Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

10 Aug., 2019; Vail AZ.


At least for the inside of the house . . .


It's been too hot (for me) to work outside for more than an hour or so in the early mornings.  So, I've been concentrating on what I want to get done inside before I move in my stuff.  

I wanted to replace all the carpets (extremely pee-stained by P.O. pets) with tile (because of my little dog).  So, while I was waiting for the tile work to get scheduled and completed, I had time to paint a couple bedrooms and remove all the baseboards (for painting as well as prep for the tile work).


The painting was a necessity!


While I'm sure the little girls loved the color schemes and doo-dads (little flowers on the ends of the curtain rods; unicorns on the ceiling fan pull-strings), a more mature look was needed for me.







So, first, the baseboards had to come off.  Not only in these 2 bedrooms, but also in the 2 bedrooms I'm hoping not to paint this year.


Here I am gettng started

All the baseboards in the garage, ready for refurbishing or replacement

Taking off the baseboards disclosed more termite damage which meant another trip out to the house for the termite company!


Yikes!!

The bedrooms required primer and 2 additional coats of paint - I listened to several audiobooks to keep me sane throughout the tedious work.






But, finally, the painting was done!!  The walls are now a lovely cream color with a different accent wall in each room.  I really like the green and the dark brown; not so fond of the dusty rose - I thought it would be more muted.  But, after running back and forth to Home Depot and trying over a half dozen tester paints, I was just too worn out to continue looking at different colors


Previously pink and lavendar


Previously, yellow and lavendar


Just the accent wall in this smaller bedroom

On to the Tile Project . . .


My tile finally came in and the job got scheduled - really only about a week after what was initially proposed.  

I was so glad to see the last of the icky carpet!  This is only some of the carpet; the guys used huge segments of the rugs to protect the tile coming in to the house and under all their tools in the garage and front porch where they set up their saws and prep work stations.





I was quoted 5 days for the job - and I thought that was tight.  But, the team of guys (3, then 4) were extremely fast - 3 bedrooms were largely tiled by the end of the first day (well, they did show up before 7 am!!).  They finished up those rooms and then completed the master bedroom and walk-in closet the second day!!  I was amazed!


Lots of cleaning after the carpet came out to prep the floors for the tile.

In progress

My existing tile isn't made anymore; but, I like the new tile and I think it looks pretty good with the old tile.








One last chore for me was to replace the closet door guides.  The old ones were too short with the carpet gone.  I didn't want to (and my drill is in storage in Oregon anyway) drill into the new tile, so we'll see how the epoxy glue holds.





All the outlet covers and HVAC covers are back on.  Now, I just have to fix up the baseboards, and then put them back on.  I think I'll be renting a nail gun to help with that chore - I've never used one before, so that should be interesting.  Hope I don't nail my foot to the floor.


I'm not the only one renovating!


My resident tarantula is excavating her den - or maybe just cleaning out after the last big rain.  The pile of fresh dirt in the middle of the photo is what she's dragged out of her burrow.  The burrow is just below the pile of dirt - a quarter-sized, perfectly round hole that goes down about 6 inches before angling off to a horizontal layer.




4 comments:

  1. The changes that you are making to the house are all great improvements.
    Be Safe around the Tarantula Den and Enjoy your home.

    It's about time.

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  2. I love the tile against the brown paint. So much work!! Termites do seem to be a problem around this area. It's going to be beautiful when you're finished.

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  3. Anne, I just purchased a home in Lacey, WA, and have my Escape travel trailer parked very close at hand. It's a 40-yr-old home that needs only minor repair/upgrades, but needs lots of them! Your photos are terrific incentive, thank you. :-) What's up with you these days? Still have the trailer? Where are you headed this summer?

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  4. I've been loving the new house! There trailer offs getting sold and will be replaced by probably a conversion van more suited to the type of travel I envision for there next few years.

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