Look how far we’ve come!

I’ve been quiet about the progress of the house that we are flipping and not because I’m not excited about it, but because the work done until recently was not much to write home about. We ripped out all the plumbing as you saw some of in the demo post but besides that it was mostly HVAC, electrical and drywall work which is not sexy at all.

Before diving into what all we have done so far I wanted to take a moment to tell you about how we have the confidence to take on all these projects. We have invested a lot of money in the house and we are constantly dumping more money, time, sweat and tears into it. Yet, we don’t live there. This house is empty. No one lives there. No one is monitoring it to make sure the house doesn’t burn down or a busted pipe doesn’t flood the house. Esurance provides you with the comfort to take on projects like this knowing that they’ve got your back for those times when things just don’t go as planned. They’ve got lots of modern tools to make the insurance shopping experience feel effortless. If you own your own home and live in the 21st century then go with a modern insurance like Esurance. Go here to find out more.

Without further ado, let’s get into all that we have accomplished so far!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Esurance but the opinions are all my own. Please support brands like this by clicking on those links to find out more. Remember, brands like these are what keeps the Rogue Engineer site going!

Exterior

We had to get a lot done outdoors before the weather turned on us here in Michigan. I’m use to the south and don’t think I would fair well working outside in the cold and snow.

Patio

After filling in the pool we had a high spot in the yard. Rather than just sloping that down into the side of the house we decided to add a natural stone retaining wall and sandstone patio. To do so we carved out were the wall would go, laid some weed barrier to retain the soil and placed the stone and boulders (that we got from a friends property) as best we could. Finally leveling the patio into three tiers placing the sandstone, then pea gravel, and finally play sand to lock everything in. We even reused the railroad ties for the steps. With the galvanized fire ring and the boulder seating I think this patio is sure to be a hit.

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Painting

One of the biggest changes visually that we accomplished was painting the exterior of the house. We painted used an airless sprayer which really made the job go a lot faster. But before we could put the color on we needed to prime the exterior which we did using Zinsser Bullseye Zero primer which is an eco-friendly primer that is just as good as the other stuff.

Disclosure: Behr and Zinsser did provide the paint for this job for which we are forever grateful.

Deck

Another big project we finished up was building the attached deck. See how we did it here. This turned out great and will just add to the living area. We still have to take out the windows and replace with a sliding glass door that leads to the deck but that will get done as soon as we get a warm day.

Front Door

The front door was just a 9-pane glass door that you would think of more for a back or side door. We wanted to fix that by adding a proper wood door and we love how it turned out. There is still some work to be done as far as trim and finishing but over all we are very happy with the look of the door!

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Interior

Inside of the house we have also got a lot accomplished. It was fun to rework the layout of the bathrooms, kitchen, etc.

Plumbing/HVAC/Electrical

After laying out the new bathrooms and where we wanted the plumbing we got started laying out all the new plumbing. We were able to finish that up and get out rough inspection done. We also had all new HVAC installed and had to run new and relocate some of the vents.

99% of the electrical has been ripped out and replaced, including adding about 30 new can lights, pendant, fixtures, outlets, etc.

Drywall and Painting

The ceilings on the main floor got skimmed with 1/4″ drywall and some walls needed new drywall after the electricians had their way with it. We’ve primed and painted a lot of the walls and ceilings but there is still a decent amount to be done. The colors we chose were in an effort to lighten the house up and be nice neutral colors. I will detail all the colors in the final reveal.

We also added a 9 pane glass door leading from entryway into the living room which also added to the natural light in the house.

Some faux shiplap got added to the stairwell leading upstairs and stained with an antique white stain which turned out great. The stairs still need paint which will be a tone of white and will complement the shiplap look.

Main Bathroom

The main bathroom got reconfigured to include a tub along the back wall. We framed out a niche, ran the new plumbing, set the tub and finished up the drywall. We’ve just started on the tile and I don’t want to share much because that will be saved for the final reveal.

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Master Bath

As for the master bath we haven’t gotten quite as far. The door of the shower will be on the right high side so that is where we put the regulator but we wanted the rain shower head to be on the left so we had to cross the plumbing over. We will be moving on to this bathroom very soon! Make sure to follow us on Instagram for updates!

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Floor Refinishing

Last but not least is the floor refinishing that you all have been eager to see! I am totally surprised at how well they turned out. I will be detailing the process in another post so please stay tuned for that one!

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