window trim and the reveal of the bathroom floor...

I am kind of liking the list thing.  It's nice to sit down to lunch and look at how much we have accomplished on a certain morning....and it's a great way for us not to forget we have to touch up the living room paint...which we can't see behind the make shift kitchen table.


This list was for Friday evening through Monday...Rich took Monday off and we hoped to get the bathroom completely done.  More on that later...

To do Jan 29-31

Replace sockets in master bedroom. Done
Lay tile in bathroom   Done
Grout tile in bathroom. Done
Install vanity
Install toilet
Paint trim. Done
Paint windows. Done
Second coat trim. Done
Second coat windows. Done
Paint kitchen door. Done
Second coat kitchen door. Done

Third coat kitchen door. Done 
Paint trim on basement/laundry doors
Second coat on basement/laundry doors
Install window casing. Partially done

Install baseboard in bathroom
Install cover plates.   Partially done. 
Paint touch up in living room. Done

First coat Kitchen window   Done
Second coat kitchen window. done
Third coat kitchen window. Done

I subscribed a while back to a blog all about kitchens... Of all the hints I got this was the best.  If you have white kitchen cabinets, take a door or piece of trim and have it color matched for trim paint.  There are millions of different colors of white...  I did just that.  I think the paint guy thought I was nuts when I asked him to color match a piece of white trim, but he did it.. so all my window trim, doors, door trim, baseboards and well anything white will all match the cabinets.   

window trim on left, baseboard on right

tools for tiling...

mark off 2 ft across and lay thin set

half done

tile all laid...it has to dry for 24 hours now

 So on to other projects.. 

3 coats of paint

This is only 2 coats and you can still see the blue, it has a third coat now and may need a fourth.. Everything in the kitchen that wasn't wall papered was painted this ugly blue...

crown molding with 2 coats...it was also blue.  Through the doorway is what will become the dining room. Its the work shop right now.

Counter tops were delivered Saturday afternoon

They had to bring the longest one in through the back hallway window.. It wouldn't fit around the corner through either front door... They are dark gray with lighter gray marbling..very pretty and if you click on the photo you will see puppy tracks... dang dog..  Did you notice the bump out?  That will go under those 3 lights in the kitchen... and there is the ugly blue paint again...on the back door..

trim added to bedroom window..

Cooter, the neighbor dog..

And this is Tripod... look real closely and you will see how he got his name..it's kind of hard to see there in the snow..but he only has one back leg.  You should see him pee.  He lifts his only remaining back leg..  He was left by the previous owner.  He gets fed by our next door neighbor and the owner is supposed to come get him "someday".  I wouldn't put any money on it.

 Lets see what else we got done..

 Oh yea...Nothing!!  We started checking the weather reports Sunday morning and we were under a Winter Weather Warning from Monday am to Wednesday noon. So we left Sunday afternoon and drove home.  We agreed that if there wasn't anything on the ground Monday at 6am, we would leave and work until it got bad.  We drove to Lowe's and bought more window trim to paint and we were out of blue painters tape.  Got McDonald's for breakfast and about 20 miles from the house it started raining.  By the time we got to the house it was freezing on the truck and looked bad.  We unloaded, sprayed sealer on the bathroom tile (it has to dry 24 hours before we can do anything else in there) and left.  It got pretty bad on the way home and we saw right around 15-20 cars that had slid off the highway.  We got home safe and now it's sleeting here.  We are supposed to get around 12-18 inches of snow in the next 48 hours... 

So next weekend we have to install the vanity, the toilet and the baseboards... Paint more window trim and install it...and that wonderful brother-in-law is coming out Sunday to help install those counter tops.   Saturday there is a birthday party for a certain Granddaughter that is turning 3.. Hope I can get out to shop..

hey...

how about that new blog header?  Love me some www.picnik.com  Try it out...it's free..

Nancy

it's the little things...

Our list for this weekend look liked this...

• Paint shelves.

• Paint bathroom.

