DIY – Page 5

Laboring on Labor Day

Published on September 6, 2012March 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

Nope, not pregnant. No new baby here. I’m talking about windows. Now that ~~all~~ most of the windows are in, let’s go inside to take a look at the difference the new windows have made. First, check out the kitchen in all it’s 70’s wallpapered, oak, bay window goodness.

And now with the sliding white window.

Making this window flat lets in so much more light, and the window seems bigger without dividing it into three sections. Oh, and the fact this window actually opens. Go figure. The same can be said for the breakfast nook window. Before, V and E used the bay window as their personal dance floor/kitchen/play room.

Despite shortening the window, I think it feels more open. Perhaps not having a mass of dark oak helped? Whatever it is, I’m liking it.

Just a breath of fresh air to see a lighter, brighter kitchen. Removing the ugly wallpaper definitely helped.

In the family room, we replaced the two stationary side lights with shorter double hung windows. Hooray for air flow. For some reason, I always feel guilty putting furniture in front of windows. So this arrangement works better for us.

Also, I think the shorter windows feel more intentional and less like “this is a door, but let’s just take off the handles and no one will know.” The window height actually matches, instead of looking like someone scored a lot of assorted windows on Craigslist and made it work.

Oh, and these windows and doors are so quiet to open and close. The old door squeaked and squealed. Ben is a ninja leaving in the mornings now, sneaking out the quiet door.

While window shopping, we discovered most energy-efficient windows have a low visible transmittance thanks to the UV blocking coatings. This concerned us, because about 50 or 60 percent of light makes it into the house. Luckily, we don’t see a drastic difference.

To gain egress in the bedrooms, our city requires 5.7 square feet with a minimum opening of 24 inches tall by 20 inches wide within 44 inches of the floor. The original height of the bedroom windows was fine, but our casement windows only opened about 18 inches by 4 feet.

To use the same brand and line of windows throughout, our only option was a large (4 foot wide by 66 inch tall) double hung window.

Luckily, our windows sit about 19 inches off the floor, so we didn’t have to use tempered glass. Wahoo for saving a little money.

These are my favorite windows. I love the cute courtyard feel of the back yard.

And from outside, the windows are almost the same size.

No more awkward bay windows bumping out, either.

Ben used three layers of 2 by 4s to get the windows out. When he wraps the house in insulation, the siding will sit flush with the edge of the window. Using the 2 by 4s is a simple and strong way to support the windows while extending for the future insulation layers.

Now to get the insulation on the outside and frame the windows on the inside. Of course we’ll keep you updated on our progress.

What do you think of the new windows? Have you gotten new windows recently? Did it make a world of difference? Both in looks and monthly savings?

Puttin’ On My Painting Clothes

Published on August 27, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode17 Comments

Welp, over the last four days I did a lot of prep and painting. Thought it may not look like I did. You know, the main bathroom is deceptively large and then factor in the trim detail I had to work with. It took most of my weekend, but we’re one step closer to a finished bathroom. Last weekend, Ben installed most of the trim. He finished up on Tuesday, installing the cap and details around the vanity. I spent a few hours filling nail holes and caulking the seams on Wednesday. After that, I packed up the boys and we took a trip to the lumber yard to search for the perfect crown molding. Five samples came home with me, but I had a clear favorite. That one, at the top of the pile.

Ben agreed, and it was the second cheapest option. Hooray! Thursday I sanded everything and started priming. Then on Friday I put on the first coat of white paint. After our home-made waffle breakfast, our little family made another trip to the lumber yard to buy our crown molding to finish off the bathroom. Ben installed it once we got home. Of course that gave me more nail holes to fill and seams to caulk, but the end was in sight. While letting the caulk dry, I put a second coat of white on the lower half. Bright and early on Sunday morning, I sanded the crown and gave it a quick, heavy coat of white. Luckily, one coat covered the crown completely, so I let that dry and worked on the entertainment center. (More on that project soon!) Then I taped off the white trim to give the walls and ceiling a second coat of gray. And so I did. Because I worked my butt off to get this all done, I thought it be best to tell you every detail of the process so you feel like you’ve painted with me. Haha. I told you all of that to show you this; our (almost) finished bathroom.

While I’m biased, I’m completely in love. And it’s nice to see the trim one color. So much whiter and brighter.

We’ve got a few little things to do, like build faux drawers for the vanity, paint the door (which means the rest of the doors in the house will get painted as well-I think I’ve landed on a color), and spray paint the fan cover.

The rest is d.o.n.e. As I mentioned, Ben and I had a few disagreements about trim placement. Lucky for me, he agreed to add 1/4 inch detail trim around the side of the linen closet.

The rest of the room has a decorative trim (which also functions to hide the peeled sheet rock).

