Moving into our house we had a timeline . . . One week to move, a week or two at the most to clean up the former owners things, have the basement finished, yes finished, by Thanksgiving, kitchen finished by late winter and so on until the house was "finished" by our one year move in anniversary. Well, here we are at day 357 and we still have a few of the former owner's possesions tucked away in nooks and crannies, we continue to unpack boxes and probably will be for some time, the basement is partially finished, the kitchen is finished minus flooring, backsplash, cabinet trim pieces, and replacement of the 60s era light fixtures (OK, basically the kitchen is "finished" from a DIY perspective) and our one year timeline as been extended SO many times we've lost track of it and could very likely be working without a timeline.
Timelines provide structure, a type of framework, that propel us forward while allowing its makers the opportunity to share their intentions, and hold us accountable to some extent. For some people, like me, they create discipline and occasional guilt. Timelines provide a sense of organization, which in my case channels my energy, preventing me from randomly going in circles accomplishing little. Ron is a global thinker. He can and does, move from one thing to another without guilt or frustration, but typically with a timeline in mind, however fluid that timeline may be. I joke and half-heartedly believe, that one magical day in our future every project the man has ever started will be finished simultaneously. You might think this a silly thought, but I've seen him start in the morning on one project in the garage and by the end of the day he has literally worked his way around the garage making forward progress on every thing.
The original timeline we created for our house was and continues to be a communication tool. For me to take this leap, I needed and still do need absolute confirmation that the house project would and will continue to move forward. Our ever changing timeline provides me a necessary sense of commitment. Ron needed and continues to need an avenue for sharing just how much time and energy he was and continues to be willing to put into the house, as well as way to convince me to make his dream of breathing life into an old house our dream.
Our timelines necessary? Absolutely! Do timelines need to be rigidly enforced? I guess it depends. For us, our timeline, now considered a straw-draft, is a necessary communication tool that keeps our shared house dream fueled.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Faucets and Sinks Really Do Matter
Gutting and redesigning a kitchen is not for sissys. The trauma of displacement is obvious, but unless you thrive on making decisions that will affect your food preparation experiences for years to come, this aspect of designing a kitchen is equally challenging. I had made the "big" decisions, where to put the dishwasher, something new to this house, as well as all the other appliances, which thankfully have few choices of color to decide, how many and where the outlets should go, etc. so when we got down to sinks and faucets, I was like whatever, sinks and faucets are just that, sinks and faucets, no big deal, right? Well not so fast on the "No big deal."
A few faucet and sink savvy friends had asked me about my faucet and sink of choice, but I just kept shrugging because I really didn't care or know much about either. Apparently, faucets and sinks come in many shapes and sizes, as well as material (the obvious are stainless and porcelian, but you can also purchase granite composite and cast iron.) I knew I wanted undermount stainless sinks (yes, we were gluteneous and wanted two sinks in our kitchen) end of story on sink selection in my mind. Not so fast.
After pricing sinks I knew I wanted to do some price comparison shopping. After a bit of shopping, I ended up ordering our sinks through Overstock.com for a couple of reasons. Reason number one, price. The sink I chose, based on price, was 16 gauge rather than 18 gauge (meaning its better quality. . . didn't know that before), this should have been my first clue that sinks matter. The other thing I liked about Overstock.com were the ratings and reviews written about the product you are considering (the sink I was looking out had 30+ great review), which should have been another clue about sinks, but I'm a slow learner. Being pleased with the price and low cost of shipping, $2.95, I ordered one large Artisan brand sink and one small undermount Artisan bar sink. The large sink arrived within a week. The bar sink never arrived. Overstock was great about reordering the sink, which again did not show up, so a refund was issued.
With one sink in my possession, school coming to a close, and granite arriving the day after school got out, I needed another sink and a couple of faucets. Still not realizing the impact one or two sinks can make, I headed to Home Depot. The sinks were more than I wanted to pay so I remained in denial about the urgency for a second sink. The faucet selection found me scratching my head, but Rachel, our wonderful kitchen designer, narrowed the selection by advising on brands to avoid. We selected and left the store with two matching Price Pfister faucets that come with a sprayer and lotion dispenser, which will never be installed because the on the counter lotion dispensers never work right, so why would I want two dysfunctional lotion dispensers permanently attached to my countertop. Out of necessity we also picked up drains for sinks, which thank goodness had a limited selection and being true to style, I thought a drain is a drain. At Home Depot, Kohler was the only drain maker to have satin finish drains to match my sink and hopefully future sink, so the decision was made.
