliances in the dining room, the other full of food in the kitchen. Both were hideous and totally dangerous for a small child who could pull them over and crush himself. I took all the small appliances off the one unit and moved it down to the basement, where I joined it with a third shelving unit into a mega-double-shelf, to help better organize the stuff being stored down there. The other got moved into the mudroom, where it can be locked away from the kid by the old exterior door.

Old Death Trap #1 - pantry in the kitchen

new well-organized pantry in the mudroom 

(still a deathtrap, but safely behind a lockable door)

Old Death Trap #2 - small appliances in the dining room

new mega double shelving unit in the basement

new safe and empty corner of the dining room

Step 3. Get new Cabinets

To hold all the small appliances that now had no home, we picked up some cheap white cabinets and a countertop from Home Depot. All the appliances fit easily into the new storage space, plus we get two new big drawers for utensils and stuff. We were desperately short on counter space before, so even a crappy counter is a huge step up. Even though the kitchen is getting steadily less attractive at every turn, this is a big improvement for storage and functionality. Plus it lets us test-drive this layout before buying real cabinets in the future kitchen renovation. The old table that was in this spot got moved out to the garage to help organize the workbench area.

ugly new cabinets with lots of counter space and storage

Step 4. Add gates, outlet protectors and cabinet locks

After some minimal research on Amazon, we ordered the classic baby proofing gear - baby gates for the stairs, little plastic plugs for all the electrical outlets, and magnetic locks for the kitchen cabinets.

Wally demonstrates the cat door in the baby gate

Step 5. Build Shelves in the Laundry Closet

I finally put up some basic wooden shelves to get all the laundry supplies up off the floor. This has been on the to-do list since the new laundry closet was built, but we couldn't seem to get it done.

new shelves keep detergents off the floor and out of reach for short people

Step 6. Rearrange the Living Room

Once the old bookcase full of breakables was removed from the living room, we needed to rearrange the remaining furniture. We angled the short couch so that it blocks the radiator (a future hazard once the weather gets colder), which also creates a good place to stash toys out of sight. We also moved the old coffee table to the side of the long couch in the newly created space where the old bookcase was. It has hard metal corners that we don't want the kid running into. On the one hand, the new layout is more open and great for playing, and makes it easier to get to the windows. On the other hand, we no longer have a coffee table, so it's much harder to eat dinner in front of the tv. We seem to have accidentally forced ourselves to start eating at the dining room table like real adults.

the old living room layout with breakables in the corner and a dangerous coffee table

new living room layout is more spacious and less dangerous

the old coffee table becomes a side table

Step 7. Mount the TV

Then we ordered a support to mount the tv to the wall so that it can't be pulled over. Once it was on the wall, we no longer needed the massive tv stand under it, and switched it out for a new much smaller console table that is similar to the side table. We then used a furniture strap thing to attach the console table to the wall, so it can't be pulled over either. The trick here was figuring out how to hide all the misc cables and wires, which were totally visible through the new sleek, glass table. I spent some time bundling and tying each of the wires into a smallish mass that I hide behind the cable box. 

old tv stand is massive and dangerous

new mounted tv over much smaller table

Step 8. New Wall Art

After a lot of time staring at our horrible couches and rug that I never liked, I was feeling pretty annoyed with the living room. We can't afford to buy all new furniture, so I bought a new watercolor for the wall instead (consolation prize!) 

the new watercolor classes up the joint

So, not exactly a renovation project, but a bunch of stuff got moved around and improved. We would've had to do all this eventually once our son is mobile anyway, so it was all time well-spent. We also managed to get rid of several pieces of furniture, like the old tv stand in the living room and the red console table in the green room. They are moving on to a new home, while we are slowly making progress on my goal to get rid of all the temporary and flimsy furniture we bought in our gradschool days.