I've Got A Window.!! Ok, ALMOST Have A Window.!!

Here's the nine miles of old, icky pipes that we took out of the kitchen and bathroom. Most of them were soooo plugged it's a wonder they had any water pressure or any drains emptied at all.

They're taking out the first window.!! Yeahhh.!!!

And here it goes.!!

This is what Jon and I worked on today. We had to remove the lower two feet of all four walls in the upstairs bathroom. We'll work on that room next weekend. We've got to cut out some dry rot there too. And the floor has to come out for Paul. And of course, I want to move the toilet to the other side of the room. Good thing dear hubby loves me....happy wife happy life. Right.??

And here's the new window hole.! I didn't take a picture of the finished product yet. But I will soon.!! I'm sooo thrilled. Tomorrow, I'm ordering the first of my windows. Yipppeee.!!

Dry Rot In The Kitchen

Here's whats left of our kitchen floor. There was quite a bit of dry rot where the washing machine sat as well as the kitchen sink. Why would you just let the washer overflow on the floor every time you did laundry.?? Can you say DRANOOOO.???

Here is the bathroom, or what's left of it. No dry rot, but there must have been 9 miles of old plumbing under that floor. As a way to help Paul the Plumber out, we took the floor out then cut out all the old plumbing. We laughed when we saw the sink drain. From where the drain went under the floor to where it emptied into the main sewer line it ran UP hill at least four inches.! No wonder it didn't drain very well.

Blake and Derek working on the kitchen. What a huge job.!!

Chimney Away.!!

It had to go.! Thats where I'm putting the fridge.

Here's Blake trying to get the 300 pounds of brick to fall out of the ceiling.

Whew, it finally came down. Now he can jackhammer it out.

Blake and Derek chiseling away at the leftovers.

Almost gone.!!

YEAH...it's GONE.!!!

WATER In the HOUSE.!!

What an EXCITING day.!! We've got WATER into the house. Yippeee.!!

Now we're just waiting on the plumber. :o)

Here's my amazing wonderful hubby.!! Anything I want, he's given me in the house. Honey, I want the chimney GONE....ok he says :o)

Worlds Biggest GOPHER Hole

Sooo I get home from work at the quilt shop one afternoon, and I find the worlds LARGEST gopher had been digging in the lower lot. Hahahaha.!

Here is my dad and his ever faithful companion Muffin. Everywhere he goes....she's close at hand. Anyway, he wanted to dig down and tap into this natural spring. He wanted to use the spring water as irrigation water to avoid the gritty stuff in the creek that kept plugging his sprinklers up.

Here are all the new pipes him and I had just buried a few days ago. When Beau was digging the hole for the concrete form, the bank sluffed away. Oops.!

He hit water, but unfortunately Beau dug the hole too wide and not deep enough.

So in the end, he buried a 50 gallon pickle barrel with a pipe stuck out the top. I'm really bummed for him that the well didn't pan out. I know in his mind it was going to work wonders. And I can only imagine how frustrated he must get not being able to jump right up and do things the way he wants them done. We do the best we can for you dad. :) A few posts back I mentioned the amazing help Blake and I have with the mansion. I didn't forget my dad. I just didn't know what to say. He's the most amazing, giving, caring person I know, next to my mom. It's because of him that we are able to work on the mansion. Him and I, we dont always agree or see eye to eye, and I'm sure he gets frustrated when I keep asking questions but he knows I love him and value his opinion above all else. Thank you for making this journey with Blake and I dad.!

Fallen Soldiers

Blake finally made me throw my old favorite work jeans in the trash.!

I mean jeez, they still had some good years still left in them...right.??

Ok so maybe not.!! Goodbye old friends. hahahaa.!!

Such Amazing Help

I just have to give a HUGE shout out to some pretty awesome people and helpers.!!

Brittony, one of my dads caregivers has rolled up her sleeves and jumped right in to help with the demo and remodel.! Thanks so much Brit.!!

Lovin the little cheesy grin.!

My amazing mother.!! You've done sooo much to help me out with the Mansion.! Every time I've asked something of you or your opinion you've been right there for me. Thank you thank you.!!

Laci...one of the most amazing daughters in the world. You'll be asking to borrow the tractor instead of the car one of these days. :o) I can't thank you enough for all you do. My son in law, Jon.! Although I didn't get a picture of him today, he totally finished the upstairs for me today. The sheetrock was horrible.! I mean who GLUES it up then NAILS it.??? Really.??? He tore out in one day what would have taken me DAYS.!! Thank you Jon.!

Derek, the young man across the street.! He's been here almost every day during the weekend working his tail off.! No matter what we ask of him, he does it without asking why, without complaining, and without getting upset. He's SUCH a hard worker.! His dad stopped by Saturday and said him and his other son were going fishing, did Derek want to go.? Derek said "nope, I'd rather make money" wow.! Not many 14 year olds would say that.

YEAHHH out goes the first OLD window.!! I'll post more pictures in a bit of the new window opening. I'm soooo excited.!!

Digging Ditch

Today was spent going back and forth to Builders Supply for....supplies.! Dad and Derek, the neighbor boy, dug out the ditch from the new pump house to the up-creek side of dads shop on Sunday. I did some digging on it Monday and located the sewer line and the water line coming from the house. Today, dad and I laid what seemed like nine miles of pipe, for the water, for the motorhome sewer, for the electrical to the new irrigation well, for the irrigation from the well to the Mansion, and two other lines. I know there were six total, but I think I spent too many hours in the sun today and my brain is fried.!

