All Work and No Play

So I've been having this internal (and occasionally external) debate lately on whether it is better/easier/more rewarding to do all the work on our house by ourselves or to hire someone and have the time we would have spent on the project to just play.  For the last 2 years, it has been all work and no play.  Literally.  We love doing DIY projects, working side-by-side and learning things along the way, but I can't remember a weekend where we weren't doing that.  We have spent so much time fixing it up that we haven't taken the time to enjoy it.  

Before our son came along, it was easy to spend an entire weekend painting every room in the house or installing a new walkway, because we were doing it together.  But now we want to spend the time together as a family.  If we want to complete a project (like the basement, for instance), one of us has to watch him while the other does work....and vice versa.  Not only do we miss out on that time with each other or as a family, but it also takes 10 times longer.  I know it should probably just be twice as long (I tend to exaggerate for effect), but I feel like we motivated one another to get stuff done when we were side-by-side.  Things just seemed to get done so much faster. 

It's just not as much fun as it used to be either.  Pace is #1 (of course) and I have found myself doing the unimaginable (well...at least unimaginable as of 2 years ago).....calling to get quotes for our upcoming projects (lawn care, trim painting, etc.).  Now I'm not saying that we are going to give up on DIY completely, I think we are just going to tone it down a little.  Whereas we used to jump at a new project possibility, we might stop and think about our options before doing that in the future.  Just the big projects....I think. 

Does anyone else feel this way about DIY??  I have to say I am a bit disappointed in myself for even thinking any of this, let alone writing it, but its the truth.  I am just as surprised as you are.  And maybe its just a temporary thing.  B has been traveling a lot lately (and I mean a lot.....like the last 5 weeks!!!) and being home alone has really got me thinking about all of our outstanding projects.  I really thought I could make a dent in them while he was away (ha!), but its so much harder than I thought to be productive with a crawling/teething/active/wonderful/curious/nosy 8-month old.  Maybe I'll get the hang of it soon though.....right as he starts to learn how to walk.

Surprisingly I have actually managed to do some spring-cleaning/organizing throughout the house in the last few weeks, so I'm slowing whittling (sp?) away at our long to-do list for 2012 (which I'm not sure I even talked about yet).  

Well, in case I didn't, here is a quick run-down:

1. Tile the basement bathroom shower
2. Install the vanity and light fixture in the bathroom
3. Caulk and fill nail holes in molding
4. Paint trim and doors in basement
5. Touch-up some molding and trim in the kitchen (it contracted in the winter and there are a few cracks here and there.....which probably are unnoticeable to anyone other than me)
6. Paint/touch-up railings on the deck (note to self: never let B paint anything)
7. Plant some shrubs and perennials around the base of the deck and the basement door
8. Add some life to the deck (rug, lanterns, potted plants, etc....hopefully very inexpensively!)
9. Replace trim on the house that is rotting/slit/broken.  
10. Paint the trim on the house white (this might be a hire-able job since I'm nervous to have me or B or ANYONE I know up on a ladder 3 stories high painting the trim in the back of the house...EEEK!!!!)
11. Paint the garage doors black - I have wanted to do this since we moved in!
12. Decorate the basement with some DIY artwork projects (I saw this whale blueprint at an adorable store in St. John a few weeks ago and I can't get it out of my head.  It was $600 and shipping would have been $500 on top of that, so there was no way we could ever buy it.  Hopefully I can re-create it though!!)
13. DIY a curtain for the kitchen sink window.....it looks so bare.  Maybe just a little tailored box-pleat one.  Seems easy enough.
14. DIY a new bench seat cushion for the entryway - found someone on etsy that will do it for $175 but I think I can make it for a LOT cheaper!
15. Find a used project-height table and make it into a desk for the basement office.  Could be regular desk height, but I like the higher ones for doing any hand-made things (calligraphy, drawing, sketching, etc.).  
16. Refinish some side tables that I found on the side of the road (pictures to come soon).
17. Re-paint an adirondack chair for the deck......it needs a little love!!

