The Village People

Now we just need a cop, an army guy, an indian and a cowboy...we've got the construction worker part covered! If Holland's career as a stylist doesn't work out, she can get a job on a constrcution site. Her new obsession is using the caulk gun, and she's quite good at it! I have seamless baseboards and bath fixtures, compliments of my sister. We had to take a moment to pose with the infamous Camaro on our property, which has been sold and should be gone by the time we arrive this morning. Rock on!

We have made more progress, in the form of having a gas line long enough to hook up the stove in the back house kitchen, installed baseboards, a working bathroom sink, a shiny scrubbed tub with a new rubber cove base, 2 working garage doors and an empty garage with partially pressure-washed concrete.

Here we've got Larry Woodard, either installing baseboards behind the toilet, or throwing up. I think he's installing base. Thanks to Richelle for lending him to us for the day! The entire house has baseboards, and he's going to install the crown molding next weekend while they are both here to help us bang out the Main House!

And Ron hooked us up with a guy that helped Warren locate the buried gas line and hook that up into the kitchen from outside, via the ditch that was dug the previous day. Of course it rained like crazy during this job, so this guy really earned his money, it was a muddy mess out there.

Warren tightened up the sink in the bathroom, so we can now start washing our hands instead of using hand sanitizer all the time, so my skin we be happy. Like I said, no hand modeling in my future.

Holland also brought an assistant to help her caulk, this cute little Valentine Bear that her boyfriend Andrew shipped to her in NY while she was gone over the Valentine's holiday at Fashion Week. Awww.

Thanks to the helpers!

Let there be Light!

Our tenants had their "heavy trash pick up", but this little baby doll got left behind! And when Warren was parking the Jeep, he rolled over her head accidentally. Poor Baby.

Our friend Jack came by to see the progress, he also stopped by on Day 1 or 2 and saw the mayhem, and Jack thought this crushed baby head was the funniest thing ever. This one's for you, Jack!

We headed to our newest haunt, Michaelangelo's Pizza for some pizza and $2 beers (good beers, too!) and then back to the house to hook up the ceiling fan lights. After more than a week of working with a high voltage spotlight, the regular lighting is welcome! I spray painted all of the fan lights and we re-hung, which saved us about $500 or so, for the 3 fans. Just the cost of a couple of cans of spray primer and some spray white gloss.

Here we've got Jack and Warren partially done with the bedroom light. How many (fill in the blank)'s does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

What a difference a week makes!

We're rolling now! We have moved on to what I consider the Fun Stuff (paint) and installing our treasures from Home Depot.

We painted the ceilings Swiss Coffee, and the walls a color called Terracotta Sand. Our tenant came in and said it was an "unusual" color and she wasn't sure she liked it. Tan? Unusual? Consider the source, this is the woman who lived in it with the wood paneling and thought it was pretty nice.

I would not normally paint an entire house the same tan color, but since this for a renter, it is the smartest solution, as it will be easier to repair damage, and is so neutral. I do like the color, but those of you that know me, know that I love color and lots of it. But the Main House is my canvas for that!

We've also figured out that Warren is not the best painter, and it should remain my task. He is certainly helpful when ceilings are on the list, but does better with the tasks including measuring, drilling, hanging, etc. But we both love working on what we are calling "instant gratification" projects now. It is a huge difference!

We are also having a good time, here is Warren doing the "Thriller" dance. We finally asked our tenants to turn down/off the Death Metal, as it was making us angry and stressed out. We dealt with it most of the day and then the mom came in and asked me if it was bothering us, and I guess the grimace I made and the sarcastic chuckle told her that Yes, it was irritating, so she had them turn it down, telling her son and his friends that it "wasn't our thing". MJ is so much better, and we are the owners of this house...and they are inconveniencing us by being so ill-prepared for a cross-country move, and forcing us to rent back to them for free. Yes, free. On the last day of negotiations it came back to us that unless we were willing to take a hit in the form of letting them rent back no-charge, the deal was going to fall through. So here we are.

For a better idea of what we are dealing with, here are some photos of the property. It has been cleaned up, and more than half of the crap has been taken to the dump. So multiply what you see by 2 or 3, and that's what we walked into on Day One. When you hear people say they got to see "how the other half lives" in this case, WE are the other half.

