operation outside

It has been over a month this time since I have updated the blog. Don't think for a moment that there was nothing to update. That is so not true!  There are so many things that we have gotten done over the past five weeks or so.  Including lots of log splitting to prepare for winter.  I know it is hot but if we don't get a jump on it now, it will get a jump on us and who knows, it could be winter next month with the way our weather patterns have gone this year.  There have been outside water lines put in, siding started, the garden planted, outdoor shower built, flowers planted and grass planted.  Many more things also.  The ground has been leveled in preparation for the pool to go up.  So enjoy these photos as you walk through our journey of remodeling here at Operation Broadwell.

The kids and I made a trip to my mothers to get a few flowers for the side of the house.

Flowers planted and window well garden is finished.

Flowers planted in the window well make for a beautiful view from the sewing area in the basement.

We have several Mulberry trees in the yard.  Makes for a great snack when your mom won't give you one.  LOL

Also found black raspberries along the back of the wood shed.  Yummy!

Just one of these flower bushes found along the property.

 

We did find time to plant the garden too!

This is an essential part of the outdoor shower house.

The outdoor shower house.

Bathroom off the living room.

Master bedroom toilet room.

Pumping some good old fresh well water.  Ice cold too!

Amazing how much wood this makes when it is split.

It makes this much!

Siding started

More siding

Me lighting up the outside so the siding preparatin can be finished.

Always good when family comes to help out!

operation catch up

When I look back and see that it has been a month since I last updated, it amazes even me.  I know that time sure does fly when you are having fun.  By the way, it sure flies when you are working hard on a house renovation too.  We have done so many things this month.  I will probably not even be able to remember it all.  The water is finally under control with the tarps that you will see below.  We are guessing that when we put the porches around the three sides of the house we will be in good shape as the water will then flow away from the house.  YIPEEE!  I have had my share of water in the house so it flowing away from the house is going to be a great deal.  David has put the washer in temporarily so that I don't have to haul laundry back and fourth any more.  What a blessing to just throw the laundry in the hamper and wash it!  The guys have fixed the last of the leaky roof so it is all good to go and we can go ahead and work on the inside and not have to worry about water damage.  We have replaced the old skids with new skids and now instead of saying we live on skid row we can say we live on the boardwalk. You can't even imagine how excited I was when he brought those home with him.  My foot doesn't slip through the cracks anymore. Now on to the things that are really not necessary but that make my house a little more homey.  David built the well with flower beds in place of steps.  When I look out my window, I see beautiful flowers and lights right outside.  Then a very special lady crocheted me a beautiful table cover in my favorite decor colors.  It is so fun to have things that are really not necessary but loved!

tarps put up to prevent water from entering the basement

taking out 6" concrete slab to put down skids

old skids

skids cut to fit together

more skids cut to fit together...fancy

"new" sidewalk

window well being built

flower beds being added

gravel and flowers added

view from the inside

temporary washer hookup

last of the leaky roof fixed

my beautiful tablecloth made especially for me

operation roof leak

Oh how exciting it is to come home after church on a Wednesday evening only to hear someone in the shower when you walk in.  Only problem is that you know you don't have a shower!  We had a little leak last night that kind of appeared to be like Niagra Falls coming in through somewhere in the roof.  We thought we had all that patched up but the weather must have either blown something off or we missed a spot in patching the roof.  What a night!  Thank God for the plastic that we had just put on the ceiling of the downstairs this past week to keep the dirt from falling down into the basement.  Last night it kept the water from pouring down on my kitchen table with all my papers on it.  What a HUGE blessing!  It was too dark to get photos of the waterfall upstaris (next time I will take a short video) but I did get a couple of the downstaris with the water. 

entry to the pantry where the water was coming from

water in the plastic above the pantry door

water above the kitchen table

operation sump pump

The guys were able to get the sump pump hole cleaned out last night.  They used the 2nd story emergency ladder to lower Jonathan down in the tube so he could get all the junk out.  This is his face when he stuck his hands down in all that gunk!  YUCKY.... but at least it is done and the sump pump is running great!

