Wasted Space!

Ever watch “WASTED SPACES” on the DIY Network? Host Karl Champley goes around and finds wasted spaces in homes, and solves the wasted space problem by building cool little cubbyholes for storage, computers and such. Well, Karl, I have one such space. Under my kitchen counter,  (my counter top is an “L” shape) in the corner is there is no cabinet. Nothing, except 4 square feet of wasted space. My idea was to build a cabinet on the backside in the hallway to hold towels, toilet paper, etc. etc. So I took and made a “box”. After demo’ing the wall to make room for it I installed the box in it. The box has a removable back so I can access a hose bibb(faucet) on the outside wall. Built a door and we are in business! Now I have a storage for towels and T.P. or whatever my little heart desires. No expensive remodel either. Just a bit of elbow grease and some cheap lumber!!!

Home Improvement Goals 2012

Every year I make a list of goals to accomplish for home and hearth. Last year was a loss, so some of these might seem familiar! DIY Goals for 2012
1- Finish the Garage- I have been putting this one off for awhile. The Idea is to finish the garage with walls and a ceiling, and some wall storage units. Hopefully for the future as I plan to make it my work space for retirement.
2- Build a new green house- or rather, build a more permanent green house space rather than the giant ziplock bag I have now. Already planned and ordered, have the perfect spot for it. And it should help winterize my bedroom windows as well!
3- Bike storage- I need a shed for my Bicycle(s) and Romeo’s trailer. This has been in the plans forever- Bought a pre-fab shed, but after reading the instructions almost gave me a seizure, I am going a bit simpler on design. And yes I will use material from shed kit to build this!
4- Enclose The porch: another long term goal. I think I am getting close to knowing what I need and want for it.
5- Remodel the Main Bathroom- Needs paint, a new toilet, new vanity. I need to get to the “as-Is” department at Ikea!
6- New cabinets in Kitchen- Slowly, but surely my Kitchen needs an upgrade. Found cabinets I like that won’t break the bank to badly.

Finally - Drawers in my Kitchen

You may have read on occasion my frustration with my kitchen (or lack of) drawers. Well I finally did something about it. I purchased 2 IKEA Akurum 12" drawer cabinets with adel fronts.
I installed them per directions, except instead of Capita legs, I used 11" Ekby Bjarnum shelf supports (I needed to clear a baseboard heater). For the top I reused an EKBY MOSSBY 14" stainless steel shelf (No longer available) I was using in the same place for wall storage, minus the Bjarnum supports. Since the shelf was about and 1 1/2" too short I made it longer with a piece of 1" Square dowling I found at Lowes and cut down into two 14" pieces and screwed onto the the sides- which I actually like the looks of. I attached the old shelf to the top and I have a stainless steel countertop on my new drawer unit! Now to add the handles and I will have drawers -Finally
I only party down with the best at:

Frosted Window Panes

I decided, after much thought, to frost my bathroom window. Thought, because I wanted a frosted duo pane window, but did not want the expense and miserylabor of changing out the window with a new one. Since the bathroom has a door, And the thermostat is in the bedroom, I don’t get a lot of draft coming from there.
So I grabbed a can of spray glass frosting, and bordered the glass some two inch painters tape and divided the glass using 1” painter’s tape , turned the exhaust fan on in the bathroom and Sprayed away.

It took 4 light coats for an even finish, but well worth it… My bathroom window faces the neighbors kitchen window, so I won’t be flashing them anymore while they are eating their Cheerios, and I have a bit more privacy. The frosted window allows the light to come through and keeps my private parts well hid.
Before fall I plan on making a storm window for the outside of the window.

In retrospect, now I wished I had just frosted the whole window solid, but it is easy to correct. A razor scraper will remove the frosting and allow me to do that.
I only party down with the best at:

DIY DAY BED

Romeo and Sammy Cat approve!

Well the studio transformation is continuing. I had to get rid of my old couch- it was falling apart- literally. So I saved the cushions and put them on a foldaway bed I had. Now if I get some type of cover for the bottom part I will have a DIY day bed! Off to the thrift shop~

Goodbye Ol' Paint

What a week! Most of my free time was spent turning this:

Into this:

The color is called "Straw" from Ace Hardware. I was going to practice what I preach and do the rental thing and rent a paint sprayer but at the last minute decided to bring out the rollers and brushes and do it by hand. And it sure brightened up this once dark space. And it is true that paint truly can perform miracles... it took a once dark space cave and makes it seem like a bigger warmer space. I now have a nice bright studio to work in, and almost everything in it is re-purposed from somewhere in the house.

What's your Design Style???

