Quite A Busy Weekend

We arrived Friday afternoon about 1:00, had lunch, unpacked and got started on the “small” project for the weekend.  We put in the linen closet ceiling and walls that I painted last week.  I ended up putting in most of the screws since Mike couldn’t fit inside the closet.  I don’t have the strength to shove in the screws so Mike helped push from the hall side of the opening while I held the drill.  After that we completed the section of drywall inside the pantry that we didn’t get finished last weekend.  We had to cut an opening for the A/C ductwork.  Since we couldn’t put the duct through the opening, we cut out a U shape and added a small piece of drywall underneath.  Mike also added a 2x4 to the corner of the pantry so he could finish putting in the final screws in the inside corner.  Matt finished sanding Mike’s Father’s day present and we added a new cushion we got at Kohl’s and moved it to the front porch for Mike’s morning reading time.

Linen closet installed.  Needs more paint and shelves.

Last panel installed in the pantry.

New cushion for Mike's chair

Group shot with Mike in new chair

Saturday morning I remembered I needed to cut and put up insulation in the hall before we could drywall.  This took a few hours (messy stuff requiring “special” clothes) so Mike used the time to take out the guest bathroom medicine cabinet as we wanted to make sure the new one fit before we covered the back with drywall.  He also took down the guest bath mirror to attempt patching a hole left by an outlet that was moved in the re-wiring process.  He got the patch in but it still needs taping and texture.  We found that the new mirror is smaller than the old one so I will need to cover the teal paint that was hiding behind the old mirror (which means the whole bathroom is going to need to be painted now).  He then removed the wood cabinet door and frame in the master bathroom to see if there was any work that needed to be done from the back (hall) side.  After putting up the insulation, we went to Home Depot to pick up the new medicine cabinet and some temporary window shades for the front window for privacy (that’s where I sit to use my computer and it feels creepy at night knowing anyone walking or driving by can see me) and the side windows to block the hot morning sun.  When we got back, we hung the drywall on the north side of the long hallway.  For the first piece we used a full 12’ board.  We were able to get the drywall lift in the hallway by putting one of the tripod legs through the den wall.  Since the only cutouts were for the bathroom door and the doorbell wiring, we thought this would be a fairly easy install which it was except for the notch we had to cut out (after the fact) to accommodate the drywall around the top part of the master bedroom door.  The next piece was a small one and only required one cutout for the a/c wiring, but the ceiling was sloped at this end of the hallway and the bottom of the drywall had to be trimmed (again, after it was up) about 1/4” to make a straight edge for the bottom piece.  The third piece was short and had no cutouts and went up quickly which was nice because the last piece was a trial!  The wall and both sides were sloped so we cut the bottom on the diagonal and trimmed the sides after it was up.  We had to make a large cutout for the A/C vent and cut an opening for an electrical box – never a fun task and made more difficult by the fact that we didn’t have a good side to measure from.  Luckily the A/C vent had a large lip so we didn’t have to be extremely accurate.  When we took off the vent cover we found that it was only being held on by three of six screws and the filter was filthy so Matt and I headed to Home Depot to get more screws and a package of filters.  Too bad that I ended up grabbing the wrong screws so Mike put the cover back on with just the three original ones.  While we were out, we tracked down the ice cream truck which we had missed when it came down our street earlier.  Matt and I each got a crunch bar ice cream and we sent it back to our street for Mike. Finally Matt and I moved the short pile of drywall onto the larger one so we now have moving around space in our family room – Yeah!!

Added insulation to some walls for sound deadening

Guest bath mirror and cabinet removed - nice blue color

Cabinet removed from master bath - will be drywalled

Using the lift in a tight space

North wall in hallway completed

New temporary shades added for privacy from passerbys

On Sunday, even though this was supposed to be his “resting” day, Mike decided to install our new pantry door knob and family room ceiling fan.  He thought they would be easy projects, but, of course, there were complications.  He had to adjust the pantry door because it wasn’t closing properly and he discovered that the ceiling fan was going to hang too low with the included 4” downrod.  I could’ve sworn we took that into account when we bought the fan, but maybe it was one of the OTHER several ceiling fans I purchased and returned over the past few months :). We headed out to Home Depot to see if they stocked shorter downrods.  They didn’t (although you can purchase one online), but their electrical guy said you could cut the rod with a reciprocating saw and drill new holes (we did get the A/C vent screws while we were there and Zena got to ride in the jeep so it wasn’t a wasted trip).  Of course it wasn’t that easy and the holes ended up a bit skewed and the shortness of the downrod made the install difficult, but Mike was able to get it done (he always does) and our new ceiling fan is bea-u-ti-ful! 

