Deck #2 Redo

We are getting to the last major house project on our list, the lower back deck. It's off our bedroom and never gets used, so we haven't been in a hurry to tackle it. However, we got our roof re-done and a pallet of roofing material fell off the roof, landing on the lower deck and cracking the supporting beam, so it was time to get to it. We did demo ourselves with the help of Tom and Andrew's parents. For speed, we decided to hire someone to re-build it (we want to be able to use it this summer). 

Aiden got dressed for deck demo. After "helping" Tom and Andrew for a few minutes he came back inside to build his own new deck.

After demo, I built a retaining wall for the pad that we'd need for the steps down (the original deck didn't have stairs). That pad quickly evolved into a paver patio that took up the entire space under our upper deck. Previously because of shade, no growth, and water that fell from the upper deck this area was mostly a mud pit. We thought this would give us more usable space.

While our deck guys worked I spent my free time digging out the mud pit. It was very slow work.

 

We hung new swings for the boys (in hopes that we could accomplish some work while they played).

Once the hole was dug and the deck almost complete, we had a lot of rocks dumped in our driveway and started the underlayment for the paver patio. 

After talking with our deck guys we decided to let them complete the paver patio as well. What would probably take us 2-3 weeks, they could get done in one extra day of work. Yes please!

The final bit of work is to paint the railing which we should do by end of summer.

New Year, New Fireplace

We began ripping out our current fireplace right after the New Year. It took us roughly a month to complete.

It was wood burning and we never used it. We were planning to get a gas insert. But after doing all the demo work, we had the pros come measure for the insert. Once they were able to look into the walls, we learned that the fireplace wasn't structural. We could remove the whole thing and get an entirely new fireplace. The perk to this is we could get a larger fireplace (for the same amount of money). I also pulled of part off the mantle that was running along the back wall, so I took this excuse to repaint the whole room (too ambitious? maybe).

We had gas run to the where the new fireplace would be and I built drawers for underneath the hearth. 

We added framing for the built-in entertainment unit that would replace the wood storage box.

The installer put in the new fireplace and hooked up the gas. Since they were doing framing for the fireplace, we also had them add the cement board for tiling (it's one our least favorite things to do). 

I built drawer fronts. Andrew worked on wiring for the entertainment system.

We waited to decide on a hearth until after the fireplace was installed. We wanted to have perfectly accurate measurements and know exactly how much space we'd have under the silver framing. Conveniently Andrew and I both had Martin Luther King Jr. Day off, but daycare was open. We used that entire day to go from stone yard to stone yard hoping to find remnants that might work for our space. We saw very little we liked, even when we did find remnants long enough. However, the very last place we visited happened to have one full sheet of marble that they were selling at remnant price because it was the last of a lot. Plus they could install within 2 weeks, unlike most the other places.

I painted and installed the drawer fronts before the hearth was installed.

The hearth arrived! They struggled to get it in our front door and up the stairs, but eventually made it. One installer spent a lot of time measuring, going up and down, and shaking his head at the staircase before bringing the piece inside.

Next, we needed to decide on tile. I probably brought home 8 options, and we narrowed it down to each of our favorites. Andrew's pick was the right option (horizontal) and I preferred the left. I agreed to pick the right option if we laid it vertically.

Andrew and I build in the box and shelves. The shelves can slide in and out, and there's a 4 inch gap in the back for running wires. Andrew's done a lot of behind the scenes work here to discreetly connect speakers, receiver, projector, internet, and all the gaming systems. 

Ana came over to take the boys out for the afternoon and we tiled in about 4 hours. 

I was able to grout the next day while everyone was at work/daycare.

The final piece was adding doors to the entertainment stuff.

Voila!

Here's the before photo.

A Hampton Visit

Andrew's parents came for a visit this past weekend. We had a wonderful time. Games were played, food was made and Aiden got to go play at the McDonald's playland. Now he asks if he can go to "Old McDonald" all the time. 

We had a great afternoon at the park. 

We also got our new front door installed!

Gingerbread Renovations

We went to Rob and Des' house Saturday afternoon for gingerbread house construction and decorating. It went really well! I worried Aiden's attention span wouldn't last. 

Then they ate their gingerbread house candy and the sugar kicked in...

Andrew and I spent last week getting the carpeted loft ready for wood flooring. Andrew did most of the carpet removal and I did a lot of staple and nail removal, plus getting the underlayment placed.

Here's the quick before and after from my phone...

Starting the first few rows was the slowest part. We top nailed the first couple of rows and then used our manual floor nailer to get far enough out that we could put the wall bed frame back in place. 

Then we rented a pneumatic floor nailer and went to town on the rest in one day (one very long day). In that one day we also managed to put the baseboards and furniture back in place.  

While doing home renovations with a toddler, a mattress on the living room floor can provide great exercise and entertainment on a rainy day :P