In 2003 I purchased a house about an hour north of where I live with the intent that I would move into it when I retired, which would not be for many years at that time. In the meantime, my father and aunt would use the house during the five months of the year when they escaped the cold of the north. This arrangement was in place for six years until they were no longer able to make the trip due to health issues. I was a long way from retirement, so decided to rent the house. This continued until the end of August of 2019, when my tenant no longer needed the house. I retired in April of 2017, so the house remained rented for the first part of my retirement.

Knowing that the house would be vacated and the end of August, I had to decide if I wanted to continue with the original plan of moving into it. After a lot of back and forth and an unsuccessful attempt to sell (for the price I wanted), I decided I would make it my home. Prior to moving in, I had a number of changes and upgrades I wanted to make. This included a new kitchen, update both bathrooms, new flooring, etc. I was hoping this could be done by the spring of 2020 (so naive).

I found a fellow with design and construction experience to lead the project. His name is Chris (not to be confused with my brother Chris). Chris would not only coordinate the work but would also instruct me so that I could do as much of it as possible. I wanted to participate and was keen to acquire some new skills. I retained Chris in mid November of 2019 and the process began.

Although I took pictures of the progress along the way, I did not start logging (using pen and paper) until June of 2020, so for the posts up to that point, I will be drawing from the dates associated with the pics I took, along with my recollection. Along the way, the project was mostly shut down in April and May of 2020, due to Covid-19. It was only after I resumed work on the house that I began maintaining a paper log, noting what was done each time I drove up to the house. Due to other interests and commitments, during the week I got up to the house around 2:30pm and worked for about 3 or 4 hours. Most Saturdays I was able to put in a full day. Sunday was my day off to attend to chores at home.

Next, we look at the plan.