Well not totally. We still have some trim to do, we need to paint the ceiling and we have to put in the overhead light. We also have a cabinet to build. And David has plans for under the stairs. But that's all mostly asthetic. Right now all of the structural stuff is finished! Today we painted the walls and laid the flooring.
I wanted to talk about some of the products we used.
First off, Kilz! Holy crap how much do I love this stuff! I've only used it over painted walls but this time it was used over freshly sanded drywall. With the type of roller we used it added a slight texture to the wall. After both coats were put onto the walls it felt like a wall that had been previously painted with a flat paint. It was nice and so much easier painting with color after putting up the Kilz. I highly recommend this product!
Second, Behr Premium Plus Ultra. I was skeptical of this paint. It's the one you hear about on the TV about how you only need one coat instead of two to fully cover your walls. It....is.....AWESOME! To be fair there are a couple of spots where it got a bit thin but if you're careful on how you paint then you seriously only need one coat of paint! It saved us a ton of time and a lot of extra work to use this paint. David bought two cans of it just to be safe but it went on so well that we now have extra paint. David is still warming up to the color that I chose but if it he likes it then it will also become the kitchen color as well. I highly recommend this product.
Third, Allure Flooring! First off it's water proof. It has edges on it that stick together. It is a completely floating floor that requires no glue what so ever. You press the edges together and that's it! It looks good, has texture, and I love the color. It has a coppery color to it which goes awesome with the green color we put on the walls. They have several different types and styles to choose from. It's a most awesome product and I highly recommend it.
We bought everything from the Home Depot. No this is not because David works there. He doesn't get an employee discount at all but the Allure flooring was told to us by the flooring guys over at the store. Then we also found the Pex tubing which we also were very happy with. The plumbing guys at the store recommended this us as well. The type of insulation we used we were recommended by the guys at the store.
I have to say I've never really utilized the employees at the store but David has found those who know what they're talking about and those who don't. He is utilizing those people and they are all very good at what they do. They actually made this renovation easier by giving us advice on products and problems. I highly recommend the store.
Onto the next project!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Painting!
Finally! When we started this project 3 months ago we thought it would take forever to get to this point. Looking back at it I think that we could have done it in a week had we had the money to buy all of our supplies at one time. Unfortunately we didn't. I still think it was a good idea to go slow with this project though.
David is unhappy with the joints in the room. I told him it was a learning process. Nothing is ever going to look perfect doing this ourselves. The only way we'd get it perfect is having a professional come in and do it.
I started painting Kilz on the walls Wednesday. I was very happy! With so much of the work being done by David alone lately I was feeling a bit left out. Sad I know but still. I guess I hated more that he was working so much on his own. He's so tired between the work at work and the work at home. Anyhoo, David complained about the first layer being too thin but I told him the second one would be a thicker layer. Then when I looked back at it after it had started to dry you can still see spots where I painted it too thin. UGH! Oh well once the color is up on the walls you won't be able to tell the difference.
I was seriously surprised to see David agree to a color that I wanted. He's been surprising me a lot lately. I think he'll enjoy it though. If he does then this will probably be the kitchen color as well. I could have started painting today but David needs to remove the overhead light and sand down one spot that is a pain to get to. Then I'll be able to start taping and putting up color! So tomorrow will be our best bet. If I can get that done early enough then maybe the second coat by the afternoon (that's what I like about Behr paint it dries decently quickly!). Then if we're lucky by Sunday we'll be laying down flooring and putting on outlet covers and putting up our lighting!
David did find a draw back. We were going to put a folding table over the washer and dryer. We had picked out a nice counter top and we were going to build a cabinet for it. Well David started doing some measuring and found out that the counter top we'd picked out is too narrow for the width of our washer and dryer. So then after some thinking David said we could still build the cabinet around the washer and dryer and then use the left over flooring for the counter top! What an awesome idea!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it! This is why I married the man! We'll definitely have left over flooring so I think it's going to work out perfectly!
All in all it's looking great! I'll post more pic on Facebook when I get a chance.
David is unhappy with the joints in the room. I told him it was a learning process. Nothing is ever going to look perfect doing this ourselves. The only way we'd get it perfect is having a professional come in and do it.
