El Rancho

New Posts can only mean one thing!

2007-09-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

I'm done! Good job to me. I am going to keep it simple with before and after pics of every room on the interior. I apologize for the lack of updates - was busy working, traveling, finishing projects, etc. In fact, my cousin Mike came down on his way to South Carolina (his new home) and helped do a bit of re-landscaping and a touch of painting in the laundry room.

No-one stays for free, people. Anywho, enjoy the updates.

laundry room.

2007-06-14T21:18:00.002-07:00

so as you may or may not recall, in the back room (music room) of the house, there were two doors on the side as you entered from the den. one went to a laundry room that was so small, you couldn't open the door on the dryer without it hitting the wall. the second door led to an over sized, walk-in closet. i decided to make better use of the space by ripping out the laundry room doorway, dividing wall, and all the flooring.

here is a shot inside the laundry room doorway after i had ripped out the drywall and trim covering the dividing wall:

yes, the space between the wall and appliances was the width of a step ladder.

here is a shot in from the closet doorway:

looks like i had already ripped out a stud at this point. the sill plates were actually very difficult to move, but after some pulling and pounding, i got them out of there.

mess 1:

and mess 2:
alway so much fun to make. never so much fun to clean up.

and here's a shot back in after everything was removed:

note: i need to put new ducting in that will blow into the new laundry room and into the music room. there was previously no direct heat or air going into the room because the duct had collapsed within the dividing wall thanks to the "handywork" of the previous owner. you can see the ugly carpet on the left and nasty vinyl on the right, some loose wires, paneling, etc. it all get ripped out.

here is the outside:

you can see i ripped the wood paneling off and exposed the drywall. unfortunately, the whole room wasn't drywalled underneath the paneling and i didn't want to mess with the trim or i would have ripped down all of the paneling. instead, i recovered it and painted it all eggplant (those pics are coming). that mess of wires is from the security system, which was a complete bitch to conceal. did i mention i was not a fan of the original owner's "work". yes? just checking.

here is a shot of the floors scraped clean before i put the flooring down:

i am so sick of pulling up flooring i can't even begin to fully express it.

here is a pic Double E snapped of me putting down the flooring:

this is actually sticky vinyl strips of faux cherry wood. i had never used anything like this before, but it is surprisingly good-looking, very inexpensive, and quite easy to install. i wouldn;t use it for common areas of my home, but for something like a laundry room, it's pretty much perfect.

see what i mean?

this turned out to be a really great choice for this room. i would definitely use this stuff again for a similar application. it's also extremely low maintenance and easy to replace. i feel like Armstrong should be paying me for this ringing endorsement.

and here's a shot of the old doorway after i had reframed and drywalled it, then covered it all with the hideous paneling:

and a final shot from the inside:

this is just before i rehung the "closet" door, which was a 36" ( the laundry room was 32"), which is great if i ever need to swap out the washer and dryer or move anything large in here.

that's pretty much it. i still have some drywall, mudding and light electrical work to do before it is complete, which i am hoping to get to this weekend. once that's done, we'll do some cosmetic stuff to it with paint, lighting, shelving and some artwork ideas i have. i told Double E that i want this to be the hippest laundry room ever ... which is totally unnecessary, since we spend about 20 minutes a week in there. anyway, this is where we now do laundry and store things, like the vacuum cleaner.

phewwww.

2007-06-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

i am wiped out. although i have slacked on my blog duties, i had been working feverishly up until 2 weeks ago to get everything done before our housewarming party. i am happy to report that Imbibique '07, which we dubbed the event, was quite a success that saw some 40 odd people drink all my beer, empty my liquor cabinet, eat all my food and irritate my neighbors until early into the morning. successful, indeed.

anywho, i am about 95% done inside and out with the new laundry room the only thing that needs to be finished. there's probably too much for me to cover before i go to bed tonight, but i can at least get started.

Improvement Totals for 2006, as promised.

2007-02-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

As you are probably well aware, it is tax season. Tonight I submitted my return for the year and in the process totaled up the sum of improvement costs for the year which came to ... *drumroll* ... $4,956.11. This includes the cost of the new fridge I bought, which I wasn't going to include in the total, but why the hell not, I have a receipt for it.

Pretty cheap relative to what it's probably worth now, I suppose. I am also really proud of how well it meshes in with the nicer (already renovated) homes in the neighborhood. now, if only my neighbors would follow suit and/or just disappear, all would be well in the world.

Once I am done with everything, I will add the 2007 receipts to it as well. I can't imagine those will be more than $1,500-$2000, but stuff always pops-up, I guess.

This update brought to you by the Fuji FinePix A700.

2007-02-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

it looks like the free camera i lamented about in past blogs has seemingly been lost in transit, so i took the $200 Visa gift card given to me at work a few weeks back (as reward for a job well done, my friends) to CompUSA and bought the above mentioned camera and a 1GB memory card. The whole thing cost me a whopping $18 ... the stars have aligned in my favor for once. It's quite a nice little piece of equipment and the specs can be seen here for anyone "in the market" as they say: http://tinyurl.com/3295j2

Due to this wonderful turn of events, I can now show you the bathroom and hallway updates. This first shot is from the living room into the bathroom via the hallway (confusing, i know - just look at the pic):

so here it is. the hallway is this flat grey color, which i wasn't sold on until i painted the trim (bright white like everywhere else). i painted the walls a while back, but never finished the trim because i got distracted by a million other things. I replaced the light fixture, too (not pictured), which is pretty modern and i will paint the ceiling sometime this week (a cleaner white). ok, so you can see the bathroom from here ...

... please allow me to elaborate:

yup, that's a whole lotta squares. i decided that i was going to paint 6 in. x 6 in. squares (to match the width of the border tiles) and use a monochrome color scheme based upon a single Behr color card. I started by using an outline of a square, but this was tedious and not all that accurate in keeping things level. I decided (thankfully) that it would be easier to mark every six inches along the bottom and side of each wall with a ruler, then i went back with a yardstick (and a 6 inch level), which i used to complete the lines both vertically and horizontally. this sped things up considerably.

here's another photo:

i forgot to mention that i also did some patching and sanding on the walls before i painted. i still have some touch ups to do along the ceiling and at a bunch of different places where paint dripped under the tape, etc. I will be repainting the ceiling as well. the lightest color is a very faint teal paint i had left over from another project (it looks white in the pics) and it isnt satin like the rest nor is it holding up well near the shower. i bought another quart similar to it and will go back and primer and repaint those squares.

... but that's not all. i also gutted most of the wiring in the bathroom and updated it as well as putting in a modern vanity light and installing a modern ceiling fan/light. this also meant i had to install a three way switch to control everything and trust me when i tell you that snaking that wire through for the fan absolutely sucked major ass. the attic is floored, so i had to pop up a few of the boards and bore a hole through a joist before i could even fish it through. i actually had to have Double E help or i probably wouldnt have been able to do it.

in addition, i repainted all the trim and doors (bright white, as usual) and replaced all of the hardware with stainless steel hardware. all of the hardware in the house is being replaced with stainless hardware as i finish each room. i have too huge boxes of it sitting in the garage ... individually, not so expensive, but when you purchase all of it ... including new knobs and hinges for 38 doors in a pantry kitchen - ouch. it got a bit expensive.

anywho, here is the sink area in the bathroom:

the knobs are really heavy-duty and a huge upgrade over the ugly crap that was in there. yes, i am aware the tile is dirty - no need to mention it. we are getting a maid soon, i think. i still want to update the faucet and shower head, i just haven't quite found what i like yet. i want something that looks a little bit older to go with the rest of the house and i heard there is a plumbing shop not too far away that kind of specializes in that kind of thing. we'll see what i find ...

everything she just said is true.

2007-01-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

i am wonderful, thoughtful, intelligent, attractive and ... wait, i think she only said i had been working on the bathroom for the last 3 days. hmm, we need to work on the compliment giving a bit more around here. anywho, i have been working nonstop on the bathroom this week in an attempt to get everything with the house finished by Feb. 12, which will be the one-year-of-ownership mark. Sadly, I havent been able to chronicle it all with the lovely photos you have come to enjoy, because the camera pooped out. A new one is on the way and will hopefully be here by tomorrow or Saturday, though.

i got started by removing the ugly vanity over the sink/mirror and putting up a new one in its place. i also installed that hip exhaust fan/light that Double E posted the picture of. it was a bit of a chore because the attic is actually floored, so i had to pop-up one of the boards where the fan was going and one of the boards next to the steps where i needed to snake the wire through. i drilled a pilot hole next to the most centered joist to give me a rough idea of placement to view from within the bathroom and then once i determined where the fan needed to go in proximity to the hole, i drew the outline of the fan and cut through the drywall. once the fan was hooked up and everything was wired together, it pulled out the single switch in the wall and ran the fish tape up through the wall and a hole i bored in another support (it's not a joist, but i can't remember what its called this late at night - use your imagination - think thick piece of wood) with mucho help from Double E who held the tape for me. After I pulled everything back through the box, i installed a 3 way switch: one for the vanity light (and an outlet on the side of the mirror), one for the ceiling light, and one for the exhaust fan. pheeeeew. this took all night to do, but it looks perfect.

i had to wake up early the next morning because the old tub in the bathroom actually has one of those bath fitters tubs over the top of it and it was leaking water in from a poor seal job. the repair guy had to come and pull it up to let all the water drain, then lay it back down and reseal everything. sometimes you gotta call the pros, people. that night i cam home and removed all of the cheap plastic towel bars that were on the doors and scraped away all the area where the paint had chipped because of moisture. i also washed the nasty parts of the ceiling with some bleach water. i then primered everything in the bathroom: walls, cabinets and doors. all the wood was this awful off white color (i'll repost the old picture in the next post for a before and after so you can see what i'm talking about if you don't remember)after the primer dried, i went over the rough parts of the walls and ceiling with some drywall compound.

tonight when i got home i sanded down all the patches and then re-primered them. once it dried, i took a 6" piece of cardboard i ripped off the back of a pocketsize notebook and used that and a yardstick to measure out a grid of 6"x6" squares all over the wall (i still have one wall left to do - the mirror wall). i went ahead and assigned a number to each individual square (from 1 to 5), making sure that none of the same numbers touched each other on any two squares. The night before i purchased 4 quarts of paint - one of each color on a teal/turquoise color card, going from light to dark. I also have an old can of very faint turquoise (almost baby blue) that i will use as the fifth color. The result should be a random, monochrome grid like the picture that Double E posted. Yes, i still got my paintin skillz, even if i dont use 'em anymore.

hopefully, everything with the bathroom will be wrapped up by the end of this weekend. i don't plan on stopping until everything is done. really, almost everything i have left to do is painting related, so it shouldn't be too difficult to finish everything up.

stay tuned.

