Saturday, December 24, 2011

A little sweat equity...

I have heard the term many times "sweat equity" and it always sounded like a good idea, but after 3 weeks of literally sweating and working nonstop on this house, I am not sure I am sold on the concept. I will give you a little update and then it is back to work again (we have to move into the new place by January 1). We tore down the lathe and plaster, ripped down some walls, revamped the electrical system, reenforced the upstairs room, installed new windows and doors (compliments of Tormino's Sash and Glasss), sheetrocked everything and cleaned a lot. Needless to say it has been a long couple weeks. It was awesome to have so many people step up and help as I know Whit and I could not have done it ourselves.

I am always fascinated by the process of renovating a home. I always underestimtate the time it takes to complete a project and the overall cost of a particular item. The biggest fear most of the time is the unknown. What is going to be behind that wall? In this project we found a 2x4 signed by the owner dated 9/30/1931 and some newspaper insulation with an aritcle talking about the Jim Braddock (Cinderella Man, Russell Crowe, boxing...you know the movie) vs Joe Louis. We had to go watch the movie again after seeing the article. It's one of Whit's favorites.

It has been a balancing of schedules but in the end this project is coming along as scheduled and with all of the grunt work out of the way, it is time to add our finishing touches. We have a few surprises with some modern touches that fit in this 1907 craftsman.

Below are some pictures from the renovation. I will have more to post when I collect all of the iphone photos from Whit, Josiah and Joseph.































I will keep you more updated as I coulndt really think straight the last two weeks. We definitely want to have people over when we are completed or if you happen to be a handy painter, let me know as we are recruiting all painters with a promised pay of food and drinks.

If you are interested in your own fixer or just want to upgrade to a completely finished home let me know and I can be searching for you.