• Cut drywall for attic access in bathroom

• Prime cut out for attic access in bathroom

• texture cut out for attic access in bathroom

• Paint cut out for attic access in bathroom

• Frame attic access in bathroom.

• Set range.

• Set dishwasher.

• Replace switches and sockets

• Install programmable thermostat

• Repaint the attic access.

• Cover Attic Electrical box

• Install cover on bathroom fan. 

• install range hood

 Or this.....lol

 Yep....I got an iPad for Christmas and it sure does come in handy... I can write out a hardware store list and email it to anyone I need to...not that there is anyone but us that cares.   But really, I can keep track of friends on Facebook, read my email and text the kids if I need to...lol  I can even read a book since I downloaded a bunch of them to my iBook app...  and my Kindle app....and my Nook app...lol  Can't have too many books. But I digress and we need to get back to business here...

First on the list

Linen Closet shelves.

 Primed, painted with 2 coats of hi-gloss enamel and installed into the hall linen closet.  We now have a place to set our towels and washcloths and stuff... I love it...sadly no photo of the finished linen closet but it looks nice..you can quote me on that..

Next Paint Bathroom... I did two coats of Benjamin Moore Gray Tint on the bathroom and didn't get one photo of the finished product.  dang it... but it looks nice... and we finished adding the bathroom lights..and no photo of those either..

Cut drywall for attic access in bathroom...Rich did this.  I then primed the cutout...textured the cut out, painted the cut out, I painted the wood trim to frame the attic access, Rich cut and installed the attic access frame and it's DONE...

And because we are already in the bathroom I will show you that Rich installed the cover for the bathroom fan... see it up there?  Fits perfectly...just nestles right up to the frame..like we measured it or something..although we didn't.. it just happened that way...lol 

Next up...Set range and dishwasher.  We realized we can't set the range because we don't have the counter tops on yet and we would just have to move the range and it would be in the way...so we worked on the dishwasher..

Ok we couldn't finish that either.  We did get the water lines ready, the holes drilled into the side of the sink base for the water line and the drain hose and we saw that it will fit.. and we left it right where you see it...which really is gonna have to be moved when they come to install the counter tops..

So what's left...  Install a new programmable thermostat..  which is of course smaller than the one that was there so more mudding and then sanding and a second coat of mudd to dry this week..

And a new range hood...

which meant more painting... the pencil marks were left over from attempting to put the microwave up...

Rich climbed up into the attic access and put a cover over the previously uncovered electrical box..

So what is left on the list?  Replace switches and outlets.  I think every light switch and outlet was a different color with a different color wall plate...  We had tan painted white with no cover, tan painted tan with tan cover...gold wall plate..and seriously...one wooden wall plate with a carved BAT (or maybe a squirrel, can't remember) on it... let's see if I can find a photo...Nope...I will try to get one this coming weekend.. it's hideous...and in the sewing room of all places...it will have to go...maybe ebay would be an idea?

So back to the switches and plates... On Sunday, Rich started replacing the wall switches.  As he finished one, I installed the white plastic plate.  no brainer.  So then I started cleaning and washing dishes and putting the workshop into order and he is now done replacing wall switches and starting on the outlets.  And I am bored, so I decide I will help.  He turns off the power to the outlets I am working on and shows me how to unhook the old outlet and hook the new one up...  This is what we are up against...

The following is a Public Service Announcement...

Please DO NOT spray foam insulation into your electric outlets.  Home Depot, Lowe's and most neighborhood hardware stores sell precut foam insulation pieces for outlets. You simply remove the outlet plate, place the piece of foam and put the plate back on. Simple, cheap and  much safer.

So I learned to turn off the electric at the circuit breaker, remove the old outlet, remove all that old hard insulation, count how many wires there are and replace the socket.  Usually there are 3 wires.. 1 white, 1 black and 1 copper that is a grounding wire.  The grounding wire goes onto the little screw on the bottom of the socket.  One white wire gets screwed on one side and one black wire gets screwed onto the other side.  Screw the outlet back into the wall and then test the outlet using the outlet tester.  Add a cover plate and go to the next one.  If you come across an outlet that has 6 wires you call the hubbs

And a couple of more random photos..