I started painting Kilz on the walls Wednesday. I was very happy! With so much of the work being done by David alone lately I was feeling a bit left out. Sad I know but still. I guess I hated more that he was working so much on his own. He's so tired between the work at work and the work at home. Anyhoo, David complained about the first layer being too thin but I told him the second one would be a thicker layer. Then when I looked back at it after it had started to dry you can still see spots where I painted it too thin. UGH! Oh well once the color is up on the walls you won't be able to tell the difference.
I was seriously surprised to see David agree to a color that I wanted. He's been surprising me a lot lately. I think he'll enjoy it though. If he does then this will probably be the kitchen color as well. I could have started painting today but David needs to remove the overhead light and sand down one spot that is a pain to get to. Then I'll be able to start taping and putting up color! So tomorrow will be our best bet. If I can get that done early enough then maybe the second coat by the afternoon (that's what I like about Behr paint it dries decently quickly!). Then if we're lucky by Sunday we'll be laying down flooring and putting on outlet covers and putting up our lighting!
David did find a draw back. We were going to put a folding table over the washer and dryer. We had picked out a nice counter top and we were going to build a cabinet for it. Well David started doing some measuring and found out that the counter top we'd picked out is too narrow for the width of our washer and dryer. So then after some thinking David said we could still build the cabinet around the washer and dryer and then use the left over flooring for the counter top! What an awesome idea!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it! This is why I married the man! We'll definitely have left over flooring so I think it's going to work out perfectly!
All in all it's looking great! I'll post more pic on Facebook when I get a chance.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
We Have Progress!
Finally! It has taken forever but we're finally making progress. After 3 months of work. When we started the walls were mudded. But now after all we've done we're back to that point. We are now sanding. I'm loving it! David has finished most of it. He's been working on it for a couple of weeks now (in his free time and on the weekends). I hate that he's been working on it by himself but there's not much for me to do. I'm usually in the way so I've been staying out of the way. It looks great down there.
Today he had to fill in a couple more spots. He'll spend his extra time sanding the rest of it. We're hoping that next weekend we can start putting up some primer and deciding on a paint color. Mind you I get Tuesday off and David's hours have changed this week and won't have to go in until 5pm. So I'm hoping we can make a short trip to Home Depot this week and have that decided.
Then it's the flooring we'll have to deal with. He has some questions for his buddies at Home Depot about that. Once that gets answered we'll be good to go there.
We ended up deciding not to start on our bedroom. I told David we have other priorities right now. We have other things that need to be done first. The back fence needs to be fixed and with spring here and summer coming on we need to start thinking about the yard and the garden. We also want to put something down in the back parking area so we won't have to deal with the mud and muck that happens back there when it rains or the snow melts. So many things to do. With the summer coming on we're excited to be spending time outside. Even with the snow today we spent quite a bit of time outside. We spent some of it in the green house watching the snow fall. It wasn't really cold outside but it was wet. Being in the green house made David start to think about covering and enclosing the back porch. He realized how nice it would be to sit out on the back porch and watch the snow fall or watch the rain come down.
We also went to the Home and Garden Show yesterday which is always a bad idea! LOL. We found several new ideas and products we'd like to get for the home. We looked at geothermal energy but the guy was awesome in telling us that for in town it would be a bad idea. So that was good. We also are starting to consider solar power instead of wind power.
Okay now I'm just babbling on about nothing. So until next time!
Today he had to fill in a couple more spots. He'll spend his extra time sanding the rest of it. We're hoping that next weekend we can start putting up some primer and deciding on a paint color. Mind you I get Tuesday off and David's hours have changed this week and won't have to go in until 5pm. So I'm hoping we can make a short trip to Home Depot this week and have that decided.
Then it's the flooring we'll have to deal with. He has some questions for his buddies at Home Depot about that. Once that gets answered we'll be good to go there.
We ended up deciding not to start on our bedroom. I told David we have other priorities right now. We have other things that need to be done first. The back fence needs to be fixed and with spring here and summer coming on we need to start thinking about the yard and the garden. We also want to put something down in the back parking area so we won't have to deal with the mud and muck that happens back there when it rains or the snow melts. So many things to do. With the summer coming on we're excited to be spending time outside. Even with the snow today we spent quite a bit of time outside. We spent some of it in the green house watching the snow fall. It wasn't really cold outside but it was wet. Being in the green house made David start to think about covering and enclosing the back porch. He realized how nice it would be to sit out on the back porch and watch the snow fall or watch the rain come down.
