its been a few weeks since the last update. nothing much new to report, the weather has been exceptionally hot & i've put off most work on the house for the time being.
dad came out to the house in mid-june for overnight stay. he was the official "first" house guest. he was returning from helping my cousin chris move to missouri for a new job & passing through the area so he was able to stop by on his way back to michigan. his impending visit was the kick in the pants i needed to get the house tidy & in order. while its still a construction site, its now a little cleaner & more orderly (in most areas).
my father is one person who doesn't benefit from the use of GPS whilst driving. he was scheduled to arrive at the house around 10pm saturday night but didn't arrive until 12.20pm (my sister monica & i had bet he wouldn't arrive until 1am, so we were just slightly off). i ordered a pizza around 10pm thinking he'd be there by 11ish (thinking incorrectly that he'd finally be on-time for once since he adopted the use of GPS). dad wasn't hungry when he got in, but we ended up spending the night sitting around the table in the dining room talking, it was probably the best time i've had with my father ever. a truly memorable night (well what can be recalled after drinking 2-3 bottles of wine).
4th of july weekend. tom, troy & mitch came out to the house with me to see the progress on saturday (3-july). tom & troy had been there in march, but it was mitch's first visit. we loaded up tom's car with my grill (though we didn't use it) & after a short stop @ the house we headed out for an afternoon of shopping in the area. i rode back with them the same day afer i mowed the lawn, didn't feel like sleeping in the hot house that night.
bought a roll of embossed/paintable wallpaper for the bathroom to cover up the crumbling plaster. will install that above the new wood wainscoting being installed on the lower portion of the walls.
since it's too hot to work @ the house, i've decided for the time being to make bi-weekly trips. just need to be there to mow the lawn every 2-weeks (doesn't really look bad after 2 weeks & doesn't really look that good after mowing anyway).
went to house on sat afternoon of 17-july. did my lawn work & checked out the local dollar stores for the latest finds (got a simple stainless-steel cookware set for $22!), returned early sunday afternoon & hit big chick's after dropping bags off at home.
23-july. heavy rain in chicago / michigan city ... flash flooding ...
24-july. had talked to rich about coming out to the house for afternoon earlier in week. we had decided on 9am departure from my place saturday morning. rich called @ 8.30 to say his house in oak park (which he JUST purchased & moved into a month ago) had some water in the basement (luckily not much), after some back & forth between the service pro / clean-up people, he finally was able to get to my place around 11am. they wont be able to get to his house until monday and he & scott moved everything out of basement that was on floor before he left.
unfortunately, the eisenhower expressway was shut down due to the rain. so rich had to take local streets to get to my place, luckily its really not that far (9-10 miles), but that is a HUGE distance in chicago. we loaded up his car with some old paintings of mine & hit the road. we took lake shore drive all the way (north LSD to south LSD) to get on the skyway @ stoney island. quicker route that tom/troy decided to take on 4th of july (i had only taken once before in the 90s when the route was a lot more sketch than it is today).
we stopped first @ lowe's and i bought a new refrigerator for the house, being delivered on saturday the 31st. we headed to the house after that. after a quick tour of the house, we headed to the shoreline brewery for a bite to eat & then stopped @ the outlet mall for a quick spin through (the temps still being in low 90s, but cooler than the mid/upper 90s of the day before).
next weekend will be full weekend @ the house, need to be there sat for the fridge delivery & also work on finishing the eaves troughs. no train service the following weekend due to upgrades so will be staying in chicago then.
mum & step-father will be visiting on weekend of 14-aug, so that is next big weekend!
24 July 2010
09 June 2010
lots of nothing to catch up on
three weekends to update on, but not much to update.
21-23 may, spent the weekend pouring more concrete in form for the foundation support. after 2 weekends of work, the form is about 50% or so complete. starting to feel comfortable knowing that if more rain is to come it won't do more damage.
28-31 may, split the weekend between MCI and chicago. busy holiday weekend in chicago so wanted to spend part of it there with friends. didn't do any foundation/concrete work, but instead started installing the tongue-and-groove paneling/wainscoting in the bathroom to cover the damaged walls. 30-may, todd & nathaniel drove out to see the house. i returned to chicago with them in the late afternoon & we spent the rest of the day at big chick's. didn't do any work on the house other than mowing the lawn (weekly ritual now). on memorial day i was in chicago & missed the heavy rains that hit the MCI area ... i was nervous to check the house to see if any had made its way into the basement ...
