Family, Food and Furniture: Demo Day!

Friday, March 11^th, we received keys to our new home! With an eventful end to escrow, all parties were happy to close this deal!

As Anthony and I walked into our new home, the journey of new memories began. As the process of looking for a home started almost a year ago, (with the world’s best Realtor and BFF - Annie) we have anticipated this moment for some time. Now, with a new addition arriving is less than two months, we have our hands full in prepping for his big day. Not only are we moving, but our dream of taking on a “Fixer Upper” has become reality!

Once a week, Anthony and I watch the television show Fixer Upper. Not only do I LOVE Joann’s style and Chip’s personality, they have inspired us to take on our own fixer upper. With this being said, we purchased our new/old home and started demo this past weekend. For all who watch Fixer Upper, you know how much Chip looks forward to demo day. As Anthony and I woke up Saturday morning, I asked if he was as excited about Demo Day as Chip... I did not quite get the same reaction. Needless to say, we rallied all the troops and headed to the house for an eventful weekend.

The task to complete for Saturday and Sunday included: removing all wallpaper, tile from the entry way, two walls, wood paneling and prepping any light plugs and other items on the walls for the painters. As I should know from Fixer Upper, a plan is just a plan. Once we began the demoing process our plan quickly changed. The original items stayed on the list, but we added lifting the ceiling in the entry way/hallway and found mold behind the wood paneling. Though there were a few additions to the project, we did not break any windows taking out tile and there were no any serious injuries at the end of the weekend!

Here is a little breakdown of the projects!

Wallpaper: The master bedroom, living room and entry way all had original wallpaper on the walls. Luckily, the master bedroom wallpaper came off easy, but the story changed once we headed to the living room. Thanks to my mom and Val for their dedication and perfection of taking off wallpaper! We may have lost a steamer in the battle with the wallpaper, but the job was completed!

And, thanks to our smallest helper!

Knocking Out Walls! This is what I looked forward to all weekend. Though I may be 7 ½ months pregnant, I was not going to miss an opportunity to take a swing at those walls!!! We spent Saturday and Sunday taking out sheet rock, removing wires and learning a lot about load bearing walls. All in all, the two walls I wanted removed opened up the house and will look amazing once finished.

Tile in the Entry Way: This was the most labor intense part of the weekend. Anthony, Larry and my dad spent the majority of Saturday swinging a sledge hammer and chiseling tile out of a small area. One thing is for sure, they definitely knew how to build homes back in the 70’s

Raising the ceiling: This was an addition to the project, but will be worth the extra work (Thanks to my husband who goes with the flow and my crazy ideas!).

Removing Wood Paneling in Baby Boys Room: Thank goodness we did not leave paneling in this room! Kevin and Anthony removed the paneling and quickly found a large amount of mold on the sheet rock and behind. After looking into the problem, there is a hole from the outside of the house where moisture worked its way into the room. Once again, a little setback, but after we have some professionals deal with the mold, baby boy will have a fresh room to call home!