We also went to the Home and Garden Show yesterday which is always a bad idea! LOL. We found several new ideas and products we'd like to get for the home. We looked at geothermal energy but the guy was awesome in telling us that for in town it would be a bad idea. So that was good. We also are starting to consider solar power instead of wind power.
Okay now I'm just babbling on about nothing. So until next time!
Getting Close
So the drywall is up. Thank goodness it wasn't a bigger hassle than it could have been. Luckily it's a small room so that helped out a lot. David has spent the past couple of weeks working on the mudding and sanding. The mudding I did help out with but not very well. David has done 90% of this step on his own. He's too picky about how it's done for me to really do much of anything without doing it wrong. I'd rather just sit back and let him do it than argue about it. Makes my life easier. LOL.
David is already speaking of putting up Kilz on the walls and possibly looking at some paint. We still have yet to decide on a color. I have a color in mind but until I show David what I'm thinking of there is no final decision made. Getting to Home Depot at the same time is a pain sometimes. I would go while he's working but then that's taking away from his work and it's bad work ethics. Plus I don't want to get him into trouble. Either way it's getting close to being done. He's also talking about crown molding. Which works and will tie the upstairs in with the downstairs. We have molding around the ceiling upstairs. Mine as well have it downstairs as well. Plus it will cover some imperfections we have around the ceiling.
Guess what? David came to me today and said why don't we start tearing the walls out of our bedroom today? WHAT???!!!! LOL. You never know with David.....it just might happen. Even though he said it wouldn't.
David is already speaking of putting up Kilz on the walls and possibly looking at some paint. We still have yet to decide on a color. I have a color in mind but until I show David what I'm thinking of there is no final decision made. Getting to Home Depot at the same time is a pain sometimes. I would go while he's working but then that's taking away from his work and it's bad work ethics. Plus I don't want to get him into trouble. Either way it's getting close to being done. He's also talking about crown molding. Which works and will tie the upstairs in with the downstairs. We have molding around the ceiling upstairs. Mine as well have it downstairs as well. Plus it will cover some imperfections we have around the ceiling.
Guess what? David came to me today and said why don't we start tearing the walls out of our bedroom today? WHAT???!!!! LOL. You never know with David.....it just might happen. Even though he said it wouldn't.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
It's Starting To Hit
When I say that I mean the stress. We've spent almost all of our weekends and days off working on this laundry room.
This past weekend I mentioned to David we should get out of the house for a little while. David just got a new camera and I thought we could go out and take pictures. He says, "I had already decided that." Well we ended up spending the weekend down stairs in the laundry room.
Now please don't get me wrong the laundry room is really coming along! We've almost gotten back to where we started. When we started the sub flooring was done, drywall was up, and mudding was finished. Now we're back to where we began. Now it's going to be nothing but progress at this point. It always feels better. But after talking with several people they've all told me the same thing. At some point you're going to need (not want but need!) to get out of the house. Not necessarily out of town or anything but definitely get out of the house. So I told David that this weekend we're getting out of the house and we're not going to work on the laundry room at all. Yes I want to get it done but I also know we need time off.
We had originally asked one of Walter's friends to come over and mud the laundry room for us. He's wanting to go into the construction field after graduation and we felt it would give him good experience plus we wouldn't have to do it. LOL. He did a great job on the ceiling of the laundry room but then got into trouble and wasn't able to finish it. David and I did the rest of it. We've got the first layer up but now need to work the second layer. Then the dreaded job of sanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!! David is thinking it's not a big deal but I got to say I hate sanding. It's not as bad as hanging drywall on the ceiling but definitely in the top 5! LOL. It's just another step.
The room is getting to that point where you know it's finally coming together. Things are looking like a room. Unfortunately we unplugged our lay down freezer to move it and didn't get it plugged back in until today. So I think we lost everything in there. I can say there isn't a lot of food in there but it's still a loss of food and doesn't settle well with David and/or I.
This past weekend I mentioned to David we should get out of the house for a little while. David just got a new camera and I thought we could go out and take pictures. He says, "I had already decided that." Well we ended up spending the weekend down stairs in the laundry room.
Now please don't get me wrong the laundry room is really coming along! We've almost gotten back to where we started. When we started the sub flooring was done, drywall was up, and mudding was finished. Now we're back to where we began. Now it's going to be nothing but progress at this point. It always feels better. But after talking with several people they've all told me the same thing. At some point you're going to need (not want but need!) to get out of the house. Not necessarily out of town or anything but definitely get out of the house. So I told David that this weekend we're getting out of the house and we're not going to work on the laundry room at all. Yes I want to get it done but I also know we need time off.
