Living Room Furniture

Well, progress on the house is moving slowly so we made our own progress today. We took another trip to Saint Louis. We had much more success! Again, don't go to Saint Louis to antique shop on a Tuesday. It will result in a failure. We stopped in Rocket Century and found so many pieces of furniture we would have loved to own. Many of them were already sold! We came across the living room set in the photograph to the left. We bought the two couches and two chairs. They are in like new condition and the wood is beautiful. The label from the shop says they are Kofod style. It is likely that we will have them reupholstered. I am partial to a nice neutral olive green. Right now they are a bright green and blue herring bone pattern which is a bit vivid for my taste. They could be much worse.

One Month...(I think)

Basement floor on Friday

So, (I think) today is one month exactly that they have been working on our floors!! And, yes, they are still working. There have been some minor hurdles but at this point we are really not sure what is taking so long. Every time we go check things out it looks like things have very minimally changed. I am starting to feel like I might never walk in the front door and see gorgeous terrazzo that reflects like a mirror. The glue that they expected to have problems with came up fine we were told. We were told it would take an extra day to get the white circles (floor leveler) up in the basement but it wasn't a problem really. The cork has been done for almost 3 weeks! The terrazzo looks pretty fabulous but the other day they said it has been giving them fits. We don't really know why. It looked pretty darn good to start with. They said something about yellow glue stains from the tack strips around the edges. We saw the stains. They weren't that bad. After many weeks there are still numerous chipped spots where the tack strips were that need to be repaired. They aren't that bad and there has never been any indication they will be a problem. They just need to be done!!! The terrazzo still doesn't have that mirror like shine. I think it still needs to be buffed or something.

Friday we went and the basement was finally done (or close to done). It was very disappointing. There were dark grid lines in the cement where the old tile had been. There were white holes that had been filled with floor leveler. Because they were white they really stood out and looked horrible. It just DID NOT look good. I was very unhappy and felt like I could cry. They had already put a layer of epoxy down. We were a bit disappointed that no one called to communicate what the floors looked like before they proceeded with epoxy. It wasn't their fault it looked so bad but they should have communicated what it was looking like. After several phone calls and finally a stop by their office on Monday we decided to have all of the epoxy stripped off the basement floors. We will have the cement stained a brown color which will hopefully help a lot of the imperfections blend in better. Then another top coat will be added. They acted as if they thought we were going to be angry about something which we were a little confused about. We just wish they would have communicated better before proceeding. We then discovered they put a big gash in our fridge. We were planning on replacing it so it's not that big a deal but it is still a bit upsetting. At this point we are feeling frustrated and concerned with what the final product will look like. We are thinking they surely have not been working straight through for the entire month. Luckily we aren't paying by the hour!!

Strange front door lock

It is hard to sit by and not be able to do anything else like paint or move anything into the house. In two weeks I have to go back to work and the summer days I had planned to work on the house will be gone. All of the floor work is so messy. We just have to wait. We have been looking at paint colors. We made a trip to Saint Louis to get some samples of some historical paint colors. We also planned to go to several retro antique shops looking for living room furniture. They were all closed! Don't go to Saint Louis hoping to look at antique shops on Tuesday. It kind of feels like that is how our whole summer has gone. We went to a few antique shops around here today and saw a few promising items. We did find another unique little item in the house yesterday. There is a funny little piece of metal on the front door frame. It kind of looks like the strike plate but there was nothing on the door that would strike it. It also kind of stuck out past the door frame a little bit and could be flipped back and forth. We finally realized it is a strange little lock! You close the door. Then you flip the extra piece of metal over the door. Then you can push it down to hold it in place. It creates a lock. On Sunday we were able to go to the house and get some of the windows that had been painted shut open with a razor blade. In the process we think we uncovered the original exterior trim color of the house which was kind of interesting.

