1045 Gardendale

Thank you.

2010-09-25T15:19:00.001-07:00

Nick has worked so hard to help me make this house a home for me. Not many people would consider remodeling a house with someone that they have been dating for several months but apparently to him it seemed a no-brainer. He keeps me sane, slows me down when I'm moving too fast, and motivates me when I am moving too slow. Thank you Nick. I love living here especially because it's with you.

Too Long...

2010-09-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I am so bad at blogging. Then there is the guilt that sets in after so much time has passed between posts. The house is SO close to matching the vision I had when I first stood in front of it and imagined what it could be. The outside and inside have been painted, roof repaired, new flooring throughout, new fixtures all over the place, brand new bathroom, new countertops in the kitchen as well as a dishwasher and disposal that were both foreign entities at 1045 Gardendale. A "new to me" vintage oven that is still not quite functional....I could go on forever - a true overhaul. Alot of work and love have gone into what this house is now. There are a few more big projects to tackle but on the whole it is the "little" things that still need to get done and they seem to take FOREVER especially when you cannot devote your entire life to hanging curtains and touching up paint.

I posted some pics on facebook the night when the kitchen table made it's way into the kitchen. It was in the living room for about a year so it was indeed a very important occasion for me.

Beginning of Exterior paint/ roof repair

2010-04-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the beginning of the new exterior paint job and had some roof repair done at the same time. Wanted to replace the "flashing" (sp?) as it was a bit crumpled in spots from a tree hitting it....turns out it wasn't even flashing to begin with. Now it is for real.

ALSO had the roof re-sealed....another one of those "I wasn't planning on doing that right now..." things.

Countdown..

2009-11-08T16:02:00.000-08:00

The movers are going to move stuff to the house this Wednesday, Veterans day. Looks like I might be aero-bedding it at the apt. through the end of the week.

Next set of photos will also feature stacks of boxes, but here are some updated pics from earlier today. As you can see my new/old oven and dishwasher have been installed....but thats about it so far in the kitchen. The room with the yellow paint is the master bedroom.

Who will live at this address?: Part 2

2009-11-07T06:54:00.001-08:00

Errol, the cat. He will be giant one day and unfortunately may no longer fit in the house.

He is stupid loveable and more puppy than cat. I still have reservations about having a cat at all....but he is pretty exceptional.

LIVING ROOM.....I can almost live in it.

2009-10-25T21:33:00.001-07:00

EXTERIOR SHOTS

2009-10-25T21:29:00.001-07:00

EMPTY BATHROOM

2009-10-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

Somehow I ended up with a gutted "master" bathroom.

This was not in the plans, but I found some black mold...

Run over your mail.

2009-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Previously at the house there was a mail slot cut into the garage door.

Which means that if you hoped to one day actually use the garage and say even have a remote that would open the garage door upon your arrival home...you would have to drive up, open the door, get out of the car, pick up your mail off the floor of your garage, get back in your car and park.

I did not find this scenario appealing.

A new garage door was installed. I have a remote.

This means that there was no more mail slot.

A new mailbox was put up and will look much more at home once the exterior is painted.

NEW TILE PICS

2009-10-25T21:15:00.001-07:00

This 18x18 gray tile now covers the floors in most of the house. I love it.

FOUND #3

2009-10-25T21:09:00.001-07:00

Today as Nick began painting the ceiling in the living room we found something awesome.

There is a planter high atop this brick wall in the entry way;

and inside of that planter was a newspaper from 1968.

Palette

2009-10-14T18:32:00.001-07:00

Here you can get an idea of the color palette that is developing at the house....

A sampling from Nick's collection of painted Deb pics....

2009-10-14T18:24:00.001-07:00

TILE TILE TILE

2009-10-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

This past week I finally purchased all the flooring for the house.

Thank you home depot credit card.

Almost 1,000 sq ft of 18x18 gray tile,

54 sq ft of 12x12 white tile,

and 181 sq ft white wash laminate from IKEA.

At this moment the house has NO flooring in it,

it has been cleared out down to the concrete slab,

the "master" bathroom is completely gutted,

and somehow I am feeling better about everything.

FOUND #2

2009-10-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

FOUND #1

2009-09-30T21:22:00.001-07:00

Things found at the house.

