we were eager to get started on the mandatory work necessary prior to actual move-in date. When we purchased the place, we knew that the entire infrastructure would need new paint from top to bottom, and in between every nook and cranny. While we entertained the thought of doing the paint job ourselves (we aren't exactly ones to shy away from old fashioned, down and dirty sprucing up!), we quickly discovered the cost of the paints, ladders necessary to reach the vaulted ceilings throughout and paint sprayers to be pretty darn pricy. What's more, it would eat away at our time like a moth through a sweater.
Nate joined Angie's List (our new favorite site!) and found a fantastic painter hailed as the best one around with a hundred reviews. He met us last week to give us our estimate: $1900 to include cleaning of the walls (talk about cobwebbs!), prepping and covering of floors, and full paint on ceilings, walls and trim. Nate was nearly jumping for joy when the guy said he'd also fill in all nail holes left from our dismantling of the old wall trim. He did an actual LEAP in the air when the painter also agreed to take away the old carpet for us which was soon to be torn out by us. We aren't ones to throw $1900 bucks into the air, but we knew a great deal when it jumps into our laps so we took it!
With a big sigh of relief knowing that one of the necessary immediate jobs would be handled, we could move on to the next thing. Cleaning the place would take more than a single day's operation by my estimations. Ripping up the old carpet which covered the fifteen stairs and the entire second floor (approx. 900 square feet), along with tackling the undercarpet foam and glue and dismantling the wall trim would all take a while. We gave ourselves the weekend to get the job done. Lucky for us, it's a three-day for Labor Day.
9:30am saw us up and at 'em at the local East Palo Alto IKEA. After a hearty Swedish breakfast (gotta start the day right!), we were anxious to make our first purchase for our first home: the floors. After years spent perusing our ideal candidates, it was a daunting task when we actually had to finally decide! Being a little tight on money always adds the final punch to the gutt, tauntingly reminding us that we shouldn't get everything we want! Fortunately for us (and the world!), there's IKEA - shining like a beacon of hope and saying 'Yes, You Can!'. We spotted the latest Tundra laminate wood flooring in dark brown. A rich coffee bean color with striations of light brown, the planks are wide and completely do-it-yourself. I knew Nate had longed to lay flooring himself for years, but I was anxious to see if he'd really be up to the task. He meticulously mapped out our new digs, researched the floors online and watched amateur Bob Villa's on YouTube intricately describe the process of laying the IKEA floors. After 24 hours, he felt armed and ready to take on the challenge (phew!).
It's never possible to go to IKEA for one item and walk out. Accordingly, we lost two hours in the store meandering around, checking out possible furniture in our future and admiring the displays. But time was of the essence, so we made our way to the flooring and grabbed enough sets of the planks that we would initially need. It's true that we would have much preferred to buy all of the planks at once- anticipating reflooring the downstairs as well. Needless to say, on a tight budget and tighter time constraints, we splurged on enough to last us for the Master Bedroom, our son's bedroom and the upstairs hallways. That leaves us with mandatory third-bedroom planks in the very near future, in addition to floors for the downstairs living and dining areas. Because it's IKEA, we don't want to hold off too long on buying those... things come and go from style. For now, we have enough on our plate.
After a few trial runs of arranging and rearranging the floors to fit in the back of our '00 Land Rover Disco, we finally worked it all in (and we didn't even take our son's head off in the process!). After a quick stop (for what feels like the hundredth time in a week) at Home Depot for a ladder and various little things, we made it home by 1pm ready to work. Donning my yellow rubber gloves, I was practically salivating at the chance to clean her up and see how she would sparkle for us. I first took to the downstairs, doing the lower floor 1//2 bathroom which didn't take long. I moved on to the kitchen and was anxious to check out the refridgerator first thing. We had noted on multiple previous occasions how there was a strong likelihood of a new fridge purchase in our future. By armed with disinfectant and scrubbers, I felt confident that I could stand up to the task. Afterall, I'd cleaned my share of dirty old fridges in previous rentals. Nothing would compare to this beast. I nearly gag just thinking about the leaves of molded lettuce in the bottom trays, the mildewed and molded freezer which had leaked out a yellow ooze, and the rust-covered inner metal workings of the water and ice maker. I don't even think a gallon of pure bleach could clean this old thing out adequately.
I was prepared to make my case, but after a mere, "Hon, I don't think I'll be able to salvage the fridge," my agreeable husband handed me the car keys. "Drive up to Best Buy and get that fridge that you want." I had never heard those words before, and knew that they alone had the power to put an ooomph in my step. The true joys of home ownership, even at the expense of a new appliance, is still overwhelming! We'll have to wait a few days until it's delivered and we once again feel safe putting our food inside the fridge.
While I was off galavanting around the swanky San Jose shopping district for the fridge, my husband and son were diligently toiling away at home, removing the baseboard trim and carpet. What work they did! Our son thoroughly impressed us with his pro-like use of the crowbar (oh the things you can do with one of those!) and they had the trim removed without doing any damage to the walls (save for one small corner in the upstairs hallway which will need a patching). By the time I returned home, they were carrying down the sheets of cut carpet to the garage. I began my cleaning yet again, using ZAP and CLR on the entire kitchen. After eight hours of crouching down and scrubbing with all my might, the two upstairs bathtubs were starting to resemble basins that you might actually consider laying down in. A little more work on all of the sinks and countertops and the place was coming to together.
Nate and our son had successfully rid the place of the old, torn up and stained grey carpet and padding (an no, we aren't child labor enthusiasts for the record! This kid of ours simply would not stop working!)
The place was starting to look rechristened- you could start to feel how it would look in another day, or two or seven. We were tired by 8pm, and knew tomorrow would be another busy day. Better to get a little shut-eye and come back to take off the carpet glue, remove the nails and finish up the cleaning.
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