We had originally asked one of Walter's friends to come over and mud the laundry room for us. He's wanting to go into the construction field after graduation and we felt it would give him good experience plus we wouldn't have to do it. LOL. He did a great job on the ceiling of the laundry room but then got into trouble and wasn't able to finish it. David and I did the rest of it. We've got the first layer up but now need to work the second layer. Then the dreaded job of sanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!! David is thinking it's not a big deal but I got to say I hate sanding. It's not as bad as hanging drywall on the ceiling but definitely in the top 5! LOL. It's just another step.
The room is getting to that point where you know it's finally coming together. Things are looking like a room. Unfortunately we unplugged our lay down freezer to move it and didn't get it plugged back in until today. So I think we lost everything in there. I can say there isn't a lot of food in there but it's still a loss of food and doesn't settle well with David and/or I.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Almost There?
So yesterday we kicked butt on the laundry room. And it only took 3 trips to Home Depot! UGH! I know David works there but if I spend one more minute in that store I'm gonna scream! LOL. Anyhoo, besides a minor upset between......up you guessed it Walter and David the rest of the day went pretty well.
David got all of the new plumbing done. We're using a product called Pex tubing. It's flexible tubing instead of piping. And instead of threaded bits and pieces it uses a product called "Sharkbite". You push it into the adapters and that's it. It's really cool and interesting. It was much easier to put together although not so easy to buy. It's a bit pricey but I gotta say when we were done and ran a load of clothes it was nice to not hear those pipes banging back and forth.
Our day was a full one. David expected to spend a couple of hours in the basement and that was it. We spent the entire day. We started at around 10am and didn't stop until 7pm. David was worried some of the pipes were glued together. Luckily none of them were but their were some rusty spots. I spent the day in a water park. LOL. I was wet most of the day. No matter what you do with pipes and how much you drain them they are going to get water everywhere! David was working around the water heater and went to loosen a pipe when the water line for the hot water coming out of the water heater snapped! Hot water going everywhere. So we busted butt getting the hose hooked up so we could drain it. All the while my finger is over the snapped part of the pipe (that water was H-O-T!), but we got it done. Afterwards we were glad it happened while we were there instead of in the middle of the night! After helping one friend with a busted water heater I don't want to think about it! At another point we were dealing with another pipe and water spewed everywhere! I just stood there drenched and thinking to myself, "How is David going to react?" When I hear him begin to laugh. I look up and his face is covered with water! It was very funny. It could have been a volitile situation but we held it together. LOL. Needless to say the plumbing is replaced and looking nice. We moved the outlets for the washer over since we're unstacking them and set everything up. Before quitting we finished putting in the insulation and here and there we'll be putting up the rest of the vapor barrier and then the dry wall. That room is going to be toasty next winter!
No new discoveries for us on this leg of the journey. I think we're done finding them. But David did mention that he feels like we took 2 steps back and only 1 step forward yesterday. I feel the same. Having to repair all the mistakes is taking it's toll not only on us but also on our wallet. It's like the guy got it almost right in some spots and in others he was almost clueless. But every time I think that or say that I always tell myself that someone after us is going to come in and ask, "What were these people thinking doing it this way?" So it makes me wonder how right we're doing.
I do have some updated photos on my facebook to show our progress. I'll keep posting as we work on it.
David got all of the new plumbing done. We're using a product called Pex tubing. It's flexible tubing instead of piping. And instead of threaded bits and pieces it uses a product called "Sharkbite". You push it into the adapters and that's it. It's really cool and interesting. It was much easier to put together although not so easy to buy. It's a bit pricey but I gotta say when we were done and ran a load of clothes it was nice to not hear those pipes banging back and forth.
