Puddle Jumpers
We are currently in the process of doing several house renovations, a process that seems to never end! It all started with a puddle of water in the basement storage room, discovered while foraging for frozen peas in our freezer...
Let me give a little background, B was always worried about a leak in our pipes, especially since Colorado weather a little issue with multiple climate disorder. Therefore, to prevent one of our major pipes from busting at the seams, we would shut off the water in the laundry room each and every time we completed the lovely chore of cleaning our garments. Little did we know that this valve is not designed to be turned on and off on a regular basis and with all the twisting and turning over the years, it busted it's gasket! Slowly but surely, the little drips started to multiply and increase until I walked into the basement and shouted up to my husband, "I think we have a LEAK!!!" Those are the most dreaded words in all home ownership, they (whoever "they" are) say once you have water damage, your house is forever ruined and marred... Just what I needed on a Thursday night when I am about to prep dinner and I need water!
So begins the process of calling insurance, a plumber, and turning the water off to the whole house. We have the best insurance, AAA, I recommend them to everyone because of their great service, coverage, and rates - Wow I sound like an infomercial. So as a part of our coverage they send out an emergency service to assess the damage, this company strangely is in Colorado Springs so it is going to be a few more hours before they get to the house. Right about then on the phone, I determine the best course of action is Little Smesars for dinner. All in all we did not have people leave the house until after 11pm with half our laundry room floor taken out along with a portion of one wall. Sexy L-Room to say the least!
We had been thinking for a while that we wanted to change the linoleum to tile for the room and we wanted to paint and replace some dinky cabinets for some nice open shelving. Perfect! It was the sign we were looking for and the damages did not end up costing that much plus we got to kick-start some other projects.
B and I had tackled most of the projects we thought we were handy-capable enough to complete, always knowing there would be a point where we would hand it off to the pros. So we made our dream reno list (see the gargantar below) we had compiled over the years and were too wussy and/or DIY-dumb to try ourselves:
Let me give a little background, B was always worried about a leak in our pipes, especially since Colorado weather a little issue with multiple climate disorder. Therefore, to prevent one of our major pipes from busting at the seams, we would shut off the water in the laundry room each and every time we completed the lovely chore of cleaning our garments. Little did we know that this valve is not designed to be turned on and off on a regular basis and with all the twisting and turning over the years, it busted it's gasket! Slowly but surely, the little drips started to multiply and increase until I walked into the basement and shouted up to my husband, "I think we have a LEAK!!!" Those are the most dreaded words in all home ownership, they (whoever "they" are) say once you have water damage, your house is forever ruined and marred... Just what I needed on a Thursday night when I am about to prep dinner and I need water!
So begins the process of calling insurance, a plumber, and turning the water off to the whole house. We have the best insurance, AAA, I recommend them to everyone because of their great service, coverage, and rates - Wow I sound like an infomercial. So as a part of our coverage they send out an emergency service to assess the damage, this company strangely is in Colorado Springs so it is going to be a few more hours before they get to the house. Right about then on the phone, I determine the best course of action is Little Smesars for dinner. All in all we did not have people leave the house until after 11pm with half our laundry room floor taken out along with a portion of one wall. Sexy L-Room to say the least!
We had been thinking for a while that we wanted to change the linoleum to tile for the room and we wanted to paint and replace some dinky cabinets for some nice open shelving. Perfect! It was the sign we were looking for and the damages did not end up costing that much plus we got to kick-start some other projects.
B and I had tackled most of the projects we thought we were handy-capable enough to complete, always knowing there would be a point where we would hand it off to the pros. So we made our dream reno list (see the gargantar below) we had compiled over the years and were too wussy and/or DIY-dumb to try ourselves:
- Kitchen
- Rip out our dinky-do pantry cabinets and replace with an awesome one piece (flattering for every shape)
- Install an ISLAND - this was a must because the way our kitchen is designed, there is not a ton of good counter space available. This became a huge issue when baking Christmas Breads with my grandmother...
- Replace the narsty laminate counter tops with glorious granite
- Replace our chipping 2-section white sink with a big daddy stainless steel farmhouse - so I can actually get a cutting board or a pan to wash in the basin, it usually helps the cleaning process.
- Replace the Miner's light above the new island for something a little more matchy matchy
- Backsplash the mo-fo - 'cause flesh-tone painted walls aint purdy
- Master Bath
- Replace the tile counter tops on our vanities for swanky Carrera marble
- Replace the blah-tastic while square tiles for rich-like Carrera in the shower and around the bath tub
- Remove and DESTROY the nastiest shower enclosure I have ever seen in my life : brassy gold - check!, Soap-Scummy Glass - check!, Mold that continues to grow even with bleach each week - Double Check!
- Remove the humongous shower seat that made an reasonably-sized shower seem claustro - I mean that thing was for the people on "I Eat 33,000 Calories a Day"
- New fixtures because we all know Brass-tastic should never come back
- Replace the throne - ironically, this was one of the most exciting things. Imagine knowing that not another cheek has rested on that seat before. Oooooh and it flushes consistently - not that you ever need that! Puh-lease!
- Laundry Room
- Repair the sub-floor and dry wall that was taken out with our preventative measures
- Tile the floor - it's tiny and we wanted it big and impressive
- Remove the dinkster cabinets that did not even hold our detergent
- Replace with clean open shelving - so I can fill it and make it look cluttered, it's what I'm good at
- Paint the place - we did that but it was done in one night so it was on the list
- Construct Baron von Campbell a new throne-room - we did this to pamper the dude and make the litter box a little classier by making a bench with storage for extra litter and a space for his bidness
- Guest Bathroom
- Replace the linoleum with tile
- Replace the enormous mirror that had it's own zip code with a framed mirror
- Remove the medicine cabinet - who need 'em?
- New counter tops and faucet
- New John - we have to make our guests feel like royalty too!
- Replace our AWESOME Hollywood lights with something a little more subdued - our guests can't feel so special that they need an agent...
- Water Closet
- New counter top and faucet
- New Light - again with the Hollywood
- New Mirror - another big one replace with one to go along with our (hopefully) non-obnoxious sea theme - predictable I know
- New Toilet - I know, ANOTHER toilet?
- Family Room
- Construct a storage box for the side of the big chair as a depository for our work bags, slippers, and other miscellaneous junk we have floating in that general area
- Construct a pedestal for our TV with cubbies for other boxes - I know it sounds like it is a god but we don't worship it!
- Garage
- Install storage shelves for the recycling bins - see, we are responsible!
- Install the Dinky cabinet from the Laundry Room for additional hidden storage
- Replace the front and garage door handles with non-Brassy blinding material
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