Dutch Baby Renovation Update: Weeks 1 + 2
DUTCH BABY RENOVATION: Weeks 1 & 2
We have officially owned the dutch baby for 2.5 weeks even though it feels more like 2 months. Mike has been there most days and I pop in on days we have childcare to tackle more demo-ing. We've made good progress and have also put many critical pieces into place to keep the renovation train moving.
The first week we spent A LOT of time on the exterior as it need extensive work and we knew freezing temps and snow were likely on their way. (#livinginwisconsin) So we took advantage of the few ~40 degree days we had and got very overwhelmed with the amount of time along with the depth of repair the landscaping is in need of due to at least a decade of neglect. To give you a clear example of how neglected this yard was we, no joke, uncovered an ENTIRE paved patio in the yard that we had no idea even existed because it was buried under 2 inches of roots and dirt (pictured below) . There is also little to no grass from not raking leaves and a thousand small, but mighty roots that have invaded both the front and backyards. We hired someone to take down the large overgrown juniper pine in the front yard and then Mike put his new chainsaw to use and cut down all the others that were overgrown, as well. We now have a pile of brush in the backyard that is as tall and as wide as the garage. Any ideas on how to get rid of this quick and easily are welcome!
Can you believe this entire patio was covered?!
Mike was able to auger the post holes for the fence that will run along the left side of the yard before the ground froze. We were able to find a roofer who tore off 3 layers of shingles before adding new ones and will also be adding new garage siding. They have been there most days over the last week working against the elements to get it wrapped up before any heavy and wet snow comes. They should wrap up this week (hopefully!)
On the days that it is has been very cold we have spent demo-ing the interior and meeting with contractors.
At this point in time the kitchen is fully cleared out. We tried to preserve the original wood cabinets to re-purpose in the basement, but TBD on if they will be able to be put back together since they were built-into the kitchen 100 years ago. We unfortunately couldn't keep them in the kitchen because they were only 18" deep when a standard counter and cabinet is 24" and we didn't think that people would appreciate less counter space. We ordered the new cabinets and they arrive next week. Very excited to see them and reveal what we went with! We were also able to order a new front door and appliances at a great price thanks to all the holiday deals (see the budget breakdown at the end!).
If you saw our instagram stories you might be wondering why we were tearing out the plaster ceiling in the kitchen. The reasoning is that we want to move the toilet to the other side of the bathroom so that we can fit a 48" vanity in since this is a one bath home. We got the OK from our plumber and he said that routing the plumbing stack through the kitchen ceiling would be easiest. You could tell that there was an old leak from the toilet/tub that came through the kitchen ceiling too so this was an easy YES for that to be the route to go.
My brother and I removed the remaining wallpaper in the bathroom and hallway and Mike has been busy mudding and repairing the plaster cracks throughout the home.
We had our hardwood floor guy come out on Wednesday to give us a price as we excitedly discovered the whole house has original hardwood floors.
This next week will likely include sourcing key items such as a vanity for the bathroom, light fixtures throughout, countertops, kitchen sink and faucet along with continuing to prep the walls for paint and cabinet installation. Sharing our current design vision board for the bathroom below:
Here is the design/vision for the full bath!
BUDGET BREAKDOWN UPDATE:
New Roof and removing 3 layers of old shingles (only half of it is old as the upper part was replaced roughly ten years ago): $4,000
Garage Siding: $3,500
Front Door: $578
Kitchen Cabinets: $5,970 - rebate of $656 = $5314 + tax
French Door Refrigerator: $654
Gas Oven/Range: $374
Dishwasher: $237
Microwave: $207
(Mike was able to stack a couple of discounts around Black Friday week to score these prices on quality appliances!)
Garbage Disposal: $90
Tree Cutting: $450
Hardwood Floor Refinish Estimate (~1100 sq ft with water based finish): $3270
Monthly “Flipper” Insurance: $116/month
Thanks for following along and reading this first flipdate (flip +update)! If any other information would be helpful or interesting simply hit reply and let us know. We would love to hear your thoughts, questions or ideas along the way!