02-june. took the 17.58 train out to MCI after work, decided to make mid-week trip to check on the house after rain on monday. i was relieved to see no evidence outside of any change in the ground (new soil is settling, but no visible water run-off damage). in the basement i was even happier to see it still dry, just as i had left it. so it appears my efforts of re-grading the soil outside away from the foundation is probably having the greatest impact on things there. the additional foundation support certainly will help as well (though to what extent may never be known as i hope the wall simply stays put going forward).
4-6 june. back at the house for another weekend. first weekend at the house that i did absolutely nothing (except mow the lawn). saturday i walked from the house to downtown & the outlet mall on the west side of downtown, its about a 40 minute walk. needed to get a couple pairs of shorts for summer. on the return walk, i stopped at a art gallery on franklin street to take a quick look around. spoke w/the owner/curator who mentioned there were soon-to-be nine art galleries in the downtown area. maybe i will be inspired to return to painting (beyond several studies i've been working on lately). saturday night had dinner @ the shoreline brewery with a friend from south bend, the entire day actually felt like a vacation to me.
sunday returned to the city on 12.52 train & spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at big chick's (my sunday hangout, if it hasn't become already apparent).
21-23 may, spent the weekend pouring more concrete in form for the foundation support. after 2 weekends of work, the form is about 50% or so complete. starting to feel comfortable knowing that if more rain is to come it won't do more damage.
28-31 may, split the weekend between MCI and chicago. busy holiday weekend in chicago so wanted to spend part of it there with friends. didn't do any foundation/concrete work, but instead started installing the tongue-and-groove paneling/wainscoting in the bathroom to cover the damaged walls. 30-may, todd & nathaniel drove out to see the house. i returned to chicago with them in the late afternoon & we spent the rest of the day at big chick's. didn't do any work on the house other than mowing the lawn (weekly ritual now). on memorial day i was in chicago & missed the heavy rains that hit the MCI area ... i was nervous to check the house to see if any had made its way into the basement ...
02-june. took the 17.58 train out to MCI after work, decided to make mid-week trip to check on the house after rain on monday. i was relieved to see no evidence outside of any change in the ground (new soil is settling, but no visible water run-off damage). in the basement i was even happier to see it still dry, just as i had left it. so it appears my efforts of re-grading the soil outside away from the foundation is probably having the greatest impact on things there. the additional foundation support certainly will help as well (though to what extent may never be known as i hope the wall simply stays put going forward).
4-6 june. back at the house for another weekend. first weekend at the house that i did absolutely nothing (except mow the lawn). saturday i walked from the house to downtown & the outlet mall on the west side of downtown, its about a 40 minute walk. needed to get a couple pairs of shorts for summer. on the return walk, i stopped at a art gallery on franklin street to take a quick look around. spoke w/the owner/curator who mentioned there were soon-to-be nine art galleries in the downtown area. maybe i will be inspired to return to painting (beyond several studies i've been working on lately). saturday night had dinner @ the shoreline brewery with a friend from south bend, the entire day actually felt like a vacation to me.
sunday returned to the city on 12.52 train & spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at big chick's (my sunday hangout, if it hasn't become already apparent).
17 May 2010
rain, rain, go away ... seriously
13-may. three day weekend planned. tom & troy heading to kansas for the weekend to see troy's family so tom was able to loan me his car for the weekend. south shore train service not running sat/sun due to track repairs (first weekend of season for scheduled repairs).
arrived @ the house around midnight, car loaded up w/the lillberg sofa i found on craigslist. living room now has some permanent seating.
i was anxious to see the house & see if the rainstorm on wed night had caused any damage. when i opened the basement door i could see the floor was still damp & was worried. it looks like the rain had come in from the bad foundation wall, may have been an inch or two of standing water. the water heater pilot was out & the insulation on the underside (closest to the floor) was damp, so the water had reached high enough to get that wet. luckily, the pilot re-lit & the water heater wasn't actually damaged. i will need to either have the water heater raised a little on bricks or create a barrier around the water heater to keep the area around it dry. there was dirt on the floor that had washed in from outside as well.
the worst part though was the foundation. i had marked a 2x4 beam that is split & still attached to the wall w/a straight line across the split, this way if there was any movement in the wall & beam, i would know. since january there hadn't been any movement, until now. it looks like there was about 1/4" of movement in the wall from the rain.
also, about 1/3 of the bags of concrete mix i bought to fortify the wall were lost due to the water (all the bags directly on the floor, stacked 3 bags high).
