As I mentioned in the previous post a couple times, we were totally blindsided by the condition of our house when we got possession. A couple hours before closing, we were taking our final walk through, which also happened to be only our second-ever walk through. Our first, and only other time seeing this house we were purchasing was the beginning of May, and the house had really taken a beating in the past few months. I'm not sure it had been cleaned at all since then, actually. I'm also not confident they had taken their dog outside since then either. Yes, it really was that bad.
So, not only did we have to deal with one of the filthiest houses I've ever seen, but instead of the 2 weeks we originally were planning on having to move, we had about 22 hours. 22 hours to move everything we owned into the garage and basement of the new place. (We could only move stuff into those 2 places because every other room was either too filthy or was getting new flooring shortly, and we didn't want our stuff sitting on the vile carpet.) Let me tell you, that was an exciting 22 hours. I'm very thankful for all the help we got from our family and friends - Dads Halleck and Wardell, Al, Tom and Patricia Benson, Randy (for the use of your truck,) Mike and Jared, Allie and Kara, Zach and Khan - thank you all very much. We could not have gotten it all done without all your help. It was nuts.
After getting all our stuff crammed into the garage and basement, we then had to get some serious cleaning done. We even cleaned the stuff we knew was getting ripped out within the next week, simply because the smell was so bad, we had to do something just to stay in there. I was seriously worried we were all going to get some kind of disease by staying in there for extended periods of time. At this point, I would especially like to thank Patricia Benson (again!) and Joyce Hands, our lovely pastor's wife, Kara and Allie for all the hours they spent scrubbing the walls, floors, cabinets and any other hard surface in the house. Although the stench in the house didn't really leave until the boys got all the carpet ripped out, it really did help the condition of the house to get everything scrubbed down. I'm also afraid that if we hadn't repeatedly washed all the walls down before painting them that stuff would have started growing through the paint. Again, yes, it was that bad.
Once we got everything ripped out and up and scrubbed down and over, we thought we were able to start painting. (At the time of this publication, we were not yet finished painting, but maybe someday, we will be. We'll see. I have no desire to ever paint a wall ever again, so someone else may have to finish what is left.) But, alas, things were not to go as planned. Before we were really able to start painting, we had to patch up all the holes all over the house. And there were a lot of holes. Thank you, Tom Benson for spending literally hours and hours mudding up all the holes we discovered the more we cleaned. I actually think the grime that was everywhere actually hid some of the holes. Once all the mud was dried, I discovered that there are very few tasks on the entire planet that I hate more than sanding said mud off of the walls. My arms were so stiff and sore every morning for about 4 days from all the sanding that I would really rather never do that again in any lifetime.
Finally, after days of mudding and sanding, we were able to start priming the walls, which of course had to be done a couple times because of whatever strange paint the previous owners had put on the house. It seemed to absorb everything we put on the walls. Even the off-white walls required 2 coats of primer and at least 2 coats of latex paint. It was intense. At this point, I would like to highly, HIGHLY recommend the environmentally-friendly, zero-VOC paint brands. We used Olympic, but I know of several other brands that make this variety. Because of all the painting we had to do, we would have all been high as kites had we used a paint with fumes, not to mention that I wouldn't have been able to be in the house due to being pregnant. The zero-fume paint was definitely the way to go, and the one room we didn't use it for, we can still faintly smell the paint. And since every single wall in this house needed or needs to be painted, there is no where to hide. Thank you to Mike and Allie, Jared and Kara, Patricia Benson, Holly Benson, Joyce Hands and Sharon Seal for all the help getting our living areas painted.
Exactly one week after we moved our stuff in (not our personages), we got new carpeting for the entire house. But before the new carpeting could be installed, we needed to install the hardwood laminate in the front living room and baby's room. What we thought would be a relatively easy project - of course - ended up taking considerably longer due to the fact that we had to put in all new subflooring, because the subflooring that was there was so bad off and uneven, the hardwood couldn't be installed over it. The house was also so creaky that J and his dad had to spend even more hours rescrewing the floors into the joists. It was quite the project, let me tell you. BUT, once we got that carpet in and the laminate was finished, the house looked SO DIFFERENT it was amazing. My mind was blown. I still look at pictures and think, "WOW." If you didn't see the leopard print carpet before, even the pictures can't properly convey the overwhelming experience of that carpet. You just had to see it in person. But now you can't. Because it's gone. For forever. Thank goodness.
Finally, after owning the house for about a week, we were able to bring Aria over to the house and show her where she'll be spending, hopefully, the majority of her childhood. She was so excited about the yard and back deck. I still think it's one of her favorite parts of the new house, and actually it was one of ours as well. A lot of people have asked us after seeing the house why we decided to buy it. The backyard and deck area were definitely two of the reasons we fell in love with it. The other really nice aspects of the house included a recently renovated kitchen and bathroom and a large basement, which has plenty of space for not only a laundry and pantry area, but also an office.
All in all, it was a looooong 3 weeks of nightly backbreaking work to get our house livable, but it was so worth it. There's still a lot of work to be done - molding to caulk, doors to replace, more walls to paint and decorate, boxes to unpack, shelving to install and many more little projects. But now our house is a home. Aria's toys have taken over our family room, dinners have been cooked on my new stove top, my tea cups and pots are displayed on our bookcases and, thanks to the ever-helpful Mrs. Hands, we have flowers in our front flowerbed. It was hard, but it was worth it.
