Unphotogenic Progress

It’s been a while since I lasted posted. Truth be told we have actually been making progress, but nothing that is photogenic. Since Labor Day we have been focusing our attention on the landscaping. You may have seen pictures of our spare parking area turned rock garden. I mistakenly thought that after all the river rock was cleaned and moved that the rest of the work would be easily and quickly accomplished with the use of heavy machinery.

The first task was to till up the yard. This whole area was once an orchard so the yard should be soft, easily tillable soil right? After four years of this you think I would know better. Under 1” of soft dirt was alluvial soil hard-packed by sixty years of mistreatment. The yard was also full of hidden surprises: buried chucks on concrete from when the slab was first poured, a waterline that does not exist on any utility map, and old green poly lines that might have once been part of a primitive irrigation system. Originally we planned to take turns using the rototiller but it threw Luke around so much that we decided I was just to small to operate it without the day ending in tragedy.

I was given the prestigious job of removing the old planter and filling low spots in the yard. On a happier note we think we located the original water shutoff in the planter. It’s unusable but at least we know where it is.

With the yard finally tilled we rented a trencher. Of course it had been raining all week so we had to fight the mud all day but Luke was able to get the whole yard cut for the sprinkler system with only a minor disaster. While cutting close to the house he nicked the sewer line, which was buried at 20” instead of 3’-5’. Fortunately the bathroom at the other end of the house has a separate line, allowing us to have a functioning bathroom overnight. Since then we have been frantically running sprinkler lines and backfilling, but progress has been hampered by rain, injury, and the Vikings-Packers game. In just a few weeks the ground will freeze and we better have the sprinklers finished and the lawn seeded by then.

Hopefully all this effort will pay off and we will have a lawn next year. Only time will tell.

Rock Garden Finished

After weekends full of moving and cleaning river rock the front easement is converted into a rock garden.

Before:
When we first moved in, before I took a hatchet to the giant weeds.

After:

We moved and cleaned twenty cubic yards of river rock but it turned out well. We have already received several compliments front the neighbors. It's a little bland now but in the spring I'll fill the planters with the brightest flowers I can find.

Added bonus, people have finally stopped driving through our yard! We were so fed up I was ready to lay tack strips for the next unlucky vehicle.

Another Find

I've been wanting a night stand for nearly a year now, but as much as I would like one, I value the house too much to divert remodeling money for furniture. But this summer I happened upon a free nightstand on Craigslist. It was old and ugly, but it was also pine hidden under the paint and varnish.

I'm not sure what happened to the sides. They were discolored and badly gouged. It took a lot of sanding to find presentable wood.

I had to build new drawer fronts from clear pine. While I had the drawers pulled apart I replaced the bottoms with plywood and sanded down a cedar fence slat to make a new drawer backs. Once the smell of poly has worn off the drawers will have a nice cedar aroma.
I think it turned out well.

This project has also given me my first real taste of woodworking. Before this I had never used a dado blade or router table. I found that I like this immensely. There will likely be many more such projects in my future...and of course, more tools.

Shoveling River Rock or The Slow And Painful Demise Of My Shoulders

One of the many head-scratching aspects of our house is the parking setup. The driveway is huge. We have room for 17 cars but apparently that was not enough for the previous owner. So he converted the front of the yard into additional parking spots. For months we puzzled over what to do with this 50'x23' space between the rest of the yard and the sidewalk. Because of the way the yard is laid out grass would not work unless we wanted to have two separate front lawns. Take a look at this photo and you will understand why.

See all that wasted space? (Top left)

Not only is there a raised berm, there is also a concrete curb separating the yard from the former parking area. At last we decided to convert the space into a rock garden. But creating the rock garden will require a huge amount of work. The house is currently surrounded on three sides by river rock. Approximately 20 cubic yards of it.

The previous owners, not to mention the renters before them, did nothing to care for the rock. By the time we purchased the house last year the rock garden was full of dirt and leaves. On Labor Day Luke and I were finally ready to start moving rock, but first we had to come up with a system for cleaning out all the crap. After only one trail version we built the following cleaner:
We cut the center out of an old door and stapled in 1" x 1/2" fencing. As the rock rolls down the screen the dirt and leaves fall through the fencing leaving only clean rock in the wheelbarrow below. We are using the leftover dirt to level out low spots in the yard before we till it up and plant seed. It is a slow process that takes it's toll on the back and shoulders. But all the rock is finally moved. The yard is looking a little bare now. We still need to bring in some top soil to level everything out before we till and seed.

