Five-hundred twenty five-thousand, six-hundred minutes

Wow-

What a year.

Atomic Firebomb

The poppy-inspired color was quickly painted over. It was only after the paint was on the wall that the discovery of it's fantastically true to nature name was made. All photographic evidence that this horrific color was ever in the home has been destroyed.

Atomic firembomb was the only glitch in the painting party....


Harmon: Expert in Awkward Spaces

Renn: Tape Master.

Corey: Rolling Queen.

Fancy: Speed Painter, Speed Cleaner.

Jessica spiffing up the medicine cabinet. Forever to be known as Jessica's Box.

Chili: Cutting in is his specialty!

The Cutest Koi in the Pond

Scott recently did some work in the backyard and discovered a koi pond.
We've yet to fill it with water.

Jon told Henry if he stared at the brick long enough, it would turn into a piece of bacon.
He's still sitting there.

The MOST Boring Video on Our Blog

On the internet, for that matter. John McCain will never compare us to Paris or Lindsay.

Gross Anatomy*

*Bloggers note: In addition to not needing a microscope to see, this kitchen floor is gross in the old fashioned sense of the word. Ick!

Pictured L to R:
Circa 1980's diamond patterned vinyl.
Circa 1960's geometric patterned lineoleum.
Circa 194o's pink/blue cotton candy patterned lineoleum. Made with real linseed.

Handy Harmon Strikes Again

This time, it's the kitchen floor that has met it's match. My money's on Harmon for the win.

Gary Green Thumb

Gary spent a week up here with us, slaving away on the house. We now have a plumbed bathroom, trim that is sanded and primed, and an herb garden out front!

Thanks, Gary! We love you.

Hit the deck

Here's a POV from the newly finished floor.

3 coats of finish over 3 days (waterborne, so we ended up smelling worse than the floor.)

We are all made of stars...

...even the sandpaper; scratchy, scratchy stars.

Sand and Deliver

We logged 17 hours behind one kind of sander or another. You can't see our tongues sticking out behind our dust masks.

Prime Time

It's amazing what a coat of polyvinyl acetate and a little sunshine will do to a room.

Now, if we can just choose a color to paint we'll be home free.

Backyard Beagle

A smiling hundt is a happy hundt.

When the Walls Come Tumblin' Down

When the walls come crumblin' crumblin
When the walls come tumblin' tumblin down.....

Upstairs just after crumblin' tumblin'.

Upstairs after the crumblin' tumblin' and a whole lotta drywall.

Snapshot of the Joy a Contractor Allows #3

Jon and Scott enjoying a day in the yard!

Weeds Beware! The whacker is now fully functional.

Snapshot of the Joy a Contractor Allows #2

Enjoying the first days of summer in the beer garden at the Fremont Fair. Happy Solstice!

PS. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Snapshot of the Joy a Contractor Allows #1

Harmon House Inaugural Barbeque
Note: Quality of photo is not directly related to the amount of fun had by all or the tastiness of Jon's grilling.

Self Portrait of a Home Renovator at the End of a Long Day

Note to Visitors:
Shortly after this photo was taken, a contractor was phoned.
Said contractor was then hired.
Immediately.

Handy Harmons

Chris & Jon at the end of a LONG weekend of work. In typical Harmon fashion, they're both still smiling!

Thanks, Chris, for all your support and hard work!

It takes a village, people!

Lance humming YMCA while sanding the trim in the hallway.
Thanks, Fancy!

Experienced Tile Layer for Hire*

*Will Work for Clean Pants

First Jon spreads mastic on the wall.

(and a little on his pants)

Second, Jon lines the mastic.
(and a little more mastic on the pants)

Finally, Jon lays the tile.

(and even MORE mastic added to pants)

In the end however, the finished product is worth the cost of new work pants. Behold, the tiled bathroom.....

Cut it Out!

Corey is a precise tile cutting machine (using a precise tile cutting machine.)

Crack

Here's a photo of Jon filling the cracks in the bathroom.


I think he missed one.

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold

Here are some progress photos of the 'Escalate Escapade"


Step #1: open the wall to determine framing requirements and design criteria of new staircase.



Step #2: Remove wall and door framing


Step #4: Cut wider path for stairs and reinforce framing in ceiling .

Step #5: Demo stairs



Along with opening up the stairway, we eliminated some pony walls in the attic that we will re-frame, giving us more space upstairs.


I know what you're thinking: "What happened to Step #3?"

Well, Step #3 was lunch; I don't think you want to see a photo of me scarfing down a reuben on the front porch.

We had some great (professional) help with this portion of the project; our neighbor is a contractor specializing in remodels and guided us through every structural decision.

Stay tuned for photos of our new staircase.

Corey Rocks!

In a world of crumbling plaster and exposed studs, there lives a woman who's passion for drywall cannot be contained. From the producers who brought you "Henry runs around in the yard" and "The smashing of the bathtub" comes the long-awaited fourth installment in the 'Corey the Construction Cutie' trilogy:

Nurse Quigley: Sheet-Rock Star

Armed with a rock square and a tool belt, no unfinished room is safe!

stripping in the hallway

dirty birds! get your minds out of the gutter.
we're talking strictly renovation here.

We used a delicate mix of 2 parts hydrogen, 1 part oxygen to melt the adhesive beneath the tar paper.

