Contrary to popular belief, we have been getting some DIY finished round these parts.  It’s just been difficult actually getting the pictures uploaded and posted on blog.  Ya know how life is.

At the end of this week, Rick’s family are coming for a visit.  They’re driving about 18 hours from Oklahoma to see us – it’s been about 4 years since we’ve seen them so it will be really nice to catch up.  His folks are bringing his five year old niece, Keegan (pictured here with her 18 month old cousin, Alyssa)…

So the fact that we haven’t got any railing on our main stairs is a bit of a problem. A safety hazard, to say the least. So with a definite deadline to meet, we’ve been spurred on to get the stairs finally finished.  After all, we’ve only been living without rails since last summer . You can track our progress here: stair sanding, new library header, the tread problem and finally, stair staining.

First up?  Before we can install any spindles and railing, we have to solve the base plate issue (read about that here). Rick has been working hard building custom landing plates. Custom because DIY stores don’t carry landing plates in the dimensions we need – 16 ft long by 10 inches wide, plus a little rounded overhang to make it all look pretty.  See exhibit A.

So we glued 1 x 10 to a 1 x 1, and routered then edge to create a bull-nosed finished (see Exhibits B, C and D). A little bit of sanding and screwing and we now have custom landing plates. Voila!

See those brown swirls on the edge of the steps?  We removed the wooden decorative spirals that were stuck there.  Nothing wrong with ‘em, just not our style.  So, those swirls will eventually be painted over for a more seamless look.

Next up? Drilling the holes for the spindles and staining the rest of the plates.  Deets coming soon – stay tuned!

Here’s a pic of our upstairs guest bathroom when we moved in.  Jealous much?  Yeah, I know you’re coveting the fake blue marble vanity with shell shaped sinks…

and let’s take a closer look at the loo.  Check out that matching blue *padded* toilet seat.  Nice.

We recently noticed that this little gem had sprung a leak. There was a crack on the bottom of the tank, which was causing a slow leak of water (the blue color comes from the cleaning block we have in the tank). So, it was high time we replaced this sucker.

Once the tank was removed, it was evident that this thing hadn’t been replaced since it was installed when the house was built back in 1993.  Check out the grime behind the tank. It’s more dirty than Christina Aguilera in her bondage leather chaps days.

Rick had quite a time removing the bowl as it was caulked to the tile floor (current DIY thinking says you shouldn’t caulk around the toilet bowl because if you have a leak in the future, the moisture could be trapped under the base of the toilet and your plywood subflooring could very well rot out.  Better to see the leak and deal with it, rather than the alternative). So, to remove the toilet bowl, Rick had to break it into pieces with a hammer…

Another problem that was causing the bowl to stick was the rusted screws that hold the toilet to the flange.  I guess the rust is courtesy of the leak that has been going on for many years.

A bit of elbow grease and the loo was gone. You can really see how much the water has been leaking under the toilet bowl.

I mentioned previously about the lovely dark sludge that we found in the toilet tank (which led us to test our well water).  You can also see that we live in a clay soil area, as evidenced by the clay particles found in our tank.

We bought a water-efficient complete toilet kit from our local DIY store.  In addition to a new tank and bowl, it comes complete with new flange, bolt, bolt caps and wax seal – everything you need to install a new loo. The steps for installing a toilet are really very simple – check out this short tutorial from Home Depot (note: they do caulk around the bowl base.  hmmm).

So nice to have a spanking new toilet tank that’s free of sludge and clay…

Here’s our brand new loo.  Ain’t she a beauty?

And just in case you haven’t seen enough photos of toilets, here is a gratuitous before and after shot.

A quick fix that makes a world of difference to the guest bathroom.  I can’t say how happy I am to get rid of that horrible padded blue toilet seat.  I am sure our house guests will be thankful for the updated facilities.  Next up is changing the blue faux-marble sea-shell monstrosity of a vanity. What decor faux-pas did you inherit with your house?

Living in a DIY zone has its dangers.  Like random nails, screws and tacks lying about on the floor.  No matter how many times you sweep up, they always somehow manage to magically appear in the most used footpaths.

I’ve stepped on these little floor tacks enough times now that I feel I’m more perforated than an English teabag. 

What is it about living in a DIY-zone that irks you the most?  Feel free to moan.  It’s cathartic, right?

We’ve been making really good progress this week on our library header.  On Monday, I posted this video showing the crucial moment we removed the supporting 2×4 beams, thus revealing our new header.  Where once there was a wall, there is now space glorious space.