The Garage Is Finished

After what seems like an eternity, the garage is finished. One year ago it looked like this:

I am pleased to report a few slight improvements since then.

Because this is only a one car garage we needed all the storage space we could get for our tools. The shelving and benches allow plenty of storage without sacrificing our precious floor space.

We both like to watch/listen to movies while working. We added computer speakers and a sub so we can hear over the noise of the tools. Overkill? Maybe. But it sure makes the garage a pleasant place to work.

Heater, A/C, cable and wi-fi are all hooked up. When we start our demo of the main part of the house this will make a nice little living area as well.

Garage Progress - Exterior Finished

It's been nearly a year since we were granted our building permit and began the conversion of our carport into a finished garage. Since then we have managed to run into every kind of possible delay, back ordered supplies, code problems, health problems and Luke's unexpectedly busy work schedule. Despite all these complications the garage is finally finished. I will be posting interior pictures later; today's post is all about the exterior. Below is the slow evolution of our carport into a usable garage/shop.

August 2008. Our lovely carport the day we moved in. We learned from the neighbors that the previous owner had the carport built to cover some of the junk in the back yard. The city had received multiple complaints about his yard and ordered him to get rid of the junk or cover it. And so the carport was built. Judging from the design it was never intended to be converted into finished space.

September 2008

October 2008

March 2009

May 2009

Now

The accent colors look very purple in this light. It's actually burgundy.

Compared to the freshly painted garage the house looks shabbier than ever. New siding and paint to match the garage won't be happening until next spring. Until then the condition of the house will continue to serve as a theft-deterrent. Really, who would break into a house that looks like the owners are too poor to buy paint?

I think having a lawn would dress up the garage even more. In fact, landscaping is our next project.

Guest Bedroom - Before & After

The guest room is complete and on time. I can't say that happens to us very often. The before photos really don't do justice to how run-down the room was. Here is how the room looked when we moved in last summer.

The paint had all been while at some point, but the walls, trim, ceiling and doors were all discoloring into various shades of dirty yellow.

Though this is a poor quality photo, it highlights the problems we found all over the room. There were bubbles in the wallpaper, seams that overlapped as much as 1" and the walls were cracked around the windows and doors.

And here is how it looks as of July 14th.

It may not be a dramatic change, but for those of us who live in the house it completely changes the feel of the room from old and dingy to fresh and sunny.

Up next on the to do list : finish the garage.

Back Bedroom - Halfway There

With only a few days left until our guests arrive Luke and I have been putting in some long hours on the guest room. After stripping the wallpaper I discovered this room only received one coat of mudd. We put on two more coats and taped the new pieces of drywall,

By Saturday afternoon the room was sanded, textured and ready for primer.

By Sunday night the guest room was painted, trimmed and closet doors were hung. I will be cleaning the carpets tonight; stay tuned tomorrow for before and after photos.

Back Bedroom Remodel - The Start

With overnight guests expected in eleven days, it's probably about time to finish another bedroom. Like the front bedroom, the walls were not primed before they were wallpapered.

Also like the front bedroom, the walls haave at least six layers of paint on top of multiple layers of wallpaper. The first step in clearing the walls is to peel off all the paint with a 6" putty knife leaving behind the paper backing from the first layer of wallpaper.

Then despite the 100 degree heat we have to fire up the wallpaper steamer. The paper has been on the walls for sixty years so it takes a while to make any progress. While I worked on the wallpaper Luke cut the sheetrock, ran the new electrical and put the new sheetrock up.

And here is one more for our album of ugly wallpaper.

Main Bath Remodel - Before and After

In case you did not see our bathroom before or have just forgotten how truly pathetic is was, here is a little refresher for you.

Dated, ugly, call it what you want, it had to go.

Looks a little better now, doesn't it?
The old vanity top was so sloped that it was hard to keep anything on its surface.

So much better.
Despite our initial problems with the grout, the tile floor turned out nicely.I cannot thank my parents enough for helping us with this project. As a reward I promise next time you visit we will let you use this bathroom instead of the weird little 3/4 bath at the other end of the house.