Nearing the finish line!

We are almost there. We finally have all of our flooring in. Our wood floors look fabulous. We are so pleased with them.
I want to thank Laurel Poll for all her help with the tile. I loved learning how to do it and they look so great. It really was a lot of fun, but a ton of work. However, I think they turned out great. I did the tiled hearth all by myself. It was so cool.



We also finally got our linoleum in and it looks fabulous too. After that all we were waiting for was our carpet and for our contractor to finish all his things. Well, we now have carpet and it looks great. It is so soft and thick, we just had to take our shoes off yesterday and tromp all over the house. We love it! We are so excited that it is really looking like a livable house now. We just sat on the floor and stared at last night and didn't want to do anything else. It felt like Christmas to get our carpet in.


So now all that's left is for our contractor to come in and work on his huge list of finishing touches. It should only take him a few days and then we have to get it inspected. Once it passes inspection we can move in! I know we've been saying that we should be done in 2 weeks for about two months now, but now it looks like it really will happen that way! I can't wait to cross that finish line. Wish us luck!

As Time Stands Still

Our wood floors have created a type of standstill for us. We are grateful to Wasatch Ultimate Flooring for giving us a spectacular deal on some quality flooring. The wood is about 90% in. we are still waiting for carpet and linoleum to be installed. Kari and I are waiting for some friends to teach us how to install our own tile. If all goes well, we might be only 2 weeks away from moving in. (of course as I write this, some dastardly thing is probably plotting against us and will reveal its ugly head shortly.)

I also need to share my love and admiration to Kari, who took the painting challenge and ran with it. I admit that painting is not something I remotely enjoy, and so with minimal help from me and a lot of help from her Mom, the two of then painted the house. It looks super fantastic!

We have also installed phone and internet capabilities. Satellite television should be coming soon as well. Things are getting so close, I can hardly contain my excitement.



P.S. On an unrelated note, I am so excited for my cousin Christopher's wife Emily, who set the course record at the Saint George Marathon Wheelchair Division race this weekend. Both Chris and Emily are amazing examples to Kari and I. We only wish they lived closer so we could get together more often than the maybe once a year we are able now. Congrats Emily!!!!!

We are still alive

Wow, I know it's been forever since we've posted. Since Sean is really busy right now, I've decided to write a few things. The house is really coming along. All of our soffits (I think that's how to spell it) and rain gutters are all done. We also have a new driveway! Yeah! I've been very busy painting the entire house. Mom has been a lot of help and we've also had some great help from friends and family too. I was there every morning for about an hour and almost every evening for 3-4 hours for 3 weeks. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, but the house looks so good. We did the great room in a really pretty green color, then painted the rest of the house in a nice tan color. It was interesting transitioning the colors around the rounded corners, but I think we made it work well. It's finally looking like a real house! I'm glad we don't have floors in yet because I could be as messy as I wanted to and not worry about spilling paint everywhere. Now my next project is to clean up all the rollers, and other painting mess so we can get our wood floors installed on Saturday. We still have some painting left like the trim that hasn't been installed yet, and some touch-up work to do. We actually got our appliances on friday. It's so nice to have a fridge and stove. Our kitchen is looking like an actuall kitchen now. They couldn't install the dishwasher becasue the old one which hasnt' been hooked up, somehow got hooked up, and Sears won't unhook and remove it. That is someone else's job. Oh well, it's at the house at least. It's been a long haul, but we are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. We might actually move in one day! Here are a few pics. Hope you enjoy!

Where does the time go?

It has been a busy month or so since my last post. Work is progressing nicely on the new homestead. just this past week, our drywall is installed. unfortunately, no pics yet. The Mrs. and I are currently focusing on choosing paint colors and carpet styles.

We will be painting in just over a week, so anyone who wants to spend some time making stains on clothes and floors, feel free to contact us. Pizza and soda may or may not be provided.

We were able to get a fantastic deal on some new furniture as well over the pioneer day holiday. (I am usually not a fan of RW Sillies, but it was a fantastic deal.

Big Props to our new neighbor Jared, who has sacrificed some quality time with his SuperWife Jessica, to help get our sprinkler system in order. We might actually see some green grass again in our front yard before the summer is out!

I promise, drywall photos will come; (as soon as I take them.)

The "Before's"

I understand now how easy it is to go a while without posting. I have tried to do this two or three time before today, but each time struggled with the photo portion of the post. I finally realized that I could post the photos first, and then add the text.

So we have received a building permit. And since the point of this blog is to show the transition of our home, here are some "before" pictures. The changes that have taken place so far are somewhat remarkable. so will will have some process pics next time.

