Small Projects

It’s So Sick

Published on August 12, 2013August 12, 2013 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

Hello everyone and happy Monday! Weather finally cooperated with us this weekend and we gave the back deck a finish coat. Per Ben’s research and paint store recommendations, we used Sikkens SRD in a Teak finish.

Ben had a one day only 20% off all paints and stains coupon at Home Depot, so we bought six gallons. And used just under five to get it covered in one thick, even coat.

The color samples at Home Depot and the can showed a medium toned finish, but it actually is much darker.

Not that we don’t like it, but it just wasn’t what we expected.

However, the dark wood is high contrast against the limestone, so happy accident.

It takes 48 to 72 hours to fully cure, and a few areas still are shiny. But soon we’ll be able to walk on it and (gasp!) use it.

Once the back deck dries, we’ll coat the new front walkway and steps.

More beams make three steps and a small platform.

Because the house originally had concrete steps (that still tie into the house foundation) we had to build the steps over the broken concrete.

An outdoor bench and cable rail system are still on our to do list, but we’re slowly finishing up this year’s landscape work. Which means we’re getting closer to a pretty exterior and a master bathroom remodel.

What do you think of the darker finish? Did you cross somthing off your to do list this weekend, too?

Build-A-Bed

Published on July 15, 2013July 15, 2013 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

How ’bout we talk beds. Specifically the beds Ben and I built for our boys. You already saw them in action and we’re so happy with them. At the beginning of the room make over, I threw out the idea of getting Ikea beds. Sadly, Montana doesn’t have an Ikea. So we had three options. One, wait until our next trip to Minnesota. Two, buy the beds and pay shipping to get them here. Three, build something. After crunching the numbers we realized building would be almost the same price as the Ikea bed and slat system.

To make two extra long twin beds we needed:

Three 4 by 4 by eight foot pine posts (we ordered four because we worried about the look. Good thing we did because one corner was completely gone on one)

Six 2 by 8 by eight foot pine boards

Two 4 by 8 foot OSB sheets

Six 2 by 4 boards

6 inch long screws

We cut four posts at 20 inches long for the footboard and four more at 40 inches to make the headboard. Then cut four 2 by 8’s to 39 inches to connect the posts together.

Two more 2 by 8 rails at 81 inches make up the sides.

Ben drilled staggered pilot holes in the posts. The screws go completely through the post and in a few inches of each 2 by 8.

Each rail connects to the inside of each corner post.

To support the matterss Ben cut 2 by 4 boards in half length wise and nailed them into the rails.

Four more 39 inch 2 by 4 pieces go across, resting on the rail supports.

Which holds the OSB in place before putting the matterss on.

Oh, I should mention I sanded all the pieces with 120 grit paper before giving it two coats of Minwax Polycrylic. Between coats I sanded with 400 grit paper, just to smooth the raised grain.

Now for the headboards. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of this because we both had to stretch the upholstery fabric. Ben cut a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood to 19 by 39 inches, then nailed more cut 2 by 4 strips to all outside edges. Two by 2 pine would also work. Then we wrapped a foam matterss pad (cheaper than foam by the yard!) over the front, top and bottom, leaving the sides clear. Then we stretched the fabric over, stapling to the back under sides of the frame.

Three inch screws from the back into the posts hold the headboards in place.

All the lumber cost $120, another $12 for the fabric, and we already had the screws, foam, and clear coat. So, basically the same price as the Ikea beds, without hauling or shipping, but these beds are twice as beefy. They’re extra long twin instead of a normal twin, too. And took only two days to make. Can’t say that about some Ikea items. Ha!

Getting Preppy

Published on June 12, 2013June 12, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Finally having the ugly popcorn off the boys ceiling feels great, but that was the easy part. The texture came off rather smoothly and easily, but that doesn’t mean the ceiling is primer or paint worthy. Because we’ve had a few ‘what to do after scraping’ questions, I’m back to share my steps. Our sheet rock is held in place with nails (the quick way to hang it) and every nail hole needed filling.

A few areas had scrapes from my spatula and some minor popcorn residue was still on the ceiling. Before I could break out the primer, I first filled every nail hole (twice), filled in any scratches, then sanded the whole ceiling smooth. I started with a drywall pole sander (like this one) but quickly got frusterated with it.

Lacking serious upper arm strength, I couldn’t keep the sander head flat on the ceiling with enough pressure to do much. Instead, it kept flipping over, causing more damage. So I ditched it, filled in the scratches from it, and used a sanding sponge to get ‘er done. Oh, and I taped off the door to contain the dusty mess. Also, wear glasses and a mask because the dust is everywhere.

Use a fine grit paper and sand until smooth to the touch. Carefully, sanding through the tape can be a serious pain in the butt. Drywall mud should sand easily off, as will the popcorn residue.

Sanding drywall, it’s a dirty job (said as Mike Rowe).

