Progress is a Tricky Thing...

You see, you make the progress and you think it's done, made, complete. But, then you realize the progress is fleeting, fickle and can toy with your emotions.

Case in point - our retro chic green bathroom. On a side note - we recently discovered that this was "remodeled" and "modernized" in 1935 when we opened up the kitchen ceiling and exposed all the pipes to find handwritten dates on them. Of course, they are 50-year pipes (you do the math!), so now we are re-plumbing the whole bathroom. Anyway...progress in the green bathroom...if you recall, we had replaced the toilet and sink and had a fully-functioning, if not almost complete (new ceiling, new plaster, new closet, all new paint, new radiator cover paint) guest bath. Here's how it looks today:


Note the "floating" sink and lovely hole in the floor...yeah, that sink's out of commission.


And, why yes, that is our toilet IN THE TUB. Great. Love it.

At least we'll have all new plumbing in that bathroom (you all - as the "guests" that will use said "guest bathroom" should appreciate that!) within the week.

In another oh-so-comical example of "progress", the Lounge was looking pretty good and "getting there" in terms of drywall, wiring, painting and even some furniture and unpacked items. Here it is as of today:

"What is that?" you say. "Another wall being built? But, I'm confused..." Yes, it is a structural support wall digging right into our freshly painted ceiling - lovely. The carpenters realized that without it, K's office may, you know, "fall down from the 3rd floor into the 2nd floor lounge" when they removed one of the walls in the kitchen, but before they had laid the new steel support beams.

While we did want to keep the ceiling paint intact, this seemed like a not-really-an-option situation...hence, the temporary wall.

But, don't fret. More "progress" marches on. The 1st floor stairway, living room, dining room and billiards room are all completely re-plastered. Ceilings have been fully repaired (or, in the case of the living room, were demo'd and replaced with new drywall) and the plasterers meticulously worked around all of the wainscoting - K was ready to kill the whiny #$#%@!!! by day 5.

Here is some of that handiwork - we're mid-priming and painting, but you get the idea...1000% improvement!

The top of the stairwell heading from the 2nd floor hallway down to the 1st floor (the 2nd floor deck is out that window).


The view going down the stairs.

If you recall, this used to be a lovely shade of dirty cream (curdled?) walls and mud brown wainscoting and trim (we are shocked that the last painter's oh-so-savvy attempt to make it look like dark hardwood didn't quite work out!). It will soon be a buttercream wall with extra bright white trim and wainscoting. Can't wait.

In other related news, we're closing in on 2 weeks until Pipsqueak's anticipated arrival. K's belly is dancing around as Pips continues to show that he/she loves music and the sounds of Daddy's voice and Trevor & Tuscany's barking. Thankfully, Pipsqueak also seems to enjoy the hum of power tools (thank goodness!). K is hoping she has the full 2 weeks (all signs point to yes (fingers crossed!) so far) for both work and house renovation reasons. Meanwhile, J is kicking off marathon painting sessions and making progress all over the place. We'll keep you all posted!

Two-More-Weeks-Would-Be-Nice-ily,
K&J

Yeah...We Really Class Up the Neighborhood

As you can see, we've taken the home renovations up a notch:


Of course, K is ecstatic with this development and the fact that the partition/temporary wall will be built tomorrow to separate the kitchen project from the rest of the house - less dust and less mopping the floors every @%!@# day! The neighbors...perhaps not so much! But, we did hide it in the back and are very (very!) hopeful that it stays relatively under the radar given the coming week of 100 degree temps.

Speaking of the impending heat wave - what a perfect time to get into the swing of 10-12 workmen in the house at once! Yes, tomorrow marks the start of carpenter crew to layout and frame the new kitchen walls, floors and ceilings - including steel beams. We also have the plumbers coming to reroute all the radiator pipes that must now be moved to accommodate said steel beams (naturally) and to also replace all the plumbing for our retro-chic 1935 guest bathroom (yes, of course, original pipes!) now that they are exposed through the open kitchen ceiling. Finally, J is scraping the last section of canvas-over-plaster on the first floor (the hallway stairs) in preparation for the plasterer who should be here tomorrow to do the final wall repairs. Fun times here at the Money Pit.

It was a productive weekend (was there a holiday or something?!?) - we also repainted the 1st floor radiator covers:


Hung the curtains and set up the playroom:






And...we did find some time to relax. We had a very nice dinner on Friday night complete with some excellent mojitos for J (thanks so much - we're buying next time!) and we saw K's brother and his family and K's Dad on Saturday for a pre-holiday BBQ.

