Home Stretch!

The updates and remodeling are nearly complete.  We have focused a lot of attention on the curb appeal recently.  We also painted the front door bright green.  Yes - bright green!

The countertops and backsplash are also installed.

Finally, all 17 interior doors are now painted black.  All the brass hardware has been updated to bronze.  Below are some pictures that reflect the updates.

Front of the house after we pulled out a several dead and overgrown bushes/trees.

As a reminder, here is what it looked like in April.

New granite countertops

Freshly painted black doors.

It will be a LONG time before I ever paint an interior door again!

Lights, Camera, Action!

We are officially moved into our new home.  Key words being "moved in."  We are far from unpacked.  Who doesn't think moving is the worst?

There has been a lot of work and updates leading up to the move and it still continues.  We have new pendant lighting over the island.  The 1990's fluorescent light fixture had to go.  Four additional 4" recessed can lights we added in the kitchen for additional illumination.  We also replaced the light fixture in the dining area.  All of our light fixtures were bought locally.  I highly recommend Bridge St. Electric in GR.  That beat all the online prices I could find and their customer service is top notch!  Last but not least in this post, I finally got my floating flat screen mounted above the fireplace.  These projects required lots of electrical and drywall work, but we are thrilled with the results!  Below are some before and after pictures.

 Previous dining room light

 Updated dining room light

 Old fluorescent light fixture above island

 Fluorescents gone, pendants installed, plus can lights for additional kitchen workspace illumination

 The mantel is bare

Flat screen is up and there is still plenty of room for Christmas stockings!  Finally having the carpet installed is just a bonus.

Hardwoods and a New Chandy!

In preparation for our move, we are focusing our projects on updates that are easily accomplished with an empty house.  Two of those projects are refinishing the hardwoods and updating the lighting (specifically the entryway chandelier in this post).  Here are some before and after photos.

Before picture.  Nice blonde oak.

 Get those appliances outta the way.  We have some hardwoods to sand and stain.

Much better - sanded and stained walnut. 

Another view of the refinished floors. 

Huge difference before and after.

The 1990's ol' brass had to go. 

Boom!  The new fixture has arrived. 

Take a second look at this picture to really appreciate it.  Two guys, two ladders plus a plank of wood equals a some impromptu scaffolding.  One guy is holding the fixture and the board while the other person wires and hangs it.  I was impressed!

Here is a stock pic of the new chandelier.  It is a huge improvement.   

Carpet Man Update and Tile Install

So here is the quick update on the Craigslist carpet guy.  I went with the $40 guy and almost got my monies worth.  He arrived late and showed up with a van that clearly did not have the capacity to haul away everything.  However, I spent about 45 minutes in sheer amazement as the two gents stuffed and loaded about 80% of the product into the van and on top.  I think my favorite part was watching them strap down the rolls of carpet to the roof using old TV cable they had found.  It wouldn't be my first choice in a tie down product but they earned a couple of MacGyver points for creativity.  If you don't already have a visual, here is an official pic of the men at work.

Speaking of carpet, we ripped up the lovely carpet that was in the master bathroom.  Gross, I know. The demo was relatively easy and we found some great priced 12 x 24 porcelain tile at Lowes.  Shotko Tile did a great job installing the flooring in 1.5 days.  I would highly recommend their team of tile guys.  Below are the before and after pics.

 Old tile in the water closet.  It took about 2 hours to remove the tile and cement board.  Pretty basic task.  It was really an excuse for me to bust out the 5 lb. sledge and have a little fun.

 HardieBacker Cement Board installed.

 More HardieBacker

 Tile floor mortared prior to grout

 Another pre-grout pic.  Note the freshly painted walls.  If you are looking for a painter, I recommend Ted Wilda Fine Home Painting.  Hit him up to Twitter or Email to connect.

  Another pre-grout angle

Final product

 Another angle with Ella testing the new floor.

I'M BACK!

I'm Back!

After a two-year hiatus I have a new property renovation to document.

This home is on the southeast side of Grand Rapids near Forest Hills Foods. It is 2200 sq. ft., two-story, 4 bed, 2.5 bath with an unfinished walkout basement.

With most properties the first step of a remodel or renovation is demo.  This 14-year old house does not require significant demolition, but it will require a lot of updating.  Those updates include new interior paint, carpet, light fixtures, refinished hardwood floors, bathroom tile, countertops and backsplash.  Below are pictures from our work the first weekend, which included removing 1500 sq. ft. of carpet/pad and painting all the trim in each room of the home.

 Front of New Home

Living Room 

 Stairs to Second Floor

Master Bedroom

 Ella's Playroom

 Upstairs Hallway

My collection of old carpet and pad.  I posted an ad on craigslist today soliciting bids to haul it away.  I received over 50 calls and texts in 5 hours!  The quotes ranged from $40-200.  Guess which one I hired.  They are scheduled to remove it tomorrow.  Stay tuned to see if I got my monies worth.

Mr. Tile Man

Blog posts back-to-back days.  Lucky you!  Here are the finished pictures from the new tile in the master bathroom and kitchen backsplash.  I think it turned out pretty good but judge for yourself.

New green mosaic tile backsplash.

Another view of the backsplash.  Faucet going in tomorrow.

3rd view of the backsplash.

Tile floor in the master bathroom.  New toilet will be installed to the left.

2nd view of new bathroom tile.

3rd view of tile.  It matches the tile in the shower perfectly!

The End is Near!

No, I am not pretending to be Harold Camping with another failed Doomsday Prophecy.  I am talking about the near completion of the renovations at Chamberlain.  


With the exterior curb appeal finished and the near completion of the kitchen renovation, I can begin to breathe a sigh of relief.  This has certainly been much more of an undertaking that I imagined.  My biggest takeaway from this project is that I cannot do it all.  If I try, it will not get done on time, I would never see my wife and I would have to resign from my job.  I had to pick and choose my battles with the overhaul and left a lot of the heavy lifting to the professionals.  I met some really good sub-contractors and some not so good.  However, I learned a lot and I realized I couldn't have done all this without the help of my wife.  Thank you Amanda!


Here are some of the latest photos from my work.

Bright red front door, newly painted trim and fresh mulch.

If you ever wondered what 10 cubic yards of mulch looked like.  Thanks to Steve Brown for the landscaping help.  I bought it from Birch Tree Bark & Stone.  Decent prices and they have coupons.  Plus the salesman wore a MSU hat!

Countertops, appliances and cabinets installed.  All I need is the backsplash.
Previously the refrigerator was on this side next to the range and there was no microwave.

New home for the refrigerator, now across from the range.

New solid surface countertops.  The sink is seamless and was integrated into the countertop when it was manufactured.  Next step is to install the faucet and backsplash.

North view of the kitchen.  Floor trim installation is also on the to-do list.

South view.

Stairs going into the basement.  I updated them with vinyl tiles and added new nose-trimmings.
It looks much more modern than the 1970's linoleum pattern that was there previously.

Big project that went very smoothly with the help of Ron Slocum.
We replaced one of the main water valves.  Make sure you have the right tools for the job!

No turning back at this point.

New valve prior tightening.  I think we even impressed ourselves with how nice it looked and turned out.  Thanks Ron!