Hmm...I could go on and on, but seeing/writing it all makes my heart rate soar, so I'll leave it at that for now.  So as you can see from my list, I definitely don't want to give up the DIY in our lives, I just want to tone it down a little.   Call in some reinforcements when necessary.   Have any of you guys done that?  Did you regret it?  Wish you had soldiered on and finished it yourself?  Was it worth the money to have the free time???  I doubt I'm the only that has felt this way, but for some reason, I feel like that right now.  Any thoughts are more than welcome.

Until next time...

And then there were floors...

I know I used that line already (here) for Pace's arrival, but it seems to fit pretty well here too so I apologize for my unoriginality.  :) I know that people talk about "pregnancy brain" but I'm pretty sure that I still have it (or rather DON'T have it) seven months later.  Kind of like my body...haha.

Back to the floors though.  Pergo floors to be exact.  I have to tell you about the deal I got because I almost don't believe it myself.  As usual, I went back and forth (literally from store to store and website to website) deciding on the laminate.  One day I made a random trip to Lowe's to pick up an exterior light and I did a little drive by the flooring section when I came across a yellow tag on the bottom shelf.  I'm not sure if you are all aware of the yellow tag, but it usually means an AMAZING deal.  I initially assumed it was not what I was looking for (color-wise or style-wise) but to my surprise, it was pretty normal.  It was called Classic Red Oak by Pergo and it was on sale for $1.19/sq. ft. from $2.99/sq. ft.  CRAZY, right??  I would direct you up to the Lowe's website to show you what I mean, but the reason it was such a good deal is because they were on buy-back from Pergo.  I guess they were changing out the color or the name of the color or something (which they do on occasion when something isn't selling as much) so Lowe's was getting rid of them for cheap.  Real cheap.  I couldn't pass up the deal, so I bought every single one on the shelf....in 4 different stores.  I ended up having more than I needed, but I'm going to save a box or two in case we damage a piece later and they are no longer manufactured.  So all in all, we spent $556 on 520 sq. ft. of laminate (or $618 - $62.88 with a 10% coupon I had).  I thought that I just loved it for the price, but once we started installing it, I think that I like it regardless.....

 

And I liked it even more once the whole thing was complete!! (Please forgive the terrible, cluttered, messy photos....we haven't exactly cleaned up and put everything back in order yet, so these are just a sneak peek at the finished product)!

And for the bathroom floor, we chose the same tile as we used in our half bath renovation (more here).  It was $4.00/sq. ft. which came out to $182 ($168 for 42 sq. ft. plus $14 for grout).  I already had the tools and the thinset mortar from the kitchen backsplash project (here and here).  I apologize for the terrible process picture.  I meant to take more as we were working, but once we got started I got in a groove and didn't want to stop.....mostly for fear that I wouldn't start back up again.  Oh, and yes, I am wearing a sweatshirt that says "The Future Mrs. Carroll".  Haha.  Hell yea I still rock my pre-wedding digs.....to paint and tile and do messy things.  Sorry honey.  It's kind of weird to wear them anywhere else at this point (3.5 years later) so instead of wasting a perfectly good hoodie, I decided to put it to good use.......

Oh, and I also threw in a look at the shower floor tile.  It is only laid out at this point so I can see how many more 12x12 sheets I need.  What do you think?? 

And just because I have to throw in a picture of the little bug.....
 

We are so close to finishing this project, I can taste it!!  We even had time to install the doors and some trim so I will have more updates very soon!

PrimeTime!

The walls are finally (and I can't tell you how much I mean that word) up and plastered so we were able to prime everything this past weekend.  What normally feels like the most rewarding part of a renovation job felt very anti-climactic this time around.  I am used to transforming an already worn-out/ugly/out-dated space, so I've never really worked with a fresh canvas before.  Painting white over white just isn't that exciting.  There was no reward at the end.....it looked the exact same (well, maybe a little cleaner), but it still took forever.  And although I know how important this step is, I couldn't help but wish I could have skipped it!