With only one sink and granite coming the next day, I called Sam at Value Stone, our granite supplier and installer. Sam carries sinks, Sam had a single sink that could be used as a bar sink, Sam quoted the sink price cheaper than anywhere, so Sam was bringing a sink. To make a long story short, the sink Sam brought was too big for the cabinet, and I was thankful because I had envisioned a small bar sink, not a single basin kitchen sink, this was my first realization that sinks matter. A quick call was made by Sam and a small round sink was on the way from Seattle, still at a great price. The round sink was the first to be installed and what a thing of beauty it is. That first day I couldn't resist running my hand around the edge and being thanful for dumb luck. At the end of the day, both sinks were installed and Ron was hooking up the new drains (which I've also come to learn really do matter) and faucets.
The final product, sinks with faucets and drains set into the granite is AMAZING . . . I LOVE IT!!! The main sink has an extra deep large basin, with a smaller basin on the side. The round sink adds style to the kitchen and makes a perfect bar sink. High arching faucets and hefty drains add a bit of bling (I have really gotten into the whole faucet and sink gig.) Since we don't have our flooring and backsplash complete (OK, not even selected and started, more decisions to make), my favorite part of the kitchen may change, but for now, the sinks, faucets, and drains are what I love most about my new kitchen, proving that faucets and sinks (drains, too) really do matter.
A few faucet and sink savvy friends had asked me about my faucet and sink of choice, but I just kept shrugging because I really didn't care or know much about either. Apparently, faucets and sinks come in many shapes and sizes, as well as material (the obvious are stainless and porcelian, but you can also purchase granite composite and cast iron.) I knew I wanted undermount stainless sinks (yes, we were gluteneous and wanted two sinks in our kitchen) end of story on sink selection in my mind. Not so fast.
After pricing sinks I knew I wanted to do some price comparison shopping. After a bit of shopping, I ended up ordering our sinks through Overstock.com for a couple of reasons. Reason number one, price. The sink I chose, based on price, was 16 gauge rather than 18 gauge (meaning its better quality. . . didn't know that before), this should have been my first clue that sinks matter. The other thing I liked about Overstock.com were the ratings and reviews written about the product you are considering (the sink I was looking out had 30+ great review), which should have been another clue about sinks, but I'm a slow learner. Being pleased with the price and low cost of shipping, $2.95, I ordered one large Artisan brand sink and one small undermount Artisan bar sink. The large sink arrived within a week. The bar sink never arrived. Overstock was great about reordering the sink, which again did not show up, so a refund was issued.
With one sink in my possession, school coming to a close, and granite arriving the day after school got out, I needed another sink and a couple of faucets. Still not realizing the impact one or two sinks can make, I headed to Home Depot. The sinks were more than I wanted to pay so I remained in denial about the urgency for a second sink. The faucet selection found me scratching my head, but Rachel, our wonderful kitchen designer, narrowed the selection by advising on brands to avoid. We selected and left the store with two matching Price Pfister faucets that come with a sprayer and lotion dispenser, which will never be installed because the on the counter lotion dispensers never work right, so why would I want two dysfunctional lotion dispensers permanently attached to my countertop. Out of necessity we also picked up drains for sinks, which thank goodness had a limited selection and being true to style, I thought a drain is a drain. At Home Depot, Kohler was the only drain maker to have satin finish drains to match my sink and hopefully future sink, so the decision was made.
With only one sink and granite coming the next day, I called Sam at Value Stone, our granite supplier and installer. Sam carries sinks, Sam had a single sink that could be used as a bar sink, Sam quoted the sink price cheaper than anywhere, so Sam was bringing a sink. To make a long story short, the sink Sam brought was too big for the cabinet, and I was thankful because I had envisioned a small bar sink, not a single basin kitchen sink, this was my first realization that sinks matter. A quick call was made by Sam and a small round sink was on the way from Seattle, still at a great price. The round sink was the first to be installed and what a thing of beauty it is. That first day I couldn't resist running my hand around the edge and being thanful for dumb luck. At the end of the day, both sinks were installed and Ron was hooking up the new drains (which I've also come to learn really do matter) and faucets.