Paul the plumber stopped by this morning and talked to dad about the motorhome sewer pump. We got that ordered, should be here tomorrow. Then him and I went next door and did a walk-thru of the whole house to get an idea of how much it would cost to do a rough-in of all new plumbing. He called me back tonight and came up with a rough estimate of $3,000. Right about what we figured. Now I just have to work and save enough to pay for it.! hahaha.! Until then, we have a ton of other stuff to do, so I'm not stressing.

Blake told me tonight to get my windows ordered for the kitchen. He said we can't replace the rotten sill plate until I decide what size windows we are putting in so we can reframe the wall accordingly. He doesn't want to do the job twice. Soooo, I'll check with Builders Supply first thing next week when I get off work and see what they can do for me and we were also told that Bi-State siding and windows in Lewiston is a great place to get windows. I'd like to keep the business here in town, but we have to do what we have to do to save some money. Right.??

I didn't get any pictures today of the ditches. I'll try and remember them tomorrow and get them posted. I just wanted to keep you in the loop on what we're doing.

Until then..... :o)

This is the backyard after we chopped down the annoying cherry tree.

The darn tree was huge and blocked the view from the upper deck. Not to mention the mess it left behind when all the cherries fell and the bees it attracted was horrible.

This is the view from the upper deck now that the cherry tree is gone. We are going to tear down this rotten deck and rebuild it. The new one will extend around to the left and the front of the bedroom so we can sit out there and enjoy the views. Notice the motorhome on the right side of the picture. That is my dads. It's currently in our driveway. Love having you here dad :)

This is the view from the other side of the bedroom. Again, another window that doesn't open. Who does that.??? New window.? I think YES.!!

Master Room

Here is the view of the master suite.

Notice again, the little tiny windows.!! The view out them is incredible.! Who puts such little tiny windows that DONT open in such a large wall?? This room is about 28 feet from the top of the stairs to the wall and about 16 feet wide. There will be a new wall about ten feet from the top of the stairs for privacy. The master bath is just to the right at the top of the stairs.

This view is looking back towards the stairs. The door to the master bath is on the left. I couldn't take very good pictures of that room because it was sooooo dark.!! But it's getting there. See the window at the top.? There is one just like it in the bathroom. Unfortunately they put a roof over the shower and hot water heater that blocks about 90% of the natural light from the window. That part is GOING.!!

On the left side of the room is where the new master closet will be. We've already removed all the nasty carpet and the wood from the walls. Next is the rest of the bathroom to come out and the stained particle board on the floor. Then the deck.!

The Stairs and Sewing Room

Here is another view of the stairs.

We have decided to open up this stairway. Not only will it help the airflow but it will let it alot more light from the window above the landing.

This is my sewing room. The very very tiny windows will soon be gone and much larger ones that actually OPEN will be replacing these. The view of the creek just about twenty feet away is incredible.! My room is approximately 16 x 16. Huge, I know.!! Ready to create with me ladies.???

This is the view from the landing looking back down into the living room. Can't wait to get this opened up and get the complete view.!!

Bathroom and Living Room Demo

Here are a few more pictures of the old bathroom.

The toilet used to be located in front of the large black vent pipe. That pipe is now gone, thank you Paul Nelson.! The new toilet will be in the same area just about two feet this direction. The vanity will run from left to right on the wall opposite the toilet and the bathtub / shower combo will run along the outside wall below the window. We have added about three feet to the bathroom. I hated when you walked into the living room the first thing you saw was the toilet.!!

Another view of the bathroom. The green towel on the floor is blocking the stink factor from the pipe that Paul removed. This gives a better idea of where the toilet will be.

This is the living room after the prior homeowners moved out. If you look at the large plywood thing you can see a black stove pipe sticking out above it. Dear hubby is just walking around shaking his head probably wondering just what the hell I got him into this time.!! I've said it before....good thing he loves me.!!

This is the living room after we removed all their leftovers. See, there IS a stove there.! In the large windows on the left we've decided to place six foot wide by five foot tall bay windows. On the right side you can see the stairs leading to the master area. All the pine is coming off the walls and my dad is going to do something with it. He says it's "too good to just throw away or burn" I say "but it stinks and it's coming OUT of the house". I won.!! Love you daddy.!

Kitchen During The Gut Job

And away we go.!!

Here is what remains of the kitchen when we finally started tearing stuff out.

Hard to believe this is the same view as before when you're walking into the kitchen and looking directly ahead to where the pantry should have been. Notice just to the right of the green garbage can all the dry rot wood. That is where the washer and dryer sat. Where the chimney is at is where the fridge used to be. On the far left you can see whats left of the plumbing from the sink.

Just another shot looking into the living room from the kitchen.

Here is a shot of my new dining room. There used to be a wall here that separated the kitchen from a bedroom. You can see a small window almost dead center of the picture, that window is the outside wall of the bathroom. We're expanding the bath as well. Good thing my hubby loves me.!!

Kitchen Before The Gut Job

Here are some more pictures of the kitchen. Notice the space where the range used to be, where the sink is, and where the dishwasher is.

My range will remain in the same spot but will be a gas range. However, the sink and the dishwasher are moving up towards the large window. This picture is taken from the doorway coming from the living room. Every time I would have the dishwasher open, nobody would be able to come into the kitchen. Thats why it's moving to the opposite side of the kitchen, not to mention the noise level in the living room when it would be running.

Right where their fridge is in this picture is where mine will also be, but it will be turned with the back towards that small wall. The opening on the left goes into the living room but is now wider than before. The wall behind the washer / dryer was the old pantry. That wall is now gone. The washer and dryer are no longer going to be in the kitchen. I'll still have a pantry, it won't be nearly as large as this one but it will be plenty big enough. I have to give up pantry space to have a center island.!