Strange front door lock closed and locked

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

Well, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. We are STILL waiting on the floors to be finished and we can't do much else until that happens. They were supposed to be done in 2 weeks. So far it has been 2 weeks and 2 days. It is supposed to be another half a week to a week. At this point I'm not sure what is taking so long. The glue in the basement seemed to come up fairly easy. I didn't hear of any problems like they expected. There was a bit of a scare with the cement in the family room. I got a call to come over and discuss our options because they didn't think it could be polished due to those big white circles I posted photos of. It turns out the spots were just floor leveler that was put down to make the carpet lay smooth. It popped up fairly easy and ended up not being a problem. So, again, I'm not sure what the delay has been. I see very little difference every time I sneak in to take a peek in the evenings. There is always some progress but it never quite seems like a day's worth of work. Thankfully we are not paying by the hour! We have been told there will be some extra labor added on for the basement glue and the floor leveler. I hope it isn't excessive.

Right now the curtains have been pulled in the basement so I can no longer peek in the windows to see what is going on down there. The cork upstairs is done I think. It doesn't look as nice as I had hoped but it will do for now. After they sanded it I expected it to look much newer. It looks very much like it initially did when we pulled the carpet up. It now just has the polyurethane coating on top. You can still see a lot of wear but most of it will be covered with furniture. We will eventually put in newer cork I think. There is a spot in front of each bathroom door where there is a gap between the cork and the threshold. I'm not sure what is going to happen there. I was supposed to get a phone call to discuss the plan but I haven't received one yet.

On the main floor the terrazzo looks really good. The spot we were told about in front of the stove is hardly noticeable. I don't think I would have noticed anything if I hadn't been told. The terrazzo is not done and doesn't yet have that super glossy look like I am expecting. They have been working on it since almost day one so I'm not sure why they haven't gotten further with it. It looks great. It just needs to be finished!! They have pulled the laminate off of the steps but I can't tell what the plans are there. The stairs will be wood but I didn't completely understand how they are going to do it. They are also going to sand a small patch of the wall next to the stairs so they can get some idea of what will be involved in refinishing the paneled walls. We were not going to jump right in to painting but now we are changing our plans. There is a big spot along all of the baseboards where it wasn't painted due to the carpet. It doesn't look great so we are going to paint sooner than planned. Hopefully soon I can update and say the floors are finished. I feel like it is never going to happen.

Getting To The Bottom Of Things

Yesterday, the flooring people finally began on the floors in the house. I decided to stop by at about 3PM and see what was going on. The entryway tile was pulled up and the terrazzo was looking good on the main floor. All of the upstairs carpet was gone. The cork up there looked good. It was very worn but I'm sure when they sand it, it will look good. There was a gap between the cork and both bathroom thresholds. I'm sure it can be filled in or covered with some kind of transition strip. I just hope the floor people will take care of it so that we don't have to. There is a corner broken out of just one of the cork tiles in the master bedroom. Hopefully, they plan on filling that also. So, upstairs and and the main floor are looking good. Though we haven't seen the kitchen yet. The top layer of the linoleum is gone but the paper backing is still stuck to the floor. There was only one layer which was a good thing. They are going to use a chemical to remove the paper and doesn't sound like they are expecting any problems with that.

This is the pile of carpet, padding and tiles under the carport that have been removed from the house.

The basement is another story. The carpet has been pulled out of the basement den and the cork has water damage which we were expecting. The plan is to remove that cork but it hasn't happened yet. All of the tile in the basement hallway has been removed except right at the bottom of the steps. There is gross, gross, gross glue coating the floor completely where the tile was. You can't even see the cement. This glue was the biggest concern the flooring people had. So, hopefully it comes up fairly easily with their chemicals and other magic tricks.

The family room has 5 (I believe) spots on the floor where the dog kennel fencing was. It looks worse than I expected. There was one exposed dog kennel spot in the laundry room and it isn't bad. They already told me it wouldn't be a problem. I was hoping the spots in the family room would be the same. I haven't been able to look at the spots in the family room close up because the floor is too yucky to walk across. I could see it through the back window though. There are big white circular spots on the floor. It looks almost like paint but we think it is actually cement that was used to fill in holes were the dog kennel fence posts were. Maybe just a different color than the rest of the cement. So, again I hope the flooring people can work some magic because right now it is a pretty big mess.

