Well in case any of you think that I never fuck up when doing home improvement let me assure you that
yes.. Yes I do fuck up sometimes..
I’m a bit pissed at myself right now..
Its
not a huge deal, but still uggh..
So far there have been very few projects on my house that I have completed yet.. Most stuff is up in
the air, but I can actually say without lying that I have completed one project.. You might say it’s a sub-project of many other larger projects, but fuck
it.. It’s done..
The washer and dryer have been in the kitchen ever since I moved in.. I always said that I wanted to put them in the basement,
but it’s far more complicated than just moving it down there. I had to install new electrical wiring, run new pipes for the washer, and install a utility
tub with a pump because the sewer line is above the basement floor..
So this week I picked up the drain pump, got it installed, and ran most of
the new electrical wiring for the dryer.. All of this stuff I had done before in some form.. PVC plumbing work is simple.. Electrical isn’t a big deal to
me.. But what remained was installing the pipes to feed the utility tub and the washer.. I have never worked with copper pipe before.. I was a bit
intimated, but I did as much reading as possible, and did some practice joints in the shed before it was time for the big show.. I also bugged a buddy I
know who is a plumber up in Canada for quite a while with many questions..
So I spent 3-4 hours yesterday putting together as much of the copper
pipe as I could without having to tap into my real water supply.. I finished it up this morning, and then the moment of truth came.. I cut off the water
supply.. I had my buckets of water ready in case i caught something on fire, all the buckets ready to drain the pipes when I cut them.. It took me about
3-4 hours to get all the joints assembled, and get the plumbing back together, but the first time I put the water back on it worked! No leaks! Nothing..
I’m pretty stoked.. I also put some pipe straps on many of the pipes in the house because they were pretty loose and they aren’t supposed to move much at
all..
As usual here as some photos of my progress, er completed project!
Part One – Electrical Wiring for the washer /
pump
Part Two – Utility Tub, and drain pump installed..
Yeah the trap under the tub leaked when I was testing it..
Some of the copper joints I sweated
All of the trash from removing the old washer / dryer
connections
New laundry room.. New electrical outlet for the
dryer, copper pipes, etc.. Just add washer and dryer..
The space that I will get back in the kitchen as soon
as I can get a buddy to help me move the washer and dryer into the basement.. Oh and Bacon sniffing the washer.. 
So most of this week has been spent moving the doorway.. The chaos is coming to a close.. i still have
to hook the electrical back up now, but the doorway has been moved.. I’ll leave you all with these photos..
Before
Plaster removed and most electrical moved
King and Trimmer studs in
Preparing to cut old studs
Done!
I am not starting on the kitchen yet.. I still am concentrating my efforts on getting the dining room
complete so I can have a least one fixed up room.. To move the doorway I need to remove a few layers of flooring in the kitchen doorway so I can put in
the new framing.. I forgot about how much fun it can be to remove all the layers and layers of crap when working on an old house.. Check out the varying
layers of flooring when I started cutting it away..
Top layer of ugly vinyl.. Maybe 90s?
Next layer down – Some cheap brick pattern peel and
stick floor.. 60s or 70s
Checkered Pattern Linoleum – 50s (Maybe 40s) – It’s a
bit damaged with all the removal I am doing..
Bottom Layer – Hardwood flooring covered with nasty
mastic from the checkered floor
Here is what they all look like put together.. It’s
about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of flooring from over the years..
Hopefully the hardwood can be sanded back to a lovely finish whenever I get to the kitchen
remodel.. My parents had the hardwood floor in their house covered with a similar stuff for all of the time I lived with them, but they took it up a few
years ago and had a similar glue sanded off leaving them with a beautiful floor.. There may be hope for my kitchen hardwood flooring yet..
So I have my new plan for the 2 weeks between classes.. (Yes I am being positive that I am going to
get my A- in Marketing)..
The problem with the kitchen in my house right now is that it’s a really weird shape.. It’s 10 feet by 20 or so.. And
it has all these weird doorways, and where the windows are placed it sucks for layout.. The solution that has been suggested by Sheila numerous times is
the only solution I can see having any potential.. Turn the kitchen into a galley kitchen.. To do that will require moving the doorway between the dining
room and the kitchen.. That wall is not a load bearing wall, and I already have done a shit-load of ripping it up cause of plaster issues.. So it seems
logical to go ahead and open the wall up and move the doorway..
The doorway will get moved to where the red boxes are..
This is looking toward the kitchen..
This is looking toward the dining room..
I will
just put in an opening somewhere between 44 and 56 inches.. 44 would leave 12 inches between the counters and the doorway which seems about right.. 56
would be 6 inches and too tight..
So that is my plan for the 2 weeks between classes.. I am sure i’ll post more photos, and of course turn the
house into more of a disaster zone.. I also need to look for some french doors.. If anyone in Raleigh goes to the Habitat Reuse center if you see a set of
decent french doors let me know! The one in Greensboro sucks ass..
Since I am in a blog posting mood…
I finished most of the wiring I have left to do from the
underside of the house.. I put outlets in the basement so I can move the washer/dryer into the basement from the kitchen.. This is a major thing.. See
this house has no dish washer, and well it sucks ass.. I hadn’t been dishwasher-less since 1996, and well I am addicted.. The kitchen is perpetually a
wreck without one.. Once I get the washer/dryer into the basement I can install a dishwasher where they were.. I am planing on re-doing the kitchen, so
I’ll just pickup some old cabinets and a used dishwasher at habitat or wherever to use for a while until I get to the kitchen..
So here are the outlets I installed in the basement..
I already have the mini-fridge hooked up to store white wine, and who knows what else.. I also am going to put a chest freezer down there soon..