A shout out, for our Jacob.

2007-01-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hello, everybody. It's Erin, here - I realized I hadn't yet made a post to this fabulous blog, and all I'd really like to do with this one is to make a quick shout out to our "man in charge", Jacob.

Over the past 3 days, he has done nothing each night except for work on our bathroom. He has wowed me with his electrical and light installation skillz, installing a new light fixture/fan combination:

He also installed a new vanity light, but I'm unable to show you a picture because I'm lame and can't find it online. Sorry. He has also patched the rough spots and primered the walls, as of last night.

While I was surfing knitting blogs, I came across this post. We're loving this idea:

Anyway, I'm just proud. I'm sure Jake'll post pictures of the whole enchilada, once it's finished, and we have a digital camera again.

Love,
Erin

tiki puka puka 3.0

2006-12-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

ahh, back to this little project. i preface this by saying it won't be a full post due to the camera pooping out - i guess i could pull out the memory card and load the images onto this computer sitting on my lap, but i'll save that as a rainy day project.

anywho, i installed astroturf on the floor to give a "grassy" appearance and also to conceal the roughness of the concrete, etc. i also walled the interior with plywood and then painted it all red (again, barn paint). of course, prior to walling everything off, i cut and framed an opening, attached a hinged door to it, and a small countertop that faces the deck. this is essentially the bar. like i said, i dont have full pics, so i will post the ones i do have along with the hilarious narratives you have come to love:

this was the first piece i cut and installed. these triangle pieces and the walls were really easy to do, but ... arggggh ... putting up the ceiling by myself was a pain. i basically had to balance everything on my head and then screw it into place. the kind of thing that would have been hilarious to watch some other fool do, but not so hilarious when you're the aforementioned "other fool".

here are the support pieces i put into place to help support the ceiling boards:

i put these up in multiple places in the center and corners, where needed (where the boards met). fascinating.

action photo of me looking through a hole:

after i measured out my window thingy, i pre-drilled some pilot holes in the corners to make it easier to cut with the jigsaw. after i cut everything out, i used a belt sander to smooth the edges, then i framed the opening with 2x4's and added a pine top. i cut a piece of particle board for the door, which i wouldn't normally use for exterior applications, but i 1) had a shitload of it leftover and 2) used three coats of polyurethane on it, so it should be okay. i hinged it and added a latch to lock it from the interior.

if you remember back a ways back, i had ripped a bunch of shit out of this shed, because it was a somewhat filthy woodworking shop that looked like it had never been cleaned. junk removal revealed quite a bit of termite damage in the structure and at the time i think i believed i would replace most of the damage. upon further inspection of the shed, i realized that it wasn't built that well from the beginning and if i really put much time, money and effort into it, i would probably just tear it down and build something else. everything i did definitely helped to reinforce it and offset the damage and probably didn't cost me more than $100. when the time comes, i can knock it down and put up something really cool, but for now, this will do.

also of note, i had predrilled and wired everything for an outdoor sound system with all of the wiring hidden behind the wall. a few weeks ago i went ahead and set everything up with some old (but killer) hi-fi equipment i had sitting around and gathering dust. now we have music pumping through the hi-fi outside in the back yard. time to boogie, my friends. time to boogie.

i shoved a knife into my hand.

2006-12-17T22:59:00.000-08:00

it's true. this was back in october when my brother came over to help me reroute the power going into the shed (a.k.a. tiki hut) and the garage, which is surprisingly the first time i have hurt myself. it was at the very end of the night when all of the wiring was done and i was trying to cut the insulation off the last wire. as it turns out, the knife really wasn't sharp enough to cut the wire, but was, in fact, sharp enough to find it's way deep into the palm of my hand. no worries, i just rubbed some dirt on it and kept going.

anyway, as you may or may not remember, the wiring going to the shed wasn't inside a conduit and the insulation was actually missing from one wire. it was actually running out of the attic (from behind a gutter) and then straight into the shed just below the roof. not cool. not only that, but as i tested things at the fuse box i realized that the same line was used for parts of 5 rooms, the front exterior light and the power to the shed (both sides). seemed like a bad thing waiting to happen.

i cut all three wires where they were going into the shed and pulled the wire back up into the attic. i capped off the line that was running through all those other rooms. this left a dedicated wire for the shed and then the one that was carrying power to the garage. i bored a hole out through the side of the house (via the attic), rant the wire into a box and then through some conduit directly into another box in the shed. the garage power (which is buried) was spliced back together at the box and the power for the shed was split into two lines just to make my life easier based upon the outlets that were already in there and the light i installed at the top.

exciting, eh? that's wiring, folks. non-stop action. these pictures will elaborate on the magnificent story above:

that's the box out the side of the house connected to the conduit.

here's the whole thing. seems so simple, but even with someone helping me (my bro, standing on the left), this took all day. of course, we stopped to watch the titans game, which probably slowed us down.

"hello! i'm high on insulation and blood loss!" me in the attic, smiling for no reason at all. i certainly wasn't having a good time.

here's the "junction" box. this is where all the real magic happened:

and here's a lovely medley of everything coming together:

that's the bulkhead light that i bought. it has since pooped out (i tested all the wires, changed the light bulb, etc.) and i think i will probably just replace it with something very simple (and cheap). now that the interior of the tiki hut is done (next post), i have alternate lighting in there (red net christmas lights, etc.) so i am not that worried about it, but i would like everything to work as it should.

ok, i still have a bit more to update, but this is a good chunk of it. also, the camera finally died. i think double E has an old one, but i need to check.

birthday present showcase.

2006-12-17T22:43:00.000-08:00

double E bought me a variety of lovely gifts, but the only one that had much relevance here is the picnic table (kit) i asked for. once it was assembled, i sprayed it with green barn paint, available at an lowe's and highly recommended by this dude as exterior paint not only because of it's low price, but it's durability and color consistancy. anywho, once it was done and had dried, it looked like this:

not sure what that white spot is on the front corner, just some photo magic, i suppose.

that's it. great update, eh? here's one more pic of the whole enchilada:

who's that on the bench? looks like a little friend i like to call PBR. umm hmm, that's right.

also, you may have noticed that in most of these shots only a few of the screens are in the windows. i dug the rest of them out of the attic and put them in a few months back. it was a bit of a puzzle figuring out which screens went where, but after a little trial and error, i got it all worked out.

has it really been 3 months?

2006-12-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

eek. well, fear not, homies ... i have been hard at work. kind of. i am going to randomly post the things I have been working during the hiatus, but i'm sure i will miss some items. thems the breaks.

ok, so when i bought this place there was a horrible fluorescent light in the kitchen incased in a long blond wood box. it got yanked only to reveal an imperfection in the ceiling that was basically making it concave. my brother actually cut it out with a keyhole saw with the plan being for me to go back and re-drywall it and smooth it out. it took a really long time for me to get around to it - here's what the "skylight" looked like:

there were lots of rough spots, screw holes, excess putty, etc. whoever put the box up looked like they did it with their eyes closed or had maybe subcontracted it out to a monkey.

behold a little thing i like to call progress:

... and finally, with the light installed:

arrggh. my neck hurt like hell when this was done and i swallowed about a pound of insulation, but it looks really good. moving along ...

Labor Day? you got that right.

2006-09-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

damn, 3 day weekends are supposed to be for sippin' on umbrella drinks in your hammock ... but i spent mine finishing up the outside of the house. i did a bevy of trim painting, painting of the concrete in the back of the house and repainting the deck:

it's a dark walnut or chocolate color ... i painted the top rail as well. it looks pretty damn fine if i do say so myself. and i do say so myself ...

towards the house:
it looks oh so fine against the yellow. 2 sidenotes: you can barely tell in this photo, but the base of the house on the backside was still the original grey color, but on monday (after this pic was taken) i painted it white to match the rest of the house. also, you only see some of the screens in the windows. not sure why they weren't installed, cuz they're all here. i found all the screens in the attic and in the garage ... and they look brand new.

so this upcoming weekend, i have a tiny bit of trim painting to do, some touch ups on the house and garage, putting down the 2x2 trim pieces i painted for the edge of the deck/house, replace to exterior light fixtures and i will be done with everything on the exterior with the exception of the tiki hut.

it's getting close, my friends. i hope to have the interior done (except for the music/recording room) by the end of the month and then you will get all of the reveals right here.

end of transmission.

Various things conquered.

