actually we don't <3 plumbing, at all.
Joe the plumber... stays far, far away from plumbing work for good reason. We enlisted a highly recommended plumber to come help us start over with the previous homeowner's handywork.
As I'm typing, Joe is emptying the shop vac because it has what I call "Spooge" - nasty, disgusting, rotting sewer water that was sitting in our vent line and has small wiggly worms growing in it. Bob the Plumber (BtP) had to frantically clean up an unexpected mess he came across today when he cut into the vent line to repipe (the line was crumbling to pieces after xx years of poor piping). DISGUSTING!!!
I'll spare you the photos... but it got all over our ceiling of the new kitchen. I'm hoping it doesn't stain and we got all the water up in time!
We should've known that this line would've had spooge in it, since Joe and I came across the same thing over the weekend when we demo'd the remainder of the old plumbing. We hit it when we demo'd a poorly done vent line... again another place where water shouldn't be.
Lesson Learned? Always have a shop vac on hand, plugged in and ready for the unexpected.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Dear Santa,
There's a couple of house items on the list...
a table saw for Joe
and a compact canister vacuum for HM.
Thanks!
a table saw for Joe
and a compact canister vacuum for HM.
Thanks!
Monday, October 19, 2009
treasures
We always are on the hunt for hidden treasures in the house and this past weekend while Joe was hunting around in the attic... we found some... see below!
he found (6) postcards under a floorboard in the back corner of the attic!
he found (6) postcards under a floorboard in the back corner of the attic!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
1 year House-iversary...
This weekend we hit the one year mark as homeowners... and with progress on the house.
Ironically, we spent it in Hood River at a friend's modern hideaway. The fall colors were beautiful, and of course it included a hike led by Joe... which meant mini rock scramble, snow and 30 degree temps in the middle of October.
Our goals for year 2?
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Exterior Paint
Exterior Siding
Wish us luck, photos to come soon on the "progress"
Ironically, we spent it in Hood River at a friend's modern hideaway. The fall colors were beautiful, and of course it included a hike led by Joe... which meant mini rock scramble, snow and 30 degree temps in the middle of October.
Our goals for year 2?
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Exterior Paint
Exterior Siding
Wish us luck, photos to come soon on the "progress"
Monday, September 21, 2009
11.5 months
Since we joke that our house is our child, we'll start tracking it by age. I think it's when you hit over 24 months that you can start to relate things to actual years?
At any rate, we've come a long way in the last 11.5 months of home ownership and have quite a ways to go. This post will be about the future and our BIG! plans for the next year...
Spring 2010: Reshingle and Paint the exterior. We postponed this event with the slowing of the economy and our job professions (*just in case*)... and saved more money since this will be almost as expensive as the kitchen to undertake!
Winter 2009- ?: Work on the Master Suite and be our own workers/ GC. The Master Bath will be tricky but I think we can do it! Final floorplans coming soon!
My other Year 2 goals include...
1.) Finish off the Entry (it's the last room on the 1st floor to be worked on)
2.) Lay Tile and work on the Sunporch
3.) the Front Door...
4.) Oh, the yard... but hey, it's Oregon. Nobody has a gardener here!
Bathroom Inspiration:
At any rate, we've come a long way in the last 11.5 months of home ownership and have quite a ways to go. This post will be about the future and our BIG! plans for the next year...
Spring 2010: Reshingle and Paint the exterior. We postponed this event with the slowing of the economy and our job professions (*just in case*)... and saved more money since this will be almost as expensive as the kitchen to undertake!
Winter 2009- ?: Work on the Master Suite and be our own workers/ GC. The Master Bath will be tricky but I think we can do it! Final floorplans coming soon!
My other Year 2 goals include...
1.) Finish off the Entry (it's the last room on the 1st floor to be worked on)
2.) Lay Tile and work on the Sunporch
3.) the Front Door...
4.) Oh, the yard... but hey, it's Oregon. Nobody has a gardener here!
Bathroom Inspiration:
Monday, September 7, 2009
How we spent our Labor Day... laboring
Up and down the stairs... 5 gallon buckets of plaster and trash cans full of lathe.
Not to mention the garage that was full of misc. wood and scraps from the sunporch demo and our attic bedroom "built-in"
The makings of our master suite.
Step One: DEMO.
Not to mention the garage that was full of misc. wood and scraps from the sunporch demo and our attic bedroom "built-in"
The makings of our master suite.
Step One: DEMO.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Irvington History
In my spare time (or lack there of) I still try to research the history of our home and the neighborhood... Here's a little history to our Irvington Neighborhood.
"Few city neighborhoods in the West have the variety and quality of early 20th Century residential architecture to equal Portland's historic Irvington Neighborhood. Portland's population boomed in the years after 1900, spurred by the 1905 Lewis Clark Exposition. With the west side of the Willamette River fully built up, the city expanded to the east side trolley car suburbs like Irvington in the years from 1900 through 1920.
Upper middle class Portlanders built substantial Irvington houses in the styles common to the period -- Arts and Crafts, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Prairie Style, Bungalow -- many with an inventiveness and creative touch freed from East Coast architectural proprieties. Despite some losses to urban development, Irvington retains its historic charm, with thousands of well maintained or recently restored homes."
and more...
"The trolley car made Irvington. Before automobiles provided nearly universal mobility, the 5 cent streetcar fare offered ordinary citizens the opportunity to live more than walking distance from their work, and opened up the "suburban" areas of Portland east of the Willamette River to settlement. From its late 19th century beginnings, Irvington was planned as an upper middle-class residential area. Deed covenants set minimum values for new homes and imposed other restrictions. The result was slow but steady growth, and an unusually high quality of design and construction throughout the area."
"Few city neighborhoods in the West have the variety and quality of early 20th Century residential architecture to equal Portland's historic Irvington Neighborhood. Portland's population boomed in the years after 1900, spurred by the 1905 Lewis Clark Exposition. With the west side of the Willamette River fully built up, the city expanded to the east side trolley car suburbs like Irvington in the years from 1900 through 1920.
Upper middle class Portlanders built substantial Irvington houses in the styles common to the period -- Arts and Crafts, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, Prairie Style, Bungalow -- many with an inventiveness and creative touch freed from East Coast architectural proprieties. Despite some losses to urban development, Irvington retains its historic charm, with thousands of well maintained or recently restored homes."
and more...
"The trolley car made Irvington. Before automobiles provided nearly universal mobility, the 5 cent streetcar fare offered ordinary citizens the opportunity to live more than walking distance from their work, and opened up the "suburban" areas of Portland east of the Willamette River to settlement. From its late 19th century beginnings, Irvington was planned as an upper middle-class residential area. Deed covenants set minimum values for new homes and imposed other restrictions. The result was slow but steady growth, and an unusually high quality of design and construction throughout the area."
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