1. Awesome old soap

2. A FOURTH!!! layer of tile in the kitchen!!!!!

House Day 2009

2009-09-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

I took this past Friday off from work to have some appointments at the house.

This is what my schedule looked like:

8am-12pm Bug Service

9am Electrician

11am-1pm Garage door service

12pm-3pm Roto Rooter

2pm Furnace Service

2pm ADT installation

At the end of the day I had a new water heater, a new garage door on order, my front and back doors talk when they are opened and closed, several new grounded plugs (including the one for the fridge that had never been grounded!), and I learned that my gas had been turned off.

Who will live at this address?: Part I

2009-09-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Loyal friend and elderly guinea pig, Olli, will hopefully live at this new address.

He is from Los Angeles, CA and moved to Texas with me in a UHAUL. He is approx. 6yrs old. He has recently lost alot of weight and has begun balding; but overall seems pretty stoked for the move.

Least exciting thing I have ever spent money on.

2009-09-21T19:04:00.001-07:00

Fancified access to the back of the tub.

PINK ROOM

2009-09-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

The second bedroom will from here on out be referred to as the "pink room."

This room not only came with bars on the windows but also with some great ceiling damage; a gift from IKE. The photo above shows the freshly patched ceiling.

Look Ma! No Bars!!!

2009-09-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Major progress finally being seen at 1045 Gardendale. I hired my favorite contractor, Martin Brahm, to remove all of the burglar bars from the house, and do some of the important repairs inside. Also hired someone to grind the stump in the front yard. Here is a before and after shot.

CLOSING....CLOSED.

2009-09-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

I closed on 1045 Gardendale today at 4pm.

Handed over my cashier's check, signed way too many papers, and got the keys.

The fun begins now.

No house is truly complete without this....

2009-08-22T13:28:00.001-07:00

So I bought it.

It will replace that awesome fixture in the

picture below.

Knobs....

2009-08-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry this may become a bit boring, but for now I am without keys and just itching to get in there; so I am doing some shopping.

I found these knobs on ebay for the hall bathroom.

PROJECTS!!

2009-08-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

One reason I am so excited to own a home again is PROJECTS. I am going to have some big ones but the small ones are just as satisfying sometimes.

I have recently become obsessed with Martha Stewart blue....it is her signature color.

First I bought the kitchen aid mixer....then the matching blender....

Deb's first mini- project: Make a kitchen light fixture out of a Martha Stewart blue 5qt colander!!

This makes me stupidly happy.

Now I wait....

2009-08-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

Nothing I can do now but get home insurance quotes. Unfortunately the recent unexpected drop in unemployment has affected the interest rates. If this trend continues I may be locked in with one as early as Monday. If they seem to get better I am going to gamble a bit.

First purchase...

2009-08-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

When I started looking, central AC was a must but then I found this house.

It will only have window units, but because of the set-up I am pretty confident that it will work out and be comfortable. However, ceiling fans may be crucial.

Most ceiling fans are hideous and the few so-called modern ceiling fans are usually super expensive and over the top. The fans which reside at the house now have geese on them if I remember correctly...anyhow I just "won" ceiling fans for both bedrooms on ebay.

Going for it...

2009-08-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

I am going to buy it. Nothing on the inspection report scared me too much. Should have all my paperwork together for my mortgage broker tomorrow and if all goes well I should have the keys around September 1st.

The apt lease is not up until the end of November so that leaves almost three months to get some painting and projecting done before moving stuff in. House to-do list in the works....

INSPECTION

2009-08-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

By this time tomorrow I will know for sure whether or not this will be my living room. Inspection went well. All the big stuff is in decent shape...foundation, electrical etc. Lots of work to do but mostly cosmetic. By 8am I will have the full report from my inspector and I can make a final decision.

The non-plan

2009-08-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

So it is kind of bothering me that there was no real planning involved in my decision to put a bid on the house at 1045 Gardendale. I had been looking at properties for both rent and purchase, just hoping to find some place that I could live for atleast 2 or 3 years.

A place that felt like home.

If I was going to buy a house it needed to be built between 1950 and 1970, not terribly updated, preferably $150,000 or less, and hopefully in close proximity to friends.

1045 Gardendale fit the bill. Listed at 125,000...my offer of 119,000 was accepted.

Next: INSPECTION.