Millie: Week 10

I hope you enjoy these weekly updates as I learn to navigate through the business of flipping houses.  This flip, Millie is the most challenging and most exciting yet! You can find more about this house and about my 3 previous flip houses here. After 10 long weeks, the exterior of the house is almost done!  If we just look out here, I can pretend the whole house is almost done!  I'm throwing a lot of before pics into this post because they really show how far this house has come.

When we bought her, Millie was an overgrown gray box, remember?

Millie-exterior

Aside from a few minor touch ups, painting is done!

Millie week 10 painted house front via Year of Serendipity

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, as I uncovered the house from the weeds, I realized that the side was intended to be the curb-appealed front, so I treated it as such.  You never would have known before-

Millie-Ext-1

but this was hiding underneath.  Wow I took out a lot of trees/bushes.  Now I just need the grass to grow there! (The painters also painted my yet-to-be-installed new garage door as you can see leaning on the garage)

Millie week 10 painted house curb appeal via Year of Serendipity

I'm ridiculously happy with the new fence that my contractor installed on this side.  The old fence spanned the length of the yard,returned to the front porch stairs and was about to fall down.

millie-before-old-fence

The new fence extends only to the end of the back deck, letting the sun room and front porch become the 'front'.  And it's pretty.  And has a gate so you can actually get a lawn mower to the back yard.  What a novelty!

Millie week 10 craftsman fence via Year of Serendipity

If you haven't noticed in the front yard pics, new mulch has been spread throughout the entire yard.  66 bags to be precise, and my back is tired.  BUT the result is so worth it.  I apparently don't have any pics of this view of the back yard before we started attacking weeds, but even from this week 2 progress pic

Millie-w2-back-yard

there's a little bit of a change.  Looking a little less jungle-like in my opinion

Millie week 10 back yard transformation

And just for effect, let's look at the side yard again.  The side yard was wholly unusable due to weeds before.

Millie-Ext-13

It's almost hard to believe that the overgrown holly at the corner of the deck above is the same nicely groomed one below.  Not pulling your leg, I swear.

Millie week 10 side yard

The other side of the house, or the lanai as I like to call it

Millie-Ext-11

also got some new fencing (to replace rotten fencing) and more mulch, but nothing drastic.

millie week 10 lanai

Traveling inside, I was destructive once again.  In the kitchen, I pulled up the top layer of linoleum and it's accompanying plywood and started to remove about 5 kagillion staples.  I know it doesn't look like much since there are still 3- THREE!!- layers of vinyl tile that still need to go away to reveal my hardwoods underneath.

Millie week 10 kitchen floor

And in the anticipation of my plumber getting started next week, I smashed more- this time in the icky basement bathroom.

millie week 10 basement bathroom

But since the outside is far and away the prettier view currently, I'll leave you off with that view.

Millie week 10 curb appeal via Year of Serendipity

Still left on the exterior is fence completion on the lanai side, trim and door repair on the garage, exterior lights, growing grass (or sodding, we'll see), fixing one broken pane of glass, replacing door knobs/locks/deadbolts, repairing the front door, installing a screen door on the back door, and adding house numbers.  Seems like nothing compared to how far she's come already!!

Happy Halloween and have a great weekend!!