Past weekend and week have seen me keeping busy on many fronts with the house. I got one of the 3 piles of brush cut-down, with branches in one pile, leafy brush in another and was able to mow the back some. This included getting rid of some of the ivy growing along the ground on the edge of the property. I need to define the backyard before it defines me!
I got some tiki torches for the patio and filled them up and test burned them. They look good and will provide needed light in that area since I don't have any electric lights outside on the patio. I did go up to the attic today and found what I believe is the junction box for some flood lights, there is a corroded floodlight connection on the corner I'll need to eventually get around to replacing/positioning. I'd like to get one on the corner near the driveway and also mount an infra-red camera.
Monday the front entryway light burned out. I went to replace it and upon prying the door hinge an inch the entire door tack-weld delaminated from the housing. I replaced the lamp and decided to order a night lamp (I had been looking at replacements since February.)
Came up with: http://www.affordablelamps.com/kic-49304azt.html which has a great look, and I may eventually shift the front post light to the same style.
Painting in the 'master' bedroom is coming along. I've done 3 walls base layer, I want to get the last wall completed and then start to even out the rest of the walls. I only bought 1 quart of paint to do the work and things are going well, just need to be miserly. (This last wall is the wall with the door and the closet, so going to be using a lot less paint!!!)
Since Memorial Day is coming up I opened up my 'wish list' of furniture and went shopping to the Room Store. For a bedroom set, I ordered http://www.roomstore.com/bedroom-furniture/bedroom/package-specials/carmel-ii-5-pc-queen-bedroom/1535326.aspx, Queen bed with a rather pricey mattress (posterpedic, etc.) the dresser withOUT the mirror (yes, looks nice, but for 150.00 I can walk into the bathroom.) and a nightstand. For the living room I ordered: http://www.roomstore.com/living-room-furniture/upholstery/package-specials/jeffery-ii-5-pc-living-room/1440909.aspx, With a sofa, the large single chair and the 3 tables it should fit nicely into the living room area. All for ~$3300. A co-worker told me he also has had the Jeffery LR set and had fairly good reviews for it.
I'm still up in the air about going out and getting some sofa's/love seats for the media room. I'm up in the air between some reclining seats at LA-Z-Boy that will be around $1100/w the fabric I'd probably want, or going to Value City Furniture and finding something I like for $599. I'll be getting most likely 2 reclining sofa's, and yes, I can wait, but looking at the options and getting it DONE will make me feel that much more 'complete' as a homeowner.
Special thanks to Dave for helping me move some old bookcases and a dresser from my mom's house!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Field Work!
Been doing a lot of 'little things' that are leading up to a big thing. I've been clearing a lot of the brush on the sides of the property line, and I've 'discovered' (I kinda figured it was there, but it was surprising to see the condition.) of a path that goes from the shed in the back up to the back porch area.
Over last week and this past weekend I cleared the path and cut/hacked and shoveled vines/trees/bushes that had taken it over. There is still work to be done and I hope to have 'before/after' pictures up shortly.
I've also made some decisions and removed a mulberry? tree from the far back yard that was entangled w/the grape vines, it doesn't belong where it was, and I want to clear that small area up and make it into a peaceful 'remote' place to sit and be surrounded by nature. Funny how cutting a tree down will lead to that.
I went and bought some 4x4's and 2x4's and built a wood rack using a design that Dave Sabat uses in his backyard. Felt good getting it setup so I can finally finish moving the wood from its 'pile' and into an organized area, especially in preps for wintertime. I do NOT want to be crawling all over the backyard in potentially icy/snowy conditions trying to load wood every few hours.
Have a few more things I've purchased, another set of drapery rods for the dining room that will match the other set I have, some blackout film to put on the windows in the media room to cut down on the light coming in (along with the shear red/velour drapes I hung a few weeks ago) should make a big difference (and look FANTASTIC.)
Over last week and this past weekend I cleared the path and cut/hacked and shoveled vines/trees/bushes that had taken it over. There is still work to be done and I hope to have 'before/after' pictures up shortly.