Door knob added to pantry to complete the door

New and bigger ceiling fan for living room

Matt got off work at noon and we headed to the local theater to see Cars 2.  Very cute and the movie was packed with lots of little kids.  Afterwards we hit Scoops for ice cream – also packed with little kids.  When we got back Mike decided he REALLY needed to get the medicine cabinet installed in the guest bathroom (not sure why because only Matt is using it right now) and that also turned into a bigger than expected project.  The old medicine cabinet was rounded – the new one is square and just a tad bigger so he had to use the multi-tool to trim down the drywall and old paneling and knock around the 2x4 supports that framed up the hole.  He also put the old mirror back up temporarily so Matt can see to shave.

New medicine cabinet for guest bath

Mike headed back to the valley around 6pm. I’m going to stay up here for the next two weeks to avoid the heat and get some painting (and thrift store shopping) done.  Next weekend is a long one.  Mike will be back up Thursday afternoon and stay through Monday night.  We have friends coming Sunday afternoon for a bar-b-que so we will be trying to get our house a little more presentable.

Stats: 3 Home Depot trips; 3 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 6/20-6/26: $57
Remodeling expense to date: $30,611

Lovin’ the Payson Weather!

I stayed in Payson this past week because we had 4 large rolls of insulation being delivered to the house on Monday and I’m so glad I did as the weather was really nice (compared to the heat wave going on in the Valley right now).

While I was there I: Put together a Home Depot bid (our 2nd) and we were able to save about $400 off the regular prices of the materials we needed to purchase; Painted the inside of the linen closet (originally a teal color) and the hardiboard pieces that will make up the sides and ceiling of the restructured linen closet; Moved all the drywall we’d stored in the pantry out to the family room to get ready to drywall the pantry this weekend; and Cut and put up insulation in the wall between the pantry and the hall bathroom (this is where all the plumbing is and there are some gaps around the pipes going under the house).

Wall in future linen closet painted

Linen closet panels all painted

My other big project this week was cleaning out a used refrigerator.  Last week I had mentioned to my dad that we wanted to get a larger refrigerator and two days later they got a call from a friend saying she had one to sell.  It is old, but works great and my dad delivered it on Wednesday.  I pulled everything apart and gave it all a good scrubbing (even the grill on the bottom) and it is good as new.

Much bigger than the one we were using.

We started drywalling the pantry Friday afternoon and finished up Saturday.  Matt was working for my dad so it was just Mike and I.  We were able to get the lift inside the pantry and the walls were small so it wasn’t too difficult.  We decided to leave an opening for an access panel where all the plumbing connections are and we weren’t able to finish the piece that will go around the A/C ductwork.  There was only one doorway, but the walls were all a little skewed which made the measuring tricky and there were several outlet/access boxes for the cable and alarm wiring, along with the outlets for the soft water loop in one of the last pieces we put up and I just couldn’t get consistent measurements (I think I was just exhausted).  Luckily Matt was home and came out and helped out and we were able to get it the piece cut out.  The next issue was to turn off the water so we could remove the loop connection while we put on the drywall.  This went well until we found that one of the brass connectors on the loop connection had a small crack in it and was leaking water after we got everything back together. Mike had to shut off the water again and run to Home Depot for a new loop hose.  This fixed the leak and we had water to the house again.

Cables are for Internet/TV and Alarm system. This is the loop for the future water softener.

Plumbing access - a door will be added after texture is done 

Mike’s small project for this week was helping me organize the kitchen.  We moved all the cold/frozen food to the new refrigerator and rearranged all the cabinets.  We also brought in one of the tall cabinets we had saved for our future garage and put it in the pantry to store food.  I was able to get all the small appliances in the existing shelving/cabinets so now we have a lot more counter space.  Still rough, but sooo much better!

The kitchen is a lot less cluttered with more open counter space

Newly arranged kitchen with new fridge (new to us).

Old kitchen pantry cabinet we can use for now.