So here is a look at the progress after the plastering was completed:

In that last photo you can see whats left of the yellow walls from our home's previous life.  Thought I would be a little sad for it to go, but I can't tell you how empowering it felt to paint over it!!  I have said it before, I love the color yellow, but the fact that it was on every wall, trim, tile and molding piece, I'm so very relieved to have it gone for good. 

Check the basement out after a coat of prime (we used Gripper for the walls and BIN for any wood/trim):

Ahhhhh!  So much better, right?

 

As frustrating as priming was, I guess there is a noticeable difference between the before and after photos.  It definitely looks a little cleaner.  So it was worth it in the end, but I have to say that at the time, I felt like giving up and calling it a day more than once.  I had to keep reminding myself that it is totally crucial to have that layer of prime under the paint.  I'm not sure of the exact chemical reaction, but it helps to provide a strong base for the paint to adhere to.  I'm sure that one of those paint/primer in one mixtures would have been ok too, but since we were working with VERY new plaster, I thought it was best to take the extra step (as painstaking as it was...haha).  Ok, enough complaining.  I'm sure you also noticed in these photos that the floors look a little different than before.  Over the last two weeks, we have also had the heating company (Viega) come in and install the radiant heating panels!  YAY! They are not totally functioning just yet, but the guys should be coming back this week to hook them up to our boiler.  Can't wait for warm and toasty toes!!

Next step for the basement is to paint.  We want to get it all done before installing the floors to avoid any messy situations after the fact.  I actually started on the back room yesterday and plan to finish up the second coat tomorrow.  Can't wait to show you!  I love the color.  I have been looking for the perfect beige for a LOOOOOONG time and I think I finally found it.  

Do you guys have a favorite paint color that you have used multiple times in your home?  Or do you have a certain color scheme that flows from room to room?  I am still not sure about the colors for the bathroom and family room so I am open to suggestions (we are leaning towards cool tones though...since that goes with some existing tile that we have for the bathroom and the couch that we already own for the living space).  I would love to hear your thoughts!!  

 

Basement Renovation: Phase 2

I thought renovation was slow when we were the ones doing the work (especially since it took about 8 months to complete our kitchen), but I've come to the realization that it is slow no matter who is doing the heavy lifting.  In fact, it's taking about twice as long as our contractor initially estimated.  Between inspections and ordering materials, there is a new set-back every day.  So....needless to say....we are not as far along as we would have hoped at the end of December. 

Here is where we are at today:

The framing and insulation is all up (that purple stuff is actually 1.5 inch thick foam that is supposed to be just as/if not more effective than regular insulation).  I wish I knew the name of it, but I only saw one of the packages a few weeks back and at this point in my life, my memory is pretty much non-existent!  But I do remember that the r-value (which is the energy efficiency of the insulation) is about 13-14, which is what is required by code.  The inspector didn't love the idea of it when he first came to check out the progress, but our contractor convinced him that it was the best thing since sliced bread, so he gave him the thumbs up to keep going.  I guess the reason we went with this material was to maintain as much living space in the basement as possible.  If we went with standard depth insulation, it would have taken away another few inches from each wall.  I suppose it's not a lot of space when you are looking at numbers, but the contractor insisted that it would make a difference in the finished space.  So we will just have to see how it all turns out......

We have also made a lot of progress on electrical and plumbing in the basement.  The two photos above are just close-up shots of the pump that we needed to install for the bathroom.  On the left, you can see the drainage ditch they had to carve out first.  The bottom right leg will be where the sink goes, the bottom left leg is where the toilet will be and the top left is where the shower will drain to.  The pump was then installed in the upper right corner of that first photo with the pipes connected to it.  Once that was complete, they filled the ditch with some rocks and cement to make it all level again.  You can sort of see the floor of the bathroom after the ditch was filled in the right-hand photo.  And then the pump is that lovely round black thing with the white pipes coming from it.  This type of waste system is supposed to drain all of the water from the sink, toilet and shower and then pump it up into the existing sewage waste pipe that we have running along the wall in the basement.  You can see it snaking around the center of the wall in the picture to the left.  We had to build a shelf-like wall in the back office to accommodate the pipe (which you can sort of see in the right photo).  It's a little inconvenient, but definitely not the end of the world.  We will find a way to incorporate it into our design scheme once the walls have all been put up. 

