Thursday, January 22, 2015

The Papered House Project List: Jan-March 2015

We have a lot of painting in our future...


I've always been a compulsive list-maker.  I make lists of books I want to read, restaurants I want to try, places I should visit.  I tend to be a tad forgetful and the list-making helps me feel as though I have a fighting chance of keeping everything in order.  Even if I'm just going to the grocery store for three items, I force myself to make a list lest I forget something (As luck would have it, I often forget my grocery list at home.  Oh, the irony). 

Restoring our home will be the largest project that my husband and I have undertaken, and it's bound to be a work in progress for quite some time.  When we look around the house at the unfinished projects and see all the work that still needs to be done, it's easy for us to feel overwhelmed and discouraged.  Separating the projects into small, discrete tasks has made the restoration feel more manageable.  Thus, we created a project list for the next three months.  And unlike my grocery list, there's no chance of me forgetting the items on this list.  It would be pretty hard to overlook the peeling wallpaper in our family room or the grimy grout in our bathroom (ick)!


This list helps us to feel like we're making progress, even if that progress is painfully slow.  It also helps us to establish a timeline, so that we can stay on track for time-sensitive items like preparing our garden.  Finally, the list helps us to allocate our financial resources so that we can plan for big repairs.  For instance, our top priority at this time is repairing our roof and chimneys.  We've hired professionals to do this work, and it's going to cost a pretty penny.  It's essential to prioritize these exterior repairs in order to prevent damage to our home.  But in order to keep the budget in check, we're planning to DIY all the remaining projects on this list.

Here is our project list for January-March.  Since we're still newbies at this, we're not sure whether these goals are feasible for a three-month period (especially given that it's already late January!).  It might be a bit ambitious, but we're going to do our best to make our way through this list. 


Exterior:
  • Repair missing tiles on slate roof (hire professional)
  • Repoint side chimney. Repair/install liner if needed (hire professional)
  • Rebuild rear chimney.  Repair/install liner if needed (hire professional)
  • Install flashing on chimneys (hire professional)

Guest Room:

  • Paint Guest Room walls
  • Repair plaster on Guest Room Ceiling
  • Paint Guest Room Ceiling
  • Decorate Guest Room (rug, artwork, curtains?)
  • Install new molding around windows and doors



Bathroom:

  • Remove wallpaper
  • Prime/Paint walls 
  • Bleach grout
  • Decorate bathroom (new towels, artwork?)


Family Room:
  • Strip paint from basement door
  • Remove paint from door hardware
  • Remove existing wallpaper from two walls
  • Preserve existing wallpaper on other two walls
  • Repair plaster on Family Room walls
  • Repair plaster on Family Room ceiling
  • Prime/paint Family Room walls
  • Prime/paint Family Room ceiling
  • Decorate Family Room (hang pictures)



Master Bedroom:

  • Remove existing wallpaper
  • Repair plaster on Master Bedroom walls
  • Repair plaster on Master Bedroom ceiling
  • Prime/paint Master Bedroom walls (perhaps in tri-partite design)
  • Prime/paint Master Bedroom ceiling (perhaps stencil?)
  • Remove carpet
  • Refinish wood floors


Garden:
  • Prepare for growing season
  • Purchase lawn mower


Foyer:

  • Prime/paint walls
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2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a full list. We need one of our chimney's rebuilt too. I haven't even inquired about that cost. As you would expect, our list looks similar. :)

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    1. Yes, definitely a full list. The chimney repair is definitely the priciest item on our list, but we know that the work will be worthwhile. We're looking forward to being able to use our fireplace (and, of course, no longer having a deteriorating chimney!!) Thanks for your comment!

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