Wrapping up a few projects....

Quick update to satisfy some hungry surfers....

Stairway - Done, thanks to my dad's holiday help

Kitchen cieling - Painted (more than 2 friggin days), really lightens it up


Tile backslaps - Waiting for grout...my first solo tile job (thanks for the use of the saw soon-to-be-cousin-in-law-Eric)

Holiday (Work?)

Lots of work is getting done during my time off for the holidays....we're almost done painting the kitchen ceiling and with the new stairs. Here are some teasers to keep you watching for more.... (also, the orange terracotta walls went away last weekend....primer tinted blue is looking good)

Patching holes and leveling floors...in blue slippers?

Another big undertaking this past weekend was addressing the "high spot" in the living room floor. We ended up pulling up a board, finding the issuing and fixing everything like new. In the process we lowered a couple posts in the basement and strengthened the supports under the bedroom hall way.

Part of the problem was the nails in these brackets had popped up.

The other main problem was the floor was jacked up way too high.

A little extra support never hurt...

I patched the old cold air returns in the floor too....they're ready for paint now!

While we were doing this Jen (dressed in stylish blue furry slippers) scrubbed the kitchen and dining room ceilings and the dining walls! Smells much nicer now....I can't believe the nasty water she made.



My dad was snowed in so he patched drywall and caulked on monday! THANKS DAD.

That was one nasty hole....

Gobble Gobble....

Happy Turkey Day!

We had a great two day's in Traverse City! We spent time with my family eating multiple helpings of turkey, potatoes, cranberries and sweet potatoes over the course of the two days. I actually weighed my thanksgiving day meal and found that i ate 5lbs of food....wow! The day after we went Christmas tree hunting! Lots of snow made for a cold but exciting hunt. Mom picked out a tree much quicker than normal and we were back home friday evening for some work. Dad headed down too for some added help!

We put used leveling compound and filled any holes, dings, cracks, etc in the plywood friday night so we would have a nice smooth surface for the tile. Saturday morning we applied the glue and Jen came over to help tile. It turned out VERY sweet!



We finished all the final trim work in the kitchen and dining room and now we're ready for some finish (which I started monday night). Thanks for the curtains mom, they look great!

We also installed the final piece of our heating puzzle for this winter, a new duct in the kitchen floor to keep Jen's toes warm while she watches me cook!

OH...I almost forgot. Jen raked for the last time this year....It was a nice sunny day on saturday and she got all the piles made. We picked them up sunday morning JUST in time for the snow to start falling again!

Black Wednesday Suds?

I stumbled across a deal on a black Friday website for a Samsung washer and dryer from sears. I spent lunch on Wednesday researching and comparing prices for all the black Friday washer / dryer deals. I found that Samsung is fairly new in the W/D market but receives good reviews and the price I found couldn't be beat! So....here's my Black Friday purchase that I made wednesday evening at Sears! Thanks to a nice old guy at the store that was able to sell to me wednesday. It's really a present for Jen, ha ha, don't tell her! I hear the front load are nice for vertically challenged folks...

Going stainless....

Big purchases this weekend. Sears had a sweet friends and family (VIP) sale. I didn't even know the guy but we were his friend for the day. We got three new appliances! They'll be delivered on 11/26...can't wait!

AND we got a "stainless" fridge....well it will be soon...

More Pics...

Here's the pics I promised.

Dining room floor finished (Still have to put the trim base down.)



Sink installed with garbage disposal.

Major Kitchen Progress

(Chilly Sunset)

I had some incredible help this weekend from my dad and Jen and we got a lot of stuff done.

First, my dad worked all friday while I was at work finishing all the trim in the kitchen and all the little stuff that takes soo long.


Then we put the windows and door to the sun room in. The windows will be shut in the winter to keep the heat in the house and we can swing them open in the spring so we have an extra bar area (we used little slide bolts to secure them). Same with the door....recognize it? It's the old bedroom door. We also built some boxes and channels to hide the wiring int he ceiling and installed the track lighting above the island.


Next we laid down plywood in the kitchen as the subfloor for the tile. It levels things out and adds some strength while covering any major holes. Jen was an awesome help and nailed most of the floor down. Check out the video, she can really swing a hammer.

Finally we got the hardwood floor put down in the dining room. It's a mix of 5 different colors of wood. I think it turned out pretty sweet. What do you think? (I'm having computer trouble so the rest of the pics will come tomorrow)

(Before)

(During)

(The last two pics are the transition areas to the living room. Eventually we'll put hardwood in there but this year I'm just gonna paint it.)

Monday night I got the kitchen sink all hooked up with the new garbage disposal. We're really moving now....time for tile and some paint/varnish. (Pictures to come...)

Keepin it warm

I started to close up some holes and finish a few things to keep the heat in. I also put plastic over the bedroom windows because they are single pane and not so energy efficient. I insulated the last outside wall in the laundry room. We also closed up some basement holes. Just in time for the snow.

Countertops and HEAT!!

(Me enjoying my heat!)

Friday Nov 7th we got an early evening start and glued the laminate to the counter tops. The process is that you apply glue to the counter and the back of the laminate then let them both dry. The you have ONE chance to stick them together and they are set forever. After that you have to use a router to cut the laminate the same size as the counter, pretty sweet. See the video below... They look great, almost like a greenish stone or concrete!

Then it was time for the new furnace install. A 70K BTU Goodman furnace with 92% efficiency! VERY Sweet. We had to install all new cold air returns, the furnace, the exhaust and intake and hook up the wiring and gas. It was a long process but things went smooth and it fired up the first time.