It was annoying to use a small sanding block, moving a chair all around the room, but it’s done. Even primed and painted. Looking gloriously smooth.

Unfortunately for me, the ceiling wasn’t the only wall needing attention, sanding, and spackling. I’m 99% sure the two outside walls had wall paper. Wall paper was all over this house: the kitchen, previously in the family room and guest room (found pieces behind outlet covers), and some painted over in our master bedroom (which will make it super easy to remove, I’m sure). Either this paper really stuck on or someone was especially careless when removing, leaving big triangular gouges behind. That’s bound to happen. Then the chunks were filled, but apparently not sanded before painting over. Behind Everett’s crib was the worst spot.

So I’m currently tending to the walls before we can prime and paint. First I used a metal putty knife to scrape off the uneven areas, filled, sanded, even primed the problem areas. But the moisture of the primer made the surrounding paint bubble. I scraped again, making the area larger, sanding smooth, and filling again with mud. Annoyingly, the wet mud made more paint bubble. You guessed it, more scraping, sanding, and filling. Now I’ve got this to work with:

Hopefully (key word here!) I’ve gotten the flaky paint off and I can carry on with my plans. Which should include new door trim, crown, and base boards before a few coats of Anjou Pear paint.

It’s exciting to take another virtually untouched since we’ve moved in room and make it ‘us’. Kind of getting sick of feeling like I’m living in someone else’s house, you know what I mean? So tell me, what’s the strangest thing a previous home owner has done to your house? Something that has you wondering, “why in the world did that happen?!”

Pop Off Popcorn

Published on June 10, 2013June 10, 2013 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Disclaimer: Before I get to the details, it’s super important to know if your ceiling has asbestos. You can buy a test kit to do yourself, or call a professional to check. If your ceiling tests positive for asbestos, leave this job to the pros. If your ceiling doesn’t have asbestos, read on.

As I mentioned last week, scraping the popcorn off our ceiling was easier than I expected. Lucky for us, these ceilings hadn’t been painted over, allowing the texture to absorb more water. If you’ve got a ceiling you want to smooth, get a weed sprayer, wide metal spatula, hot water, and white vinegar. You’ll also want safety glasses or goggles, a mask, and probably a hat.

If your floors are finished (or just for easy clean up), tape plastic over floors and finished walls. Fill the weed sprayer with the hottest water you can get from your faucet. No need to boil or anything, just hot. Add in vinegar. I poured about 1 to 1 1/2 cups in the sprayer. Start spraying the ceiling and don’t be stingy! Note, I’m not sure if the vinegar really helped because I didn’t do a side by side test, but vinegar did help with wall paper removal…

Spray a large area (the wet areas should be noticeably different from the dry ceiling – see along the back wall?), then test scrape. If it comes off easily, keep on going. Be careful to have your spatula at an angle so you don’t gouge the sheet rock below.

If it doesn’t come off, spray again, let it soak a few minutes then try. If your ceilings are painted, scraping the outermost layer off to expose fresh texture, then spraying again could really help.

Also, when you come up to a taped seam, scrape along it, not against it. This way you won’t tear the tape leaving a cracked ceiling behind. I worked toward the center, leaving my light up. When I got close, I pulled down the canopy, covered the electrical box with plastic, carefully sprayed around the box, and scraped off the rest.

Clean up was pretty easy thanks to the protective plastic layer, but the water did loosen the tape in some spots. After rolling up the sheeting, I hauled the shop vac in to get the rest off the floors.

The actual scraping took only an hour, which is about 23 shorter than I expected. Ha! Now I’ve got to fill a few holes to get ready for paint, which is always the tedius part.

The Gross Kind of Popcorn

Published on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by Our Humble Abode22 Comments

Gross popcorn certainly does not come from the movie theater. Or in the cheddar cheese and caramel mixed bag at Costco. Oh no, those are delicious. The gross popcorn plagues hundreds of thousands of homes across America. An epidemic especially in homes built between 1970 and 2000. We’ve got it, maybe you do too? In an effort to rid ourselves of the dreaded popcorn, I moved the boys’ bedroom furniture into the guest room. Leaving me with an empty room ready for popcorn removal.

Of course I had to move the guest furniture out before that.

Because I was alone in the moving process, I dragged the mattress and box spring across the hall to our room.

Three rooms affected by the dreaded popcorn. Yes, all that to say goodbye to this:

Yesterday I did something I’d never done before. After wrapping the room in Dexter-ish plastic, I scraped popcorn off a ceiling.

Guess what? It wasn’t hard or bad. In fact, it was satisfying. Watching the ugly peel off, leaving behind a near paint-ready ceiling. Which gives me a boost of confidence to get our larger room done, too. For those with a popcorn ceiling problem, I’m working on a removal tutorial right now. Something to look forward to next week.

So tell me, do you hate popcorn ceilings? What’s the worst wall finish?