And speaking of the walls, that is our next phase.  Brian will be working on a few little projects here and there this weekend (building out a shelf in the bathroom to hide the waste pipe and venting the dryer), but the sheetrock guy is coming on Tuesday to get started.  I can't wait to see how it shapes up.  It's hard to visualize everything with just the framing, so hopefully we will get a good sense of the space once he is done with the sheetrock! 

YAY!!  Until our next update, hope you are all surviving the last few days of holiday chaos!!  I am going to attempt to run out tomorrow for some last minute things......eeek!!  Wish me luck! 

Basement Renovation: Phase 1

We officially broke ground on the basement project.  Let the madness begin...

To save some money, we have decided to do as much demo and framing as we can before calling in reinforcements.  And since we aren't going to be able to help with the electrical, plumbing and heating portions of the renovation, the demo and framing are the only parts that we can really contribute to at this point.  

Here is what it looked like after a full day of framing last weekend:

Part of the basement (near the boiler) is being left unfinished for storage space, so the wall being built in this photo has a door frame cut out (on the far left) so that we can have access to everything when the rest of the space is built out.  We are planning to use two bifold doors to give us the most amount of room to move large items in and out of the space (including the boiler, if necessary).  If we used french doors we would have to make the adjacent hallway that much wider, which wasn't ideal considering the small space we have to begin with.

In the photo above, you will see a space built out for a future wine/beverage center.  There was a great deal of real estate beneath the stairs, so we thought it would make the most sense to be able to tuck a little entertaining area in there there, along with some shelves for storage.  Instead of just boxing the space out, why not make use of it? 

We added this extra lolli (lalli???) column (the dark grey metal post in the center of the photo..haha) for added support to the beam above that is carrying additional weight from the wall opening in our kitchen/dining room area.  It was not required during the kitchen renovation (read more about that here), but it couldn't hurt while the area is all opened up.  A little extra support is always better than none, right? 
 

And here is that storage room doorway I was speaking of earlier.  It will help us to get some larger items in and out.  On a totally unrelated note, I can't believe how much STUFF we have in there.  Ugh!!  I'm pretty sure those 4 tote bins on the left are ALL filled with christmas things.  I used to have everything organized and labeled, but I think I rearranged some things when we moved in and nothing seems to correspond with its label anymore.  Whoops!!  I guess its a rainy/snowy day project for this winter!

Above you can see the side view of the under-stair storage space when we first started framing. 
And here it is after a few hours of working..... 

 

 
We are planning on adding a wine/beverage fridge on the bottom half flanked by wine storage cubbies on either side.  There will also be a stone countertop (hopefully we will find a cheap remnant piece at a local stone yard) and a shelf for some liquor or food.  We have high hopes of entertaining down here, but honestly I see this space as a playroom in the future.....so, more than likely, our lovely little wine fridge will end up being a juice box and milk fridge with space for goldfish and sippy cups on the nice marble countertop.  Haha!  I'm totally ok with that though....

These last two pictures show the long view of the basement (underneath the half bath and kitchen...to give you perspective).  It it wide open now, but it will eventually be an office/guest bedroom, full bathroom with stand-up shower, and a closet for the laundry.  Can't wait!!!!

The contractors have been in and out since we did our part, so I will have an update with their progress shortly!  Our target date to finish was Christmas, but I'm not sure that is still realistic.  We will have a better idea of the timeline once we have all the plumbing and electrical completed (today, hopefully)!!  It's hard having other people doing the work.  I feel like I'm not in control of the project and it drives me crazy.  I sound like a total control freak, huh?  I guess its just hard to let other people do all the work when we are used to handling it all ourselves.....especially since I'm home listening/watching it all.  The thing I have to keep telling myself is that we aren't qualified to take on these parts of the project, so even if we wanted to and learned how to, it would take us FOREVER to get it all done.  #1, B has been working like crazy lately, and #2 we can't ever work together since one person is always watching the peanut upstairs.  My my how things have changed. 