We finally turned on the A/C this weekend.  It took a while to kick in which gave us a little scare, but it finally came on and works like a charm.  Don’t think we’ll use it a lot, but it sure is nice when you’re stuffed in a little room doing physical labor.

Mike had a nice relaxing Father’s Day.  We saw Green Lantern at the local theater and had a nice home cooked meal.  Matt made Mike a chair to sit in on the front porch, but it still needed to be sanded and stained so hopefully he will get to use it next weekend.

Father's Day chair Matt made Mike from an old woodworking furniture book we had.

Stats: 7 Home Depot trips; 1 Walmart trip
Remodeling expense 6/13-6/19: $2,655
Remodeling expense to date: $30,554

Fairly Easy Weekend

This weekend we started with the drywall in the short hall.  It was the easiest drywall we’ve done so far – just two door cutouts, one light switch and one outlet.  Mike did have to put in another 2x4 next to the den closet and I forgot to include the half inch bottom allowance when I cut out the guest bedroom door so we have a bit of a gap there, but it should be covered by the door trim.

New stud is to the right of the reddish colored one

Two walls of the short hallway completed

Last wall of the short hallway done

The hall went so quickly that we had enough time leftover (we are trying to limit our work time each day) to do the drywall on the front of the den.  The wall was the exact length to use one full sheet without cutting the length.  We did have to cut out the double-door entry and one light switch.  The bottom half was two short pieces on either side of the door, with one socket cutout on each sheet.  Definitely one of the easier drywalling days we have had so far.

The wall to the den is finished with the doorway cut out

Mike’s (and Matt’s) small project this weekend was to cut out the sides and ceiling for the reworked linen closet.  We had originally planned on combining the two closets in the bathrooms into a large linen closet with a door off the hall, but after our a/c installation took up most of the space, we decided to keep the hall bathroom access and close off the access from the master bathroom.  The new closet is smaller than the old one so we had to make new shelving,  and add sides and a ceiling to separate it from the ductwork.  Mike was originally going to use melamine for the entire project, but because of cost and size issues, we decided to use a 4x8 sheet of textured hardiboard siding for the ceiling and sides which I will paint white.

Mike took some time this weekend to work on the pocket door in the master bath.  The trim needed to be replaced on one side as is was wider than the other pieces causing the door to scrape and not fully open.  The door also pushed in too far, so he put a wood block at the end of the slide to stop the door.

Master bathroom pocket door needed some work.

Mike and I also decided to purchase a larger refrigerator.  We’ve been using a dorm sized one and we have to be careful when we shop for groceries not to buy too much cold/frozen food.  We found an 18cf one at Sears for a good price, but we would need to borrow a truck to pick it up.  When I mentioned it to my dad and step-mom (who were over for dinner on Sunday), they said they had an old one at their house that we could have.  Mike is going to stop by on his way up next weekend to check it out.

Stats: 4 Home Depot trips; 2 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 5/31-6/12: $1,222
Remodeling expense to date: $27,899

Matt's Room is Complete

We have not done any drywall work on the Payson house since the beginning of April.  We have been up to the house a couple of times since then, but once was just an overnight stay and the other was a weekend with our son Matt and his girlfriend Danielle.  We used the place as a stopping point to continue up to the Grand Canyon with an overnight stay in Williams and then back to the Payson house for another night.  The trip was fun and we saw elk and a bobcat at the canyon around dusk on our way out.

This past weekend, we decided to take one extra day to avoid the Memorial day holiday traffic so we went up Thursday afternoon and came back late on Monday.  The highway construction that started just after Labor Day in 2010 was finally completed and the trip up and back was clear - no longer a single lane - and free of traffic.  It was so nice and made Mike very happy.

We took Matt with us and our original plan was to get as much work done as possible over the four days we were up there.  However, Matt was still looking for a summer job and we thought he might have better luck in Payson since they are more of a summer season area than Phoenix.  So he and I left Friday morning to do some shopping and put some applications in for him and did not get back until early afternoon.  Then we had some good friends, Doug and Ursi, call to let us know they were in town passing through to go camping in Williams.  So all three of us met them at the McDonalds to visit for a little bit.  We then headed up to Pine to check out another possible job opportunity for Matt at a thrift store and of course to do some more shopping.  By the time we got back, it was too late to start any work.  However, Mike did find some parts he needed at the Pine thrift store to use to install a wall-mounted make-up mirror I found at a garage sale and he put it up in our master bathroom.