Here's the "only three weeks left" photo of Pipsqueak - the person on the right is NOT pregnant and shall remain nameless to protect his identity. ;-)


Class-ily,
K&J

"I don't think I'm emotionally prepared for this house..."

Yes, that was the saying of the day - stated by a contractor (plasterer for the 1st floor) that left after one hour. Never to be seen again. Not expected to return. Another one bites the dust...

Still, time and progress marches on. We're within a month of Pipsqueak's anticipated arrival and trying to really push on the 1st floor plaster repair work so we can be painting as soon as possible.

The kitchen is a whole/hole other story, but our carpenter assures us that he will be here and framing out all the new structural walls on Tuesday. Of course, he also keeps telling us that this job will take him and his crew "two weeks." Money Pit anyone???

Here are some continued progress pics of the 3rd floor:

Pipsqueak's room


Playroom


Playroom - note the big red chair and matching little red recliner...this was K's chair as a baby (can't believe I ever FIT in that thing!?!)

Also, here are some shots of the new ceiling/drywall and plaster work on the 1st floor - we're hearing that crew will be done by Friday ("one week"...the Money Pit divided by two!)



(Tuscany's inspecting the handiwork!)

Wish us luck as J heads off to Philadelphia Licenses & Inspections (known as "L&I") tomorrow to officially get our building permit for the kitchen. It's a labyrinthine building, office and process - one from which he may never return! Fingers and toes are all crossed.

In Pipsqueak news - we're getting closer and closer and prepping for Pip's arrival. K&J took an infant CPR class (thanks to J's Mom for teaching it for us!) and are now on a weekly doctor visit rotation. Everything looks great and is tracking exactly on time...so, we'll see if Pipsqueak cooperates with the renovation timelines and due date or if he/she has other plans. Lots of dancing around lately (especially when we went to go see Dreamgirls - Pips LOVES 60s girl groups and R&B apparently!), so it seems like he/she is getting anxious to meet us and all of you, too.

Less than a Month-ily,
K&J

Operation: First Floor

Well, here we go - the 1st floor is all ready for full-scale demo, which begins in earnest tomorrow. (We're in the home stretch - 2 months and change!) This past week focused on cutting all of the remaining old wiring out of the basement (no more knob & tube - YEAH!) - which yielded a mound of old wire about 4' high and 3' wide (thanks for your help, M!). This weekend was spent doing more work and unpacking on the 2nd floor, setting up the nursery and running a LOT of errands (K was out of town on Thurs/Fri and will be out of town next weekend, so we had to catch up and get J ready-to-go when it comes to materials).

First, here's an "awwww" shot for you - Pipsqueak's room is coming together!


Pipsqueak seems to know that he/she will be joining us shortly and is making his/her presence REALLY felt - we're talking full-out dancing, kicking, poking and even our first case of the hiccups! At least now he/she will have a place to sleep (pleeeaaaase be a good sleeper!)

Since we've been working on the 2nd floor and unpacking/reorganizing, it's in a bit of disarray - hey, progress can be messy, right?!?

So, instead, feast your eyes on some BEFORE shots of the 1st floor before the sledgehammer goes to the kitchen tomorrow:
Center Hallway:


Dining Room (note the fridge):


Billiards Room:


Living Room (aka the supplies storehouse):


Butler's Pantry (will soon be part of the kitchen):


And, the ultimate prize - our lovely current kitchen:




Destruction Imminent,
K&J

Insulation...and Walls...and Ceilings...OH MY!

Well, one step closer to Project Second Floor completion - walls & ceilings! Definitely key.

But, first, in our never-ending quest (really...it feels NEVER ending!) to be smart and responsible home renovators, we made sure to insulate our exterior walls and ceilings. We were a bit surprised to find out that these oh-so-well-made homes were constructed with none - zero, nada, nil - insulation. So, we (read: J) insulated the rooms this week. Behold:




So, now, we're far more energy efficient...but, need walls and ceilings. This is where our new drywall crew comes into play. Let's just say that they are quick, clean and efficient...but, man, are they talkers! Poor J has been working with them which is teaching him a lot about drywall, but also has meant 8-hour days of gab. Still, the result (pre tape and finishing work)...heavenly:




We know - walls and ceilings are not really earth-shattering, but it's all relative here people!

