JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: Scott on January 27, 2005, 12:02 AM
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So...you may have seen my basement before...(CLICK FOR LARGER PICS)
(http://www.jedidefender.com/spearson/jan26/all72804sm.jpg) (http://www.jedidefender.com/image.pl?/spearson/jan26/all72804.jpg)(http://www.jedidefender.com/spearson/jan26/all272804sm.jpg) (http://www.jedidefender.com/image.pl?/spearson/jan26/all272804.jpg)
Tiled aqua blue floor, wallpaper from the 70's and bookcases full of Action Figures
The space was never used, cold in the winter, too humid in the summer, tacky etc
So, we started by stripping wallpaper. That took around 6 weeks off and on which we started in September and Ended in the middle of October
Next was the mudding, patching and sanding. The sheetrock was in pretty tough shape after the wallpaper removal. Took quite a while to do this actually since every little single piece of wallpaper needed to be taken off. 2-3 weeks I'd say for this step from mid October until early November
Painting was next and me and Jenni were able to crack that out in a weekend. Painting is a piece of cake especially having painted most of the rooms in our old townhome and now again in the house.
So then the fun part, carpeting
http://www.legatocarpet.com/
My wife saw this on Trading Spaces one night last summer and determined this was what we would do in the basement. The previous homeowner had a few problems with water in the basement (2 were their fault for not plugging in the sump pump the other they took care of by landscaping outside). With that in mind we wanted some type of easy fix if there ever was an area of water damage again
So one weekend with the help of my father in law we installed these squares. And then over the course of a few weeks I finished the edges of the room and we were done.
The carpet actually turned out really swell. You can see the edges of the squares in a few spots still but they should eventually rub out with foot traffic
The last step for major construction work is the bottom trim boards which I just have been putting off until the summer for some reason. Its sort of putsy work that hasn't gotten me motivated for some reason
The two other additions we did were a new sectional couch that we customized size wise for the corner it is sitting
The other was an electric fireplace. There was no physical way I could get a gas fireplace in the room due to city code requirements for the vent stack. So we went with plan B. It actually is just a decorative space heater. It takes the chill out of the space and doesn't look too bad
So here it is (AGAIN CLICK FOR LARGER PICS):
(http://www.jedidefender.com/spearson/jan26/basement1sm.jpg) (http://www.jedidefender.com/image.pl?/spearson/jan26/basement1.jpg)(http://www.jedidefender.com/spearson/jan26/basement2sm.jpg) (http://www.jedidefender.com/image.pl?/spearson/jan26/basement2.jpg)
(http://www.jedidefender.com/spearson/jan26/basement3sm.jpg) (http://www.jedidefender.com/image.pl?/spearson/jan26/basement3.jpg)
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I miss the wood paneling. Horrible move getting rid of that...
I miss all the toys too.
And why is it pink? Is that in honor of me?
Yeah, I liked it better the way it was. >:(
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"Wood Paneling" (aka Wainscoting) is still there
It is a little Pinky but it isn't either...more of a Mauve
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Ditto. I am sooo sorry, Scott. :'(
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Oh...and my toys
(http://www.jedidefender.com/spearson/jan26/casessm.jpg) (http://www.jedidefender.com/image.pl?/spearson/jan26/cases.jpg)(http://www.jedidefender.com/spearson/jan26/legendsandlotrsm.jpg) (http://www.jedidefender.com/image.pl?/spearson/jan26/legendsandlotr.jpg)
Right behind the staircase is an alcove with built in shelving that was there. I'm in the process of setting up my stuff there. No more Simpsons though, since they won't fit
Slow process and I just haven't had time to get it done yet :-\
My Vintage figures and Kubricks moved upstairs to the Den and are all hanging on the wall
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Nice update. :)
Needs a wine rack, humidor, billiards table, and jukebox with smooth jazz, though. And mood lighting! Always goes good with that color of wall. That's just the player in me. ;) ::)
Are leather couches in the future? I doubt it, with kids and all.
Still, it looks better now!
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Looks very nice Scott. I'm sure the kids will claim it as their domain shortly (if they haven't already) and with the carpet they can really wrestle with each other now!!
What are you going to do with your Simpson stuff?? Are they being delegated to the land of storage containers??
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Looks good, Scott.
I'm almost finished with remodeling our basement. The only things left are three window sills and the stair wall cap, which should be finished this weekend. After that, it's all about setting up the collection, stocking the mini fridge and putting out the liquor bottles. Of course, with a new home theater system that may take more time than necessary ;)
Jen and I were actually looking at those carpet tiles too. Home Depot has them and they're not cheap. We figured it would have cost us over $800 for just the tiles and that doesn't include a carpet pad or installation. We decided it was best to "sub" out the carpet (everything else was done by us). For $300 more, we got a nice Berber installed complete. Took three guys about three hours to do it a couple of Saturdays ago. Well worth the money.
I'll post pics (before and after) later.
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I think it worked out to around $3 a square foot installed. There is a pad already on square, too. We ordered about 4 more boxes than what we needed and had to eat some on a restock.
I think it was near the upper end of the selection price wise but we also didn't pay for installation
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Very nice, I'll have to drop by and see it in person one of these days...
Despite what Pinky LaRue had to say, I kind of actually like the color. It gives the space a much warmer feel than it had before. Very homey, though I imagine there usually are more toys scattered across that floor than the pictures show. :P
We have actually looked into that Legato Carpet, nice to see someone I know try it and like it. My wife and I did the DIY thing with Pergo flooring in our bedrooms, and the Legato is basically the carpeting equivalent of Pergo. Nice, easy, DIY "carpeting for dummies".
Was the carpet installation fairly straight-forward or was there a lot of cutting involved? How easy were the edge of the room to handle?
Jeff
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The middle of the room (ther is 400 square feet) we did in about 8 hours
The room is pretty oddly shaped though, there are lots of corners and nooks on it, if its a square room I would think you could do the main part in 3-4 hours
The sides is lots of cutting, it actually is a pretty slick system they use with cardboard templates and stuff. Sort of complicated to explain but it went pretty well. It just took some time because of the crannies and nooks as I said. Lots of odd cuts on corners and the doors and at the steps.
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I also forgot we updated the lighting too, a flourescent on one side and the track lighting on the other. That was easier than I thought it was going to be :)
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THis is going to sound weird and believe I thought these words would never come out of my mouth
but, I agree with Hasbro's Missing Integrity(mind you not because I disagree with the person behind the name more the metaphore that surrounds the person). :)
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"Wood Paneling" (aka Wainscoting) is still there
Ah, yes - you're right! Hadn't clicked through to the bigger pix.
Since the Wainscoting and toys are still there, I change my mind. Looks great. Nice job.
Still pink though. :P
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Looks like a lot of work, Scott. Wallpaper removal is something our marriage can no longer withstand. That's one we simply must contract out in future projects.
I spec'd some carpet tiles called "flor" for a project I designed recently. This is one of those exhibits-in-a-semi-tractor-trailer things you see at State Fairs and Home Depots.
(http://www.congruentinc.com/imagestopost/sqcarp1.jpg)
(http://www.congruentinc.com/imagestopost/sqcarp2.jpg)
We chose tiles because we were concerned people would track parking lot crud (oil, grease, dirt) into the trailer. I like the cut pile at the edges, it highlights the grid and gives a differentiation even when the same color squares are used together.
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Excellent work on the basement Scott, it looks really nice. We've been going from project to project in the house here since we've moved as well. It has been nice putting our own "signature" on things, since this is our first opportunity to do such things (our first home was a manufactured home, with no basement), but it does get a little overwhelming at times. It all pays off when it looks nice like your room does in the end. Nice job :).
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Um, have I ever mentioned the old trick for removing wallpaper easily? Bounce fabric softener. Wipe it on the wallpaper directly, it pretty much peels off like butter. You can do a 10' x10' bedroom in about an hour. It's too late to be useful, isn't it?
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We used this stuff:
(http://members.shaw.ca/propainting/wallpaper_removal_click2.jpg)
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We used this stuff:
(http://members.shaw.ca/propainting/wallpaper_removal_click2.jpg)
Ugh, that stuff sucks ass.
We used that and a little paper scorer (Paper Tiger) and it took FOREVER. We only did a small bathroom, I can only imagin doing a larger room. Redoing the wall must have been fun after that... :P
Jeff
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It took 6 weeks :P
THanks for the tip Brent, maybe in 40 years after we decide we hate the pink paint and wallpaper we can use the Bounce Sheet trick to remove the wallpaper again
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Errata: Talked to the real handyperson (Mrs. Bug) and it's fabric softener all right, but not Bounce. Downy. Sorry for the confusion.
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I'll keep that one in mind :P
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We used this stuff:
(http://members.shaw.ca/propainting/wallpaper_removal_click2.jpg)
Ugh, that stuff sucks ass.
We used that and a little paper scorer (Paper Tiger) and it took FOREVER. We only did a small bathroom, I can only imagin doing a larger room.
That's odd, my wife and I used the same type of liquid and that scoring tool and it only took 2 hours to do our dining room. It was such a relief because the idea of removing all of that wallpaper was what was keeping me from doing the renovation in the first place.
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As many of you know, last year my wife and I purchased a house. This is the first home I've actually owned since I rented apartments and townhomes during my single life since it was easier with my Military career. since I'm not going to leave the Colorado Springs area (at least it's HIGHLY unlikely since most Space Command jobs are here...and I'm fairly close to being eligible to retire) we bought this house with a nice yard for the dogs and plenty of room for us to start a family.
Plus it has a sauna!
I've noticed that since we've bought the place, we've (I've) been doing quite a bit of remodeling/home improvement things and it's been a lot of fun.
So far:
I've replaced nearly all the light fixtures and chandeliers in the place with copper or brass fixtures to get rid of the polished brass ones that seem to be in every house on the block.
I've replaced the fixtures in the mainlevel powder room with a much nicer sink (it looks like an old water pump on a farm) along with the towel bar and other items to match it.
Of course there was putting up nice thick curtains in the finished basement (affectionately known as "guy town") to keep the glare off the big tv. :D
We've also installed a whole house humidifier and airconditioning and upgraded the main circuit breaker. (Ok...contractors did the bulk of the work, but I wrote the checks!)
Today I did my first real bit of emergency repair as the high winds blew down a section of our fence. Our new dog, Tia, was thrilled because she thought her domain had instantly doubled in size! From talking with the neighbors, the fence had blown down years ago but it was obvious they didn't do the best job of fixing it. (I've done some minor fence repair on that side of the house before, but nothing like today!)
I thought it would be interesting because lots of us own homes and have done some sort of home improvement to share ideas about projects or interesting stories about things that may not have gone as planned. Hell, there are some great WIP shots of a new deck on a house and Brent's been working on finishing his basement since the dawn of time! ;D
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I moved into a new house in November. And along the way I've done a significant ammount of work. I painted the whole place. And it's amazing what a coat of paint can do for a place.
I replaced almost every light fixture in the house. I've got 1 or 2 left to go. One of which is sitting in my dining room, waiting to go up. I've gotten some good bargains on fixtures, too. I found one fixture for the kitchen on a clearance shelf at Home Depot that was marked down to below $1. And at the register they told me they couldn't charge me that little...so they gave it to me for free! While I was choosing the fixtures, I made sure that every fixture can accomodate the new long life fluroescent bulbs. As a result of making the switch on the light bulbs I've seen my electric bill drop dramatically. I've got some concerns after I read that properly disposing of the new flourescent bulbs is tricky.
I've still got a number of projects to go. Storm windows for one. New blinds for most of the rooms. Curtains for the living room. Possibly wood floors for the main floor. New carpet for the upstairs. Tile floor for the powder room. Oh, and the collection room!
