Gathering supplies...

Painting supplies from Fullerton to Highland

Thanks Dad and Pris ee ee for their painting supplies.  Hopefully we'll start with the painting by this weekend (or at least the prepping for painting)...

I need to measure the walls to know how much paint to buy.  I also need to find what colors we are repainting with...the paint cans in the garage are not really that clear on names etc...

Once I have the measurements and paint, then the actually prep work to the walls will begin.

I need to start by washing walls/sanding and filling the holes with putty or whatever.  After vacuuming/wiping it down again, I'll remove all the light plates etc and tape up trim and such.  THEN we can actually start painting.

Kitchen Inspirations

Working with white ceramic kitchen counter tops, I've been looking for inspiration pages...  Right now there are dark brown cabinets and tan, brown, and black stones on the floor.  I ended up looking at some black&white combinations with the white being the counters and the black being the cabinets, but am a little worried that it might be too stark with just black and white.

Here are some pictures that I have found:

Wonder what it would look like with white appliances

Not so sure about the stripes, and we don't have
stainless steel, but liked the black on bottom white on top
cabinets and the top cabinets have cool knobs

I like the chalkboard pain

This caught my eye because of the display shelf on top

Socket Stickers!

We don't have stainless steel appliances, but if we did I would totally get these to match!  How could I pass on stickers?!  :)

"Now you can have your receptacles in stainless steel
in our exclusive laminate peel and stick to compliment
your stainless steel or brushed steel switchplates."

While the cat's away in Fullerton,...

the Eddie stays busy in the IE...

Lots of papers for Eddie to sign...but still not quite done...

Eddie went to the escrow office in Upland after school today to sign papers, unfortunately we still have to bring the cashier's check to the office.  He did get some paperwork from the housing association I've been bugging him to find out about.  Apparently there are two different club houses and we belong to both ANNNND we have access to the lake...wherever that is...

After going to the escrow office, Eddie met with the sellers to learn how to work the sprinklers (which are all working yay!), the pool light (which should not be stopped on a colored light, but on clear), the fountains of water over the pool (which are operated by something about the pump and valves), and some tips about the house... (ie the hallway bathroom needs a new toilet, the paint was bought at Home Depot, the decorating was done by an interior designer!).  The sprinklers are manually controlled; they used to be on automatic timers, but when the pool was put in, the backhoe damaged the wiring.  He said that the neighbors to the right are cool, and he didn't know much about the neighbors on the corner with kids.  I would like to have some sort of party with all the neighbors over after we move in.  The seller even said something about a white dishwasher at their new house that we could have (to match the white stove, microwave, and soon to be refrigerator).

Hours of Painting Fun!

http://www.sherwin.com/visualizer/

I can upload pictures to this and then frame different parts to see what different colors look like.

Dining table fun

Yay!  I have a painting project lined up! 

Eddie's grandmother is letting us use a dining set until we get our own.  The table has a white tile top and is painted white (I think).  I was given the go ahead to paint it something else.  I wonder if it would be too matchy matchy to do something similar to the kitchen ... since the kitchen has white tile too... it probably would be too matchy matchy to do the table and chairs in the same paint as the cupboards (which I want to repaint anyway because they're a dark brown).

To Do List

1. Painting
• Check paint in the garage for brand and color
• Measure walls to estimate how much paint we'll need
• Gather materials
• brushes
• rollers
• extra sponges
• tape
• sand paper
• drop cloth
• Research paint tips
2. Outside Bathroom
• Toilet
• something back there in the tank needs to be replaced...it's not stopping when the ball thing rises
• screwed down tight
• Towel Rack
3. Kitchen
• Drawers and Cabinets
• cleaning
• measuring for contact paper
• sanding for painting?

Today's Yardwork Illustrated...

Emma is acting as a guard dog until the house closes

Was a little worried she'd fall into the pool...

Totally posed her...

Exploring the backyard

After jumping out of the planters

The tools of the day

The work we had to do

One teeny section looking better

This "grass" will be the DEATH of me!

Help!



Pretty lights! 



Pool light changes colors

This was supposed to be purple

More appliances

The stove is a General Electric XL44, I have no idea the year.  I wonder how you can even figure that out?

The microwave is a General Electric Spacemaker.

I wonder if the sellers left the manuals anywhere...

Refrigerator Shopping

Instead of pouring any more blood and sweat into the house today, we went refrigerator shopping at the Sears in Rancho Cucamonga (I didn't even know there were such things as free standing Sears stores...I've only seen them attached to malls).