Warren has been laying down our new tile flooring, in the kitchen and bath, in preparation for the new cabinets to be hung. He does not have the body type for a flooring person, as he is so far from the ground to begin with, but he's excited about the floor and his new skill set!

Warren's Dad came over on Sunday to help hang the upper cabinets, and it went amazingly well! They agreed on all the measurements and process, which if you've ever had dinner with Warren and his Dad (or brother for that matter) you know that it's almost never a situation where all are in agreement. They look great, and we only have to return one due to being cracked. But that's a lower cabinet, and we can't install those until we dig up the gas line outside the house and reconnect it so that we can hook up the stove. Here is Warren doing the digging. I told him "the world needs ditch diggers too".....

Here is a rough version of what the kitchen in the back house will look like. Compare it to the "before" version:

All I can say is that We Got Skills.


And our new wood flooring was installed! Our neighbor Willy in Costa Mesa works with wood flooring and came with his boss and laid down the floors in the bedroom and

living room. No more drywall dust being kicked up! The work space is much cleaner, and this was probably the most major improvement to date. The change was so drastic! I was walking toward the back house behind the friend of the son of our tenant who is there helping them sort through their crap, and he walked slightly past the front door, did a double take, stopped backed up and exclaimed "Oh My God!!!" So it's making an impression. Even our tenant who was unsure of my paint color (please lady, I have a degree in Interior Design and I paint for a living) said that now that the floor is in she loves the paint. Duh. I have a PLAN. That's how I work. Off a plan, in every aspect of my life!

We are going to Kitten-proof the back house and get it as livable as possible, and move in on sunday night. We have to be out of our condo then, we think, we may have a few extra days, but we can't wait to have the tenants out and get crackin' on the Main House!

Day 7

Drywall: Check. Tape: Check. Mud: Check. Sanding: Check. Orangepeel Texture: Check.

We are moving on to primer and paint!

We worked at the house until after midnight, and got all the messy, hard labor finally finished. It did start to rain during the day, so in between working on getting all of the walls finished, we had to move stored items into the back house, cover up with tarps, etc.

Here is Warren covering the very last bit of the "1970's Wanna-Be Log Cabin" look. This was such a happy moment for us!

More icing on the cake, Sears delivered our new stackable Washer/Dryer for the back house. The house did come with one that the family claimed was "built into the room" but it was broken, and we figured that the cost of fixing it the first time, and subsequent times down the road would cost the same as a new unit with a warranty.

The future blog posts will show a complete transformation, with painted walls, tiled flooring in the kitchen and bath, cherry wood flooring in the bedroom and living room, installed ceiling fans, white trim...we can't wait! Such a difference. We actually feel a little bad for the people that are moving out, because they're so amazed at what we've accomplished in less than a week, and we wonder how they could live there for 30 years, in the condition it was in. It's like they never thought of doing anything nice, or in the correct manner. Well, as far as looks go, there's no accounting for taste. I guess some people like that old-school look, or don't care as much as we do about our surroundings. But the Mickey-Mouse method of doing all the home "improvements" (I am using HUGE air-quotes here) is beyond our comprehension. I have filled in more than 100 nail holes, literally. There were 11 in a 3" area on one spot in the kitchen. Why? They installed that Wood paneling right on to the studs, instead of installing drywall to the walls that line the exterior of the structure. And they put up 1/4" round trim everywhere, even the corners of the interior walls that actually ARE drywall, so that they wouldn't have to go the extra mile and finish the drywall properly.

We are not even in the Main House yet, but Warren went in to use the restroom and told me I am not allowed to go in, because I will freak out. So, who knows what awaits us in there. But you can be sure I will post it in this blog when we do find out!!!

Day 6

I think I have White Lung Disease, and the inside of my nose looks like I have a severe cocaine habit. Damn you, Drywall Dust!!! Mask + bandana are not enough, thankfully we only have the bathroom left to sand!

Day 5

Today we went to...you guessed it! Home Depot. We stopped in just to see if some extra paint I have in the garage is enough quantity to cover the entire back house kitchen would go well with the countertop we chose for the kitchen. We also wanted to check prices for new flooring for the kitchen and bathroom, as the stuff that's in there now is heavily worn, and replacing it was on our wish list.

