Workbench Creations

Now that I've detailed the major portions of the work we did fixing up our new home, it's time to discuss basic home maintenance and repair. If you want to make things easier on yourself and potential future owners of your house, follow these tips!

Tip # 1: Don't paint over outlets and switches

There's nothing worse than having to spend hours chipping away at 5 layers of paint on electrical outlets (trust me, I've done it). So either don't do it, or if you truly hate boring old outlet covers and you really feel the need, I recommend paintable outlet covers. We decided to buy some because it would cover over the painted outlets, but I still ended up chipping off paint because there were so many layers, you couldn't physically plug things into them!

Unfortunately, this doesn't help with switch covers, because if there is already paint on the switch itself, you'll have to chip it off or buy a new switch. I'm still contemplating buying new white switches to go with my new white switch plates, as all the outlets and switches were off-white.

Tip # 2: Don't bother patching holes if it will end up uglier than the original hole in the wall

There is absolutely no reason to do a terrible patch job, because it's so easy to get it right! For smaller holes, like nail holes, just a little spackle and sanding will do. For larger jobs, cut out a square of drywall larger than the hole, then using this as a template, draw on the wall around the hole. Cut where you've marked, and the drywall square will fit in the hole.

If there is a stud behind the hole, you're in luck as the drywall square won't fall through while you're working. Otherwise, you have a couple options - you can fit a piece of 2x4 behind the hole and screw it into the surrounding drywall for support, or if the hole isn't too large, you may be able to use some of your drywall tape behind the patch to keep it in place.

Once the drywall section is in place, use some drywall tape and spackle a couple of coats, feathering out to the edges and sanding in between coats.

Tip #3 : Don't make painting a chore

Painting is actually something I enjoy, but I've got to admit, painting a whole house has tested my patience once or twice. Luckily, I learned a few things along the way...

• Patch holes and smooth bumps in 2 stages: once before you prime, and once after you prime. You might not be able to see all the imperfections before you get that first coat of paint on. However, this is very important-- if you do patch after you've primed, make sure you get a coat of primer over that patch before you paint it, or it can have a different sheen or texture than the rest of the wall!

• If you need to prime and paint a whole room (ie both walls AND ceiling) try to work in this order:
  prime the ceiling, prime the walls, paint the ceiling, then paint the walls. This way, the only time you have to be careful about your edging is when you put your final coat of paint on the walls. I made the mistake of doing one room prime walls, paint walls, prime ceiling, paint ceiling, and I was miserable!

• If you have problems with some of the fuzz coming off the paint rollers you're using (it took me a while to figure out this was a problem and it led to sanding and repainting of a couple walls)... either don't buy the cheap stuff, or take some painter's tape and stick/unstick it to the entirety of the roller before you use it. This removes the lint fuzz and can save you a lot of effort in the long run.

Tip #4 : Don't waste money on heating bills

Caulk around windows to better winterize your home. We chipped out the old putty inside and replaced it with new, and also caulked around the windows on the outside. My advice here? Do the outer part of the windows when it's still warm outside!

If you live in a house with single pane windows, taking the time to seal around your windows will definitely help energy efficiency. As well as putting up the storm windows for the winter, we'll also be putting up plastic window insulation, which is very easy to install.

What basic home repair tips have you come up with?

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 1: Don't Panic

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 2: Prep Work

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 3: Demolition Time

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 4: Starting to Rebuild

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 5: Bathroom Remodel

Last week, I detailed the renovations that we made to the kitchen in our new home. This week, we tackle the bathroom. Although the room is small in size, the renovations involved no small amount of work.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, 3 Men and a Tub

The old pink cast iron bathtub was in pretty bad shape, so we decided it had to go. Though there appear to be several methods offered for bath tub removal on CR4 , we decided against breaking the tub to get rid of it. Thus ensued the entertainment of watching my husband, brother, and father all crammed into a tiny space, utilizing 2 carjacks and some 2x4s to prop up the tub vertically. Otherwise, it wasn't going to fit out the door and through the hallway.

Working slowly and carefully, the guys managed to get the tub upright. Then they loaded it onto a heavy-duty rental dolly, and rolled it to the front door. If getting it out of the bathroom wasn't difficult enough, getting the tub out the front door and down the front steps was certainly a challenge. I think the discussion on how to manage this maneuver lasted longer than the actual removal. Ultimately, we ended up using some 2x4s as a ramp, and lowered the tub back to a horizontal position. Gravity did most of the work in sliding the tub down the ramp, and we were good to go - with no crushed toes for our efforts!

