We added instant curb appeal with two new porch lights to crisp things up. These affordable fixtures from Lowe’s really made all the difference, check it out!
Archives for October 2007
Widening Our Doorways: Days 3 & 4
I’m home from work today, and I get to witness Day 4 first hand. Unfortunately, all the exciting stuff is over and it’s basically just one of the Parker guys – Conrad – taking care of some finishing touches (sanding, skim coating, etc). Just like Day 3 all over again (apparently walls need a lot of finessing to look seamless). Conrad’s awesome. He’s even helping smooth out some other walls – like where the chair rail came down in the new third bedroom and where we demo’d the laundry nook. Once the joint compound is all dry, it just needs to be lightly sanded and the walls will be ready for a coat of that
Oooh, Ancient Treasure!
When the cabinets came out on Wednesday, we uncovered some buried treasure. Well, if you consider things stuck under 50-year old cabinets to be “buried” and tattered old papers to be “treasure.” Here’s what we found: Coupon for 5¢ off 2 bars of Princess Dial soap (“the soap with moisturizing cream right in it”) Coupon for 12¢ off two cans of Campbell’s Soup for One (expires 4/30/81 – I was less than 7 months from birth!) Coupon for 15¢ off 2 packages of Soft-weve toilet paper A dentist appointment reminder card for Mrs. Floyd Pollay for April 28, 1971 at 2pm A Beginner Bible Story dated Nov 1958 A Storytime pamphlet called “God’s Helpers” dated
Widening Our Doorways – Day 2
Day 2 with the crew was a rocky one, but still had its share of successes. The good news is: The electrician installed a new switch so we can finally turn off the kitchen light. The Parker boys finished closing off the dining room door with new dry wall. They also successfully widened the doorway that leads to the sunroom from the den. Now we have a nice, airy back entrance (the picture doesn’t do it justice) that will look great with our new washer and dryer in the newly opened nook to the right of the door. Now, the rocky parts: The electrician showed up so early (7:45am) that he caught me in my
Widening Our Doorways – Day 1
The crew from Parker Home Improvement showed up bright and early Wednesday morning to work on the doorways and kitchen demo. According to Sherry, it was a long day with only a couple snags requiring emergency phone calls. One to an electrician (couldn’t move a light switch through a stud), the other to the vet (dog swallowed a jagged piece of plastic). But in the end, the kitchen got knocked out, one doorway got widened, an electrician rescued us (for free!), and the dog threw up the piece of plastic. I’d call that a successful day. Today, the Parker boys are back to widen more doors and spew more dust. The electrician is back too
Using Plastic Tarps During Renovation To Keep Dust Out
We created a temporary dust free zone thanks to a plastic tarp and a bit of painter’s tape. Renovation dust can get everywhere so it’s definitely worth your while to protect what you can!
How We Scored a Free Dishwasher
We purchased a slew of new appliances from Lowe’s and ended up walking away with a free dishwasher along with free delivery on all the appliances.
Removing Chair Molding & Demoing Out A Slate Path
There’s no better cure for a case of the Mondays than wielding a sledgehammer. It must’ve been a particularly boring Monday because yesterday we let loose on 4 different areas. Demo Day 2007 kicked off with demo project #1: prying off the chair rail in the dining room that we’re converting into a 3rd bedroom (since chair rail is a bit weird in a bedroom). I was at work for this project, but from what I can tell Sherry had no trouble getting it down with a hammer, a crowbar and some womanpower. Hasta la vista, chair rail. Check out the gross yellow paint and ’70s wallpaper we found underneath! It’s even uglier than what