Category: Projects (Page 5 of 49)

I feel like I have a dozen projects going on at home right now. I absolutely LOVE home improvement projects, so this should be really fun, but it’s all coming at once, so I’m terribly unfocused. I work on something for a little while, then go out to Home Depot to get something, and see a thingamajig I need for another project, and then my list gets a little longer instead of getting shorter. My phone is full of “before” pictures.

But yesterday I actually finished something! Woo hoo! I wanted to replace the light over my little dining table area. The old one was dim, and kind of generic-looking. I found a nice replacement online. It’s been sitting on the floor for a couple of weeks, but yesterday I installed it. Yay, Brad!

Before and after:

My new sliding door is done already! I love it! It’s perfect! Here are the “before” and “after” shots:

The guy did something else for me too. I mean, I asked him – it wasn’t a surprise. In order to get from my house to my garage, I had to go outside. It was a huge bother. He put a door through the wall so I can just go from the garage to the house and vice-versa. It’s like I have a whole new useable space!

I wish I had a “before” picture of the garage side, because it’s such a dramatic change. It’s so finished-looking! I love it!

This is the last big change (for now). I still have to have a plumber and electrician over, but their repairs won’t be visible, so they won’t be as fun.

This happened yesterday:

It’s going to be a sliding door to the back yard! Woo hoo!

When I first moved into the house, there was a leak in the shower. I got some money in the negotiations to fix it. My realtor knew someone I could hire for it. The bathroom tiles are done, but I have been waiting until I’m completely done to post about it.

In the meantime, I asked the guy about putting a door in the middle bedroom so I wouldn’t have to walk around the side of the house to get to the pool. It’s amazing! I’m so glad I’m having it done.

Happy Birthday to my niece Anna! Woo hoo!

Friday night I got up to go to the bathroom and was sure I heard the sound of pipes with running water. I went all over the inside of the house, but didn’t see anything. Was it rain related? It had been raining all evening, and it never rains, so maybe it was a sump pump or something? I was tired and confused, so I went back to bed.

When I woke in the morning, the sound was still happening. This time I went outside. When I got out there, I could actually hear water running. Ugh.

Something was leaking under the kitchen floor – in a space that was only accessible through this opening:

I did not go in. Instead I went to the main water shutoff. It didn’t work. The spigot handle just spun ineffectively. Ugh.

I knew where the city water cutoff thing was, so I went there. A wrench got it turned off.

Many phone calls and frustrations later, a plumber arrived. I was so grateful to him for coming. He took some pictures. The leak was here:

That clampy thing pierces a pipe to access water, and then the blue hose takes water to a refrigerator ice maker. This was an old one I wasn’t using, and it had gotten brittle and disconnected. Ugh.

The leak repair was shockingly expensive, but I have water again. I’m going to try to get my home warranty company (which was part of my home purchase) to replace the water shutoff valve.

The seller of my house took the refrigerator with her, so I had to get a new one. Fortunately I found one that was in stock, so it could be delivered in only a couple of days. It came yesterday.

It’s new an shiny and beautiful:

And too tall.

Or actually, the cabinet is to low. The refrigerator is a standard height, so the cabinet must be too low. At first, I didn’t know what I was going to do – move the whole bank of cabinets up an inch? -cut off the bottom of the cabinet that bumps into the refrigerator?

I decided to just remove the whole end cabinet. I can patch the wall, and move the crown molding, and everything will be fine. ….everything will be fine, right?

The fridge is kind of big for where it is, but it can stay like that for a while. I have plans to re-arrange the kitchen after a while…