Tuesday, October 8, 2024

More home improvement

I'm on fall break this week. It's nice to be off work, especially now that it's getting cool outside. Lots of pleasant dog walks are happening at the moment. 

Speaking of lots of things happening.....this is my den right now:


Demolished wall!!!

The ceiling in there had developed a crack that started to leak during the last storm that rolled through. It was a bad leak, and the crack got bigger and bigger. Then, it quickly became obvious that water was running down behind the wall, too, because the boards by the window started to warp. Not good.

 Here's a picture I took this morning before work commenced:



There's a place where the roof of this room joins the main house (the room was an addition to the original floor plan) and some sort of flaw there was letting the water in. That will be fixed first, then the wall with the warped boards will be repaired. And we decided instead of just patching up the damaged part of the ceiling, we're going to go ahead and redo the whole thing.

Something like this is what we're going for:

                        
Coffered ceilings

We're getting those same recessed lights in the "coffered" ceiling, and the old, clunky ceiling fan will be replaced with a smaller, simpler one. We've hired the same guy who remodeled our porch last summer to do the work. He seems to do solid work, and his prices aren't unreasonable. 

As soon as he's finished, we plan to paint the room a fresh new color. I'm hoping we can do that next weekend and have everything done when I go back to work on Monday. That may or may not be possible, though.

29 comments:

  1. What a beautiful upgrade that will be! Your timing is perfect--why just fix it when you have the opportunity to remodel it. Leaks are the WORST, so destructive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, lots of damage done from the leak, so it just made sense to add a few upgrades to the work that was already very necessary!

      Delete
  2. That change will be great! I hope the work goes smoothly. How did you find the guy to do the work? I need work done on my house, probably by a contractor. I've made appointments with people who never show up. One guy came up with a plan for the house and gave me a quote for part of the work. I wanted to move forward with him. Of course, he disappeared. At least he never asked for any money upfront. I worry about people taking advantage of me because I'm a woman alone and don't know anything about the repairs that need to be made. Show us photos, please, as the word is done. Happy Fall Break!

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Guys that do this kind of work are notorious for ghosting, aren't they? Gregg's known this guy for years unrelated to what he does for a living. Having a friendly acquaintance that we can hire for working on this old house is just plain good luck.

      Delete
    2. Oh, that's wonderful. I have some acquaintances, but none of them work on houses and they're not all that friendly. Lol

      Delete
  3. I can't wait to see the finished room! You are lucky to have a contractor that you can trust. Enjoy the rest of your break.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This break isn't what I expected or necessarily wanted in a break, but the end result should be very worthwhile. Plus, I have another week off at Thanksgiving. Hopefully something else in the house won't fall apart between now and then!

      Delete
  4. That will be a beautiful reno once completed! Looking forward to the "after" photos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope it will be beautiful! I'll share photos as soon as it's done.

      Delete
  5. Looking forward to seeing the "after" photos.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Water is the enemy of homes; so much of the damage you can't see until you open a wall.
    But I love the idea of that new ceiling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the damage was pretty bad in that one small area. Water had been getting in for a long time, apparently. I'm excited about the new ceiling we're getting! And if it looks good and goes well, probably hire the guy to do more of our ceilings the same way. Most of them are currently that ugly "popcorn ceiling" look.

      Delete
  7. Was this all a result of the hurricane rains you guys had? A major task. But the coffered ceilings are nice. I'd have them in a minute. I think they are very handsome ceilings in conjunction with recessed lights. May you get you wish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rains made it bad enough that it was suddenly noticeable that there was a problem. A crack opened up in the ceiling and started to leak heavily! We had to do something right away.

      Delete
  8. Your remodeled room will be a treat for all of us.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It is a good idea to use the opportunity of a necessary repair for some improvement. Your house is so beautiful and your real home, and now it will become even more beautiful.
    Keeping my fingers crossed that the work is finished in time for you to paint before work starts again!
    I like the idea of pleasant dog walks in cooler weather.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our neighborhood is pretty right now with the autumn colors just getting started. The cool air is great for exercise, too.

      Delete
  10. What fun! And what a goal! Can’t wait to see it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're thinking of expanding our comfort zone with paint and going with a medium olive-green color for the walls!

      Delete
    2. Sounds beautiful. You have been so good with colors, I’m sure it will look elegant.

      Delete
  11. That's going to look great, Jennifer! Enjoy your break!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ellen. A small home renovation isn't a fun way to spend the week, but it will be worth it when it's done. I hope.

      Delete
  12. Wow! That is gorgeous! Can't wait to see it all finished.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! Those coffered ceilings look very impressive! I see what you mean about the warping -- add-ons never seem to age as well as original construction. (We have the same problem in our flat -- our living room is an addition and it has ceiling cracks and other problems.)

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Porch Guy (not The Fish Guy*) was a precious find. You need to hang on to him.

    *The Fish Guy was a precious find too.

    ReplyDelete