Whitewashing the Kitchen Ceiling

We tried our hand at whitewashing the kitchen ceiling and I think it turned out pretty nice.

As you recall, the tongue and groove ceiling had been cut up in places during the firefight, so we had removed the ceiling layer, leaving behind the beautiful rough cut joists and the underside of the upper room's flooring.

We used a paint sprayer for most of it, but I wasn't too thrilled with the spattering pattern it kept spraying. I think a brush would have been better, and I did a lot of touching up with a brush.

I think it's quite lovely how it turned out. Still showcases the character of the room but with a more "finished" look.

Kitchen Coming Along

This post will cover some of the work that's been done in the kitchen. Its not finished yet, so that will be another post later on.

The dining area of the kitchen, immediately after the fire.

The kitchen after the fire was completely soaking wet.

Everything had to be removed. There was water inside all walls, around cabinets, etc. Of course all electrical wiring was melted as well.

There were 4 layers of wallpaper beneath the wood paneling.

The newly revealed wood floors look promising!

This wall was burnt out pretty badly and has to be repaired.

Part of the ceiling had to be cut up during the firefight.

So we decided to remove the ceiling shiplap to give the ceiling a bit more character, as well as give it the appearance of being a little higher than it is. We plan on whitewashing it.

That burned out wall has now become an open doorway that steps down into the family room from the kitchen. On the right, we've added a small bar top.

Insulation is up, new wiring throughout, and even some lights!

Most of the kitchen will retain its shiplap, but the areas behind the cabinets are all drywall.

Cabinets are going in!

Its definitely starting to look like a kitchen once again! I'm so excited to see it come together. I'll be baking homemade bread again soon!

We've Moved Back Home

Knowing that the homeowner would return and need his home back at any moment, we readied what we could of our house for our return. My office, and the little boy's bedroom is now our sleeping space, and the only fully enclosed, and therefore, able to be heated rooms.

We have a makeshift kitchen and eating area in the parlor. We brought the old drop leaf table in from the front porch, and cleared off some bookshelves for food storage. A workspace for coffee maker, microwave, and toaster was made from scrap wood secured over boxes and the now-unused fish tank stand.

The actual kitchen is coming along great. All wiring has been run, burnt-out wall repaired, and new insulation hung. The range and refrigerator are powered up and in use.  Now we just have to hang drywall, install cabinets and sink, paint walls and ceiling, and refinish the floor.

Oh, and in case you're curious, here's where I do dishes.

Update on House Progress

We are scrambling as quickly as we can to get at least a portion of the house livable, as our temporary housing will soon come to an end.

We've got nearly all the electrical wiring replaced, the broken windows have been replaced, most of the damaged plumbing has been fixed or capped off.

Some structural issues still remain, such as replacing the bathroom subfloor and joists, and repairing some of the burnt out walls.

Things remaining left to do are: insulation, drywall, paint, installing some flooring and the bathroom components, installing lighting throughout. On the outside of the house, I believe we are only lacking getting the damaged siding replaced. And a lot of cleanup!

February Surprise

Our nine year old doe, who was thought to be sterile, totally surprised us by giving birth to FOUR precious kids on the 1st of February.

Sadly two babies didn't survive. The remaining two are doing pretty well, although we have to supplement them with bottles since the momma is battling mastitis.

Rebuilt and Completed Roof

Our wonderful Amish neighbors did a fantastic job of tearing off and rebuilding the roof. Altogether it took just a week to get from start to dry-in.

Once it was dried in, the roofing crew at Husong Roofing came in and laid the shingles. It looks amazing!