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I remodeled my gf's dining room, and kitchen. We're looking at the living room and master bedroom next. Her father and uncle did her bathroom as I'm not a fan of getting into plumbing. However they didn't swap out the tub so the old cast iron one is still there. I wish they'd have gotten me to come remove it (their age + its weight was why they left it), as it's really too small... too small for me anyway when I'm there, and eventually it'll be too small for the boys too when they get older/bigger.
If you're working in a home that's 50 years old or newer, you're fortunate most likely to be dealing without the hastles and bull**** you get with really old homes. Living in the East, and in particular an older city/area like my gf's place (or mine for that matter), you're very well maybe dealing with a home well over 100 years old. Mine is about 120 years old at least I'd guess, and hers is probably the same. Lots of structural problems and things you encounter.
Outside I've landscaped and graveled her driveway, but still needs more work as it's on a slope and the bottom tends to lose its gravel. I'm hoping to do a cement front to the driveway that catches the gravel so it doesn't wash out onto the street. This year I plan to put new front porch steps up, as the ones she had are treacherous and the guy that did them was a nimrod and half-assed it. Also a new sidewalk to the steps, as whoever did this had no clue about laying a brick sidewalk.
I have to landscape and lay some cement slabs I narfed from her niece in her back yard around the pool also, and run new gutters off the garage as the old ones got damaged and so water's basically just draining at the garage's sides. Not good there.
She wants a deck, but decks aren't my thing... I'm gonna try my hand at it but I'm hoping her father will be there to supervise this though so I'm not planning this out myself. She wants a fairly large deck that encompasses the pool, and while I dig the idea I just don't relish any thought of doing it myself.
I'm still putzing fixing her original doors to the kitchen (basement and kitchen cupboard doors) trying to putty all the divets and holes. They weren't well treated but I got them stripped of the 50 or so layers of lead paint they had on them, and now I just have to make them smoove and pretty. :) That's actually the only CURRENT project I'm doing. I almost hate to get into the living room or master bedroom because both probably have issues with wiring I'm not going to want involved in.
That's about it for me... At my own place, I just bought all the land beside me on one side... It was owned by someone who bought up lots of property (some of value, some worthless), and when he passed away his wife offered all the land next to us, so now I've got the security of knowing I'll never have a neighbor on my right, just my left, which is nice. Plus I got the coal mine there with its super huge garage and another building. The land is pretty worthless, you couldn't build on it, but we found out some guy wanted it to put a junkyard on it, so I'm so thankful we avoided that. Plus that super huge garage is the bees knees. :) If I ever rebuy a Thunderbird, I'll have a home for it now in the winter time. But fixing that garage has been a bit of a pain.
I'm also working on collection room shelving built to the one end of the collection room. Long process and I have little space to work in so I'm running into a couple snags, but it's coming along. I have way too many irons in the fire though, when it comes to home improvement junk. Working on two houses isn't exactly helping that situation.
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Other than the deck I built last year (pictures here (http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=17467.0)) and the landscaping that my wife and I did, I don't know of any improvements that we will be doing in 2009 (other than possibly painting a few rooms). Just don't have the cash at the moment.
In the last house I owned, I built a fourth bedroom over my garage. When the house was built, that space was left unfinished, so we converted the unused space into a bedroom/play room for the kids. I had also built a deck on that house, but it wasn't like the one I did on the new place. I also put up a chair rail in the dining room.
I do have a lot of plans though for the new place. First on my list is finishing my basement. I grew up having a finished basement in my parent's house and always spent a lot of time down there. My wife would like a chair rail in the dining room and some crown moulding in the dining room, living room and family room. I'm sure there is more landscaping that my wife wants and she also wants to built in bookcases.
In the mean time, good luck with all of your projects guys, I can't wait to see some pictures!
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I don't do anything too fancy at my loft, but I've upgraded a few light fixtures and the towel racks and that stuff in the bathroom. I've painted, I keep the floors waxed... Our windows are pure crap (the whole building is having this problem) so I'm constantly trying to adjust and improve the weather stripping under them.
The biggest project was over the course of the last year... removing most of the star wars toys and fixing all the wholes and doing all that painting. Essentially a bedroom re-do. But the place was new when we bought it (well, everything but the windows was new) and it's only 1,100 square feet, so there's not a ton of heavy work to be done.
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My wife and I purchased a home in December 2004. We have done a ton of stuff to the house, but there is a ton more to do.
We done -
Painted all the rooms - plain white walls in every room suck.
Removed the 70's style wallpaper from the main level bathroom, painted, put in new mopboards, put in a new counter, sink and faucet.
Put in a new Refrigerator and Dishwasher.
We ripped out the old wood paneling in the basement and put up drywall, wired the room for surround sount, took out all the old lighting and put in new canned lights; all so we could put in a projector TV. We even removed the old single pain glass window in the room with the projector and put in glass block window.
We have painted the downstair bathroom and put up decorative edging
What we need to do
Replace all the windows on the house (Basment level and main level) as they are the original windows that came with the house 50 years ago.
Replace the roof because the idiot that did it only put 1 layer of shingles and used staples to hold them down.
Replace the siding on the house as it is 10-15 years old.
Replace the gutters, soffets & vents.
Finish removing all the panneling downstairs in the bedroom and hall and hang drywall.
Put new carpet down stairs and on the steps. This should be easy because I think we are going to go with carpet squares so I don't have to try and put rolls of carpet down on cement.
We need to replace the deck. Going to go with composite as it will stand up better and with minimal care last longer.
Remodel both bathrooms, but will start with the one upstairs as it is used more than the other one. Need to put up new sheetrock, make sure the subfloor is good, replace the tub and surround, new light fixture, put in a fan, and replace the linoleum.
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Replace the roof because the idiot that did it only put 1 layer of shingles and used staples to hold them down.
Sounds like it was done incorrectly then. One layer of shingles, if installed correctly, will be weathertight. Staples are an improved method of installation, but generally most people use nails.
The wife and I bought our house in 2004. Before we moved in, we completely gutted the kitchen and installed all new flooring, cabinets and appliances, replaced all the doors and repainted.
Since then, we've replaced the roof, painted some more, refinished the basement, painted some more, installed some trim throughout the house, painted some more, put ceramic tile in the bathroom, painted some more and added a half bath in the basement. Most of the work was done by ourselves (and in some cases, the wife did it alone :P), but we had help from family members with the roof and the basement bathroom.
The only things we paid outside people to do was install the carpet in the basement, build a retaining wall and level out our backyard and excavate and waterproof one side of our foundation wall because the basement would leak during a rainstorm.
The next big thing I want to do is replace the siding and gutters. This will probably be hired out. Generally, I can do this type of work myself, but because of the grade change between my front yard and back yard, I don't want to do it all off a ladder. It's better to hire someone and let them worry about it and bang it out in a few days.
We'll also probably be building a small deck this spring off the kitchen.
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Nice work so far...can't wait to hear more. I've been working on a to do list and in no particular order:
-Paint the inside. The rooms in our house are about 50 different shades of eggshell. We both want color, just really haven't decided on what for the most part. I do know that I want to paint the guy town media room in a maroon/dark red and put white crown moulding up. It will not only cut down on the glare on the tv, but will look nice with the sconces in there.
-Replace the chandelier in the dining room. It's the only one I haven't done yet.
-Vertical blinds for the sliding glass door to the walkout. Again, cutting down glare in the media room.
-Paint the outside of the house. The house is 8 or 9 years old and the winds here can be pretty brutal (see my earlier post about the fence.)
-Replace the kitchen sink, faucet and garbage disposal. The sink is white porcelain and we'd like stainless steel...that would necessitate replacing the chrome faucet. Might as well replace the garbage disposal while I'm at it.
-Replace the oven, stove an microwave. Again, we want stainless steel and these are all white. I definitely want to keep the same style stove with the smooth top, but these will all be replaced...probably as they wear out. (The fridge is stainless and has travelled with me in the last two moves...Ryan might remember it.)
-Remodel the master bathroom. Bigger stand up shower possibly, but definitely a bigger tub. Also I'd like to put in a heated floor....I saw the stuff at Home Depot.
-Replace the doorknobs and hinges. I want to put in the lever type door knobs instead of the circular ones, and I want them to be the brushed nickel instead of the polished brass. The hinges will have to match of course. That's about eight interior doors.
-New mulch in the gardens. We have four large gardens and they need new mulch. There's a place up the street that provides it free, I'm just lacking the pick-up and wheelbarrow. I figure that's going to take a nice summer day and some bribery beer. :D
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Sadly, I haven't been able to do as much to the house as I'd like. We purchased ours about 2.5 years ago.
We have done:
New dishwasher, range, oven
New paint in the kitchen and dining room
Repainted my daughter's bedroom before she was born
Pulled up the ugly ass astroturf in the sun room and I replaced it with rubber mats for my weight racks, benches, dumbbell racks, and treadmill
Replaced all the 1970's doorknobs with polished nickel doorknobs
Outside the house:
I pulled up all the Japanese boxwoods
I pulled up a ton of assorted bushes in the backyard
I tore down a half wood fence that was just inside my chainlinke fence that separated my yard from the neighbors (the previous owner didn't like the neighbors)
In the backyard I've replanted with native American SW/TX plants...bald cypress, 6 crepe myrtles, 4 yaupon hollys, 6 TX sage (also called silverado) shrubs, 10 dwarf yaupn hollys, and 3 yucca's.
I've actually built a flower bed in the backyard. What was there before was not to be considered one.
In the front yard I've also torn down an ugly f'n concrete fountain (this is inside the front patio and the ground will soon become slate and turn into a true sitting area)
I have planted 4 yaupon hollys and 4 crepe myrtles.
I have torn out the old rotted railroad ties and cedar timbers and replaced them with new treated timbers. This went a long way toward shoring up one side of the house's foundation. My street is built in a step pattern to allow for drainage from the top of a small hill to the bottom. I did this to the side of the house and to one of the flower beds. I still need to get the other bed done.
What I have in tap for the next year.
I will paint our bedroom and my study and the living room.
I will tear out the ugly 1970's dark wood molding and replace it with modern crown molding.
I will tear out the sliding door from our bedroom and replace it with a French door.
I'm going the replace the sidewalk. (the city will pay 1/2 the cost)
I'm going to plant a few more plants in the back and front flower beds.
Finish tearing out the old cedar timbers in the front.
I'm going to put a stone border on my flower bed and possibly set up a temporary electric fence on it to keep my dog away from my plants. She has destroyed a number of my crepe myrtles and I'm most pissed about it.
Finish putting down the counter tile and backsplash in the kitchen.
Down the road plans:
Carport added onto the garage.
Tankless water heater.
Tear out the kitchen tile floor and run laminate hardwood floors from out of the dining room (already done when we bought the house), through the kitchen, and out to the mudroom/laundry room that ends at the garage.
Install a completed French door in the living room that opens to my workout room (that used to be a sunroom)
Install a new storm door with a doggy door on the workout room.
Completely redo the 2.5 bathrooms with updated everything. They have the ugly 1970's pea green 4x4 tile.
After all that's done, I'm not sure. But I've got lots of stuff on my plate and so far it's been relatively inexpensive to do. Mainly because I did a lot of building painting growing up and know what I'm doing and because I worked on a golf course in high school and college so I learned all about plants and what does and doesn't work.
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While I don't mention this project much really, it's been an on-going one because it's kind of intricate.
Anyway, I'm building a bookshelf/desk built into the wall of my collection room. This'll be part desk, part bookshelf/display shelving. The whole unit is being built to a wall at the end of a somewhat narrow bedroom. It's 20" deep and it'll be about 88-90" wide... The upper shelves (atop the "desk top") will be built later and be removable from the unit for ease of painting the wall behind it in the future.
