Basement SO Close to Completion!

Yeah, we know this was a stupid
thing to do.  No one got hurt.

Bad.  Bad.  Bad.  We've been so busy on the basement remodel that I totally forgot about blogging about the work in progress.  Yes, we hired out the drywalling and general carpentry work, but there was still a lot for us to do, which I didn't expect, including my husband helping with the electrical. So far I'm really happy with what's been done and am really excited to finish this project.

Overall there weren't too many problems but a few unexpected things occurred that made me really glad we hired professionals.  One of those things was our stairwell.  I had always wondered why the outer walls in the basement had been drywalled but the stairs were 1/2 drywall and 1/2 paneling.  Didn't take long to find out why.  Turns out a support beam was placed too close to the stairs and that meant that our drywaller had to bend the wall to fit past the beam.  I really didn't think he'd be able to do it but he did and it's not even noticeable unless you know what to look for!  Yay for knowledgeable craftsmanship!

Yep, that beam is right up to the stairs-I still don't
know how our contractor got drywall in between there!

Another issue was our inability to connect a switch from the top to the bottom of the stairs.  This has not been solved to my satisfaction but for now we have a motion-sensor switch at the top of the stairs and are thinking of  a motion-sensor nightlight for the bottom of the stairs.

Currently my husband is trying to figure out what's going on with our in-floor heat in the bathroom.  It just isn't heating up adequately and we haven't been able to figure out why.  This was the big screw-up on this project.  We didn't test it before the concrete was laid over it and may end up having to take up the concrete to fix it.  Thankfully the tile hasn't been laid yet!  Makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it!

If you look you can see the bend in the drywall
but once it was painted it was no longer noticeable

We painted the entire basement a warm white which was a really good call.  We let our teenager paint the bedroom's ceiling black which, while it looks cool, was NOT a good call.  It took three coats to look right and it sucks up all the light.  Ugh!  My kid is thrilled however. (Teens are weird.)

Fireplace framed and ready for drywall

For trim we chose Minwax's Weathered Oak, which didn't match the existing trim color but didn't clash either.  The stain brought out variable colors in the red oak trim we bought so some pieces came out reddish and some grayish.  I really do like the resulting color but it was a pain to apply when trying to get some type of standard color.  For the protective coat, we started with a paint-on poly but ended up using a wipe-on poly, which I much prefer.  It had a better finish and was super easy to work with.

Fireplace after drywall, electrical and painting

Right now we're waiting on the door we ordered to replace the broken sliding door.  Once that is in, we'll get the flooring down and the space will be usable!   We had been hoping to be done by Halloween but the outside door and bathroom flooring issues are holding us up.  Oh, and now our contractors aren't available until hunting season is finished.  (We live in Wisconsin, after all...)  So, if we finish by Christmas, I have all winter to get stuff moved down to the basement and organized.  It's all very exciting!

So, I'll try to remember to put up some pix of the finished trim and the black bedroom.  Ugh!

Doubling Our Space

It's strange-the original owners intended to
finish the basement but never installed a sump so that was one of the
first things we had to do

So, we've started remodeling our basement.   We've been pretty busy so we've hired out not only the electrical and plumbing but also the framing and drywall work.  Since we aren't doing the work ourselves, there's not much to blog about.  I will mention cabinets though.  We just need a small vanity for the bathroom but finding one turned to out be rather hard.  The local cabinet maker who did our kitchen cabinets wasn't very interested in such a small job and the stuff from Home Depot and Menard's was surprisingly limited and poor quality for the price.  I was thinking Ready-To-Assemble might be a better deal but the shipping cost for one cabinet really jacked up the cost.   I found a company that makes bamboo cabinets out in California, Laguna Bamboo, that had some really nice cabinets and they were willing to ship to Wisconsin, but in the end we ordered semi-custom instead.  I'm going to keep Laguna in mind though for when we redo our master bath...

We used rigid foam board to insulate the walls
and metal studs for all except the bathroom
since no walls will be load-bearing.

Oh, and we thought we were going to have to take the frame off the patio door to get the one-piece shower we ordered into the basement but it fit just fine.  We got a 36" wide unit so it was pretty small.  We had a hard time purchasing it though.  We found it on the Delta website, ordered it from Home Depot, found out HD couldn't order it because it was a Lowe's exclusive, and then got the run-around from Lowe's and Delta but finally got one after tons of phone calls and losing a couple of months in the process.  It's just want we wanted though so I guess it's all good.

The future bathroom is small but will have a sink,
toilet and shower stall

It might just be a gimmick but we figured we'd try
out the Platon sub-floor that put a small space between
the concrete and the sub-floor to keep it warm and dry.
If we're lucky it'll help with reducing radon as well.