On that note, we hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and festive weekend - thank you again for all of your generous invitations. We were sorry to decline (we'll be back on the festivities circuit soon - really). If it makes you feel any better, this pretty much sums up our holiday evening:


Finally, had Pipsqueak's week 25 doctor appointment today...all is well and continues to go almost unbelievably (knock on wood) smoothly. Pipsqueak has taken to reminding us more often that he/she is here and wants to be heard...or, at least felt! Kicks and pokes abound and J can now feel them through the belly. At least we're both getting to enjoy them now.

More updates to come,
K&J

One Project Down...8,477,395 to Go!

More progress here at the house. The mason was here from Weds-Fri and we now have a repointed exposed stone wall for the Lounge.

BEFORE:


Detail of the un-pointed stone:


AFTER:



The lime/mortar is still wet in this picture, so it's a bit darker than it will be...but, we love it. ONE PROJECT complete!

We also made great painting progress this week - J has been a painting machine and with help today (THANKS!) finished nearly all of the nursery - windows, trim, closet, edging. Only the doors left to go.

Meanwhile, K has learned that she can spread joint compound and has been working away on the closets. Repairing cracks in plaster in this house could be a full time job! She also is steadily improving her mitre box sawing and caulk gunning skills. Pipsqueak is helping, too - offering encouraging jabs and cheering kicks all the while.

More news to come soon...we'll be thinking of you all tomorrow (as we paint, sand and caulk).

Hoppily,
K&J

Big Day, Big Day...Tomorrow

Well, we're tee'd up for our first Philadelphia L&I (that's "Licenses & Inspections") inspector to come through the house tomorrow - they will be giving us a GO/NO GO on our 2nd floor electrical work. This is exciting and a bit daunting. Exciting because if we get the GO we can drywall and the 2nd floor should be well on its way to completion by next week (goal = Friday). Daunting because - of course - said electrical work is not even near completed. C'mon, that would make it WAY too easy. Very un-like our normal M.O.

Alas, it does make for interesting times and quite the renovation saga here at Chez Delp.

So, we're focusing on the other progress on the 2nd floor - channeling for the wires in what will be the master closet (don't you just LOVE the mustard yellow? SO soothing!):


And, successful wire meshing (stay out squirrels!) and new studs/framing in the lounge:




Very exciting.

All the while, business is picking up like crazy for J (yeah!) and Pipsqueak is constantly dancing, poking and prodding K (double yeah!). He/she must also be excited about the progress - good thing Pipsqueak already loves the hum of power saws and air guns.

We will keep you all posted regarding our success (or, gasp, failure with L&I). K has never actually had a test go badly or wrong, so if we get a NO GO, there will be some unhappy campers over here...the contractors!

Fingers crossed,
K&J

Manic Monday / Tuesday

Progress continues here at the house - everyone's been chipping in and our contractor crew has framed out the lounge and the guest room (new fact for us - when you take down the walls in a stone and steel beam house, you inevitably find studs that are bent and need to be replaced!) Also, studs that had lath and plaster on them...yeah, they're not square/in line with one another. So, you have to reframe everything to drywall. Oh, the joys of home renovation.

Here are some of the mason lines and the new studs for your viewing pleasure (see the red line at the bottom of the photo):


Also, we have a new panel on the 2nd floor to power the 2nd and 3rd floors (finally!):


We're getting closer and Pipsqueak's very excited about the progress! Here he/she is in the 23rd week (can you see the excitement? he/she is dancing around in there!):


Renovation-ally,
K&J

Getting Started - Daily Posts

OK, so as you can see we planned ahead and actually started this blog (if you call ONE post "started") nearly FIVE YEARS AGO. Now, with renovations really kicking into gear and Baby (aka "Pipsqueak") Delp on the way, we thought it was a good time to start posting some daily updates so you can see our progress (hopefully not lack thereof). Enjoy! K&J

Here's today's daily photos:

2nd Floor Demolition Begins!

Also, Pipsqueak's latest 'photo shoot' at 21 weeks (we were told that he/she has a "perfect" head - we're so proud!)

Pipsqueak is looking toward you in this ultrasound and you can see the upper arm/shoulder (don't worry - it's folded up, the lower arm and hand are NOT missing!), belly and that's a knee/leg in the bottom left of the screen.