What I didn’t mention in detail in the video is the steps we took to make sure that the 20 feet expanse of wall was properly supported.  We installed a double header to fully ensure the attic floor boards above (which in turn support the roof) were being held in check.  Each header was made by sandwiching 2×8′s with wafer board. Both headers were joined together using these 1/2″ x 6″ hex bolts, secured with 1/2″ washers and nuts.

One of our future renovation plans is to convert the attic space into a guest suite (bedroom + bathroom).  So we wanted to be 200% sure that both spaces would be properly supported. When we performed the “stress test”, i.e. Rick and I both vigorously jumping up and down on the attic floor, there was a slight bit of movement on the library header.  After much discussion, we decided it would be better for the long term structural safety of the library and future attic-conversion that the long 20 foot expanse was a bit more supported.  So, we installed a support post… 

Next up was sheetrocking all the wood.  It didn’t take all that long to measure and cut the sheetrock and attach it to the walls with screws (we find screws better than nails as they are less likely to pop back out and damage the sheetrock). The sheetrock was mudded, left to set for a day or so…

and then sanded.  Hehe…

No, Rick doesn’t have a psoriasis problem, nor a cocaine habit.  He is also not trying out for the part of “Ghost of Christmas Past” in the local adaption of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”.  Don’t you just love getting down and dirty.  For the sake of DIY, I mean .

On Friday night, we took the supporting 2×4′s down and revealed our new library header. Check out this short video I took at the crucial moment. I can’t believe how English I sound on camera. Waaaaall….

I’m tellin’ ya. I should be on HGTV.

Not.

The scaffold is back….

Last year, we rented the scaffold to help us install our foyer chandelier, paint the two-storey foyer walls, change out our master  bedroom ceiling fan, and help Rick get onto the roof  (well, almost). 

We’ve rented it again to help us finish removing the wall in our soon-to-be library and install the supporting header.

Once the header is in place, we’ll also use the scaffolding to install sheetrock, prime and paint, then finally install crown molding in the two-storey entry way.  While we’re at it, we’ll probably paint the ceiling, and dust off the foyer chandelier.  Check back next week for an update on our progress.  Have a great weekend!

Rick is making fantastic progress sanding the stairs, gradually removing the old pine color from the treads and railing (eventually we’ll be replacing it with a darker stain).  It’s been a huge job to tackle on his own.  But given the amount of dust that this project has generated, maybe it is best that I have been away for this part (we don’t want a replay of the asthma attack following the carpet removal when we first moved in).

Here are a few pics taken by Rick to document the progress he is making.  The one dark stair tread was a test run on a replacement stain color. Check out those doggy footprints in the dust!

In this pic, Rick has totally removed the stair railing and all the spindles in order to finish the sanding.  It looks so open and airy without stair railing – it’s a shame it’s such a death trap!

I love that there is so much dust in the air that even the camera has little specks of dust in the lens.

You can really see the difference between the sanded stair treads and the original orangey color of the floor.  I think that using a rich chocolate brown on the stairs will add depth and sophistication, and hopefully the “wow-factor”, to the entryway.

The next decision we have to make is what to do with the stair risers.  Keep them white as a nice contrast to the darker stain on the treads?  Or stain them for a cohesive look?  Or do something daring such as paint them a different color, add wallpaper, or even tiles?  What do you think?

…with a swarm of critters. Another project we undertook this weekend was removing all the overgrown, weed-infested bushes around the perimeter of the house. A chainsaw, a rake and a lawnmower (plus two crazy people working in the heat) were all it took to take the bushes down…

What was more interesting was the sheer amount of creepy crawlies (and other small animals) that emerged as we tore down their home. I cannot count how many large spiders we encountered….

I’m not even sure what these two bugs were. Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The first bug was relatively small, but the second bug was huge – about the width of Rick’s hand. At first we thought it was some kind of spider – we counted 8 legs.  But after closer inspection, it appeared as though the two longer “legs” were feelers, making it an insect of some sort.

We disturbed about a trillion of these green leaf-like bugs (can you tell I’m no entomologist?). Once we had removed their bushy abode, they took up residence all over the fascia of the house.  I am starting to understand exactly how many bugs exist out there in the world.  Did you know that there are approximately 10 quintillion insects on the planet – about 200 million insects for every human. I think about half of those insects were in our bushes…

In addition to the creepy crawlies, we found a few other surprise visitors.  Like this tiny, cobalt blue lizard:

and this adorable little frog:

Who knew that our house was a cornucopia of critters?

