Task #11 - Repair of Leaking AC / Roof Drain Pipe

We noticed that when we turned on the AC for the top floor, puddles of water would form in the basement 2 floors below. This explains the following water damage pictures in the ceiling floors



Here is the repaired drywall after ripping out the piping





The plumbers needed to replace the following y Connection pipe and also seal it (cap) where it was coming in from the roof.

Task #10 - Installation of Toilets and Sinks

2 Toilets, 2 Sinks, 2 Cabinet/Countertops, and 2 faucets installed for 2 bathrooms, oh my!

This is the 1st floor 1/2 bath.




This is the upstairs guest bathroom.



We can officially bring over the toilet paper now... If only we had doors.

I've never seen a tank like this before...



when you flush is sounds like a jet airplane taking off.

Task #9 - Removal of Downstairs Kitchen Gas/Water

I'm not sure if you saw our beautiful basement kitchen.... but if not here it was..



We'd like to turn this into a bedroom (or just a storage depot), but the first step was to have the Gas/Water professionally removed. The wall had a gas stove, sink, and gas water heater hooked up.

The good plumbers at Handayman Matters were able to quickly uninstall and recess the piping back into the wall.



Does anyone need a gas stove, sink, crappy cabinet, or 20 year old water heater? Just name your price!

Task #8 - Refinish Master Bedroom and Closet

The master bedroom and closet had old heart pine wood (110 years old), however it was a little weathered. We got them refinished and sealed (but not stained).

Here is the Master Bedroom before refinishing....



Master Bedroom floor after the sanding but before being sealed



Master Bedroom floors after refinishing



Below is a closeup of the original floor (right), the sanded floor (middle), and the refinished floor (left) - this is the beginning of the master bath



Below is the before, during, and after pictures of the master closet with asbestos tiles

Task #7 - Refinish 1st Floor & 2nd Floor Common Areas

Below are some before, during, and after pictures from the refinishing of our 1st and 2nd floor common areas. All of these floors are maple. The 1st floor has what I believe is a Walnut border. All of this work was done by the fine folks at Nature Flooring which were recommended by friends.

We chose to go with a stain on the maple even though the Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association Does Not Recommend Doing So Under Any Conditions - heck, what do they know? We wanted to stain the wood because the unstained maple is very white and modern looking which didn't mesh well with the old-time charm of the rest of the house. The guys at Nature Flooring said they had a secret technique to condition the wood to prepare it for the stain. From what we saw, this technique consisted of using a sponge mop to get the floor wet. That seemed to do the trick, however. Our impression so far is that it looks pretty darn good.

Here are the pics:

Dining Room Before and After - Before - Lots of scratches and areas that are faded by the sun.



Living Room Before, During, and After



Note below the difference between the the previous finish and the sanded wood below.



Border Before, During, and After




Hallway Before, During, and After - This area was in pretty good shape - we just needed to sand and stain to match the rest of the house.



Kitchen Before, During, and After - This was one ugly floor before.



Kitchen Repair (New Flooring) Before, During, and After. This was an area that was water damaged and could not be salvaged.

Task #6 - Ripping Up For Sale Sign

I can't believe that we didn't do this sooner.

Task #5 - New Air Conditioner

The good folks at Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning came out and installed a new Lennox Air Conditioner/Coil for the basement and 1st floor. We already had a roof AC for the top floor. We went with them because they were a large company, promised 2 hour response time for service calls 24/7/365, were relatively cheap, and provided an additional +4 years on the manufacturer's warranty (parts/labor) for a grand total of 14 years.

This didn't require us to do anything other than hanging out at the house for 14 hours as they did the work.

Before - pile of rubbish



After - working AC



And the New Evaporator coil attached to the existing furnace

Task #4 - Ripping out the Carpet

Next up, ripping out some carpet. We had nasty carpet in bedroom #2, bedroom #3 and in the master closet. We hoped that there was some beautiful pine under the floors that can be refinished. What we found... well, you'll see.

Below is Bedroom #2 Before, during, and after decarpeting. What you can't see in these pictures is the smell and it's not particularly good.



We tried to take out the subfloor, but it proved to be a much more formidable opponent than the carpet. 100 rusted 2 inch long wood screws per board, tongue and groove connections, and asbestos glue = not much progress. I guess we'll leave that to the professionals.



All I could do was stab it with my flathead screwdriver in frustration to expose a 1 inch diameter hole. Is that pine underneath? I guess we'll find out later.



Here is Bedroom #3 Before and After






Master Bedroom Closet Before and After



Yep, you're right. That is asbestos tile with asbestos glue. Another subfloor for the professionals to take on.