Happy 2nd Anniversary for the Payson House

It is hard to believe it has been two years since we bought our house in Payson.  Looking back through our blog, it is even harder to believe all the work that has gone into the place.  We definitely could not have come this far without lots of help and greatly appreciate all the efforts of Craig and Bob.  While we were up at the place this weekend, I took some "after" photos to compare to the pictures we took during the pre-purchase inspection.  Here are a few of those comparisons:

New door/trim, window/trim, patio deck, skylight and no evap cooler on side

No lattice, new windows/trim, door/trim, and crawlspace covers

New window/trim, door/trim, outlet, light and no dog door

New door and moved the metal shed from the left part of the yard

Metal shed moved to make place for 10x14 workshop with attic

Ceiling leveled (new insulation and drywall), can lights,
window moved, plumbing moved, new flooring and sub-floor

New 4x8 pantry

Stub wall removed and new windows

Ceiling leveled, new windows, flooring, and sub-floor

New door, windows, can lights, ceiling fan and plumbing moved

Partial wall and vent removed to open the room up

New window, door, ceiling fan, entry light and carpet

New window, carpet, skylight and no more rock

New double door entry into den

Peeled off ducks, new toilet, shower rod/curtain and towel rack

New vanity, sink, faucets, mirror, medicine cabinet, lights and tile

This opening no longer exists, it is just an alcove in the room

Here is the alcove (future desk area) and wall where the door used to be

New opening for the den and new flooring

New window and flooring

New window, flooring and bed

New toilet and towel cabinet/rack

New vanity, sick, faucet, medicine cabinet, light and wood cabinet removed

New faucet hardware and shower rod/curtain

Window removed, some new siding and new trim

Some new siding, new trim, new light, door trim and screens

New screens, light and door trim

New outlets, new siding, screens and door trim (no Matt)

If you have not read the rest of our blog, it should also be said that all the electrical wiring, drywall and insulation was completely replaced (except for most of the ceiling).  All the internal doors, except one (it was reused), are new six-panel doors and a couple of those are solid.  Also, some of the items shown as new are not really new but are new to us.  They were either given to us, bought at a thrift store or at Restore.

This was the second of our new 3-day weekends based on my new work schedule.  After having company the last couple of times we were here, Laurie decided we would just take it easy and enjoy our place. So this was going to be a sit back and relax weekend, which most of it was but some work did get snuck in under the radar.

We spent some time in town Saturday morning at a couple of different stores after having a great breakfast at the 260 Cafe.  We checked out Sears, Restore, a jewelry store and a mattress store.  While at Restore, I remembered that we needed a door for the kitchen sink cabinet.  It looked like they had some that would work, but I did not have any dimensions to work with so I needed to return later.  Though it was not in our plans, we ended up buying a new bed at the mattress store and it was delivered that afternoon.  We will still need to buy a headboard for it since we did not like the prices at the mattress store and may return to Sears another time for one we saw there.  We returned home and moved the double bed from our room to the guest room just in time for the delivery team to show up and put together our new bed.  Laurie had originally wanted to buy a bed with built-in storage, but, since we found a cheaper headboard at Sears that she liked, we decided to lift the bed frame to allow for underbed storage so I picked up some bed risers at Walmart.

Our new QUEEEN size memory foam mattress set similar to a Tempurpedic - but cheaper

The double bed has been moved to the guest room, though we can use the inflatable mattress as a backup

Later I went back to Restore after measuring the cabinet door opening.  I initially found a door that matched the cabinet extremely well, but it was a little beat up.  After a little more searching on the shelves, I found another identical door that was in much better shape.  I also sorted through a box of door hardware for hinges and screws and bought a couple that I thought would work.  I could not believe how well the door matched the cabinet when I got home and, not only that, but the hinges I bought were almost identical to the ones on the existing door.  I mounted the new used door and then rotated the other door so it would open the way Laurie wanted.

The door on the right is the new used one from Restore - not a bad match

We finally made it to a new church on Sunday morning.  We attended the Expeditions Church from a recommendation by Kathy at the 260 Cafe.  It was smaller than the two other churches we tried last year and we really liked the message.  We may return to check it out again.

The whole weekend was filled with rain in the afternoons or evening, but the big storm came Sunday night.  About 4 or 5pm the dark clouds started rolling in and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. Until almost 9pm we had heavy rains with lots of thunder and lightning.  One strike was so close it rattled the house and there was almost no time between the strike and the following thunder. We had forgotten to bring Zena's pills, so we spent quite a bit of the evening trying to keep her calm even after Laurie gave her some Benadryl.  The power flickered in the house once after the storms started and then an hour or two into it, we lost power altogether.  When the storms calmed around 9pm, I ran into town to get some dinner due to our power being out (I was able to see that the town area was still lit).  After finishing dinner and getting ready for bed and making sure everything was unplugged or shut off to avoid a power surge, the power came back on.  Now I had to reset all the clocks.

I had brought my golf clubs up with me to spend some time on the driving range, but the storm on Sunday thwarted my plans that afternoon so I was going to try again Monday morning.  When I woke up, I found that the outlet in the kitchen for my coffee pot was not working, though it was fine the night before when the power came back on.  So I had to fix that and I also decided that, since the ground was soft from all the rain, I would install the solar lights in the front yard that we have had for over a year.  So much for golfing this weekend.  The lights installed easily and lucky for us the power problem seemed to be a failed GFI outlet.  A new one from Home Depot resolved the issue.  Since I was working in the yard putting in the lights, I also got some weed killer (lots of ground stuff from all the recent rains) and some ant killer (had a big mound in the back yard).  It was quite muggy working outside, but the temperatures were not too bad.

It is hard to see all of them, but there are six lights around the grassy (weedy) half circle

Laurie had to do work all morning (even with her reduced hours she still works on Mondays) and when I was done with my work, we broke for lunch and then packed up the car to head on home.

Stats: 2 Home Depot trips; 2 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 7/17/12-7/30/12: $1,087
Remodeling expense to date: $44,882