11/11/11...Christmas Lights!

And a little more...

"Less is more with this house...it just needs opened up."

Interior demo round 1

Came home from voting, and the demo had begun.

Breakfast nook

In the original 1950 blueprint, this was originally the kitchen. When we purchased the property, the space had been turned into a breakfast nook with a little semi-built-in desk. However, as you can see from the photos, the wall behind the charming bench( removed earlier, i'll have to edit with before pics) was rotten. This was one of the worst areas of rot in the entire house! There were NO BUGS/ TERMITES---this rot was caused entirely by the dirt that had accumulated and come in contact with the redwood siding. We totally removed all of the old material and now have a brand new house in this portion of the kitchen!

Early Mornings at The Golf House

Life at The Golf House begins early. My alarm goes off at 4am, and I snooze until 4:30. I then get up and meet my running group for our run or head to the YMCA for my spin class depending on the day of the week...and at 6am, Bo leaves for his workout.
Upon my return, one of the rewards for waking up soooo early is catching a neighbor out for a morning stroll....usually accompanied by a four legged companion ( or two). The view from our new home is unbelievably beautiful in the morning, and beyond peaceful. The course takes on a totally different persona in the wee hours of the morning. Before the construction began, Bo and I would enjoy the view from our little patio, along with breakfast and coffee, usually while meeting with our contractor.
You've got to get going before the sun starts to come up, because no later than 6:30 the golfers begin to creep onto the course, and on most days our carpenters begin construction---another day at The Golf House begins!
We knew coming into this project that it would be a wild ride, but it is nice to take a few moments here and there to enjoy the view.

master bedroom window project

Today the builders are installing the windows in the master bedroom. They had to totally tear out the entire existing window and framework, rebuild a fresh new frame, and finally install our new windows!

Everything was removed for the new windows.

What a view! Who needs window?!

more new windows

Today the great room and Garrity's bedroom windows are being installed.

This is Garrity's room with the new windows!

Great room with new windows

I do believe Miss Garrity has the best view!

The new windows opened the great room even more!

the golf house

My husband Bo, our two year old daughter Garrity, and I purchased a 3,000 square foot sprawling 1950's ranch home, which our daughter has endearingly designated: “The Golf House”. We moved into The Golf House in late April 2012. Our new home is perched atop The Historic Iron Springs that used to be a tourist attraction in the 1800's ( I'll save that for another post) and overlooks the Nevada Country Club golf course. The house has been a rental for a few years. Our family felt drawn to the house not only because of the great location and views, but also because of the enormous character and huge potential. Of course we knew the home would require countless hours of love, but we hated driving by and seeing it set empty. 

The home was built in August 15, 1950. During our first week in the home we located several ORIGINAL photo albums documenting the ground breaking in 1950, and the entire construction process. We also uncovered the entire set of blueprints from the original contractor! We have sense used the prints in our current remodel!

This historic gem was in need of nearly every type of TLC imaginable. The shake roof had a few leaks which we experienced during the first few nights in our home during a few story nights. My husband stayed the first two nights solo and my first night was a stormy one, we were placing buckets and bowls all over the great room floor and moving furniture out of the way. Once we were satisfied with our prevention methods I walked into the kitchen to find a mini flood! The entire kitchen was covered in about an inch of water...we expected these little surprises and realized right away that we needed to contact the roofer, and remove the buildup of earth around the foundation of the house. Both of which we have taken care of and have not had a single water problem since! However the damage had already taken place. The earth had caused irreparable damage to the house! The house was basically rotting from the outside in, and as a result, we have been working with a contractor and rebuilding the house from the outside in. The siding has been removed and the rot removed, studs replaced, new insulation in place, and we are in the process of installing new windows! 

Countless house have been devoted to weed eating and brush cutting, prepping for the enormous landscaping work ahead. The back yard was overgrown as well as the front. Trees had gone untrimmed and bushes had grown to cover the windows. The first few weeks in our golf house, a tree trimming extravaganza took place nearly every spare minute! We cut down several trees and tree limbs that were causing damage to the roof. We also had to take out all of the landscaping around the house due to the need to adjust the grade of the earth surrounding our home. My husband took out the shrubs and plants, we were able to save a few and my parents adopted dozens of ferns from our back yard (all of which are thriving in their flower bed). Once the shrubs and plants were removed, a man was hired to remove the dirt from our foundation. I was amazed at the amount of earth that had built up over time (see pictures below). By adjusting the grade, we have not had water in the kitchen, and the ominous damp smell that filled the house has sense disappeared! 

Inside the house was a battle in itself! House were spent scrubbing through years of dirt and grime uncovering more and more potential with each swipe. Luckily the house is totally livable, and we have enjoyed being able to shut off sections of the house while working on others. Our plan is to start on the outside and work our way in...with the exception of our daughter's room. It has been taken down to the studs and re-sheetrocked, mud places and sanded, primed and now we will decide on colors. 

The process will not be rapid, but we are certain this is a project meant for our family, and we are excited to see The Golf House evolve into the home of our dreams!

new windows

This was supposed to be my first post....the new windows arrived on Tuesday July 17, 2012, but for some reason this post failed to publish!?

I suppose it is a bit unorthodox to start the blog from the middle vs the beginning, however today is such a milestone for The Golf House, it seems silly to not start the blog from the most obvious sign of progress!