Renovating The Cabin

Well the Holidays are done and gone, the new year has started, I'm still hoping to have this house completed in April. I do have some work for clients that's taking the front stage for the time being, but I have some delightful updates for you all! Drywall mud is going on some of the walls, new electrical has been pulled in the kitchen, the fireplace is being transformed, the front door has been replaced, the upstairs shower pan is installed... I mean it's not like I haven't been doing anything at all...Yeah I still haven't installed any of the windows, but one day it will HAVE to happen. The roof repairs will be much larger than I expected which is unfortunate, and I'm sealing more of the foundation. When the snow melts, I'm going to need to fix some of the slope around the house as there are gaps along the foundation. But that's last on my list of things to do... I do however have a startlingly awful thing to fix now... So I got a call from the Town of Collbran that water was pouring out from the garage and flooding the street, which of course was also turning to ice! I dropped what I was doing and drove up to the house to meet them there. Apparently, I was losing 5 gallons a minute. At first I was thinking some of my new plumbing had broken as I had replaced 50% of the pipes. But what I found still horrifies me! Water was coming up through the cracks in the concrete in the garage floor...(of course my new plumbing was fine) and I just stood there staring at it like a startled deer! The guys with the town were trying to shut the water off at the street, but the valve had broken there as well, so there was no way to stop it!! Anyway, they had to turn off the water to the whole street and replace that valve, so the water is finally off. But now I have to tear out the concrete in the garage floor and find and repair the leak! How did this happen? The garage stays around 55 degrees, and the pipe is 4 feet below ground. My guess is the 73 year old galvanized pipes that feed the house finally broke, and I was lucky enough to have it happen during my renovation. Because why not? Oh well, since I'm fixing everything else, why not this too? Anyway, I will be at the house this Monday and Tuesday cutting out the concrete and trying to locate the break. Admit it, you are jealous. I know you are. I can't wait to post those pictures on next week's blog. It's gonna be exciting! In the meantime, I hope you have a great week. -Eric

Here we are again, another week has gone by, and another round of unpleasant discoveries. It's ok though, it just means more of the house is being upgraded, which is great for the future owner. And I spent some money this week. I picked up the new garage door and opener, the new front door, all the new electrical outlets and switches, (33 outlets and 25 switches) more drywall, and lots more lumber. I also got the new shower valves and faucets for the 2 bathrooms. And..some plumbing parts. So, I had to take out some old plumbing waste, I mentioned it last week, but now it's all repaired and water tight. I have to admit it was kinda gross...that waste pipe is 72 years old, and anyway, it's good now. We are all good. Let's move on... (shudder!) So, I drywalled most of the living room downstairs, built a stem wall in the workshop, and drywalled it, (can you believe I didn't take any pictures of that?) and I repaired downstairs wall framing. I'm still short on drywall and will need to get another 10 sheets. But I'm getting closer all the time! I framed new walls for the showers, and installed the shower valves. I also ended up replacing a large portion of the galvanized water pipes with pex, as I kept finding little leaks. And let's face it, it will be nice to have some newer piping in the house. I'm hoping by the second half of next week, I can start mudding the walls. Of course, I still need to replace the windows, but it's cold... *sigh* yeah I know. I need to get on it. We will see how I feel Monday. I really need to do something about the snow build-up on the north side..it's a safety hazard. Anyway, I feel like we are getting to the more exciting parts of the renovation...putting it all back together and seeing it change. Thanks you all for checking in with the progress. I really thing this house will be special when it's done.

Well, well, well. So this was an interesting week at the ol' cabin. We have electrical work going on, drywall going up, the windows are on site, and I made a design decision on the trim for the whole house. And, some of the old plumbing I was planning on keeping, decided to start leaking. Because why not? So, to my dismay, it appears the snow on the north side of the house isn't going anywhere soon. That's putting a damper on my exterior activities, but the windows and doors will still be replaced. Wood repair and paint will just have to wait, it seems. Oh well, gotta keep moving, maybe Spring will warm up sooner. I built the wall in the garage along the east foundation, and added a support column under the beam. I also added an electrical outlet which will have power for an air compressor or a welder. And It's all sheet-rocked now. I think it helps clean up the garage, so it doesn't look so cave-like. Once the new garage door, and lights and insulation are in, and it's painted, it will look like a whole different place. I'm excited for that transformation alone! I also thought it would be a great idea to add drywall to the ceiling in the little room upstairs where the ceiling had fallen down. Im glad I did, because the attic insulation kept falling through. But now it's all closed up. Such a relief! I'd like to thank Brad Rowan with T&G Electric for helping me with all my electrical needs. We are upgrading a bunch of things, and moving outlets, lights and switches. He is a huge help with this. Thanks Brad! And ok, yes the house is a mess, and yes I have crap all over the place. I apparently have to work in a filthy environment. Did you know that all the bedroom walls have wallpaper...4 layers of wallpaper? ugh...it's pretty awful. The house has a long way to go, but in my head the final product will be very nice! (notice I said "in my head") Perhaps it's insanity? I have lots of things on the agenda for next week, and we will see how the weather cooperates. And as always, my client's needs come first. If you need anything, let me know!

So for this week, we didn't really have much progress. Travelled out of town for the holiday, and worked on a bathroom for a client. However, I was able to pick up 8 new windows for the house, so that's a win! The plan for this next week, at least for now, is to finish removing the paneling in the basement, remove some popcorn from the ceilings with this nifty new tool I have, start working on the electrical, and maybe....just maybe, get some drywall up to the house. Get this: I need 37 sheets of drywall. 37! I sure hope I like drywall mud because this is going to take a while. There is about 10" of snow in the north side of the house, and it's been pretty cold. I have some exterior work to do that I'm pushing off for the time being because of that, and I gotta be honest, I really don't enjoy working in sub-freezing temps. 27 years of commercial construction, some of which was spent outside in freezing cold for days at a time, has really ruined it for me. Stupid cold...! Anyway, that's gonna wrap it up for this week. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I wish you all the best as we move further into the Holiday Season. See you next week!

Ponderance of walls

The Beauty of Demo

The work on the Cabin has begun!