Little House on the Prairie - 2009
Remodeling a 1920 Midwestern 'Foursquare' Farmhouse …
This page documents work on the house during 2009. Entries are in reverse chronological order (most recent first). For reviews of work done in other years, please click the desired year from the menu to the left.
December, 2009
We finished the year out without being able to formally move over to the new kitchen, but Beth did make good use of the appliances, and laid out quite a spread for Thanksgiving!
Just prior to this, I installed the backsplash tile over the range, and made the mistake of using an epoxy-based grout on it. By the way, did I mention I'm allergic to epoxy? I apparently had forgotten this and paid the price for the next week with a bad allergic reaction to the epoxy fumes.
November 15, 2009
I've started hanging wallpaper, but have had to shift to outside fieldwork to get our corn harvested, etc. In the meantime, I also ordered fresh gravel for the driveway and got all that graded out with the 8N.
August 23, 2009
Doors and drawers back on, sink installed. The reverse osmosis system is giving fits, though - leaking and water not going where it's supposed to... still have to hook up refrigerator icemaker, too.
August 9, 2009
The latest update shows all the cabinets painted - doors need one last coat, plus freshly-installed countertops.
June 27, 2009
It doesn't look like much in the photo, but quite a bit more work has been done on the cabinets - mostly trim and finishing work to dress out and cover screw heads, etc. Also installed the toe kick boards along the floor, and ordered our countertops, which should be ready in a couple weeks.
June 7, 2009
As usual, field work has consumed much of the past two months, but I am finally back on kitchen work again... here's what I got done while Beth & the boys were in SC last week. Very much "90% done, 90% to go," as all the doors have to come back down for painting, but it's quite encouraging to have things looking close to done anyway!
April 9, 2009
More cabinet progress...
March 30, 2009
All of the casings are done and "in the house." While Beth and the boys are traveling in Florida, I'll be applying polyurethane to the inside surfaces (the outsides will get painted once the doors are installed).
February 22 , 2009
Cabinet works continues…
February 13 , 2009
Kitchen cabinets are a-building! I have a local young man building them for me, and hung the first one tonight - the cabinet over the microwave and range:
Status Report
As we start our eighth year of renovation/remodeling, let's take stock of what's been done so far:
- Bored a new 50' well
- Replaced about 1/3 of the foundation
- Rebuilt numerous structural areas
- Rewired the whole house
- Redid most of the plumbing
- Replaced all flooring downstairs with new sub and finish flooring (wood or carpet)
- Reshingled the roof
- Installed new furnace with A-coil for future A/C installation
- Completed the following rooms:
- Laundry / Mud Room
- Downstairs Full Bathroom
- Downstairs Guest Bedroom
- Music Room
- Living Room & staircase
- Upstairs Hallway
- Upstairs Full Bathroom
Still left to do:
- Install air conditioning
Build out new kitchen- Convert old kitchen to dining room
- Insulate and convert attic to playroom
- New siding
- Finish deck & wraparound porch
Pavedriveway (it got a layer of gravel instead)
My goals for 2009 are to finish building out the new kitchen and do one or more of the following: pave driveway, install new siding, tear out and remodel new dining room, install air conditioning.