The same trim wraps around the vanity acting as a back splash.

Details make me happy. While this trim is simple, I think it works well with the modern meets traditional aesthetic we’re going for.

Simple square door casement with a touch of detail.

And let’s talk about the crown. We had the option to use traditional crown, similar to what is in the rest of the house, like this for 55 and 75 cents per linear foot.

But it all felt too formal and traditional. Instead, we landed on a door casement with a slightly detailed, but still clean lined profile. For us, this works. We used casement as crown in our first house with great results. And, this trim is only 45 cents a linear foot. At that price, for our 8 foot square bathroom, the crown cost only $11.25.

Big impact for little money. And the casement is easier to work with that true crown.

What do you think of our almost finished bathroom? Did you work all weekend? Or did you take some time to relax? I’m off to work on the entertainment center now.

A {New} Roof Over Our Heads

Published on August 8, 2012October 18, 2012 by Our Humble Abode15 Comments

Almost two months after starting the process, Ben and Handy Sammy have finished the roof. Whew, that’s a relief. It was a long, hot, sweaty process and I know we’re all thankful to have it behind us. Take a look back at what we started with:

Cedar shakes and an odd solar panel hut which caused the roof to leak. Not a good look. I won’t get into the whole re-roofing process (partly because I don’t know every step of it, fortunately Ben does) but it took a lot of time and effort. Working on the house part was easier, but the eight skylights in the pool room caused a few headaches. For the two larger skylights, Ben and Sammy had to build their own step flashing. Boo to that. So here they are, on their last day of roofing.

In the home stretch, the boys had high spirits, striking Olympic athlete poses in the process.

Back off, ladies. He’s all mine. Haha. But here’s the roof now, looking sleek and finished.

After talking with his roofing supply friend, Ben decided to use Pabco Premier architectural shingles in Pewter Gray.

A new ridge vent allows maximum attic ventilation without ugly vent holes. Not that it matters much, because most of the roof isn’t visible unless you’ve climbed up our back yard…

The house looks sleek and modern. Ben plans to paint the vent pipes to blend with the roof, too.

Next up, digging up the back yard to prepare for new windows and siding. Windows are on order and should arrive in about two weeks. Can’t wait to get that party started.

What projects have you just wrapped up? Something outside, like a roof? Landscaping? Let’s celebrate our newly finished projects.

Finding Our Center

Published on July 26, 2012October 18, 2012 by Our Humble Abode42 Comments

While the boys and I relaxed, played, ate, and shopped, Ben was still working his butt off at/on our house. In fact, he finished the shingling on the house roof, with only the pool roof left. While he was up there, he started determining the placement of the Sky Tube. If you’re not familiar with a Sky Tube, it’s a small, round sky light, similarly installed like a vent. Ben installed one in the windowless main bathroom at our first house and we loved how much brighter it made the room.

The main bathroom in the Mountain house is windowless, and very dark. As fate would have it, Ben was looking at Craigslist for insulation and found a 14 inch wide, brand spanking new in the box Sky Tube.

But, let’s go back to our recent Sky Tube conversation. First, take a look at the bathroom as it now stands.

Before leaving for Minnesota, Ben and I discussed the placement of the Sky Tube. I thought centering it on the 8 foot by 8 foot room would spread the light around the best, like this:

He agreed and that was settled, right? Wrong. While away, Ben installed the roof part of the Sky Tube, and decided he preferred it centered on the bath tub, like it was at our first house, which would look like this:

And like this from the door:

Either placement is fine with what Ben has already done on the roof. The flexible duct work can move to either place. I see where he’s coming from, because when centered on the room, the Sky Tube doesn’t look centered on anything. With the shower curtain closed, the shower is slightly darker than I’d like. And it would be nice to have the additional natural light in there, so maybe centering it over the shower is the best placement?

Really, the placement is only a few feet apart, so it’s not the biggest deal. But I’m wondering, which do you prefer? Centered on the room? Or over the bath tub?

Other than a small hole to mark the location for Ben to find in the attic, we haven’t done anything in the bathroom for it yet.

So that’s the latest debate. What have you been debating over recently? Which rug to buy? Where to hang something? Let’s share so everyone can vent and feel better.

How’s it Hanging?

Published on July 24, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

As usual, when back in Minnesota, Ben and/or I try to help my sister with something on her house. Over our Christmas vacation, Ben refinished her stairs and built an awesome bookshelf.

Of course Ben’s skill set grossly out does mine, so I decided to do what I do best. Hang a few pictures. Ash gathered up her frames and art to take this wall from blank to beautiful.

Ten framed pictures later, we’ve got a super simple gallery wall. To simplify the hanging process, I held up the pictures, asked for opinions, then marked the wall to hang using this method.