House #2: Here’s what we’re working with.

Here’s what we’re working with on this house. It’s got great bones and the mechanicals are all sound.

There’s a new roof with gutter covers (which with all those leave, will be a huge money/time saver over the years!). It’s pretty efficient, with an air conditioner/heat pump and gas furnace – all pretty new in terms of expected lifespan. The previous owners replaced all of the windows a while back, so those are in good condition as well. There’s a whole house humidifier and dehumidifier, water heater and softener, and a spigot in the kitchen with filtered drinking water (although the city tap water is just fine).

Also, the appliances are all in good, working condition and they look really good for being updated back in 2003 … however, they are all black. So, I’ve got to decide what I want to do there. Seriously, replacing totally good appliances is not on my priority list (per $$$ and it’s such a waste), but black is the second to last color I would choose (only above covering the appliances with matching trim to the cabinets, which I know is a thing, it’s just not my thing; and the dishwasher. The dishwasher wasn’t updated in 2003, has that matching trim, so I’m already looking for a new dishwasher).

So, here are our starting with pictures. Over the holidays, the plan is to start on the work we can do ourselves. We spent an entire day meetings with contractors to quote the work we can’t do ourselves (literally 8am-5:30pm, 7 contractors … that day was exhausting!). And since we’re still waiting on quotes (or more meetings with other contractors if they don’t come back within budget/scope), we’ll jump right in to get rid of all the wallpaper and carpet you’re about to see. Once we figure out which parts of our “how much would it cost to do this and move that and add this” versus “well, that doesn’t fit in our budget, but we could do this or we’re just going to have to skip that,” then we’ll be back with an update on the big changes!

Side note … I’d be lying if I didn’t also say that I’m pretty excited to post before & after photos in a year, like I did with our last house (here,which turned into this). We have ideas and visions for this house, and I think the transformation will be equally dramatic. And, for us, it’s always fun to look back at where we started because we both really love our current house now and it works for us … and so will this one … eventually.

For now, just the pictures.