posted by Allyson Scott

We are nearing the end of a four-month renovation at my mother-in-law’s house, and I will be very excited to post photos of the finished product!

The longest part of this process has been removing wallpaper from nearly every room and repairing the drywall, a process which could drive the strictest teetotaler to drink. We investigated many options, and the most effective method was also the most environmentally friendly: a Wagner steamer that uses nothing but water and elbow grease. Sometimes the wallpaper came off relatively easily if the wall had been previously painted, but sometimes it wouldn’t let go without a fight.

Damaged drywall after wallpaper removal (c) Allyson Scott

Once the drywall is bare it needs to be skim coated/patched with drywall compound, and then sanded smooth before priming and painting. This step can sometimes need to be repeated three or more times, and becomes a very messy job. Another great tip we found online was to use a Vac-Pole sander that attaches to your shop vac (provided you have installed a filter specific to keeping drywall dust out of the motor) and pretty much eliminates the dust created by the sanding process. A life saver!

Drywall sander (c) Allyson Scott

The walls have been stripped, repaired and painted. The carpet has been replaced with hardwood flooring. A custom kitchen and all new appliances have been installed (just waiting on the granite counter), and three bathrooms have been renovated. The list of what’s been done goes on, as does the final list of things to do! We are hoping to list the house at the end of this month, so keep checking back for updates.

Just to keep things exciting, we also just adopted a new puppy whom we have named Sydney. Sydney has two speeds: off, and on. But mostly on…

Sydney sleeping (c) Allyson Scott

Sydney the tail-biter (c) Allyson Scott

Life is never dull at our house!