Pregnancy - Third Trimester

The flooring guys (Forest Floors) are working on the flooring right now (the sanding looked to be almost done yesterday). Brian has painted the walls and also had the register cover sand blasted and then he repainted them silver.

Brian and Brad picked up the dresser and rocker/ottoman yesterday.

There are now only a few items on the list: Finish Floors, Install Closet Door, Install Closet Shelves, Finish Pocket Door, Hang Trim, Replace Outlets, Replace Ceiling Light with Fan, Pick Up Changing Table, Assemble Furniture, Assemble Other Baby Items, Put Car Seat in SUV.

As for my responsibilities (though Brian is working the hardest, he isn't the only one working towards being prepared for baby): I still haven't finished the tablecloth (though I did get the fabric ironed and partially cut-out. I need to finish cutting it and then sew up the seams. Also need to buy some double curtain rods. When Brian is finished with his list (related to the nursery), then I need to: Draw and paint mural on wall, Wash bedding and blankets, Hang curtains, Assemble bedding, Find bookshelf and purchase, Take care of all of the baby purchases and gifts.

Pregnancy - Third Trimester

Brian completed all of the tear down this weekend.

Brian's parents andDawn came up on Sunday and we went to Menards and bought the two bedroom doors, some 2x4s for the walls and other supplies. After our doctor's appointments on Monday, Brian and his Dad worked on building the wall that closes off the old nursery door as well as taking a look at the electrical.

They decided that the electrical was beyond their capabilities, so they called around for someone to come out and take a look at it. They found someone to do some minimal moving of the electrical for the light switches to accommodate the new floor plan, run a light and switch for the hallway upstairs, and run a light for the new nursery closet. Brian and I had to go back to Mendards last night to pick up a light to have installed in the hallway. The electrician (DeJonge Electrical) will be back out to the house todayat 4pm to do the electrical work discussed.

Pregnancy - Third Trimester

Brad did a lot of poking and prodding upstairs, looked outside at the structure, and in the basement etc. and determined that the wall between the two bedrooms upstairs is not a load-bearing wall. I will attempt to expand upon that, but I am not sure of some of the terminology (or if I am using it correctly). Essentially, the upstairs roof is being supported by the exterior walls (not from the interior). The upstairs floor is providing support to the exterior walls (to keep them from caving in, I guess). Brad pointed out a few things that helped make this determination: 1) the design/shape of the original portion of the house, 2) the type of roof (the type of trusses, not the outside roof), 3) the fact that the wall is not on-center with the roof and a few other things that I can't remember. Also, he suggested bringing back the corner of the current nursery closet to be flush with the back wall of the closet (open the nursery up some more). Brad also confirmed that all other ideas that we had will work and made some suggestions on the electrical. Brian decided to start some of the tear down this weekend. He doesn't want to waste these last few days off. The plaster did eventually thaw out, and Brian said that it is now about the same consistency as it originally was.

Pregnancy - Third Trimester

Brad (friend of Brian's family who used to own a home buildingcompany and built houses) and Brian's Dad will be returning tonight so that Brad can take a look at the wall between the two bedrooms upstairs to see if it is a support wall. So no further tear down or shopping until this is established.

Apparently Brian wanted to start patching up some miscellaneous holes in the walls, but the bucket of plaster was frozen. He now has it in the house next to a register to see if it will thaw out (and if it will keep its consistency when thawed). LESSON LEARNED: Do not keep plaster in the garage. Brian is okay with varnishing the trim (the options at Lowes weren't any different), but now he really wants to save it for the end so that I don't have to park outside and have to scrape my windows in the morning. (What?!? A big wet and dirty spot rightsmack in the middle of my tummy won't look good?)

Pregnancy - Third Trimester

Brian and I think that we have a design for the upstairs configuration(we used some masking tape to tape off the areas where the doors, walls, etc would go). Brian removed all of the trim going around the room (there is about seven different layers of paint on that trim). It took him 2-3 days so that way he didn't do any bodily harm. We are goingto try Dad's idea for the closet (put it where the old door was), but there is only one complication -there is only about 22" of room for a closet door (because the ceiling slants down). We're still brainstorming that one. We'll have a dumpster delivered on Friday to put all of the trim, plaster, etc into (as well as the paneling from the basement, which is currently out between the garage and house). Brian called around and the smallest we can get is 10 yards, which is as big as what we had for the bathroom remodel. The cheapest is still the place that we got the other one from, as well (Plummers). By cheapest, I mean $175 - OUCH. Today Brian's parents are coming up to take a look at our plans for the upstairs and probably start tearing out that chunk of wall where the pocket door will go. Then I think that Brian talked about going toMenards to start getting supplies (he'll need his Dad's truck). We went to Home Depot last night to check out trim/molding (after having been disappointed that all of Menard's trim is composite material now). Home Depot only has white or non-finished (natural) trim. It seems silly to have hardwood floors and composite trim, but I really want wood (not white). I'll check at Lowe's at lunch and see if it is the same story.

Pregnancy - Third Trimester

Mom, Dad, Nick and Jared came over last night (1/23/09) and helped us carry all of the stuff down from the second floor (the soon-to-be nursery and the guest bedroom) to the basement. Since neither one of us can carry very much, it was a very big help. We were all very tired after all of that cardiovascular work on the stairs.

Our plan is to reconfigure the doors that lead into the two rooms. The nursery room door is less than 26" and both doors have a rather large and useless hallway before leading into the rooms. We also want to remove all of the trim and baseboards from both rooms (which are covered in about seven layers of paint) and rebuild a closet in the nursery (the current closet is so small that the depth doesn't even accomodate a clothes hanger). After these projects are completed, we will have the floors sanded and refinished in the entire upstairs (so as to have the dust issues confined to the entire upstairs and eliminate having to do this again). We will also have new windows put in to replace the old single-pane, metal framed windows that are currently in the nursery.

Pregnancy - Second Trimester

Brian is working so hard trying to get projects done around the house to get ready for our Baby Boy, but he is not having much luck getting his back to heal. He delayed renovation projects by about four weeks while going to the doctor for his back, but now that he has started the projects again, he continues to make his back worse. Renovations last about a day, with a week off thereafter for the back pain.

Right now Brian is working on getting a section of the basement ready so he can move his office down there. His office is currently where the nursery will be. The basement needs to have forms put along the exterior walls with insulation, some updated electrical and a drop ceiling. There was quite a bit of tear down, clean up, sealing, etc to do as well.