We have about one or two more work days for plumbing and two for electrical.  We will be putting in electrical heat under the bathroom floor and an automatic humidity-sensing fan by the shower.  We also need to update our water heater to handle another bathroom and solve some problems with our existing water flow.  Once those are out of the way, it just drywall and flooring and finish work.  And then we'll have doubled our space!

Quartz Let Me Down

There are people who don't really use their kitchens and there are those who do.  We use ours.  So when we were remodeling our kitchen, we wanted sturdy but pretty counters that could take some abuse.   We thought quartz fit the bill but now, less than a year later, we are not impressed with how they are holding up.

In fact,  I think I liked our old laminate countertops better.  I disagree with Consumer Reports and say that my laminate counters were easier to care for than the quartz.

We all know laminate can't take heat.  Turns out quartz can't either.  A couple of weeks ago I missed a trivet while setting down a hot pan.  The pan ended up on the bare countertop.  When I finally noticed what had happened and removed the pan, I noticed a sparkly, pitted ring on the counter.  It looks like the resin that holds the quartz chips together had melted away.  With laminate, heat leaves scorch marks.  With quartz it leaves sparkles.

Around the same time I found a HUGE mystery scratch near the sink.  No explanation for that one; we don't use our counters as cutting boards.  I was really shocked at how noticeable the scratch is.  Sure, our laminate had scratches, but they weren't easy to see.

I have also recently found a chip in the bottom edge of the counter above our under-mounted sink. Now every time I do dishes I worry about possible damage to the counter.  A worry I didn't have with our laminate counters.

I'll be the first to admit we are rough on our environs but that's why we went with quartz.  We bought into the hype. We were expecting an easy care, durable surface that we wouldn't have to worry about too much.  What we got is something else entirely.

Transition Moulding...A Small Success

Wow!  What a gorgeous day today!  I am practically giddy with how mild the weather has been lately.  So giddy that every little triumph seems extra special.  I am currently quite pleased with some transition moulding we put up over the weekend.

We needed it because the pre-existing moulding throughout the house is smaller than the moulding we used in the kitchen.  Was there a reason we bought taller moulding for the kitchen?  Who knows?  I can't remember.  

Anyhow,  it would have looked weird to butt the two sizes right against each other so we needed a transition piece between the two.   The block kind they sell at the stores would be too big and wouldn't look right style-wise.  So I talked my husband into making some himself, something that would work with the plain-Jane ranch moulding but also go with our cabinet moulding, which is a bit fancier.  

Happily, we had some leftover oak moulding from a book case he made for our previous home that would be perfect.  Didn't cost us a dime and looks pretty too!  (I wouldn't be such a pack-rat if it didn't pay off as often as it does!) 

Yay!  The holidays are over!  I'm no Grinch but I am always relieved and happy when all that craziness is over!  I wanted to tell you about a project we just completed.  It didn't take long to do but it was highly satisfying to finish it because it took care of a few things about my bedroom that were bugging me, one for almost 15 years!

What did we do?  We made and installed a fabric headboard for our queen bed.  It was so easy and totally changed how the bed and bedroom looked!

No place for a bed--wall 1: bathroom door,
wall 2: patio door, wall 3: closet, wall 4: window

About 15 years ago I wanted a headboard for our bed.  Like many young couples, we just had the bed frame, which made the bed look out of place in the large bedroom we had at the time.  When we finally shopped for a headboard/footboard my husband talked me into a wood and metal number that I didn't like.  I should have stuck to my guns-that darn bed bugged me from day one!

Fast forward a decade or so when we move to our current home, where our master bedroom is small and awkward. There's really no place to put a bed.  For a few years, we tried angling the bed, which looked dramatic but offended my husband's rigid taste in furniture placement and took up a lot of room.  What to do?    Make a bed that works with the space!

Years ago, a friend of mine mentioned that she made her own fabric-and-plywood headboard and that it was easy to do.  I figured I'd give it a try.  Originally we purchased sheathing wood because the Home Depot kid told us that's what most people who make covered headboards use.  Then we saw the "contains agents known to cause cancer in the state of California" stamp on the board.  No wonder the stuff smelled awful.  Didn't want that by my face each night!  (I digress but I love California for having all those strict labeling laws...CA rocks!)

So we switched to plywood, measured the width of the bed (60" for a queen) and cut it to size.  Laid out the upholstery fabric and foam, wrapped it over the edges, and secured it with a staple gun, making sure to double under the fabric edge so it wouldn't unravel.  I also double padded the sharp corners by back-tucking the foam. It's important to lay the fabric straight across the board so the pattern is level and not pull the fabric so tight so that the foam bulges like my fat thighs do in spandex!  Even though we were careful as we worked, it took only a few minutes to complete.