2006-08-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

haven't posted in a bit, but i do have a few updates. between working feverishly through the heat to get everything outside done, i have also taken on a few interior projects. i have set a goal of having every exterior item done and crossed off my list by next weekend (*minus the tiki hut). today, i finished painting all of the concrete on the backside of the house to match the sidewalk and steps in the front. i actually spent a fair amount of time today unclogging the shower drain. i bought some screw extractor bits to remove the corroded screw from the overflow plate in order to snake the drain, but they didn't work so i resorted to brute force. i pryed at it a bit until it loosened away from the screw, then loosened the screw with pliers. the resulting horrible goop snaked from the drain made me want to vomit. and then vomit again. the main offender (aside from about 2 pounds of Double E's hair) was some big chunk of metal that looked like maybe it was a bracket of some kind. who knows how long it was in there or what it was from, but pulling that damn thing out pretty much cleared out the drain.

anyway, i have done a bit of traveling of late and really been busy with some other junk, but i did finish the sidewalk 2 weeks back and it looks really good:

the end near the deck. i actually need 2 more bricks cut a little less than halfway to finish right up to the sidewalk. i am going to pick those up this week and put them in ...

and from the garage:
i had to back fill much of it with dirt and if i had taken pictures of it today, you would see that the grass has already filled in around most of it. given how shitty the back lawn looked when i bought the place, i am amazed at how well it filled in on its own.

the other big thing i did was finish ripping up the flooring in the kitchen and put down the leveling compound (concrete)/ i have sanded it down a fair amount, but there is a little unevenness, so i will patch it some and then use some 60 grit paper to really level it out. i still need to pull out the dishwasher and do that area ... then paint and buy a new fridge. this should all be done 2 weekends from now:

not much to say - this is from the den looking into the kitchen.

and where the fridge will go:
etc.

i am really motivated to get everything wrapped up, so i have been working feverishly to get things done just like when i bought the place. shouldnt be much longer, so the updates might not be that frequent, but when i do post there will probably be a lot to look at and read about. until then ...

late night to do list.

2006-07-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

i firgured i would post a to do list of interior and exterior projects still remaining for completion. obviously the events of this evening add a new wrinkle to things, plus i will be traveling quite a bit over the next 2 months so it may not be until the end of september before i have everything done. basically, i am really working my ass off to get everything done so i can relax a bit. anyway, the list:

exterior:
1) finish white trim paints on high, end points of house and a few other areas.
2) finish painting base of house around the deck.
3) repaint deck and top rail of deck dark brown/saddle color.
4) paint concrete in back to match front sidewalk.
5) install new light fixtures on deck and on rear door (motion sensor).
6) finish brick walkway leading to the garage.
7) remove phone line running to garage.
8) plywood interior of shed. cut swinging window facing deck. cover in bamboo sheets and thatch roof for tiki hut.
9) kick living shit out of neighborhood kid who keeps fucking with Double E's garden gnome.

interior:
1) finish painting all doors
2) finish painting all trim and few primer spots on walls
3) repaint kitchen and bathroom cabinets
4) paint bedroom
5) replace hardware throughout
6) fix kitchen floor
7) finish painting fireplace
8) remove rest of carpet nails in living room
9) install toe boards or quarter round or whatever you want to call them
10) paint music room
11) install floating floor in music room
12) repair kitchen light
13) replaces light fixtures in den
14) install old dining room chandelier in music room

... in list form it seems like a ton of stuff, but the painting and hardware changes could probably all be done in a couple days and the lighting stuff in an (productive) afternoon. the only thing that may take some time is delivering the much needed, severe beating to that neighborhood punk who keeps steppin' in my yard.

my first setback.

2006-07-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

so i picked up Double E from work today (we've been carpooling) and planned on coming home to work on the sidewalk leading to the garage (i did about another 4 feet last night after work) with the hopes of getting another chunk of it finished.

when Double E and i walked into the kitchen i saw two fist size spots of water in the middle of the floor and my stomach immediately turned into one giant knot. pretty much from the time i ripped up the vinyl in the kitchen and put down the lenoleum, the old GE fridge seemed to be leaking water from the compressor or some other internal component. it only happened occasionally and seemed to puddle up in front of the fridge and maybe worked its way under a tile or two on the right side of the fridge. it seemed like it had ceased and since i am saving as much money as possible to buy another old car next month, i figured i would put off buying another fridge until after i purchased the car. the car is now starting to look like a pipe dream, my friends.

when i saw those two puddles i immediately knew that the fridge had never stopped leaking, but had fully worked its way under the tile and was so saturated the it was starting to spread out to the middle of the kitchen. i immediately pulled the fridge out from the wall, unplugged it, and Double E and i bagged all of the food and drinks and took them out to the beer fridge in the garage. i came back inside with the hand cart (editor's note: if you don't have a hand cart, you should seriously consider the $30 investment ... i can't tell you how handy this thing has been for me the last 6 months) and loaded up the fridge to get it to the curb before it leaked water all over my floor ... getting it out sucked ... for all of Double E's many wonderful qualities, physical strength alludes her, so when it comes to transporting appliances i am pretty much on my own (plus i severely lack patience) ... i had to tip it on it's side to get it through the doorway leading from the den to the music room and then had to knock off the handles (with a 30 lbs. dumbell) to get it out the sidedoor to the deck ... needless to say i was sweaty and disgusting.

i came back inside and began prying up the tiles ... by the time i got all of the tiles up that had moisture underneath, i had removed about 1/3 of the kitchen floor. witness:
i'm not sure how well this picture illustrates justh ow nasty the situation really was, but everything wa wet and it smelled horrible ... basically like damp plywood and flooring adhesive.

this is a shot of under the fridge ... again, the smell was terrible. i have a fan on the area as we speak and i'll give it a few days to dry out before i touch it again. at that point, i will probably scrub it a tad with some bleach water to make sure there is no possiblity of mold forming at any point in the future. i don't think it's anywhere near that point, but i would like to side with caution on this one.

so now i need to figure out what i want to do with the kitchen floor. i am mulling over the idea of pulling up the rest of the tiles in the kitchen and putting down something else. i am using the same tiles in the adjoining den and i probably won't touch those, but this might be a good chance to switch this flooring and separate the 2 rooms a bit more visually. there is this glossy white apoxy you can buy, i have no idea what it's called, but it's a compund you just spread on the floor kind of like that leveling compund people use before they put down laminates, that looks really cool. it's basically what they use on the floor of fallout shelters and what not. it would be more than durable and would go well with the tiles in the den and the wood floors in the dining room. i don't think it's really all that expensive, either. another idea i had was to put in floating wood floors like i'm going to do in the music room. since the kitchen butts up against the dining room (with oak floors) it would have to be a pretty close match in order to no drive me crazy (i am a bit if a perfectionist).

my dilemma with the whole fridge thing is that i know which one i want ... it's the faux-chrome frigidaire model. the consumer reports say it's really good and it's fairly cheap for a chrome/brushed nickel job. unfortunately, the dishwasher and stove are the same cream color as the old fridge, which means i would probably need to replace them all ... again, the perfectionist thing. if i had a different colored kitchen i would consider not getting a new stove, primering it and repainting it with some marine grade paint, but i can't think of any color that would match the kitchen and not clash with the vibe of the other brushed nickel appliances. i hate things like this.

masonry.

2006-07-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

since today was the first non-blistering hot day in recent memory (in fact, i'm not sure if it broke 80 today), i decided that i would get restarted on the sidewalk running from the garage to the deck. i had aborted this project when my parents were here, because even though we had tremendous success clearing the ground, cutting tree roots and leveling things out, the basketweave pattern i chose for the brick pavers didnt work around the sharp turns. today, i decided to give it another shot with a less intricate pattern ... but got equally frustrated when the same problem popped up. i decided i was going to take a brief field trip over to this house on the lake that has killer landscaping and an even more impressive brick sidewalk for a brief tutorial. about halfway over to the lake house i realized the cure for my woes (it hit me like a ton of bricks - heyooooo! pun for fun!) and confirmed it when i saw the sidewalk over there. spacing between the bricks instead of a snug fit against one another. i felt pretty dumb ... i blame it on the heat.

anyway, once i got back i pulled up all the brick i had previously put down and replaced it with the same pattern ... except more spaced out. i got through the first turn and decided to stop for the night:
to brace everything, i backfilled the sides of the brick with the potting soil i dug out of the two huge flower boxes (it was still in the wheel barrow) and spread out a bag of paver base over the top of the brick, then brushed it into the grooves. i am not gonna lie -- it looks really fuckin good. Double E came out and said, "jake, you are really good at this stuff ..." which pretty much confirmed it for me.

i'd say this is about 9 feet worth of sidewalk, which means it's about 1/5 of the way done. see for yourself:
after i took this picture, i put down the rest of the weed barrier (although i still need about 5 more feet of it) and then spread out the bags of paver base i had to hold it all down. when i was finished, i sprayed down the sidewalk with a hose to help everything settle. i may go back once i am done and put a little more paver base on top and sweep it in and then hose it down again ... but the real last step is to cover it in sand and brush that into the cracks ... this fills in all of the tiny air pockets and makes the pathway virtually unmoveable.

oh ... and those little round dirt spots are actually the holes left behind from the paver stones that used to be in the backyard. i filled them in today because i think Double E was getting tired of twsiting her ankle every time she walked to the garage.

that's pretty much all i did today. actually laying the brick didnt take that long once i figured out what the hell i was doing, so i am hopeful that i will have it done by the end of the week by just working on it a few hours a night after i get home from work.

there was going to be a minor reveal of my den here ...

