Making a House a Home: The Mess

May 21, 2018
6 min read

I just finished planting my first solo garden. I have no idea if it will survive, but as one kind neighbour mentioned to me, "if it grows it grows. If it doesn't, I did my best." Well, we will find out (insert a goofy face here!). I know my mother taught me well and between that, Google and prayer, we should have some fun veggies sprouting in the next few days and weeks. I'll keep you posted!

Cutting into the backyard to start something from scratch - and getting sunburnt while pulling all of the weeds and grass out of my way - is something I find myself reflectively celebrating. Since moving to the USA, I have had to learn many new things... like rolling up my sleeves to work at making a mess. Literally.

Now, if you don't know, I hate mess. I like organization and dust free surfaces. Working and living in a renovation is clearly out of my 'comfort zone'. As famously coined by Chip and Joanna Gaines (Fixer Upper on HGTV), demo day is certainly not pretty - no matter what Chip might say. Our demo days are currently still on going and probably will for the next few months as we prepare to renovate the outside of our house. But, as you read last week, every inch of a mess we made was certainly needed in this house.

Soon after we took possession, 'demo day' started. First the floors. After ripping out the tiles, we realized that the floor was not level. We tried self-leveling cement, but the cement did not stick to the surface below so we ripped it out and had help from a foundation crew. They drilled holes in our floor and leveled it by pumping foam into the soil below the foundation. We also saw that the house was set up on cinder blocks and not the foundation (super weird and we still don't know why). So, Addison mixed up cement and we poured it in to fill a 6-inch gap all along the kitchen, dinning, and living room areas.

While the foundation was being worked on, Addison, carpenter extraordinaire, was quickly learning how to remove metal from the all-metal house. We both knew we needed more 'earthiness' in the place, so wherever we could, the metal was coming out and wood was going in. (Apologies to all of you who are Lustron fans and restorers). The metal vanity and closets in the master and guest room came out quickly, although not without their secrets. We found newspaper clippings from 40 years ago, pictures from former occupants, Christmas decor, underwear and an abandoned mouse nest. Hallelujah we tore it out!

I remember thinking while we worked many a late night and Addison wrestled the metal body parts out of the house, how glad I was that it was dark and I couldn't see all the piles of contorted metal and trash around the house. Once the closets and mirrors were out, we also removed the original bookcase from the living room (that shared a wall with the master vanity). Next was the bathroom.

Oh, guys, it was gross. I've used holes in the ground around the world, but I couldn't keep myself from imagining a giant, man eating spider crawling out of the toilet while using it. As first world traumatic problems go, this cold, uninviting bathroom was a good size. Keep it all in positive perspective, right? Can I just praise the Lord right now and thank Him for giving me the husband He did?! That bathroom has gone through tremendous transformations (Addison tore down the metal walls and rebuild wood walls that would be covered in homemade shiplap. New sink cabinet, new toilet, new tub with tile), but at the time in the spider infested imaginings I had, I struggled hard with the mess. I couldn't see the future transformation, so I had to speak it.

"This is going to look amazing when it's done." "Wow, babe, you've done such a great job." "Look at the progress we're making." Little bit by little bit, walls were cut into and bathroom amenities were gutted, and spiders were killed! The bathroom too had little head scratching reveals like roughly around 300 rusting razor blades left in between the walls. We've heard similar stories from other Lustron owners and if you have a theory, let me know!

Other messes that needed to happen were scrubbing out the windows. Lustron windows were built right into the frame of the house so the windows were custom. Between the storm pane and the exterior pane, moss and who knows what else was growing. Rust stains and non-intrusive cracks added unwanted character. Each room in the house (minus the bathroom, which had a small tinted window) had one large window and one smaller window. So let's just say, I know each window... very well. For the time being, the windows will stay original to the house.

We carpeted the guest room and master, adding a far less austere feel to the rooms. We also chose early on that we would hard wood the floors throughout the rest of the house. The tiny mudroom/laundry room and the bathroom would be graced with tile. We bought an ash oak hardwood for the floor and because we were laying the boards down directly on the foundation, we needed to glue them down versus nailing them into place. For months, Addison painstakingly and faithfully laid two or three rows a night to let the glue dry. Just as we finished it, tragedy.

After being away for New Years, we returned to find that 4 pipes had burst and were baptizing our little house in sludgy, rusty water. The moment I got the call, God was overwhelming my mind with peace - a miracle on its own. Addison came to check on the house the morning we got back and it is believed the pipes burst that morning. It was not cold enough for the water that had spread itself throughout the house to freeze. The majority of our possessions that were stored in the guest room escaped unscathed as the carpet had soaked up most of the water. The toilet had not been installed yet, so there was a large hole to the septic tank that allowed some water to escape.

Sadly, the carpets had to be ripped up and eventually reinstalled and our hardwood began to peel up as the water dissolved all the glue holding the planks down. "Well," Addison surmised, "I guess we are real home owners now." Yes, if that's what it took, then yes we were. We chose to use snap board (hardwood-esque flooring) for easy of installation which worked marvelously. The mess has happened and is of course, still happening as we move along in our process. A lot of wood has been added to our little space, making it more of our own.

It's crazy to write about the mess. It was months of labor and struggle, and here we are today - living in a house that is becoming ever more a home. The mess is needed, nay, required to make this transition from something we bought to something we own. Looking back, there have been many blessings we need to celebrate as we continue on in this adventure: We were blessed to have siblings help us sand and paint the metal walls in the master and guest rooms. We were blessed to have family help rip out the flooring and help us combat the mold that was growing as a result of the flood. We were also blessed with free kitchen cabinets that we repainted. We were blessed to stay at Addison's parents house during the major renovations. And we are continually blessed as God shows His faithfulness within the mess.

As the mess is taking on a beautiful look (stay tuned!), I want to encourage your heart and mind - no matter if you face a real physical mess or a spiritual one or a soul one, God know how to bring you through it. He is faithful. Trust in His leadership and in His Word. It's hard to truly express how much prayer helped Addison and I through this mess. The best way I can describe it is that while we may see all the flaws, the issues and we feel dirty and are pouring sweat, when we take a step or two back and gain a new perspective, we can see the beauty, the progress, the changes through the fog that mess can create. So take a deep breath. You got this! - AKS xox