Weekend of Aug 29 - Part II Pictures of the Inside

We do not expect to make any visits back to Zelda over the next four (4) weeks.  This weekend was mainly spent on finishing items on the outside and a few minor interior items.  Lynn did a good deal of inside cleaning.  The renovations to the inside of Zelda are complete.  Below are some photos of the interior with comments.

The hall tree in the entrance foyer looking from the side of the bottom of the stairs towards the front door.

Looking up the stairs.

Looking down the entrance foyer towards the front door from inside the downstairs bathroom.

In the entrance foyer between the dining room (on left) and living room (on right) with front door to the rear.

The stair case with coat closet in base.  Looking from the entrance of the living room.

Entering the keeping room from the base of the staircase.  Kitchen is on the right and dining room is on the left.  This is the bay area of keeping room, which is a potential location for a Christmas tree.

View of kitchen after entering keeping room from base of stairs.

Looking at the kitchen from the bar area in the keeping room.

The lights in the hood were finally installed and illuminate the pot filler and stove nicely.

View of keeping room from kitchen sink area (on right).  Cookie is in the middle of the keeping room floor relaxing.

Looking at the bar area with view of stairs behind.  The double doors to the right lead to the downstairs laundry room and to the back deck.  The open door to the left is a walk-in pantry.

Another view of keeping room from end of island.  Entrance to dining room is on either side of fireplace.  The bay area of keeping room is to the right after exiting the kitchen.

The keeping room mantel is original to the house and was relocated from upstairs.  We added alot of decoritive trim to dress it up.

Standing in the bay area of the keeping room looking towards the foyer through the arch with the office or bedroom (Murphy Room) in the background.  The kitchen is to the left and dining room to the right.

View of the kitchen from the bay area of keeping room.

Looking into the dining room from the keeping room with a few of the front door.

Looking into the foyer from the dining room.    The entrance to the living room is to the right and the doorway to the left is the down stairs office/bedroom (Murphy Room).

The fireplace in the dining room.  The mantel is a period piece and was obtained from a home in east Tennessee.  The bay area of keeping room is visible through opening on left of fireplace.

Top of staircase looking at upstairs hallway.  Bathroom at end of hall and master bedroom entrance on left and another bedroom on the right.

The pedestal sink in the upstairs bathroom

Bedroom/Sitting Room/Nursery with fireplace.  The doorway opening on the right is a passage into the master bedroom with the master bathroom visible through another door.

The tile hearth is level with the floor.

This was the last fireplace (forth in all) to be refurbished.  It is located upstairs in the bedroom/sitting room/nursery which is the first door to the right at the top of the stairs.  Original mantel from the house.

The corner jetted tub in the master bathroom.  The walk-in shower is to the left and the doorway is to the walk-in closet with a laundry connection.

Looking from the walk-in closet towards the walk-in shower.  The door to the left leads to the master bedroom and to the left of the door are the two (2) lavatories.

The walk-in shower has a regular shower head and a rain shower head.  There are also two (2) lights in the shower ceiling.

The two (2) lavatories in the master bathroom.

The water closet in the master bathroom.

Weekend of Aug 29 - Part I Outside Pics of Zelda

We spent the weekend at Zelda putting some final touches on the house.  There will be two (2) postings this week with one (1) concentrating on the outside and the other on the inside.  We did perform some painting on the outside, installed the remaining shutters, cleared the remaining bushes in front of the house and some in the old well and place about ten (10) bales of pine straw around the perimeter.

Brent also installed an outside casing (frame) around the glass block window in the master bathroom.  The window is over the jetted corner tub.  We did not take a picture of the outside window framing.  Other items not shown include installing the threshold on the back exterior door.

Now that the dormers have been painted, the walk boards will be taken down.

The new updated picture for the blog header.

A side view from the driveway of the back deck.

The door on the right off the back deck leads into the laundry room then into the kitchen.  The double doors on the left lead into the downstairs bedroom (The Murphy Room).

Weekend Off From Zelda

This was an "off" work weekend from Zelda. After the working at Zelda and moving the girls into the dorm last weekend, we could not muster enough energy to make the seven (7) hour drive to Kings Mountain.

