1 week and alot of scraping later...

All the wall paper is off the walls in the guest bedroom and the ceiling is well under way. We removed 2 layers of paper from the walls and 2 will come off the ceiling as well. So far 4 big black garbage bags of wall paper have come out of the room. It's amazing how much more room the stuff takes up when it's not on the walls anymore.

For anyone else removing wall paper, fabric softener and water works pretty well for softening the paper and getting it off!

Flooring + the next project...

The days until Christmas are ticking down alarmingly fast. We have a set of parents showing up on Dec. 23 and are hoping to get quite a bit done between now and then.

Main Floor:

Hardwood is nearly done. We're just waiting on a table saw from our neighbor and a new grate from The Door Store to finish it up. Our floor plan meant that we started flooring in one part (the line between the dining/living rooms) and had to meet it back up with itself the hallway doorway. We were a bit nervous about the meet up but it all worked out and looks really great.




The Next Project: Guest Bedroom

A brave set of parents is showing up on Dec. 23. This is what our guest bedroom looks like right now. Our plan is to remove the wall paper, patch the holes/skim coat, paint and cram it full of Ikea goodness. I feel a renovation all-nighter coming on...

living room progress

this weekend was a good one for the living/diningroom. they got a nice layer of underlay and 2/3rds of the floor covered in hardwood. the living room is now clean enough to house furniture which is pretty cool. we are a little early bringing furniture back into the space since there is still a lot to be done but we had to get it out of the way of another project (a guest bedroom for a certain pair of parents that are bravely coming to share christmas with us).

Below are some pictures of the living room before, during and now.

Before we moved in.

Right after we moved in, trying to make it livable.
This was quickly destroyed by our need for new wiring.

Fixing the walls up with some drywall. We would have liked to tear down all the plaster and lathe but given our hectic schedules and the fact that we had to live in the space that wasn't really an option.

Mid-way through flooring. Even renovators need to eat!

After moving some furniture back in and putting up drapes. Still a lot of work ahead but the space is comfortable now.

End is in sight...

Tinted primer went up today!


A week more of patching and painting and we should be starting floors next weekend. The mass wrapped in plastic in the middle of the room is our couch... we haven't seen it in 2 months.. we miss it alot.

White powder coated hell

Not much to blog about at the moment. After our neighbor did the first round of mudding with durabond 90 he showed us how to do the rest of the taping. We finished taping Tuesday and are currently in the middle of sanding. Our living and dining room (and to a lesser extent the rest of our house) are covered in a fine white powder. On the bright side it's cleaner than plaster dust.. but still unpleasant enough to get us working on it non-stop to bring this phase of the reno to a close.