Before we went, Eddie's dad suggested that we look into Whirlpool fridges.  Eddie wanted a side by side - a freezer on one side and refrigerator on the other, ice maker, and in white (to matchy matchy the stove and microwave). 

The top two fridges were the Kenmore Elite and the Whirlpool Gold.  When we talked to the sales guy, he said that usually he would say Kenmores are better than Whirlpools, but in this case, the Gold model is a newer model that is better designed etc.  He said that the Whirlpool's drawers were a little less sturdy than the Kenmore's, but other than that they were pretty comprable.  Eddie likes the Whirlpool more than the Kenmore.  I like the Whirlpool's price more than the Kenmore (we'd be saving more).  That particular Whirlpool model is supposed to be 30% more energy efficient than the standard (though I don't really know what the standard is, or how much more other refrigerators are compared to the standard).  The little yellow tag said it would cost $53 a year to run it.  The yellow tag on the Kenmore was $63. 

Whirlpool Gold GSS26C4XXY

• 
  
  Resource Saver™ Refrigerator  
• 
  
  ENERGY STAR® Qualified   
• 
  
  MicroEtch™ spill control shelves   
• 
  
  6th Sense™ Technology  
• 
  
  #1 Rated Brand for Side-by-Side Refrigerators   
• 
  
  In-Door-Ice® Plus Ice Dispensing System with Fast Ice feature   
• 
  
  Multipoint White LED Lights   
• 
  
  FreshFlow™ air filter   
• 
  
  Largest Crisper   
• 
  
  Temperature Management enabled by 6th Sense™ Technology  
• 
  
  26 cu. ft. capacity   
• 
  
  PuR® 6-Month Water Filtration 
• 
  
  Dual Pad Ice and Water Dispenser 
• 
  
  Wide open doors
• 
  
  Adjustable Clear Gallon Door Bins   
• 
  
  Dispenser Control Lock
• 
  
  Hidden Hinges
• 
  
  Adaptive Defrost
• 
  
  Convertible meat and vegetable compartment
• 
  
  Exterior temperature controls 
• 
  
  Glass freezer shelves 
• Factory-Installed Automatic Ice Maker

Service Magic and Pest Control

Top of Eddie's list to do to the house is pest extermination.  So he's calling around to get someone to fumigate the house asap. 

Next will be carpet?

Weeds and Things

Armed with two types of shovels, two rakes, a trowel, pruning shears, new leather work gloves (white? those things are going to get so dirty!), and pink gardening gloves, we took on the planters in the backyard.  Eddie started with giving the palms a haircut and the roses a trim; I pulled weeds.  (Next time we're trading!) Though we came out with various scratches, blisters, and sore muscles, we did manage to do some damage to the wilderness that is currently the planters.  Even Emma was interested in our toils, as evidenced by her forays into the planters ... usually right in our faces.

Emma's newest playground

So Eddie got the key from the lady who owns the house and started cleaning the backyard today. He was mostly picking up stuff to throw away: plant buckets, plywood, random metal. He actually said he was kinda glad they left some stuff because he likes cleaning clutter; it makes him feel accomplished.

Emma literally ran around the backyard sniffing at the seller's dogs' scents, jumping into planters, running along fences, checking out the pool (but she's scared of water and won't go in).

I went around watering all the plants and saking the ground because tomorrow we're doing some weeding. I find this out at dinner. Eddie didn't tell me any of the plans. It was a little annoying, kind of underscoring. How I felt he doesn't tell me stuff about the house until after the fact. Then again I guess he kinda does that for other stuff too like his dad's birthday dinner plans. :-P

In any case we're going to the house tomorrow morning to work on the back yard. It's kind of a bad weekend to work outside as it's supposed to be 95+!! And he doesn't plan on being there until about 8. I think we should go earlier so we can get more done. And then we have to go to his nephews' sccer game at 10:30. BUT we don't have any time to stop at JC Penny's to buy a cooking set. Blah. Sorry still a little annoyed about that.

Anyway, hopefully the ground is soggy enough to pull out all the weeds. Eddie's mom is also coming to prune the roses and such.

We turned on the lights in the yard and it looked so pretty! And the pool light changes colors! I should have taken pictures.

There's a Rubbermaid shed in the back that has broken doors. Eddie looked online to find replacement doors, but couldn't really find any. I suggested making wooden doors. We'll look into that.

