So...Cole and I decided to move into our house this weekend!
No, we are not done but we are 100 percent ready to be troopers and make things work for a "couple of weeks." That being said we are without a fully functioning kitchen and as a result, are enlisting your help.
We do have:
basement refrigerator
microwave
rice cooker
crock pot
Any ideas on how I can keep us feed quickly, easily and without a lot of fast food? (P.S. Our only running water is in the bathroom so extra points if your meal ideas use very few dishes!)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Projects of WW 5
Work Weekend 5 has been a beautiful continuation of work week 5.
During the Week:
Baseboards and Casings - Our pre-primed baseboards and casings were delivered to our driveway on Tuesday afternoon. Cole and I were able to spend every evening this week painting these babies so they would be ready for my dad this weekend. (Too much painting; no time for photos)
Kitchen Cabinets - The cabinet guys arrived from Idaho on Thursday afternoon with our java colored kitchen cabinets and bench. By noon on Friday morning, you could kind of get an idea of what the room is going to look like.
Weekend Projects:
Basement Baseboards and Casings - Where to start? If you are following this process, then you are aware that our house may not have a single square corner, level floor or straight door jam. Despite that, my dad was able to make really good progress hanging door casings and baseboards in the basement. This project will span the next week or so, but it felt good to get so much done downstairs.
Basement Bathroom Tile - When we first toured our house, the basement bathroom really stuck out as an oddity to us. The basement bathroom is almost the exact same size as the upstairs bathroom but had only a sink and a toilet. The last of which was positioned almost in the middle of room.
We immediately decided to add a tub and replace the linoleum with tile. After recommendations from parents, contractor and plumber we re-opted for an over-sized shower.
With rough in plumbing and sheetrock done, mom and I decided to get started on that tile. Photos taken about 10:30 p.m.
Entryway stairs - A seemingly small project that has spanned the last several weeks. The area quickly lost the nasty carpet, but upon removal we discovered more than four layers of paint separated us from the beautiful pine floors. We have lost count of the number of layers of paint stripper, the hours of chiseling, scraping and orbital sanding, not to mention the number of people who have braved this chore. To everyone, thanks. We are finally ready for some stain.
After all the projects, I am so grateful for a quiet Sunday of relaxing!
During the Week:
Baseboards and Casings - Our pre-primed baseboards and casings were delivered to our driveway on Tuesday afternoon. Cole and I were able to spend every evening this week painting these babies so they would be ready for my dad this weekend. (Too much painting; no time for photos)
Kitchen Cabinets - The cabinet guys arrived from Idaho on Thursday afternoon with our java colored kitchen cabinets and bench. By noon on Friday morning, you could kind of get an idea of what the room is going to look like.
Weekend Projects:Basement Baseboards and Casings - Where to start? If you are following this process, then you are aware that our house may not have a single square corner, level floor or straight door jam. Despite that, my dad was able to make really good progress hanging door casings and baseboards in the basement. This project will span the next week or so, but it felt good to get so much done downstairs.
Basement Bathroom Tile - When we first toured our house, the basement bathroom really stuck out as an oddity to us. The basement bathroom is almost the exact same size as the upstairs bathroom but had only a sink and a toilet. The last of which was positioned almost in the middle of room.
We immediately decided to add a tub and replace the linoleum with tile. After recommendations from parents, contractor and plumber we re-opted for an over-sized shower.
With rough in plumbing and sheetrock done, mom and I decided to get started on that tile. Photos taken about 10:30 p.m.
Entryway stairs - A seemingly small project that has spanned the last several weeks. The area quickly lost the nasty carpet, but upon removal we discovered more than four layers of paint separated us from the beautiful pine floors. We have lost count of the number of layers of paint stripper, the hours of chiseling, scraping and orbital sanding, not to mention the number of people who have braved this chore. To everyone, thanks. We are finally ready for some stain.
After all the projects, I am so grateful for a quiet Sunday of relaxing!Sunday, August 9, 2009
Adventures of Tiling a Kitchen
This weekend we were able to prep and lay all the tile for our new kitchen floor. With cabinets on the way this week, we knew we would have to get this one done quickly and right so's not to hold anyone up.
We spent the previous weekend combing about seven different tile/flooring stores in SLC and settled on five or six finalists that made it back to the house for final judging. On Thursday night we laid them all out in the kitchen. Using our counter and cabinet samples, we systematically eliminated tiles based on color (too dark, too red, too wrong) and finish (too shiny, too many grooves, too wrong) until we landed on the undeniable winner.
We also spent Thursday sweeping, vacuuming, and swiffering every square inch of the floor, a week of drywallers will leave you with loads of dust.
Snap shot of floors, in all their tar and felt glory, prepped and ready for the next step.
Given the nature of the original surface and that fact that floors in old homes are rarely level and walls are almost never really straight, our next order of business was to lay backer board to help even the playing field.
Because we settled on a diamond pattern for the floor, we knew that we would need several half and quarter tiles for around the edges. Janice anticipated this and only had to cut two more tiles last minute.
Then the process became chalk the line, line one up, spread the mastic, place the tile, adjust the tile, add the spacers, grab a "second set of eyes," and continue. Cole, a tile-laying virgin, was a model student and within a few tiles was laying them like a champ. Randy was amazing too.
Lest you think Janice and I were slacking on the job, we were busy priming and painting the kitchen walls, moving the sprinklers every 30 minutes, handing spacers and prepping next week's work space...
But until then, there is a looksy at the kitchen tiles ready for grout on Monday.
We spent the previous weekend combing about seven different tile/flooring stores in SLC and settled on five or six finalists that made it back to the house for final judging. On Thursday night we laid them all out in the kitchen. Using our counter and cabinet samples, we systematically eliminated tiles based on color (too dark, too red, too wrong) and finish (too shiny, too many grooves, too wrong) until we landed on the undeniable winner.
We also spent Thursday sweeping, vacuuming, and swiffering every square inch of the floor, a week of drywallers will leave you with loads of dust.
Snap shot of floors, in all their tar and felt glory, prepped and ready for the next step.
Given the nature of the original surface and that fact that floors in old homes are rarely level and walls are almost never really straight, our next order of business was to lay backer board to help even the playing field.
Because we settled on a diamond pattern for the floor, we knew that we would need several half and quarter tiles for around the edges. Janice anticipated this and only had to cut two more tiles last minute.
Then the process became chalk the line, line one up, spread the mastic, place the tile, adjust the tile, add the spacers, grab a "second set of eyes," and continue. Cole, a tile-laying virgin, was a model student and within a few tiles was laying them like a champ. Randy was amazing too.
Lest you think Janice and I were slacking on the job, we were busy priming and painting the kitchen walls, moving the sprinklers every 30 minutes, handing spacers and prepping next week's work space...
But until then, there is a looksy at the kitchen tiles ready for grout on Monday.
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