The final product, sinks with faucets and drains set into the granite is AMAZING . . . I LOVE IT!!! The main sink has an extra deep large basin, with a smaller basin on the side. The round sink adds style to the kitchen and makes a perfect bar sink. High arching faucets and hefty drains add a bit of bling (I have really gotten into the whole faucet and sink gig.) Since we don't have our flooring and backsplash complete (OK, not even selected and started, more decisions to make), my favorite part of the kitchen may change, but for now, the sinks, faucets, and drains are what I love most about my new kitchen, proving that faucets and sinks (drains, too) really do matter.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
BEAN-e-doo
If you buy an older home, it will most likely come with the added bonus of asbestos. Unless you plan on renovating your home or the asbestos gets disturbed, you can live in harmony with asbestos, so the experts say. Since we planned on renovating and the idea of asbestos being in my home freaked me out, the asbestos was an unwelcomed guest and had to go. According to a few experts, building products still contain asbestos the only difference is it has a new name . . . I just can't go there at this point in my life.
We had an asbestos inspection done before buying the house, so we knew the flooring in the kitchen and main bath upstairs had friable asbestos, meaning if disturbed asbestos fibers would become airborne, so we brought in the experts, one of only two times Ron has agreed to hire work out during our renovation journey. The kitchen and bathroom floors were gone in a day. . . Woohoo! The asbestos tiles in the basement, the nonfriable asbestos that you can remove yourself, took forever, ok, it only seemed like forever. Actually, the tiles came up easily as some were already loose. What lay beneath the tiles was another story.
Mastic is the glue used to bind the tiles to the floor and what it does best in my opinion, is bind itself to the surface beneath the tiles. We had A LOT of black mastic to remove . . .1,250 sq. feet to be exact. Not wanting to deal with harsh chemicals to remove the mastic (we were still recovering from painting with Kilz, a harsh smelling primer), I turned to Google. After reading various online postings, I stumbled across a blog that lead me to BEAN-e-doo, a biodegradeable soy based miracle product.
We spread the BEAN-e-doo with a broom and almost immediately the mastic began to release itself from the cement, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Using large squeeges we moved the BEAN-e-doo mastic mixture around, scraping as needed until we had large puddles of a goopy sloppy mixture (imagine not changing your cars engine oil for an incredibly long time and then smearing it on your basement floor.) The goop was slippery like ice. I had started out wearing old cowboy boots, but switched immediately to old hiking shoes, which weren't much better, but I at least was able to let go of the walls as I worked. Once we had the goop in a large puddle, we used kitty litter (A LOT) to absorb the mess. After the kitty litter was removed, the floor was mopped with a degreaser (can't remember the name but we bought it with the BEAN-e-doo from FranMar.) The degreaser worked great and we were on our way to updating the basement.
We had an asbestos inspection done before buying the house, so we knew the flooring in the kitchen and main bath upstairs had friable asbestos, meaning if disturbed asbestos fibers would become airborne, so we brought in the experts, one of only two times Ron has agreed to hire work out during our renovation journey. The kitchen and bathroom floors were gone in a day. . . Woohoo! The asbestos tiles in the basement, the nonfriable asbestos that you can remove yourself, took forever, ok, it only seemed like forever. Actually, the tiles came up easily as some were already loose. What lay beneath the tiles was another story.
Mastic is the glue used to bind the tiles to the floor and what it does best in my opinion, is bind itself to the surface beneath the tiles. We had A LOT of black mastic to remove . . .1,250 sq. feet to be exact. Not wanting to deal with harsh chemicals to remove the mastic (we were still recovering from painting with Kilz, a harsh smelling primer), I turned to Google. After reading various online postings, I stumbled across a blog that lead me to BEAN-e-doo, a biodegradeable soy based miracle product.