I spent my three day weekend painting my studio. Finished the primer coat at 3 am on Saturday. Then I took this quiz i found via "How About Orange" on Stylish Home.com, It's a visual quiz that most matches your answers to a bunch of pictures. Here were my results

Results: You most resemble a "Modern Eclectic".
Details...
A leaning toward the austere require neatness and order in your home. Home cooked meals from a kitchen full of country. Your personal retreat includes a bed and little clutter. Art that definitely does not match the sofa. Lake Cabin table for your salads and seafood. Your 3rd coffee and just beginning to be productive. Pre-war, upper east side attitude. At the end of the day… you don't take things too seriously..
Suspected "Modern Eclectic"
- Andy Warhol- Scarlett Johannson- Philip Seymour Hoffman

I never would have thought that I had a style related to Warhol, Johannson or Hoffman. Anyway the quiz is short (less than a minute) and something to do while waiting for paint to dry.

What's your Design Style???

The Year In REVIEW Part one

Well 2009 is about to come to a close. So, in keeping with last years theme at this time, I thought I would take a quick look back at the successes and failures of the year.

HOME PROJECTS
Last year I had (what I thought was) a not too lofty idea of things I wanted to get done around the house- some success, a lot of fails: On my list were:
GOAL 1- Install the shower in my bedroom bathroom. *Sigh* This still didn’t get done. The old story of why a plumbers pipes are clogged. Maybe 2010.
GOAL 2- Landscape my front yard- some of it got done- the idea is an edible landscape. Well a little bit more got done, hopefully this year I get the front yard graveled- I got most my raised beds there now. If I can accept the fact this is a work in progress, I am good.
GOAL 4- Build a pergola. Wanted to have a pergola of the front porch- Actually got temporarily done- I re-used a canopy frame and made a tropic pergola out of it- until I got a hair up my butt to use it as a green house frame. But I will get a pergola built there hopefully this year
GOAL 5- new exterior doors on laundry room and my bedroom. OK I must admit to pure lazy on this. I know which door I want in the laundry and I know what I want on the bedroom. The one excuse I have was trying to find them at the recycled building material store- do-able in the bedroom, not so much in the laundry. Doors are easy, so have no excuse not to finish this in the upcoming year!
GOAL 6- build a sunroom on my deck, Again pure lazy took over. This job is a matter of time and money. Pure and simple.
So now that I look at my goals list- I have to say What the fuck did I do all year? Well I got the contractor out to finish the roof on the garage, I did get the window in the kitchen- those are accomplishments met. I am desperately in need of plans to achieve my goals. Not just dreams. So anyway here is the goals list for 2010

1. Install the shower in my bedroom bathroom


2. Build a pergola


3. New exterior doors on laundry and bedroom

Notice the sunroom is missing? Not gonna do it, maybe next year. And the landscape of the front yard, being a work in progress, I will accept that.

Tomorrow: THE CHALLENGES

Modern Problems

The EPA info on running my garage reefer

Okay so I signed up for a program. Seattle City Light is going to come and take the garage reefer away. I use the reefer for the freezer- just big enough for my household. But I looked at the electric usage for my old reefer- Using the EPA calculator- it costs about $100 TO RUN IT A YEAR! or $8.13 a month

Now look at the energy info on the freezers I am looking at: one 5.0cubic foot model I am looking at cost approx. $26 a year to run( or $2.17 per month), using 240 kWh per year, the other a 7.0 CF model runs about $30 per year to run uses 277kWh of power, The only Energy Star qualified unit I can find in my range is 14.0 cubic foot model and runs $36 a year to run(or $3.00 per month, using 957 kWh of power.

Now of course the energy star model is twice the size of the other two, but do I need to freeze that much food? Then address the factor that two 7.0 cf models would run $60 a year to run, compared with $36 a year for the Energy Star model. The there is the costs of each model the small one (5.0 cf) is $158, the 7.0 cf is $198 and the 14.0 Cf model is $398.

I know someone who has the 5.0 model - my mom. She loves it. And give into the fact that a Chest freezer is more efficient than an upright (Gravity helps keep the door sealed) they are all winners, But I have to look at costs VS. capacity. If the 2 cubic foot freezer on the old reefer was just about right, albeit a bit small, then running the 14.8 cf model would be wasteful. The nice thing about the old reefer was it kept pop cold as well and held my jams and jellies. But food preservation is the main object here- and looking at my needs I think I am leaning towards the 5.0 cf model- more than big enough, doesn’t take up too much room, cheaper to run than my current situation, cheapest price. AAACK modern problems!

CONTRACTOR HELL- the sequel

Roofing contractor Jason prepering to remove the old roofing

Just when you thought it was safe to wake up- you hear it-

pound!

Pound!

POUND!

