…made entirely of things she already had. Very cool.

My Mom's Christmas Tree

It’s been a little over 4 months since the last home project update. Since then, we have hung the drywall in the basement, mudded over all of the imperfections caused from amateur drywallers, mudded some more only to realize that our mudding skilz were less than average. Overall, it was a very tedious, many lessons learned process that took 3x longer than I expected. In hindsight, hiring the drywall out would have been worth it, but in the same sense there’s a great sense of accomplishment completing and learning with the DIY method.  They say building is all of about having the right tools and I concur. Some life savers included; the corner trowel for mudding, a drywall lift for hanging on the ceiling, and a sprayer for texturizing. Fortunately, Katie was able to use her connections and hook us up with all. Without her, we’d still be staring at 2×4 studs.

Next up, painting. Michelle’s favorite!

This last three months, Michelle and I have been planning and working on finishing the basement.  When we moved in our house almost a year ago, the basement was relatively untouched.  To catch you up, the house was a one owner and she didn’t do a whole lot of improvements or projects during her 50 years of residency.  This left us with a fresh slate to do whatever we pleased.  Granted, the house isn’t big, so we just divided the basement in half to create one large, long room that will be finished.  The other half will consist of two storage rooms and an existing laundry/ half bathroom in the middle.

Unfinished Basement 1

The planning phase was easy because of the natural layout with support beams running down the middle to create our divide.  After we order and had our materials delivered, it was time to get started.  Well, almost, I guess we had to get a building permit through the city first.  My perception of dealing with permits and building codes was one of, “this is going to suck”.  Surprisingly, they were super easy to work with and accepted my crude sketch for their records.  I was in and out in less than 10 minutes with a building permit.  If only the DMV was that easy!

Unfinished Basement 2

Thank God for family!  Katie has been helping, or rather telling me what to do with all of her experience.  Her great connections for tool rentals have also saved us many headaches and dollars.  Installing the bottom plates took some time to layout and fasten.  We choose to use a “power nailer” or one that uses .22 cartridges to shoot the nails into the concrete floor.  I thought it was cool, but Tucker did not.  He had issues for a couple hours and hid in the closet.  After that, we put up the walls rather quickly.

Next, came the electrician part.  He had a lot to do with tearing down the old wires and running outlets, recessed lights, and anything else needed for code.  Just like our living room updates last spring, I was amazed at how fast they work.  If there is anything I would rather let a professional do, it’s electrical and plumbing work.  Thankfully, we know two great contacts.

Next up is having the inspectors do a quick “rough in” look before it’s on to drywalling.

Basement Framed 1

Basement Framed 2

When deciding on a house, Michelle and I both had the kitchen towards the bottom of the list as far as the wish list goes.  Now, since we have updated the living space some, we have grown to love the small, galley style kitchen.

The previous owner, from what I can tell, decided that to leave the kitchen the same as the day she moved in.  The counter-top was made from a vinyl material, similar to what you would see on a floor (and probably just as sanitary).  Speaking of which, the floor was in good shape but just ugly and outdated.  The common theme was green, which was everywhere.

First off, Michelle spent hours tearing out the old wallpaper and smoothing the wall down to get it prepped for fresh paint.  Next, we debated for weeks on whether or not to replace the cabinets.  They are vintage Kitchen Maid with metal drawers and painted in a 60s green tone.  In the end, it was my grandpa and Michelle’s mom that convinced us to keep them.  They are in extremely good shape, and along with a pretty cool look, we are both happy.  Based on some of the estimates we received to replace them, I’m especially glad we decided to keep them.

My grandpa was kind enough to help replace the old vinyl counter-top with a laminate one.  I initially called him to get his expertise regarding a couple questions on how to install it the counter-top.  My vision was one of completing the job myself.  About 5 minutes into the phone conversation, he had already asked when I was planning on working so he could stop by with a lending hand.  Boy, was I glad.  It took less than a day to complete the job along with adding a stainless steel sink.  Without his help, Michelle I would still be doing dishes in the bathroom.

Next came the floor.  Again, we had a debate on our hands.  Did we want to go with porcelain tile or the standard vinyl.  Not to break the trend, we choose the path of least damage to bank account.  Tile would have been cool, but realizing the size of our house and comparable units, it didn’t make sense.  Not to mention, I was the one installing it.  As it turned out, vinyl comes in glue-less sheets.  Not only does this make the job less messy, you can lay the new floor over the existing floor.  All in all, the floor was the easiest part of the entire kitchen.

Lastly, we decided to go with a coral color for the walls.  To our surprise, we both loved the way it looks with the green cabinets.  You can form your own opinions though.  I also decided to add custom made  yellow bench, which doubles as tucker’s food storage.

In the future, we would like to add new electrical fixtures, a better trash system, and perhaps a pots/pans rack over the stove.  For now though, we are satisfied with what we got.  Too bad neither of us likes to cook!

Last night, I decided to go through a drawer in the kitchen that I’ve been putting off since we moved in.  No, my life isn’t that boring…I just had time on my hands due to the T-storm and power outage.  The drawer was filled with old user manuals from various appliances and electronics.  The previous dweller was an older lady and apparently kept detailed records.  Sure, I like to keep some user manuals (like the car) but a Cassette Recorder from the 1980s?

It was interesting to thumb through and get a glimpse of what life was like when I was 3 years old.  Apparently, after you buy a big ticket item you send in a “product registration form” to the manufacturer…not sure why through?  In the dusty stack of papers was a Sony User Guide on how to “use” electronics.  I’d consider it a good refresher and will remember not to listen to the AM/FM Radio in the bathtub.

Here’s the summary of my findings:

• Hoover Help-Mate Vacuum
• Panasonic Cassette Recorder
• Sony 1990 Trinitron Color TV with Remote ($350 from Best Buy)
• Whirlpool 1993 Gas Dryer ($780 from Local Shop) and I thought today’s dryers are expensive!
• Tappan 1993 Gas Range ($835 from Local Shop)
• Amana 1983 Refrigerator ($775 from Factory) that would be $1,650 in today’s dollars

Note: We are still using the Gas Range and Refrigerator.

She may not have updated the house since 1975, but the old lady who owned the house before us did leave some gifts. Wild rose bushes behind the house survived the winter and we got our 1st rose. Just in time for Michelle’s B-day tomorrow! I wonder if they will bloom next February too…

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Our house is average according to the 19050s standard.  The average home size and population was 983 sq ft. and 3, respectively.  If you count Tucker, and ours is 926 sq ft. and 3.

Finally I have a place to put my to-do pile at home. It’s been too long w/out a desk. I got the base and top at the habitat restore. The bases are old metal kitchen cabinets…$20 for both. The top is an unused desk top…$5. Plus some black spray paint and I spent under $35 for all of it. I think the restore is my new favorite place the go.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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