So, the only reason I update is tonight I got a big portion of it done that I was having trouble figuring out how I was going to do it. I was flying by the seat of my pants, little "design" and more just me going from scratch. I tend to work better that way but it leads you into tons of corners you paint yourself into and have to figure a way out of. I don't work well drawing up plans though.
I did however figure out how to get the "desk" portion on the right basically done and ready for the desk top to go on it... Right now it's all just basically doing 2x4 framing built to the floor and walls so that I can put white-board cosmetics on the front and sides to make it look purdy. It's all sturdy though then, with the framing underneath, as it'll ultimately have to hold a buttload of weight.
I've got a little framing left to do, however I could now put the desktop on the right side if I wanted, though I'm not sure if I want to cut the top into two pieces so it's more easily manageable, or if I want to wait and lay the top as one solid long piece the length of it. I'd rather do the latter, however getting it cut to 20" deep is going to be a bitch and I'm doing this all on my own, so "oh joy" comes to mind. ::)
The desk portion is ultimately only 36" wide, and the rest will be bookshelves... Above then I'm hoping to make removable, and much, much, simpler shelving for displaying figures. This'll free up a lot of the temp shelving I've had up for the better part of a decade, so I can now start removing that stuff, and actually get my customizing area carved out.
This process has taken me a while. I started almost 2 years ago putting up shelving, hanging my 1:18 planes from the ceiling (a process unto itself) so they freed up more space to work, and I've only gotten an itch to get back at this recently. Bought some property next to mine recently, and on it is the mule house to an old coal mine. Basically it ammounts to a giant stone block garage you could fit anywhere from 8 to 10 cars in (I'm not kidding, it's a huge, cavernous structure), and so I'm moving a LOT of **** up there for storage while I get this whole thing set up, and hopefully I'll have more room to work. It's kind of like having 30 projects going at once though, as the new building needs some concrete patching work done, and windows need put in (it has NONE), and a man door too as the garage door is uber heavy...
So, it's prompted me to get moving on my collection room a bit, as it gets things in order, and lets me know what needs to go. My giant stores of scrap plastic are the first new residents of the old mule house though, that's a given. It's crummy that I gotta move things to simply work on this, but that's what happens when you let this crap mount up I guess.
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Hopefully, this is the right thread to ask this question. Does anyone know a good place to look at and possible purchase a 7 or 8 foot by 3 foot outdoor storage shed? I did some looking at Lowes, HomeDepot, ACE Hardware (and their dot com sites) and haven't quite come across something that's grabbing me. Costco currently has one that's $600 but the dimensions are too big for the space I have in my backyard. I've never owned a storage shed before and have done just some limited reading on the differences between a plastic vinyl and metal sheds. I think I'm leaning towards a plastic one for around $400. If anyone has any suggestions where else to look and other features to consider, please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it.
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Look local King Maul... And I agree with a plastic one as they're simpler to maintain and less likely to incur damage over time... Wood obviously has its problems, and steel too. Plastic will last longer, and would be what I would suggest.
Anyway, I'd look at local storage shed places. There's places locally here that sell car ports and other pre-fab stuff like that, and usually have a nice selection of sheds. Never really looked at Lowes or anything for something like that and actually we built ours growing up, but the pre-fab ones are pretty cool these days I think.
Beside the "Mule Building" is another smaller block building that's got a tin roof on it... It's in some disrepair, but I'm going to turn it into a storage shed too. I can salvage half the building I figure, if I can fix that damn roof. I'm going to build a stud/plywood front then if I can knock the front half of the building down without damaging the back half, and make just a building about 2/3 the size with a mandoor on the front. It'll be a nice little bit of extra room for wood and building supplies (it's not close enough the house for me to put tools in it without fearing someone breaking into it, so I'll just store building materials I think in this one).
I've got an old shed out back i need to tear downt oo. It was a wash house at one time to my house, and it's fallen into disrepair and it'll give me a larger back yard to have it removed anyway.
I'd say my family has gone through probably 5 wooden sheds over the years on this property, haha. Deifnitely wish we'd had a pre-fab plastic one of some size years ago. Saved me a ton of work had we had that.
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Thanks for the suggestion Jesse. Large home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes are close by, so I didn't even think about looking at other independent shed retailers locally. I'll take a look to see what's available. I think the shed size I need and my budget is going to really limit what I can get. I can't wait to get one just to get some of the junk in my garage out.
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I'm looking to replace my windows. They're wooden, some are rotting, they don't close properly, and they're only getting worse. Our HOA board finally approved a replacement window that matches the existing windows (bylaws...) and they're available now for those who want to order.
The problem? They're huge windows and have to be custom built. They're going to run $1200 each, and I've got six.
My OT Legos might be available soon. :P
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Thanks for the suggestion Jesse. Large home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes are close by, so I didn't even think about looking at other independent shed retailers locally. I'll take a look to see what's available. I think the shed size I need and my budget is going to really limit what I can get. I can't wait to get one just to get some of the junk in my garage out.
I wasn't directly involved in the purchase of the sheds for our current and previous homes, but I know that both times my husband saved quite a bit of money by going with an independent retailer. You can pretty much get any size and custom features that you want, and you also save the hassle of assembling it yourself. All of our sheds have been wood with shingled roofs. My husband has put some sort of sealant on the seams and hasn't had any trouble out of it in the past 6 years. It still looks new - despite being in a heavily wooded area. The shed from our first house is still in great shape after 11 years.
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I'm looking to replace my windows. They're wooden, some are rotting, they don't close properly, and they're only getting worse. Our HOA board finally approved a replacement window that matches the existing windows (bylaws...) and they're available now for those who want to order.
The problem? They're huge windows and have to be custom built. They're going to run $1200 each, and I've got six.
My OT Legos might be available soon. :P
Gotta love HOA's. ::)
I thought you lived in a loft downtown? I am surprised to hear there is an HOA for that.
On the home improvement front for me, I got the living room painted during spring break two weeks ago. I also got some plants planted in the back and front yards. I thought my crepe myrtles were dead, but they are already showing buds and the leaves are looking good on 4 out of the 6 that I have. I think two of them are dead, but I can replace those two with larger ones.
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It's a loft downtown, but it's also a condominium building with 114 units, so there's definitely an HOA. I don't think there's anything here that they did wrong, they've been pricing and researching the problem for about 2 years to get to this point. They are absolutely convinced that they found the best price for our situation.
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Don't you just love other people spending your money for you?
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Rob, how standard are the windows in the building? If the windows are a uniform size throughout wouldn't it make sense for the HOA to negotiate a volume based discount with the company that sells the windows they select, then you pay that price plus labor to get them installed? That is unless they aren't all the same size, then the HOA loses some of its negotiating strength.
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We're looking at new windows as well, Rob. If the replacement windows meet Obama's efficiency standards, you'll be eligible for a tax credit next year of 30% of the cost of materials, up to $1500. That's a credit, not a deduction... you get it ALL back. You should confirm the approved windows meet that standard, or tell your HOA to change them. It's going to take a really nice chunk out of our costs.
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They have similar things for condo's in downtown Pittsburgh, Chris, as some of the buildings are considered "historical landmarks", and so they outside must match certain requirements visually I guess... Not sure of Rob's situation of course, but Pittsburgh's trying to preserve as many older buildings downtown while still making them into something new.
There's a whole area of the city here actually, which isn't even allt hat nice in some parts, that if you modify/renovate a home there you must build to the original look/style of that area. It's an area that used to be littered with mansions and things, and while it's a neat idea, like I said it's very run-down in some areas with crime and things. Kind of a shame, yet when you see people who've done the work right you also step back in time looking at the buildings and it's kind of neat too.
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Sams Club always has a great looking interlocking plastic tool shed for a reasonable price if you have one nearby and are a member.
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Don't you just love other people spending your money for you?
Rob, how standard are the windows in the building? If the windows are a uniform size throughout wouldn't it make sense for the HOA to negotiate a volume based discount with the company that sells the windows they select, then you pay that price plus labor to get them installed? That is unless they aren't all the same size, then the HOA loses some of its negotiating strength.
In fairness to the board, no one is forced to get new windows. I just feel that my unit needs them. I really do think they did a LOT of research to get us the best deal they could find. The windows are a uniform size except for our top floor which is a foot shorter, the problem is that many many residents aren't buying because their windows are just fine as they are, so getting a bulk price is a little tricky. I think he's going to end up replacing somewhere around 20% to 30% of the windows in the building, and we're getting the best price available based on that.
We're looking at new windows as well, Rob. If the replacement windows meet Obama's efficiency standards, you'll be eligible for a tax credit next year of 30% of the cost of materials, up to $1500. That's a credit, not a deduction... you get it ALL back. You should confirm the approved windows meet that standard, or tell your HOA to change them. It's going to take a really nice chunk out of our costs.
Is that tax credit on the books now? As in, do I have to wait until something is passed or written into law before ordering to qualify or is it all set? I emailed the contractor now to ask about double paining and whether or not they'd be fully air tight (my current ones aren't), so I'm waiting to hear back from him. I'll make sure to ask specifically about the Obama tax credit efficiency standards. Thanks for mentioning it.
They have similar things for condo's in downtown Pittsburgh, Chris, as some of the buildings are considered "historical landmarks", and so they outside must match certain requirements visually I guess... Not sure of Rob's situation of course, but Pittsburgh's trying to preserve as many older buildings downtown while still making them into something new.
It's not an historical issue with our building, the problem is just that many residents aren't changing theirs out, so we can't replace the entire building's windows, so the window that we can buy has to match the existing ones, and that means custom built. It sucks, but it is what it is, and I really do think that we're getting the best deal that they could find.
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Sounds great, I get a tax break while doing something energy efficient, and I keep people working manufacturing and installing these new windows.
Hooray.
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Yeah, it's certainly a great perk. We had problems even booking window places to come give us estimates, they're so busy now. One place the earliest opening was April 21st, and this was when I called two weeks ago. Good things happen with the government lowers taxes.
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I saw an ad on TV where they were advertising the exact thing BC mentioned. So if there was some sort of effective date for that provision (the tax credit), we are past that date.
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Good news, my board president says they're energy star windows and should meet the requirements for the tax rebate. I have to call the contractor to get the details and confirm, but it sounds like the tax credit applies.
In theory I'd have found out about this when I ordered, but thanks Bill for mentioning it.
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I'm really inches away from completing the base of my desk/book case... I can taste it! ****** part is sanding it at this point, fitting things that I"m off a hair or so by... Working with bad shoulders, from my back, trying to sand...
Got a little bit of cosmetic work to do so it's perfect, then build the removable interior shelf to the bookshelf, the keyboard tray... After that the upper shelving, but that's a separate project actually.
Then on to a vintage SW figure shelf built into the wall around an electrical outlet. Quick way to use the space and replace a damaged wall. :D
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Hey, am I glad this thread came to the top. I just moved into a house I'm renting. I'll ask this here, since it seems like a good place- I need to put in some kind of shower in the upstairs bathroom, but there's no existing showerhead or pipe for a shower. It's just a tub with the faucet that's typical in rental properties. Is there any way to get around that without having to call a plumber or begging the landlord to do it?
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I'd say call a plumber, but that's just me. You may be able to get away with using a diverter assembly like those for the clawfoot tubs, but I'm not sure it would fit with the current tub. A handheld shower assembly might work also. If you run into a relatively knowledgeable person at the Home Depot, he/she may be able to help, too.
As for us, we've recently had a couple major upgrades to our home. First, our old (O'Keefe & Merritt) stove finally kicked the bucket when the oven door broke. It was unfixable, so we needed to upgrade. The problem was, our kitchen was using the old setup, with no vent hood, no electrical, and only a chimney pipe venting the oven through the wall up to the roof. There was also just an open vent on the ceiling above the stove that "vented" the stove to the roof. It was an awfully inefficient setup. But now that we needed a new range, we needed electrical for the ignition and a vent hood. We decided to go with a microwave/hood combo for more space, and we had the contractor patch the roof vent so that should save us a little in heating costs during the winter. Ah, the kitchen is finally in the 20th century.