The circles in the family room floor taken through the back window while standing outside. There are 2 more circles not in the picture. The dark strip at the top of the picture is glue from tile against the back wall. That strip used to be tiled hallway

 We are not sure what we are going to do with the steps right now. They are covered just on the top with some kind of linoleum. It actually looks very nice and we don't mind it. It could use buffing or whatever they do to make that stuff look shiny and new. One of the workers recommended getting oak stair treads to replace the tops of the steps since there is plywood under the linoleum (we think). I am supposed to get a call from the "boss" to discuss the steps. Hopefully they can help us decide what would be best. Speaking of the workers. They were these young boys who loved our house! They were totally intrigued by all of the weird little gadgets it has.

The steps with linoleum on them. The right corner of the bottom step is the only damage because the flooring people pulled on it to see what it was and what was underneath. There are still tack strips down and you can see the entry way tile to the right which has now been removed along with the tack strips.

Closing

Yesterday we had the closing on the house. It is ours! My husband is very excited. I am a bit too stressed out to be as excited as he is. We are now the owner of TWO, yes I said TWO, homes. That is a bit overwhelming! We got to meet the owners at the closing which was very nice. They were extremely kind and very sad to give up the house they have lived in for 30 years. We talked a lot and they told us many things about caring for the house including some great advice on getting cheap furnace filters. They asked if they and their children could visit when they are in town. We said yes.

First thing we did after the closing (and getting some McDonalds) was head over to the house to rip some carpet up. We discovered the key we have does not work on the carport door. That was a bummer. I am looking forward to being able to go in that door when it rains. So, looks like we have a lock to change. It fits but it won't turn. We pulled up all of the living room carpet, all of one stairway, some of the hallway and a little bit of one bedroom, another stairwell and the family room. I really wanted to see the family room the most so I could see what is left of the dog kennel fencing in the floors. But, I couldn't get it up around the turns of the built in shelf.

The living room floor looked fabulous we thought! It was in great shape and will look even better when they polish it. We learned from the seller at the closing that there are pipes that run under the living floor to keep it warm in the winter. That was great to hear! I was already planning on wearing really warm socks in the winter but apparently that won't be necessary (at least any more than usual).

 

This is a close up of the terrazzo floor.

Pile of carpet in the living room floor. (The owners are donating the piano to my school.)

Piano has been moved. Nothing but gorgeous floors!

More Floors

The cork floors upstairs also look pretty fabulous from what we can see. Right now they are pretty dull from so many years of wear. And, it's kind of weird the way you can see all of the individual tiles. They will sand them down just like hardwood and they will be sealed. I'm sure when they are finished they will look very much like hard wood. So, this was another pleasant surprise. 

Cork tile floor in upstairs hallway

Last night my husband's family came by to see the house for the first time. We made a few new interesting discoveries while they were here. The sewing machine table in the prep kitchen slides in and out!!! So neat! The table doesn't slide back all the way to meet the wall. I couldn't figure out why. It finally dawned on me that it leaves a space for the cords to go behind it. We haven't figured out where the outlet is yet. There is a wooden trim around the table that looks very unfinished and not painted. I couldn't figure out why it hadn't been painted. Then it dawned on me that the kitchen cabinets (and probably trim too) were originally wood. So, the trim on the table would have matched the natural wood just fine. It would have been a challenge to paint because the trim is so tiny and it could have easily prevented the little table from sliding in and out. We are now also thinking the cabinets above the built in kitchen table and maybe the kitchen table are not original. Today the flooring people came to start their work. So, more on that soon!

Owner Number Two

This week I received an email from the second owners of the house! We will be owners number four. So, I have now had communication with every family that has lived in the house! It turns out that the second family to live there was very close friends with the family we grew up next to until I was in the fourth grade. The old neighbors are still close friends of our family. When they heard about the house we will be buying they contacted the second owners who they still keep in touch with even though they have moved from our town. Our friends had shared this blog with the previous owners and then they contacted me.

Owners number two lived in the house for only 6 years. They seem to be the ones who made some of the more obvious changes to the house. They said, "We did not cover the terrazzo floors in the kitchen but remember that the terrazzo was damaged in front of the double ovens - perhaps by a spill of some sort.  The rest of the house was carpeted though.  The great room was newly carpeted when we bought it and the rest of the house had wool carpet from the original owner.  We removed all of the indoor kennels and two of the outdoor kennels. The outside of the house had been painted (not stained) a redwood color before we bought it. We then painted it brown. The small room off the kitchen contained a washer / dryer unit. We removed it and put a washer and a dryer in the basement.  I used the small desk for a sewing machine. The kitchen had a "gourmet" refrigerator and freezer (two separate units built in). We removed those units and replaced them with a "normal" refrigerator / freezer."