We spread the BEAN-e-doo with a broom and almost immediately the mastic began to release itself from the cement, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Using large squeeges we moved the BEAN-e-doo mastic mixture around, scraping as needed until we had large puddles of a goopy sloppy mixture (imagine not changing your cars engine oil for an incredibly long time and then smearing it on your basement floor.) The goop was slippery like ice. I had started out wearing old cowboy boots, but switched immediately to old hiking shoes, which weren't much better, but I at least was able to let go of the walls as I worked. Once we had the goop in a large puddle, we used kitty litter (A LOT) to absorb the mess. After the kitty litter was removed, the floor was mopped with a degreaser (can't remember the name but we bought it with the BEAN-e-doo from FranMar.) The degreaser worked great and we were on our way to updating the basement.
From start to finish, the process took several weekends to complete. Like most projects this size, there were highs and lows. Having the friable asbestos and tile flooring removed so quickly was a definite high as well as finishing the job. The lows, well I'm sure you can imagine the list. At some point we rounded the corner and saw our way through to the end.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Where to Start?
With any endeavor getting started is the hardest part. How to get started blogging, where and how to start documenting our DIY house renovation journey are questions rolling around my head, hence the title of my first blogging entry. Since this blog is getting started 10 months after the initial desire to capture the journey, I'll start with why I feel the need to share about renovating a house from a DIY experience, then post about current projects, as well as fill in the steps and projects we have undertaken in the last 10 months.
So why a blog? Well, as a teacher I have summers off, right, well for the most part yes, but as a teacher I am a life long learner, therefore I'm starting my summer off with a three day technology conference. A break out session I attended today was titled If I Can Blog So Can You so here I am a first time blogger. Since we moved and begin renovating an older home in need of serious tender loving care, we have talked about capturing the experience and memories of renovating a home from a true and honest DIY perspective so my blogging journey begins. Another less self-serving reason for creating this blog is to show appreciation to all the other home owners whose blogs and online postings have helped Ron and I chart our way through the DIY waters and to possibly help fellow DIY who might be scratching their heads looking for some help online and stumble across this blog.
Our journey from a newer, recently updated suburban home began in December of 2006 when Bob, a close, elderly family friend we help care for planted the seed that we should buy his home of 39 years as he lay in the hospital unsure of his fate. Ron and I contemplated, debated, and argued over the major life change for several reasons. With one son in college and the other heading there soon, money was a HUGE factor. In hindsight, money was the only reason Ron might have slightly hesitated, so let me finish the list with my reasons for digging my heels in . . . Time, memories shared in our home (first days of Kindergarten, holidays, handprints in the foundation, etc.), change, fear of not living in a neighborhood, changing phone numbers (yes, I know that's crazy, but I really liked the old number,) worries about coyotes eating my animals, kids, me, and not living in a "polished" house. In the end, the decision came down to one of those times in a marriage where someone has to give for the other person. Sometime during the early spring of 2007, I realized that Ron wanted the house far more than I didn't, so we transitioned to should we to we are going to buy and renovate an older house.
Our former home was in the process of being updated (hardwood floors, opening up the stairway and redesigning the bottom landing, painting, etc.) when we made the decision to move. Being true to his DIY self, Ron spent the next several months finishing the hardwood floors, closing up the stairway wall that he had carefully opened up as it was cheaper and faster to put the wall back, while I painted and spruced up by removing clutter from the house before we listed the house "FOR SALE BY OWNER." With all this going on, Bob was in and out of the hospital and rehab with a broken hip and heart troubles leaving us with no guarantees that when our house was finished and sold, that we would have a house to buy.
Leaving the hospital after visiting Bob in July 2007, Ron and I took a leap of faith and put the house on the market, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? We walked into Draeger Land and Home at closing, a future blog in itself, and signed up for Draeger's For Sale by Owner program despite having a few days more of work to complete. The house went on the MLS the next day, thank goodness nobody called over the weekend so we could finish up the last few finishing touches, and by the fourth day we had a full price offer. The offer included a short closing (less than three weeks) so we got busy packing, finding and moving Bob into a retirement/assisted living facility, and getting our son ready to go back to college and for me to start another school.
