9.30.2007

Our newest visitor


And yes... he's a frog. 

Daniel and I found this little guy in our laundry room (luckily before Darcy realized he was there), so we trapped him in a box and put him back outside where he should be much happier. There's a creeka ways back in the wooded area behind our house, so I'm guessing he wandered (well, hopped) up here from there. 

9.18.2007

Tackling the shrubs

It was an intense battle Sunday afternoon (and on into evening). While the yard is nice and green, it hasn't been maintained, so the shrubs and plants are a bit sprawling (to say the least). In particular, the shrubs in front of the living room window had been driving me nuts because they were nearly reaching the roof (and blocking the majority of the front of the house, so people probably thought we lived like squirrels among the bushes). After we get our roller shades installed on the living room window, we plan on taking out ALL of the bushes under the window (in favor of a flower bed... or really anything that's not so overpowering), but until then we're leaving the bottom the window covered since our temporary blinds don't quite cover the window.

Anyhow, we set out to make the front window a bit more viewable. We started just trimming the really long branches, but that quickly turned into cutting back the back row of bushes (there are a total of three different types of bushes in that one area-- I'm not sure what look the previous owners were going for).


We did find an enormous (but harmless) spider residing on part of our bushes. And as much as I like that the spider eats bugs and whatnot, I didn't like the fact that he was so enormous and so close to the front door.


It really opened up the entire front of the house:

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9.11.2007

A few other touches

Just a few other touches we added to the bathroom. At Daniel's insistence, we got a teak bathmat. Teak has antibacterial properties (a definite plus for the bathroom area), and it also absorbs water really well (not to mention the wood finish goes really well with the rest of the bathroom). We've been using it the past couple of days, and I really like it (and I also like the fact that it will be much easier to keep clean).

In addition, we also added a towel holder to the right of the mirror just above the tile (and missing tile).

When we get around to painting the trim and doors, we're also adding four towel hooks from Ikea (GRUNDTAL). We'll put one hook on the back of the main door and the remaining three on the inside of the closet door (so you can't see the towels when the door is closed). We ended up going with hooks as opposed to a bar because our wall space is a bit more limited than it has been in the past.



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9.08.2007

Bathroom reveal

And after many hours of hard work, we finally have something to show! The green is Valspar's Lime Burst, and I think it really adds a bright, airy feeling to the room without overpowering the more muted yellow tile.



I was really impressed with how the sink worked out. It's SO MUCH larger than the last sink, and I really like all of the flat areas where I can set toiletries as I'm using them.

The dark brown shower curtain works really well with the darker wood of the cabinet.









9.04.2007

DIY: To fix a hole

Daniel and I have had several DIY projects since we've moved it (from installing a shutoff adapter on the refrigerator water line to replacing all of the toilet components), but I thinking tackling the hole in the bathroom wall might have been the most daunting. However, we're still young, and so we were up to the challenge.As preparation for this task, we read several articles online, discussed the process with my coworker David (who happens to be building a house at the moment), and gathered additional tidbits of advice from our dear friends at Lowe's (who see us way more than we would like). It seemed like it should be a breeze (no, really, I had myself convinced that this could be accomplished in a weekend at the most).

In retrospect, I should have learned that nothing is as easy or as fast as it initially appears (especially for a novice). That said, I thought it might be helpful to include an account of the process.


Materials and Tools:
  • 1 sheet drywall (we had to get mold and mildew resistant since this was the bathroom; however they do have smaller sheets that are geared for patching); make sure you measure your existing drywall for its depth (1/2 inch or 5/8 inch)
  • Drywall screws (we used 1 1/2-inch)- 2x4 wood for framing (you have to attach the drywall to something)
  • Screws to attach the 2x4 to the other studs in the wall
  • Joint compound (we used a faster drying compound that was in the paint section of Lowe's; also it was premixed which eliminated a good deal of the mess)
  • Joint/drywall tape (we went with the self-adhesive kind with holes)
  • Putty/drywall compound knife (they actually sell these in sets of various sizes, which I would recommend-- although if you buy only one, I would say to get a larger sized knife)
  • Sanding block, medium and fine grit (make sure this isn't sandpaper, but the flexible block that can be found in the drywall section)- Primer- Dust mask
  • Jigsaw
  • Measuring tape
  • Straightedge
  • Pencil
  • Shop Vac
Procedure:

1) Measure size of hole and cut 2x4s accordingly.

2) Attach 2x4s to surrounding studs using appropriate screws. Make sure that when drywall is placed into the hole, it will be flush with the wall.

3) Using a straightedge and measuring tape, mark line on drywall (drywall should fit snugly into hole).

4) Use jigsaw to cut drywall as straight as possible.


5) Place drywall into hole. It should fit snugly and should not be sticking out from the wall.


6) Use drywall screws to secure drywall panel to 2x4s. Screws should be set just below the drywall surface, and you definitely don't want them sticking out past the drywall.


7) Fill any gaps between wall and drywall panel with spackling and allow to dry for specified time (2 hours in our case).
8) Apply self-adhesive joint tape along line joining drywall and wall (this stuff was really great because you don't have to apply an initial layer of joint compound to act as a tape sealant).




9) Using putty knife, apply a thin, smooth layer of joint compound over the tape and allow to dry (since we were tackling the project in the evening, we allowed the compound to dry overnight).


10) After compound has dried, apply another smooth coat. Make sure your edges taper into the wall (to appear seamless, as though it's part of the original wall) and make sure any screw indentions are covered. Allow compound to dry.


11) Using sanding block (and dust mask!), sand entire surface so that everything is nice and smooth. This will make a big mess (dust everywhere), so be prepared for some serious cleanup.

12) Use primer to cover newly drywalled space (this will make painting much easier, and in our case, also hid a couple of errors).


Voila! Brand-new wall!

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