The second upgrade was to the bathroom. It still had the original clawfoot tub with the whole stupid encircling shower curtain and eyesore faucet/shower assembly. The vanity was some aging and mildewing cheapo wood and formica heap and the flooring was peeling up at the edges. The medicine cabinet was the original '40s built-in with about 50 layers of dripping pain and a scratched up mirror. The toilet was surprisingly in good shape and as a bonus, wasn't low-flow. It was, however, Dapped to the floor, and you could tell by the anchor bolts, the Dap was what was holding it down. The whole bathroom was awful. So, we had the contractor replace the tub and shower with a standard tub with faux marble and brushed nickel fixtures. The vanity was replaced with a pedestal sink and matching fixtures. The medicine cabinet was replaced. The toilet anchoring was fixed, and the flooring replaced. And additional storage was placed above the toilet. Nothing fancy, but my gosh, what an improvement.
Next up, a new backyard fence and cement patio with landscaping.
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Last week I finished putting together my custom room bookshelves. They look great and are about half filled with books. I had enough space to for my wife to have a scrapbooking space and I have been able to get my history stuff up on the walls. I've got a newspaper from 1850 when TX joined the US. It's the official announcement for that. I've also got an old US map when the US stretched from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River. I'm not sure of the age on it though. Next I'm going to build a rack for over the closet for the Lee-Enfield 303 rifle from WWII that I have.
Outside this morning I got the yard mowed and such and some pruning done on my crepe myrtles and some overly large yoppan (sp) holleys. I also got the rest of a concrete fountain out of the ground from the previous owner. Pretty soon I'm going to get my sidewalk redone and the rock edging along the flower beds that I've been wanting to do forever.
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I've been working on our gardens lately as well. We have three rather large gardens in our back yard, and one in the front. Two of them have been in dire need of new mulch since we moved in, so that;s what we've been doing. Luckily, it's almost complete....I'm guessing about 10-15 more bags of it from Lowes and we should be good to go.
We also had an estimate on getting the exterior of the house painted. :o
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We also had an estimate on getting the exterior of the house painted. :o
Vinyl Siding baby! ;)
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Just stopping in...will be one of many visits.
We moved in last month to a 102 year old home in a historic neighborhood, complete with National Register of Historic Places plate by the door.
2 stories, four beds, three fireplaces (two working with gas logs), two bath, living, dining, kitchen, office.
I will have many projects to update on, and will get a slate of Before pics up soon. There is very little that HAS to be done, but plenty of little improvement projects in every room.
So far:
Fixed leak on roof that was dripping into bedroom.
Painted master bedroom
Painted nursery.
Just ordered a part to replace dripping inlet solenoid on dishwasher.
To Do:
Downstairs -
Add rails to wrap-around front porch
Living Room - Remove painted over wall paper in and paint walls. Paint the plaster medalion on the ceiling that some dip**** painted pink. Build book cases. Mount the LCD above the fireplace, and conceal wires in wall.
Study - Remove painted over wall paper and paint.
Dining Room - Remove hideous floral wall paper, put up chair rail, and paint.
Kitchen - Build or buy new cabinet doors. Install with new hardware. Replace impossible to keep clean white glossy tile floor. Replace countertops and sink. Possibly add pressed tin tile ceiling.
Master bath - Remove ugly tile and dated cabinets. Remove ugly shower doors. Refinish or replace ugly bathtub.
Upstairs
Bedroom 1 - paint, build window seats and bookcases for daughter.
Bedroom 2 - paint
Bathroom - install shower and ceiling rail for curtain around the clawfoot tub.
Hallway - build window bench between bookcases for the kids shared foyer space.
Paint hallways and (shudder) stair well. That one is not going to be pleasant with a 25 foot or so drop from ceiling to first floor....
Outside -
Remove part of asphalt driveway to free up some backyard play space.
Purchase and install radio fence for the damned dog.
Attic -
LONG TERM - 5 or so years - reinforce joists, install floor, install stairs, finish out space. Can probably squeeze out three good sized rooms up there.
Hope to have all of those projects complete, except for the attic, by next spring. Looks like a lot, but all are weekend projects, and under a few hundred bucks each except for the kitchen. After the kitchen, the dining room will be most expensive becuase of the finish moldings and trim my wife wants.
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I've been putting new lighting in my house, replacing the original 1969 fixtures. Put up the foyer and 1st floor restroom over the weekend. I'm picking up one for the dining room and maybe hall tonight.
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That was one of the first things we did when we moved in. We noticed that every house on the street has the same light fixtures so we changed ours, mainly to be different, also because we didn't like the polished brass finish on them.
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I started a project back to about last December when I started picking up materials, as I wanted to get a bookcase/desk built to the north wall of my small collection room. I wanted it to act as a small home office space so I can work from home easier... I have the ability to sit and watch the TV in the other room, work from the one side of the "desk" part, and then bookshelves for storage on the rest.
THe project isn't done, just the first phase. The second phase will be shelving that goes above the desk portion up the wall to the ceiling. I am then hoping I can get MOST of my Hasbro collection (at least the figures) onto the said shelves... It's a space saver, more or less.
Phase 3 is a shelving unit set into an interior wall between studs that will be my loose vintage Kenner collection shelves, which was actually started because I had a damaged wall and figured it was a neat way to make it... It's turned into basically a chore though, but that's another project all together.
Anyway, the "Phase 1" part of my desk is done, and I'm trying to share some photos here just of its progress. I think I might've been into woodworking in another life, I enjoy it a lot, but I'm incredibly slow, so I only finished this at the beginning of August about. A long time, but it was a challenge due to working in 130-ish year old house, and so forth.
Here's some progress images as they came about:
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63254%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C8684%3B337nu0mrj)
I started out by studding the basic shape of the entire case. It's sturdy and mounted to studs on the interior and exterior of the house. It's strong enough to hold me standing on it, and I'm 5'10" and about 210, so I think that's pretty structurally sound. ;D
And yes that's the Clone plush helmet candy basket from Halloween last year at Target. My girlfriend picked it up for me. It's cute, I couldn't help but like it for some reason. I like weird stuff like that, as far as my collecting habits go.
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63242%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C86854337nu0mrj)
This is the desk portion. I've started some "walling in" of the studs, and the desk top itself is installed.
If you see a lot of junk, basically the room's small so I'm trying to maximize space, and I'm also working around in the room most of my collection just gets dumped into, or is half-displayed in. Also it's my computer room, so it's sadly been a cluster-f while I've done this work, as I had to use my PC the whole time around all the mess, and likewise I had to work on the desk with all the mess around me like my PC and things (I think I took my PC apart 100 times for different things).
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63237%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C89267337nu0mrj)
This is the insert shelf for the bookshelf itself. It's removable, as is a cover over the cold-air register vents. I'm still working on a separate smaller removable shelf that will be for bound comic stories as I finish them off and want to keep them kind of for reference stuff.
OK, I'll edit in some more here as I get through uploading photos.
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63253%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C89268337nu0mrj)
This is the desk portion with the keyboard tray attached... I have the face-boards temporarily attached for fitting purposes, as this was a lot of "cut and fit" due to the age of the house. Short of gutting this place, a lot of things aren't 100% square. :) Bob Villa, eat your heart out.
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp6323%3A%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C8926%3B337nu0mrj)
Staining has begun... I chose Red Mahogany from Minwax, with a semi-gloss finish. The photo makes it look darker than it is, but it isn't a light stain. The wood's a base "white wood". Nothing special there, it was what was cheap. Takes a lot of sanding to get it nice, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper, and it stained nicely.
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63242%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C89277337nu0mrj)
It's coming along... Luke says hi there, I guess.
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63239%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C86868337nu0mrj)
The insert shelf and bookshelf interior is done. Things are shaping up.
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63253%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C89283337nu0mrj)
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63237%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C89285337nu0mrj)
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63238%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C8686%3B337nu0mrj)
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63249%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C86872337nu0mrj)
(http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63243%3Enu%3D334%3A%3E%3B%3B9%3E638%3EWSNRCG%3D3348%3C86873337nu0mrj)
And here's some "finished" photos. Bear in mind that my camera seems to really wash the color out. It makes it look uneven to me in the photos, but in person it's quite nice how the stain turned out. I thought it might be too dark, but ultimately it surprised me... I'll have to dust a hell of a lot though, haha. Shows it a lot. We all know collectors love dusting too, eh? ;D
The next phase should begin here soon as I'm taking measurements and getting ready for doing the upper shelves. I'm not positive how I am going to do those. I was toying with "posts" as the legs of upper shelving, instead of doing just planks to form it. I'm not sure.
While the desk itself is anchored to the wall, the upper shelves will all be removable (anchored, but easily taken down) for painting reasons. They'll give me a lot of space though for display purposes. I'm anxious to get started, but have other stuff at my gf's place I have to get done before winter.
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Good looking stuff Jesse. Cut and fit carpentry work is always fun to do.
For your uppershelves is it possible for you to use some sort of diagnal bracing utilzing the walls studs? I only ask as they may be space saver for you in the event the posts you were talking about were going to hang down to the desk surface.
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Thanks Chris, it's my first effort making a functional piece of furniture, actually. I thought about it, but unfortunately the studs on the interior wall don't line up with the studs on the exterior wall. The interior wall was an addition to separate a single bedroom into two smaller rooms, done some years ago. I'd considered that idea though actually, to avoid the need for support planks or large rods. :-\
I COULD use the back wall's studs, but I've not decided on that yet totally. I'm thinking I'll likely avoid it all together and just do the removable shelving.
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I ike the use of action figures to show the scale!
Great work Jesse....it's looking really good.
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I ike the use of action figures to show the scale!
Great work Jesse....it's looking really good.
Heh, yeah... I tend to have stuff sitting around a lot, while everything is in turmoil here... I expect that won't change for a year or two, sadly. I'm a slow worker when it comes to stuff like this. :-[
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I got some great work in today in the yard. My dog has had some issues jumping our 4' chain link fence. I'm not yet ready to up the fence to a 6' chain link, so I decided to put some plants up near the perimeter to keep her from clearing it. I've been looking around for some southern way myrtles and found some at Home Depot this morning so I bought two of those, one willow tree, one Texas lilac, and one yucca. I put the wax myrtles up against the fence, transplanted a Bufford holly in between them, and then put the willow where the holly had been.
The owners of the house before me put a wood fence up just inside of the chain link and it only ran about 30 feet down one fence. So several months ago I pulled that fence out, but left the posts in place. I finally hammered away at the posts with a sledge and busted up the concrete holding them down. We've gotten a ton of rain lately, so it made it really easy to push/pull and finally pry the damn thing out of the ground.
I then spread some red cypress mulch around the entire flower bed and it added some great color. The backyard is finally looking really nice. Too bad the mesquitos are the size of horses right now so I won't be able to enjoy it too much before it gets too cool.
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Yesterday I started framing the fireplace that we are putting in our family room. My wife has been on my case since we moved into our house to put in a fireplace. We finally saved up enough to put one in, so I started doing the work yesterday. However, we are not putting in a traditional wood burning fireplace. My wife has been researching 'contemporary' fireplaces for the last few months and we decided to get one from Regency Fireplace Products:
Regency Horizon HZ54 (http://www.regency-fire.com/Gas/Contemporary/HZ54/index.php)
I have to admit that I wasn't sold on this when she first showed it to me. Being the son of a bricklayer, I spent my entire life around, and sometimes in, wood burning fireplaces. However, once we went to go see this in person, I was all in. These fireplaces are really cool to watch and they throw off a TON of heat.
