NORGA 10/5/08 Flip Update #1

Well, we're making progress.... slowly, but surely. I've placed a link at the bottom of this post with the newest pictures included. It's not as many as the first post, but just a few to show the things we have accomplished and kind of give you a feel for what we are going through.

Here's a good rundown of what we've done so far:

• We've had the front porch refinished. It now looks like a cozy rocking chair porch instead of the old, flat, blank concrete "thing" that was there before. Kurt's and Kevin's older brother, Brad, had one of his framing crews come over and do the work for us. It really does start giving the house some character that it never had before. They also replaced the rotten soffit along the backside of the house.
  
• Kurt, Kevin, and Donna painted the basement, so it now looks fresh and clean and doesn't smell so much like a basement anymore.
• Brad also tore down the rickety steps going into the basement and rebuilt much stronger, more stable ones. Trust me, on these steps, they were RICKETY! I don't have any before and after pictures of them, but the before steps were so horrible that we were afraid to have more than one person on them at a time!
• Kurt and Kevin have had a ball demo'ing the stuff that needed to be torn out, torn down, torn up, whatever! Some of it was pretty hard work, but you know men, they are little boys at heart and tearing things up is always fun for them.
• Donna worked really hard outside on the side of the front yard clearing away a lot of the brush and weeds. There's no way to get rid of all of it, but it sure looks "cleaner" now than it did before.
• Kurt pressure-washed the back deck and rebuilt the handrails getting it ready to stain. He also bought some latticework for he and Kevin to put along the bottom of the porch going down to the ground. Will add more of a "look" to the back of the house and make it a little less like a box!
• I worked hard getting the walls inside the house ready to paint. There are so many holes, dents, dings, bad spots, and other mess on those walls, that it took me most of the first couple of weeks to get them ready to go. Lots of spackling, sanding, and priming.
• Once the walls were ready to be painted, Donna and I have been hard at work getting them done. They really are looking good and giving the whole inside a fresh, clean, newer feel. The house smelled quite musty from sitting empty for several months when we got it. It now smells like paint. Trust me, it's a lot better!

Now, we are waiting for the windows to come in so that they can be installed. They were supposed to be in this week, but the plant where they are being built had equipment problems, which has delayed them a couple of weeks. Once they are in and installed, we can get the outside of the house painted. Followed by installation of new garage doors.

Hoping to meet with the landscaping guys this Thursday and hoping that our contractor that will be doing most of the work inside will be able to start in the next week. Once we get the kitchen finished being painted and cleaned, we will get the granite countertops installed.

Kurt remarked a few days ago when we had finally gotten the first room painted that it was actually starting to feel like we were making progress. I agree.

Keep praying for us and the whole project. So far, so good....

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