I also walked around and opened all the windows. The window in the pink bedroom is a little difficult to open and I could not figure out how to turn on the light. Eddie couldn't figure out the light switch for the livingroom.

Trash day is Tuesday, so whatever green trash we have we'll put in the bins. And if we run out of room, we discovered a dumpster behind the Stater Bros. across the street.

The next time Eddie talks to the seller, he needs to ask which housing association we belong to and if the sprinklers in the back work. Not to mention the sprinklers in the front.

Escrow

Ooooops...

So I guess we're already in escrow.  :)  We've been in escrow for the past almost month!

Eddie was talking back and forth with the seller about the house.  She's upset because she wanted the sale to be done by this week.  Their house insurance expires tomorrow and Eddie's doesn't start til we close.  If anything happens to the a/c or whatever after tomorrow, there's no insurance to take care of it.  And we can't close if we're missing anything as vital as an a/c...which would then have the deal falling through.  So cross your fingers! 

Emma's going to be spending the weekend acting as guard dog.  :)

Then Eddie wants to have the house fumigated, so I guess she's coming home on Monday?

Honey Do's

Where the carpet is coming up from meeting the stone

Not really sure how to fix this, or if it's really that necessary...
the bottom of the linen cupboard is bent?

At least two windows need to be rescreened,
this bathroom window and one off the dining room.

Have to screw this interior sprinkler back in

Fire door damage

Damage also to the jamb,
looks like someone forced their way in?

Newest Updates

Monday we went to the Wisteria house to add the smoke detectors the appraiser was looking for.  Apparently the carpet pulling back from the tile was not a concern.  Neither was the lack of a gate around the pool nor the holey firewall and damaged firedoor.  Eddie's parents and Reilynn also came along to see the place.  When we got there Linda had been sweeping the floors, watering the plants and the (now green) pool, and other such maintenance kinda things. 

Tuesday the a/c was put in by the seller, who was appalled and embarrassed to the point of tears (according to Linda) that we had seen the house in such disrepair.  I guess they wanted to clean the house up before we went through it again and started all the final loan paperwork.  So they're staying at the house from Wed-Fri to clean.  They mentioned to Linda that we might want to stay over the weekend at the house to make sure no one steals the a/c again.  Eddie asked if I wanted to leave Emma there.  Which I said was fine as long as there's a lock on the fence and that they okayed her being there, because I don't want her to bite the seller who was going back to pick up any last stuff! 

Sweat Equity

Painting - check
Flooring - check

Let me at a house. 
I can make it mine.

Empty Now

More pictures from Wisteria Ct. (from the day of the inspection), though none from the yard...which was a little sad because of how overgrown it has become!

I kinda wish I had taken more pictures of all the little things (the fire door that needed to be fixed, the cabinet coming away from the wall, the tile that needs to be replaced, the missing threshold, the hole in the firewall, the too high cement, the missing roof tile, the loose interior sprinkler, the wood rot, the water pouring out from the air gap, the holes in the wall, etc.).  Ah well, at least now I know for future home inspections/buying.

Silver Dust Badges of Painting Courage

Note to self: Taping - very important to avoid "oopsies" when painting.

After helping Mum and Dad with painting in the Balfour house, I'm pretty confident that if/when we need to paint our new house, I definitely could do it.  It was almost relaxing, something you could do and kinda zone out and think about other things, while still accomplishing something.

Supplies we would need:

• tape
• step ladder
• rollers
• liners
• 2 in brushes
• 3 in brushes
• buckets

While at Home Depot picking up extra paint, Eddie looked at paint prices (primer and paint combos, and primer and paint separate) and hole repair kits (needed for the walls where things had been previously anchored). 

Eddie said he would hire high school students to help paint the house... I have my reservations...do I really trust high school students to do a good job painting the house?  I guess it would depend on the students...  But why would we have to hire students if we can get the family to have a painting party?! 

PS I love looking at paint chips!  They're so dazzling and colorful!