So I will end up doing all of the framing for the unit myself. Then the company will come in and install the unit, vent it and run the gas line to it. I'll then end up putting up the cement board and possibly doing the slate tile work myself. I'm just not sure about doing the tile myself at this point. We'll see how things go and how I'm feeling once I get to that point.
I'll post pictures once I'm done with the framing, when the unit is installed and then once the cement board and tile are done...
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Look forward to seeing the finished shots....hope some WIP poics show up here too.
I spent a good portion of this weekend replacing sprinkler system/drip system lines and reburying them in one of our gardens. Our puppy thought it would be cool to dig them up and chew through them!
She's lucky she's cute! :D
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sith - i just finished installing slate tile around my fireplace. It's messy and tedious work, but no big deal. If you can do the framing, you can do the tile no problemo. Slate cuts like butter too, but I found on some of the delicate cuts it had a tendancy to sheer apart...nothing I know of to prevent that, just bad luck. Put the last coat of sealer on mine today and it looks great.
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Thanks for the tips, name. I'd really like to see how your tile looks before undertaking the project myself. Just out of curiosity, how many coats of sealer/enhancer did you need to use. We ended up going to a place that showed the difference between treated and untreated slate and it was a huge difference. I definitely wouldn't install it without sealing it.
As far as the cuts are concerned, I worked out the dimensions on the face so that it would be full tiles both horizontally and vertically, so the only cuts I would need to do would be the sides, which wouldn't be seen anyway. If I mess up a cut it wouldn't be obvious unless you look on the side.
Look forward to seeing the finished shots....hope some WIP pics show up here too.
I'll definitely post the WIPs as I go. I should have all of the framing done by Halloween, so I'll make sure to post them soon afterward. I just ordered the unit today and they will be installing it Nov 16. I'm really hoping to have the entire thing done soon after that.
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three coats of sealer before the grout, one coat after. And I couldn't believe the difference it made in to look of the tile. Really made the color variations pop.
You really don't have much choice on sealing with natural stone...if you don't the grout will really stain it.
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Thanks again, name. A buddy of mine who has worked with slate before convinced me that the two of us can do the slate work, so looks like I'll be doing it afterall... Now I just have to go with my wife and pick it out and start sealing.
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I'll definitely post the WIPs as I go.
First WIPs are ready. The framing started. I have the front and back of the frame completed and a few of the supports on. Should have the rest done tomorrow.
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3149.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3154.jpg)
In case you can't tell from the above, the front and back are about two feet apart. There will be about three feet between the top of the unit and the ceiling so that my wife can put some kind of decorations/plants/lamps up there.
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3156.jpg)
More to come soon.
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Framing is finished. Also started to put up the cement board on the top.
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3157.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3158.jpg)
Now it's the two week wait until they install the unit...
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Looks great. It seems like you've been busy.
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We bought our house in June. Second project down...(first was the nursery remodel).
Living room:
Removed painted over wallpaper
Repaired plaster damage
Repainted room, trim, and ceiling medallion
Replaced ugly light fixture
Refinished baseboards
Retiled fireplace
Mounted TV, concealed wires, installed all components in closet in other room.
Before
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_02041.jpg)
During
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0223.jpg)
After
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You know, it's amazing what a little paint can do to a house. Nice remodel there and I'm assuming not to costly. ;)
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You know, it's amazing what a little paint can do to a house. Nice remodel there and I'm assuming not to costly. ;)
not too bad...
paint and primer - probably about $100
hardware for TV mount - less than $30
new light fixture - $180 ( purchased with a home depot gift card we got for signing up for cable when we moved)
Tile and various supplies for job - about $250
new rug - $200
bookcases - $100 each
Time spent stripping painted over wallpaper and repairing plaster- two weekends plus thurs/fri after work
Painting - a few evenings
Time on mounting TV and conceling components - one weekend
Time on Tile job - two weekends and two evenings- one for demolition, one for tile, two nights for grout.
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Looks great. You did a very nice job sprucing up that room. As a side note, it cracks me that you had "old school" ESB on the TV for the before pictures and "new school" Prequels for the after pictures. Was that intentional?
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intentionally put star wars on....didn't think about which to do for before or after...
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Sith - you do good work. It's evident in your framing (above) and deck project (somewhere here).
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Name, the woodwork in the back seems really nice... old house I take it, judging by that and the register vents? That staircase has some very nice work on it, as does the mantle.
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Great job name. I like the update to the fireplace a lot. Room looks great.
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JJ - it was built in 1906, so yeah...you could say it's old. That staircase was one of the big selling points to me.
It's solid as can be...nothing that has to be done, but a project in every room. The previous occupants were renters...an old gay couple that the owner allowed to paint any way they chose....they made some strange choices, including the pink living room.
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The old tile work around the fire place was... interesting. :) It looked like the by-product of an exorcism.
I like the woodwork a lot. I'm a big fan of looking in houses around here sometimes if there's an open house, just to see the old woodwork. My hometown has a lot of homes that date back to the 1800's including mine, though my home was just an old hunky mill/minehouse, so it's nothing too special with woodwork and whatnot.
My gf's place was a rowhouse but they've lost a lot of the houses around it so it sits alone now nicely with some distance between houses. The woodwork in there I can tell was, at one time, nice. It's been mostly destroyed and removed though as near as I can tell.
My buddy owned a home in downtown Leechburg where I live, and the woodwork in his place was gorgeous. It would've been a home that at one time had servants and things... Very nice. Pass-throughs from the kitchen to the dining room that went through built-in hutches. Very nice and elegant. The stairs needed work but were totally fixable. He divorced in like 6 months and the house got sold, so that sucked for both of them. If I'd had the money at the time I'd have bought it in a heartbeat. It was gorgeous. Zero land though to it.
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Sith - you do good work. It's evident in your framing (above) and deck project (somewhere here).
Thanks ruiner. My wife says my ******* showcases the fact that I'm a neat freak/OCD/analretentive. I just like to think that I have attention to detail...
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This week we invested in the best home improvement idea ever. Hot tub!
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Woot, looks like i'll be joining in on this thread. I just became a homeowner last Wednesday and moved in on Saturday.
Boxes, tubs and plastic bags, oh my. But at least they are in my HOME!
Lots of painting planned by the wife. I've got a huge enough project trying to figure out where I'm going to set up my collection and what to set up.
Thankfully the finished part of the basement is all mine. Of the other half of the basment, half of that will be for storage while the other part is the laundry and bathroom.
I am SO looking forward to fixing up my home. A small veggie/herb garden next spring. We're buying a puppy some time in the spring. Can anyone give me some ideas for a breed of dog that is easily potty trained?
We lucked into a good sized home for the money at a great rate. The home is 1480sq ft. 2 1/2 bath, 3 bed, kitchen, living, dining, a four seasons room that has a working metal stove/chimney in it. 5% rate
It's in a decent neighborhood. While moving in we saw that most of our neighbors are 50ish and older. So no noise from them.
Gawd, so much more I can say but I hijacked the thread long enough. Sorry, but I'm EXCITED!
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Labradores... Though really any dog is about the same, I say go to the pound and rescue a mutt. Diane's was a pound dog and he trained fine. He's dumb as a turd too, so I think it really doesn't make much difference.
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Congrats on the new home! Hope to see pictures soon.
As for a dog. We're partial to Rotties and Malamutes. ;D
Seriously, both breeds are very smart and relatively easy to train, although rotties in the teenage yars (1 to 3 years) like to challenge you.
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Congrats on the new home! Hope to see pictures soon.
As for a dog. We're partial to Rotties and Malamutes. ;D
Seriously, both breeds are very smart and relatively easy to train, although rotties in the teenage yars (1 to 3 years) like to challenge you.
Rotties are out, that's a given for us.
Malamutes are nice, but long hair. We both have allergies to long hairs.
We're thinking a Lab of some color or maybe a Beagle. We don't want a "yipper" type dog, nor one that's going to be terribly difficult to train or maintain.
I'd think about the pound, but I'd like to know the breed or mixed breed. No mutts. They are very unpredictable. Also, we want a puppy, not a youth or adult dog. You just don't know what they've gone through before you get them. My heart goes out to them, but I don't want a dog that is shy of humans and I can't pet because it may have been mistreated by it's former owners.
That decision however won't be made until closer to spring. WE've got a ton of stuff to do before then to get the house in order.
I'll post pics as soon as I can, preferably after much of the boxes, bags and tubs are in place (if not packed away). The 21st/22nd is another big weekend. That is when I'll be moving my collection HOME! It's been in a storage unit for years, slowly building, while I never get to view it. Now it will be home. While most initially won't be displayed, at least I know I'll be able to view it whenever I like without having to make a trip to do so.
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I'm not sure how "easy" they'd be to find, but my dog was a rescue puppy. She's a lab/pitt mix and has the best of both personalities, is great with my family, but wary of strangers. She is super intelligent and very playful. So, I'm a bit partial to both pitt bulls and labs.
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I'm not sure how "easy" they'd be to find, but my dog was a rescue puppy. She's a lab/pitt mix and has the best of both personalities, is great with my family, but wary of strangers. She is super intelligent and very playful. So, I'm a bit partial to both pitt bulls and labs.
I have a golden lab that was rescued from Katrina. One of the best dogs I've ever had. We even got our pick of the litter. :)
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Just had a run-in with my city's Permit Office about my fireplace installation. I guess I wasn't supposed to apply for the permit, my fireplace contractor was supposed to, and the fireplace contractor does not have the correct license to do the job. So when the permit office saw my signature on the permit application and the incorrect license from the contractor, they denied it and sent it to the fireplace contractor to re-do. Since the contract I signed with them states that the homeowner is responsible for all permits, they sat on the permit and didn't inform me that it had been denied. It wasn't until I called the permit office (now two weeks after I applied for the permit) that I was informed that it had been denied and sent to the contractor. I called the contractor to find out what was going on and they said that they were just sitting on the permit because it wasn't their responsibility. When I pointed out the fact that they hadn't informed me that they received the denial, they had no response. Needless to say, I'm starting to get a little worried about their integrity/workmanship.
I then called the permit office and talked to a secretary that had no idea what she was talking about other than to repeatedly tell me that they denied the permit because I wasn't supposed to apply for it myself and that the license was incorrect from the contractor. After about 10 minutes of this I was able to speak to the Head Inspector who actually turned out to be a very nice guy. He went through the problems with the permit application process but also explained that the current ordinances state that the installers of direct vent fireplaces have to be licensed HVAC contractors (which the fireplace contractor is not). However, there is a stipulation that if the installers of the fireplace are solely in the business of buying/selling/installing fireplaces, then they can also install the unit (sounds simple, right?!). When the application was originally reviewed, the reviewer only checked that the contractor had an accurate license (which they did not) and didn't bother to notice that their company name was American Heritage Fireplaces ::) So to make a long story longer, the Inspector told me that if the contractor filled out the permit application themselves and faxed it over to the permit office, he would personally walk it through the office and have it ready to go by tomorrow. Thankfully this will be in time for my install which is scheduled for this coming Monday.
It's nice to know that there are nice people in municipal jobs and if you look hard enough you'll eventually find them. Thanks again Nick!
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You can always browse the dogs at the pound... You usually can spot the agressive dogs quite easily. Diane's dog trained lickity split. I'd look for one with clear traits of the type of dog you're into most. Hers has lab in him but he's also got some German Shepherd I can tell, and I think Great Dane as well... Bad legs for sure are in his future because he's got them now really. If you find a mostly the breed you want, which you can likely tell by sight, you'll get something good I'm sure. Look for a mostly lab, I'm sure there's tons of those.
