Structural Issues

It's official. We have a very leaky roof on our hands. And water in our basement. And a flooded yard. It's been raining like crazy this week in Illinois, leaving us with 2 feet of water in our basement, and a leaking ceiling in the back room. Last year was the hallway. (Hopefully that has been fixed, because it's all covered with new insulation, plastic, and drywall now.) Oh, the perks of living in an old house.

Our backyard yesterday morning!

Trent and I have pretty much decided we need to dedicate our summer home improvement projects to fixing structural issues. These are some of the things on our to-do list for the next year or so, in the major home improvement project category:

1. Find companies that fix foundations.
2. Contact companies to come out and give us quotes.
3. Raise the living room and hallway slightly with floor jacks.
4. Get the foundation fixed.
5. Pour concrete in the basement.
6. Buy a sump pump with a float.
7. Gut the back room and back porch.
8. Somehow get the slope on the back room (behind the kitchen) raised, so that rain can fall down easier, and raise the ceiling of the back porch at the same time.
9. Finish the hallway.
10. Put new roofing on.

Whew, that is quite the list.....And not the most fun renovation projects in my book. All I'm seeing are headaches and dollar signs...Not that all of these items will get done this year or anything. I'm just looking forward to the day when the only work that needs to be done is cosmetic and decor-related :) Maybe a nice new home would fix that issue? Ha.

Quick Update and Some Goals

This will be pretty quick since I've been busy with some other projects and stuff around the house. Just a quick update - We're one step closer with the insurance for the house, crossing our fingers everything goes well. Trent and I have also been talking about what we want to get done with the house this spring and summer. We have a few goals we want to accomplish by the end of summer this year:

1. Get the Hallway finished
2. Fix up the basement
3. Raise the living room floor
4. Fix the foundation

We'll be dealing a lot with structural issues which is kind of scary, but hopefully we can get it all accomplished and the house will be 100 times better when we're done. The foundation is the biggest thing that needs to be taken care of, and once that's all done, we can renovate two other biggies - the bathroom and kitchen. The first thing we'll have to do with that is get some quotes on what needs to be done and how much it will cost. One step at a time though...

Our Never-Ending House To-Do List

Our To-Do list for the house NEVER ENDS. It's always there...wherever you look. And its like one huge blob that keeps on growing. We try not to think about it all at once, as it can get a little overwhelming that way. We like to just concentrate on just couple of things at a time, and it doesn't seem as bad.

We've gotten a lot of improvements done so far of course, but there is still so much more to take care of. I'm hoping I can remember it all..it's been a while since we have made a formal To-Do list, but I'm going to try to list all the things we had on our "list" that we've completed, and the things we still need to do - along with nice little categories and commentary (in blue) of course. Some are projects we plan on doing in the near future, and some are long-term projects.

Living Room:
See the Reno Here and Here
- Gut, Rebuild, and Paint 
- Refinish floor
- Ceiling fan
- Window coverings
- Finish paint on top edges of walls
- Couch, Rug, TV, and TV Stand
- Lamps and end tables
- Install window trim
- New internet router
- Paint window trim
- Paint heat register
- New comfy side chair
- New coffee table
- Raise floor
- Install baseboard
- Paint baseboard
- Install crown moulding
- Retouch paint
- doorway trim

Kitchen:
See Phase 1 of our Kitchen Remodel Here
- Paint walls, ceiling, door and trim
- Refinish cabinets
- Install beadboard backsplash
- Paint side table
- Refinish chairs
- New ceiling fan
- Upgrade light above sink
- New window furnishings
- TV mounted on wall
- Install new floor
- Gut and rebuild
- Repaint
- Install tile backspash
- New cabinets and countertops
- New stainless steel appliances

Pantry:
- Gut and rebuild
- Build wall to separate closet and pantry
- Paint
- Install new flooring
- Build shelving and storage
- Install new light
- Install bifold door
- Add organization/storage for recycling

Master Bedroom:
See our Bedroom Makeover Here
- Paint walls, ceiling, and trim
- Refinish floor
- New mattress and bed
- Side tables and lamps
- Window coverings
- Install door
- TV mounted on wall
- Hang frames on the wall
- Paint heat register
- Gut and Rebuild - Definitely a long-term thing, not super necessary right now
- Repaint
- Install ceiling fan/overhead light

Master Bedroom Closet:
- Get dresser for clothes
- Gut and Rebuild
- Paint
- Build wall to separate closet and pantry
- Install bifold door
- Install new flooring
- New overhead light with switch
- Install closet storage system (shelves, drawers, etc.)

Bathroom:
- Paint
- New shower curtain
- Install new door
- Relocate heat register
- Gut walls and ceiling and rebuild
- Repaint
- Tile around the shower
- Install new bathtub and shower
- New vanity and sink
- New toilet
- Rebuild floor and lay new flooring
- Install and paint new trim
- Install Built-in storage
- Install overhead fan/light
- Install new vanity lighting

Laundry/Mud room:
- Gut and rebuild
- New paint
- New flooring
- New light fixture
- New window coverings
- Install patio doors
- Install storage system
- Relocate washer and dryer

Hallway:
See what we've done in the hallway Here
- Gut and rebuild - Still need to finish sanding walls. 
- Build a closet - Working on - Not finished yet!
- Install bedroom, bathroom, and closet doors
- Install hall lights and closet light
- Paint walls and ceiling
- Paint all 3 doors
- Refinish floor
- Install crown moulding
- Install floor trim
- Paint trim
- Hang art

Upstairs:
See the Stairway Makeover Here
- Paint stairs
- Paint walls and trim in stairway
- Paint office - Need to finish painting this space
- Paint guest bedroom
- Install new flooring in guest bedroom
- Install new flooring in office
- Declutter and furnish
- Install heat

Back room:
- Gut and rebuild
- Paint
- Window covering
- New light fixture
- Tankless water heater
- New flooring
- Build a bar area - Trent's thing..I get an office, he gets a bar...

Exterior:
See what we've done so far with the Front Exterior Here
- Remove giant bushes in front of house
- Remove stump in front of house
- Landscaping in the front
- New porch railing
- Upgrade porch light
- Paint shutters
- New fire pit
- Pressure-wash house
- Paint back door
- Stain back deck
- Remove flag pole
- Add rocks and landscaping around entire house
- Fix foundation - Hoping to start on this in the spring or summer!
- New roof
- New front door
- New back door
- New chimney
- New grill
- New deck in back
- New back patio
- Expand backyard furniture
- Fence around entire yard
- New garage
- Relocate storage shed to back of the yard

Winterizing:

- Insulate above kitchen

- New blower for the furnace

- Storage for the car

- New basement doors

Miscellaneous:
- Redo electrical - This is big, but something we are trying to do a little at a time.
- Install central air - Yes, it's the 21st century and we don't have central air..long term thing, though!

So I guess the moral of this story is that we have a heck of a lot to do yet! Lots of work and lots of expenses to come..maybe one day we'll actually be able to sit back and relax...