Hopefully I will go downstairs this afternoon and be totally wowed by the progress.  Updates to follow.....

Basement Renovation: Planning

I know what you're thinking....you have an infant and you are trying to start another renovation NOW????  Yea, I'm thinking the same thing.......but there really isn't a perfect time to start this type of project (well maybe before Pace was born, but its clearly too late for that), so we figure we might as well get it done before the winter.  After the snow starts, we would have to shuttle all of the supplies through the kitchen.  Yikes!!  NOT ideal to say the least....and probably not even possible for some of the material.

So here is what it looked like when we moved in......lots of clutter (from the previous owners), but pretty much a blank slate:

It is basically the full footprint of the house, we are just keeping a small portion of it (about the size of the dining room) unfinished and will use that space for storage.  The main goal of this renovation is to add some play and work space to our home.  Currently our guest bedroom upstairs is doubling as an office, so it will be nice to have a separate space for both.  We are planning to have a separate office space (below the mudroom/kitchen area), a full bath (below the kitchen and half bath) and a play/entertainment area (below the living room).  As I write this out I realize that it would be SO much easier to just show you the floor plan rather than try to explain it all, but I haven't taken the time to create one just yet.  Once we get a few more details finalized, I will make sure to show you the plan a little more clearly!! 

Normally we like to do the work ourselves, but with our little bundle of joy, it's a little harder to be a complete renovating partnership like we used to be.  We are still planning on doing some things here and there, but the big stuff is being left up to the professionals, like the plumbing, heating and electrical.  We are going to do most of the framing, drywalling, tiling, painting, flooring and installation of fixtures.  It will help us save a little money on the total project and it will keep our DIY skills nice and sharp!!  Hehe.  Believe it or not, I am actually excited to do some tiling again.  I know that I was a little overwhelmed with the kitchen backsplash last fall, but I think that it will be much easier the second time around.  None of those first-time jitters....hopefully!  Still unsure of what we are using for all of the materials and finishes, but once I get it all planned out, you will be the first to know.  We are shooting for a one-month project plan, but as with most things, there will probably be delays. 

Here's hoping everything goes smoothly!!

Next up, I will try to put together a floor plan to show where everything is going to be.  The contractor is coming by tomorrow to discuss a few things, so hopefully he will help me make some decisions.

As always, I'll keep you posted on all the developments....and definitely on a more regular basis than I have been.  Sorry again about that!  This whole mom thing is AMAZING, but it sure does take up a lot of time.  Haha.  Every time I think I can sit down and write, I think of 7 other things that need to get done before he wakes up.  Yikes!

I've Got a New Way to Walk....Walk, Walk!

I have no idea where that song is from, but whenever I think about walkways (and especially my own), this song pops into my head.  Weird, right?  I honestly think it might be from an episode of Sesame Street....oy!

But enough trivia for the moment, let's get down to business.  So, as you have probably already guessed, this post has to do with my walkway.  I have been not-so-silently scheming and dreaming since we moved in to replace the uneven, rickety brick walkway that leads to our side door.  Not only is it an eyesore, but it is actually pretty dangerous to walk on at this point (since I haven't really seen my feet for a few weeks now).  The hubby and I have talked about getting it done before the little bundle of joy arrives, but we hadn't really planned much further than that.  Or so he thought.......

We had originally planned to go away for the fourth of july weekend, but I hadn't been feeling great towards the end of the week and we have been on the go so much that we decided to cancel.  And since we didnt' really have other plans lined up, I thought, why don't we tackle the walkway!  And by we, I mean him.....and my rockstar parents!  Trust me, I tried to help out, but everyone kept yelling at me to sit down and rest.  I know that I'm 8 months pregnant, but I hate sitting around and watching other people do work.  I like to get in the action and get my hands dirty!!!  So....instead of helping them with the walkway, my mom and I worked on weeding and planting (which she did all of since we've heard bad things about pregnancy and soil - I guess the chemicals in some fertilizers and soil can be really bad for unborn babies, so I stuck to yanking out weeds and trimming bushes). 