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I should clarify (had a brain fart earlier) my lab/pitt mix is a pound dog, not a rescue. But I agree with Jesse on walking through the pound. My dog looked completely lab and she did until she was about 5 months old an then we started to notice the slightly sloping head and her muscle tone really started to show.
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Rotties are out, that's a given for us.
How can you not like Rotties?
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/MRCoulter/Cora8.jpg)
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/MRCoulter/ThreeStooges2.jpg)
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/MRCoulter/MenCoraSleeping.jpg)
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They are considered aggressive dogs in my area. Were it to get out and bite, it could be shot to death legally. I don't want to have to face that in any way. Besides the wife and I aren't spring chickens. We don't want to wrestle with a strong dog. I like the look of a Rottie, but that's as far as it goes. The wife is definitely against it. She's partial to Labs, Dobermans and Beagles. I like German Shepards and a smattering of other breeds.
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How can you not like Rotties?
(http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/MRCoulter/Cora8.jpg)
Cute pup Matt! Hopefully he/she didn't ship in that box. :-X ;D
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Ha! No...she was froma breeder up in denver...we drove her home ourselves. That cardboard box shipped dividers for our crates so she would have less room in them when she was that tiny. We use the cardboard to keep her on the main level during the day....otherwise she runs upstairs and bothers the cat (if she's up there) and/or chews up the cat toys.
Sal,
I understand why most people think the way they do about rotties, but it's one breed I would consistently allow around kids...ours have always been so gentle. :D
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So today was the fireplace installation day at our place. The guys arrived about an hour later than they said they were. Once they arrived, they measured everything on the frame for clearances and identified that the top studs were low by about 1/4". They also mentioned that the metal stud over the opening was too high. Neither of these 'problems' were structural, so they were able to start working right away. Needless to say, right off the bat I knew this wasn't going to be the best of days...
I pulled all the studs off while they were running the gas line. They ran the line relatively quickly and then they set the unit in place. Lastly they installed the vent and connected the gas line. Once they left I trimmed the overhead studs so that they met the minimum clearance requirements and then put the metal stud back in place and connected it to the unit.
Here are some of the pictures from today:
The unit has arrived:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3161.jpg)
Final resting place:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3166.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3167.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/dscn3168.jpg)
I would have taken a picture of the unit while it was on, but there was a problem... When they went to test the pilot and the unit itself, the gas pressure wasn't high enough. They tapped into the line that feeds my dryer. The dryer line is connected to a 1/2" pipe that runs about 40 feet to the main line off the furnace. The main line is the standard 1" line. The thought that they have is that the reduction from the 1" to the 1/2" line is not supplying enough gas to the unit to run. This was evident in the fact that the flame was not more than an inch high while the unit was on and whenever the furnace kicked on, the unit shut off.
So they are going to come back on Thursday and replace the 40 foot 1/2" line with 1" line. Hopefully that will supply enough gas to keep the unit going. Hopefully more to come later in the week...
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Good work on your part.
Sucks that the installers appear to be inept.
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So we already had a plumbing problem and have only been in the place a week.
Our 2nd floor bathroom toilet clogged. This happened Sunday night. Thankfully not an overflow, but actually a seeping from under the toilet on to the floor. Again thankfully we had already flushed...
Anyway, we called our insurance to get the plumber out. They deemed it wasn't an emergency and told us to call back in the morning to schedule the plumber to come out. Well in the morning (Monday) my wife takes her shower and as she's about to get out see that the floor has a mini flood of water. yep, from the toilet again. I woke up to her exclamation of "oh sh..". I told her to got to the main floor and see if it leaked. It did! >:(
So we turn off the water main. place a bucket under the leak and mop up (while having placed another call to insurance for a plumber). This time they take it as an emergency call. This was at 6:30 am. No plumber until 6 hours later. Again, at least we shut the water off. But damn, the room it leaked into is going to be our office. Had we had the computer set up, it would have leaked right onto the computer. You bet I'd have been pissed off on that one.
Damn insurance companies always trying to avoid doing what's right. Had they had the guy come out in the first place, we'd have had no further leakage or damage. ::)
On a similar but less stressful not, we got cable/net access. However they didn't show up in the 4 hour window they were supposed to and didn't come until 2 hours after that. I got a $20 credit on the account but I'm going for a complete refund on the installation. ($49.95) No only did they not come out as scheduled, they were two hours late and didn't bother to call, ruined the rest of our day, then next evening when they came back out to finish the install.
I'm happy to have a home, but I certainly don't need THIS aggravation, and I'm just getting started...
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So they are going to come back on Thursday and replace the 40 foot 1/2" line with 1" line. Hopefully that will supply enough gas to keep the unit going. Hopefully more to come later in the week...
So they came back today and replaced the 1/2" line with the 1" line. The unit is definitely getting enough gas now. I had the furnace on and the dryer and the fireplace flame didn't even flicker when these both turned on. However, the flame is still not at the optimum hieght that we saw at the store and in the brochures. They tried to adjust the restrictor plate and the air intake and they still couldn't get the flame to the optimum height. Soooo, they are sending out a service rep on Monday to try and make it work properly. The previous guys were just installers and aren't as adept at the fine adjustments needed to optimize things.
To top it all off, I got into it with the installers today. I was working from home while these guys were doing the work. While I was home, my son's school called and asked that I drop by the school to take a look at him (thought he had a rash). When I asked the installers to step out and give me 20 minutes to go to my son's school, they got offended that I didn't trust them in my house alone. I may be off base (I don't personally think I am), but I don't leave people I don't know in my home alone when I'm not there. I don't care if you're Mother Theresa (can I get a moment of silence... thank you very much), you're not in my house when I'm not there. So anyway, the installers leave the house in a huff without saying anything to me, I go to my son's school, come back and they come back after I'm home. When they come back I try to have a discussion with one of the installers and he won't talk to me, he says to call the office. So now I have to talk to their office to find out what's happening five feet away from me. This afternoon sucked!
So hopefully the guy that comes on Monday will be able to get this thing up and running so I can start on the finish work. If not, they have to install a new unit... If they try to send the two installers that were here today, I'm not letting them in the door.
'As The Fireplace Fizzles' will continue with an all new episode next week...
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You are totally on the mark about not letting people in the house when you're not there.
Simply put you don't know them.
I watched the Cable guy like a hawk the other day. I don't really care if they are weirded out by that or not. Would they like it if I came over to their house and prodded around started randomly entering rooms I didn't need to be in? So they shouldn't expect anyone would be so trusting as to give free reign of the house even for 5 minutes, let alone 20 or more.
You did the right thing and that's BS that they wouldn't talk to you after the fact.
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So hopefully the guy that comes on Monday will be able to get this thing up and running so I can start on the finish work.
'As The Fireplace Fizzles' will continue with an all new episode next week...
Episode III
The service guy came out and did a complete inspection of the unit. After about an hour, they figured out that the pan where the flame comes out was incorrect. The manufacturer had installed a pan for a Propane unit instead of Natural Gas. So, now they have to order a replacement pan and then come out to install it once it arrives.
I seriously hope this is the last issue we have with the unit... Next episode hopefully airing next week.
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You know, it's amazing what a little paint can do to a house. Nice remodel there and I'm assuming not to costly. ;)
Speaking of what a little paint can do, I finally got my wife to finish the curtains for the nursery...everything else on that project had been complete for nearly 4 months. So I got pictures last night....
Tasks:
Painted walls and ceiling
Painted and refurbished crib - was white, dingy, and beat up from six years in basements and three moves
Painted and refurbished dresser - was a yard sale bargain..antique, but with Viva La Raza Mexico carved deep into the drawer fronts. Puttied, sanded, painted, and put new hardware on the drawers.
Painted changing table - was a freebie...ugly and pink.
Refurbed ugly brass light fixture - my wife's idea...sanded to rough it up, painted, and added these little shades
Slipcovered an old ugly wingback.
Wife made drapes and roman shades.
The only thing new in the room is the rug. Everything else came at the cost of paint and a little bit of work.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0313.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0317.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0319.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0322.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0323.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0324.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0326.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/DSC_0334.jpg)
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name - absolutely fantastic job!!! :o
Had I not known you did this yourself, I would have believed a professional decorator was responsible for this room. Excellent work.
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Episode III
The service guy came out and did a complete inspection of the unit. After about an hour, they figured out that the pan where the flame comes out was incorrect. The manufacturer had installed a pan for a Propane unit instead of Natural Gas. So, now they have to order a replacement pan and then come out to install it once it arrives.
I seriously hope this is the last issue we have with the unit... Next episode hopefully airing next week.
So I've been deficient in my updates but really didn't want to post anything again until the unit was either fixed or they gave me a refund...
Visit 4 from the fireplace installers consisted of them coming back on Friday of last week with the replacement burner pan and it still wasn't producing the proper flames. When that didn't work, the manufacturer then recommended additional gas line replacement. So visit 5 had them doing addition pipe replacement from the one inch trunk line pipe that they replaced a few weeks ago. There was about 15 feet of half inch pipe that still led to the unit, so they replaced all of the half inch pipe with one inch pipe on Tuesday and low and behold, it still wasn't producing the proper flame height. So the manufacturer finally agreed to send out one of their own people to replace the entire valve assembly (gas flow regulator and pilot light assembly). Visit 6 occurred this morning.
They came in and disassembled the valve assembly from the unit. As soon as they had the assembly off, they compared all of the parts to the new assembly they were going to install today. They could see immediately what the problem was. The opening on the valve from the old assembly was about half the diameter of the one from the new assembly. Even though the valve was identity stamped with the right diameter number, you could see with the naked eye that it wasn't the right size. Once they put the new assembly on and fired the unit up we could all see that the flames were about 6-7 inches in height. They let it run for about 20 minutes and the flames were nice and orange/yellow and the heights were perfect. Once we have performed the 'burn-off' of all of the residual oils and paints tonight, I need to clean the glass and then I'll be able to take pictures and post them.
So after 6 visits from the installers and finally the manufacturer, the unit is finally looking like it was in their brochures and on-line. I also received a call from the tile distributor and our order is ready for pick up. I'm going this weekend to get the tile and will start sealing right away. I will be putting up the rest of the cement board and running the electrical this weekend as well and will hopefully start the finish tile next week. I have 15 days until my wife's family is coming over for Christmas so I need to get cracking!
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This is the unit with the glass and stones added to the tray:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3173.jpg)
And to quote one of my favorite stand-ups, 'Now that's a fire!'
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3179.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3180.jpg)
Can't wait to get this done now...
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Wow, that is one sexy fireplace. 8) Your patience was severely tested, but I think it paid off.
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Nothing like a sign that say's "Only Non-Combustable materials" sitting on top of a wooden 2 by 4. ;) Anyway, looks great! Looking forward to seeing the finished product!
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It's been a while since I updated the fireplace progress. I finished the sheet-rock before Christmas:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3181.jpg)
I had also run electical outlets and an on/off switch to the fireplace so that we could have power up on the shelf. My wife thought it would be funny to get a picture of me crawling around under the fireplace attaching the conduit:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3186.jpg)
We then started the slate work yesterday. It's going a lot slower than anticipated, but I guess that's to be expected when this is the first tile job you're doing, you're working with 16x24 sheets of slate, and your 4 and 5 year old kids want you to play with them instead of working on the fireplace. So with that being said, we've only been able to finish the hearth to this point:
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3213.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3214.jpg)
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Finished the first three rows of the lower half of the fireplace as well as the shelf and the first two rows of the upper half of the fireplace.
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3215.jpg)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3218.jpg)
We are hoping to have all of the slate work done tomorrow. Then it's on to cleaning/rinsing off all of the tiles and sealing them.
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Your slate work looks great. Good work.
I'd love to slate up our bathroom, but I'd rather hunt instead...so I did this weekend instead of working around the house.
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Almost done! Keep up the good work!
