“Hi, Maggie Fromm, nice to meet you. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcasting from Oswego State University, and a second Bachelor’s Degree in Construction from Riverview Chicken Coop College.”
Well, not really. That second one is a bit of a stretch, but it certainly feels that way. Working on this house feels like the equivalent of going back to college and earning another degree. (Although a college degree would have been much cheaper!) With the kitchen near completion, we are now only months away from finishing our house. It’s starting to sink in that we soon will be adding about 600 square feet to our living space. A huge upgrade to the 500 square feet we live in now.
The closer Brandon and I get to completing downstairs and finishing the kitchen, the more reflective I’ve become. Quite possibly more sentimental. In the 4 years it’s taken Brandon and I to finish our house, I could have graduated from college with a second degree. In fact, thousands of students who started college when we bought the house, have already graduated. If you told me on September 14th, 2014, this house we just bought is going to consume our entire lives for the next 4+ years, I would have walked away. Much like going to college, DIY home renovation is not for everyone. It takes a ton of hard work, patience and more perseverance than HGTV will ever teach you.
Freshman Year
Like any college student preparing for school, Brandon and I found ourselves packing up our belongings. We were only taking what we absolutely needed; everything else went in storage. We moved out of our first adorable apartment together into this strange building with over 100 years of history. (Yes, it was originally built as a chicken coop!) My first few “assignments” in “Construction 101” class were to learn how to use an impacter, measure and cut 2x4s using a miter saw. That crash course was a huge eye opener. We lowered the second floor joists a foot in the first month.
The first “semester” in our house, we were so serious about completing the work within one year. In fact, we told everyone we were graduating early! We stayed up all hours of the night studying, working, drinking beer and eating take out. I’ll never forget the first Christmas in the house, we didn’t even live there yet. Christmas Eve we were grouting the tile on the bathroom floor while my family from out of town was here for dinner.
We didn’t actually move into the house until mid January 2015. It’s a good thing we invested in spray foam insulation because we did not have heat for almost a month after we moved in. I’ll never forget helping Brandon sweat copper fittings in the basement where it was so cold you could see our breath. I was definitely feeling homesick for our nice warm apartment.
Sophomore Year
After celebrating our first housiversary, we were just beginning to realize the impact of this massive project. By now, we had been living upstairs in what we called our “studio apartment” for about a year. I earned a 4.0 in “Gourmet Closet Cooking.” We got really creative about making the most of our small “dorm”- er, I mean bedroom. (Anyone remember the closet office?? Ha! That didn’t last long.) Oh yeah, and remember that gigantic hole we made in the first floor? No big deal, we replaced all those joists and added an even more robust center beam.
Junior Year
In the early spring of 2016 Brandon and I hit a wall. We miserably failed a class called “Fireplace Reconstruction” that set us back months. (Really I should say that class failed us.) Our fireplace wall was probably one of the most disappointing discoveries of our entire house education. During that time we learned so much. The most important lesson we learned was never assume a project will only take one weekend! Looking back, I’m glad we experienced that because it really set the expectations for when we remodeled the front porch.
During that year we became experts in masonry, windows, pocket holes, and running PEX piping. I also became an expert in complaining, anxiety, and avoiding working on the house as much as possible. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the pressure of the house was weighing on me so much, it began impacting my mental health.
Senior Year
Every time someone would ask: “How’s the house coming along?” I never really knew what to say. The inevitable follow up question was: “So, when do you think you’ll be done?” It was a harmless question, but it frustrated me internally every single time. How was I supposed to know?
Brandon could tell that the house was really beginning to take a toll on me. When I had the opportunity to volunteer in Haiti for a week with Rotary February 2017, he encouraged me to go. We pushed to get as much of the drywall up as possible downstairs before I left. When I came home, Brandon finished installing the rest of the drywall. He scheduled the taper to come a day later, and within a week we had finished walls downstairs! By the next month I decided to talk to my doctor about my anxiety and begin to work on my mental health.
At the end of summer 2017, my 30th birthday was approaching. For my party that year, invited my girlfriends over for a ’13 Going on 30′ slumber party. We already replaced the staircase, but there as still a lot left to do. In mid-September one weekend, our house was filled with one of the biggest work parties we’d ever hosted. Two guys painting the porch, my brother tiling the shower, 3-4 guys installing the LVT flooring, while me and 3 girlfriends installed fireplace brick. It was epic.
Brandon and I continued with the momentum for a brief period of time. After Christmas, we were so burnt out but so proud of what we accomplished, we decided to take a semester off this past spring.
Super Senior Year
Right now, I’m pleased to say that Brandon and I are truly almost done with the interior of the house. I can count on one hand the amount of projects that we have left to do. We have been slowly assembling and installing our kitchen cabinets. Once the last of our appliances arrives, the next and final step will be the countertop! When the kitchen is complete, we have the baseboard molding and stair treads to finish. That’s it! No big deal, right?
As we were installing the cabinet doors, we were discussing what we planned to put behind each door. It dawned on me that the other half of our house is still in containers inside the garage. I honestly don’t even remember what is inside of all of them. It just goes to show that you really don’t need a lot of things to live a fulfilled life. We’ve used the same 5 forks, 5 plates, 4 bowls, and 4 mugs for the last 4 years. It’s really remarkable what you can cook using a hot plate, toaster oven, microwave and an occasional crock pot. Also, if necessary, we learned that a linen closet can double as a food pantry.
Maybe you’re going through a rough season. Or perhaps you’re in the middle of your own 4 year wall. I want to encourage you: No matter what you are going through, no matter what the season, you will get through this. Keep going. Don’t give up. You have the strength to continue fighting for what you know deep down you’re supposed to achieve. One of my favorite quotes is by Earl Nightingale: “Never give up on a dream because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
This home renovation education has taught me so much more than I ever thought possible. I’m so thankful we have the skills and abilities to do the work. Of course I wish it was finished sooner. But who knows the lessons I might have missed along the way if it were done over night. With only a couple months left, I’m really looking forward to graduation.
Happy Thanksgiving!