Wall-mounted mirror from a garage sale for make-up and hair

Saturday morning Mike was up early to go to a local farmer's market.  He was interested in getting some tamales he heard they had for sale.  He found an arts & crafts fair in town and came home to get us and we all went.  On our way home, we passed one of my favortie thrift stores and they had a wood kitchen table set for sale.  It was a table with four chairs for $125.  We bought it and then tried to figure out how to get it home in our Altima, when one of the guys who works there came out and asked where we lived.  Turns out he lives nearby and he offered to deliver it for free.  We had it in the house and setup later that afternoon.  Mike and I went out to buy some accessories and found that Home Depot had discounted their outdoor chairs and picked up four to complete our outdoor dining set (previously used as our kitchen table). Seeing that it was Memorial Day weekend, we thought we should have a flag at the house and bought one while at Home Depot.  Mike and Matt set it up when we got home and displayed it the rest of the weekend.

Table and chairs from thrift store with hardly a scratch for $125

Old dining table now outside with new chairs

New flag and holder to give honor to those who serve and have served on this holiday

We got an early morning call on Sunday from my Dad to say he and my step-mom were on their way up to their place in Christopher Creek and would we like to meet for breakfast.  We prodded Matt out of bed (not his normal waking hour, but the promise of pancakes got him moving) and met them at the Beeline Cafe.  We had a great breakfast and made it home early enough to actually do some work.

We decided to finish drywalling Matt's (guest) room first.  We had two walls left to do in this room and once completed, we will not have to pass drywall through the den/hallway wall anymore.  First Mike had to trim away some of the old drywall around the closet opening.  We did not remove any drywall from the closets and the existing drywall on the opening overlapped the drywall on the wall. During the deconstruction, some of the hangover part was ruined but we were able to trim it flush with the studs and make a good corner with the new dywall overlapping the old.  The trimming threw a lot of drywall dust into the air and, since we were already making a mess, we decided to cut out the window opening which had been covered since the install last year.  Thought this would help get some air flow (and light) into the room.

Matt's room window uncovered to help air out drywall dust

Putting up the drywall in the guest room was more difficult than we originally thought due to the door and the closet.  It is easy to cut out around windows using our Dremel tool, but it takes more effort around doors since a small gap needs to be left for the door frame.  The closet cutting was tough because we have to cut the new drywall without damaging the old drywall.  In the end we were able to finish all the cuts and think it will all work.

One of the last two walls in Matt's room we finished

The last wall we completed, including cutting for corners around the closet

Since we had a long day doing drywall, we decided we would only do one drywall project per weekend to leave us time to complete one of our smaller projects (there are plenty of those).  At the beginning of the weekend, I noticed one of the boards we had put up under the house to cover our crawlspace openings had fallen.  Mike decided that we needed to cover these openings with the siding we had bought last year for this purpose.  As usual, what was thought to be an easy, quick project, turned into a whole day event.  Mike and Matt had to go to Home Depot to find something to rest the siding on since it could not go all the way to the dirt (wood-to-dirt is an issue for termites).  They originally thought they would use some cement bricks similar to the house supports, but trying to cut brick to fit the openings would have been tough.  They found some composite decking material that Home Depot had reduced the price on due to a non-stock return and thought that would work as a buffer material.  They cut those boards to lay sideways in the opening and then placed the siding board on top.  These were screwed into 2x2s that they nailed into the concrete supports.  They completed the last opening just about dinner time.  Mike also added one of the composite boards to close an opening under the front porch, which was the last large opening into the crawl space.  We still have spots where very small critters can squeeze through (mice and such), but the larger animals should not be able to get in.  We did decide that all future "extra" projects will not be that involved.

Three of four openings under the deck for our crawlspace walled in. The darker wood is the composite.

Composite wood placed between brick and wood deck.  Last large opening filled.

It was an overall great weekend with lots of rest, shopping and some work done at the house, including having one room completed with drywall. It is nice to be at a stage that we can actually go up to Payson and relax for some of the time.

Stats: 3 Home Depot trips; 5 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 4/24-5/30: -$555
Remodeling expense to date: $26,677