friday morning i went outside to check the exterior of the house. the ground adjacent to the bowed foundation sank a little more after the rain. i decided not to wait any longer & regrade the low spot to direct water away from the house. my only immediate option was to buy 40lb bags of top soil to fill in the depression ... by the end of the weekend i had nearly 100 bags in place. i covered the soil w/tarp & bricks until it settles (may need to add more to make sure the grade is away from the house). i was worried though the extra weight on the foundation may do some more damage ...
friday i started making the form to pour concrete in the basement to fortify the compromised foundation wall. i started by pouring a 2 foot by 2 foot footer along the base of the wall. next step will be to build up from the base with a 1 foot thick wall 2-3 feet high, reinforced w/rebar (set into the base as well). basically making a new support wall of steel reinforced concrete up against the existing foundation wall. hopefully this will halt the movement. if it works well, i may extend the repair further along the wall (currently doing on 4 foot section), hopefully it holds the wall until i can have the entire wall replaced in the future.
so basically the entire weekend was spent alternating between adding dirt outside the house to raise the ground level to direct water away from the house & pouring concrete in the basement to hold the foundation in place ...
also picked up a new pedestal sink & tonge-and-groove paneling/siding for the bathroom (4 foot length to cover lower portion of walls that are damaged) ... that all will have to wait though until the foundation repair is complete.
friday afternoon i mowed the lawn w/new reel mower (they don't work that great), will be nice when i can relandscape the yard. luckily there isn't much grass to mow.
saturday afternoon headed to michigan for grandmother's 75th birthday party in jerome. was nice to see my family, though i couldn't stay the night because i had to get back to work on the house.
on sunday ran to lowes for last trip of supplies for foundation repair (more wood for form work & also more dirt.
left around 4pm & had tom's car back in his parking garage by 5.30!
arrived @ the house around midnight, car loaded up w/the lillberg sofa i found on craigslist. living room now has some permanent seating.
i was anxious to see the house & see if the rainstorm on wed night had caused any damage. when i opened the basement door i could see the floor was still damp & was worried. it looks like the rain had come in from the bad foundation wall, may have been an inch or two of standing water. the water heater pilot was out & the insulation on the underside (closest to the floor) was damp, so the water had reached high enough to get that wet. luckily, the pilot re-lit & the water heater wasn't actually damaged. i will need to either have the water heater raised a little on bricks or create a barrier around the water heater to keep the area around it dry. there was dirt on the floor that had washed in from outside as well.
the worst part though was the foundation. i had marked a 2x4 beam that is split & still attached to the wall w/a straight line across the split, this way if there was any movement in the wall & beam, i would know. since january there hadn't been any movement, until now. it looks like there was about 1/4" of movement in the wall from the rain.
also, about 1/3 of the bags of concrete mix i bought to fortify the wall were lost due to the water (all the bags directly on the floor, stacked 3 bags high).
friday morning i went outside to check the exterior of the house. the ground adjacent to the bowed foundation sank a little more after the rain. i decided not to wait any longer & regrade the low spot to direct water away from the house. my only immediate option was to buy 40lb bags of top soil to fill in the depression ... by the end of the weekend i had nearly 100 bags in place. i covered the soil w/tarp & bricks until it settles (may need to add more to make sure the grade is away from the house). i was worried though the extra weight on the foundation may do some more damage ...
friday i started making the form to pour concrete in the basement to fortify the compromised foundation wall. i started by pouring a 2 foot by 2 foot footer along the base of the wall. next step will be to build up from the base with a 1 foot thick wall 2-3 feet high, reinforced w/rebar (set into the base as well). basically making a new support wall of steel reinforced concrete up against the existing foundation wall. hopefully this will halt the movement. if it works well, i may extend the repair further along the wall (currently doing on 4 foot section), hopefully it holds the wall until i can have the entire wall replaced in the future.
so basically the entire weekend was spent alternating between adding dirt outside the house to raise the ground level to direct water away from the house & pouring concrete in the basement to hold the foundation in place ...
also picked up a new pedestal sink & tonge-and-groove paneling/siding for the bathroom (4 foot length to cover lower portion of walls that are damaged) ... that all will have to wait though until the foundation repair is complete.
friday afternoon i mowed the lawn w/new reel mower (they don't work that great), will be nice when i can relandscape the yard. luckily there isn't much grass to mow.
saturday afternoon headed to michigan for grandmother's 75th birthday party in jerome. was nice to see my family, though i couldn't stay the night because i had to get back to work on the house.
on sunday ran to lowes for last trip of supplies for foundation repair (more wood for form work & also more dirt.
left around 4pm & had tom's car back in his parking garage by 5.30!
