House #1 - Day 12

I wasn't able to get to the house until about 4:15pm. Fortunately for me, the second coat in the office/nursery and utility rooms went on quick. I managed to do both in about an hour. Afterward, I started cleaning and organizing the place. I also put the wall plates, light fixtures, and A/C vents back on in the remaining rooms. Now, my to-do list looks like this:

1. Clean & paint exterior.
2. Install the microwave/vent hood.
3. Steam/shampoo the carpet.
4. Clean the bathrooms (again).
5. Clean the vinyl flooring in the breakfast, kitchen, utility, and bathrooms.
6. Plant shrubs and mulch the front.
7. Mow/clean the yard.
8. Clean soot from fireplace. (new)

My wife also told me she found a coupon from a mailer regarding carpet cleaning. The coupon says they'll pretreat and steam clean your whole house for $129. The only stipulation is the house must be less than 2,000sf, which this one is (barely). I'll try to give them a call today and see if they can come out Friday or Saturday. If not, I'll either try for next Monday, or just do it myself. But $129 for the whole house is a steal, especially considering the last quote I got was for almost $300.

Looking back on the painting, it took us a total of seven days to complete (counting taping the first day). However, we didn't even go one day, and I only went for 2-3 hours on several days. I think all-in-all, we spent a total of about 50 hours on painting the house - including the ceilings. This gives me a good guage if I decide to paint another house.

It didn't rain like they predicted, but I still didn't do anything outside anyway. Today, I plan to stop by Home Depot to match some exterior paint and get about a quart of it for touch-ups. Since it's supposed to be overcast and a chance of showers, I'll concentrate on doing the indoor tasks, including trying to get the MW/vent installed - that should be an interesting experience. Friday and Saturday I'll leave open for outdoor work. And if I can get the steam cleaning people in Friday or Saturday, I'll be done before Mother's Day and list the property on Monday.