I
did find some scary wiring in the attic, but i won’t fix that until it cools off.. The attic is normally 20 degrees hotter than outside, so when it’s 100
I won’t be going up there.. I value my life..
If this picture means nothing to you, it’s bad
in so many ways.. For starters all wire connections are supposed to be inside that box with a lid covering it, second there are too many wires in that
box, and well.. It’s just a disaster waiting to happen.. Good thing is it’s easy to fix with a few new boxes, but like I said I am going to wait until it
cools off.. I figure it’s been like that at least 15 years, so what’s another month or two..
I also need to re-wire the shed, but that too will
wait until it’s cooled off..
Sadly most of the wiring is done, and I am stuck with the task I have been putting off for forever.. Plaster repair..
I found a post on matching textured plaster online suggesting adding corn meal to paint/primer.. I am going to make a test repair somewhere and see how
that works.. if it looks decent it might just be the motivation I need..
Until next time, this is Taylor for This Old House..
So I had been putting it off for most of the year.. My homeowners insurance wasn’t going to get
renewed if I didn’t get a new breaker panel and get rid of the old fuse panels and assorted ancient electrical crap in the house.. I finally got off my
ass, and hired some contractors to install a new panel, and then once they were done I started replacing the old wiring in the house.. I didn’t feel like
dealing with trying to install a main breaker panel.. It took the 3 guys a day, and if I tried I bet I would have been without power for over a week
considering my pace..
I went from this slew of panels..
To this one new breaker panel inside the
house..
Once the inspector signed off on all of the
contractors work and no more inspectors would be sticking their heads around I started removed the old non grounded wiring and put in new 3 prong outlets
and modern wiring.. I am not sure what a contractor would charge but it’s usually ~100 bucks an outlet and I’ve replaced about 15 so far in the house, not
to mention adding some decent lighting in the basement finally..
If you think it looks messy now you should have seen it before..
Check out the pile of old wiring I have removed in
2 days.. I still have a bit more to remove too..
I still have to install some more outlets in the
basement for when I move the washer/dryer down there, but that can wait..
So work has been slow in the last month.. It’s gotten hot, and well that sucks for working outdoors..
The patio is pretty much at a standstill.. I got more sand the other day since we ran out, but a little bit of time outside and it’s too fucking hot.. I
don’t know if it’ll be done when Tori gets here, but we shall see.. I guess between going to Charlotte to visit my grandmother, the beach trip,
recovering from the beach trip, and then my grandmothers funeral I have a pretty good excuse for doing almost nothing the last 3 weeks.. I mean we all
need a break right?
So the dining room has been completely separated from the rest of the house.. I moved all the furniture out, put plastic
sheeting up, and went to town sanding.. I got quite tired of that and started on putting all the plaster washers up.. I think the plaster repair will be
pretty good, my main problem is going to be matching the bumpy-ness of the plaster texture.. I am thinking sanded paint will be the solution..
Since I like to post photos here goes nothin’..
Major plaster crack in the middle of being repaired..
The washers re-attach the loose plaster to the lathing underneath so I can mud over it and make it match..
It’s quite a messy job.. I have given up on getting
the trim down to wood and staining it, but I still need a smooth surface..
This is what much of the paint in the house is like,
so I have to strip it down to the yellow layer, and then sand it smooth to have a good surface..
I think once I get the dining room done, the rest
of the house will go a bit smoother, but it is hard to find the motivation.. I already don’t know what day it is anymore.. It’s been a month and 2 days
since I last had a job, and well it feels good..
So the patio on the side of the house.. The weather isn’t cooperating, so since the ground is
saturated it sits again today waiting for dryer times.. So about a month ago Sheila and I found the stone we are going to use.. Fucking beautiful..
So all that is left to do on the patio is to put in the sand, tamp it down like crazy, then start laying down the stones and sweep in some soil..
The digging is all done.. It seemed like it would never end.. So in typical Taylor fashion here are some photos of the progress..
Here is how it started maybe 2-3 months
ago..
Partway through digging..
Digging complete..
Foundation of gravel laid down and tamped
down..
The stone we got.. It’s going to be rockin’
whenever I can get out there and finish it up..
So hopefully in a month or less I can have the whole thing finished up, maybe get some Adirondack
chairs and chill out on the cool side of the house reading a book..
Well I am in Columbia, SC today for work.. Yeah I still have a job.. I am finally done with the man
June 20th.. I talked them into letting me take all my vacation and with 28 days left and working part of the time it ran me until the middle of June.. I
guess I can’t complain at all.. I had all of last week off, and I will never work Friday again.. Well until I get another job..
I spent Sunday,
Monday, and Tuesday of last week working on replacing my downspout drains.. My wrist hurts like a bitch.. I guess I am not used to digging a ditch 50-60
feet long.. Anyway the thing is done and doesn’t leak.. All I need to do is backfill the ditch and then I can get started again on the patio.. I ended up
digging out 46 sections of pipe plus about another 8 feet or so of pipe..
The garden is starting to pop up now..
Carrots are coming in, Cucumbers, Peppers, and well I still forgot what else we planted but there are little buds popping up everywhere..
I have
one class this summer for school.. MBA 613 – Economic Policy and the Global Environment.. I was given a conditional acceptance to UNCG which require me to
have a 3.0 after 12 credits.. Right now I have a 2.95 and 10.5 credits.. I have to get a B+ in that class to hit a 3.0.. I don’t know what they would do
if I had a 2.97 or something at 12 hours, but I would rather not find out.. I really wanted to get an A in my Communications class, but alas I ended up
with a B+..
When that class is over all I have to do this summer is work on my house, go to the beach, and brew/drink beer.. I can’t wait for
June 20th to roll along..