23-april. took the 17.32 train again to MCI. arrived with time enough to hit BOTH the family dollar and dollar general before they closed at 9pm. i picked up a few snacks for the weekend, along with a few items for the house, including a pair of pink flamingos that are currently roosting in the kitchen sink. eventually they will be placed in the backyard (once fenced, so they don't roam off).
after the quick shopping trip (and picking up a compulsory budweiser), i started on replacing the kitchen ceiling light and the bathroom wall light. the wiring in the ceiling is in rather "poor" condition, i may need electrician to come in & do some emergency repair work before the actual full-house rewiring. not sure why, but it seems all the lights/outlets are on a single fuse. except the dining room outlet under the windows, which doesn't appear to be on ANY fuse (as the radio plugged into it never loses power when i remove the fuses, at least i thought). that will be somewhat problematic (and is rather freightening). after changing the light fixtures (bathroom light is pull chain fixture over the sink/mirror), it was time for bed, then i realised i still had my beer to finish (no fridge to keep it cool, so i was FORCED to drink it then).
saturday i slept in, having not slept well the night before (fearing the wiring in the kitchen would combust). after a couple cups of coffee (and an early afternoon nap), i was properly motivated again to continue with the never-ending wallpaper stripping (a couple hours work) & painting in the kitchen (a couple more). i used up the good semi-gloss paint i bought @ lowes, so to finish the ceiling i opened up a can of flat white that i bought @ family dollar ... it's practically indistinguisable (if ur not looking at the ceiling at least). my goal clearly isn't perfection here, but mainly just to cover up the old paint. now that the ceiling fan/light combo has been replaced (along with the new paint job), the kitchen is really looking much nicer (and much larger as well).
saturday evening i was debating returning to chicago on the last train to meet friends out for drinks, but the thunderstorms passing through both chicago & then michigan city put that idea to rest. as the first rain storm hit, i went outside to check the new gutters to see how well they were working to divert the rainwater. a couple of the connectors were leaking (as i thought they might), so will be going back & adding silicone caulk to them to make sure they're sealed. most of the water though seemed to be flowing away as expected.
after i decided to stay put for the night i got back to work on removing the wallpaper in the bathroom. it took several hours of spraying & scraping to remove the wallpaper backing from the walls, but its all done now!
also decided to remove the existing medicine cabinet, wanted to see what was lurking behind the wall before i decide what to replace it with. found the cabinet was hiding the hole remaining from the original medicine cabinet (small flush-mounted one), i measured the opening & should be able to find a new replacement for it (have seen them at home improvement stores for under $20). i was going to reuse a round mirror from home that i bought a few years ago at IKEA, but since the hole is still there from the old cabinet, i figured i will use that for now instead of trying to patch it over w/drywall. the IKEA mirror i can use when i do the gut rehab of the bathroom down the road.
i wasn't ready for bed yet (it was about midnight), so i decided to tackle the bathroom door project ... originally, the bathroom door opened into the bathroom with a left-hand hinge set-up. from the doorway, you have the tub your immediate right (along the length of the room), the sink is directly in front of you on the opposite wall of the tub, lastly the toilet furthest away along the tub wall, next to the window. at some point, someone reversed the door so it now has a right-hand hinge setting. this created a rather tight squeeze as you navigate past the door & between the sink & tub. not quite sure why the door was revesed (door frame had markings & the door had hinge marks as well on opposite side), but i think when they added an overhead light with a switch on the wall (which would be behind the door in original set-up), they opted to reverse the door opening.
long story short, i reversed the hinges to their original set-up. the bathroom door has been painted on the inside, so i opted to use the closet door from the back bedroom instead. so both sides of the door are unpainted w/the original stain/varnish.
end of the story, finished the project around 2am and slept well after.
sunday morning i woke at 9am, after deciding NOT to take the 9.30 train (12.52 is next one on weekends), i decided to clean the house some before returning home. i ran again to the family dollar to get a pair of pruning shears for the lawn. i also picked up a gallon of their white semi-gloss paint to use on the bathroom walls & trim in the living & dining room. not sure i will use on the kitchen walls, may opt for the higher-quality paint i started with, just to keep it fairly consistent (ceiling aside).
i quickly cut back several bushes/trees that had grown up along the foundation of the house in the time it was vacant, but i will have to dig them out completely to totally remove them. it was a start though.
took the 12.52 train back to city, dropped off my bags at home & then headed to big chicks for a few (too many) beers with friends.