Really?  This just doesn't look safe to me...

Rich doesn't really like cats...but they did get a new cat food feeder this weekend cause they run out of food from Sunday night to Friday night...and you can't let them get hungry...that's cruel...and of course we won't talk about the milk he warms up for them every morning...

We had 8 inches of snow...and no shovel...

oh...one more thing...We had a dinner date with one daughter and her family for our granddaughters birthday.  We would meet at Pizza Hut for dinner and give Ava her birthday gifts.. our daughter forgot..our son-in-law forgot, so we decided..ok we would meet at Dairy Queen for ice cream and give Ava her birthday gifts..  We got stuck in town taking back a brown bathroom vanity (who knew that Espresso meant brown?..isn't espresso coffee? and coffee is black..right?) anyway, we got stuck, so we canceled the Dairy Queen and we will try again next weekend... But we did find a black vanity and it was cheaper than the brown one.

bathroom again...and appliances came...and went...

I have no brain left to name this post...I have too many posts named Bathroom, Bathroom revisited.. but that's what we did this weekend...

We started right in on the hall bathroom. 

• drywall up
• drywall taped and mudded
• drywall sanded
• drywall retaped and remudded
• drywall sanded
• bathroom walls and ceiling primed
• bathroom ceiling textured
• bathroom tile decided on and ordered
• bathroom faucet purchased
• Hardie Board installed on floor for tile

There were 3 little birds that kept flying down from the nearby tree to steal the cat food. I wish I could have gotten a better photo..  They were pale blue and gray.. I have no idea what kind they were..but they were fun to watch.

Lighting was also brought up to date this weekend.  While I was doing the mudding, taping and sanding, Rich went around and changed out the rest of the ceiling fixtures.

Yes, they do all look alike.  You can tell they are in different rooms only because the ceilings all have a different texture.  The drunk that built this house got in touch with his inner art self by experimenting with texture on the ceilings..

And the most exciting news..

the neighborhood dog, Cooter,  watches the fun

The appliances were delivered ..  Two very nice guys brought in a stove, microwave, dishwasher and refrigerator...

So how about a little quiz??

4 big appliance boxes were delivered...

1. Stove?
2. Dishwasher?
3. Microwave?
4. Refrigerator?

Guess which one isn't there any more..




Got your guess ready?



MICROWAVE!!

Here's the story...

We are waiting for primer to dry on bathroom ceiling so I can texture it..when we decide to install the microwave.  We carefully cut the box away, remove all the packing, follow the directions...and the damn thing doesn't fit.   There simply isn't enough space between the bottom of the microwave and the top of the stove.. we have only 17 inches clearance.. I am tall...that won't work...  SO we took it back to the store, paid a restocking fee {sigh} and after looking at all the microwave/range hood combination's.. we bought a simple stainless range hood.  We use the microwave for popcorn, frozen veggies and hot water.  I think we will be ok without it...or get a small one for the counter top or my idea would be to put the microwave in the laundry room (right off the kitchen) on a small cart for those times we need it... 


And more photos...

The faucet for the bathroom

These are the shelves for the hall linen closet.  I sanded them and primed one side and after they dried Rich primed the other side..  I can't wait for them to be painted and put back into the hall linen closet.  We might finally have a place to put our clean towels and maybe the overflow from the little 4 drawer dresser.

And what tile did we get?  Stay tuned..

Whew...we are tired now...