2006-07-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

... but i decided against it. last week i had taken some before and after pictures of my fireplace when i primered and thought i would post them, but the painting i am doing tonight is on aforementioned fire recepticle and i think i will just wait ... the den will be the next room that is finished (i put some artwork on the walls tonight) and i will post complete pics here. the flooring has been done for months and the walls have been painted for a while, too, but when you're a crew of one these things take time, i guess, no matter how hard you try. i really just have the lighting (which i have really good ideas for) and some trim painting to finish ... oh, and hardware changes, but that is everywhere.

Landscaping really done and what not.

2006-07-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

dear loyal readers,

i sincerely apologize for the lack of posts. i am kind of a big deal around here and my time being in high demand as such, i haven't had a lot of time or desire to post ... fear not, however, progress is always being made on El Rancho. also, i work on computery stuff all day, so the last thing i want to do at night is ... you guessed it, use a computer even more. i see carpal tunnel syndrome from all the tappy tap tapping on the keyboard and sterility from whatever emissions are released from the monitor of my laptop in my near future.

anywho, it is saturday night and i have been doing a bit o' painting and drinking of various beers while Double E attends a concert you couldn't pay me to sit through and needed a break, so i thought i would update this here blog. last weekend (has it really been that long since i have posted?) i finished up the landscaping and thought i would take you on a visual odyssey of sorts, muchachos. behold:

i replaced the burnt out verbena (likely from over fertlizing) with bright red salvia. good choice - lets hope i don't kill it this time. things will look much better when i get my new (red) front door in a few weeks. i am starting to understand thsi gardening thing a bit better: it sucks because it requires patience and nothing sucks worse than something that requires patience ... however, seeing everything bright and colorful and beautiful, even if it only looked that way for a single day, was well worth the time and cost, since that is how i will probably always choose to remember it - perfect.

in the old flower box in the back, i decided to plant some petunias, since the tend to do well in full sun and what not. i did some quick maintenance on the box by driving a few nails into it to tighten the structure up a bit, then repainted the whole thing red (from grey). didnt turn out too bad, if i do say so myself, considering i did it at night (neighbors, you may thank me later for my late night diligence and noise making). the ensuing beauty lies below:

forgot to mention that i dug out all of the dirt that was in the box and replaced it with a combo of fresh potting and top soil. sidenote: i am glad i am done with all of my digging projects, since i have officially run out places to put the dirt. it has all gone on the side of my garage nearest the shrub line, but i think i may need to borrow a tiller from somewhere to grind it down a bit and thin it out.

i also put some begonias in the box on the deck to finish thing off:

ok, i just realized that this picture simultaneously blows and sucks, so you will just need to trust that they look good, i also forgot to mention that while mulching these two boxes, i also remulched the beds in the front and along the sidewalk.

... and the landscaping is done, too.

2006-07-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

funny story: so last night i think my neighbor died or something ... basically, i was sound asleep and around 2:30 the police knock on my door to ask me questions about my neighbor. the following conversation ensues ...

cop: do you know your neighbor?

me: a little bit ... i've talked to her. what's going on?

cop: we can't find her and she's not responding when we knock.

me: hmm. what's the problem? is she okay?

cop: she is having problems with her medication ... have you seen her at all?

me in a perfect world: *it's 2:30 AM dipshit ... i have no clue where the neighborhood crazies are*

me: well, i was out here all day planting in these beds and i didn't see her.

cop: *pausing* yeah, man, it looks really good. really good!

HA! are you shitting me? there is a missing person who may or may not have ODed and you are admiring my landscaping?!? good lord ... let's hope i never have an emergency.

so, i watch the cops try six times to kick in the front door with no luck even though one of them probably weighed 280 punds and the other was around 240 ... pretend it's a sandwich, boys, and eat your way in! i guess they didn't notice the front door has plywood on it instead of glass ... i probably would have pushed against that instead of snapping my ankle against a deadbolt, but they have training for this type of thing, so why should i intervene, right? eventually they moved to the backdoor and it proved to not be very resistent. about 10 minutes later i saw the paramedics cart my neighbors limp body outside and onto a gurney. i am guessing that she really wasn't dead, because i think they don't move the body for a while when that happens and dudes in suits show up, etc. ... that's how it happens on tv, anyway. i noticed today that her dirty mutt was tied outside and i walked over to see if he had any water ... i had never been over there before and now i know why. it pretty much smelled like there was a dead body over there ... and of course the dog she used to let run ape shit all over the neighborhood had no food or water. it's water bowl had some kind of weird fleas and roaches in it so rather than fill it up, i took this huge bowl i had in the garage that i used to strip the wallpaper in my house and filled it with water. i think someone was over there tonight, though i really have no idea what happened to the chick who "lived" there ...

oh yeah, so the landscaping ... aight, getting tired of typing, so i am just going to show pictures from the left and right side of the sidewalk. the backrow on both sides are rhodedendrons, the borders are mums (red, then yellow, then purple, then white) and zinnas to fill in the area next to the steps.

left side.

... and ...
right side. oh, yes, those are garden gnomes at the end of the beds. BOO-YA!

and one more from the street because i like you:

fills out the front nicely ... will look great when the hydrangeas grow. a cop liked them ... and a few weeks ago the mailman told me i shouold win the "yard of the month" award for the village. let's hope you're right my parcel carrying friend. let's hope you're right.

Tiki Puka Puka v. 2.0

2006-07-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that thanks to a tip from my mom and Double E i found some huge tiki idols for the soon-to-be-built tiki hut. here they are safely strapped in for a ride in Double E's car:

this actually gave me a funny idea to constantly have these strapped in the backseat of my car rolling around town. probably won't happen, but would be pretty damn funny ...

and in what will eventually be there their natural habitat:

i can almost taste the fruity drinks as i type this ... just a few more months, amigos. just a few more months ...

oh, and the lovely plant on the left is courtesy of my moms ...

Jumpsuits, crawlspaces, sidewalks, and monoliths.

2006-07-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

So, the posts have been few and far between lately, but that's mainly because i have been doing so much work/busy with guests in town, etc. anyway, i had to go into the crawl space a few weekends ago to see why the air doesn't seem to be blowing into the back room (the music room) and there is no flow ro movement at in point in the tueb or duct. i got gussyed up for the occasion:

big pimpin'. anyway, crawlspaces, as you may or may not know, suck. worst of all, i was not able to resolve why air is not flowing to the very back of the house ... hmmm ... i'll figure it out eventually.

feeling defeated by the air conditioning, i set out to re-establish my manhood by building a sidewalk in the backyard running from the house to the garage.

yard before:

yard a couple days later (thanks to considerable help from my dad who was here "vacationing"):

he did lots of digging .. i did lots of root chopping thanks to that tree in the foreground.

when i came home from work on friday my dad had finished clearing everything, but there seemed to be a large rock in the path. umm ... turned out that it wasn't a rock. after much digging on saturday morning we unearthed this big ass thing:

yup, really damn heavy. took two of us to pry it out. it looked like an old sewer pip that had been filled with concrete ... maybe as part of a filter bed for an old septic system, but who the hell really knows. could just as well have been something that fell out of the sky ... makes me believe that the concrete vault built into the side of the driveway (not sure if i mentioned this, but ... yeah, there is a vault in the driveway) probably contains an old septic system and not gold doubloon as i had initailly hoped.

anyway, we dug out around the area we pulled it from to create a bigged hole the reburied this chunk of whatever back in the ground where we found it. sadly, i laid about 4 feet of brick in a basketweave pattern before i realized that this specific pattern can't be used around bends and turns. oops ... after a little research i have a new pattern (albeit, not as cool) that i'm gonna use, but i won't likely getting around to working on it until this coming weekend.

In the last week I have painted a cabinet and that's it.

2006-06-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

No, really, it's true. I have just been busy with my new job and what not. Plus, now that I am semi-healthy again, I have resumed running. Couple those with the fact that it has gotten disgustingly warm and I was beginning to suffer from a bit o' burnout and you have a general lack of productivity.

My only real accomplishment this week was taking an old cabinet of Double E's that will soon house my vinyl and receiver (while my record player sits on top), which I had primered months ago, and painting it inside and out. The interior is bright white, while the exterior is a light teal color ... actually, this paint was what I was originally going to use in the bathroom. Anyway, I think it's gonna look good against the garnett color of the den/pool room/lounge area. I also bought some large, white knobs for it ... see for yourself:

it actually looks light blueish in the photo ... but trust me, it's teal when you're nose to nose with it (<-- that's figurative speech ... cabinets don't really have noses). i wanted to take some interior photos but the batteries died and needed a recharge, so this is all you get. i did some touchups to the inside tonight and will touch up the outside tomorrow night, then bring it inside and hook the hi-fi system up within it.

I have a lot I want to accomplish this weekend before my parents get here. I would like to paint as much, if not all, of the interior trim as I can possibly get done. I would also like to finish the exterior trim (since I am using their extension ladder and it would be nice to return, not to mention just wrapping everything up on the exterior). My tentative to do list beyond that would be to repaint the deck and top rail around the deck a deep brown, finish painting the concrete on the backside (and possibly switching this to a matching deep brown from the tan it is now - we'll see), and digging the foundation for the soon-to-be brick path that will run from the garage to the deck/back of the house. I think if i can just get it skimmed, I may volunteer my dad to help me level it, put down a weed barrier and lay the brick when he gets here. oh, and dad, if you're reading this ... surprise! there is manual labor in your near future - happy vacation! and don't worry mom, i've got some special projects lined up for you, too.fun for the whole family ... you may thank me later. i am actually hoping to have everything on the exterior (paint and landscape and electrical) wrapped up by july 4th, since i will have the benefit of a four day weekend due to the determination of our forefathers. thanks, dudes ... you thought you were creating liberty and democracy for oppressed europeans ... turns out you were just paving the way for future generations of sloathenly americans to drink beer and blow shit up real good. at any rate, i appreciate the vacation time.

ok, one more "get up day" as the saying goes ... nighty night.