10 May 2010
being lazy
took the 17.58 train to MCI friday evening, without incident. stopped into the DG & FD stores after i arrived. skipped the liquor store though, wasn't really in mood for a beer.
weekend trip was shorter than norm, took the 17.30 train back to chicago saturday evening. decided i needed to have a bar night (or two as it turned out).
friday night i washed dishes for the first time ... having a dishwashing machine @ home certainly has spoiled me some. but i survived. went to bed early friday eve (23.00), high winds in the area though kept waking me. power went out in middle of night (02.00) and was restored around 07.00. had to reset the lighting timers.
saturday afternoon i did minimal work around the house. started stripping the wallpaper border in the front bedroom (need to remove backing, but its 2/3 done now). also put closet/attic door back on hinges in the back bedroom (switched original door with bathroom door). this was probably the least amount of work i've done on a weekend there yet.
figured i would allow myself a light weekend, especially since next weekend i will have tom's car to make trip to michigan for birthday party for grandma. will also be making trips to lowes/menards for supplies ...
weekend trip was shorter than norm, took the 17.30 train back to chicago saturday evening. decided i needed to have a bar night (or two as it turned out).
friday night i washed dishes for the first time ... having a dishwashing machine @ home certainly has spoiled me some. but i survived. went to bed early friday eve (23.00), high winds in the area though kept waking me. power went out in middle of night (02.00) and was restored around 07.00. had to reset the lighting timers.
saturday afternoon i did minimal work around the house. started stripping the wallpaper border in the front bedroom (need to remove backing, but its 2/3 done now). also put closet/attic door back on hinges in the back bedroom (switched original door with bathroom door). this was probably the least amount of work i've done on a weekend there yet.
figured i would allow myself a light weekend, especially since next weekend i will have tom's car to make trip to michigan for birthday party for grandma. will also be making trips to lowes/menards for supplies ...
03 May 2010
train wreck
30-apr. took the 17.32 train again from randolph. it seems to be my friday routine right now. the ride generally passes fairly quickly, i have my ipod to listen to & keep a book in my bag as well. this trip though turned somewhat exciting after we left the 11th street stop in michigan city & were about half-way to the 2nd stop (my stop at carroll Ave). as we crossed michigan boulevard, the train suddenly started stopping & the horn was blaring non-stop. in a matter of seconds, we all realised there was a vehicle in the path of the train & we were about to impact it. as the train continued to slow & the horn sounded, we looked out the windows to try to see what we were heading into. luckily the train just clipped the back of a car blocking the tracks. there was a slight bump felt and then the train came to a (slightly) abrupt halt. we sat there for a few seconds before the conductor came on the PA and told us we had just clipped the car, the police were right there and that we would be proceeding on shortly. the train proceeded within five minutes.
after arriving, i dropped my bags off at the house and headed to the dollar stores to check out the latest wares. i made a quick stop @ MCD for a shamrock shake (the availability "for a limited time" seems to be a lot longer than years past). i proceeded on to family dollar & then to the dollar general ... there wasn't anything new this week so i left empty handed. i even decided against stopping @ virk's for a can of beer for later ... figured i usually forget about it until the end of the night anyway.
friday night i continued on with painting the kitchen & bath. the kitchen is nearing completion, just a bit more touching up in corners. the smoke stained foam green is now history ... though i left a ring of it under the ceiling light fixture since i didn't remove that to paint (it will be there as a haunting reminder whenever the fixture is removed).
the new medicine cabinet fit the old spot perfectly, there was about 2 inches of space at the top, the plaster covered part of it, but it was uneven in depth so i improvised w/a piece of wood trim to fill the gap for now. the wall is in such poor shape to begin with (pockmarked & pitted), i think i may buy some textured wallpaper to cover it & paint that. this will all be removed anyway once the bathroom is gutted for rehab (in a few years). but for now, it will do.
slept in saturday & was intent on doing nothing all day ... but then i decided to take the rain-free day as opportunity to caulk the new gutters (they had some leaks @ the joints). after i finished the caulking, i continued on with removing the furring strips from the sides of the house on the upper portions (requiring the ladder). i nearly worked up the nerve to hop on the roof of the back porch to remove the furring strips from the rear attic portion, but then decided that fun will wait, possibly until i replace the attic window (currently still boarded up). the roof is pitched & i don't care for heights.
as i was working my way around the exterior on the ladder, jackie from next door was on her porch w/a friend talking & we spoke briefly. her friend wondered if i was looking to rent the house out (2nd person to enquire), but i said i was not presently looking to rent it out. i did leave the option out there for the future though.
