I think my husband thinks it is going to look dumb since it won't match our bedroom floor. But I don't really care. There was no way it was going to match anyway and I didn't want it to look like we tried and failed at matching it so I just went dark. Since I painted my walls such a light color and our trim is now white, I felt like I needed a darker floor to ground it. I am pretty confident it is going to look awesome.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Floor Stain
I must say, I was being quite the drama queen last night. Hopefully that is hard for you to imagine. But it was sort of true. Somehow Brett and I got to talking about the flooring that we are refinishing at our house and I learned that it was not being stained, only sanded down and poly put on. What?!?! That's not what I signed up for! He claims we had this conversation and I was fine with it since it was an extra charge for stain. If we did have this conversation, I clearly didn't know the terminology or what that meant. I really didn't want the golden oak look. I was under the impression that it was being stained to match the existing hardwoods in our bedroom. As it turns out, those are not stained at all but just aged to a darker color. I am learning so much these days! So he reluctantly called our flooring guy (who is a really really nice guy that my dad has known forever) and he said I should stop by in the morning to look at some stains. So that's what I did and for a measly $50 more I am going to have dark hardwoods. Yippee!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Stair Research
I have learned a lot about stairs today trying to determine what to do with ours. I wasn't sure how common our circumstances were since it seemed like our stairs were built sort of weird. And they may be, but our problem is one that many people have - what to do with formerly covered stairs. Most people are trying to get rid of their carpeted stairs.
I found that there are stair tread covers that you can purchase to lay overtop of your existing treads. The tread is the top part of each step - the part you walk on. Then you can also purchase a riser (the other part of the step) which is usually just a really thin piece of wood. I want white risers so I am wondering if we could just do them ourselves. The tread covers have a nose that comes down over the front to leave a little bit of a lip like you see on a lot of wood staircases. And we can buy them unfinished in a variety of wood types so we can stain them to match our wood floors. The total cost if we purchased unfinished tread covers and primed risers would be around $500 including shipping.
The main problem I am running into with these is a safety issue. When we put this cover over each stair, it is going to cause the top riser to be a different height since our upstairs obviously won't have one of these tread covers. And we can't really do anything with the upstairs floor because it is the exact same floor as the two bedrooms up there - so we can't add height to the landing/hall area. Anyway, having this height variance (which would probably be around 3/4" and should only be 3/8" max) causes balance issues when you are using the stairs. Another thing I am considering is how slippery the steps will be for Kyler walking up and down with socks or pajamas on which is making me at least consider carpet although I really want wood stairs. The other thing that I would need to figure out before we order anything is how the bottom few stairs would look because of the fact that the edge of each stair already butts up against the top of the wall so now they are going to stick out some.
I found that there are stair tread covers that you can purchase to lay overtop of your existing treads. The tread is the top part of each step - the part you walk on. Then you can also purchase a riser (the other part of the step) which is usually just a really thin piece of wood. I want white risers so I am wondering if we could just do them ourselves. The tread covers have a nose that comes down over the front to leave a little bit of a lip like you see on a lot of wood staircases. And we can buy them unfinished in a variety of wood types so we can stain them to match our wood floors. The total cost if we purchased unfinished tread covers and primed risers would be around $500 including shipping.
The main problem I am running into with these is a safety issue. When we put this cover over each stair, it is going to cause the top riser to be a different height since our upstairs obviously won't have one of these tread covers. And we can't really do anything with the upstairs floor because it is the exact same floor as the two bedrooms up there - so we can't add height to the landing/hall area. Anyway, having this height variance (which would probably be around 3/4" and should only be 3/8" max) causes balance issues when you are using the stairs. Another thing I am considering is how slippery the steps will be for Kyler walking up and down with socks or pajamas on which is making me at least consider carpet although I really want wood stairs. The other thing that I would need to figure out before we order anything is how the bottom few stairs would look because of the fact that the edge of each stair already butts up against the top of the wall so now they are going to stick out some.
House Update
I cannot say enough good things about our families. We got SO much done this weekend thanks to all of them...
1. We have running water! Brett had had to turn off the water because of a leaky valve and a busted hose that had a broken valve. His dad came this weekend and got got everything fixed up so we could turn the water on. We even got the pilot light on the water heater lit so not only do we have running water, we have access to hot water too. No more running back and forth to get water. Yay!
2. We got a ton of stuff painted and a majority of what was left is primed. Brett's mom watched Kyler the entire weekend so we could work. His brother came to help paint on Saturday. His dad painted a ton too. And my mom and aunt also helped with the painting. My dad removed all the cabinets and got them set up and ready to paint in their garage.
Today we have someone getting started on refinishing the wood floors in the kitchen/dining room/living room. We are hoping to get at least one coat of paint on the cabinets and the trim painted in our bedroom tonight. I will be working on the cabinet doors in the garage today and hope to have most of them primed.
We did run into one problem that we will need to find a solution for. The stairs had a piece of vinyl over them and looked horrible. So we pulled that up hoping we could refinish the top of each step and paint the rest white to match the trim. Unfortunately, some of the steps had lumber markings on them. A couple of others splintered and a piece fell off when we pulled up the sticky vinyl. We were hoping we could just replace the top of each step but they are nailed in from the sides which are no longer exposed. So now we are trying to find a way to cover them and we would prefer to not have carpeting since that would be the only carpet in our house.
