Working On the New House

As you probably know, we're in the process of helping our son do some work on the new place before we all move in. Its been rather trying as we keep finding more and more wrong with it but slowly we're getting things ready.

My husband put new plugs in the all the outlets as they were from 1965 and a real mess. They all are fine now but would have been a fire hazard in the future the way they were. We also replaced all the old 53 year old locks with beautiful new Schlage ones.

That was just the very start. All the bedrooms had bad carpeting so that was all ripped out and the old tile taken up. New tile is now going to be installed soon. This weekend we will be tweaking the floors so they will be perfect for the new acrylic tile that looks like weathered wood floors.

The living room had dark roughed paneling on 2 walls so that was all taken off quickly. We have that room about ready to paint too. That room will have the same tile on the floor as in the hall, dining room and kitchen. A light gray.

I discovered that the cupboards in the kitchen are new! There is no sign that they've ever been used. There is also a new black dishwasher which matched the black oven. The electric cooktop is old but in good working condition so I was able to clean it fairly well. It looks much better. I found a tip on a youtube video for cleaning electric cooktops. First, cover the top with white vinegar and let it set for a few minutes. Clean it off and then sprinkle baking soda over the entire surface. Cover it with towels. and let it sit for 30 minutes. Wash that off and rinse with a damp sponge. It cleaned up fairly well but I think I'll go over it again for the third time after we move in. There was some corrison that is still there but the vast majority is gone. I think the vinegar did the best job as the top had that way for a number of years.

I did a similar thing to the stove in the condo we're leaving. I took the racks out and covered the bottom of the oven ( a few spills that happened in the year we have been here) Sprinkled the bottom with baking soda and sprayed clear water over it. put towels over the baking soda and left it overnight.
In the morning, I took the towels off and scrubbed it. All the spills and baking on stuff came off easily. It looks great now. Easy and inexpensive.

Our bedroom is the last to be fixed as we're moving in after the rest of the family.. The purple rug is gone thankfully. It will too have the wood look gray tile in there but our walls will be a pretty blue with white trim. I've always liked blue and white. My mothers collection of blue and white dishes will be hung in there too.

The painter is coming on Monday to paint all the bedrooms. I hope he's good. I've seen some painters do a poor job and go over switch plates and electrical outlets. We took off all the switch plates, etc. so hopefully that will work. Alan is so particular about painting as he was a painter for a hospital when he was younger. Painting is something he knows well and how to do it properly. Our son hired this painter.

I won't bore you with anything else but as you can see, its a big job. That's jsut the inside. The outside is even worse but that's for a different day.

I will say the neighborhood seems nice. A great park right across the street and its quiet much of the time. We have alot of traffic noise here and there is a firestaton right down the street. We saw alot of birds too which we love.

Wow, a long post with no photos....