after i finished up with removing the furring strips i decided to remove the indoor/outdoor carpeting from the front porch. once the carpet was removed, there was an equal amount of dirt left behind on the floor. i had to open storm windows on the porch to let fresh air in to clear the dust in the air. will eventually repaint the floor, but need to check under the boards to see the condition of the framing as the floor boards in the far corner seem to be a little bouncy ... the corner post (brick pier) is crumbling & there may be some insect or water damage underneath.
saturday night continued on with another round of painting in the kitchen & bath, nearly done w/both rooms. once this is done, i'll continue w/painting the living & dining rooms & the front bedroom. the back bedroom is covered in wallpaper so will need to remove that before i paint.
in 2 weeks (mid-may), plan to start work on the temporary foundation repairs in the basement. still need to buy a sledgehammer & some rebar for the project. plan is to create some temporary bracing for the wall. also have some lumber to build a temporary loadbearing wall, in case the foundation wall collapses before replacement can be done. the cement mix is in the basement ready to be set into forms & the lumber for the load bearing wall is in the living room (will need to get it out of living room eventually b4 i can paint room).
sunday spent the morning/early afternoon cleaning up the house & planted some bulbs in the front yard along front of the house. took the 15.40 train back to chicago & then hit big chick's for a few beers.
after arriving, i dropped my bags off at the house and headed to the dollar stores to check out the latest wares. i made a quick stop @ MCD for a shamrock shake (the availability "for a limited time" seems to be a lot longer than years past). i proceeded on to family dollar & then to the dollar general ... there wasn't anything new this week so i left empty handed. i even decided against stopping @ virk's for a can of beer for later ... figured i usually forget about it until the end of the night anyway.
friday night i continued on with painting the kitchen & bath. the kitchen is nearing completion, just a bit more touching up in corners. the smoke stained foam green is now history ... though i left a ring of it under the ceiling light fixture since i didn't remove that to paint (it will be there as a haunting reminder whenever the fixture is removed).
the new medicine cabinet fit the old spot perfectly, there was about 2 inches of space at the top, the plaster covered part of it, but it was uneven in depth so i improvised w/a piece of wood trim to fill the gap for now. the wall is in such poor shape to begin with (pockmarked & pitted), i think i may buy some textured wallpaper to cover it & paint that. this will all be removed anyway once the bathroom is gutted for rehab (in a few years). but for now, it will do.
slept in saturday & was intent on doing nothing all day ... but then i decided to take the rain-free day as opportunity to caulk the new gutters (they had some leaks @ the joints). after i finished the caulking, i continued on with removing the furring strips from the sides of the house on the upper portions (requiring the ladder). i nearly worked up the nerve to hop on the roof of the back porch to remove the furring strips from the rear attic portion, but then decided that fun will wait, possibly until i replace the attic window (currently still boarded up). the roof is pitched & i don't care for heights.
as i was working my way around the exterior on the ladder, jackie from next door was on her porch w/a friend talking & we spoke briefly. her friend wondered if i was looking to rent the house out (2nd person to enquire), but i said i was not presently looking to rent it out. i did leave the option out there for the future though.
after i finished up with removing the furring strips i decided to remove the indoor/outdoor carpeting from the front porch. once the carpet was removed, there was an equal amount of dirt left behind on the floor. i had to open storm windows on the porch to let fresh air in to clear the dust in the air. will eventually repaint the floor, but need to check under the boards to see the condition of the framing as the floor boards in the far corner seem to be a little bouncy ... the corner post (brick pier) is crumbling & there may be some insect or water damage underneath.
saturday night continued on with another round of painting in the kitchen & bath, nearly done w/both rooms. once this is done, i'll continue w/painting the living & dining rooms & the front bedroom. the back bedroom is covered in wallpaper so will need to remove that before i paint.
in 2 weeks (mid-may), plan to start work on the temporary foundation repairs in the basement. still need to buy a sledgehammer & some rebar for the project. plan is to create some temporary bracing for the wall. also have some lumber to build a temporary loadbearing wall, in case the foundation wall collapses before replacement can be done. the cement mix is in the basement ready to be set into forms & the lumber for the load bearing wall is in the living room (will need to get it out of living room eventually b4 i can paint room).
sunday spent the morning/early afternoon cleaning up the house & planted some bulbs in the front yard along front of the house. took the 15.40 train back to chicago & then hit big chick's for a few beers.
26 April 2010
kitchen flamingos
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.
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.
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.
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