In honor of the World Cup ...

2006-06-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

... I am drinking the beer of soccer hooligans worldwide while bringing you this update.

Anyway, the updates have been scarce because I have just started a new job (which I am very elated about) and have been adjusting to my new schedule as well as getting over all of my recent maladies ... not too mention money had gotten tight since my retirement from my previous career so I haven't been able to purchase some of the things I need to move ahead (mainly landscaping items). I've also resumed my normal hobbies which took a backseat while I did the bulk of the remodel stuff ... played guitar last night (can't wait to get the backroom finished so i can set-up all of my recording equipment/studio) and tonight I ran a bit. Crazy to think that I probably could have run a marathon in December and tonight I got tired after about a block.

Anyway, finished up the hallway and bathroom over the weekend.

the grey is actually a little bit darker than the picture would indicate ... if you look closely you can see that the paint is on the trim ... i have yet to paint much of the trim since it has oil-based paint on it ... this means it HAS to be primered first and then painted over. anyway, my experience has taught me that it is easier to paint the walls then the trim because tape is less likely to pull paint off the wall ... and i know this is somewhat opposite of conventional wisdom, but for whatever reason it works for me (and quicly i might add!) ... besides, i have seen the work of "professional" painters and i would gladly match my work up against what those dudes do any day.my point was, i will need to paint over this trim, so i didnt even bother taping it ...

this be the bathroom. looks really good ... needs some touch-ups ... that tape had been on there for almost two months (and bits and piece pulled up when the tape came off) ... but replastering it and sanding it turned out unbelievably well if you had first seen it after i stripped the wallpaper off ... my brutha stopped by and couldnt believe how good it turned out. i still need to paint all of the trim and cabinets ... and ... ugh ... the fuckin ceiling. but i won't do that until after i install a fan in there. also, i have decided it's gonna have a cowboy theme ... maybe ... we'll see ... i have some ideas floating around.

that's about it ... other than mentioning that i decided the music room is going to be very gothic looking to contrast the rest of the house (especially the flowery exterior) ... i have it all mapped out in my head ... just hoping to get the ideas down and work out the logistics of it in the next few weeks. should be cool ...

alright, time to go cheer for the dallas mavericks and drink my carlsberg ... nighty night.

Pink Flamingos, Grey Matter, etc.

2006-06-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

While Double E was out of town, I also decided to get crackin on the bathroom. The top of the walls had border paper and when i ripped it off, it revealed multiple layers off paint which stripped off very unevenly when the paper was stripped. i was a little nervous about trying to sand out the unevenness based upon the assumption that at least one of those layers was probably lead based and i have already had enough trips to the hospital lately. i decided instead that i would put two coats of a really thick primer on there, which would hopefully smooth it out, then paint it. this didn't work, even with flat paint and the two coats of primer the roughness was pretty evident. I went ahead and used some drywall spackle to cover the rough spots up, then sanded them when they dried and reprimered the whole thing. i haven't had a chance to repaint it yet, but should get to it by tomorrow. also, all of the trim, doors and cabinets will be repainted white (after i primer them) by the end of the week.

here is one pic of the bathroom ... you can see the primer and what the paint looks like. the color is like a pink flamingo type ... what would a 50s house be without a pink bathroom?

ugh ... see all those bottles? the bathroom is such a shitty place to do any renovations ... just to damn small ... it is a total disaster area right now. anyway, you can see the pink which along with the white trim and tile should look pretty sharp. also, please note the ugly, exposed bulb vanity above the mirror. i can't wait to rip the ugly god damn thing down ... aside from the fact that the 6 bulbs in it are probably driving my electricity bill through the roof, they seem disproportionately numbered to the actual size of the bathroom and it is like standing in a tanning booth while blow drying my hair with a space heater.

anyway, while waiting for all of that to dry i got started on the hall way. looks like this ...

this is a muted/slate grey color ... was going to use it for a bedroom color, but it is neutral enough to not clash with any of the colors you see as you exit the hallway and enter one of the three adjoining rooms.

now you're up-to-date. time for bed. nighty nite.

Orange you glad i didn't say banana?

2006-06-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Last week I decided I would convert one of the bedrooms into a "knitting room" for Double E so she would have a place to practice the fiber arts in solitude instead of bothering me to change the channel during game 6 of NBA Western Conference Finals whilst she honed her craft in the living room chair next to me. Basically, she was fuckin up the integrity of my man time. Anyway, i put her to work stripping the border paper that was around the edge of the walls and the subsequent removal of the adhesive left on the walls. While she did this, i pulled up the tackboard from around the edge of the room ... it was leftover from when i ripped out the carpet. I was using this room primarily as storage, so i never got a chance to get the strips up even though they had been removed everywhere else.

it only took me about 15 minutes to get it off. notice the hammer and pry bar ... tools of choice.

Here is Double E doing God knows what ... however, you can see the trim paper (if you look closely you can see the overspray from the removal solution) and the off white trim and doors that are in every room.

Anyway, after we finished out respective jobs, we went ahead and put primer on all the trim and doors and then gave them a coat of bright white paint (i am painting all interior trim bright white - i dig heavy contrast)

the next day, Double E embarked on her journey to her homestate of Ohio while i secretly went to work on the room. it looked like this when i bought the house ...

YUCK! YUCK! YUCK! i think i can taste my own vomit when i look at this picture.

so, when Double E returned it looked like this ...
Ahhhhhh ... that's more like it. Off white carpet ... gone! floral drapes ... gone! trim paper ... gone! pretty much anything that resembled the old room ... gone and gone again for good measure!

Double E's favorite color is orange, which i like sparingly, see i found a shade we could both agree upon called Pumpkin Spice ... pretty cool.

view from the other doorway.

then added some shelving ...
she has a lot of yarn. seriously. oh, did i mention the hardwoods? why they carpeted these i will never know ... shame on you 70's and all of the bad ideas inspired there within.

this picture has nothing to do with the room, really. it just further cements the notion that Nona is an instrument of the devil ...

this is right before she shot lasers out of her eyes at that monkey on the floor.

then i moved in some furniture ...
that is a really cool Warren chair from the 50s that i found in excellent condition. it sits lowrider style and is oversized comfy. notice the herd of knitting items that have already begun to graze in this room?

not pictured: the cube shelves ... which are filled with yarn and what not. it is a passion i will never understand no matter how much i try.

needless to say, Double E was pretty geeked when she saw the room.

This bites ...

2006-06-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

... literally. I haven't posted in a bit because I was bitten by the Brown Recluse spider last week which lead to pain, nausea, a lymph node infection and a hospital visit. I managed to do quite a bit during the end of the week, I was just reluctant to post any details as one of the accomplishments was finishing the "knitting room" for Double E while she was home at the Mistake on the Lake ... Cleveland. I didn't want her to read about it here before seeing it in person. Anyway ...

Tiki Puka Puka

2006-05-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took the day off from working on the house and Double E and me took a trip down to Atlanta. We made it down in about 3.5 hours and made a quick stop at Ikea for some cool shelving we plan to use in the bedroom that will serve as an office. After loading up the shelving we needed to break for lunch so we headed over to Little 5 Points and ate at the Vortex ...

Here I am pondering life in the entrance ...

yes, giant skulls rule.

and here i ponder life facing in the opposite direction ...

if you're keeping track at home, i had a veggie burger with jack cheese, BBQ sauce, fries and a Dr. Pepper. It was delish and i highly suggest you stop here for lunch should you ever get stuck in Atlanta. Double E enjoyed a delicous cheeseburger and sweet potato fries ... we were officially bloated.

Anyway, from there we decided we needed to cool off a bit, so we wandered downtown to Trader Vics for some lovely fruit drinks. Except for Trader Sam's in San Francisco, this is my all-time favorite place to grab drinks.

Here i am doing some recon trying to find the oh-so-cool side entrance that nobody ever uses (most go through the lobby of the Hilton) ...

i know it's around here somewhere.

i must be getting close ... please note: when hunting for a bar, it helps to wear the same hat as a prominent dictator. on this day, i chose Castro as my inspiration.

once i located the entrance, i stopped to reflect on what i had found ...

aren't you glad you're spending your freetime reading this?

and then i tried to fit in with some of the locals (i hate looking like a tourist)...

seamless job. i don't think anyone even noticed i was from out-of-town.

once inside, the bartender took a picture of us being all disgustingly in love and what not ... notice the drinks on the table ... i think the one in front of me is the Tiki Puka Puka (hence the title of the blog) ...
the interior of this place is awesome ... nice and dark with no windows, too ... easily the kind of place where you lose track of time in a hurry.

here, Double E demonstrates how to drink a cocktail with an orange blossom floating around inside of it ...

ummmmmmmmmm, delish!

anyway, it was nice to step away from this house for a bit, even if it was just a day, and do nothing (important). today, we put together the shelving units we bought and cleared out the office for wall paper removal, tackboard removal, paint, etc. i will post these pics when we get done tomorrow ... these will be the first interior pics, now that i think about it.

You don't gnome me!

2006-05-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

Check it. Today I finished up mulching those beds in front of the house (i finished putting in the edging yesterday and added 11 bags of mulch around 9pm last night - i never quit). Pheeeeeeeeeeew! Not a day too soon either, because it was hot as hell outside (not to mention unbearably humid). Anyway, still not really sure what all i am going to plant out there, but i saw something called a "Purple Shamrock" at Home Depot which i guess is an indoor plant but they are outdoor perennials in this zone. very cool looking. so, i spread out all the mulch and have one lone item planted in there so far.

behold ...
left side (from sidewalk view).

left side (from the neighbor's yard).

right side (big bed) from the sidewalk ... but what is that little thing all the way on the end?

