I will be finishing the work shop TODAY! The last day of 2007.
I am currently cleaning everything up and I have a good amount of free space for more stuff, but I hope I can keep everything tidy and not cluttered. In the process, I've uncovered a ton of treasures that have been buried for probably years. You can look to my other blogs to find out what they are and where they will be offered up so they can be used by someone... somewhere.
For 2008, the projects are still up in the air. There are a few other dynamics in play and I have to sit tight on the project list until a few of those settle down. The consequences on a couple of them can adversely affect things so... on the stool, I will twiddle my thumbs.
Everyone have a great New Years!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Reworking the Blog
I will be revamping the layout of this blog for a little bit to get the feel right... as well as update some of the ad banners and such on the right. Bear with me... it shouldn't take (quite) as long as it takes me to tackle reconstruction projects on the house... =P
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Winter Project #1 - Renew the Shop
My shop is a mess. More so when one of the original cabinets began to deteriorate. So I began on renewing the shop a little. So far I have taken the cabinet down. Sounds simple, but for some reason, the previous owners of this house like to nail things to the excess... and in opposing directions. Great for keeping things up but bad for any tear outs. Sometimes, removal causes quite a bit of damage to the underlying structures. Anyway, I got all that down. I've also put up replacement open shelving. Very beefy to handle very heavy items. And open so I can see what's up there; 2X4 braces with 3/4" ply shelves. I also built them longer and gained additional storage. The decision to build it bigger was dictated by existing stud locations... which the previous cabinet did not. I am now in the middle of painting the shelves to match the rest of the shop - off white body with midnight blue stripe/accents.
Once the painting is complete, I will also be installing some pegboard and then reorganizing all of the tools and supplies. I hope it will all flow much better when I am done. It is a pretty tight space.
Once the painting is complete, I will also be installing some pegboard and then reorganizing all of the tools and supplies. I hope it will all flow much better when I am done. It is a pretty tight space.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Outsider's Eye
My parents finally popped in and got a look at the progress of my current home. They haven't seen it in a several years and back then, the kitchen had no walls and the entry ways were all covered in plastic sheathing. Before that, it was shortly after we acquired the house.
My wife was very happy to see my parents seemed to really like the house. I think for the first time, they understood what my wife and I can do; rip it down and put it all back together.
My little brother just bought his first house. We got a gander at it just after he took possession. It is a 1920's modified bungalow. It still has its original hardwood floors and an interesting walk-through bathroom between the two bedrooms. Kind of like some hotel suites. Anyway, it has some great potential to be a very nice home.
I brought that up because my parents commented on the hardwood floors in my home. The floors, and most of the original moldings and trim work, were all worn, faded and dried out in a lot of areas. Most people would throw their arms up and cover it all up/replace everything with paint, carpet or linoleum. Bad, bad, bad! My wife went around and found all of the bad areas in need of attention and then re-hydrated and re-stained-to-match all of the woodwork. Following this was applying the final topcoat to protect all of her work. I generally like to use brush-on polyurethane or spar varnish/urethane as I did on my previous home and the new mahogany exterior front and screen doors. She settled on Wipe-On Polyurethane. Wow! A lot of time consuming work, but the results are spectacular. 3 complete coats on the first floor and stairs and everything has shine and depth. My parents commented that my little brother should see our floors and follow suit with his own. To be honest, his floors are in much better condition than what ours were. At worst, have a crew come in and take the top layer off and lay down several fresh coats of polyurethane. And, as we did in our home, get some great rugs and lay them into the space. It will keep the beauty of the hardwood, absorb the sound and best of all add flavor to the rooms that can be changed around if needed. Actually, the best of all is that you take that investment with you when its time to go. Not so with the other alternative I heard getting thrown around... carpet.
Anyway, may parents liked the finished new kitchen and the (finished a couple of weeks ago) small bathroom. We took them around and showed them some of the art we have collected and our Persian "fish" rugs, etc. Overall, a big thumbs up.
My wife was very happy to see my parents seemed to really like the house. I think for the first time, they understood what my wife and I can do; rip it down and put it all back together.
My little brother just bought his first house. We got a gander at it just after he took possession. It is a 1920's modified bungalow. It still has its original hardwood floors and an interesting walk-through bathroom between the two bedrooms. Kind of like some hotel suites. Anyway, it has some great potential to be a very nice home.
I brought that up because my parents commented on the hardwood floors in my home. The floors, and most of the original moldings and trim work, were all worn, faded and dried out in a lot of areas. Most people would throw their arms up and cover it all up/replace everything with paint, carpet or linoleum. Bad, bad, bad! My wife went around and found all of the bad areas in need of attention and then re-hydrated and re-stained-to-match all of the woodwork. Following this was applying the final topcoat to protect all of her work. I generally like to use brush-on polyurethane or spar varnish/urethane as I did on my previous home and the new mahogany exterior front and screen doors. She settled on Wipe-On Polyurethane. Wow! A lot of time consuming work, but the results are spectacular. 3 complete coats on the first floor and stairs and everything has shine and depth. My parents commented that my little brother should see our floors and follow suit with his own. To be honest, his floors are in much better condition than what ours were. At worst, have a crew come in and take the top layer off and lay down several fresh coats of polyurethane. And, as we did in our home, get some great rugs and lay them into the space. It will keep the beauty of the hardwood, absorb the sound and best of all add flavor to the rooms that can be changed around if needed. Actually, the best of all is that you take that investment with you when its time to go. Not so with the other alternative I heard getting thrown around... carpet.
Anyway, may parents liked the finished new kitchen and the (finished a couple of weeks ago) small bathroom. We took them around and showed them some of the art we have collected and our Persian "fish" rugs, etc. Overall, a big thumbs up.
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