Kitchen & Dining Rooms

Well, here is a partial view of the dining room. We'll be taking off the paneling, redoing the floors, new window and new trim. Probably a new chandlier & maybe a tiled area since it also has the front door enterance. New Paint on the walls, too. The kitchen is a little rough looking and its going to get gutted as well. I just got a design done up and we'll see if it works, but then the new cabinets can get ordered. We'll put in 2 new windows, redo the pantry, new paint, and new tile. Lots of work!

ENLARGE THE PHOTOS

If you want the Full Picture... Click on the Picture & It'll Enlarge for you. How Neat!

No Insulation

Wisconsin Winters are COLD!!! So, when my brother ripped open the 2nd floor walls, he was a little taken aback that there was NO Insulation in the walls. Now, to the builder/owners credit the shingle siding that's outside has some insulation on it, more padding then anything, but STILL NO INSULATION ARE YOU CRAZY!!! So, needless to say, all the exterior walls came down and now insulation is being put in and new drywall will go up. These pictures (Thank you Aunt Joey!) show the progress... Bob's doing a GREAT job! The last picture is the stairwell, again all the plaster needed to come off ~ it looked like someone(s) had a huge FIGHT in it. We will have to put in a new railing since this one is only about 2 feet tall. Again, all the windows will be new and we will retrim everything and put on new doors.

Living Room

Here is the Living Room of the Packard House... ICK! The walls will be textured and painted a nice neutral color, all the windows will be new, with new trim and the bathroom that is off it, back in the corner will be completely redone. The door to the bathroom will be replaced and again all new trim. I think the molding on the top and bottom can be saved and we are going to try to strip and refinish the floor, otherwise it'll just be carpet... soft plush carpet, not indoor/outdoor carpeting! Yikes!

Its Ours

Friday we drove up to Appleton for the closing, even though we knew it probably wasn't going to happen. We had gotten an email on Wednesday that was to the effect of letting us know that the driveway needed to be paved within 6 months and there was a special assessment... WHOA ~ driveway, fine, special assessment... first I'm hearing of it. So some phone calls, some internet searching, some emails and yes, the property has a special assessment coming in 08/09 for the sewers, laterals & curbing. The bank would need to pay for that, especially since it was never disclosed. Dragging feet never made so big a rut! Friday we went to the house, though, we went to the title company, too, we signed what we could and left the big check with my brother so he could finish it up... and they did ~ they paid the estimated amount for the assessment ~ and we exchanged check for keys and the house is ours! Strap on your toolbelt ~ there's a TON of work to be done!

The Listing Ad

Here's what the listing read as...

FIXER WITH GREAT POTENTIAL. GOOD FLOOR PLAN WITH LARGE KITCHEN & DINING. DEEP LOT WITH ROOM FOR GARAGE. OPPORTUNITY ABOUNDS.

And Room Sizes:

Living Rm
20X11

Dining Rm
12X12

Kit/Dinette
14X08

Bdrm 1
12X11

Bdrm 2
11X11

Bdrm 3
12X09

Menards... My Friend

For years, Menards has showered me with items that are free, or at least, cheap, after the mail in rebate. They have an unique, but popular, program where they offer items with a rebate and the money back is in the form of a merchandise credit that you, in turn, use back at Menards. We utilize this whenever we can. I figure if I am going to be spending the money anyways, I might as well get some free stuff in the meantime! This is going to come in extremely handy for this new project. Yesterday I made my trip to Menards for the week. They recently built one fairly close to our house & its HUGE, including a full line of groceries and an indoor lumber yard... NICE! I went specifically for the new house, armed with my BIG CARD (their credit card), and their 2 overlapping ads.

All total, including tax, I spent $109.36 (I had no credit to use this time) on 27 items and will get back $73 in credit for next time. So, what did my $36.36 get me? Ten 10' aluminum gutters, 4 quick clamps (really neat one handed clamps), 2 car air fresheners, 2 packs of car window wipes, 2 rose bushes, 2 packs of gladiolus bulbs, 2 one step folding step stools, 2 cans of pringles (not rebated, but on sale for 79 cents each) and a new key lock entry door knob set. Not bad! Already in my car from last week is some weed and feed, more bulbs, tape measures, some smaller clamps, a screwdriver set, and some fuel system cleaner (alright, not for the house, but definetely good to have!).

In the coming months I'm sure many things I will need, or could potentially use will be part of their rebated items and I will be sure to visit my friend weekly. Hopefully I can counteract some of the expense this way and keep us under budget. I wonder if they'll do one for a garage... that could be interesting! Dreamer!

Our First Project

Well, its official... we need more stuff to do! Six kids and their entourage isn't enough so we had a wingding of an idea & are purchasing a house to flip. Our first (of hopefully many) projects takes us to Appleton, WI. Our "house" has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths & is 1236 Sq feet. Its a foreclosure and as you can see needs some work. The funny thing is, I haven't seen it yet! My brother has been doing the leg work as he is the one who is going to be doing the bulk of the work. Step #1 will be to take off the CHRISTMAS LIGHTS... I have an older picture from 2003 & the house looks exactly like this ~ Christmas Lights & all. The Pine tree is going to get trimmed up too since no one can walk down the path. The driveway is gravel & ends at a concrete slab. We will be constructing a 2 car garage & laying down a concrete driveway. New siding, new roof, and a host of updates inside that I'll have to wait to explain. We close on the house in May at which point I'll get keys & finally get to see the inside. I'll take photos, some measurements & start on a timeline & budget. We'll be using this blog to update the work as we go. This is a big step for us, especially in this market, but this is a great opportunity & I'm excited about the prospects & potential. So, join us on our NEXT ADVENTURE!