BAM! garden gnome! Double E has a collection of these things and i secretly think they're funny as hell ... i may hide a few more in there once everything is planted.

i forgot to mention this, but i cut out both of the trees that were on either corner of the house before i put down weed matting and mulched these beds. this gnome (we will call him Gus) is actually affixed to three nails running into the core of the trunk of the tree that was on the right side. why? 1) stability 2) if i were in my early teen formative years and i had seen someone with a lone garden gnome in a fresh mulch bed ... well ... let's just say it would have been the equivalent of that homeowner begging me to run up and punt the silly little thing across their yard. anyway, i m hoping that if that happens the nails will help to severly injure any would-be vandals.

oh, and i used a circular saw to cut them out (not recommended) and then pushed and kicked them out after i made the initial cuts. i couldn't justify buying a chainsaw since this will probably be the only time i would have ever needed one while living at this address.also, today, i painted the edges of the sidewalk ... although conventional wisdom would say paint the sides when you painted the top and before you added mulch, i wasn't sold on the color so i held off on the "trim work". i am happy to report that the color of the sidewalk blends perfectly with the mulch beds.

Quick update.

2006-05-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

it's late and i am sick of computers at this point in the day, so briefly:

i layed down a hose to get an approximation for the shape of the mulch beds in front of the house. these will marry up to the beds along the sidewalk and they will be serpentine (i.e. curvy). After i got an idea of what i wanted (also referencing a book i got from the library on the subject), I spray painted the lines onto the ground. I followed along those with an edger, then went back and skimmed off the top layer of grass with a flathead shovel.

Looks like this ...

obviously, adding edging will really sharpen up the edges ... and the flat looking spot between the two outward curves will actually run into the current bed (and be reseeded in front) so that it forms an inward curve (if that makes sense). basically, it is curvy.

I bought several boxes of edging, but only one of them was the correct type, so i staked it in (in the dark) and will take the other boxes back tomorrow and exchange them for the correct ones. Once I get all of the edging installed, i am going to put down the matting to prevent weeds from popping up and then mulch the beds with the lovely and quite aromatic pine mulch used along the sidewalk. not sure when i will plant in the beds ... the new design gave me some different ideas as far as plants and flowers go.

oh, i almost forgot ... i am going to cut out (weather permitting) the trees in the corner of the beds tomorrow, as well. also, the BFI guys came today and took away all of the garbage and the debris in the trash cans, but not the large pieces of wood or the old work bench that i pulled out of the shed. i stopped by the Utility District to ask them about it and they said he probably thought they were building materials. looks like i may have to make a trip to the dump now. that sucks.

The only thing worse than digging holes ...

2006-05-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

... is digging a bunch of little holes ... which is pretty much all i did today. I decided to spend the day planting Verbena in the beds along the sidewalk ... i was dying to know if this would improve the color of the sidewalk itself so i had to get it done.

Anyway, i picked up 3 trays of Verbena (red), 3 bags of pine mulch (super cheap and smells great ... Double E prefers the shit-like smell of cypress mulch, but i prefer a nice piney aroma ... my neighbor even came over and commented on how good it smelled ... anyway, if i were gonna pay $4.00 for a bag of mulch, i sure as hell wouldn't want it to smell like Nona's turd-infested litter box ... mini rant over), bag of potting soil, bag of soil conditioner, 2 boxes of platic bed edging (20 ft. rolls). i think the grand total for all this stuff (i had to make two trips because i needed the 3rd bag of mulch and some additional stakes for the edging) was something like $35-$40. pretty cheap.

... sidenote: i have kept every receipt I have related to spending for renovations ... when i am finished i will total it all up and post it here.

anyway, I cut holes in the weed matting i laid down the day before as i went along adding a little conditioner and top soil (mixing them in the hole) then pushing in the Verbena. when finished, it looked like this ...
sun was right in my eyes when i stood back on the sidewalk - made it difficult to get a good photo.

once i had everything planted, i staked in the bed edging and spread the mulch in by hand. finished, it looked like this ...
there are some crinkles in spots on the edging which kind of irritates me ... i will probably overmulch in those spots to camoflouge the flaws. also, the line on the right kind of meanders a bit as it gets to the top ... tree roots made me alter the planting scheme, but it shouldn't matter once they all fill in ... i think they grow to 10" x 10" or something like that ... no-one will ever know but you and i.

this isn't the best photo, but two out of two people told me it looked excellent. speaking of which, i have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback so far. i sold an old tv to a woman yesterday and she gushed over the interior paint and asked me if i was an artist. ha! i made a ceramic ashtray in 4th grade, so i guess maybe i am an artist ...

Nona here ...

2006-05-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

... just thought i should help kick this blog into high gear to let you know about my contributions to the remodel. So i decided yesterday, between naps, that i was going to wake up early and help Jake with some projects he had planned for the day. Around noon, I rolled up out of bed to find that not only had he already been working for several hours, but that he was already breaking for lunch. Looked like veggie dogs and Coke were on the menu ... but he hadn't made enough for everyone (i.e. me!). As he sat down at the dining room table to enjoy his lunch i strolled over, lept on to a dining chair then crawled up to the edge of the table.

Wondering where my weiners were, i simply stated, "Meow." Which loosely translated means, "Are you going to eat all of that?"

He replied back with a booming, "Nona, get the fuck off the table ... NOW!" Which loosely translated means, "Meow."

I see how it is ... good enough to help out with some remodeling but not good enough to eat with you, eh? that's cool ... i've got a bowl full of food waiting for me and best of all ... it's always full. I don't mind that it's always the same thing meal after meal. That's consistency and consistency is the panacea for disappointment.

Anyway, after all that work i decided it was time to curl up on Jake's side of the bed for a well-deserved nap ... but not before leaving an unavoidably horribly foul smelling poop in my litter box for him to suffer two rooms away.

Yup, this remodeling is tough work.

Mildly productive day today.

2006-05-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Spoke with the Utility District guys who were checking my water meter this morning (their company is also in charge of trash) to see if all of that debree i pulled out of the shed would be picked up by the BFI truck that follows the sanitation truck on Wednesdays. They seem to believe that they will (they have taken everything else i have put out there) take just about anything as long as it does not contain freon or some readily obvious toxin.

You may recall, this is what the outside of the shed looked like when i was done cleaning the inside ...

after assembling the wheel barrow i purchased a few months ago to assist in the process, it looked like this ...

voila!

unfortunately, the alleyway next to the garage now looks like this ...
Let's hope they take it and save me from a trip to the dump. You can see some clutter in the garage ... those are painting supplies ... i can't wait until i am done with all the painting so i can clear out the middle section of the garage ... also, that is the rear end of my impala sticking out ... i haven't been driving it much at all lately ... but when i do drive it i try to make up for lost time by haulin' total ass.

once i was done with the clean up and had consumed several bottles of water (for rehydration purposes), i moved out to the front yard to put down some mulch bed liner along both sides of the sidewalk ...

i held it down to the ground using a jar full of some rusty 2 inch nails i found in the shed (that's thrifty!) ... i rolled it out on the right side "nailing" it down on both sides of the area that had been cleared for the yard then i cut along the outside edge with scissors ... this worked out well, because the roll was twice the width of the beds so i used the other half of the matting on the left side ... just had to nail it in.

Also note, the yard was mowed today ... it was getting a little bit thick.

i'm probably going to write out an interior and exterior (i know, you haven't seen the interior yet ... it is only about 40% done) "to do" list. i'll post it up later tonight if i get a chance (assuming i actually do it).

It's creepy and it's kooky ... Friday, April 18th

2006-05-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

I have been going at it non-stop for a while now and I am starting to get a little burnt out. I decided I was going to take it easy on Friday and since Double E and I had some plans for the weekend, thought it might be a good time to take a break in general. But by early Friday evening I was getting bored and Double E was working late so I decided I would clean out the shed. I wanted to do this for two reasons: 1) by summer, working on this thing in the heat will be unbearable and 2) there are hornet and/or wasp nests everywhere inside this thing and i would really like to clear them out and get it sealed off prior to their return (thus making it unuseable).

The shed, as mentioned previously is split into two halves. The left side, which is on a concrete slab and seems to be some kind of crude workshop with some termite damage (confined to only the left side of the shed - not in the house, garage, etc. ) The right side has a paver base floor and looks to be storage for tools, mowers , etc. (and is serving just that purpose for me).

I knew as soon as i saw it that the left side would need to be cleared out and turned into a bar. My initial thought was tiki bar ... i have been pricing bamboo matting and thatch rolls lately to get a feel for materials costs ... and my second thought was to turn it into a fancy little cottage (still a bar, just with a cottage exterior - English style). I am still leaning towards a tiki bar, however. it's more festive and probably a little more my "style".