Once the floors get done, we will be so close! We just need to finish the bathroom and then we should be able to move in and start living there. There are lots of finishing touches that need to be done and a few things we will have to tackle once we're in (like the stairs) but it is night and day to what it looked like when we moved in!
1. We have running water! Brett had had to turn off the water because of a leaky valve and a busted hose that had a broken valve. His dad came this weekend and got got everything fixed up so we could turn the water on. We even got the pilot light on the water heater lit so not only do we have running water, we have access to hot water too. No more running back and forth to get water. Yay!
2. We got a ton of stuff painted and a majority of what was left is primed. Brett's mom watched Kyler the entire weekend so we could work. His brother came to help paint on Saturday. His dad painted a ton too. And my mom and aunt also helped with the painting. My dad removed all the cabinets and got them set up and ready to paint in their garage.
Today we have someone getting started on refinishing the wood floors in the kitchen/dining room/living room. We are hoping to get at least one coat of paint on the cabinets and the trim painted in our bedroom tonight. I will be working on the cabinet doors in the garage today and hope to have most of them primed.
We did run into one problem that we will need to find a solution for. The stairs had a piece of vinyl over them and looked horrible. So we pulled that up hoping we could refinish the top of each step and paint the rest white to match the trim. Unfortunately, some of the steps had lumber markings on them. A couple of others splintered and a piece fell off when we pulled up the sticky vinyl. We were hoping we could just replace the top of each step but they are nailed in from the sides which are no longer exposed. So now we are trying to find a way to cover them and we would prefer to not have carpeting since that would be the only carpet in our house.
Once the floors get done, we will be so close! We just need to finish the bathroom and then we should be able to move in and start living there. There are lots of finishing touches that need to be done and a few things we will have to tackle once we're in (like the stairs) but it is night and day to what it looked like when we moved in!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Austin
Have I ever mentioned how awesome Austin, Texas is? If Kyler were a girl, we would have named our firstborn Austyn. That's how much we love it! It is definitely one of our favorite places to visit, if not the favorite. We took a trip there this past weekend for a friend's wedding.
One of our first stops was Wahoo's on West 6th.
We were so happy to have arrived in Austin.
Wahoo's is famous for their fish tacos. I got a shrimp taco and a blackened fish taco. The blackened was a little spicy for me but good. And everything else including the rice and beans was amazing.
Brett got a couple of blackened chicken tacos since he's not a seafood fan.
We took a walk around and grabbed some dessert at Walton's - a little bakery around the corner.
Then we ventured back in to share a margarita before leaving the area for the afternoon. It was really really good!
They have bumper stickers everywhere in that place. Here is an interesting one.
And we also spotted this Jesus band-aid. Where the heck do you find those?!?
Later that night we went out to Oasis for dinner and to see the sunset. This is the view from one angle.
Aren't these places amazing? I have no idea what they are. Houses maybe?
Here is part of the Oasis. There are tons and tons of decks. I want to go back some afternoon when it is hot out.
And here is the view of the sunset over the lake. Those islands are not normally there but with the drought they are huge.
It was pretty chilly the first couple of days we were there. I think we brought the Kansas weather with us... and the wind.
The next day we just sort of went exploring. Brett remembered this place (Baby A's) that has purple margaritas so we stopped and he took a "wildcat" picture. They were pretty strong and they would only allow you to have two. I was feeling a slight buzz after just half of one, of course my alcohol intake is pretty minimal these days.
We couldn't leave Austin without stopping by Trudy's for a Mexican martini. It is basically a margarita in a martini glass with olives. They give you the whole shaker and again, they limit you to two. So we shared again. It was sooo good. And pretty nice out on their patio.
That night was the rehearsal. It was at the same place as the wedding. This is where Chris and Julie exchanged their vows in the hill country. It was a pretty view, and even better the night of the wedding with some soft clouds in the background.
After the rehearsal, we went out again. We went to a pretty fancy and pricey bar called the W with the groom and his crew. Then we hit Woodrow's on West 6th before making our way to "Dirty 6th" where the main drag of bars is. They close down the streets at night in that area on the weekends and we usually have a good time there.
We stayed with our friends, Mark and Becky, and they partied it up with us over the weekend. These pictures are at a bar we stumbled into called The Stage on Sixth. There was a great band there from Tennessee. They played rock versions of lots of hip hop songs from the 90s, and did a medley including the theme from Fresh Prince. It was awesome.
Saturday was the wedding. We lounged around in the morning, did a little souvenir shopping, and headed out to the wedding. It was very windy but still beautiful and a lot of fun. Afterward, we headed to the bars for one last night. Brett was reluctant but when we stopped at the Ginger Man and the waitress let him keep this glass, he got his second wind.
We ended up going to Kiss Fly and he got his dance on one last time. There was quite the entertainment there - a male cage dancer. We had What-a-Burger on the way home and Rudy's for breakfast in the morning. Rudy's BBQ is a must stop if you are ever in Texas.