We will have a three (3) day weekend next week, at which time we will expect to finish interior touch-up painting, install the one (1) remaining threshold and continue with putting on the exterior finish paint. We also will put in some flower beds.

Wow. It was nice to have a weekend off. Jessica has lent us her camera so next weekend we will have new pics posted of Zelda.

Zelda is "Spic & Span" on the Inside

Well, we got two (2) more days of work out of the girls on Zelda.  They arrived back in Maryland on Wednesday and we headed down to Kings Mountain on Thursday evening.  Brent had some late meetings at work, so we did not arrive until 3:00 am.

We finished the fireplace work upstairs, the few pieces of marble flooring in the downstairs closet and all the shoe molding is down.  The front of the house has it's final coat of paint and the shutters have been installed.  All the knobs are now on the kitchen cabinets and the threshold was installed on the front door.  We spent the majority of the day on Saturday, cleaning out all the items from Zelda, which included a trip to the dump.  The house looks brand new on the inside. 

We left Zelda on Saturday around 6:30 pm and handed the keys to the real estate agent.  We made it back to Gatlinburg late Saturday night safe and sound.  Then on Sunday, we headed to Knoxville, to the University of Tennessee and moved Jennifer and Jessica into the dorm.  It was only our family and about five hundred other families trying to move through one set of doors.

After leaving them in the dorm on Sunday, we headed back to house to prepare for the trip back to Maryland on Monday.  We stopped back by UT on Monday to bring some forgotten items and purchase books for the semester.  We finally made it back to Edgewater around 11:00 pm on Monday night.

No pictures this post, because our camera is broken.

On the Market - August 15th

We got to Zelda late on Friday night and began work on Saturday morning.  Brent formed and poured the base for the fourth and last fireplace.  His goal was to complete the tiling for the hearth and surround this weekend so Lynn could grout next weekend.  While waiting on the quikcrete to dry, things changed somewhat in the order of our punch list.

The weather was nice, so outdoor activities took top priority.  We both worked on painted the bricks and pipes of the pergola structure on the side of the house.  The paint sprayer was broken out and white paint applied to anything in it's way.  After Brent sprayed the brick wall, columns and overhead pipe, Lynn power washed the flooring and painted it a gray color.

Lynn also painted the front steps that had been poured last week.  We now only need to repair the steps near the sidewalk which had a few missing tiles.  Lynn also used a mixture to seal the crack in the middle of the walk.

This prompted us to get out the ladders and put the finish coat on the front of the house.  There were a few areas that required a little caulk and some primer but we finished the front of the house.  Our backs can really feel the effects of moving and climbing on the ladders.  Our two (2) stall carport contractor also arrived late on Saturday and installed the carport next to the shed (Chip's house).  It really looks good and Brent was impressed with the quality of the materials.

Sunday brought a refocus on the upstairs fireplace.  Brent removed the form and then spent more time than planned on leveling the hearth base.  After a trip to Lowe's for mortar mix, paint and few other items, Brent laid the hearth and the top surround on the fireplace.  The surround will be finished next weekend and Lynn will grout and finish the fireplace.

Four (4) of the shutters were painted and installed on the front of Zelda.  Then after cutting down a large branch on the walnut tree next to the house, we decided to install the awning over the front door.  After trying to understand the instructions, the one (1) hour installation time turned into a two (2) hour project.  We did not leave until after 5:00 pm and arrived back in Maryland after 1:00 am.

We also signed papers with a real estate agent to sell Zelda.  Our listing agent is Margaret Pearson of Caldwell Bankers, Mountain View Real Estate of Kings Mountain .  The house will not be listed on the MLS till August 15th, but a for sale sign is now in the front yard.

The top front step after painting.

The front steps painted.

The base of the fireplace formed and poured.

Removal of the form and the start of leveling the hearth.

The hearth and the top of the surrond are tiled.

The new two (2) stall carport.

The pergola after washing.

Ready to begin painting.

The front of the pergola facing the street.

Brent using the paint sprayer.

A new coat of paint.

Lynn is preparing the slab for paint.

After the paint.

The finished product.  Now all it needs is a grill, table and chairs and a swing.

The pergola back on August 1, 2010.  A diamond in the rough?

The area has change quite a bit thanks to Jessica's work on August 1, 2010.

The new awning and shutters. 

The outside of the front is nearing completion.