A little off track this week...

I am sure it seems like I am neglecting the little house- and maybe I am, a bit, but...
I have the house here that has been screaming for some attention! 


Skipping Christmas decorations seemed mean, so I decided to get that taken care of this week. I also have to manage getting this house ready to sell, at the same time as renovating the new little one.


One of our long drawn out projects here has been the basement kitchen. 
I moved to this house for the basement. We had one in our first house, and never got over the loss when we moved to the second house. I have had grand plans for this basement, since we moved in 6 years ago.


Over the last year we have slowly  been getting the work done. The whole project was set back a bit, when we arrived home this Summer to find a flood. Although we had never even used the new bathroom down there, a compression fitting had come loose on the toilet. Apparently it had sprayed for the entire week - because there was water everywhere. We had to rip out all of the wood floor, the trim and the lower portion of the walls - just to make sure it was completely dry. 
Insurance covered all of the damage - but, it was still a bit depressing to redo something brand new.




So - although we've done nothing but yard work at the little house this week, we were here finishing the basement kitchen. I'm happy with the way it turned out. The picture is not great - but, you'll get the idea.
Every little bit that I get done here will be one step closer to getting into the little house.

Still just gathering quotes - and leaves!

I wish that I had more to report. 

The process of gathering quotes and information is slow and tedious. I have met with another tree guy, and another HVAC company. At least the quotes that I got this week are much lower than the ones from last week. I was definitely discouraged after getting those first few numbers! 

It's frustrating to have no real activity yet. 

While I've been gathering all of this info - we've all been gathering leaves. Every chance we get we are over at the little house shoveling out the yard. Although it has a long way to go - I think the yard clean up has helped it to look a bit happier.

I also pulled out the plastic picket fence - which was a big improvement. The slope of the yard made the fence very crooked - which made the house look completely off kilter. I took a front yard & back yard shot - so you could see the improvement.

I know the house is  not beautiful yet - but, with each bit of effort we put in - I am more convinced of it's wonderful potential! 

Any "free" time that we have after work /life/the kids and the new house, is being spent purging. Even if we add on to the little house, we will have about a third of the space that we have now. So...we are working hard to get rid of 2/3rds of our "stuff"

There is something so liberating about sending an entire truckload to the Salvation Army. I'm glad that I like that feeling, because it is going to take many more truckloads to clear out this house!

Panic has started to set in.....

Breathe in - Breathe out - Breathe in - Breathe out.......


I am hoping that continual deep cleansing breaths can help calm some of my fears. I've started to lose sleep over this little house.


The HVAC quote came back @ $28k - which is three times the number I expected! Not a good start. I have a few people lined up to get additional quotes next week.
If these quotes don't get any better - I think we will have our decision made. The idea of adding on, and living in the little house will go out the window - if I can't get some of the basics taken care of for less.


Too bad - because I was really starting to grow attached to the place. The hours of raking & shoveling, day after day, don't sound endearing - I know. Yet , somehow I've really started to embrace, not only the little house, but the major lifestyle changes that it would require.


My children have also become more attached. It will not be fun to have to tell them that we can't live there. 
Well - at least the Blog title will make sense now!


I have had some wonderful feedback & comments posted on facebook and in emails. Thank you all for your input. The additional names & contacts that you sent are the same people that I have made appointments with for next week.
I really appreciate all of the help & advice. That has been the greatest benefit of posting all of this online. I've had very helpful suggestions - from the most out of the blue sources.
With a little guidance - and support, who knows - maybe I will be able to pull this off.


Whether it's to resell - or to live in  - I am going to have to host one hell of an open house party once it is done! 

The Back of the house. An addition would follow the top roof line - and come straight out the back an additional 20ft or so.

I'm suffering from Sticker Shock!

Today I met with a tree company and an HVAC company. 


Two at once was a bad idea. 


Although I do not have the HVAC quote back yet - I was definitely getting a big number vibe from the sales rep! 


The tree situation is just depressing - and it's not helping me to make a final decision. There are several trees that will have to go  if we are planning to expand this little house and live in it. Even if we do not plan to move there, there are some that need to be taken down. I expected tree removal to be a few pennies - but...this was a painful! The biggest portion of the quote was for root ball grinding & removal. 


Apparently the last homeowner lost several trees in Isabel - or sometime at least 5 years ago, so it seems likely that it was Isabel.  There are seven HUGE root balls still sitting in the back yard. Not only are they unsightly , but they will make it impossible to build if we don't get them out of there.  Even if we decide to sell - I don't think I could camouflage these bad boys - they are giant!


So... here we go with the "unforeseen" expenses that my dear husband kept cautioning me about.


I will, of course, get additional quotes - but, I will be surprised if they are not all about the same.
It's depressing to think that we will spend $8,000 - before we even touch the house!


When do we get to the fun part? 

The First Floor

I had some basic floor plans made - so I thought I'd share. These drawings are of the current  floor plan - not the renovated vision in my head! 
                                               

                                                                           

Front

This house was listed as a 5 bedroom, 3 full bath house. Three of those "bedrooms" are on the first floor.  I am considering making all three of the rooms on the left - and the full bath right in the middle- into a Master suite. This will include the bedroom, master bath, large (ish) closet, and a small sitting area.  This side also has a door to the outside side porch - that has the outdoor fireplace. So on those evenings  - when we get the settled off to bed - and we want to build a cozy fire....
Right! 
When we finally get through the day - and get the kids all in bed - we are so happy to finally sleep that making a fire would be the farthest thing from our minds! 
Oooh - maybe I should run a gas line out there!? - I know that kills some of the outdoor fire appeal - but, at least it would make it more likely that my husband and I would ever really enjoy it.
The kids love to make fires in our fire pit now, so I am sure they'd prefer it to remain wood burning, but...they don't seem to have anymore "free" time than we do anymore - so, the gas logs might be a good idea for all!