Jun 2008
Painting Kitchen Cabinets
Jun/30/08 10:14 PM
Now that we are moved in, we are in a struggle to catch up on all the things that we have been neglecting for the past 6 months. That in turn makes the going a bit slow, although we clearly have our original motivation it just happens to be spread over many things.
This weekend we painted kitchen cabinets. I don't know how many of you out there have ever painted raw wood cabinets yourself, but I'm sure if you've begun the work then surely you are still at it, because it takes FOREVER. Sunday morning I began at 7:00 a.m. yes a full two and a half hours before my wife even got up to help me. None-the-less even after she got up we painted steadily throughout the day and into the night. I think we finished abut 8:00 p.m. and "finished" is a relative term meaning that we'd had all the friggin' cabinet painting one could handle. AND, as much as I hate to admit it that was just the drawers. Two coats of primed sponge-rolled on with sanding... If you do the math, 3 doors equals 2 coats X 2 sides. Ugh, As much time as I'm spending on the primer coats, I dread to think about how long the finish coats will take.
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Our Wonderfully Cheap Sound System
Jun/26/08 10:14 PM
Ok folks, this one is one of our best finds yet!
Although we still stand by our claw-foot tub as our
best find ever, this one is for the books and is
something often overlooked and underestimated. The
sound system, I know people who have spent thousands
of dollars on whole-house systems. Originally when we
wired the house, I ran speaker wire for surround
sound speakers in the living room and speaker wire to
the back deck where we spend most of our time.
Anyway, Kristin and I were at a silent auction tonight for a golf tournament that we are playing in on Friday. The TMCF Open, which benefits the Thompson-Murrey Children's Foundation. There were many items at the silent auction that we bid on. BUT, among the 5 or so auctions that we won were... A Set of new Sonance Mariner Indoor/Outdoor speakers that we can hook up to the speaker wires that I ran to the deck outside. A set of two speakers that retail for $400 and we won them for $100! But the real find was the Breathe Audio 2 source 4 zone audio system that we won. The unit, complete with wall mount control in various designer colors, retails for $800+ and we scored it for $85! Honestly the people that go to these events already have houses with sound systems. We just happened to be the unique couple that was elbow deep in a renovation and happened to need these items. Ironically, we were the ones that needed the sound system and were the only ones who bid on it.
What's even better is that it's all TAX DEDUCTIBLE! And if that weren't enough, the money goes to benefit children with disabilities (every year they show a thank you video that makes us cry)! Talk about a Win - Win - Win situation.
Anyway, Kristin and I were at a silent auction tonight for a golf tournament that we are playing in on Friday. The TMCF Open, which benefits the Thompson-Murrey Children's Foundation. There were many items at the silent auction that we bid on. BUT, among the 5 or so auctions that we won were... A Set of new Sonance Mariner Indoor/Outdoor speakers that we can hook up to the speaker wires that I ran to the deck outside. A set of two speakers that retail for $400 and we won them for $100! But the real find was the Breathe Audio 2 source 4 zone audio system that we won. The unit, complete with wall mount control in various designer colors, retails for $800+ and we scored it for $85! Honestly the people that go to these events already have houses with sound systems. We just happened to be the unique couple that was elbow deep in a renovation and happened to need these items. Ironically, we were the ones that needed the sound system and were the only ones who bid on it.
What's even better is that it's all TAX DEDUCTIBLE! And if that weren't enough, the money goes to benefit children with disabilities (every year they show a thank you video that makes us cry)! Talk about a Win - Win - Win situation.
My Bungalow Blog Revamp
Jun/22/08 09:15 AM
This is the new and improved version of The Williams
House Bungalow Blog. After lots of complaints from my
regular readers I've decided to take the initiative,
to make a faster more streamlined version of our
website. I hope this solves the issues with load
times and display problems. Here is one entry where
your comments will greatly help me improve the
performance of our blog.
Thank You,
Brant Williams
Thank You,
Brant Williams
Stair Treads Installed
Jun/17/08 09:13 AM
Area in question.