So, not only did we have to deal with one of the filthiest houses I've ever seen, but instead of the 2 weeks we originally were planning on having to move, we had about 22 hours. 22 hours to move everything we owned into the garage and basement of the new place. (We could only move stuff into those 2 places because every other room was either too filthy or was getting new flooring shortly, and we didn't want our stuff sitting on the vile carpet.) Let me tell you, that was an exciting 22 hours. I'm very thankful for all the help we got from our family and friends - Dads Halleck and Wardell, Al, Tom and Patricia Benson, Randy (for the use of your truck,) Mike and Jared, Allie and Kara, Zach and Khan - thank you all very much. We could not have gotten it all done without all your help. It was nuts.
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| Home Sweet Home |
After getting all our stuff crammed into the garage and basement, we then had to get some serious cleaning done. We even cleaned the stuff we knew was getting ripped out within the next week, simply because the smell was so bad, we had to do something just to stay in there. I was seriously worried we were all going to get some kind of disease by staying in there for extended periods of time. At this point, I would especially like to thank Patricia Benson (again!) and Joyce Hands, our lovely pastor's wife, Kara and Allie for all the hours they spent scrubbing the walls, floors, cabinets and any other hard surface in the house. Although the stench in the house didn't really leave until the boys got all the carpet ripped out, it really did help the condition of the house to get everything scrubbed down. I'm also afraid that if we hadn't repeatedly washed all the walls down before painting them that stuff would have started growing through the paint. Again, yes, it was that bad.
Once we got everything ripped out and up and scrubbed down and over, we thought we were able to start painting. (At the time of this publication, we were not yet finished painting, but maybe someday, we will be. We'll see. I have no desire to ever paint a wall ever again, so someone else may have to finish what is left.) But, alas, things were not to go as planned. Before we were really able to start painting, we had to patch up all the holes all over the house. And there were a lot of holes. Thank you, Tom Benson for spending literally hours and hours mudding up all the holes we discovered the more we cleaned. I actually think the grime that was everywhere actually hid some of the holes. Once all the mud was dried, I discovered that there are very few tasks on the entire planet that I hate more than sanding said mud off of the walls. My arms were so stiff and sore every morning for about 4 days from all the sanding that I would really rather never do that again in any lifetime.
Finally, after days of mudding and sanding, we were able to start priming the walls, which of course had to be done a couple times because of whatever strange paint the previous owners had put on the house. It seemed to absorb everything we put on the walls. Even the off-white walls required 2 coats of primer and at least 2 coats of latex paint. It was intense. At this point, I would like to highly, HIGHLY recommend the environmentally-friendly, zero-VOC paint brands. We used Olympic, but I know of several other brands that make this variety. Because of all the painting we had to do, we would have all been high as kites had we used a paint with fumes, not to mention that I wouldn't have been able to be in the house due to being pregnant. The zero-fume paint was definitely the way to go, and the one room we didn't use it for, we can still faintly smell the paint. And since every single wall in this house needed or needs to be painted, there is no where to hide. Thank you to Mike and Allie, Jared and Kara, Patricia Benson, Holly Benson, Joyce Hands and Sharon Seal for all the help getting our living areas painted.
Exactly one week after we moved our stuff in (not our personages), we got new carpeting for the entire house. But before the new carpeting could be installed, we needed to install the hardwood laminate in the front living room and baby's room. What we thought would be a relatively easy project - of course - ended up taking considerably longer due to the fact that we had to put in all new subflooring, because the subflooring that was there was so bad off and uneven, the hardwood couldn't be installed over it. The house was also so creaky that J and his dad had to spend even more hours rescrewing the floors into the joists. It was quite the project, let me tell you. BUT, once we got that carpet in and the laminate was finished, the house looked SO DIFFERENT it was amazing. My mind was blown. I still look at pictures and think, "WOW." If you didn't see the leopard print carpet before, even the pictures can't properly convey the overwhelming experience of that carpet. You just had to see it in person. But now you can't. Because it's gone. For forever. Thank goodness.
Finally, after owning the house for about a week, we were able to bring Aria over to the house and show her where she'll be spending, hopefully, the majority of her childhood. She was so excited about the yard and back deck. I still think it's one of her favorite parts of the new house, and actually it was one of ours as well. A lot of people have asked us after seeing the house why we decided to buy it. The backyard and deck area were definitely two of the reasons we fell in love with it. The other really nice aspects of the house included a recently renovated kitchen and bathroom and a large basement, which has plenty of space for not only a laundry and pantry area, but also an office.
All in all, it was a looooong 3 weeks of nightly backbreaking work to get our house livable, but it was so worth it. There's still a lot of work to be done - molding to caulk, doors to replace, more walls to paint and decorate, boxes to unpack, shelving to install and many more little projects. But now our house is a home. Aria's toys have taken over our family room, dinners have been cooked on my new stove top, my tea cups and pots are displayed on our bookcases and, thanks to the ever-helpful Mrs. Hands, we have flowers in our front flowerbed. It was hard, but it was worth it.