So here is what we started with on Saturday morning (Hi Mom!). 

The bricks really didn't bother me (from an asthetic perspective).  In fact, I took a drive around the neighborhood (since it was WAAY too hot this weekend to walk) and everyone in the neighborhood has brick walkways.  Either there was a sale on it when our houses were all built, or it is just the traditional Hingham style.  I'm not exactly sure, all I know is that the old, dirty, worn-out bricks that made up our existing walkway just weren't cutting it.  We considered reusing them in a different pattern once we re-leveled the ground, but after more thought, and a few trips to Home Depot to check out their patio stones, we realized that we ultimately wanted a change.  So, anyone that is looking for about a thousand bricks (there were some stacked up in the garage when we moved in as well), just let me know.  I'm actually thinking about putting them up on Craigslist to see if anyone bites.  I'm not sure what the going rate for bricks is these days, but maybe I'll just do a $__ + pickup deal and hope that someone wants to haul them away!! 

But back to the project!!  Let's fast forward to Monday night (yes, it took almost three full days of work to get er' done, but it was worth it).  Here is the "after" photo:

I love it!!  I can't tell you how happy I am with it.  What do you guys think?  I feel like it brightens up the area so much and the landscaping doesn't hurt to spruce it up either.  There is still more work to do (adding crushed stone along the foundation to keep out bugs and moisture, fixing a few of the trim pieces that are rotted out, replacing the molding around the door (since the current stuff is just not beefy enough for me.....nor is it tall enough, and replacing the steps).  After we started laying the stones, we realized that we didn't love our steps anymore since 1) they don't match the new walkway and 2) they are really dingy and starting to chip around the edges.  So, I called a local mason and he is coming later this week or next to re-face both the front and side-door steps with some limestone to match the new walkway.  YAY!!  So, once that is done, I will do a full before and after post with a little tutorial on patio/stone-laying (since it was our first time tackling a walkway).  I might drag B in to help out with that post, though, since he honestly did most of the work!!  I can't even begin to take credit for this one...they wouldn't even let me pick up the individual stones...haha!! 

But, while the boys were busy doing the heavy-lifting, my mom and I cleared out the jungle that was taking over the front of our house (and the side next to the walkway).  When we bought the house, we learned that the previous owner was an avid gardener.  Unfortunately, though, she became rather sick and wasn't able to maintain the outside of the house (or the inside, to be honest) for the last few years, so it was pretty unkempt when we moved in last year.  The good thing is, though, that there was a lot of great plants to work with around the house, they just needed a little love.  So love we gave them.....tough love.

Here is the before picture of the front of the house (SCARY!!):

I can't believe we had let it get so bad.  We had talked about tackling the landscaping, but with a whole acre of weeding and edging, it just seemed too much to handle.  So, instead of tackling the whole thing this weekend, we just decided to focus on the front of the house (since we were sprucing up the walkway anyway).

Here is where we ended up on Monday evening:

Again, we are not totally finished with the makeover (we are going to add a hydrangea to the front of the walkway in that empty corner, and add the crushed stone along the house), but it is definitely an improvement from before.  I was grinning from ear to ear as I watered the plants on Monday night after the dust had settled, literally, and everything was picked up.  My parents are seriously amazing.  They stuck it out with us all weekend and helped us push through.  In fact, most of the time, they were still going strong while B and I were sitting in the shade taking a breather!!  I have mentioned it in the past, but I just want to reiterate that we couldn't get done HALF of the work that we do on our house without their help.  They are our own little extreme home makeover team and we are really lucky to have them around!!!  So, if you are reading this, thanks guys!!  We owe you!!

So that's it for our little weekend transformation.  Hopefully we will have the steps finished in the next few days and the crushed stone all laid along the foundation.  I will definitely report back as progress is made.  But for now, you can find me standing out on my new little walkway just taking it all in!