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So - where the hell do I go to find curtains? Walmart - crap. Home Depot - crap. Lowes - every damn panel was 84" long. I'm looking for small ones to finish up a bathroom. I can't use 84" long curtains in the bathroom! >:(
I remember when Boscov's (or was it Bon Ton... forget) was closing down they had an entire room full of them. I haven't found anything close to that since. Just garbage. I don't want to shop online because I like to check them out in person. Any ideas?
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So - where the hell do I go to find curtains? Walmart - crap. Home Depot - crap. Lowes - every damn panel was 84" long. I'm looking for small ones to finish up a bathroom. I can't use 84" long curtains in the bathroom! >:(
I remember when Boscov's (or was it Bon Ton... forget) was closing down they had an entire room full of them. I haven't found anything close to that since. Just garbage. I don't want to shop online because I like to check them out in person. Any ideas?
I don't know if this is an option for you and your family... but Marin always makes ours. We get fabric usually at Crate and Barrel or Ikea.
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We bought our curtains at Crate and Barrel. I agree with you, the chains like WM and HD usually have a bunch of junk.
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My wife tells me a good fabric store is hard to find. They seem to be closing left and right. However, her and her mom seem to know the location of every fabric store within 100 miles so it is usually covered. Sometimes when they can't find what they want they go online for fabric.
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The fireplace is finally done. We sealed it a few days ago and put the faceplate on the front of the unit. I'm really happy with how it turned out considering that this was the first time I ever did tile work. Now it's on to replacing the carpeting with hardwood...
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e391/iamsith22/DSCN3227.jpg)
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very, very nice!
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Wow, impressive. I only wished I could be that handy and professional with my home improvement projects. 8)
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We've just had a bunch of home improvement projects done:
- New carpet on the main level of the house, plus new furniture for my wife's home office.
- New shades on some of our windows, plus vertical blinds on the walkout door in the media room...I can now get it as dark as the inside of a cow!
- Replaced the pantry doors in the kitchen. I've never done any staining before so it was a fun little project. I now want to replace all the doors on the upper two levels of the house!
Next up is getting a nice high quality sliding glass door for our kitchen and we're getting the exterior of the house painted.
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- Replaced the pantry doors in the kitchen. I've never done any staining before so it was a fun little project. I now want to replace all the doors on the upper two levels of the house!
Did you hand rub the stains?
I'm a pro with that.
This Summer I patched my gf's foundation exterior, we're paintin gthe porch wood and then the concrete (still working at that, as we're running into wasps), then painting the front/back of the garage, plus I'll put a new back attic door on the garage then to access the rafters.
I laid 2'x2' rebar reinforced concrete slabs then as a patio/walk on her back yard to/around the pool. I'm then digging out the hill beside the garage where the stones end and putting in a railroad tie staircase to the back of the garage.
I'd like to then pour a concrete slab, and I'm making a mold to make my own stone blocks and build a stone block fire place/chimney/pit thing to grill on, and stuff. Just a little fire pit/grill thing... I've envisioned it and will do it.
She wants a waterfall built to a retaining wall on the back hillside too, but that's going to wait for another year I think. She also wants her pool deck expanded to the house... I'm reluctant to work on that some. I've not built a deck, and nd I'd largely have to do this myself as well. So i'm just reluctant to do it.
All the while I'm still shelving my office/collection room here at my house... Also going to be painting under the overhang of the back roof, and I have some mortar repair work to do at my house as well, plus tearing down the old shed out back that was the original washhouse to my home... I'm sure it's a snake pit too underneath, so that ought to be fun. All the while we've been dealing with stray cats here too, all year. :(
Oh, and you'll dig this Matt... When I repaired the foundation with the mortar at my gf's place, I scribed in the kid's names and the year, and beside the lettering I carved a Killroy into the mortar. :P
I laughed my ass off to myself. Diane got home from vacation, saw it, and just shook her head at me. I couldn't resisit to make sure Killroy was there.
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**** Jesse, with all the work you're putting in at your girlfriend's place, you beter marry her! :D
I put the stain on with a brush, then wiped the excess off with a rag...not a big deal I guess, but like I said, I've never done staining before.
BTW....love the killroy!
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I've redone her living room already... her dad/uncle did her kitchen and bathroom, and built her a big walk-in closet and stuff.
her house is old, probably 150, which is typical for homes around Pittsburgh really, unless you're buying in a plan. So it's got a lot of stuff wrong with it, that's for sure.
Most of the stuff's minor really... painting, putting the patio stones down. The major stuff I keep avoiding like the plague (building a larger deck, gutting the living room and redoing it). Some bonehead just put drywall up over the old slat-wall plaster in her living room... The walls are flush with the trim in there. Whoever owned the home before did work half-assed all the time. Just fixing those people's mistakes is a full-time job.
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Sounds like my basement. It was completed by the original owner. He put in a sauna which is awesome, but some of the stuff he did is just odd....layouts of rooms, doors, etc.
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Oh man, basements... Hers is a dungeon. I don't have one at my place since I'm in a flood zone and my house is pretty darn old. Hers though... I think she'd be better off without a basement then. Sandstone foundation, cement (barely) floors that aren't level at all. It's basically storage. I do some metal work down there in winters, and that's about it.
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Most basements aren't level....ours has a couple of small spots where the concrete settled wrong....it happens and isn't that big a deal.
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You'd be amazed at this one, trust me. :) It's virtually an off-road course.
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Finished my desk tonight... glued felt to the feet of the two upper shelves I built for it, and put them up, and started loading books onto the one, and software discs onto the other one. :) Finding I have even more room now than anticipated.
From here I'll put up shelves I have intended to mount to the same wall, and I'll also be building a small box to set on the desk top for my radio/satellite radio mounts and hold CD's I have hanging around still.
Been a busy year doing stuff, so I'm glad I got this done this year. I am, at the same time, trying to build my work area into what I want for customizing too, I've done umpteen different concrete-patching projects between my house, the large garage on my family's property, and my gf's foundation... and the concrete-work is never-ending because I have a sidewalk to make next year. Oh joy. :)
But the desk is done... I'm at it as we speak. I'm enjoying it. I'm going to have room to set a figure here and write about it and stuff. Inspect my toys and appreciate them with less clutter. Oh and maybe get work done too since this is, well, sorta, my work space too. :P I can even reach my reference books now. Go figure.
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Jesse you gotta post pics of what you've done.
I haven't done a ton this summer, although I had initially planned to. I spent a good chunk of my remodeling budget paying what debt we have left and going to war on carpenter and fire ants. I've never seen them as bad as I have this year.
My projects for the winter though are to try and get our bedroom painted. My wife and I bought new furniture so it's time to do that. I also am going to finish my daughter's playroom. I just need to finish installing the foam play mats and then put up a couple of picture and add a couple of toy boxes and we'll be set. Shouldn't cost more than $100 to do.
After that, it's off to the front porch where I'm going to poor concrete and lay meshed stones and create a nice sitting area. Hardest part of that will be getting the damn thing level.
I've also got to pull out all the cedar timbers that I put on the side of my house to hold my flowerbeds (my foundation sits on an incline). Those things are all eaten out by ants so I'm going to replace them with cinder blocks and then cover the front of them with some sort of foliage or put landscape rock in front to cover the ugly blocks.
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Oh man...I have got to get some pictures taken and posted. Since last update we have completed:
Hallways (including painting the 25 foot or so stariwell wall)
My son's room (which you will all enjoy, I'm confident...Star Warsy)
Our Master Bedroom
The kids' bathroom.
We have two projects that are also underway - ripping the ceiling out of the back room, and repurposing some of that lumber (the ceiling was lowered and drywalled over a heavy two by four frame) to build a window bench for my daughter's room.
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Nice work Jesse....can't wait to see pictures. One other major thing I did this year was to turn an empty bedroom (that had basically turned into a giant walk in closet) into a nursery for Colin. I still need to put in some shelves, but there's plenty of time for that.
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I'm trying to do pictures, and they're not coming out well because of my camera and the size of the object combined with the somewhat limited/narrow space. :-\ Sorry. It's not flashy by any means, so you're not missing anything, it's just my first piece of functional furniture, more or less is all.
Currently I'm loading the shelves and finding that I now don't know what I want to do with books and things, haha. Go figure. It's a very small room though, so using space to maximum effectiveness has been a joy here. ::) It's a necessity really, between the sprawling collection and things.
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finally got around to taking some After pics of the Master Bedroom project.
BEFORE (painted over wallpaper....I hate painted wallpaper....)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/17379_568008320186_57504248_33349112_6420700_n.jpg)
DURING
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/17379_568008365096_57504248_33349120_6312347_n.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/37154_601785091266_57504248_34401431_7274199_n.jpg)
AFTER (that's not wallpaper on the accent wall...hand stencilled by my wife. And we built the headboard...)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/150201_601784796856_57504248_34401420_2477098_n.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/76852_601784906636_57504248_34401427_789124_n.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/149134_601784811826_57504248_34401421_6131605_n.jpg)
BEFORE (note faux painted fireplace and wetbar in closet. yes...wetbar.)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/17379_568008325176_57504248_33349113_374022_n.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/17379_568008300226_57504248_33349108_1198272_n.jpg)
DURING
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/149183_601784946556_57504248_34401429_627046_n.jpg)
AFTER (with a proper closet installed)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/72206_601784896656_57504248_34401426_5633651_n.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/149227_601784876696_57504248_34401424_4667463_n.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/74817_601784886676_57504248_34401425_219889_n.jpg)
Headboard construction
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/73222_601785255936_57504248_34401441_1646455_n.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/149707_601785245956_57504248_34401440_5023163_n.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/149638_601785275896_57504248_34401442_2766049_n.jpg)
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And we finished the kid's upstairs bath last month....just a couple of weekends on that, some paint, and clawfoot shower retrofit.
BEFORE
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/74535_601788559316_57504248_34401512_1221416_n.jpg)
AFTER
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/148146_601788584266_57504248_34401513_3343150_n.jpg)
BEFORE
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/75884_601788599236_57504248_34401514_7279935_n.jpg)
AFTER
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/149761_601788609216_57504248_34401515_542436_n.jpg)
BEFORE
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/36151_601788738956_57504248_34401524_7550267_n.jpg)
AFTER
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/76918_601788704026_57504248_34401521_2901147_n.jpg)
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Nice work Name!
I recently finished a minor project. Cora had chewed up the drywall in the window seat in our front window. I decided to replace the window sil with wood instead of the drywall sil that was there. My neighbor talked me into just covering it with extra wood slats from our hardwood floors. I went one better and purchased an extra piece of stair nose that matched. Cut the wood to fit, glued them together and viola....instant window sil!
I'll post some pictures soon.
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Personally I'd have stuck with the wet bar in the closet idea. All it really needed was a draught tap.
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I love that woodwork in that house, and nice that you didn't change anything around the fireplace... It's gorgeous, really.
Wetbar in the closet though? Too weird. Never seen anything like it.
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Personally I'd have stuck with the wet bar in the closet idea. All it really needed was a draught tap.
My daughter thought it would be a great place for us to brush our teeth at night.
What was especially strange was that they didn't have it tapped in to the main sewer line for the house. the drain just went up under the front porch and dumped out into the earth floor below.
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Ha! :D I love home-done reno's when people really don't give a crap.
At our old house the previous owner had one of his buddies install a natural gas line for his bbq outside. Totally not to code and it even had a water tap handle to turn the gas on and off :o Miraculous that the only damage the guy did was to the siding from the bbq being up against it and melting it when it was hot. He's sooooooooo lucky he didn't blow his ass up.
