Clean up and pretty up

Now that demolition is finished at the Duck.....it was time for some major clean up and a little pretty up.

I got there Friday afternoon and wasted no time in getting to work. ..... 3 hours later.....and a sore back from sitting on a milk crate....and sore hands from swinging a digger......i unearthed my sidewalk. i knew it was under there.....it was just years of neglect had covered it in grass. i pulled up sections of grass like sod. the sidewalk is actually about 3 inches lower than the grass. i think i will put a metal edging around it to keep the dirt back and possibly fill over that sidewalk with pebbles or something.

All day Saturday...7 hours.... i swept debris from the floors, ran the shop vac over them, and mopped. this is the dining room floor....clean for a minute.  look in the top of the pic...behind the trash can....and you can see the difference from the floor in the next room. another back tiring job. i got half the house finished on Saturday.

On Sunday i was back for more floor cleanup....another 7 hours. here is the bathroom floor....all cleaned up.

Along with the floors....i cleaned the area between the studs. this is the pocket door area. this was a grueling job....sit on a milk crate.....dig out all the debris with hands (gloves on).....and then suck out the dust with the shop vac. plaster dust is nasty. so i was taking the filter outside a lot and whacking it against a pole to clear it. i filled 6 trash bags with debris from between the studs. and found more nails that needed pulling.

This is between the bath and kitchen. see that nice clean grate?  i pulled them all up and cleaned out all the unmentionables. LOL  they were tightly clogged with plaster and grit. a couple of them had pieces of carpet under them so i had to disassemble them to get the carpet out. we won't talk about the disgusting things that are in the vents from previous tenants. i will be taking all the vents down in the basement and disposing of them. there is no cleaning those. even Mr. Clean couldn't handle that job.

After 2 days of cleaning floors i was ready for some prettying up. i painted my front door. the color is called Nautical. not sure i am happy with the paint....it took 3 coats and i think it still could use another coat. when i took the tape off around the trim on the door....it peeled off some paint, too....so i had to touch that up, too. a frustrating time. by the way...the red roof in the background is Pizza Hut...right across the alley....how convenient is that. and thats part of my ugly, in need of paint garage, too. hahahaha

But it does look pretty from the street. next time down i will paint the trim around it...a coffee brown. still need to take down those tacky numbers and ugly mailbox. and build a porch/steps....and clean the rest of the sidewalk....and take the weeds out of the flower boxes.....and get some new windows. you get the idea. LOL

And i got the back door done, too. although it received 3 coats also...it still needs another coat. it took me all day to paint these 2 doors.....first one, then the other....back to the first, then the other....3 times. it was exhausting. by the time i was finished, it was about 4pm and once i lose the sun it gets a bit dark in there. i don't have electricity hooked up yet. still have to scrape the wood siding and paint it....and paint the trim. sheesh....i make myself tired thinking of it all.

In the prettying up vein....i got some curtains from Walmart to hang in the living room windows in anticipation of new windows going in soon and having curtains to cover them. they are just some black panels....that will eventually go into the fabric stash when permanent window coverings get installed.

The front entry got some curtains also. i took down the tacky butcher paper that was taped up with red duct tape. hahahahahahaha

I also spent time with a can of expanding foam...sealing all holes to the outside made by the electrician for wires and sealing holes to the basement for wires. and any other holes i found. creatures can stay outside...where they belong.

I actually got a rag rug for the back door, too. but didn't get a picture. nothing says homey like a rag rug.

I have a long list of to-dos for next time....probably in a couple weeks....watching the weather for cooler days. it was pretty exciting to work for 4 days and get stuff done that didn't require a hammer and a pry bar. i love demolition but am glad it is finished. more prettying up to come..

Later