Back to NORMAL!

The renovations are DONE!

It is Monday, and I am so excited because after having various parts of the house in repairs since February, we are finally moving back in. We never really moved out completely, but we have been moving around the house, just staying out of the way.

Back in October, we had a terrible storm come through that brought us some significant sized hail. The roof needed replaced, but since we live in a dome, we had to try really hard to find a company that could safely take the job. By the time we agreed to one, it was wet and cold season here in Texas, so we had to wait until things dried up- which would be spring, around March. 

In February, we had a sewage leak in the basement! It was AWFUL! But we had crews come in and take out all of our stuff, throw out the damaged items, box up the undamaged items, and then store those in our garage. Then the cleanup of the walls, where they found mold- probably from a previous leak that the previous owners didn’t disclose. So, more negotiations, and a new company came in to demo when the first crew just up and left. After demo, then clean up all the way down to the studs.

Oh, and in the meantime, COVID-19 happened and our area went into Stay at Home orders around March 15, basically right after Spring Break for the kids. Good times! I’m sure you all can relate to the major disruptions that happened there!

So, roofers up on the roof. Demo crew in the basement. I had to move outside to do most of my work, because I have to be able to talk to people in a confidential manner, and there was just noise everywhere!

We then had to get yet another crew come in to install drywall back in the basement. And we knew that with the roof having been damaged by the storms, we had water damage on the interior of the dome, and then the dome would have to be painted. Painting upstairs, painting downstairs, yikes.

So, basement was getting close to being completed- well, crew-less might be a better descriptor, and we had a painter move into the upstairs area to start taping and bedding the joints of all of the triangles that make up the dome, because after nearly 40 years since this house was built those needed repaired. That took about a week with one crew-member, and afterward the walls needed textured then painted. That took 2 more people- once they finished painting the basement they came upstairs to help out.

So now, all of the basement is empty, all of the main floor living area is empty, and we had to clear all of the stuff out of the master bedroom, office and bathroom and out to the garage. There was brown paper taped all over my wood floors in the main living area. Plastic taped down on the carpeted stairs. Plastic around our wall mounted TV, and no area that was untouched by the painters. And they painted nearly everything in a few days. It was a huge undertaking, and this crew was so professional and thoughtful about what they were doing. In fact, on their last day they even rescued our kiddos from a rattler snake that decided to come too close to the house! I didn’t even hear it, but I heard the wailing from my daughter, who was very shaken up, understandably. But, we live in Texas, so that is a part of living here. Perhaps I’ll do a post about snake protocol next, who knows.

While everything was moved out and the walls were painted, we hired the guys to sand then refinish the wood floors, and they did that in 2 days, but we couldn’t walk on them for a while while they dried. I am so happy with how they have turned out. The entire house looks amazing.

5 months later from the start of all the work, we are finally done! Done, done, done with workers in our house! Our friends came over to help us move the large furniture back in, and now I have the opportunity to purge what now I know doesn’t matter, and more importantly I get to reorganize! 

A new playroom for the kids- updated for their needs. New studio furniture for me, which means paring down supplies too. And the guest room will be updated! I can’t wait to share the finished images with furniture! In the meantime, I’ll leave a few pics here while we clean up all the fine layers of dust that was left behind. Click on the thumbnail to see the full image!

We still have a long way to go in getting this house back to fully functioning, but I a so happy with the progress. And to be honest, we would not be doing all these things if the disaster didn’t happen. We would still be living with 1980’s colors, living with the floors with scratches and peeling varnish.
It felt like the end of the world when everything happened with the flood and with the roof damage, and then with the COVID pandemic shutting everything down further. It has been a time to reflect and to emotionally stretch and I have loved being able to be here, rather than at the office, during the entire ordeal. It makes a difference to feel like you have some type of control!

I hope you enjoyed a mini-peek into the dome! I’ll post an update when we get furniture in the basement- especially the Art studio!