operation basement

So much has taken place since my last post.  Some things you can see and some you can not see.  It seems that it has been a long winter when it comes to working on the house and the things that you can not see, seem to take the longest.  Take for instance the sump pump that  has to take all the water we use out of the house from the basement.  It is such an important part of everyday life but no one sees it or how my husband set it all up so that I would be able to use a sink in the basement.  It is really awesome how he has tried to put things in that will make my life so much easier from day to day. I had a thought the other day about how he has been so good to fix the basement much better than really needed because he knows that it will be where we spend so much of our time in the coming months.  He really did not have to fix me up a sewing area...but he did.  He really didn't have to set up a real kitchen...but he did.  He really didn't have to fix up a very nice pantry....but he did.  I am one blessed lady!  Anyway back to the renovations!  We have filled in all the cracks in the floor with hydrolic cement and carpeted part of the basement.  The kitchen also had vinyl flooring now and it looks so different.  Very nice, I might add.  We left part of the floor just plain old concrete so that when people come in from working out in the mud that they will have a path to the sink to wash up and a place to leave their shoes that will be able to just be hosed off.  I have tried to add photos of the whole downstairs for you to see how far we have come.  We also had use of a backhoe yesterday for a few hours and got a bit of the dirt leveled out.  If you would like to stop in and see it in person, please feel free to do so.  We welcome visitors anytime. 

carpet and vinyl layed

my shelving for storage

kitchen area

kids reading nook

sleeping...living area

sewing area

school area

storage and Jonathan's bed

sink

dirt being moved back in

operation windows

Vacation is over and time to get serious again about getting the house ready to live in.  The guys spent yesterday tearing off the last of the siding on one wall of the house only to find that the added on room they put on years ago is about 1-2" out farther than the other wall....another roadblock.  So now David will have to put up furring strips and another layer of osb to make it level for putting up siding.  And here I thought we would have that entire wall sided by weeks end.  Why would I think such a that things would go as planned... how silly of me!  Oh well, it is still possible that the wall will be complete by the end of the week.  We will see.  Today should have been spent on the outside but it was so cold and the wind was blowing so hard that David decided to pick up all the boards in the yard and trash and start a big fire.  Then the guys came in and worked inside cleaning and moving things around a bit so David could put the first of the windows in the entry room off the back porch.  The girls and I spend the first half of the day cleaning and putting away more of our things.  There is only one box left that needs a place.  I think we are running out of room in the basement!  YIKES!!!  LOL  Then we spent the other half sewing and using the Cricut to make some cards.  Fun times!  We spend the night there last night and the beds that David built were very comfortable.  Looking forward to being able to stay there every night.  Think curtains are in the near future as David kept waking up to the neighbor's Christmas lights twinkling.  :-)

operation basement kitchen

It seems as if I don't get a chance to upload photos as often anymore.  We have finally gotten the basment ready enough that we can sleep there if we need to.  David built beds and Jireh helped him paint them red.  She is on the top bunk and David and I on the bottom.  Jonathan has his bed on the other side of the basement and Jasmine is in the kids nook.  They can't wait to spend the night and see how it is.  We have gotten so much done.  The water heater is up and running and David put me in a double utility sink.  I don't have a drain yet but I do have a bucket under the drain so we can use it.  The kitchen is done and everything works great!  The cabinets are awesome and the pantry is completely done.  We bought a used dehumidifier and put it in the pantry so it would soak up the condensation.  The basement is dry and painted.  Next will be to seal all the cracks and hopefully put down some vinyl flooring if I can find some on clearance.

shelving

kitchen cabinets

new table and chairs

beds that David built

living space

water heater

Jasper

operation setting up house

We have been working hard to get the rest of the basement cleaned and set up for us to move in.  Lots of paint and sealer has gone into that place.  The floors are clean after buckets and buckets of bleach water have been poured on them and scrubbed with a scrub brush.  All I can say is WOW!  The kids school desk are set up and ready for them to hook up and live stream their schooling.  The reading nook for the kids is ready and complete with the foam flooring for comfort and warmth.  The water heater is in and just needs a gas line hooked up to be up and running.  The' kitchenette is set up and the cabinets are hung.  We were able to find a gas stove that was only 7 months old for a great price.  It works great.  The girls have already baked brownies.  I think one more day of nice hot bleach water on the floor and it will be all done.  The sewing machines are all set up and ready to roll.  Can't wait to get back to sewing!  Having withdraws! 

operation pantry

It seems as if I don't blog much these days.  I guess that is because you can only blog so much about painting white walls!  That is pretty much what we have been up to.  We have one wall left to paint.  I will hopefully have that one done by Saturday and the basement will be completely painted and cleaned except for the stairs.  That will be for another time!  David and Jonathan put the sheeting on the roof up front yesterday and David finished wiring for my sewing machines.  The next thing we need to do is put in a water heater with faucets and build beds for us to sleep.  A stove would be nice also, if we can ever be the first person to call these Craigslist adds!  LOL