26 April 2010
19 April 2010
kitchen paint bomb
took the 17.32 train friday evening to MCI. stopped into the DG upon arrival to check out what dollar store finds i "needed" ... tried their "chicken" flavored crackers, not so good. stopped @ the liquor store for some beer as well.
fri night spent cleaning cupboards, stripping off old shelf liner paper & some wallpaper.
17-apr. slept in until about 11am. chilly day (compared to last weekend at least). decided to continue with kitchen painting. originally planned on painting interior of kitchen cupboards a light orange, but have decided against that now. everything will be WHITE. the cupboards were sooo tedious to paint, i wish i had a "paint bomb" (like those RAID insect fogger bombs), just tape up the windows & set it off to cover every surface in fresh coat of semi-gloss white goodness.
it's amazing though, after the first coat of paint the room already started to take on a new look of cleanliness & brighter, open space ... 3 of 4 walls are painted (though need some touch-up), the back wall with the wallpaper though still needs painting (need to finish stripping wallpaper first). also, need to paint the ceiling. kept hitting head on ceiling fan blades when i was on step ladder painting above doorway to dining room ... note to self, replace ceiling fan with a close-to-ceiling light, ASAP.
18-apr. slept in until about 10.30, spent the rest of morning/early afternoon cleaning up after self (removed the plastic bath tiles that were barely hanging on). ran to the family dollar AND dollar general for random stuff, rake for lawn, paint supplies, shelf liner for under kitchen cabinet (the only place i allow it).
raked the lawn, first time i've voluntarily done lawn work in about 20 years ... piled the leaves in the back yard under some half-dead-looking bushes lining the alley, will let them compost there (along with the empty pop bottles, random junk food packages & the skin from my blister). the front lawn is pretty small, but the back yard is decent size. need to get a lawn mower soon.
also picked up an outdoor dining table, eventually it will go on the back porch, but for time being it is in the dining room ... in keeping with the "outdoor" furniture theme throughout the house thus far.
spent rest of afternoon cleaning & organising around the house. took the 17.30 train back to chicago.
hardware list for the week: bathroom wall light with pull chain. kitchen ceiling light.
fri night spent cleaning cupboards, stripping off old shelf liner paper & some wallpaper.
17-apr. slept in until about 11am. chilly day (compared to last weekend at least). decided to continue with kitchen painting. originally planned on painting interior of kitchen cupboards a light orange, but have decided against that now. everything will be WHITE. the cupboards were sooo tedious to paint, i wish i had a "paint bomb" (like those RAID insect fogger bombs), just tape up the windows & set it off to cover every surface in fresh coat of semi-gloss white goodness.
it's amazing though, after the first coat of paint the room already started to take on a new look of cleanliness & brighter, open space ... 3 of 4 walls are painted (though need some touch-up), the back wall with the wallpaper though still needs painting (need to finish stripping wallpaper first). also, need to paint the ceiling. kept hitting head on ceiling fan blades when i was on step ladder painting above doorway to dining room ... note to self, replace ceiling fan with a close-to-ceiling light, ASAP.
18-apr. slept in until about 10.30, spent the rest of morning/early afternoon cleaning up after self (removed the plastic bath tiles that were barely hanging on). ran to the family dollar AND dollar general for random stuff, rake for lawn, paint supplies, shelf liner for under kitchen cabinet (the only place i allow it).
raked the lawn, first time i've voluntarily done lawn work in about 20 years ... piled the leaves in the back yard under some half-dead-looking bushes lining the alley, will let them compost there (along with the empty pop bottles, random junk food packages & the skin from my blister). the front lawn is pretty small, but the back yard is decent size. need to get a lawn mower soon.
also picked up an outdoor dining table, eventually it will go on the back porch, but for time being it is in the dining room ... in keeping with the "outdoor" furniture theme throughout the house thus far.
spent rest of afternoon cleaning & organising around the house. took the 17.30 train back to chicago.
hardware list for the week: bathroom wall light with pull chain. kitchen ceiling light.
