The Tumbling Snowball

It's certainly been awhile since we've posted!  As with every remodel project there have certainly been some surprises.  Our initial goal of finishing the project by the 4th of July has been officially postponed.

With demo completed, a crooked chimney exposed, walls moved and cabinets squared out, we had a few plumbing and heating/cooling surprises.  Apparently the former owners from the 70's must have had a strong desire to do everything themselves - from the wood-paneled walls to the absence of duct work and a whole mess of plumbing.  Searching for plumbers to fix our mess was a challenge in and of itself.  Each person we called had conflicting ideas, but no fear - our hero, Steve-the-city-plumbing-inspector, came to the rescue!  We were finally able to choose a plumber (who is working upstairs as I type!) and get the ball rolling after a few weeks of sitting around.

Once the plumbing and new duct work are finished we will finally be able to insulate and drywall - and hopefully it's all downhill from there!  We have been enjoying the fun, decorative side of things.  Brian and I ordered our custom vanity and cabinets (in sarsaparilla...which is a deep java brown color) and have picked out the tile for our floor and shower.  It will certainly be nice to see the finished product!

Stay-tuned for more photos to come, following the plumbing fix!

Days 2 & 3 of Demo

Demo is officially finished!  Hoooooray!  We have knocked out drywall, pulled up millions of staples, removed hundreds of nails, and Brian even pulled out the toilet!  The master suite is finally down to the studs (with a little dust!).  Thank goodness Gail bought us a shop vac for Christmas - it is certainly getting a work-out!  After all this back-breaking work, I'm updating the blog while sipping an ice-cold Corona Lite to take the edge off :)

The hardest part was not the drywall, pulling out staples from the floor (because there were many), or even carrying the toilet down the stairs; it was the 30-something bags full of insulation sitting in our driveway that were so excruciating.  That said, Brian and I feel as though we could be successful hosts on any of the DIY network TV shows!

Next up, Mark comes in to draw up plans and we meet with an electrician and plumber to see what the damage is going to be.....  Our goal is to have everything finished by July 4th, as the STL clan is coming to visit.  It would be great to be able to show off our new digs!

Enjoy the photos below...and of course, one more video!

Love,
The Busy Bees

Brian hugging the toilet....or probably just moving it :-)

Our fearless workers, Brian & Mom:

....And Mandie.  Go Pack, Go!

Down to the studs:

This was the bathroom: 

View from inside the bedroom looking at the entrance (bathroom on left, closet on right):

We are hoping that it's possible to keep the A-frame ceiling exposed to create a cathedral-type effect in the bedroom.  Then we might be able to actually put a ceiling fan up that won't hit Brian in the head!

Ceiling:

Closet:

And our blog posts just wouldn't be complete without a video to show the demo in action!  

  

Well, Brian and I spent the day working on the demo process upstairs.  Things went pretty well, and we were able to start tossing things out the window onto the yard outside.  Our contractor just dropped off a trailer, so we will be able to load it up and take it to the dump - the alternative to spending tons of $$ on a dumpster!  Below are some photos and a couple videos of us in action.  Tomorrow is the big day, as my mom and sister Mandie are coming over to help out; Daniel may also make an appearance for a free toilet in exchange :-)  We are making progress!  Enjoy :)

The latest upstairs:

This used to be the closet: 

Here is the chimney that we exposed.  We're planning to push the wall (to the left) back and have the exposed chimney in the new bathroom.

This is the extra attic space that will become the expanded bathroom:

Chillin' :-)

Brian bought me a sledgehammer....I just wanted to be sure it worked!  Great stress reliever! 

The bedroom in pieces on our lawn!

Here are a couple of videos we took during our demo process:

*Please note that I am the stronger person here, as I am able to pull off 4 pieces of wood paneling at once, while Brian is struggling with one simple piece!  We also ran out of battery power, so Brian's video was cut a little short.....

Lots of love,

The Busy Bees

"Before" Photos

Here are the "before" shots of the master suite.

And here are some shots of the beautiful bathroom!:

Oh, and the first casualty of the demo process - a gigantic sliver in my hand :(

Demo photos to come after our big day on Saturday!

Let the demo begin!

After months of debate on whether or not we should remodel our upstairs master suite, we have finally made the decision that it is GO TIME!  We are both very excited and look forward to sharing our remodeling adventures with all of you!

After finding a contractor, we decided to start our demo process this weekend.  Mark assures us that we do not need to be gentle when demolishing the upstairs wood paneling, awful ceilings and walls.  I certainly won't miss the wood paneling, and I know Brian is excited to use the new sledgehammers to take out any stress and aggression out on the poorly plastered ceilings!

Stay-tuned for the "before" pictures coming soon!

Lots of love,
The Busy Bees