Anyway ... this is an 8 ft. by 8 ft. space ... and you would not believe the amount of crap that i pulled out of it. see for yourself in the lovely photo mosaic below:

see what i mean?

here's what it looked like inside ...
you can see the old man's makeshift woodshop ... but it was all rotting and that is probably what enticed the termites - see the damage? i will have to replace a number of the supports. i actually hit one of them with a hammer and found an active termite colony, but i didnt have anything to kill them with so i improvised ... i went to the garage and grabbed a rattle can of red Krylon and sprayed them until they were all dead. On sunday, i actually sprayed the whole thing down with termite repellent.

yuck ... there was a bag of concrete underneath that got wet and cured in the shape of the bag itself.

here you can see one side pre-clean up. some more termite damage and some clutter from my demolition. i swept everything up and it looks fairly respectable now. i can't wait until i get a chance to start working on this - i think it is going to look amazing. definetly something to be proud of ...

did i find any hidden treasures you ask? you bet!
this old Shop Craft jig saw in working order. notice the lack of safeguards present on this thing ... pre-OSHA i am guessing. anyway, i bought some blades for it the next day, but they didn't fit (thanks Lowe's dude) so i haven't had a chance to use it yet.

anything else in there of note? yup!
what's this, you ask? oh ... only one of about three stacks of asbestos. replacement panels for the house, i am guessing. don't think i'll be holding onto those. actually, asbestos really isn't that dangerous unless you are cutting/drilling/sanding it ...and it takes a bit of exposure. besides, if it was good enough to kill steve mcqueen, it's good enough to kill me.

So fresh and so clean - Thursday, May 18th

2006-05-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

Finished up the deck and railing ...

oh. i forgot ... at the end of the deck you may be able to see a little ground level brick planter ... pretty cool ... i am going to put some vegetable plants in there and see what happens. i've never done any gardening before ... i think it's all sun and water, but we'll see.

later in the day i moved out to the front side of the house to repaint the sidewalk leading to the front door. all of the concrete is gray, which i don't mind, but they didn't mix in the anti-slip agent that most people use with concrete paint and as a result it gets pretty slick when it's wet. i decided to go with light brown to try to maintain a five color exterior scheme ...

i think this turned out just fair ... i am not in love with the color because it is a little lighter than i wanted, but the next brown available may be too dark. i have decided to wait and see what it looks like flanked by flowers before i change it. another option is to go back to grey. also, when i get around to buying a new front door, it will be red, so the contrast would probably also suit this color. we'll see ...

Is that what the sun looks like ... - Wednesday, May 17th

2006-05-22T00:19:00.000-07:00

... it had been so long since i had seen it that i completely forgot what it looked like. sunshine means outdoor projects (trying my best to get them all done before the 90 degree temps hit). broke out the deck paint and rollers ... not going to do much with the deck for now other than give it a nice brigth white coat of paint to help rehab it a bit. there are some things i would like to do, including replacing it with a brick patio, but those are projects for next year.

before:

after ...
god ... this took forever and it still really wasn't done. railing obviously needs paint and the edges and area around the fireplace still need a coat or two. see the shadow of the tree ... this is literally sunset ... it took me all day ... pitfalls of being a perfectionist, i guess.

Rain ... Rain all day. Tuesday, May 16th

2006-05-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

it looked liked this all day on Tuesday ...

... which meant indoor projects.

i decided to pick up where i left off the night before and painted the kitchen. Ending up looking pretty sharp ...

almond spice is the color ... very sharp. very sharp.

much better than flowery trim paper in my esteemed opinion.

i had a little time before i had to go meet Double E and some of her friends for dinner, so i quickly taped off the dining room below the chair rail and painted it bright white. before:

not a very clean white and some overlap from the chair rail paint.

15 minutes later ...
jumped in the shower to get ready for dinner ...

only to come out and see this ...

damn you NONA!!!! those are little white paw prints all over the hardwoods ... i will get you for this Nona. I will get you for this.

The first daily post - Monday, May 15th.

2006-05-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, I can't remember what all i did this day - Double E was home sick so i watched after her a bit. Later in the day when she was feeling better, i decided to do some electrical work. The light at the entrance above the front door was literally just a light bulb and months prior i had purchased a light fixture to replace it. Sunday, knowing that i was going to replace the fixture on Monday, I purchased big, bold, new house numbers ... these replaced the old ones that i took down when i painted the trim around the door a few days earlier.

witness for yourself the crapiness of the old "fixture" ...

lovely, eh?

that's a nest on the underside. those things are everywhere (someone didn't do much preventative maintenance against them ... so now i have to) ... also, notice the lack of a ground wire ... not so safe.

the hardware on this light was tiny and i kept dropping it. i would say half the time i spent installing this light was spent looking for screws in the mulch beds ... the other half was spent cussing like a sailor.

then, the finished product ...

at first, i didnt think the light worked because it seemed dark enough to trigger it (it's a motion sensor) and it wasn't lighting up, but i guess it wasn't ... about 10 minutes later it started to work.

the old numbers were to the right of the door and a little on the smallish side. I got huge numbers and put them above the door to be illuminated by the light. i am always looking out for my directionally challenged friends and family ... you may thank me later.

later that night i decided to finish stripping the border paper in the kitchen. actually, it was already off, but some of the residue and glue remained ...

see what i mean ... squirted the walls with a spray bottle filled with soapy water and wiped the excess with a sponge before it dripped on the cabinets. got the remaining goop off with a scraper ... went to bed with dreams of border paper dancing in my head.

Last before and after: the yard and garage.

2006-05-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

Yard before:

this is what i wanted you to see ...

I ripped out that ring and raked out the dirt. it was ugly and would have interfered with the flow of the pathway i plan on building ... so it was removed. I plan on seeding it if and when the sun ever shines again. The grass in the back has filled in much nicer than i thought it would, but the front will probably need to be reseeded or soded this fall. there's a tree stump in there, too ... i am sure this is why the previous owner put this bed there ... he couldn't get the stump out. i'll probably just drill holes in it and dump a bunch of that tree stump decomposer stuff in there.

... and lastly, the garage ...

just like the house, i need to finish the trim on the garage. the door doesn't look as good up close as it does in the picture. it probably needs to be sanded, truth be told, then painted ... it's a really old, cheap door and should probably be replaced. also, the trim between the door and the white panels is a light brown color ... my attempt at adding a fifth color to the scheme of the house.

finally, shot of the garage from the alley ...

i would like to get adventurous on the doors, but 1) painting on metal sucks and 2) painting elaborate schemes vertically on metal sucks even more. we'll see.

Before and after on the backside.

2006-05-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here it was before:

... and along the deck ...

... now, it looks like this ...

The trim piece is missing from the awning - it has been primered and is in the process of being painted red ... it has been kind of hassle due to the flimsyness of this piece. I still need to paint the concrete, the flower box, etc. ... oh, and that black stain above the flower box is from touch-up paint. i will have to go over that again.

... and of the deck area ...

Not the best picture, but you can see how everything looks. The deck still needs to be painted, but you can see that all of the overgrown shrubs are gone and replaced with a fireplace. Also, there are two mud benches painted red and a white conversation bench painted white. I bought these as kits and assembled and painted them all for about $100.

Here's a little better shot of the fireplace area ...

After my Papa cleared out the shrubs and a bit of the dirt, we covered the area in plastic (to prevent weed growth) and then we filled the area with about 12 bags of pea gravel. The fireplace is resting on four pavers (one per leg for balance and levelness) that were step stones from the garage to the deck (i had previously ripped all of these out of the ground in favor of a brick walkway i plan to put in).

Those strips of wood on the railing are off of the deck along the house. I was actually preping the deck for paint (the old color was off-white) when this picture was taken and needed to pull all of the side trims pieces off.

More before and after (exterior).

2006-05-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

Here you can see the beds in the front have been wiped clean courtesy of my father who ripped everything out while down here on vacation:

On the right.

On the left.

... and along the sidewalk. Unfortuantely, I was sick (and bedridden) for several weeks which threw everything off schedule, including the landscaping. In that time, you can see how many weeds popped back up along the areas he skimmed clean next to the sidewalk. I just sprayed them today. Should be ready to plant by Tuesday.

Damn! How did i forget to introduce my lovely assistants?

2006-05-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

my apologies, ladies. your contributions have not been overlooked.

somewhere between valentine's day and today i have been honored with the company of two fine, fine ladies. hopefully, i will be able to coax them into contributing to this blog and add their own perspectives on not only the renovations, but the privilege of living with me.

please allow me to introduce you to the lovely Double E.

Her strengths don't lie so much in the ability to renovate as they do in her ability to knit ... seriously, she is a freaky knitter! you need a pair of comfy socks? BAM! you got 'em. Need a pair of mittens? BAM! consider your hands toasty warm. need a sock hat? BAM! heat will never escape your head again. see where i am going with this? she can knit, people! and most of all she has the stamina to knit all day everyday. it's true! never gets tired. if you ask me, that is almost a superpower ... she could even knit her own cape. BAM!

but wait, not only am i graced by the presence of Double E ... I am joined in this soujourn by her sidekick Nona.

Sadly, Nona lacks strengths. Or anything resembling strengths. Or anything that could possibly, maybe, sorta, somewhat, kinda be considered a strength. The picture says it all. She likes to sleep ... and hiss at people ... and claw at newly reupholstered furniture ... and leave hair everywhere ... and lick the shower curtain ... and lick plastic bags ... and lick things on the floor ... i think she enjoys licking, in general. None of which really help when remodeling a house.

You can't see it, but i am hitting a fast forward button right now ...

2006-05-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

... and that brings us to present day. actually, we are going to pretend that it is Sunday, May 14th. Exactly three months into this thing. It's time for exterior before and afters ... not that I have really completed anything up to this point ... but, anyway, without further delay, i bring you the front of the house.

Before:

remember this?

and after:

ahhh ... that's more like it.

step 1: rake up one million leaves from the yard.

step 2: have your father come down and rip out the landscaping while you and your momma apply the first coat of paint. note: he also skimmed the grass out on either side of the sidewalk so i can plant phlox down both sides ... landscaping will happen soon. also, the two unhealthy trees on the corner of the house will be cut out soon.

step 3: apply second coat and paint trim (still in progress in parts ... i am short and the house is tall ... bad combo).

step 4: take spray gun to base of house and paint white.

step 5: clean spray gun.

step 6: remove shutters and use spray gun on them.

step 7: screw shutters back onto house ... but wear a mask ... that's asbestos you're drilling into!

it was that simple.

still some items that need to be taken care of ... need new gutters, want to prune trees, etc. ...