12 April 2010
10-11 april ... a hot shower, finally
9-apr. took the 17.58 train friday eve to MCI. picked up some random stuff @ the dollar general & then a beer @ the liquor store b4 heading back to the house. first item up, fixing the leaking pipe. took about 10 minutes, but was able to get the pipe sleeve secured & the cracked pipe was no longer leaking. i cranked open the valve & let the water in. luckily there were no other leaks in the pipes, but the kitchen sink doesn't get much water.
10-apr. the plumber arrived @ 9.30, spent the next 3 hours installing the water heater (actual work time was around 2 hours). the existing pipes are all cast iron & full of sediment. but the new hot water heater works fine & the bathroom is fully functional. the kitchen sink water service will need fixing, but that can wait. i will eventually have all the plumbing replace in house, but it will be a gradual process as budget, time & need warrents.
saturday was beautiful outside, i took the opportunity to get the trim painted before starting the gutter installation. the painting didn't take too long, after which i spent some time relaxing on the front porch enjoying a beer (the one purchased night before, but didn't drink). in the evening i decided to start working on the gutters, so i managed to get about 1/3 of the hanging fixtures up on the eaves before sundown (also was in no rush since i had enjoyed said beer several hours before).
saturday night was spent stripping hideous floral wallpaper from the bathroom walls. managed to get the top layer off entirely, but still have to remove the backing/paste with scoring tool & soap & water solution. already though the bathroom looks much larger. also cleaned all the fixtures in the bathroom.
after i tired of stripping wallpaper, i took to cleaning the kitchen cupboards. once that was done, i started painting the interior of the cupboards. by this time, it was nearing 1am & i called it a night. took my first shower in the house & went to bed.
9-apr. slept in until about 10am sunday morning. after downing a cup of coffee, i continued with the gutter installation outside. the weather was again nice (not as warm, but no rain), so i was able to finish up the entire north side of the house (the critical portion w/the bad foundation). the install went pretty smoothly, much easier than i expected. i will continue next with installing gutters on the back porch (partly connected to the north side gutters), then the south side of the house as well.
took a quick shower at 15.00 and took the 15.40 train back to chicago. stopped at big chick's for a couple beers before heading home.
10-apr. the plumber arrived @ 9.30, spent the next 3 hours installing the water heater (actual work time was around 2 hours). the existing pipes are all cast iron & full of sediment. but the new hot water heater works fine & the bathroom is fully functional. the kitchen sink water service will need fixing, but that can wait. i will eventually have all the plumbing replace in house, but it will be a gradual process as budget, time & need warrents.
saturday was beautiful outside, i took the opportunity to get the trim painted before starting the gutter installation. the painting didn't take too long, after which i spent some time relaxing on the front porch enjoying a beer (the one purchased night before, but didn't drink). in the evening i decided to start working on the gutters, so i managed to get about 1/3 of the hanging fixtures up on the eaves before sundown (also was in no rush since i had enjoyed said beer several hours before).
saturday night was spent stripping hideous floral wallpaper from the bathroom walls. managed to get the top layer off entirely, but still have to remove the backing/paste with scoring tool & soap & water solution. already though the bathroom looks much larger. also cleaned all the fixtures in the bathroom.
after i tired of stripping wallpaper, i took to cleaning the kitchen cupboards. once that was done, i started painting the interior of the cupboards. by this time, it was nearing 1am & i called it a night. took my first shower in the house & went to bed.
9-apr. slept in until about 10am sunday morning. after downing a cup of coffee, i continued with the gutter installation outside. the weather was again nice (not as warm, but no rain), so i was able to finish up the entire north side of the house (the critical portion w/the bad foundation). the install went pretty smoothly, much easier than i expected. i will continue next with installing gutters on the back porch (partly connected to the north side gutters), then the south side of the house as well.
took a quick shower at 15.00 and took the 15.40 train back to chicago. stopped at big chick's for a couple beers before heading home.
