Let the transformation begin!

In February my level of home renovation expertise comprised of locating the nearest Home Depot. I had always visited job sites with Dad; but when you are seven, you are more interested in playing with the owner's dog than examining the subfloor's condition. Tip: The subfloor is the layer of plywood on top of the floor joists and below your "floor" (carpet or hardwood). If your subfloor is not level and stable, it will negatively impact your entire flooring system.

Luckily we had good subfloors, but there was still a lot to do in this little house. The excitement made it difficult not to tackle everything at once. What would happen first? As it turns out, I would start like everyone else building or renovating a house...manual labor.

Before demolition could begin the basics had to be stripped and/or exposed. This included a completely drenched Chad after 8 hours of pressure washing all brick and concrete; an oddly pleasant experience to the city dump where 4+ truck loads of interior doors, miscellaneous furniture and scattered trash were taken; and the removal of jail-style window screens and Cookie Monster-blue carpet. We had a blast getting rid of the grim and seeing the cleaner result!

Original state of Morton:

Screens removed, pressure washing complete:

Second bedroom looking at the den with blue carpet: