NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Renovation progress report – week 26

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Last week, my friend Emily at imperfect compared my weekly renovation posts to the posts by those of you who are having a baby.

You know the ones – the ones that compare the baby to a piece of fruit? (No offense, friends. But, I will never be able to look at a grapefruit the same way again.)

But it got me to thinking, having a baby and renovating a house are a lot alike –
You gotta have love.
It takes a lot of tender care for a house to become a home. When you renovate a really ugly house into a beautiful home, you have to look past the cracks, the dust, the smells and the leaks. And we all know it takes some love for a  baby, too. I’ll leave that one to your imagination.

You gotta be willing to learn as you go.
We certainly don’t know everything about renovating houses. But we are committed to learning. A week doesn’t go by that we don’t have a “WTF?” conversation. You know the ones where you ask, “How in the world are we going to do __________?” Likewise, every mom I know tells me that this is how it is to be a parent. Which leads to…

You gotta research and connect.

When we renovate, we do a lot of reading, searching and researching. The Internet is our friend. We’ve also learned to rely on friends and family for help and have had the privilege of connecting with tons of inspiring home renovators online. When you have a baby, I’m sure that the support system you have is more important than ever. And I know that every friend of mine having a baby reads “What to expect when you’re expecting” and visits The Bump.


You gotta have money.
I’d imagine that having a baby can be expensive – doctors, classes and delivery. Not to mention the fact that you have to pay for the actual child when it comes out (I hear). Same with a renovation. Everything is twice as expensive as you expect, but still totally worth it. And let’s be honest, once you think everything is done, a pipe busts or you need a new furnace or roof. You know the drill.

You gotta be patient.
We’re on week 26, and there’s still a long way to go until this home is ready. Similarly, babies take some time to cook, right? Like 40 weeks or so? So, we still have plenty of time to get this house cooked to well-done.
So, now that I’ve completely appalled all of you who actually HAVE children by comparing the renovation of a 120-year-old dump to your baby….
onto week 26.
We shoveled a lot this week, thanks to lots of snow pumped into the Midwest. (It DID get us a day off work, though. So we’re certainly not complaining.)
What? Shoveling 17 inches of snow doesn’t count as renovation?
Okay, then.
While we spent the weekend in Chicagoland with Ryan’s brother and sister-in-law,  a few things have progressed on the renovation front at home.
The kitchen walls and ceiling are all drywalled. Can I get a HECK YEAH!?
Here’s where I let you in on a little secret – we paid someone to finish the drywall.
*Collective gasp*
After Ryan put up the drywall in the kitchen and finished skimcoating the living room and dining room, he was over walls. Completely over walls. And finishing drywall is so important and we really wanted it perfect, so we decided to hire someone recommended to us (who was laid off from his job and does small jobs on the side). We got a good deal and it was finished in 5 days (while we were in Chicago, nonetheless).
And because I love progress shots, here’s the room from the beginning…
Awesome, right? 
Bathroom progress is being made, as well. The walls are all enclosed and Ryan’s working on getting the tub in. (Which will be awesome because we currently have nowhere to wash dust and paint off our hands inside the house. And since it’s -10 degrees outside, washing our hands outside has become less than desirable.)
And that’s week 26 in a Kim-sized nutshell (which is usually larger than a nutshell).
What do you think?
Check out our updated house list here.

Comments

  1. It’s a good comparison. And sometimes I feel like my house is my baby. That is a TON of snow. I’m jealous. We haven’t had enough snow for an igloo yet this year. Keep up the good work!

  2. Could you also post weekly belly pics for each room too?

    OK fine, I’ll just crane my neck to catch a glimpse on my nightly stalking drive-bys.

    (I 100% agree w/ everything you wrote. Renovating is such a labor of love.)

  6. You must have been SO so psyched to see that drywall when you got home. They look like REAL rooms now! That’s exciting.

