Kitchen Floor: After

The treasure revealed! Beautiful 1" thick maple, in perfect condition.

Kitchen Floor: Before

Our original plan was to tile the kitchen, but I couldn't keep myself from picking away at the crumbling corners of the linoleum. Looks like there might be treasure under there!

Pun Intended

Some previous owner fancied themselves to be a plumber. Crap, indeed!

Secret Window

Behind the sheetrocked foyer wall was this wee li'l window.

Raising the Roof

We tore out the ceiling over the upstairs bathroom and "laundry room" to raise it from 7 feet to 9 feet.

Child Labor

At one White Castle Kid's Meal per job, my 3 year-old nephew is currently the highest paid laborer among us.

Empty Nest

My arachnophobia took a backseat when I realized that this thing that I was touching in the darkest reaches of the attic crawl space was NOT a trash bag full of left over cellulose insulation. No, no, no, my friends! It was a paper wasp nest. Stand up, raise your arms over your head and form an "O". That's about the size of it. Fortunately it was vacant.

Ain't He Sexy?!

We thought it would be a good idea to expand our potential market- vertically. Most of the population would probably prefer a ceiling higher than 7 feet. Unfortunately, at this point, there's not much we can do about the 6 foot door.

This was a very dirty job.

Study In Structural Engineering

Should we make the 7 foot ceilings 9 foot ceilings? And what will happen? Do paper models mimic reality? Technically, paper houses and real houses are both made of wood.

Bye-Bye Dog urine scented carpet!

Sister Sledgehammer

March 5th- Day One Demo

The wall that became a door that became a wall is becoming a door again.

Signing the Papers!

3:15 March 1st, 2005

When two neglected houses came up for sale on our block, we knew from previous experience that it wouldn't do our neighborhood any good to have them fall into the hands of an absentee landlord. So we pooled our resources, called in a lot of favors, and joined forces with four other niehgbors (two married couples) to purchase these two 125 year old houses.

The six of us, plus a dude that held a contract for deed on the properties, plus the seller's real estate agent, plus the real estate agent's assistant, plus the title company's closer, plus a representative from our financial institution, plus several bottles of champagne, gathered in a tiny office to sign stacks of paper that legally make the houses OURS!

The Mission: To bring these sad little guys back to life, and to sell them to an owner that will care for them and be proud of them.

The Motto: Between the head and the hands there must be a heart.

Alternate Motto #1: If you're going to do something, do it right.

Alternate Motto #2: If it ain't broke, one still might consider painting it a color other than beige, or putting in a skylight, or arching a doorway, or re-routing plumbing, or knocking out a wall or two.

Alternate Motto #3: Anything can be done. Does it fit into our budget?