I didn't want to leave, except to see our little Kyler. The weather was almost tropical when we boarded the plane since it had finally rained and warmed up overnight. We almost had a chance to move to San Antonio this summer for about a year but it didn't work out. So here we are in Seneca and always ready for an excuse to visit Austin!
Remodel Update
The remodel is close to coming to an end, the major work anyway. The drywall is pretty much all up with the exception of the interior part of the patio door we installed. They were waiting for the electrician to come and wire for an exterior light, which has since been done. So now there is just some patching and smoothing and repairing of cracks to be done and the construction crew will be done.
Once said patching and smoothing is done, we will start painting prior to the wood floors being refinished. We also need the plumbers to come and move a floor vent. Then the downstairs floors will be refinished with the exception of our bedroom (which is in good enough shape and separated by a doorway) and the bathroom (which will be tiled). When the floors are done, we should be able to start cleaning up and moving stuff in.
The kitchen will be a work in process and will mostly be done after we move in. First, we will paint the existing cabinets from a dark brown to a shade of white. The hardware will be replaced as well. Then we will probably live with it as-is for a while until we save up and decide exactly what we want to do. I have several ideas but due to our budget, we will have to do things in a certain order. So it could take a while to get everything done the way we want it.
The other thing that will be done probably around the time we move in is the electrical work. We need to switch out our fuse box with a breaker box and increase the voltage running from the pole to the house. There are several light switches that we disconnected for construction that will need to be wired. I would also like to add some can lighting in the kitchen, living room, and hallway. And we are going to add a ceiling fan/light to the living room which currently has no overhead lighting. We will also need to get the switch put in for the exterior (backyard) light.
The bathroom is ready to be tiled and Brett has decided to do that himself because of what we had spent on the construction (nearly $3500 so far). We had a tub installed by the local plumbers, and that bill ($560 - which didn't include the tub itself) was a little shocking to us. We haven't received a bill for some additional work they did - replacing some seal on our toilet drain. We have also purchased paint and supplies, a dining room and pendant light fixture, bathroom faucets, shower curtain rod, some cheap blinds, and tile. We still need to buy a toilet, vanity, vanity top, bathroom light fixture, many more window coverings, dishwasher, and garbage disposal to make the house functional.
After we move in, we will need to buy new light fixtures (probably with ceiling fans) for the bedrooms and a new light/fan in the bathroom. We will replace the exterior door knobs/locks. We will paint the two doors in the garage. Our overhead garage door will be replaced. New shutters will be put on. A new front railing will be added. We will put a step with a trap door on our back patio (the trap door to maintain access to the crawlspace which is directly under the patio door we added). We also need to do some landscaping in the spring and add a fence for our dogs. Plus the kitchen, as mentioned earlier.
Lots of work to do but the big stuff is pretty much out of the way so we are excited for the progress!
Once said patching and smoothing is done, we will start painting prior to the wood floors being refinished. We also need the plumbers to come and move a floor vent. Then the downstairs floors will be refinished with the exception of our bedroom (which is in good enough shape and separated by a doorway) and the bathroom (which will be tiled). When the floors are done, we should be able to start cleaning up and moving stuff in.
The kitchen will be a work in process and will mostly be done after we move in. First, we will paint the existing cabinets from a dark brown to a shade of white. The hardware will be replaced as well. Then we will probably live with it as-is for a while until we save up and decide exactly what we want to do. I have several ideas but due to our budget, we will have to do things in a certain order. So it could take a while to get everything done the way we want it.
The other thing that will be done probably around the time we move in is the electrical work. We need to switch out our fuse box with a breaker box and increase the voltage running from the pole to the house. There are several light switches that we disconnected for construction that will need to be wired. I would also like to add some can lighting in the kitchen, living room, and hallway. And we are going to add a ceiling fan/light to the living room which currently has no overhead lighting. We will also need to get the switch put in for the exterior (backyard) light.
The bathroom is ready to be tiled and Brett has decided to do that himself because of what we had spent on the construction (nearly $3500 so far). We had a tub installed by the local plumbers, and that bill ($560 - which didn't include the tub itself) was a little shocking to us. We haven't received a bill for some additional work they did - replacing some seal on our toilet drain. We have also purchased paint and supplies, a dining room and pendant light fixture, bathroom faucets, shower curtain rod, some cheap blinds, and tile. We still need to buy a toilet, vanity, vanity top, bathroom light fixture, many more window coverings, dishwasher, and garbage disposal to make the house functional.
After we move in, we will need to buy new light fixtures (probably with ceiling fans) for the bedrooms and a new light/fan in the bathroom. We will replace the exterior door knobs/locks. We will paint the two doors in the garage. Our overhead garage door will be replaced. New shutters will be put on. A new front railing will be added. We will put a step with a trap door on our back patio (the trap door to maintain access to the crawlspace which is directly under the patio door we added). We also need to do some landscaping in the spring and add a fence for our dogs. Plus the kitchen, as mentioned earlier.
Lots of work to do but the big stuff is pretty much out of the way so we are excited for the progress!
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