3-4 april ... paint, water heater & concrete ... lots of concrete
3-april - took the 10.45 train saturday morning to MCI. the vet met me @ the house shortly after i arrived & we promptly left for lowes/menards to spend money that was just burning a hole in my pocket.
we went to lowes & menards for my latest round of shopping ... spent several hours between both stores (luckily they're right next to each other on franklin), also had a late lunch @ chili's (my first time ever, not a big fan of chain restaurants but it was literally out front of menards).
eventually settled on 50 80lb bags of concrete @ lowes (had it delivered). then went to menards & picked up a 29 gallon gas water heater (exact size/dimension as existing one to keep install work to a minimum). also picked up some tongue & groove pine siding for front porch (built a mail slot to replace mail box).
lastly, picked up a few gallons of paint for the house. chose a gray for the exterior & a blue as well (for the front living room exterior portion). trim will be white. also bought some light orange paint for interior of kitchen cabinets & some white wall & cabinet paint as well.
saturday eve after we unloaded the new water heater, paint & lumber, the vet & i headed back to his house in south bend for the night.
4-apr. easter sunday i took the 1pm train from south bend to michigan city, it's quick trip of 40-45 minutes. wasn't too productive sunday afternoon, i needed a nap. i also didn't have a hook to hang the paint can from ladder, so i wasn't able to start painting the roof trim before installing the new vinyl eaves troughs.
the concrete was scheduled to be delivered the following saturday (10-apr), but i received a call from the delivery service sunday evening to say they were coming between 10am & 2pm on monday (5-apr). luckily, i had taken monday off from work to be @ the house for the water to be turned on.
5-apr. easter monday i was up around 9am, the water guy came around 10am to install water meter, there was a small leak in the main pipe which he said just needed a pipe sleeve to repair. i left the water turned off at the main valve until the needed repair could take be done.
the lowes delivery guy arrived around 11am with my TWO TONS of concrete ... i then spent the next 2.5 hours hauling each of the 50 bags from the front walk to the basement. the dolly i bought a few weeks ago came in handy.
the weather was beautiful sat/sun/mon. after i finished hauling the concrete, i cleaned up (as best i could w/o running water) & hoppped the 14.35 train back to chicago.
shopping list for the week: wallpaper (scoring) removal tool, paint pot hook, pipe sleeve.
we went to lowes & menards for my latest round of shopping ... spent several hours between both stores (luckily they're right next to each other on franklin), also had a late lunch @ chili's (my first time ever, not a big fan of chain restaurants but it was literally out front of menards).
eventually settled on 50 80lb bags of concrete @ lowes (had it delivered). then went to menards & picked up a 29 gallon gas water heater (exact size/dimension as existing one to keep install work to a minimum). also picked up some tongue & groove pine siding for front porch (built a mail slot to replace mail box).
lastly, picked up a few gallons of paint for the house. chose a gray for the exterior & a blue as well (for the front living room exterior portion). trim will be white. also bought some light orange paint for interior of kitchen cabinets & some white wall & cabinet paint as well.
saturday eve after we unloaded the new water heater, paint & lumber, the vet & i headed back to his house in south bend for the night.
4-apr. easter sunday i took the 1pm train from south bend to michigan city, it's quick trip of 40-45 minutes. wasn't too productive sunday afternoon, i needed a nap. i also didn't have a hook to hang the paint can from ladder, so i wasn't able to start painting the roof trim before installing the new vinyl eaves troughs.
the concrete was scheduled to be delivered the following saturday (10-apr), but i received a call from the delivery service sunday evening to say they were coming between 10am & 2pm on monday (5-apr). luckily, i had taken monday off from work to be @ the house for the water to be turned on.
5-apr. easter monday i was up around 9am, the water guy came around 10am to install water meter, there was a small leak in the main pipe which he said just needed a pipe sleeve to repair. i left the water turned off at the main valve until the needed repair could take be done.
the lowes delivery guy arrived around 11am with my TWO TONS of concrete ... i then spent the next 2.5 hours hauling each of the 50 bags from the front walk to the basement. the dolly i bought a few weeks ago came in handy.
the weather was beautiful sat/sun/mon. after i finished hauling the concrete, i cleaned up (as best i could w/o running water) & hoppped the 14.35 train back to chicago.
shopping list for the week: wallpaper (scoring) removal tool, paint pot hook, pipe sleeve.
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