This old house. Is kicking my A$$

Hi guys and gals. As some of ya already know. We purchased a home and some property late last year. With great plans to rehab the house and get the outbuilding set up as the new HHH Knives shop. and to do so by April. Well. APRIL FOOLS!!

This old house although beatiful and just too awesome. Has handed me challenge after challenge. and the timeline has been pushed out again and again. Its JUNE for goodness sake. and I am still working on the house., and have hardly started the shop. The more I work on the place the more Im falling in love with it, and see how wonderfull of a blessing for our family and the buisness. YET its taken alot of time away from my custom orders and its torn through my savings and all the money set aside fro the rehab.

Theres a ray of hope!!! (always is if ya look for it)
I finaly found a contractor who is both talented. honest, able to work on the place. This should allow me to focus more on orders and much needed shop time can be spent. There are only a few items left on the house. (things I just cant or dont feel comfortable doing myself mainly) And some electrical wiring and lighting etc. to do in the shop. Then we can start the MOVE!! and get the new shop set up! Im hoping withing the next 30 days. The house and shop will be ready to move in. But Im not holding my breath at that point. When its ready. I will shut down everything for a week or two, to make the move..

The reason for the note is to let everyone know whats up with me. and to say, If you oprdered a knife or knives from me and its getting close to the time frame of when I should of started or even finished it. Please bare with me. as I move forward . My main goal is to make sure I dont push out orders for the sake of getting them done. Meaning my heart or all of my attention and abilitys are used to majke your knives. So I wont rush through any of these orders. Just to get them off the book.. I will put 100% into each and every one.

Thanks for your patience. understanding,. and as always your support!

Blessings
Randy

 

Randy, Keep the faith! (Shouldn't be hard in your case.) Such things inevitably involve seriously underestimating the time and money needed to get a house in order. But clearly it will be worth it; fortunately, you already seem to love the place. Be confident that everyone understands and will be patient. Best, Larry

 

Sounds like a long battle, but one that will be well worth it. Good luck with the rest of it, Randy.

 

I am bogged down by an addition we put on the house. I understand. Any pics?

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Were back to the GRIND I hope everyone had a great Father's Day!

I think I posted some photos of the house here on the forum. I will go look and if not. Ill try to upload a few pictures here.

 

Huess I shared them on another forum. Sry fellas.

Here are some pictures of the place. Its sitting on 2.5 acres. It outside of the city and the home itself was originally built in 1894 According to the cornerstone in the foundation.

Lets see. There are 2 sunroom. a large lower on the back of the house. and on top of it is a smaller sunroom. thats just to cool! Theres a office /sunroom off the side of the house where the entry door is. This will be my office.

The Outbuilding is a 4 car detached garage. Which will double as the new HHH Knives shop!

Fruit trees. Apple, pear, plum, and cherry. And a couple of Grape vines. make the place even more amazing!

So here are some images of the home..

God Bless
Randy

 

These were taken last fall when we were waiting to close on the house. Ill do some B4 and after shots of the insides. when I get a chance. The outside. is pretty much the same. aside from a new roof on the house., and some trees removed. and or trimmed. etc. But the inside. NOTHING and I mean nothing stayed the same. In a few rooms all I had to do was paint. But the majority of the house. was alot of rehab. from the floors to the kitchen to the bathroom total tear outs and remods.. 100% new paint throughout. And the list goes on and on! lol.

Thanks for looking.
Randy

 

Looks like you could be right down the road from me. Nice house

 

Nice!! What part of the world are you from? Im in Michigan, N of Detroit!

 

Thanks for keeping us posted. No doubt you'll do the right thing with the improvements and your customers. The new house looks like a real home. Keep it up!

 

Mike. I just checked and your order is coming soon. Im excited to start. Ill shoot you a email when I am getting ready to move forward.. Gota finalize a few details of the order. I appreciate your understanding and patience!

 

Randy
I'm from North Western Illinois. Right on the Mississippi River. just noting the plant life and rural nature seemed like my area.

 

Well. After a long fight. Im finally starting to feel like I am winning!

The wood floors throughout the entire downstairs of the home are now finished. approx 1400 square feet of flooring. / And the finishing trim and transition pieces are installed. All the doors downstairs have been cut down to accommodate the flooring and reinstalled. And the downstairs bath is also finally done. This was a HUGE challenge for such a small bathroom.
And The most important room. The kitchen. The gas line for the stove is plumbed. The commercial style range vent is installed, and Dang it. the Wainscot and new ceiling fan and light fixtures are installed. The stove is hooked up and in its final position. the stainless backsplash is installed... And theres a bunch more stuff completed. Im tired again just thinking about how much work has gotten done in the past couple weeks!


Ill try and get some photos of the progress tomorrow! Im just so happy to be hitting the final steps on the house So I can get the shop set up and wired..

Here is a B4 and after shot of the downstairs bathroom.



and a quick picture as you walk in the door looking through the dining room into the living room at the fireplace.

 

Looks good! Those old houses are not for the feint of heart!

 

That is an amazing tub you have

 

John, I wish you would of told me that sooner! lol Na I tell ya what. Its been a challenge to say the least. Yet when its done its going to be So worth all the grief, struggles. and hundreds of trips to the local hardware store!

 

Jeffery. Thanks man. Its the same or original tub that was in the house hiding under all that UGLY in the first photo of the bathroom! I stripped it and refinished it. and reinstalled with new fixtures and plumbing.. Was a great surprise to find when doing the demo!

 

Nice job on the tub!

 

Well that is a great find under the old bathroom and killer job on the resto... love the chrome(?) feet

 

Thanks. Yep was the best find EVER. The feet were covered in at least 3 layers of paint and more crud and even some rust... I took them down to bare metal by sand blasting them. They looked just like the day they were cast. Nice details and a very cool look. If I could of talked my wife into it. I would of clear coated them after sandblasting they had a cool, almost bronze looking color and I thought they looked Awesome. But I lost that battle. So I finished the feet with a rattle can rustoleum Chrome paint. Which matched the rest of the chrome fixtures and I guess she was right after all on this one. lol

The rest of the tub was alot of elbow grease and time to refinish. It had at least 3 coats of paint on both the in and outside. and to my surprise. after getting past the paint. The porcelain layer was almost flawless.. As was the rest of the tub. Only a small amount of rust starting near the drain. After prepping the tub, I applied 2 coats of a space age 2 part finish to the inside.. Then applied a antique white to the outside. and Blam. This old tub came back to life!

This whole process was a learning experience.