After the last go around of contractors when I had the addition put on you would think I would have learned- contractor evil. So then I hired a contractor to replace the garage roof. Noisy but industrious, they had the old roof torn off in record time. They even brought a dumpster!
- already they are more endearing than the contractor who built the addition. The difference- I hired these guys or rather their company- not the contractor hiring subs. So if it goes bad I only have myself to blame. And I am not having the high blood pressure, hospital inducing heart problems I had with the old contractor- These guys are professional, came to get the job done!- I am so impressed with their choice of tools!They should be gone today! And I get a new garage roof to match the house! with a 30 year warranty! I would have gone with a tin roof- but limited budget forced me to go with three tab shingle. Oh well- cant have everything!

And you may ask Why oh why DIY KING, did you not do it yourself? Simple. Part of smart DIY is knowing your limitations and hiring help when you need it. It is a lot healthier for me to sit back and watch these hard working guys do what they do best than for me to climb up and sweat.

UPDATE: The roofers were done and gone by 12:30PM. COmpletely, everything cleaned up. What a great bunch of guys~!

I cannot tell a lie- I planted the cherry tree- My Weekly Challenge Update

My Cherry tree
This week was kinda busy- I had the three day weekend and then took Tuesday and Wednesday off and I had a class for work on Thursday and Friday- kinda of a whole week vacation! Anyway- finally finished the deck enlargement! After many years my deck is finished! I fixed some torn window screens, and planted a Cherry tree! What a week!


Sharon's Independence Days Challenge- Year two, week 4

1. Plant something: radishes, catnip, corn plants, “Robin” Tomatoes, Started Bird Gourd plants (actually started a couple of weeks ago- just forgot to add to the list!), Planted a cherry tree!
2. Harvest something: Radishes, lettuce, spring onions
3. Preserve something: dehydrated chopped spring onions; candied lemon peels
4. Reduce Waste (recycle, reuse, reduce, repair or compost something): Repaired my torn window screens
5. Preparation and Storage: Finished adding 24’ addition (3’ X 8’) on the back deck;
6. Build Community Food Systems: Nothing this week
7. Eat the Food: candied lemon peels; radishes, lettuce, spring onions in salad
8. Cook or eat something new: candied lemon peels; “Homemade frosty paws” for Romeo

MELINDA'S GROWING CHALLENGE: Obtained some “Robin” tomatoes at the farmers’ Market- growing in a basket on the front porch; Planted some corn plants- disappointed that the seed corn is not growing :( Forgot to add Bird gourds (started from seed) to the list. I planted a cherry tree.

MELINDA'S BUY SUSTAINABLY CHALLENGE: Bought some “robin” Tomatoes- (little cherry tomato plants, not unlike tumblers) in a basket at the Farmers’ Market; Bought some window screen and some “splinting” to repair my window screens that got torn up during construction of the addition to my house.

IKEA BATHROOM HACK

One of the things I started this blog for was Ikea Hacking. Inspired was I by the great Ikea Hacker blogsite, I thought I was the only person out there who would peruse the Ikea as-is bin and the store for ideas on “Hacking” Ikea furniture. For those who are wondering what an Ikea hacker or furniture hacker is, I define it as a person who enjoys making changes to a piece of furniture to change it’s use or function to their own desire or need (Original meaning of Hacker- someone who makes furniture with an axe)
Anyway it has been a while since I put up a hack on this blog. So without fanfare, May I announce
MY IKEA BATHROOM HACK
As I always say, my “master” bathroom must have been an afterthought when previous owners put this part of the house on in the 90’s- It is tiny- more of a Powder room than a bath- measures 6’ long by about 30” wide, has a huge window and no shower or bath- (soon to be remedied) Anyway a normal vanity took too much room, and there was no storage at all in the bathroom. So I needed to redo this little afterthought.
SOLVING THE VANITY PROBLEM
I have always liked the look of Vessel sinks, but did not like the cost, but I hacked one here from a BLANDA BLANK serving bowl. My buddy at work, Bert, used a knock out to make the hole- 1 ¼ inch, then I mounted it with an 1 ¼ tailpiece kit from Lowes, My counter top is a MOSSBY stainless steel shelf cut down from 46 7/8 " to 24”. Rounding it out is BJÄRNUM shelf supports and an IVAR cabinet(this size may be discontinued 16x12x32- I could not find it on the ikea website)for the vanity-
STORAGE:

On the wall, over the commode, I put an Ivar glass door cabinet, which I think is discontinued, I found at the annual employees days “garage sale” at Ikea Seattle, mounted on a LEKSVIK shelf and BJÄRNUM supports, all painted black (I know the leksvik comes in black, but I had this one out in the garage- besides I bought it at the as-is department – it had a huge dent- which is covered by the Ivar cabinet- a little paint and I have a black leksvik shelf)

I also used the BYGEL kitchen storage series , (cutlery rack, wire basket) hung from a BYGEL kitchen rail for small storage on the wall for my razor, toothbrush, etc-

Window is in!

