junk Archives - Upcycled Ugly

You all read a few posts ago about how we’re aiming to be debt free (perhaps with the exception of our mortgage). Part of our struggle is trying to find a happy balance between paying off debt and keeping momentum on house improvements- especially on the exterior!

There are many tasks, we’re finding, that can be done for free, or mostly free… Like cleaning up the backyard.

We shall call this segment of our lives “The Great, Ugly Backyard Cleanup of 2015”.

I visited my neighbor semi-recently. I looked through her kitchen window and what I could see was a clear view of cr*p in our backyard. Embarrassed, I told her “Ohmygosh… I didn’t realize you could SEE all of that! We’ll get it cleaned up ASAP!”

I’m so embarrassed to even show this photo.

Before you submit our names to the TV show Hoarders, know:

We took immediate action. Our friend brought over a ~~huge, 18-foot car~~ trailer. “We’ll have plenty of room for the junk,” we said. “We could even take some of the neighbors’ cr*p,” we offered.

Um, no. We filled up the whole thing and even had to reorganize to fit a tarp over it before taking it to the dump. WHOA. That was an eye opener. It’s looking better and we’re working on solutions for the remainder.
You guys also remember when we finished our shed redo over two years ago?

So cute… then… but three years after purchasing the house, the left shed is basically rusted through and the right shed is sinking due to shoddy construction and clay soil. So…

Bye, bye blue shed (and the grass is resembling a balding, middle-aged man, apparently).

So, the start of something new…

Until next week, behave yourselves!

We’re back and traveling at record speeds this week!

Things that were accomplished:

Roof!
All inspections passed (until whole house is finished)
Doors re-framed
Deck and stairs installed
Insulation Sausages (see below)
Priming/Caulking

Things happening this week:

More caulking
More painting
Foam insulation installation (today!!!!!)
Drywall, maybe?
Ordering kitchen cabinets (another post)

About those “insulation sausages”:

Aaron and I have chosen to “splurge” on foam insulation for the house. When installing foam insulation, it is highly recommended that all other insulation is removed because the old insulation can take on the aroma of the new foam. Also, our electrician highly recommended that we pull the old stuff out to see what (if anything) is going on with the electric in the attic. We’re all about safety.

So, yesterday, two guys came out to pull out the old insulation. Wellllll……..

There were two layers of insulation (normal), but underneath was…. a whole wood shingle roof complete with nails. Yo! So, what was supposed to be a half a day job turned into a whole day and a “you’re going to have to get up there and sweep up more shingles later” job.

They set this machine up on the side of the deck- it would fill huge bags up in the side yard.

However, projectile nails and wood kept shooting out of the bags (and popping them… sending stuff all through the neighborhood) so the insulation guy and I were like:

I’m pretty sure the whole neighborhood is sneezing due to our insulation removal. I think I have developed a sudden adult-onset allergy to that bill I’m going to receive… Ah-chooo!

I know you just came for the photos 😉 , so here they are:

New porch/in-progress stairs

Deck (and priming)!

Primed, new stairs/landing, and door painted so we can install hardware today:

ROOF, Primed, doors painted, junked up with stuff:

View from back door:

Master bath- see our wall faucet hookups?!? I’m Pumped!

This has been here a while, but not sure if I have a photo on the blog yet- but the beam shows where this wall will be removed to connect the two houses. Soon we’ll be saying goodbye to this wall!