  7. P.S. We are lucky enough to have a relative (aka my dad 🙂 who is in construction and can be called upon at any time for all our drywall needs. He’s done it so much he said he actually kind of enjoys it…which is crazy because it’s sooo not fun! He did the drywall for us when we installed our fireplace. If you lived just a leeetle bit closer I would totally recommend him 🙂

  8. So funny! I was actually thinking the exact same thing about your renovation posts a couple of weeks ago — kind of like weekly pregnancy posts — and wondering if it would take you more or less than 40 weeks to be finished with your “baby” 🙂

  9. As usual, I’m with Em. Beside my own preggo updates, I could care less to read anyone else’s. But this? I wanna know all about this bouncing baby…boy? girl? Do we know what we’re having? Do you have a name picked out?

    Three cheers for snow days! I’m amazed that 17″ shut down the midwest like it did, I thought this was normal for you guys!

    Dude, way to go on hiring someone to do the walls. Walls make everything better and from someone with an anal retentive husband, I know trying to get them perfect is next to impossible.

    Oh! And we’re thinking maybe early August for a visit out to IL, so maybe we can schedule a saturday or sunday to visit?

  10. Lol. Think of it as giving birth to a home. That’s kind of what your doing right? haha.

    Looking good my friend!! [the house, not the snow].

  11. Great comparisons! I HATE dry-walling and wish we had sucked it up and paid someone to do the tap/mud/sanding steps because it doesn’t look good and now needs to be fixed. Can you hear my wailing from there? Glad you are warm, safe and enjoyed a snow day!

  12. haha i like the comparison! so glad you are sharing your house pregnancy with us! 🙂

    again, that level of snow baffles me. i would be hibernating – certainly not leaving the house.

  18. Never thought of that before, but so true! If you look at it that way you are in the home stretch and starting the third trimester! You should have a contest to guess the completion date like people do to guess the birthdate, weight, and length of their unborn babies. Could be fun to see who guesses the closest!

  21. Kim, this post was spot on!! I’m going to feature it on WBR tomorrow. 🙂 This is going to sound cah-razee, but I am actually a little envious of your snow. I’d love to have a good excuse for staying in and getting soe stuff done around here. 🙂

  22. Um, let’s not forget that I was so brazen as to say I much prefer your renovation pregnancy posts to real pregnancy posts. Uteruses are cool and all, but drywall is cooler.

    I just lost about 50 readers. Awesome progress, and I think hiring out the last of the walls was a fabulous idea! The kitchen looks just about ready for some silver sage.

  25. Heck yeah!! Your progress shots are blowing my mind. And it’s crazy that you guys only got 1 day off work for 17 inches of snow, and Dallas has been shut down for 3 days because of a little ice!! We Southerners are wusses. 🙂

    P.S. I have a friend who every week posts a recipe that involves the fruit/vegetable that is the same size as her unborn child. Freaky stuff.

  26. Drywall sucks and it’s so hard to get a nice clean seam. We always hire someone if it involves more than one wall:) Saves our sanity and it’s a lot faster!

  27. Although this baby you can turn around and sell when you are finished with it. There may be times when one may want to sell their child, they would get arrested if they did. Great job on the progress.

  28. HECK YA!

    And I think it’s a great comparison. But I don’t have a baby, so what do I know?

    But anyway, the walls look great. Hurray for progress! And holy cow, that’s a lot of snow. That storm missed us completely, which I’m really grateful for. I probably would’ve had a day off but the hubs would’ve been at work for like, 48 hours straight. Which is no fun. Hope you guys can dig yourselves out and that Spring comes soon. Like, next week.

  29. So exciting!
    Now that you say it renovation does sound a lot like having a baby.
    In face I’m pretty sure that people refer to renovation projects as their “baby” all the time!
    I love seeing your progress!
    Biz

  30. Cute post…it is alot like having a baby!
    Paying someone to finish the drywall is worth every single penny! (saved us from a few arguements, too!) Looking great!
    Wendy