Well guess what - I got the window put in in the kitchen.
It took me a while. And all the lumber used is reclaimed from the demolition phase of the new addition.






And of course I sealed the window. I used "Great Stuff" expanding foam product. I have cans of this stuff. It is also handy to seal up the holes in pots when making water fountains as well as a great expanding foam sealant for cracks and holes. Use it around pipes where they enter into the house, too.






A picture after the Great Stuff does it's job!


I did a strike duty tonight so it is a a quarter to five (AM) so I think I will go off to bed and finish the trim in the morning (or rather the afternoon!)

How to insulate a window for under $2

Jennifer's "Stop the Leaks" challenge has me all pumped up. So lets start with window insulation. First seal all cracks and leaks with caulking. This is easy to do. Just watch this video:

If you dont have dou-pane windows, you are losing a lot of heat through your windows. Storm windows - the answer? Not necessarily,First they are expensive. Second, not easy to put up (especially 2nd and 3rd story windows). 3rd, if you rent, it will be like pulling teeth to get your landlord to pay for them.Install NEW Dou-pane or Tri-pane Windows? Got a loan. So what's a guy to do? Well for a couple of bucks, you can get a Shrink & Seal Window Kit. They are available at most home improvement stores. They are easy to install. The only tools you need are a box cutter. And a hair dryer. I know most of you gals and a few guys already know how to handle one of those. Even Bald Rob has a hair dryer. I used to have hair! and I need one to dry stinky dinky binky after his bath. It is easy as pie. You simply put the double backed tape around the frame and then spread out the plastic sheet and put around the frame. Then when the film is tight take the dryer and heat the film, this should take out any wrinkles. All this and it only costs about $2 per window. The savings on your fuel bill will be higher. And more than pay for the film kits. When I lived in Ye olde mobile home, I had storm windows but the large picture window was missing the storm window. So I used these kits because those windows were something else drafty. My current house has duo-pane windows except one which will get this treatment this winter.
This video will give you the idea, but remember most kits are for the interior. But the idea is the same. I have never seen this particular product from 3M.

LUMBER PILE is gone!

A Burn Barrel on the
strike line


The lumber pile from the front yard is gone! Thanks to the upcoming strike at Boeing, I cut up the remaining wood pile in the front yard for the burn barrels we use on the strike line to keep warm. I am sure there are better ways to keep warm- the SPEEA union used bottle propane heaters- but this is tradition. And who wants to try and roast a weenie over a gas heater?Anyway I digress. I chopped up all the non-treated wood into burn barrel size chunks. And the leftover cedar shakes and shake pieces from the front gable.
You have to take your opportunities were they come up.
I have been waiting to get this project (get rid of the lumber pile)done for months. I put an ad on freecycle and got rid of some of the wood. Only a few jobs left to do. I need the finish the cedar shake siding on The three remaining the gables of the house and two on the garage, Install three windows and one downspout into a rain barrel. Oh yeah and some interior moulding.
Now I can completely mow the front yard. YIPPEE! No more mowing with the weedeater(I have been waiting to run the lawn mower over the whole yard for over a year now). I am almost through with the remodel. And I have already finished with the final inspection on the addition! Landscaping is next- which will be all edible plantings! And no grass in my front yard.






Not really the woodpile, but it sure felt like it when I was waiting to get rid of it!

A QUICK TRIP AROUND THE GARDEN

Let's take a quick trip around the yard to see what's growing (I took these pics about 4th of July, everything is so much bigger now!)
This is one my huckleberry bushes.

My new dog! He shits bolts! Actually a piece of recycled art I bought for the yard, (yes I am a devotee of yard art.)

Jalepeno is getting hot

Cukes and zuchinni, with radishes thrown in!

Zuchinni is getting nice!

A nice tomato awaiting ripening.

Workin Hard

This weekend I put up new gutters, primed and painted the addition on the house. I got lucky on the paint- I managed to keep 5 gallons from when I painted the house 3 years ago, so I had paint left for the addition- just had to mix it up real well. I rented an airless sprayer because I have t-1-11 siding, and I am not gonna sit there painting the grooves. Got finished and had time to go to my cousin's 40th Birthday party. What I get amazed at is the amount of plastic need to use an airless sprayer- I had to cover all the windows and the cedar shake on the front gable of the house! And I don't know a better way to do it than spread plastic film over the window- Last time I spread those blue tarps over the windows, but alas they have mysteriously vanished. And I repaired my water feature in the front yard- found a pump at harbor freight and put that in and now it works again! All I have left to do is the trim and a little touch up!