House Inspection

1. One roof tile has fallen off, but the rest of the roof looks sound
2. Leak in a some tubing (can't remember if it was for the sprinklers or pool)
3. Concrete is too high at one point on the patio, covering the drainage thing (I read about this on the HGTV Common Problems Found During Home Inspections article).  The guy said that we have to see if there is enough grading that the water runs off rather than collects there...
4. Some of the wood on the patio looks like it should be replaced, but Don said that it looked structurally sound.
5. Wooden fence is shaky, one part - facing the street - is very loose
6. Some wood rot at the front window sill on the outside
7. Vines growing up to the roof should be removed - not a safety hazard, but can damage the tiles and such on the roof
8. The doorbell doesn't work
9. The electric panel is labeled and looks good.
10. I know where the gas shut off is, and the tv and telephone panels (not sure what's in there though)
11. In the garage, the self-closing fire door has to be replaced because it's damaged
12. The wall that is adjacent to the house in the garage (which is supposed to be fire retardant) also needs to be fixed because there is a hole cut into the wall, thus negating the fire proof-ness of the wall.  
13. Was talking to the realtor, so I didn't remember to ask Don about the water heater life.
14. The heater does need a new filter
15. There is a panel in the garage that controls (?) the interior sprinklers - Don suggested calling the fire department to check it out or to get the name from them about someone who did
16. In the kitchen the gas was not hooked up to the stove and so he didn't check it
17. The air gap (that funny knob thing on the sink) has a blocked tube to the garbage disposal, and should be replaced.
18. There is a loose interior sprinkler that probaly just has to be screwed back in
19. There are some cracks in the plates inside the fireplace, but nothing major
20. There should be fire retardant calk around where the gas comes out for the fire place
21. The joining between the carpet and tile in the green bedroom and from the entry way to the hall may need to be addressed (this from the realtor who says it's a safety hazard)
22. The toilet in the bathroom is loose
23. There's a missing bottom track for the closet in the pink bedroom.
24. There's a ding in one bedroom door that has been patched up
25. The toilet in the master bath needs a new flap (otherwise the toilet was running)
26. Don suggested sealing between the bathtub and the linoleum in the master bath
27. One sink seemed to be draining slower than the other in the master bath
28. Some window screens should be replaced, with the screens torn and a couple frames redone
29. All the lights and sockets work  I learned that the sockets that are upside down are connected to a switch. 

All of this work will have to be done by us, as the contract is that the house is being sold as is. 

The next step is for the appraiser to come through. 

I guess something tricky about these as is houses is that the house isn't really ours, but we have to do the fixes before we can buy it with an FHA.


In less formal house fixing stuff, the planters need to be weeded and the plants need to be watered.  Two cute little palm trees look like they're dying/dead.

The pink bedroom will be repainted.

I want to repaint the cabinets in the kitchen something much lighter...it's a dark brown right now.

The mocha walls are okay I guess, but I wouldn't mind going with something else. 

The carpets may have to be replaced, some of it looks pretty dirty.  But at least it doesn't smell like some of the houses we've been to where they've had dogs and they let their dogs do whatever they want in the house!

Schools and Churches and Other Institutions

Schools
School District: Redlands Unified

Elementary School: Arroyo Verde

Middle School: Beattie

High School: Citrus Valley

Churches:
St. John Bosco Mission (seems to be some sort of smaller church under a broader church elsewhere in Highland...?) - Sunday Mass at 9 AM - 0.2 mi

St. Adelaide - Saturday: 5:00 p.m., Sunday: 7:30 a.m.; 9:00 a.m.; 11:00 a.m.; 5:00 p.m., Weekdays: 7 a.m. (I could go to Mass before school if we continue with late starts!) - 2 mi

St. Mary's or Sacred Heart churches in Redlands - 3-4 mi


Markets:
Stater Bros - 0.1 mi (basically across the street!)

Albertsons - 1.5 mi

I need to find a good Mexican market for cheap produce

Library:
Highland Branch Library - 2.5 mi - branch of the San Bernardino County Library System

AK Smiley Public Library - 4 mi - separate from the SBCLS

A Picture (or several) is Worth a Thousand Words

Front of the house

Entry way

As you continue straight you hit the living room;
 breakfast bar separates the space from the kitchen

Living room space w/ fireplace

To the immediate right of the living room (no walls) is the dining room

The dining room extends from the kitchen...kind of dark cabinets, but can be changed

Following the hallway off the entry...
On the left is this room (has a closet, so is considered a bedroom.) 
Has the double doors of a den.  Is smaller than the other bedrooms.

Bathroom to the right of the hall.
Vanity has been removed and replaced with another.

2nd bedroom, also on the left of the hallway.  Much bigger than the first.

Across the hall from the 2nd bedroom is the master. 
Can't remember what the bathroom looked like, and/or closets...will take pictures and post at a later time.
Doors open to backyard w/  a pool view.

The pool - apparently salt water.

Patio from side view in front of the living room area