First Post, What is my story?

My husband and I are still trying to finish all the paperwork on our first house. We have only just completed the back and forth bargaining with the seller (a nice older Lady ready to downsize) and settled on a price. Now all the other nuances have to be taken care of: the inspections, titles and assessment.

At this point we are craving for it all to be done ASAP. My husband and I misjudged how long the whole process will take and our apartment lease ends Sept 10th, but our scheduled close date is Sept 30th. We are going to be homeless for 20 days! However, the most important thing to both of us is that we stop throwing our money down the drain to live in our high rise apartment, and start putting it into an investment that we can get a return from.

Here is a picture of the house that has made all our suffering worthwhile:

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Insulating Pre-Existing Wall Cavities

Our house is about 60 years old. Back then, individuals did not really insulate their home. That was because oil was plentiful and cheap and insulating materials were costly, poorly fabricated and uncommon. People were not concerned about insulation till the energy crisis of the 1970's, when the price for gas increased dramatically. That is why today we are very conscientious about saving energy and insulating our homes. The expense to heat a home is huge, and every penny we spend on the best insulation and installing it correctly is worth it. Here is a link to more information about the energy crisis in the 1970's: Wiki page on oil crisis Amusing take on why they did not insulate From the wiki link you can see this chart of oil prices: Notice the spike in 1973 and 1979. Link to historical oil prices: Oil Price History Chart The whole first floor of our house has an outer wall of stone. Between the stone and the cement board...

Opening up a staircase with a load bearing wall (To get a bed up of course!)

It all started simple enough, we could not get our queen sized mattress up the staircase. I think the previous homeowners had a mattress with sections, so never had to confront the narrow passageway. The staircase was originally encased on all sides, with a doorway that had a removed door at the bottom. The effect was claustrophobic. Although the walls on either side of the staircase were load bearing, one would have to come down. Why? Well besides from being able to get a bed upstairs.... First, modern designed houses have larger open spaces with each room lending a welcoming view to the next room. Opening up the wall near the staircase would allow people to see that there is a second floor, and how to get there. Second, it allows you to see that there are other rooms on the first floor behind the staircase wall. This will make the house look larger. Third, it allows heat from the first floor to flow upstairs and warm it better in the winter, improved air circulation! ...

Removing Outdated Window Cornices and Installing New Window Treatments

We have been very busy all winter, so busy that I have not been able to post about all the work we have done. This project was an easy one, and can be done in half a day. A window "cornice" is a wooden valence that goes over the window for decorative purposes. It sits like a three sided box and hides the top part of the window frame. You can also install curtain rods right into the wooden sides of the box instead of the wall. Also, as was the case in our house, the cornice can have lights inside to light up the window area at night. I suppose that would be necessary because the cornice makes the area look very dark. Although these window designs were popular at one time many years ago, today it is very uncommon. Modern day window designs vary, but I think we all agree that curtains and curtain rods are now both functional and decorative, and leave the potential of letting a lot of light into the room. However, I did do some research online and...

Renovating My Old House

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