Oh..I almost forgot.  Our second daughter lives about 5 minutes away.  Her Mother-in-law lives across the street from her.  Every Sunday her Mother-in-law cooks noon dinner for gazillions of people..  family, friends and I guess anyone else that happens to drop by.  Today, our daughter showed up at noon with three plates of food.  Rich had fried catfish, potato salad and salad.  I had grilled (outside, BBQ grilled!) chicken, asparagus, potato salad and salad.  The third plate had a piece of jello cake with whip cream frosting for Rich.  We were thrilled...and really hungry...and so grateful...  And the best part?  She said she will bring a plate every Sunday at noon...can you believe that?  I think our daughter and her mother-in-law are really wanting us to get this house done and us moved out there.

bathroom ideas...

i like this one

hubby likes this one

we already have this, although the sink is all white, not spotted like this photo.

we have two of these...one for either side of the mirror

Color of Walls - Benjamin Moore Gray Tint.  I can't find it online, but it is a very pale gray..it looks almost white going on..  You can see it on the walls in this post. 

I would like to use an Oval Mirror over the vanity.  I have a choice of a mirror framed in black OR a mirror with no frame.   We must use an oval mirror as the placement of the vanity is set and there isn't room to put the sconces one either side with a square or rectangle mirror.  Trust me, I have tried..

There will only be a vanity, sink and toilet..  No other decorations purchased as of yet.  There is no window.

Any thoughts?  Ideas?  Which tile floor do you like.  The bathroom is 5' x 6'... not small..  It is the hall bathroom for guests only..  I can't even begin to think about the master bathroom which is next on the list..lol

Somehow I thought all this would be FUN!!  Silly me...

Bathroom revisited...

This weekend was kind of slow...  I had a  Modern Quilt Guild meeting Saturday morning and by the time I got to the house hubby had built a wall and started on the wiring...

I know...The wall is on the wrong side of the shower head.  There is a good reason..keep reading.

original wiring found behind drywall

what the wiring looks like now..

So let's go back and look at the first photo again.  Before hubby started knocking down the old drywall, we had resigned ourselves to a bathroom in the hall with a large shower, toilet and sink.  It would be our only shower as the master bathroom is very awkward with no tub and the shower was added later and is about the size of a dime and located in a weird place. . I will show photos later..and you will understand more. There will only be the two of us living there...and he showers at night and I in the morning.  It would work.  THEN...the drywall came down and a light bulb went off.  The master bath is located right behind this bathroom.  Like right behind that wall..  SO...we stopped and thought... and went downstairs and looked at all the plumbing and guess what?  We moved the wall only 20 inches but we will now have a hall bathroom with a sink and toilet...that's it.  AND in our master bathroom we will gain 20 inches...but more importantly we gain a large shower, toilet and big vanity..and if we measured correctly we will have room for a small linen closet...score!!  oh....almost forgot to mention that we will have to move the bathroom door about 30 inches to the left...which means more drywall coming down, more drywall going up, some mudding, taping and repainting...but it will be worth it for a great master bathroom.

So the hall bathroom becomes 5ft by 6ft..

It now has new wiring, a new exhaust fan,  the start of new drywall, the vanity and sink are purchased and the lighting went up...

the cardboard covers the attic access until we have it finished.

What?  You don't like the "modern" looking light fixtures...I know they look crooked...but really THEY ARE!!  We found the light fixtures at our local Habitat ReStore for only $5 each.  A great deal, but they didn't have the proper mounting strips so they are up that way until this weekend when we can put them up with the right mounting hardware...  OH...and that board hanging above them is now gone...along with the old light fixture and sink that went home with our daughter...who paid us back by coming by on Sunday and helping..

this is the first photo I took..

she said "at least let me pose!!"

She put the second coat of paint on the back bedroom while I helped hubby in the bathroom...  Thanks Kristin!  It looks great!
 
And I kept the most exciting news for last...


This is the ugly living room fan.   We were really pissed to find out that the only way to turn on and off this light/fan was by those chains hanging down...  No light switch..  Gah!  I do not want the only overhead light in the living room to be operated by a chain...  While hubby had all the drywall out, he peeked into the attic and found the live wire...

and pulled it down into the wall

and added a switch..

to the living room wall!!  I didn't get a final photo, but the switch is now mounted inside the box.  By moi!  And so we can now turn the light on and off by a switch.. you have no idea how exciting it was to turn on and off the switch and say "hey, look...I turned the light on".

We I have decided on the floor, wall color and mirror...but will let you be surprised..