Our day was a full one. David expected to spend a couple of hours in the basement and that was it. We spent the entire day. We started at around 10am and didn't stop until 7pm. David was worried some of the pipes were glued together. Luckily none of them were but their were some rusty spots. I spent the day in a water park. LOL. I was wet most of the day. No matter what you do with pipes and how much you drain them they are going to get water everywhere! David was working around the water heater and went to loosen a pipe when the water line for the hot water coming out of the water heater snapped! Hot water going everywhere. So we busted butt getting the hose hooked up so we could drain it. All the while my finger is over the snapped part of the pipe (that water was H-O-T!), but we got it done. Afterwards we were glad it happened while we were there instead of in the middle of the night! After helping one friend with a busted water heater I don't want to think about it! At another point we were dealing with another pipe and water spewed everywhere! I just stood there drenched and thinking to myself, "How is David going to react?" When I hear him begin to laugh. I look up and his face is covered with water! It was very funny. It could have been a volitile situation but we held it together. LOL. Needless to say the plumbing is replaced and looking nice. We moved the outlets for the washer over since we're unstacking them and set everything up. Before quitting we finished putting in the insulation and here and there we'll be putting up the rest of the vapor barrier and then the dry wall. That room is going to be toasty next winter!
No new discoveries for us on this leg of the journey. I think we're done finding them. But David did mention that he feels like we took 2 steps back and only 1 step forward yesterday. I feel the same. Having to repair all the mistakes is taking it's toll not only on us but also on our wallet. It's like the guy got it almost right in some spots and in others he was almost clueless. But every time I think that or say that I always tell myself that someone after us is going to come in and ask, "What were these people thinking doing it this way?" So it makes me wonder how right we're doing.
I do have some updated photos on my facebook to show our progress. I'll keep posting as we work on it.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Drywall
Okay so yesterday we started hanging drywall. I have come to the conclusion that hanging drywall on the ceiling has got to be the worst job in the history of man. It's going to be my own personal hell. David was not much help being grouchy either.
See this is where I have to tell everyone a little secret. David is a perfectionist! The man drives me insane with his OCD on how things need to be done the right way. He was upset because the dry wall is supposed to be scattered and joints aren't supposed to be butted up against each other. How he missed cutting the hole for the ceiling light in the right place and the hole is larger than it should be. Then he got mad because certain things weren't lining up like they were supposed to. It was a most frustrating day!!!
With the joints thing I told him it wasn't a test, it wasn't going to be on an inspection, we weren't going to get fined for it and once the paint is up no one will know the difference! The hole for the light is easily covered by the light itself and can easily be patched. And as for things not lining up the way they're supposed to....well David said it perfectly when he stated, "Ah drywall mud covers a large spectrum of mistakes!"
I think of all we're dealing with he's been great! But when you get a grouchy husband (he was previously upset during the day due to our bank pisses us off) and a hormonal teenager together in one room it's going to be a volatile situation! "It's a deadly combination!" To quote Fire Marshall Bill. But thankfully the drywall on the ceiling is almost completely done. There is a thin strip along one side of the ceiling that needs to be finished and we're now working on the walls. David got tired last night and said he was done! Amazing that he wanted to work on it on his birthday.
Today we're hoping to work on the plumbing and finish hanging the drywall. Then we move onto tape and mudding! I'm seriously not looking forward to the unhappy job of sanding! :( Such is life and it needs to be done!
See this is where I have to tell everyone a little secret. David is a perfectionist! The man drives me insane with his OCD on how things need to be done the right way. He was upset because the dry wall is supposed to be scattered and joints aren't supposed to be butted up against each other. How he missed cutting the hole for the ceiling light in the right place and the hole is larger than it should be. Then he got mad because certain things weren't lining up like they were supposed to. It was a most frustrating day!!!
With the joints thing I told him it wasn't a test, it wasn't going to be on an inspection, we weren't going to get fined for it and once the paint is up no one will know the difference! The hole for the light is easily covered by the light itself and can easily be patched. And as for things not lining up the way they're supposed to....well David said it perfectly when he stated, "Ah drywall mud covers a large spectrum of mistakes!"
I think of all we're dealing with he's been great! But when you get a grouchy husband (he was previously upset during the day due to our bank pisses us off) and a hormonal teenager together in one room it's going to be a volatile situation! "It's a deadly combination!" To quote Fire Marshall Bill. But thankfully the drywall on the ceiling is almost completely done. There is a thin strip along one side of the ceiling that needs to be finished and we're now working on the walls. David got tired last night and said he was done! Amazing that he wanted to work on it on his birthday.
Today we're hoping to work on the plumbing and finish hanging the drywall. Then we move onto tape and mudding! I'm seriously not looking forward to the unhappy job of sanding! :( Such is life and it needs to be done!
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