Not easy, not clean; but we're getting down to raw wood come hell or high H2O.

The Writing on the Wall

these sweet nothings will be forever trapped under the new drywall in the bedroom along with nine layers of paint and wallpaper.

and on the 50th day, there was a tile floor!

the good news is, we didn't come to blows about tile design (though it was touch and go for a few nights).

please join us in welcoming our latest addition, the bathroom floor!

Deep Thoughts with Beagle Henry

contemplating the life of a renovation dog.
(or, how Henry came to love the new tile floor).

"Don't Tile Me In" by Jon Harmon

oops. too late!
(photo of corey's "i told you so face" deleted from camera by jon prior to posting)

You can't spell progress without gross

Progress is occurring, don't you worry.

Here's Jon laying down some mortar prior to the backer board in the bathroom. Note the yellow electrical cables on the left hand side of the picture. This is evidence that there will be power receptacles in the new bathroom, where there were none before.




Stay tuned for more!

Corey Cuts

Here's Corey finishing up a plunge cut through the sub floor in the bathroom.





If she's this happy while there's no toilet in the bathroom, she'll be ecstatic once the whole house is done.

P.E.T.O.B.

It seems that our previous entry stirred up some controversy with the fine folks from PETOB (People for the ethical treatment of bathtubs.)

As such, I have prepared the following statement:

There comes a time in every remodel where a fixtures aesthetic and functional purpose is questioned. We carefully researched the viability of using the built in bathtub in the design of the room, but we could not justify it's girth. Having totally scored a claw-foot tub off of Craigslist, the fate of the built-in was quickly sealed. It was truly unfortunate that the tub had to make it's exit in the fashion that it did, but there was simply no way to remove it in one piece. The friggin' (yes, I said friggin') house was built around the thing.

The demolition of the bathtub in the video was not meant to be funny, nor was it meant to inspire the copycat smashings that have plagued our country's bathrooms since the video aired. In fact, the act was never meant to be recorded, let alone put on the internet. We plan to use all of the revenue generated by it's popularity on You-Tube to raise awareness for bathtubs of all shapes, sizes and weights.

Furthermore, to show our dedication to this cause, we plan to uproot any and all flowers and/ or tomatoes planted in old bathtubs used as planter boxes and attempt to return them to full working order. (the tubs, not the flowers [we'll eat the tomatoes])

It is not too late to SAVE OUR BATHTUBS. So if you see me walking down the street, please show your solidarity by shouting the initials of our protest cry out the window of your car:

S.O.B.!!!

(Save our Bathtubs.)

I thank you for your attention to this matter.

Jon Versus the Bathtub, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sledge

Everything I've read about built-in cast iron tubs is true.

1. They are heavier than anything else on the planet.

2. The house is usually built around them

3. The only way to remove them is by smashing them with a sledge hammer.

4. Even after you break them, they're still pretty darn heavy.

Here's a video of me beginning to smash the tub to pieces.



Here's a picture of the tub halfway smashed:

After a very loud 12.5 minutes of smashing, the tub was ready to join it's brethren in the junk pile.

More on the bathroom battle to come.

Free Construction Materials.... You Haul

FREE materials include (but are not limited to):

71 - years of wallpaper and paint (in convenient easy to move pieces)

35’ - Galvanized pipe (inside has popular ‘aged patina’ look, complete with rust)

9 - Old dried up cans of paint (can be used as a hammer, or bludgeoning device)

150 sq ft. - Antique carpet (room for at least 3 dead bodies, if you roll it up tightly)

1 - Medicine cabinet (may have some medicine in it, take two and call us in the morning)

1 metric butt load - Pink plastic tiles, 4” x 4” (Perfect for a remodel of Barbie’s Dream Bathroom)

We understand that this material is highly desired, especially with the rising cost of fuel and the uncertainty of the Democratic nomination. All potential takers must pass a standard drug screening and comply with all IOC anti-doping regulations. Offer void in states ending in: N, R, and A. Items will not be available after midnight, do not get items wet and do not expose them to light.

What's brown and sticky? ...... A stick

Ah, plumbing; the great leveler.

From the mighty Shah to the lowly peasant;

From the baker to the tax collector;

From the carpenter to the, well..... plumber;

Throughout time, man (and especially woman) has yearned to move water to and from their dwellings with the flick of a wrist, the turn of a screw and a phone call to Rapid Rooter.

Did the great and powerful Claudius Caesar have this humble abode in mind when he commissioned the great aqueducts of ancient Rome?

Perhaps….

I dare you to fix your gaze upon the beauty of this handy-manly-ness that is:

New plumbing for the bathroom!!!

(I realize that the view from the basement is not that exciting, but when we turned the water back on… it didn’t leak!)

A Beagle Yearning for His Yard (& Less Construction Chaos)

What with the weather being as strange as it has been lately (you know, the snow/sleet/rain/sun all within a two hour time window), Henry has spent a lot of time in the condo alone. Here's an adorable photo of him longing for a patch of sun in his new backyard.

Guest Artists!

Lance & Scott have been joining us the past few Saturdays to help with the many projects that are underway. Lance was too busy scraping one of the fifteen layers of wallpaper off the bedroom wall to be photographed. However, we managed to sneak a shot of Scott while he attacked the window locks that had been painted shut.

A big thank you to the boys for all their help!