We will be very relieved to see what the condition of the floors are under the carpet. Hopefully the stain mentioned can be sanded down. I also started thinking that there might be flaws in the basement concrete where the kennels once were. We were at the house the other day and noticed for the first time there are the remnants of old fencing posts from the kennels in the patio concrete. Again, hopefully anything like that inside the house can be ground down or filled in with new cement. I took some photos of those places in the concrete were the posts used to be and the places in the brick where the old outline of the doggy doors can be seen.

If you look closely you can see the outline of the three doggy doors in the brick. One is behind the pile of stuff. One is directly under the middle of the window and the last is to the right of the water spigot. We believe the window was added when the kennels were removed but we are not sure. It is definitely a newer window than the others.

You can see at the edge of the patio, next to the cracks, a circle that is the remains of a metal post from the kennels. There are several of them along the edge of the patio. I am wondering if there are more of these inside under the carpet. Or, maybe the kennels inside had walls instead of fencing. Another mystery!

The patio- You can see three circles from old fencing along the edge of the patio and you can see the doggy door marks in the brick.

We also decided that there were definitely trees that were lost in the big storm four years ago. The fence in the back has been damaged by a tree. Someone told us this but I can't remember who. It was very obviously crushed by a tree falling right on top of it. It was obviously a large tree. You can tell right where the tree used to be by the way the ground slopes, the grass grows and where some ornamental rocks are placed in the area. Yet, there is no stump to be seen. The owners must have had all of the stumps removed after the storm. We have also been told that so many trees were lost the day of the storm because the ground was so wet from a previous storm the night before. All of the trees came over with large root balls still attached. It would make sense that a tree in the spot fell since it is a low spot where water would collect. We have talked about planting another tree in the same spot.

In this photo you can see where the fence is leaning next to the gate. It has been crushed and is no longer attached. We think there was a large tree in front of the rocks in the sloped area that fell on the fence.

Tiny Trees

Yesterday, I received another email from the daughter who lived in our house. She gave me a lot of information about the trees and landscaping around the house. I am not good at identifying most trees. I want to make sure I keep the information so I can have it as a reference for later.

She said, "The landscaping is totally different. As you are driving to the house, on the right was a Blue Spruce and a Japanese Maple. On the left were a Flowering Crab apple and Red Bud. One large Silver Birch was just outside the curve in the sidewalk. There were other trees which I don't remember.  I did ask my mother, and this is the best we could think of now. In the front, along the house were flat yews. They may have also lined the stone ledge. On the side, there was a sunburst locust and mimosa near the fountain.  We did not have the fountain.  Our grill was somewhere in the area, just under the locust. There were other ornamental trees which lined the fence on the outside, including a Ginkgo.  Inside the fence, there was an apple tree just outside of the sliding door from the great room. There were also a couple of large trees on the inside back of the fence.  Along the back was a line of pine trees." There is still a gas line for the built in gas grill she mentions. The house we live in now also had a built in gas grill.

The pipe to the right is the gas line for the old built in grill.

We think many of the trees she mentioned are now gone. Four years ago there was a terrible storm in the town we live in. The damage was indescribable. I wonder if some of the trees were lost in that storm. We are sure the neighbor lost a lot of trees. He has many visible stumps in his yard and is obviously trying to plant new trees.

There are now several unusual trees in the yard that are very small but they have quite large trunks. It is apparent they have been trained to stay tiny even though they aren't young trees. I speculate these trees were put in by the person we are buying the house from. I think he was an agriculture professor which sounds like someone who might be interested in unusual trees. My husband also brought up that the current owners are Asian and these trees kind of remind him of big Bonsai trees. I love the smell of mimosa trees. I think the one mentioned is now gone. I know many people hate them because they leave lots of babies everywhere. But, I like the idea of planting another one! A Ginkgo tree would be nice too. I think that one is also gone. They have such pretty leaves!

Mini tree near the house and driveway.

Japanese Maple along front walk.

Mini Tree between driveway and neighbor's yard on the right

Two mini trees can be seen in the left side of the front yard.