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At my gf's house the walls are flush with the trim in the living room, and some of the window ledges were just pieces of small trim tacked down... People just do dumb **** when they're renovating. Hell, her bedroom door swings open against the light switch, so you have to come in, shut the door, then turn the light on. *shrugs*
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Starting up a new project this weekend. The wife has tasked me with putting down hardwood flooring (which I have never done) and re-doing the base boards in one of our rooms. Going to re-paint the room first though since everything is out of it. Makes for a much easier time painting when there's no carpet to worry about spilling on and no base boards to tape.
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Yeah, I need to post some progress pics...started building my daughter's window bench/toy storage a couple of weekends ago. Almost done.
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Starting up a new project this weekend. The wife has tasked me with putting down hardwood flooring (which I have never done) and re-doing the base boards in one of our rooms. Going to re-paint the room first though since everything is out of it. Makes for a much easier time painting when there's no carpet to worry about spilling on and no base boards to tape.
We did that in our Master BR over the Christmas break. Tore up the carpet, baseboards, repainted, new furniture, laminated wood floor planks, put in wider baseboards, added molding to the walls. I will post before and after pics when I get a chance. Good luck!
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Paul's update inspired me to post... I'm not really bothering to photograph this, but I'm doing an insert-shelf in an interior wall that I had here that had needed some patch work anyway. Its intent will be a set shelf just for my loose vintage figures.
Basically I just cut the drywall away to make it square between studs, and built a box that'll insert into the wall. Box is in, I'm just needing to shim it and screw it to the interior studs and it's basically done except adding glass shelves and glass doors. I'll have to have those cut whenever I have the time/money. The hardware alone is more than I figured it'd be, which sort of sucks, and I'm having trouble finding brass at the local hardware stores which is what I'd prefer.
Anyway, it matches my built-in desk in my office/collection room that I finished last year... 3 shelves still need built above the desk, attached to the wall... I've had a bunch of other junk going on though here and at my gf's, so I'm juggling a lot of projects at one time unfortunately and keep having to walk away from my shelving projects, haha.
Cool thing though was that this insert shelf was my first time using a shelving jig I got before the holidays last year from Rockler, and also first time using my Kreg Pockethole Jig. I'm now wondering how I lived without that little bugger. I love it, and highly recommend buying.
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I want to see a picture. I need some ideas to steal.
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When it's wrapped up, i'll try snapping a photo of it for you paul. It's pretty simple though, just an interior wall removed, a box inserted, and then basically what ammounts to a "picture frame" around the outside to cover the gap between the box and wall studs. Really simple, just watch out for pipes/wiring while you're breaking through the wall really.
I bought a shelving Jig at Rockler last year as I noted, and it basically is just a guide (with a special drill bit) to drill peg holes into the wood in even steps on both sides so you can adjust shelves to how you desire. You have to buy then the little plugs to go into the holes that hold shelves. I'm having glass cut and beveled for my shelves so if I decide to mount an LED light or something, it'll shine down through.
I picked up brass hardware then to do glass doors, like on a stereo cabinet or something, and that I'll have cut/beveled when I do the shelves as well.
I just used pine/whitewood to do the box, and I had to box out around an electric line that goes to a light switch in the room. The switch plate I removed and put one I got at Hot Topic on clearance of the ANH Movie Poster.
I'm working on the frame for the outside now when i have time, and will add the glass then once the frame's done.
The pocket hole jig is a Kreg Jig. Worth every red cent. I have the mini... There's a mid-size I want though with clamps built on. They're pricey (the mini isn't though), but worth it if you're doing ANY kind of wood work IMO.
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I finally got around to taking pics of my son's room that we finished months ago.
Not much in the way of "before" pics....just the original paint colors and some experiment colors that we didn't go with.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__02.jpg)
Tracing projections for later painting
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__06.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__05.jpg)
Painting sillouhettes
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__07.jpg)
Finished products
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__12.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__13.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__19.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__16.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__08.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__09.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__10.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__11.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__18.jpg)
Had wanted to share my vintage toys that I had as a kid, but didn't want them torn up. This was the perfect solution.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__15.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/name7574/reno/macsroom__14.jpg)
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Wow! Great work! I can see doing something similar to Colin's room in a few years...although right now he's just being introduced to Winnie the Pooh.
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What a wonderful star wars kids room! I love the character shadows on the walls. Its a great use of the vintage ships. I did something simular to the old star wars office ceiling. I used stick on glow in the dark stars instead. Same great effect.
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Great Job on Mac's room!! Love the ceiling and it silhouettes. Justin has Chris' childhood X-wing and TIE-Fighter hanging from his ceiling too!
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My wife and I are finally getting to renovations inside the house.
I must say that we have been in our house for five years now and have done almost nothing, except for repaint the dining room and kitchen and fix up my daughter's room. We have slapped some paint through our living room but it still honestly looks like crap. We've been spending all our extra money paying off stuff so we are just about to the point we can renovate without having to go into debt. Woohoo!!! Yea us!!!
We finally got our bedroom colors together and bought paint, bedding, and lamps. Next week we will paint the bedroom white with a blue accent wall. With all of the new furniture we have, that should make the room look really good until we take out a sliding glass door that used to be the door to the porch from the master bedroom. The previous owner enclosed the porch to make a sunroom, that I've since repainted, put down padded flooring and made it into my daughter's playroom (of course it was my weight room before she was born).
After we finish the bedroom, we are repainting the living room, taking out a half french door that opens into the playroom and possibly building an arch there. Then we will install some recessed lighting, rebuild that window valance at the front of the room, repaint the walls (including brick), new mantle, and that should just about finish out that room. Once that is finished, we get to install new carpet throughout the house. But, that looks to be a little into the future as we don't want to charge this crap up on the credit cards.
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Good luck on the renovations! My husband and I love home improvement projects.
Once that is finished, we get to install new carpet throughout the house. But, that looks to be a little into the future as we don't want to charge this crap up on the credit cards.
We had that dream once upon a time. Then the kids started walking and eventually playing outside and try as I might the carpets just get trashed. We are considering laminate in their rooms and waiting on new carpet for the common areas......
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So before the holidays I installed a waterheater... That was a learning experience, a pain in the ass, and not fun.
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So before the holidays I installed a waterheater... That was a learning experience, a pain in the ass, and not fun.
Good to know. When I replace ours I'll just get Home Depot to do it.
Recently, as in the last few months, my wife and I finished painting and "remodeling" our bedroom. We didn't really do anything beyond paint, new furniture, and replace drapes (still trying to decide on a new set).
I also replaced a rusted out P-trap today. Other than that, I've been too busy with school work and teaching new stuff at work to do much on the house.
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I should rephrase it that it was a pain in the ass for ME. In a normal home, say one built within the last 100 years, probably not as big an issue Chris. ;)
Seriously though, these things aren't standardized in terms of size, so in older homes where they are now is maybe not where they should be, and when you get a new one you have the joy of replumbing because it's now 6" higher or something dumb like that.
Weighing the costs involved, I think if you can afford to just have it delivered and installed that's cool... I don't like plumbing even though I'm so-so at it (my dad is horrible at it, and he invented words because he ran out of known vulgarity anytime we plumbed when I was younger), but this thing should've just been a matter of plugging it in, and rehooking up the hoses to the tank... Unfortunately I had to redo the vent, the plumbing, and find a whole new f'n spot for it, because it was basically 6" too tall now from where the old one was placed.
Albeit the old one was put in a pretty, well, simply, retarded spot underneath a support beam where there wasn't much wiggle room to begin with.
It just kind of kicked off a ****storm of things I've dealt with since around the start of December to now... some I'm still dealing with. ::)
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With all that work, you should of just went whole hog and installed a tankless system. They are expensive but you get unlimited hot water and lower gas bills.
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That's a whole other ball of wax ultimately, and it's a lot more expensive... what I wound up doing was only the cost of a new tank, so in a cost comparison situation it was just better that way.
It was definitely a lot of work though, all thanks to them constantly changing size/dimensions, and whoever the knob was that installed the last one putting it in probably the worst spot they could have.
New one is pretty perfect where it is, incase of future emergencies.
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The other ****** thing is that they don't make water heaters like they used to, you'll be lucky to get 6 years out of one
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Yeah hers kicked over after 6 or 7 about... I believe 2004 was the date on it, and I think she got it after the hurricane that ripped through left her area flooded. The kicker was where it was situated in the first place though... Just absolutely no room for "growth", and unfortunately the same size tank was physically larger due to extra insulation/efficiency stuff.
I lay most of the blame on whoever installed the last one then because under a beam and up against the center chimney is just all kinds of bad news.
I now feel as though I'm an expert on these bastards though! It's always nice to have something else under your belt. I just still hate plumbing though. I can do it, but it's really a pain. The old neighbor helped me with it though because he's a plumber by trade and has a nice torch rig. Better than using a hand bottle/torch for sure.
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My wife and I have been talking about having an in-ground pool kit installed in our backyard. The web-site we've been looking at states that other than the excavation, homeowners can do the work themselves. Has anyone done this before? If so, how hard was it? What advice/tips can you give to someone who's never attempted anything like this before? Really hoping to get some good guidance on what to expect/avoid if we try this ourselves. Thanks.
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That sounds trickier than I think I'd want involved in... Good luck with it IAS.
I just took my gf's above-ground out of her back yard so I can put a detached deck out back. With the 107 heat index we've had for a while and it only now cooling down to mid or high 80's though, I've got that little project on hold and it's just a barren wasteland out back now.
I found a pool to be a pain, but the kids had kind of outgrown using it much too, so I didn't see the point anymore.
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I am also planning a small, simple detached deck for my girlfriend's back yard. This will be a simple 8'x10' rectangle. We want it to have the ability to be moved.
I consider myself pretty handy, but I would never tackle an in-ground pool! I helped my friend's parents put up their above ground many years ago and that was a ton of work. Can't imagine how complicated an in-ground pool is!
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Great Job on Mac's room!! Love the ceiling and it silhouettes. Justin has Chris' childhood X-wing and TIE-Fighter hanging from his ceiling too!
Just reviewing this tread, and I have to echo Tracy here. The ceilings came out really nice! Great work!
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My wife and I have been talking about having an in-ground pool kit installed in our backyard. The web-site we've been looking at states that other than the excavation, homeowners can do the work themselves. Has anyone done this before? If so, how hard was it? What advice/tips can you give to someone who's never attempted anything like this before? Really hoping to get some good guidance on what to expect/avoid if we try this ourselves. Thanks.
If you can point me to the website, I could form more of an opinion but right now lacking too much information.
Honestly, if you can handle a backhoe, you could do the whole thing. I'm not sure then why pool companies exist because it's got to be easy, right?
I'm seeing major red flags if that's not readily obvious. We didn't take pics when our pool was built but it was a heck of a lot more involved than just digging a hole in the ground. They had four or five guys here for three days after the hole was dug.
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The big challenge with an in-ground pool? Digging the hole is a simple job. But is your backyard clear of any pipes, cables or the like? Aside from the permits, this could be one of the more significant considerations.
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Responded by pm, Mike, hope it helps.
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My wife and I have been talking about having an in-ground pool kit installed in our backyard. The web-site we've been looking at states that other than the excavation, homeowners can do the work themselves. Has anyone done this before? If so, how hard was it? What advice/tips can you give to someone who's never attempted anything like this before? Really hoping to get some good guidance on what to expect/avoid if we try this ourselves. Thanks.
Sorry I've been away for so long, but as you can imagine from my last post, I've been a bit busy. We decided to move forward with the project and it's been a grind for about a month. We should be finishing up this weekend, so I'm hoping to post pictures and testimonial soon.
Bottom line, this was the toughest thing I've ever worked on, but it was not impossible. We did a lot of the work ourselves, but also hired contractors for certain materials/services when we needed to. We ended up saving ourselves about half what it would have cost us to hire a company to do the entire project ourselves though, so I think that the frustration, scars, fights and exhaustion was worth it. More info to come...