Don’t let this innocent face fool you. Puppy + small chihuahua teeth + insane amount of energy = chewed house. Reebs doesn’t chew the usual dog fare – shoes, bones, toys and so on.  Reebs is a true renovation dog – she likes to chew walls, wallpaper, insulation and siding. Yes, siding.

Now admittedly, the siding on the back of house by the deck wasn’t in the best of condition when we bought the house. It had already began to rot and tear away in some places.  So, in actuality, Reebs just sped the removal process along by chewing the siding off the house. And she made a good start on the underlying insulation too. Especially in the house.

When we replaced the old back door, we had to remove part of the walls, floor and subfloor to repair the rot and damage. We haven’t quite got around to covering the wall back up – so many projects, so little time yada, yada, yada. Since we moved the dog detention area from the dining room to the kitchen, Reebs has been going to town chewing on the walls.  She has completely chewed through the wall insulation from the inside, and with her siding project on the outside, she is well on her way to making her own little dog door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, this weekend, it was our priority to get the siding replaced. A couple of months ago, we bought some heavily discounted hardi-plank siding off Craigslist, in anticipation of this very project. So, we already had the materials and tools to hand.  The original siding came off with little problems. A few measurements, cuts and screws later, the replacement siding was up. 

It is not an exact match to the original siding, but it is a whole lot better looking than the half-chewed, half-rotting debacle that was there before. And hopefully, seeing as the new siding is hardi-plank, Reebs will not be able to chew through this stuff so easily! When in the yard, she’ll just have to amuse herself by chewing on some more bats, bugs and moles…

This weekend, we decided to tackle one of the outstanding projects left on our downstairs bathroom renovation. Above the vanity, we are planning on hanging a large silver mirror, topped off by a satin nickel vanity light.  When finished, (probably in the year 2012 at the rate we’re going!), it should look something like this artistic rendition.

In order to install the new light, we need to run electric wires to it,  either creating a separate switch, or splicing the vanity light into the existing wiring for the ceiling light.  We needed to figure out a way to run the wires without making gaping holes in the walls and ceiling.  We needed to think outside of the bathroom box. Literally.

The floor of the library upstairs runs directly over the bathroom. If we pull up the subfloor in the library, we will be able to access the ceiling light wiring and splice the new fixture. From our previous demos in the library, you may remember that the sheetrock walls and flooring have been removed, leaving only studs and subflooring – here’s a reminder pic of what we’ve been living with these past few months.  So it is really not much more of an eyesore/inconvenience/mess maker to temporarily remove the subfloor too. 

Now, in order to get to the subfloor, we first needed to remove the stud framing and the old door way. The wall that runs down the hallway is not a supporting wall, so could be removed with no worries. 

The wall that is adjacent to the foyer is a load-bearing wall, and so cannot be completely removed until a header is put in its place (much like we did with the two foyer walls downstairs here and here). To keep the subfloor sheet in tact, we did need to remove just a couple of the studs on the supporting wall.

Once the walls were out of the way, Rick was able to pry up one of the subfloor sheets. We did find an electrical box for a ceiling fixture, but unfortunately, it was for the wrong light! The hallway ceiling light sits just outside of the bathroom, so at least we knew we were close.  Another subfloor section coming up! 

By the time we sussed out where the bathroom ceiling lighting is, we were quickly losing light (generally not the best idea to be splicing electrics in the waning day light).  Just in case we hadn’t had enough fun for the day, before we laid the flooring back down, we got the fright of our lives. Earlier, I had been cautioning Rick be careful walking on the floor joists – one slip and he would fall right through the ceiling sheetrock into the hard tile floor below. No, Rick didn’t fall through, but one of the dogs almost did! As we had been working upstairs most of the day, the dogs would, from time to time, come and visit us and see what all the noise was about.  They would run up the stairs to the library, inevitably see that there was no flooring, and stop midstep at the top of the stairs.  But not our little T-Rex (who is either really brave, or really stupid…). He ran up the stairs oblivious to the missing floor and plopped straight into the cavity. My heart froze as I hoped the sheetrock would hold … which it did.  Luckily, Rex quickly realized the situation he was in (as judged by his ultra-wide eye balls) and jump out toute-suite. No harm done, just a few skipped heartbeats! So, with dogs rescued from impending doom, we layed the subfloor back down. We’ll deal with the electrics another day.  Stay tuned…