This year I embarked on an adventure that didn’t involve leaving the city (whaaaaat?!)
I bought a house… or I should say, I bought some walls and floor with a door and not much else. When I viewed it I knew it was a fixer-upper, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the scale of the project.
I made it my mission to do and learn as much about the DIY as possible. I’ve always admired my parent’s ability to fix / build most things in our home growing up and its important to me to learnt those skills for myself. It’s been amazing to work with and learn from them and I know I will cherish living there even more knowing how it all came together. (I do also feel a little guilty, because I essentially committed them to a project without really understanding quite how insane it was going to be.)
While this blog is never going to be an extensive DIY how-to guide, I want to document my adventure into the world of home renovation and share some of the highs and lows I faced along the way.
Maybe I’ll even inspire someone else to give home renovation a try?!
Step one: Make it look worse before it can look better…
On this week’s update of The Howiesons Lose Their Sanity… Electrics have begun, more walls have been smashed (yes, it’s possible!)…
So. Much. Plasterboard. But at long last, things are being added instead of taken away! The walls are slowly reappearing (after dear Uncle Ken decided…
Major progress as the flat has evolved from resembling a construction site to a renovation project.. and somewhere that humans may actually want to…
The painting has begun, and if I never see a tub of white paint again after this project it will be too soon. Coating everything once before a much…
Not much visible progress this week, since no matter how many hours I spend painting layers of white… it. still. looks. the. same. Added an…
After trying (almost) every trade in the industry, I think I have found my true calling as an electrician. There are wires EVERYWHERE and I may start…
A week of more pipes, more cables and more Ikea units. Had some help from the little bro who smashed out the walls for the sockets that my wee arms…
Amazing week of progress on the Howieson construction site. Mostly thanks to my incredible parents who spent their Friday installing beautiful…
It’s been a week of highs and lows, literally and figuratively. Highs; Climbing ladders to fit the extractor fan (Keith- not me!), installing…
This week, elements of my final design started appearing (which is great because my brain doesn’t do that artsy visualisation thing, so I can…
I can relate to new parents who can’t remember what they did with their time before having a baby… because I have 0 recollection of what…
A short week for ‘Project Never Ending’ due to the Howieson’s weekend retreat (or escape, depending on how you look at it!)…
I took a week off work and I’m going back with bruises instead of a tan. But 7 loooong days means major progress (at the possible expense of my…
Well… 2 weeks of updates in 1 and it’s hard to remember everything that’s happened! – I HAVE HOT WATER (Thanks Keith ) –…
I don’t know about you, but we’re in Week Twenty-Two. We started with a giant leap backwards by lifting the floor to try and fix the…
Just when I thought I was near the finish line, home ownership threw me my biggest challenge. I came home to a blocked communal pipe, flooding in the…
The light at the end of the very long and unpredictable home-renovation tunnel is shining pretty bright! It’s been a week of finishing touches…
Well…THIS IS IT! My final update! I’ve learned to plumb, tile, saw, lay floors, build kitchens, drill walls, fit bathrooms, wire a home…
