Mihow

Category: Renovations

  • Saint Joseph

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    Seven days ago while listening to the WTF podcast featuring Adam Ferrara, I learned something about real estate and religion. Adam Ferrara shared a story from his childhood about how when they were selling their home on Long Island, his mother made his father bury a statue of Saint Joseph in the yard. The belief…

  • Redoing A Roof: In Layman’s Terms.

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    Many people have asked me about our new roof—what went into having it done, how long it took and how much it cost. And while I won’t be able to give you quite the thorough update Toby Joe could, I will give you my best, layman’s version of what we had done. (Please note: If…

  • The Powder Room! 99% DONE!

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    Behold! We are finished! (Well, almost. The plumber needs to come back and re-caulk the sink because I made him take it down because it wasn’t 100% level and I am insane. And of course, when he removed it, we found that the sink itself was cast that way. So I’m stuck with it. Also:…

  • Another Bathroom Update

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    It’s been a while since I wrote about our powder room renovation. I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and so sometimes I forget what I’m sharing and where. Anyway, we’ve made some progress. We now have wainscoting, a new door, and the floor has been tiled in penny rounds. The carpenter is also making us…

  • The Powder Room: A Gut Job

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    Last week, we began with our first, big cosmetic project by gutting the powder room. You may remember it, if not, here’s a brief, visual refresher: You can read a bit more about the original bathroom here. Well, it’s been gutted. They tore out the wavy plaster. They tore out the four or so layers…

  • Roof Rot and Other Stuff.

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    We had a new roof put on last week. And it’s amazing. It makes the house look lighter and happier, which I didn’t think was possible. But the house looks better than it did before when it sat rotting from the inside out, covered in green moss and mold. Here’s a picture of our new…

  • Refinishing A Clawfoot Tub.

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    I wrote briefly in the previous update about the top floor bathroom and how the tub was left to rust and rot. We knew when we purchased the home that there was a leak leading from it into the boys’ bedroom below. But we didn’t know how bad it was until we opened the ceiling.…

  • Stumbling. But Learning.

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    Our roof is in terrible shape. We knew this and got credit for it at closing. And it was at the top of our list of things to do after we moved in. But then we discovered the truth about the trees, the 60-year-old boiler, the lining for the chimney, the leak from the third…

  • Introducing Our Horrible Half Bath

    —

    by

    Mihow
    in

    We have a very tiny, half bath on the first floor of our new home that I find disturbing in many ways. This could have to do with the fact that I have had issues with plumbing and bathrooms all my life. And I’m not sure why that is. I was joking with Toby Joe…