Summer of Renovations

[MartySews2]

My sewing is on hold for now as we are getting ready to start major renovations on our home. We had a leaky toilet and when the plumber came out, he informed us that our bathroom floor was pulling away from the toilet and there was a 1/4 inch gap. He also reported that the bathroom floor was bouncy and we needed a contractor. So, called our friend, Galen Woods, who owns his own business and has done several repair jobs for us over the past 5+ years. He came over and checked out the bathroom and told us that we needed to replace the bathroom floor and repair support beams and floor joists as there was mold and water under them. We when renovated the bathroom 16 yrs ago, the contractor at that time that bid the job provided with false documents so we are very leery of contractors. However, Galen is a family friend and church member who lives in the neighborhood. Hubby said that since we are going to have to remove the tub and flooring, we might as well redesign the entire bathroom. Instead of a tub, we will have a glass wall walk in shower, have a window added in the shower area, new shower glass wall tiles, new wall tiles that look like slate, new porcelain towels for the floor that look like oak flooring, new glass tiles for the ceiling of the shower, a LED rainhead shower head, vanity and cabinets will be refinished in a medium walnut wood stain, quartz counter top for the sink, new light fixtures and vent fan plus a blue/gray paint for the walls and ceiling. I have spent all week working on these plans and it will cost about $10K.

Then yesterday, hubby heard about a low interest rate for home equity loans and today we talked to the bank. Now hubby has decided it is the time to renovate the kitchen, laundry, and dining room area by opening up the walls and reconfiguring the cabinet lay-out. After waiting over 34 years, I will finally get the kitchen I've dreamed about if the bank approves the loan. Galen came by today and took measurements and we talked about what I wanted for the kitchen/laundry/dining area. It will open up the house so much more. Galen said that he would build me a bookcase for my sewing books. I am too overwhelmed to get excited about all of this. One thing that is very promising is that the pedestals that my washer and dryer sit on will be removed and Galen will build me a counter top to go over the washer and dryer. That will give me a counter for folding laundry but also a cutting space for fabric. That excites me as it will happen whether we do the renovations or not. Anyway, not much sewing will get done but if all goes as planned, I'll have more space, room to move about and a place to cut fabric. I am so blessed beyond measure.
Marty

[Skye]

Great. It will be messy for a while but will be worth it.
20 odd years ago when we did our kitchen I made sure one of the counter was 1meter wide and had great lighting and had more than enough room for two big cutting boards.. I used that for cutting out for many years before I got a sewing room. The bench was a great height too no back ache.
I hope the bank loan comes thru.

[sewingrandma]

Great news Marty. I do hope the noise, dust, clutter caused by the renovations aren't too stressful and that they move along without a hitch and turn out exactly as you want. We need to redo our bathroom also. Had thought about doing it ourselves but when the tile started coming off the wall and exposed rotting wood we decided we needed a professional. Hopefully we'll get it done sometime this summer. When I stop and think of all that I need to do this summer I get exhausted just thinking of it-need to go see my brothers (New England and we will drive), have two different sets of grandkids come visit, our son & family is coming for a visit, I'm still watching Abby, my gardening, sewing etc.
Skye, I used to cut patterns out on my kitchen island as it was taller than my cutting table. I finally got smart and bought some of those lifts for beds and now my table is perfect.

[sewingmom]

Marty, it appears all this excitement is putting some spirit back into my friend.

[MartySews2]

After our disappointment with the terms of the loan, hubby now sees the necessity of getting the renovations done so we will close on the home equity line of credit sometime this week or next. Our contractor came by on Friday evening and re-took measurements of the kitchen and discussed with hubby what needs to be done. Work starts on Monday, May 4th on the bathroom remodel and sometime in May for the kitchen/laundry/dining room remodel. We may do the kitchen/laundry/ dining room in stages instead of all at once. I just hate taking on more debt at this age and stage of our lives.
Marty

[sewingrandma]

Sorry to hear you didn't get the terms you wanted in your loan, and completely understand not wanting to take on more debt at this stage of life Marty. We are in the same boat. The house needs lots of repairs and DH isn't able to do the major ones/and many minor ones are difficult for him now and he is too proud to ask for help from the kids or to pay someone to come help out. There are some renovations that are becoming a necessity rather than a want and we need to decide if we are going to sell and move someplace else or bite the bullet and have the work done and stay put.

[MartySews2]

Brockie, for 34 years I have lived with broken plastered walls that have holes in them and sagging floors with some holes in the kitchen/laundry room area. The time has come that we have to fix them because they are health hazards. Hubby is no longer physically able to take care of the lawn nor do any home repairs. He has 2 degenerative disks in his neck pressing on his spinal cord and a torn rotator cuff. The doctors have said that surgery is not an option for him. A chiropractor has made the pain manageable. I've been waiting 5 years to get some pictures hung and cannot get him to do it. I cannot climb ladders or do these things because I don't have the knowledge or the skills for home repairs. If I did, I would have done these things years ago. We have no intention of ever moving and our home will pass on to our daughter who wants it. We are including her in our decisions since she will own this home one day. I told hubby the other day that I would like to see this done before I die. My big excitement is finally having a place to cut fabric at home. So we will tighten our belts a little tighter and take on this home equity line of credit to get our home repaired. I can't wait to see it all done.
Marty

[sewingrandma]

We'd love to pass the house on to one of the kids but none of them want it. Two live out of state and the third already owns a home and is making retirement plans to move west as her DH owns property there. This house was passed on to DH from his Dad and that is why we really don't want to sell. We like the area we are in except for the traffic issues and we don't have to get into the heaviest of it very often. The road we are on only has 7 houses on it (plus it is a dead end road) with lots of farm land in between so it really is a relaxing place. The kids hated it growing up because they were so far away from friends. Ever since we've moved in repairs have been needed but with the kids needing transport everywhere until they got their drivers licenses and us working they went by the wayside. We did get the kitchen remodeled and a new roof but the bath really needs repairs. Tiles are missing and I'm afraid the shower is going to end up in the crawl space every time I take a shower because of rotted wood that is behind the tile. One of these days we'll get it done.

[MartySews2]

Oh Brockie, I totally understand what you mean. Our daughter wants this house. We are right in the center of Memphis. The universities, shopping centers, grocery, banks, restaurants and our church are all within a mile or so. We're 3 doors off the main street that goes from the MS River to the county line. We can be anywhere in the county within 45 minutes or so depending on traffic. It's an older neighborhood that was established after WWI. Most houses are around 1000sq ft or less. Our home is 909sq ft. Hubby grew up across the street where his parents used to live. They bought their house in 1941 and lived there until his mother's death in 2001. We bought our house as a "fixer-upper" in 1981. We have replaced all of the wiring, the sewer lines, the water lines, add flooring to the attic and replaced the roof. We have also added a porch to the front of the house and a small deck with wheelchair ramp on the back of the house. Our house is on a 50 x 200 lot. Now, I'm ready for the insides of the house to be fixed up. Construction starts on Wednesday.
Marty

[sewingrandma]

Yea Marty. Hope the work goes quickly and turns out just the way you want.
I have a brother that lives in the same city as I do. Takes 45 minutes to get to his house!! That is how sprawled out this area is except for in the business/shopping areas. Houses are going up everywhere though so the traffic is going to be even worse soon. A lot of the current farmland has for sale signs on it because of all the construction going on. I'm sorry to see that happen. I'm just a country girl at heart! Schools are over 120% capacity and these new homes haven't even been completed yet and the city doesn't have the money for new schools but the city council continues to approve these huge housing developments. The latest one was for over 600 individual homes.