So, we get to the back aisle where the in-stock cabinets and the countertops are held, the same that we have paid for and are being delivered this coming Sunday, and there are a bunch of sale signs posted, for 20% off all in-stock kitchen cabinets! We went directly to the Special Services desk, where they know us by name now, and asked for a price adjustment, which they were happy to comply with. So, we got about $270 back from them, and were able to pick up new flooring for the kitchen and bath, for "free" as Warren kept saying. Not really, but in spirit, ok, the flooring was "free" today. With money left over, actually.

In case you were wondering the original purpose of our Home Depot visit today was to check the paint color that I have in stock, and Yes, it does go well with the countertop (and the new flooring) so that is handled. Now I just have to pick out some neutrals for the bedroom, bathroom and living room. We are considering letting our tenant pick their own colors, any they like, and paint it for them, since when we take over the back house for our offices in about a year or so I will be repainting regardless. Still considering that option. Won't cost us any additional money, and we want the kind of tenant that cares about their home environment.

Upon arrival at the house, we continued the seemingly endless job of drywalling, mudding and taping. Today I was able to add sanding to my list of work tasks, and the bedroom is complete and ready for orangepeel texture, the living room is 3/4 done and ready for texture. I should be able to knock out the rest of the living room and the kitchen tomorrow and (fingers are crossed) if Warren can get the bathroom completely drywalled, that as well, and Friday morning I can spray on the orangepeel texture, and get the entire place primed and painted before our cabinet delivery on Sunday.

Here is Warren taking down the 10,000 pieces of trim, with my "lady hammer". So cute. He also got the stacked Washer/Dryer (broken)that the family told us "the house was built around and it ain't comin' out of that door, our grandaddy built it like that" well, Warren, smart guy that he is, took out the handly measuring tape, and by removing 2 pieces of trim from the door, was able to get the unit out the door, and it's now going to be picked up with the rest of the "heavy trash pick-up" that the family has scheduled for tomorrow. Although I was not at all excited about working on the house while they are still trying to get all their crap picked up and moved out, they have been very helpful. The son helped Warren remove/install several items and they've given us a bunch of tools that they don't want to move back to Indiana with them. So, it's not all bad. I still wish they were out and our house was completely OURS already. Soon, very soon.

Day 4

Well, first, of course we went to The Home Depot again today. It's a stop we make every day. We are considering getting job applications so that we can make money while we clock our hours there.

We had our first helper over today! Our friend Sergio came over to help us finish hanging drywall and show us how to mud and tape. Again, a job that people tried to scare us of, telling us that mudding/taping is really hard to do and that we should pay someone to do it. Well, I disagree. Possibly my experience doing Venetian Plaster is why I think it's so easy. I got all the mud and tape up in the kitchen, bedroom and living room done as of 10:30 pm, and we are moving on to the drywall in the bathroom next. This will be fun, as there are a lot of corners and cuts. However, Warren went and borrowed his Dad's table saw, which made things so much easier than using hand tools, and we are cruising along now. We may start a construction company, this is so easy. Haha.

Day 3

Not much to report...just more drywalling! We have been using hand tools to cut each piece, and because the ceilings in the back house are a few inches shy of 8', we can't use the drywall pieces in whole, we have to cut each one down, and then of course there are 24 outlets to cut around. Yes, 24 (electrical, phone jacks, cable outlets, etc). The whole back house is only 475 sq. ft., yet there are 24 outlets in the living room alone. If memory serves, there are 5 light switches in the bathroom, as well as 2 phone jacks and at least 4 electrical plugs. TWO phone jacks, in the BATHROOM. The bedroom, interestingly enough, has only 4 outlets. They must have gotten tired.

Day 2

Back at it for the second day! We arrived at our house and dropped off our latest collection from The Home Depot, and went immediately to brunch at El Torito (it was Valentine's Day, so we thought we deserved some cheap champagne at 9:30 am, before we operate power tools).

Today was the Day of Drywall. We busted out our crowbars and ripped off the base moldings, and the 1/4 round they installed in the corners of each room so that they wouldn't have to finish the drywall properly, and the crown molding, and hung drywall. Again, a job we were terrified of due to everyone telling us it's so difficult, but we did it! We have more to do, but we got the bedroom and part of the kitchen drywalled, over the paneling (each room has a combo of drywall and hideous wood paneling to begin with).

I also took the time to spray about a gallon of cleaning products on to all the surfaces in the bathroom, as I am scared of what's in there. I found a plastic squeegee meant for glass doors left behind, and used it to scrape 1/4" of spilled soap and crud off the inside of the vanity cabinet. Gross.