We moved on August 17, 2007, with most of Bob's things still inside the house. The first month involved a lot of cleaning, sorting, major dump runs, multiple professional spider sprays, asbestos removal, and tears on my part. Fall and winter brought stretched budgets and patiences, tears (me again,) demolition, BEAN-e-doo and kitty litter, more tears (guess who,) timelines pushed back farther and farther, but glimmers of progress began to emerge. Spring brought major progress, new plumbing and wiring, kitchen design completed, cabinets on order, and no tears! Here it is early summer, and the last appliance is being installed in our new beautiful kitchen. Tonight ss I start my blog and cook dinner on the barbeque, which makes a great oven in a bind, the noise of the shop vac and saw dusting swirling the kitchen are hardly noticed. This old house is now our home, for better or worse, and a new blog is born.
So why a blog? Well, as a teacher I have summers off, right, well for the most part yes, but as a teacher I am a life long learner, therefore I'm starting my summer off with a three day technology conference. A break out session I attended today was titled If I Can Blog So Can You so here I am a first time blogger. Since we moved and begin renovating an older home in need of serious tender loving care, we have talked about capturing the experience and memories of renovating a home from a true and honest DIY perspective so my blogging journey begins. Another less self-serving reason for creating this blog is to show appreciation to all the other home owners whose blogs and online postings have helped Ron and I chart our way through the DIY waters and to possibly help fellow DIY who might be scratching their heads looking for some help online and stumble across this blog.
Our journey from a newer, recently updated suburban home began in December of 2006 when Bob, a close, elderly family friend we help care for planted the seed that we should buy his home of 39 years as he lay in the hospital unsure of his fate. Ron and I contemplated, debated, and argued over the major life change for several reasons. With one son in college and the other heading there soon, money was a HUGE factor. In hindsight, money was the only reason Ron might have slightly hesitated, so let me finish the list with my reasons for digging my heels in . . . Time, memories shared in our home (first days of Kindergarten, holidays, handprints in the foundation, etc.), change, fear of not living in a neighborhood, changing phone numbers (yes, I know that's crazy, but I really liked the old number,) worries about coyotes eating my animals, kids, me, and not living in a "polished" house. In the end, the decision came down to one of those times in a marriage where someone has to give for the other person. Sometime during the early spring of 2007, I realized that Ron wanted the house far more than I didn't, so we transitioned to should we to we are going to buy and renovate an older house.
Our former home was in the process of being updated (hardwood floors, opening up the stairway and redesigning the bottom landing, painting, etc.) when we made the decision to move. Being true to his DIY self, Ron spent the next several months finishing the hardwood floors, closing up the stairway wall that he had carefully opened up as it was cheaper and faster to put the wall back, while I painted and spruced up by removing clutter from the house before we listed the house "FOR SALE BY OWNER." With all this going on, Bob was in and out of the hospital and rehab with a broken hip and heart troubles leaving us with no guarantees that when our house was finished and sold, that we would have a house to buy.
Leaving the hospital after visiting Bob in July 2007, Ron and I took a leap of faith and put the house on the market, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? We walked into Draeger Land and Home at closing, a future blog in itself, and signed up for Draeger's For Sale by Owner program despite having a few days more of work to complete. The house went on the MLS the next day, thank goodness nobody called over the weekend so we could finish up the last few finishing touches, and by the fourth day we had a full price offer. The offer included a short closing (less than three weeks) so we got busy packing, finding and moving Bob into a retirement/assisted living facility, and getting our son ready to go back to college and for me to start another school.
We moved on August 17, 2007, with most of Bob's things still inside the house. The first month involved a lot of cleaning, sorting, major dump runs, multiple professional spider sprays, asbestos removal, and tears on my part. Fall and winter brought stretched budgets and patiences, tears (me again,) demolition, BEAN-e-doo and kitty litter, more tears (guess who,) timelines pushed back farther and farther, but glimmers of progress began to emerge. Spring brought major progress, new plumbing and wiring, kitchen design completed, cabinets on order, and no tears! Here it is early summer, and the last appliance is being installed in our new beautiful kitchen. Tonight ss I start my blog and cook dinner on the barbeque, which makes a great oven in a bind, the noise of the shop vac and saw dusting swirling the kitchen are hardly noticed. This old house is now our home, for better or worse, and a new blog is born.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)