When we started to consider all of the work that we needed to do on the home and the property, it was easy to get overwhelmed (and it still is…). We helped ourselves with this by creating some high-level goals and then picking the one we wanted to/needed to work on first.
Our primary goal is to get the main floor of the house updated and livable. The second story bedrooms, basement, the creation of secondary systems to allow ourselves to function “off-grid” if need be, the outbuildings, and the future food forest/garden would have to wait.
In focusing on the first floor of the house, we started drafting our list of “to-dos”. This list included wood flooring in the main living areas including the kitchen (we selected pine floors which we will be installing and finishing with tongue oil for that rustic look), slate flooring for the entry hall (to withstand wet and snowy boots), and pebble stone mosaic tile flooring in the bathroom (because we think it’s cute and rustic). The list also includes new kitchen cabinets, a new bathroom vanity and toilet with an updated closet, new interior doors, new light fixtures, painted trim (? the jury is still out on the painted trim; Ed and I seem to be on opposite sides of this one), new window treatments,, and updated electrical (the electrical system was overburdened at only 60 amps).
In addition, we were debating about opening up the staircase leading to the second floor. The staircase wall we wanted to open is a load-bearing wall. While we didn’t want to open the staircase fully, we did want to create more of an open feel. We also debated about removing a non-load bearing partial wall which separated the living area from the dining area. We wanted to add ceiling lights as there were not any in the main living spaces (other than the dining room light) and we wanted to change how the lighting on the main floor was handled from a switching perspective. We figured that if we were going to have electrical work done, we may as well get it all done at once and have things operate in a way that would be most effective and efficient for us long-term).
After much back and forth, we decided that we did want an open feel to the first floor and decided to remove the partial partition wall and to open-up the staircase (just a little). We knew we had to make these decisions sooner rather than later. Because the electrical work we wanted done would involve cutting into the ceiling, and because the wall removals would create the need for ceiling / other drywall patches, we had our first order of business decided for us if we wanted to eliminate any “re-do” work. With the carpeting already out, we set about removing the existing kitchen cabinetry and countertops ourselves (there was nothing that was salvageable); we wanted to hire out the electrical work, the removal of the partition wall, and the opening up of the staircase (we decided to open it up just a little (36 inches) and to install a double header).
Most lucky for us, we were able to get a hold of an electrician and his brother just before they began work on their summer home builds; together, they handled much of the demo and all of the electrical for us (we also had 3 exterior outlets installed as we thought this would come in handy down the road).
Since then, Ed has been patching and re-texturing all of the drywall which had been cut (a bigger project that we had imagined; but we are getting there one step at a time).
Once the drywall work is complete, we can begin the process of painting the ceiling and the walls on the main level. Once the ceiling and walls are painted, we can assemble and install the kitchen cabinets (we purchased ready to install natural hickory shaker style cabinets online; it sounded like a good idea at the time as it would save us a lot of money for the cost of our time). Once the kitchen cabinets are installed, we can move on to installing and finishing the pine floors (we have to wait for the cabinets to be installed to install the flooring because the flooring will be going “to” the cabinets versus under the cabinets) and then the slate and then the pebble mosaic floors). Once the floors are in, we can go back and complete the kitchen with countertops, sink, and appliances. Then we can wrap-up the bathroom.
We have had our property for nearly 4 months as of this writing. I think both Ed and I thought we’d be a lot farther along by now. We’re trying to be gentle on ourselves as we continue to move forward. We remind ourselves that we only have our weekends (even so, we are not always able to come every weekend). We also take some time at the end of each workday to enjoy a trip to town and explore some local eats. Life is a journey and we are trying to make the most of it – both in terms of enjoying the work that we do and enjoying some rest and relaxation as well.
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