We then secured it to the wall using heavy duty picture hangers and wall hooks.  That was the challenging part.  Trying to do math and logic when you are overtired (and we were overtired) is not good.  It took us multiple tries to get the placement right and then even longer to get the board attached.  (If you try a wall-mounted headboard I recommend using larger hangers if your foam padding is thick.  We had to jury rig ours by using keychain rings to extend the hangers' reach.)

In the end, we triumphed and the headboard is now snugly attached to the wall. I'm happy to report we are already reaping the benefits.  Removing the headboard and footboard from the bed frame decreased its size by almost two feet so the room looks and feels a lot bigger.  Bonus-our down comforter looks better without the footboard 'cuz now you can see its plushiness.  (Love that plushiness!)  Double bonus-the new headboard is streamlined and fits with the calming, cozy feel I want in our bedroom.  Jackpot-it also physically fits under the window of the only wall you would logically put a bed.  No more angled space-hogging bed!

 The only issue is that old window above the bed leaks cold air like crazy; I was worried we'd be sleeping in a draft but last night was really cold and we didn't feel any air movement.  Maybe it won't be an issue after all.

Ta-dah!

Thanks, Cathy, for giving me that good idea all those years ago!  You always were a great neighbor!

Happy, happy holidays! 

I am SOOOOO happy and I want to share that happiness with everyone! Not only have I finished our Christmas shopping a full week early, I also finished hauling the dirt for our back yard! Yay!

The railroad-tie retaining wall we put in was supposed to be a simple weekend project, cheap and easy to install by ourselves.

A couple of weekends into it and we realized that it wouldn't be done before the ground froze.  We needed help!  Enter our handyman, Kurt.  He had it cut and installed in a couple of days, the only complication being some of our dead men were too close to the surface 'cuz my husband miscalculated how many layers we'd need.  Fixing that added a couple hundred dollars to the bill.

A week or so ago I ordered more topsoil and started hauling wheelbarrow load after wheelbarrow load to the back yard. As the weather got colder, my dirt pile started to freeze and I was really worried that I wouldn't get it done in time. But Wisconsin weather is full of surprises and I had two lovely days this week to get it all hauled and spread. Now I can hit the ground running next spring and get the grass in right away. BONUS! It's also fun to walk along the top, pretending you are on a balance beam.

So close to being done....if only I had a magic wand!

As for my neighbor who recently ripped out his railroad-tie wall, his installation of a new patio, hot tub among the aspens, and rock retaining wall turned out gorgeous! His landscape design company did a meticulous job.

I like it so much that I've decided that when our retaining wall rots out down the road, we'll replace it with a rock wall, which will add nice visual continuity to the bit of woods we share with our neighbors.

My next small project is to make a fabric headboard for my bed. Right now I have a metal-and-wood headboard and footboard that I just never liked. Our bedroom isn't exactly spacious, due to the layout and a large patio door on one wall. A low, neutral headboard that fits under the window is hopefully going to add some much-needed visual space to that room.

I probably won't blog again until the headboard is done which I doubt I'll get to before Christmas, so here's wishing you and yours a really lovely holiday season!

If you look hard enough to the upper right corner you can see the neighbor's new rock wall....love it!

This is going to be a short blog.  Wisconsinites know that you don't ignore a warm November day.  If it's nice ya gotta be out there!  (No matter how trashed the house is!)   'Cuz soon enough it's "geez, it's bleeping cold" time.

Well, today started off being one of those balmy, beautiful days.   Then the rain came.  Doesn't look like it'll last for long though, so I've got a few minutes to quickly tell you about my fun find at our local garden center.

OK, so by now, you've noticed that we start projects but tend not to finish them.  So, we've got our powder room mostly, but not quite, done.  It needed a new light fixture, among other things.

Well, after toying with the idea of making our own and searching 1000s of fixtures online, I gave up looking for the "perfect" fixture and settled for one "that'll do."  Trust me; I had given up on even finding that!  Well, luckily, I found one and even luckier, I found it on sale, which always makes me happy.  We even lucked out a third time 'cuz we were expecting installation to be complicated.  The previous owners had installed their light fixture to the side of the vanity, which looked kind of silly.  We were expecting there to be a reason for it.  You know, a vent or something preventing installation over the center of the vanity.  Turns out not only was there no obstacle, there was even the metal extensions between the studs so that we didn't have to mess around with relocating the electrical connections for the fixture.  Yay!

So, we were lucky three times in this little venture.  Who would guess I'd get lucky one more time?  I did!  I was buying some bulbs at our garden center and while waiting in line at the checkout, I happened to glance at the wall above the register and there was a metal wall sculpture that would be PERFECT in the powder room. AND it was on sale too!  I couldn't believe my luck!

Well, I wasted no time in getting hubby to hang it.  Now I just have to find a towel ring and toilet paper dispenser that'll work...