Our stairs were installed this weekend. Yay! This was supposed to occur several weeks ago, but we were in no hurry because we didn't want to have to pay for them immediately. As you can see from the photos they look really good, and I think they were done well, all except for the wall trim on the top step. Quite frankly, I think it is a fine example poor craftsmanship and as much as I hate to do it, I'm going to have to make the installers redo it. Ron from Mid America Hardwoods did the install, and the last time I made him change something (oval handrail mounting plates to square ones, I mean who has ovals in a craftsman home?) he huffed and puffed about it but he got it done.
As much as we paid for the install I hope this isn't going to be an issue. Problem is, I paid him before I noticed it. Being busy with other projects I scanned over it and told Kristin to go ahead and write him a check. Ugh, so now we're a bit worried that it might not get fixed. Hopefully that won't be the case, but then again it wouldn't be the first time I had to rake a contractor over the coals and drag them through the mud. Ah, really I say this out of my own worry about getting in a tight situation. Honestly, I have faith in good ole' Ron and I'm sure he'll stick by his work. Everything else has been done, if not perfect, then to satisfy his own pride in a job well done.
On another note our "cabinet-rockstar" (I'm going to suggest that title for his business cards) is finishing up today and I'll be damned if we aren't as tickled as a couple of hogs knee deep in slop. I can't wait to come home and see them. I don't know if Kristin is more excited about seeing them or being able to put stuff in them.
Then And Now
Jun/13/08 09:09 AM
In some ways, not much has changed since we purchased the house. From day one it has been an adventure in organization. Normally, Kristin and I are very organized, well mostly she is but she keeps my organization skills in check. When does it become overwhelming? Probably when you are trying to keep up two houses and one of which is a construction disaster area. I found these 2 photos interesting in that, the floors and cabinets have changed, but the mess... It's still the same.
On another note, this weekend we are doing some more painting and hopefully the guys are coming to install our stair treads and risers. Been going on about 3 weeks now waiting for them, but really it's ok because we're not in any major hurry. If they finish it's just another check we'll have to write, and our checkbook seems to be running out of checks.
Basemant Precautions
Jun/09/08 09:08 AM
Well the moment of truth came for the heat and air unit. For those of you that don't remember, it was submerged under two and a half feet of water after our basement flooded. But Troy from Airtech fired it right up and it worked like a charm. So all in all the flood damage didn't cost us a dime.
Since then we have taken precautions against any future mishaps because I have a feeling if that unit had been running at the time of the flood then I would be writing a different post. Basically I dug a footer around the water entry point and I'm pouring a small concrete wall to redirect the water. Also, Kristin's sister and her husband (the plumber) came to visit and while they were here he installed a sump pump as a back up. Really they did a lot more than that, and honestly we wouldn't be moved in now had they not come to help.
I don't know if you've ever seen a sump pump in action but it is pretty impressive. Adam poured a 5 gallon bucket in the floor well to test it and in about 2 seconds the entire bucket of water was violently pumped out. So hopefully we won't have to worry about this in the future.
We Have Moved In
Jun/06/08 09:07 AM
Where have we been, you might ask. Well, we have done in two weeks what needed to be done in one but should have taken three. We painted the whole house (post coming soon about color selection) and moved in. Yes we are living amongst the wreckage of a half put together house, but at least we have water and electricity, sort of. We are cooking outside on the grill and eating off paper plates and plastic forks every night, however, we managed to keep out a couple of wine glasses. I mean, after all, wine from a plastic cup? We’re not savages...
We are loving it and it feels good to be this far along. It has been a long, grueling six months trying to get to this point, but now it seems that it’s all down hill from here. Woo Hooo! In fact, Kristin and I did something that we haven’t done since we started the project. We went to a MOVIE! And a Sunday matinee at that. What? Blowing half a Sunday afternoon? There must be some sort of Renovation Police who would have loved to have told us to get back to work.
The picture in the upper right hand corner... Yes I am sweating my ass off, while I’m painting. I find this funny because when we started the project, I was freezing my ass off.
Anyway now that my computer is unpacked, it’s back to blogging. I’ve got lots to tell you about so check back soon.