Future Laundry

Future Downstairs Family Room

Looking Up The Stairs

Future Storage Area Next to the Stairs

Master Closet Area

Hallway Next to/Above Stairs

Master Bathroom Area

Home Teacher Room/Library

Fireplace in the Home Teacher Room

Finally, after all this time...

We have finally achieved Building Permit status. Thanks to some important people who know some important people, we were finally able to push through all of the "red tape" that was holding us back. (OK, you are each allowed to make one joke at my expense for forcing that same "red tape" on people. It is so much more fun to be the one holding the hoop rather than the one who has to jump through it.) All jokes aside, we are uber excited to see work starting to progress. We will have full "before" pictures in the next few days. Keep checking in!

On another note, I mowed the lawn for the first time on Monday night. I really didn't think this would be such a big deal, but having not pushed a lawn mower for at least ten years, and not bieng the most physical/athletic/fit person on the planet, that small hill turns into a big hill in a hurry. Lucky for me, I have the entire summer to turn that big nuisance into the small annoyance it would be for anyone else.

Quick Update or Building Permit Blues

Yes we now own the house. I am told that my initial is now correct and I am once again R. The next step in the progression is to get the building permit and get to work. Easier said than done.

I applied for the permit last week and was promptly told that my drawings did not show enough of the planned electrical work. So I had to get in touch with our electrician to draw up some more detailed electrical plans. We had a miscommunication and did not get the new updates to the architect until Monday. Today I called the architect to see how we were progressing and found out that he has been sick, and they do not expect him back this week. So Brian, GET WELL SOON!!! and hopefully we can get our permit next week. Once we have a building permit, work should begin fairly quickly.

Who is this guy anyway?

We have had issues with names over the past week. Somehow the mortgage company got the idea that my middle initial was A instead of R. I first noticed the error on our appraisal. I promptly called and had it changed, and thought that would be the end of the problem. On signing day, all of the documents had an A. While we signed, we changed all of the initials to R and initialed each change. We were worried that we would have to sign again, but were assured that the problem had been fixed.

Today, I had planned to apply for our building permit. To do so I have to provide a current ownership plat from the county recorder's office. To my chagrin, our deed was recorded as Sean A. UGGGGHHHH!!! I called the title company and had to spend time waiting for them to prepare a document to record to finally fix this stupid mistake. Unfortunately for me, I don't dare try to get a building permit until my name is correct. I cannot image how hard it would be to explain to the city why my name does not match the recorded name on the plat. I guess the permit will have to wait until next week.

Some Photos

My Dad came to visit today, and we were able to take some interior photos of the house. We also got the key today, although the locks will be changed sooner rather than later. Enjoy the pics!

99.9999995%

The Mrs. and I had a scare on Tuesday. We were supposed to close on our new home. I had arranged to leave work early, and Kari was going to meet up with me to sign the papers. Before I left work, i took a call from the mortgage company saying we were good to go. Before I was able to get home, we had heard that the deal might not happen due to a paperwork snafu -- the people who create the paperwork for us to sign could not get the math to work out for whatever reason. Fortunately for us, it was worked out Wednesday afternoon, and we were able to sign the papers thanks to our most dedicated real estate agent Ethan. There is a minor caveat, as my middle initial was incorrect on most of the papers. We have been assured that this is not a major problem, and therefore are happy to announce that we are almost homeowners!!!!! the paperwork needs to be recorded and some checks need to clear, but we are essentially there.

Our house is located on the same physical block where we currently live. We will not be able to move in for awhile while the renovations are being completed, but here is your first look at our new home!



We will have indoor pictures, as well as before and after pics of the entire process. Stay tuned!!!

SL

Closing Soon !?!?!?!?!

We have found out that we should be able to close on our new house within the next couple of days. A local architecture firm is drawing up some plans for us to submit for our building permit. We have a contractor chosen, who should be able to begin work as soon as we close. Our lender is finishing our loan; it has been approved, but our loan processor is clarifying some info for the file. All in all we should be signing the paperwork on Monday or Tuesday. It has been a long road but we are almost there.

Coming Soon

The Mrs. and I have spent the past few months looking for a permanent place to call our own. We are currently under contract to purchase a new homestead quite close to where we currently live. One of the cool things about this house is that it was gutted by the previous owner and left in shambles. As a result we have an opportunity to customize some of the options to our own tastes!

As we get closer to closing and finalizing the purchase, this is where we will provide updates to friends and family, including photos, so everyone can see the changes that will make this house our home.

SL