Noobies VÜ

It finally happened, I am a big boy now. And no, I don't mean I am wearing pull-ups. I bought a house. Crazy, I know. But it's true. I never would have thought I would have been able to. But after 1 car too many parked in front of the current place, and 1 more screaming match from the neighbors behind us, I had had enough. On a whim I started looking around and, surprise surprise, found that I could actually afford a home.
The home I first wanted was unattainable, it turned out it was a cash only sale and that no bank would finance. The second one, was in the middle of town- a split-level, that was nifty, but it needed a new furnace and ceiling in the kitchen, among other things. The furnace and ceiling before it could even be closed on. The third was in Santa Clara, AMAZING views, but the back wall around the yard was falling down the hill, and the shaker shingle roof needed replacing, again before the loan would close. I bid on it though, never did hear back. So the 4th home came along.
My roomie Jared referred to it as jailhouse architecture. So I think I'll call it "the pen" but it had qualities I really liked, size for one, a garage, and a decent lot. I also feel it has a ton of potential. Not totally thrilled that it's in Ivins, but not a big deal.
So I have started work on it (oh, I put in an offer and it was accepted and I closed on the home, obviously. The bank came down a whopping $400 on the price, oooo, they did provide closing costs though, so... I let that go.) Before I could close on the home I had to by a new window that some little vandal broke, and I also had to fix the water heater. Not too bad, couple hundred bones later, I have a house. And a mortgage. YIKES!
(click images to embiggen ;o) )


A couple of the things I didn't like were the fireplace, and the kitchen cabinets. I had plans for both of these, so I am working diligently on them. We have 30 days before we move in so I have time.
About the kitchen cabinets, you can't see it so much in the photos, but they are covered in adhesive left behind from clear packing tape. You can see it on the dishwasher and if you click the picture you can see it on the drawers, they are dirty strips about 3 inches wide that run side to side. It's really noticeable on the third drawer down. I have tried every kind of solvent I can think of to try and strip this shit off. But it comes down to elbow grease, goo-gone and a metal scraper. Lame. I have no idea what these people were doing with all the tape. I can only think it's a white-trash attempt at child-proofing, it only appears on the lower cabinets and drawers, nothing on the uppers.


Then the fireplace. This one is a little odd. It's not BAD looking, it's just a bit westerny, and the insert is rusted for days. The thing is the water heater is upstairs and when they winterized the home they just opened the drain and let the water go. straight. down. the. chimney. onto the insert, well done morons. You can pretty much guess where the water heater is by looking at the white stains on the brick. Where they start is just below the water heater (FYI it's lime leaching out of the grout between the bricks). That stain is rough to clean as well, and pretty much sticks around. I don't like the wood or the color of the bricks anyway, so I am covering the wood and painting the brick out. In a few years I plan on putting on a stack-stone veneer. (It is so strange to use that sentence, in a few years. wow. hello commitment. *big eyes*)

So that's where we're at so far folks. I will post more as I complete projects. woo hoo, so excited.