Down under

Ah...the basement. Where should I start?

Probably the most significant factor for everyone that viewed this house during the year it was on the market. Both the east and south walls have made significant shifts throughout their lifetime. In fact, the east wall has journey'd some 6 inches in it's quest!

Kansas Basement and Foundation (or whatever their called) has been here the past week and a half. There was a first crew that came in and jackhammered their way around the perimeter of the basement. They then installed a lovely 'drip' system that takes any moisture to a pipe flowing towards my new sump-pump! (woo-hoo!)

The next crew showed and started tackling the walls themselves. You can see the trenches they've had to dig in the photos. They have installed rods that go into the basement walls, and are anchored by a block of cement buried further out from where the trench is. The idea is that once these are in place, they will start pulling the walls back into their intended position by jacking the house up a few inches.

The crew started pulling them back a bit yesterday, which was quite noisy and house-rattling. However, Lucy and I still managed a nap.

It should be interesting following their progression...

Christening

As you can see, the bathroom will be challenging my designing skills. I have ideas of what I'd like to do with it in the long run, however for the next 5+ years, it looks like we're green-tile and khaki toilet/tub/sink lovin.'

This picture captures the "Placing of the first TP" in my new home. It truly was a moment that brought tears to our eyes....

The breakfast nook

Interesting story about this little 'shelf.' When I was looking at this house, the lady running the Open House mentioned that if I purchased a few barstools, this ledge would make a super spot for having breakfast in the mornings. It took a bit of restraint, but I managed to hold back a snort of laughter.

I'm assuming that the original intent for this was to rest plants. Either way, before we removed it, I had to try and see if it would have worked.

Getting into the loop

As many of you know, I moved in October. My new house is also in Newton. It's a 1950s ranch-style that is in need of some updating and TLC. Mom, Dad, and I have been working pretty hard over the past month to make my mark on the house. It's really been nice to work with them and "bond" over some of the projects. :)

Since time is precious around the holidays and many of you live out-of-town, I thought I'd start a blog so you can watch some of our progress. I'll try to include pictures of the 'before' and pictures of the 'after-ish end' along the way.

I hope you enjoy! Please stop in if you're in town!
Much love!