(Special thanks to the mystery person who swiped our tub from the side of the road later that same day. Sure, we probably could have made a few bucks off the tub at the dump, but we would have had to rent a trailer)

Walls Closing In

The bathroom walls were pink and horribly textured. Upon initial inspection, it appeared that our options were 1) sand them down, 2) skim coat them, or 3) tear them down and put up new drywall. I ended up trying to peel a bit of the textured paint from part of the wall, and it came off quite easily. Excited about the prospect of an easy removal of the evil pink textured surface, we peeled off quite a bit before finding our mistake. Apparently, the part that came off easily happened to be where the joint spackle was. Everywhere else (a majority of the wall), we'd end up peeling off the surface of the drywall.

Not to be defeated, we figured we'd keep peeling and just wind up skim-coating the surface of the walls anyway. In the end, however, we finally decided that tearing out the drywall would be the way to go. Of course, this ended up being a challenge in itself, as we would have to rent a truck just to get the 8 sheets of drywall back to the house. Fortunately, Home Depot is nearby and has rentals for about $20 for the first 75 minutes. Unfortunately, as soon as we started loading drywall into the truck, it started raining - and the drywall became wetwall. Is anyone else starting to see the pattern that nothing in this house renovation has gone very smoothly?

The other bit of our drywall challenge is one of plain geometry. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get a 4x8-foot section of drywall down the hall and into the doorway of the bathroom. So we decided to cut them in half to make things easier. Then, following the old adage of "Measure twice, cut once," we cut, trimmed, re-trimmed, and installed the drywall.

"Vanity is my Favorite Sin(k)"

It comes as no surprise that the old vanity/sink unit needed to be replaced. After the plumbing challenges in the kitchen, the bathroom plumbing was pretty simple. Since we haven't quite finished tearing out and replacing the subflooring in the bathroom yet (there were not one or two, but three different types of linoleum layers going on), we'll probably end up disconnecting and reconnecting the plumbing again, but this mainly entails a little wrench-work.

As for the shower plumbing, we completed the behind-the-drywall work and just have to unscrew and re-screw the fixtures when we put the shower surround pieces in. I would have rather tiled the shower walls, but in the interest of time and our remaining sanity, we decided to live with an inexpensive surround for a few years.

Next week's blog entry, the last in this series, will focus on basic home maintenance and repair.

Other blogs in this series:

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 1: Don't Panic

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 2: Prep Work

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 3: Demolition Time

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 4: Starting to Rebuild

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 5: Bathroom Remodel

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 6: Basic Maintenance and Repair

Recently, I stained a deck that I built during the previous year. Staining may sound simple (and it is), but there's a right way and wrong way to get the job done.

You shouldn't stain your deck right after building it because the wood needs time to dry out. This is true even for most types of pressure-treated lumber. Remember, too, that there's a lot of prep work that must be done before you start staining. Start by picking up the supplies that you'll need.

For DIY deck staining, you're going to need a pressure washer, deck cleaner, scrub brush, and push broom, as well as painters' tape and plastic. You'll also need to pick out what kind of stain to use, depending on your house color or your preference. In my case, I chose a clear stain to bring out the natural colors of the wood.

Before you start the prep work and staining, keep an eye on the weather – both for today and the next few days. The wood must be completely dry, and you'll want to sweep away any windblown dirt or leaves. Make sure there's no rain in the forecast, too. Next, wet the deck with clean water and apply your deck cleaner. Then use your scrub brush to get rid of any mold, mildew, or compacted dirt.

Let the deck cleaner sit for as long as the instructions on the label allow. Then use the pressure washer to clean everything off. After the pressure cleaning phase, allow the wood to dry out for a couple days. During this time, use the tape and plastic to put a barrier up on your house so that you don't get any stain on your house when applying it.

Now that everything is set up and dried out, go over your deck with a final sweep to get rid of any loose dirt off. Then and only then should you start your staining.

Personally, I found it easier to do the railings first, and then use a roller to apply the stain. Go over the boards with a brush for a smooth stain look. Be careful not to use too much stain, however, because you don't want runs showing up; they makes the person look like an amateur.

When you're done, don't walk on the deck for two days to make sure the stain is dry. Also, keep an eye on that weather forecast. You don't want it to rain for two days after the stain is applied.

Last week's blog detailed some of the demolition we got into in order to remodel the kitchen in my recently-purchased first home. Now we're into the real work-- rebuilding the kitchen pretty much from scratch!

Reinstalling Windows 95

The first thing that we needed to address were the large windows in the room. Their size and placement was such that they would fall below the level of our new cabinets, so we needed to replace them with slightly smaller windows.