I've also made some decisions and removed a mulberry? tree from the far back yard that was entangled w/the grape vines, it doesn't belong where it was, and I want to clear that small area up and make it into a peaceful 'remote' place to sit and be surrounded by nature. Funny how cutting a tree down will lead to that.
I went and bought some 4x4's and 2x4's and built a wood rack using a design that Dave Sabat uses in his backyard. Felt good getting it setup so I can finally finish moving the wood from its 'pile' and into an organized area, especially in preps for wintertime. I do NOT want to be crawling all over the backyard in potentially icy/snowy conditions trying to load wood every few hours.
Have a few more things I've purchased, another set of drapery rods for the dining room that will match the other set I have, some blackout film to put on the windows in the media room to cut down on the light coming in (along with the shear red/velour drapes I hung a few weeks ago) should make a big difference (and look FANTASTIC.)
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
A few things. I am away for the week, but in the mean time I'm finally getting sometime to put up some pre/post pictures of the roof/gutter work I had done two weeks ago. Also, show some pictures of the old shed. This shed is the NEXT PROJECT I will be focusing on.
As you can see, the old roof did not have any drastic indication (from the front) that it needed replacing. You can see that the gutter ran the whole length of the house with only 1 spout on the front and one at the back. (This was changed to having 4 spouts for each corner. [You can see the ladder and tape in the window for the painting I'm also doing, that's for another post!]
The back of the roof has more indication that something needed to be done:
As you can see, the gutter was starting to come away from the fascia and the shingles were growing moss. As I think I mentioned in my last post I had gotten some estimates and decided on a roofing company out of Odenton, MD. They came over on a Friday, and in a day changed the above to:
The shingles are 'brighter' and match the shutter blue/gray look very well. They also cut into the chimney for new flashing that makes it look QUITE smart.
As you can see, the gutters are looking good, they also did some great work around the vent pipes (not shown.)
The only thing of note was that in front of the bay window there was a bit of fascia & soffit that were rotting. They repaired both for ~$200. The company worked quickly, brought their own dumpster (which they left for the night and let me put some of my other larger trash items in...no charge!)
So, pleased so far, and it has rained a few times since then and haven't had any issues.
Next up, the shed.
As I start to reach out into the backyard and do work, it has become apparent that I will be needing a functional storage space for my yard care equipment now rather than later. This will also be a great time to learn some of the finer points of construction/tool usage.
A Gambel Roof-style 8x8 Shed.<- this website has a few free plans for sheds. Some are no longer functional, but I think I'll be able to use these specific plans to show the housing community/commission my plans on the replacement. The county requires permits for anything over 64 sq. ft. I have to verify what the current shed size is, it looks 10x10, and if it is, I may just rebuild it, I'm still 'digging' into the shed to get the equipment/bags of things out.
Anyway, the shed truly needs replacing as can be seen below. I'll be posting more on this as I get into it.
As you can see, the old roof did not have any drastic indication (from the front) that it needed replacing. You can see that the gutter ran the whole length of the house with only 1 spout on the front and one at the back. (This was changed to having 4 spouts for each corner. [You can see the ladder and tape in the window for the painting I'm also doing, that's for another post!]
The back of the roof has more indication that something needed to be done:
As you can see, the gutter was starting to come away from the fascia and the shingles were growing moss. As I think I mentioned in my last post I had gotten some estimates and decided on a roofing company out of Odenton, MD. They came over on a Friday, and in a day changed the above to:
The only thing of note was that in front of the bay window there was a bit of fascia & soffit that were rotting. They repaired both for ~$200. The company worked quickly, brought their own dumpster (which they left for the night and let me put some of my other larger trash items in...no charge!)
So, pleased so far, and it has rained a few times since then and haven't had any issues.
Next up, the shed.
A Gambel Roof-style 8x8 Shed.<- this website has a few free plans for sheds. Some are no longer functional, but I think I'll be able to use these specific plans to show the housing community/commission my plans on the replacement. The county requires permits for anything over 64 sq. ft. I have to verify what the current shed size is, it looks 10x10, and if it is, I may just rebuild it, I'm still 'digging' into the shed to get the equipment/bags of things out.
Anyway, the shed truly needs replacing as can be seen below. I'll be posting more on this as I get into it.
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