Check check. Is this thing on?

It has been 15 years since our last renovation adventure and I am pleased to announce a sequel is in the works. Details forthcoming. Get ready for some fun.

Before....After

Here are a couple of shots to show how dramatic of a change there has been to the house.

First the kitchen which is the biggest transformation next to the basement.

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After -





Next is the bathroom. Definitely a nice change.

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After -




And finally the living room. Disgusting to soothing. Love it.


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After -

The Roof is on Fire

A few weeks ago the weather Gods finally smiled on us and we had a stretch of weather to replace our roof. The old system was the traditional rubber and bitumen with asphalt sealant. We decided to replace that with a more environmentally friendly and energy efficient acrylic system.

The first step was to remove the entire roof surface. Once the space was opened, we took that opportunity to insulate the gap between the second floor ceiling and the roof. Using and expanding foam insulation all of the gaps were sealed. Then cellulose insulation was blown in to give an R value of 30. On top of that we place a radiant barrier to prevent temperatures from penetrating through the insulation.

After finishing the insulation, 4x8 sheets of 3/4" underlayment were hauled up to the roof and fastened in place like decking. There were expansion gaps put in place to prevent buckling but those gaps were caulked to provide a surface of adhesion for the acrylic material.

Once the wood was attached and the surface caulked and cleaned, we began the final process. You begin by painting on a liberal (think Susan Sarandon) coat of acrylic paint and then rolling nylon fabric over it. After the nylon is in place and you remove as many of the wrinkles as you can, you paint over it with another layer of paint. Let it dry over night and ShaZam! - you now have a waterproof roof.

Once dry, I needed to apply more and more layers of paint until all of the material was gone. it took another 4 days but it wasn't that difficult to do.

We decided to use white as the final color to reflect heat but the lower two layers are gray so that uneven wear can be seen for future applications. Overall, it's pretty sweet and opens itself up to having a roof deck...but I doubt that will happen.

Sorry...we've been busy

I've heard through the grapevine that we are being unkind to our faithful readers by not having any recent updates. Hopefully, this will get things back on track.

As many of you know, we took some time off to do some small things like getting married and moving. After the wedding, our asses were welded to the couch for 2 weeks where our bodies tried to recover from exhaustion. During that time little got done at the house. Mostly, we digested 4 seasons of Lost and felt better for it.

Now things are back on track and while the house is not completed, we have moved in anyway. It will be a couple of weeks until we unpack and get organized but when we do - a showing we will have.

This week began the finishing of the basement which was supposed to be put off for a bit. Fortunately, we received a generous donation to the house fund from my newly anointed In-Laws which allows us to move forward instead of waiting until next year.

Therefore, if all goes well, we will have a completed (is it ever?) house by Thanksgiving.

I'm off to get some pictures for you so don't go away.

I got a solar tube!

Yay!!!! Today is roof day. We've cancelled the roof twice... so third time is a charm right? Minus the threat of high winds (40 mph!), the weather is perfect. Sunny, relatively cool -- and DRY! We're doing an acrylic roof - which is an environmentally friendly cool roof technology. It will be a white roof to reflect the sun, and it is very easy to maintain. Checkout all the details at: http://www.conservationtechnology.com/waterproofing_acrylic.html

We're also getting superduper insulation. The crawl space is getting a sprayfoam seal, then we're blowing in cellulose, and THEN we're putting in a radiant barrier. It's crazy expensive... but this stuff pays for itself right? Ha!

In my opinion, the best part of the roof re-do is my SOLAR TUBE!

Yes... I am now the proud owner of a beautiful solar tube (http://www.solatube.com/homeowner/) It is an amazing technology that far surpasses leaky skylights. The tube will reflect daylight into the upstairs hallway. I can't wait to get over to the house tonight and see it.

For those of you who are more visual... part 3

For those of you who are more visual... part 2