Be It Ever So Humble...

Zak and Shay have been lucky to have the opportunity to live in a house that Shay's Grandpa Riley owns that is only a block from campus.  The only catch is that it hasn't been lived in for two years because the last tenants left without notice and the pipes froze and broke which then flooded the basement.  So we spent much of the summer helping them gut the house and bring it back to a livable condition.  We started by cleaning up the yard.  It has some big trees in the back and a lot of the branches had broken off in a wind storm.  That filled the trailer once and took Zak several hours to unload.  I know I have pictures of it, but can't find them. 

This is the second trailer load.  The basement was still full of crap that the previous renters had left behind.  When the basement flooded it flooded clear to the top.  The walls had been lined with barn wood and it was warped and ruined.  There was also carpet that had been saturated. So needless to say it didn't smell very nice down there.  There was no power so I wasn't able to get any before pictures of the basement.  Zak, Tanner and Layne threw stuff out of the basement while they wore head lamps, and I hauled it onto the trailer.

Luckily we have a private dump nearby that doesn't make you separate the junk.  So it only took us about ten minutes to throw it all in a pit.

Once the basement had been gutted they started taking down the wall paper upstairs and prepared to paint.  While Zak was working in the living room the ceiling which was already bowed pretty badly started to come down.  It is the old lath and plaster and there was just no saving it.

Here is what was on the ceiling, now on the floor.

Zak learned that Layne is a jack of many trades.  He taught him how to patch and plaster the walls so they could be painted.

As you can see it became one of Zak's favorite jobs.

Here is the kitchen showing the "cute" wallpaper they weren't interested in saving.

These two hate having their picture taken.  So I couldn't resist getting one that they couldn't turn away from.

Layne took this project on with a vengeance.  He spent many of his days off working at the house.  

I didn't get a before shot of the old porch deck, but it was pretty sad.  Layne did a great job making it new again.

Here is the bathroom floor before we worked some magic.

The bathroom after the vanity was pulled out.

The previous renter had rigged up the shower with an outdoor water hose.  So needless to say the sheet rock had to be torn out.  We gave in and hired a plumber and he totally re-plumbed the basement and Layne put in new wiring in the basement.  So that should all be good to go.  You have to love the pretty blue tub.  It is extra long so that is nice.

Once again, I didn't get before pictures.  But the old doors let in a little too much daylight between the cracks as well as cold from the winter I am sure.  So here are the new doors, nice and tight.  We hired our home teacher to install the doors and put in a false ceiling in the living room since trying to patch the lath and plaster would have been a nightmare.  There just wasn't enough time in the day or days in the week to do it all ourselves.

Here is another view of the living room before it was painted and textured.  Yes, that is a wood floor that probably could have been buffed and polished.   But these kids wanted carpet.  What a shame.

Layne put in a new sub floor in the bathroom.

Here is the new vanity that Zak picked out at Home Depot.  Luckily Shay isn't too picky and she trusted him to get it without her.

This is the view under the kitchen sink.  Well at least the plumbing is new... Yuck!

Layne lined it with plywood to freshen it up a little bit.

Here is the new dropped ceiling.  No worries about it falling down.

Did I mention that these kids are spoiled rotten?  Shay's Grandma Jensen took them to Odell's and bought them this beautiful set of couches and an end table. They did a great job painting and it really has turned into a cozy little house.

The old kitchen floor was a gray linoleum that had some scuffs and tears in it.  So they put down the stick on tiles for the wood floor look.  The red paint really brightens things up too.

Here is their "haul" from the wedding reception.

Their bedroom before they got settled.

The finished bathroom, again with the stick on tiles.  Not too bad!

Another view of the kitchen.  Again, they are so lucky.  Shay's great grandparents are in an assisted living home.  So they are able to use their stove and a nearly new washer and dryer.

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The last of three full trailer loads to be hauled off.  Whew!!

The finished product with pictures on the walls and curtains on the windows.

They lasted about three days after returning from the honeymoon without a TV.  

I don't know who Shay married, but it wasn't the Zak that I have known for the last six years.  She tells me he makes the bed every day and puts the dirty clothes in the laundry basket, not on the floor.  She says it takes three weeks to form a new habit and they have been married for 3 1/2 weeks.  So I guess he is a new man.  The things you'll do for love.  

We were all pleasantly surprised to see the grass actually come back once it got a little water.  It was totally dead.  I thought sure they would have to start from scratch.  They are planning to throw down some grass seed to help it fill in.  

So, be it ever so humble, there is no place like your first home together.  Congratulations Zak & Shay, you did it!