Needless to say, my career as a Hand Model is over. I need a manicure, stat.

Tomorrow: More drywalling! Going to take a stab at mud & taping the drywall before we call in an expert (Uncle Dale?), and I am going to bleach the hell out of that bathroom. Goodbye, nose hairs.

One more thing: we realized that it is imperative for us to replace the window in the bathroom of the Main House. It looks like it's a type of glass that is supposed to be opaque from the outside, and maybe it's been installed backwards, because it is NOT completely opaque from the outside, and we got a little shower-show from the tenants accidentally.

Day 1

The first day of work has begun on our new house! We had some shocks, and some good omens as well. Overall the project is going to be a long and arduous one, but incredibly rewarding as well! It helps that Warren and I are both very handy and creative with problem solving (which can be a problem of it's own, as we often have different solutions for a particular problem!)

For those of you that don't know the history, we just closed our 96 day escrow (yes, you read that right, 96 days!) on Thursday February 4th, 2010 and became homeowners. The people we bought the house from are...interesting, to say the least. The house was about to go into foreclosure (and actually did for a day toward the end of escrow, long story) and the house was controlled in pieces and parts by the family, their trust and the handled by a bevy of lawyers, trustees and various other interested parties. In short, a complete nightmare to deal with.

The sale finally went through after an insane amount of negotiations, and we did make a deal with them that they could rent the house back from us for 2-3 weeks while they continue to pack and get moved back to Indiana. So, for the next couple of weeks, we are working at the house while they continue to live there and clear out. Not an ideal situation, but it was a very unique sale. Our Escrow file is over 12" thick if that tells you anything about all the craziness of this purchase versus a run-of-the-mill home purchase.

Have you seen that show "Hoarders"? It was like that when we first saw the house, and then got progressively worse after we put in our offer. When we arrived to start our first day of work, we expected the house to be in about the same condition as the last time we saw it, possibly a little better as they were in the midst of packing. How wrong we were. I almost had a stroke when we got there to start work. Here's a partial list of the fun stuff on the property:

• 2 shopping carts
• broken down 1970's camaro
• 7 scooters/tricycles
• 3 plastic castles
• fridge full of moldy food
• several 40's of Kobra Malt Liquor

I know, it sounds like we are moving to the Ghetto. Nope, it's downtown Fullerton. And we bet that the neighbors are going to LOVE us after we get the place cleaned up. We really did follow Real Estate 101 and buy the worst house on the block. Thankfully we are up to the major task of cleaning the place up and making it our own.

The property consists of a 3 bedroom/1 bath Main House, a 1 bedroom/1 bath Back House and a 3 car garage. We had them clear completely out of the Back House so that we could get started in there while they live in the Main House and clean out the garage (no easy feat).

The work we got done today:

We were terrified of scraping the ceilings after everyone told us how hard it would be. This was our first task so we could get the messy job out of the way. After getting all of our Home Depot booty unloaded and the place somewhat organized, we brought in the hose and sprayed down the popcorn ceilings and let them soak for 15 minutes as instructed. We purchased these handy tools at Home Depot meant to be used for Heavy Knockdown Texture, they've got a slightly flexible rubber blade on the end of a handle, and with Warren being almost 7' tall, he didn't need a ladder. We started scraping...easiest job ever! It was messy, but we didn't care about that as we were going to remove the carpet as soon as we scraped the ceiling texture on to it. It took about, oh, 5-10 minutes to scrape the ceilings completely, about 300 square feet or so.

We took a break to go back to our favorite hangout, The Home Depot, for our second trip of the day, and purchased drywall to cover the tacky wood paneling that had been installed right on to the studs, and would have been a nightmare to remove, so we are going right over it. Warren got to purcahse a Shop Vac too, so he was a happy camper with a(nother) new toy.

We took down the unsightly brass and faux oak woodgrain ceiling fans and I spray painted them white (after I hosed all the grime and dust off of them), those will be reinstalled in a day or 2, after we get the ceilings repainted. Then we removed the carpets and pads, and that was it for the day. With the ceiling scraping going so easily we hoped to get more done, but the back and forth trips to Home Depot slowed us down. Now that we are in and have the supplies needed, as far as we know, it should speed up!