Reporting live from the north hills
I found the public library! And it has wifi! I am a happy woman.
So I’m still not entirely sure how, but we did it. We’re officially here. We moved all our worldly possessions into the 22-foot rental truck, drove 300 miles west, and unloaded them all into a (rather sketchy) 10x20 storage unit in the sticks here in Pittsburgh. By ourselves, with no help, because I think we thought our marriage needed a challenge or something. This morning I have dockworker hands and my arms feel like stretched spaghetti, but we’re all very happy. Now the hard part’s done. Well, part of the hard part.
We found a house we like (intellectually, anyway), an American Foursquare (I looked it up) in a picturesque small town about half an hour from my in-laws. It was an estate sale, where the previous occupants had been a little on the Methuselan side of things. The latest updates look to be a kitchen and bath circa 1956. The backyard is sea of peat moss. The paint is peeling and the gray aluminum siding is coated in grime. The carpets are: dark green. Did you catch that? Dark green carpet AGAIN. Guess what’s getting hauled out the minute we get possession. The house has three wee bedrooms and only one bath, and a kitchen just big enough for me to turn around in but not to cook. There’s an oven the size of my head in the wall and a fold-down counter top. The faucet is growing some sort of hard-water stalactite and the wallpaper, if I remember correctly, is patterned with chickens.
But no matter! I heard that real estate is all about this thing called location, or so they say. So we made sure to find the very best part of town, where the rest of the houses easily sell for a third-million or more (that’s Big Ticket out here, in case you’re from Baltimore ), and looked for something in our laughably tiny price range. And this is it. So with a little guidance from my father-in-law, we’re going build an addition next summer. OK, Iain’s going to build it while I take pictures. An addition will give us a master bedroom, an eat-in kitchen, a second bath and a first-floor laundry. It pays to be related to people who do this kind of thing for a living and know what they’re talking about. And if you get rid of labor costs, and build your own cabinets, then you really just need to cough up the money for 2x4s and drywall and shingles and whatnot. So it should be a pain in the ass but not too expensive.
Ha. Typing this out is funny. If I were reading this on somebody else’s blog I think I would probably laugh at their big dreams, which will surely be dashed in about July 2009. But not ours! We’re really going to do this. But before we do build next summer, we’re just going to make the place livable for the meantime. When we close (at the end of August), I’m going to pick up a few gallons of neutral paint, some white enamel, and a floor sander, and then I’m going to tear out those awful carpets and stomp on them.
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13 Responses to “Reporting live from the north hills”
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Good luck with the redecorating, MB! I can’t wait to see pictures documenting your progress.
That sounds beautiful.
Do you have a scrapbook where you cut out pictures of what you want the house to be?
To clean the faucet deposit, or rust deposits in the bowl,
Dissolve Vitamin C tablets in water in a bucket.
Sink: Hang the bucket over the faucet. Place something under it so it does not strain the pipe and covers the whole spigot. Let it soak overnight or until it loosens up.
Bowl: Let the Vitamin C solution soak until the rust spots go away.
Your houses always turn out beautiful. Why should this one be any different?
Sounds like it is time for a pizza party dinner there and for everyone to sleep in until noon!
Take Care
Nicky
Holy Sisyphus, sista! After this you’ll be able to open up a remodeling consultancy business. Congratulations on the house purchase. I think you have made a very wise choice. “American Foursquare” looks classic and adorable. All best on moving in!
My boyfriend’s parents live in the North Hills. They still have green shag carpeting. I think green carpeting is a Pittsburgh thing.
congrats! of course i kept thinking will she get there? will she blog? what will happen!!! glad you got to update us and glad you found an itty-bitty house that you can put an addition on! it will be a fun adventure.
You guys are going to rock that town. And that house. No doubt.
if a beer truck (er, subaru) leaves columbus at 5:55 pm…
the boss of me’s vacation is coming early—and out of sync with mine—this year so i’ll have a few days to burn in september.
want a hand?
Bok! I’d like to see a pic of the wqllpaper before it is done away with! Bok!
Hey, I’m back from the land of mosquitos and people who say Eh (A) at the end of every sentence. Glad you found the library … So if you want DSL connection stop on by. Iain knows the way. Glad you found a house, sounds like a real fixer upper. I’ll trade you work on yours for work on mine… I’m not skilled but I take direction well. Welcome to ‘da burgh’!
Natalie
The house sounds so exciting… all your prospects! And based on what I’ve seen you guys do to your previous house, I’m sure it’s going to be awesome.
Good luck!
We at your old library will miss you. Sorry we didn’t meet until it was time for the move!
Hey MB, it’s your old redhead friend Matt (aka the “chafe”). Enjoy getting settled in. I just moved from DC to Arlington a month ago, and I cannot tell you how nice it is once you’re all settled in and make a place your Home.
Gah! Good luck. I’ve been thinking about you guys.