Bringing our 1936 home into the 21st Century

All of the major work on our renovation is complete after 8 months! This afternoon, J1 finished the new master bathroom window and the ceiling guys finished the (fourth, or is it fifth) kitchen ceiling repairs.Two-hundred and forty nine days after we started, we finally had a quiet house into which we could start to…

In our last update, I noted, with frustration, that we were at a pause in progress with little information. In the meantime, we have learned that a valued member of our contracting team had a somewhat complicated health emergency. The good news first: that person is doing better now. The lesson for us in our…

After 235 days, or 64% of a year, we have significant progress—and constant frustration, confusion, and worry. We can start with the current version of our kitchen ceiling: In case you missed it, we rinsed the tiled walls of the new master bathroom—which is not quite complete—and the bathroom leaked through the kitchen pendant lights.…

Let the cooking begin in a space that can actually fit two active cooks! In our old, very small kitchen, we had to cook in shifts or just annoy each other. Today, it’s a joy! Here’s the start of the feast day. (As always, click on the photos or videos to get a full view.)…

Four new bathroom floors. A new kitchen ceiling, two new kitchen counters, a new shower head in the master bedroom that would be ideal for anyone shorter than 5’6”. Student plagiarism. Innovation melding 1936 and 2023. It has been an interesting two months. I last left off when it appeared we were on track to…

More than three weeks ago, the crews began demolition of our master bath. The 8’ by 8’ master bath. As in not huge. Why on earth would it take three weeks to demo a bathroom (and two small closets into which we were expanding)? — At least four layers of walls over the original —…

Northern Indiana can be cold and it can be hot. When Glenn and Agda built their new house, good insulation would be important to these relatively older people building their dream house! One would want the best materials one could afford–and they did! The doors and trim they installed are cherry, a bit pricer then…

You took a shower today without thinking about it at all, right? In 2023, we wake, eat, shower, and brush our teeth (in whatever order) every day. Commonly, we shower (not bathe) in either a bath/shower combo or a dedicated shower. Demolishing our master bath has given us some insights into bathrooms of the past!…

The past two weeks have been very quiet, maddeningly so. We had painters finish the walls in the kitchen, new 3/4 bath, and mudroom and hallways last week. That took a surprisingly long time, and that time delayed finishing the full functionality of the new bath. That has been frustrating while we (90 % Dan)…

Today, our handcrafted craftsman furniture arrived for our new morning room! Here’s a quick look: As we noted earlier, the original owners and designers likely used this room as a “morning room” where the woman of the house enjoyed the light from the east facing windows (in the second picture, above), to plan their day…