And finally, the garage (and yard).

2006-05-19T23:52:00.001-07:00

standard 2 car with plenty of built in storage and a workbench. basically, your typical old man garage.

two things to note here: that ring to the right of the garage in the yard. it is coming out and being reseeded (although, there is also an old tree stump in there somewhere). a brick pathway will run from the garage to the house/deck. the other thing is that huge bird house on top of that pole ... i think my dad told me it's for Martins ... or maybe he said Martins are living in it even though it's for another type of bird. at any rate, whatever is in there seems to like to eat mosquitos, so i say keep on truckin whatever kind of bird you are ... but if you could avoid pooping on my house and deck that would be greatly appreciated.

here's a side shot from the driveway ...

the doors face out to the street on the backside .. but none of the houses face out to the street, so to me it is really an alley. interesting stuff, i know.

One man's shed is another man's tiki hut.

2006-05-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

this is the shed adjacent to the deck:

the inside is split in half (hence, the two doors). the left side is on a concrete slab and seems to be some kind of workshop, but is very dingy and dirty. the right side has stone down, paver base (limestone) or something and looks to be storage for a mower, lawn tools, etc. I am pretty excited about this thing for two reasons:

numero uno: with some clean-up and renovating, the left side should make a nice bar with a window on the left wall opening out to the deck.

numero deuce: the right side will allow me to store all of my outdoorsy stuff and not clutter up the garage.

i haven't totally figured out what i will do to the outside but a tiki hut instantly popped into my mind. this will be the last outdoor project i handle ... except i plan to clean it out and knock down the approximately one zillion wasp nests inside of it before it a) gets too hot b) the ill-tempered residents of those nests decide to come back and repopulate. also, there is a decent amount of termite damage to the left side ... however, it is restricted to just the shed and not the house or garage. i will take steps to ensure they never come back. EVER.

Driveway, back of the house, deck, yada yada yada ...

2006-05-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

No explanation needed ...

... except to let you know that i really like the flower box under the window. that is all.

and a better shot of the deck ...

not sure how obvious it is from the picture, but that is a bricked in ring off to the right of the deck.it has 6 overgrown shrubs growing inside of it. those will be gone, trust me.

last room in the house.

2006-05-19T23:23:00.000-07:00

i think this was a play room for the grandchildren of the people that lived here. however, i try to avoid kids at all costs, so instead i will fill the room with instruments and recording equipment. plenty of space:

This is the doorway that leads from the kitchen into this room. The two doors on the leftside are closets. The first is where the washer and dryer (included with the house) are located. The second is a large built-in closet that is temporarily (hopefully) holding a bunch of odds and ends. Not sure what i will do with it long-term ... had considered an isolation booth for recording vocals, but since i haven't even touched an instrument since i started working on this house, that project moves to dead last on my priority list. also, the door on the right leads out to the ground level deck.

Here is a shot of the room:

this was orginally the garage when the house was first built and was later renovated into a bonus room. It has painted over faux wood paneling. Haven't totally figured out what i'm going to do in here. Likely paint it red ... but we'll see. this will be my last indoor project since it now serves as a storage room for my many wonderful material items.

Running out of clever titles so let me just introduce you to the den.

2006-05-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

Phew ... this blogging is tough work ... lots of typing and pointing and clicking. It gets tiring after a while. Anyway, the kitchen leads into the den:

Plenty to hate here. Why paint over pine paneling? And if you do, why choose tan? Tastes vary, i suppose. Carpet was even uglier in person.Drapes ... yuck. Fireplace is actually really cool ... i want to paint over the brick, however (not the best looking brick in the world) ... old woodburner converted to gas. At some point in the future i plan to have the gas cut off to this (and the water heater - only gas burners in the house) and converted back over to woodburning ... sometime before winter, i guess. Oh, I hate ceiling fans - did i mention that already?

Here is the back part of the room ... a breakfast nook. I plan on using this as a bar/lounge area. That pendant/chandelier thing hanging from the ceiling is actually kind of cool ... but it won't be "hanging" around(<- get it? that's a pun. see, it's hanging from the ceiling and then i said hanging, which is ... uh ... nevermind.)

Oooooooh the irony ...

2006-05-18T09:38:00.001-07:00

Such a nice kitchen for someone who does so little cooking. See for yourself:

This is the entryway through the dining room. Fridge (not pictured) is on the left. Cabinets and woodwork are really nice as is the countertop (well, not what i would have put in, but it stays for now to save money) and tile backsplash. That is hideous vinyl flooring you see, complete with discoloration and stretching which sucks ... but doesn't suck nearly as bad as finding out the vinyl is actually on top of ... you guessed it, more vinyl. Twice the work, half the fun. If you are thinking, "i bet there will be a lot of blisters, fatigue and temper tantrums when he tries to scrape all that up," you are perfectly correct ... it was my own personal hell and took longer than anything else to date.

Picture 2 really shows off the backsplash and cabinets:

Unfortunately, it also shows off the drapes and border paper along with questionable paint selection. Brown is nice people, in fact, i plan on using it when i redo things, but variety is also a good thing ... mix it up ... live a little. Brown + brown+ brown = boring and more work for yours truly. Please don't create more work for moi. thank you.

Oh, El Rancho came with all of its appliances ... forgot to mention that added bonus.

Tour continued: This is where I handle my bitness.

2006-05-18T01:23:00.000-07:00

And by bitness, i mean pooping. Yup, the bathroom, folks ... the throne ... the boardroom ... the most important room in the house. Very cool and a major selling point for me:

Those cabinets are even cooler than this picture would indicate - i love 'um! And yes, it is all tile ... whoever laid it did a pretty damn good job, too. Kudos tile dude! Picture doesn't show it very well, but there is a huge old mirror above the sink ... and that privacy wall ... keeps everyone from seeing my bits and pieces when i'm making 1's and 2's on the other side.

Here's another photo:

there's the mirror ... just very cool. the reflection in the mirror shows the tiled shower/tub and you can see how high up the tile goes on the wall, too. My only gripes in this room were the off-white trim (a theme is developing if you hadn't noticed) and the lack of color above the tile. A project is born.

oh, and there was border paper in here just as in the bedrooms. it actually caused a huge headache ... more to come on that.

It seems like 2 images per post is the limit ...

2006-05-18T01:09:00.000-07:00

... so now i get tricky. Continuing the tour:

Dining Room:

Pluses: chair rail is cool. Although it will not stay, i did like the gold chandelier.

Minuses: Ugh ... those fucking drapes. First thing to go ... trust me. I like the wallpaper above the chair rail ... just not that wallpaper. Carpet must be destroyed.

Sidenote #1: that tall drink of water in the distance is actually my realtor. Very tall. Lovely woman.

Moving along ... the 1st bedroom:

Combines everything i hate about the dining room and living room: Ugly drapes, creamy dreamy carpet, off-white trim and greyish-white paint. Added bonus: hideously country wallpaper border full of hearth.

2nd bedroom:

Sidenote #2: seems that i have disproven my theory about photo limitations for this blog. I am guessing it is an overall size limitation. Anyway ...

Similar to 1st bedroom except has walkthrough door that leads into the den.

A new sweetheart for Valentine's Day.

2006-05-18T00:43:00.000-07:00

We are now a package deal ... until foreclosure do us part. It was on Valentine's Day, February 16th 2006, that I closed on my first home. Horror stories begone ... the whole process took about 45 minutes and then I owned my own chunk of this pebble we call Earth. My requirements were simple: wood floors, fireplace, garage (for my beloved '68 Impala) all wrapped up in one older package with character. After only several weeks of searching I came across what would later become known as "El Rancho" (for absolutely no good or interesting reason at all).

I packed up my belongings, kissed JC3PO, ultra bachelor pad deluxe that looked like a technocolor porn set, and headed from Midtown to out-of-town. My new abode is a ranch home built in 1950 with approximately 1600 sq. ft. of living space, a work shed, and a large, detached 2 car garage. At the time of purchase it had exactly zero curb appeal and looked like this:

Drab, drab, drab. Boring colors and futile landscaping. The fun continues inside.

Living room:

Off-white trim. Whiteish-grey paint. Cream colored carpet (covering the hardwoods).

We join this program already in progess ...

2006-05-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

So I got the idea to post a blog chronicling the struggles and minor victories of my home restoration project pretty much the day I was closing on the purchase of my first home ... a ranch-style house built in 1950 in the Village of Old Hickory. The Village of Old Hickory is a planned community located in Nashville, TN (unincorporated) and was originally founded by the United States Government and the Dupont Corporation in 1917 as a planned corporate community to insulate the newly built Dupont factory from sabotage as it supplied the U.S. Military with smokeless gunpowder in an effort to whoop-up on the Kaizer. It's a fairly interesting history and you can read more about it here.

Anyway, about the blog. I had intended to post to it daily chronicling everything I had done or problems I had encountered along with detailed photos so you, the faithful reader, wouldn't have to depend on your imagination to understand what the hell I was talking about. Unfortunately, I got a little wrapped up in the demolition and conceptual stages ... okay, obsessed is probably a better word ... and forgot all about detailing the whole experience. However, fear not ... I did manage to take a number of pictures along the way and as of today May 18, 2006 (three months into things) I have started the blog and pledged to keep it up to date. In the first few posts I am going to backtrack to the closing date and move forward until I get caught up - I may leave out a few details in the process.

So without further ado I give you ... the El Rancho Chronicles.