Window replacement entailed removing some siding, taking out the old windows, adding some new 2x4 framing, installing the new windows, and putting in some more drywall and some molding to frame the inside of the window. I won't get into too much detail about our frustrations with replacing siding outside, as aluminum siding is apparently impossible to find! Needless to say, we borrowed some siding from another side of the house and replaced that with some vinyl siding, which will eventually get painted to blend in better.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

With the windows completed, we could put the new cabinets in position and install the sink. Some careful measuring and leveling ensured that both lower and upper cabinets fit together well, even though we had some challenges with the walls themselves not being straight. Our stud finder was not working well, so we ended up nailing quite a few test holes to find proper support to screw the cabinets into.

Unfortunately, placement of the sink cabinet brought in the challenge of moving plumbing and ductwork-- and in an area that was less-than-ideal. Our house actually overhangs the poured concrete foundation by a few feet. In putting the sink along that wall, the plumbing needed to be run through a very small space between the 2x4s in the basement.

Our main concern in putting plumbing in this space was that it would get too cold in the winter and the pipes would freeze (my parents had previous experience with this same problem in another house they owned). To remedy the situation, we brought the plumbing underneath and as close to the front of the sink cabinet as possible. While it was still a challenge to solder the copper piping in such a small area, with the proper insulation we shouldn't have too much of a problem with freezing pipes.

Like Water off a Ducts Back

At the same time as the plumbing, we needed to move the old ductwork over between the next set of 2x4s in the basement, as it was in the way of where the plumbing would go. We ended up running the ductwork up through the floor under the sink cabinet, and built a metal duct box that would route the airflow through to the front of the cabinet. We figured that having the duct so close to the plumbing in the cabinet would help keep the pipes warmer, too.

That Sinking Feeling

With the preparation for the cabinets and sink completed, we could finally put in the sink itself. When you buy a sink, it usually comes with a little template to trace onto your counter for the size. We made sure to place the layout just right-- not too close to the front where it would hit the cabinet edge, and not too close to the back where it would sit on the curved edge of the counter.

We drilled some pilot holes in the corners, then used a sabre saw to cut the main hole for the sink. We carefully lowered the sink into place, and eureka, it fit perfectly! Then came the measuring of PVC pipes for the drain, some more soldering for the water lines, and liberal use of plumber's putty and teflon tape.

When everything was connected properly, we officially tested our assembly. Much to our chagrin, there was a little leakage around the drain pipe. This is where my dad realized he hadn't tightened the assembly just below the sink basket, so the situation was quickly remedied and we had a fully functional sink!

Tune in next week to read about our bathroom remodel, and see how we tackled the removal of a very heavy bathtub!

Other blogs in this series:

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 1: Don't Panic

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 2: Prep Work

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 3: Demolition Time

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 4: Starting to Rebuild

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 5: Bathroom Remodel

Home Renovation for Newbies, Part 6: Basic Maintenance and Repair

Now comes the hard part. Once the stones are delivered, you're going to have to start digging. If you have the room to rent a machine (or if you already own one), then this won't be too bad. My backyard is closed in, however, so everything had to be dug by hand.

If you decide to go this route, I recommend getting as many people as you can to help. Also, make sure that you have all of your tools in order. You'll need a shovel, wheel barrow, hand tamper, push broom, pick axe, pitch fork, and levels (preferably a laser level). I was amazed at how well a pitch fork worked to loosen those hard-to-dig spots. My backyard has shale, which isn't the easiest to dig in.

You're going to want to dig 8 inches deep or more, depending on the drainage of your yard. Make sure to have a place to put all that dirt, too. You'll be amazed at how much you'll have, and how it piles up so quickly.

Once the hole is dug to the required depth, begin filling it with crushed stone. In my yard, I filled the hole with 6 inches of crushed stone. Afterwards, I used the machine tamper to tamp the stones in place. When that was done, I added the weed prevention cloth.to keep weeds from growing up through your stones.

Then I added two inches of sand. This is where things gets tricky. You'll want to grade the stones to make sure the pitch goes away from your house. Otherwise, you'll have water flowing toward your house when it rains. Once you've used the sand to get your pitch the way that you want it, use the machine tamper to compact the sand.

Now you're ready to start laying down stones. (As a side note, if you're patio has curved angles, you'll need a stone-cutting saw and grinder to cut the stones to angles that you want.) Work your way from one corner on (or go in rows if you want) with the pattern you picked out for your stones. You'll have to add or remove sand for leveling the stones, or use stone dust for more solid packing when adding.

After all of your stones are in and you're happy with the way they look, take your plastic border strips and nail them down around the stones. Once that's done, add your fine sand and push it through the cracks of the stones with a push broom. Use some of your extra dirt to cover up the plastic strips and level the area around it.

After the fine sand is filled in, use the machine tamper to compact the stones and fill in the remaining spaces with sand. You'll probably have to add more fine sand and then tamp it again. Once that's done and you're satisfied with your work, your patio is complete. Enjoy!

Editor's Note: Click here if you missed Part 1 of this two-part series.