"Redesigning my home instead of a website," in the Other Home Decorating & Remodeling Projects forum, begins: "stullis said
Whatcha got planned for the bedroom?
And don't say one of your models.
Hope Rachel knows the heimlich ..."
I haven't drawn up a floor plan like I have for the living area, but I have worked on a couple things. The main area is about 12x13 and I stuffed most of my real nice maple furniture in it - it was a gift from the owner of a retail store in Reno that gave me better deals than ProSource. I always wanted a four-poster bed and he gave me a queen size with mattress and box spring, a large low-boy dresser and a large high-boy dresser, 2 night stands an a round accent table. It's packed in there so tight I had to remove the bedroom door because it wouldn't open. It's still difficult to get around when I have to change the sheets - and forget about making it every morning.
So, after 3 years of being crowded in that small room, I decided I would sell the maple furniture and start over. I think I can make a built-in next to my closet, make it only 16" deep and 4 and half feet wide and it would have more cubic feet of storage than both my dressers combined.
Then I can get a full-size mattress and build a bed that has even more storage - I'm tossin' around in my head whether I want drawers or big baskets, but so far I've only drawn the drawers.
Neither are finished ideas, but it was raining a lot last week and I couldn't do much else.
I'm pretty good with a hammer and nails, but it takes a really long time, so I figger the bedroom won't happen until next year. I tore out my original entry door today. It would normally only take a half hour to do a clean job of that, but it took me nearly 5 hours. Wednesday (Tuesday is my regular VA clinic day) I have to replace the header I took down so the house don't fall down in the next snow storm.
Click pics to see full-size.
Maybe by the end of the weekend, I will have the sheetrock up, taped and textured. Gotta move the light to the ceiling in the entry first though. It seems like slow motion, but I am really enjoying being able to do these things. I've had to ask the landlord for a little help a couple of times, but otherwise, the labor is mine.
...........T, I just choked on my filet-o-fish when I saw that smiley...........
Choked on my budweizer when I saw it... Reefer madness I tell ya!
TFP Admin said
That last part made me laugh hard, thanks.
I haven't drawn up a floor plan like I have for the living area, but I have worked on a couple things. The main area is about 12x13 and I stuffed most of my real nice maple furniture in it - it was a gift from the owner of a retail store in Reno that gave me better deals than ProSource. I always wanted a four-poster bed and he gave me a queen size with mattress and box spring, a large low-boy dresser and a large high-boy dresser, 2 night stands an a round accent table. It's packed in there so tight I had to remove the bedroom door because it wouldn't open. It's still difficult to get around when I have to change the sheets - and forget about making it every morning.
So, after 3 years of being crowded in that small room, I decided I would sell the maple furniture and start over. I think I can make a built-in next to my closet, make it only 16" deep and 4 and half feet wide and it would have more cubic feet of storage than both my dressers combined.
Then I can get a full-size mattress and build a bed that has even more storage - I'm tossin' around in my head whether I want drawers or big baskets, but so far I've only drawn the drawers.
Neither are finished ideas, but it was raining a lot last week and I couldn't do much else.
I'm pretty good with a hammer and nails, but it takes a really long time, so I figger the bedroom won't happen until next year. I tore out my original entry door today. It would normally only take a half hour to do a clean job of that, but it took me nearly 5 hours. Wednesday (Tuesday is my regular VA clinic day) I have to replace the header I took down so the house don't fall down in the next snow storm.
Maybe by the end of the weekend, I will have the sheetrock up, taped and textured. Gotta move the light to the ceiling in the entry first though. It seems like slow motion, but I am really enjoying being able to do these things. I've had to ask the landlord for a little help a couple of times, but otherwise, the labor is mine.
Jim
I think the new entry makes a heck of a difference space wise. Lo's lil ol mobile home is quite small and if I cleaned up my own clutter it would easily fit in your entry........... any takers?
Kidding aside, removing that door and including the entry as part of the room helps create a nice diversion visually to that space. I like the effect a lot. I see it as eliminating a lot of space issues in the room.
I'm really glad you are able to do most all of the work yourself.
It doesn't matter how long it takes to remove a doorway or nail in some window trim, or tape the sheet rock Jim. The satisfaction is that you know your limits, but still do the work yourself. Keep on keepin on. This is a great thing for you to be doing for mind and soul.
Baskets or drawers? Drawers are pretty, but baskets actually might be more functional for you and your needs. They'd work for me for sure.
Got the header in today (I guess now it was yesterday, but I'm still up). It only took a couple hours. I measured everything twice or more and cut very carefully. I only had one header and one 4x4 post. I guess I coulda screwed up a 2x4, but it all worked out very well. I was actually surprised and very relieved that I didn't have to take the header down to trim a little here and there. I didn't have to use any shims, but I had to pound away at them boards to force them into position.
You might be asking why it sticks out, but don't. It's all part of the master plan. It will be nice looking - to me anyway.
This was a good opportunity to take preventative action against one of the most common maladies in rental units. I've seen it a thousand times. Hole in the wall right where the door handle fits. Someone breaks or takes out the door stop and, BAM, there goes the wall. Sheetrock just wasn't made to stop a fast moving door knob. Sometimes you can catch it before it goes through and all you got is a dent, but too often a hole the size of a door knob is a real hassle to repair.
Won't happen in this apartment now:
Since those didn't take too long, I went to the paint store to get a sampler of the darker green I want to use on one wall. I like it.
There's a glare from the flash bouncing off the window, but that's the wall it's going on in the second pic. Sorry about the mess and the dirty couch, but it will all be better when it's time. Gives you a better idea how the colors go together. Maybe I can find a better place for that oxygen concentrator too (lower-right corner). It's what I have to use at night and the damn thing sounds like a generator, so I keep it as far away from the bedroom as possible.
I guess I better finish the outside now that the header is up. I have to caulk and prep for paint and then the landlord will take care of that. Then I can do the light and sheetrock in the entry.
The old carpet should get removed soon so I don't ruin it any more than I have. It's just real dirty now, but it could easily get paint spilled, etc. The landlord wants to use it in another unit.
Header looks good and I like that green color............. it's dark enough and light enough.
Could some kind of box, maybe looking like and end table be built out of plywood to hide the oxygen generator? I'm thinking something padded inside for additional sound control and with a front that's removable for easy access, maybe held on by magnets?
Does it require a lot of air flow for cooling the motor? I'm asking if a partial enclosure would work or would not work because of a cooling issue................. If it had short legs, the bottom could be open and still quiet the sound considerably.
Header looks good and I like that green color............. it's dark enough and light enough.
Never you mind that CP. I know what you mean.
Could some kind of box, maybe looking like and end table be built out of plywood to hide the oxygen generator? I'm thinking something padded inside for additional sound control and with a front that's removable for easy access, maybe held on by magnets?
Does it require a lot of air flow for cooling the motor? I'm asking if a partial enclosure would work or would not work because of a cooling issue................. If it had short legs, the bottom could be open and still quiet the sound considerably.
Click to see full size.
See the narrow vent on the side of it? There is one on each side. They draw in room air and it somehow changes to concentrated oxygen. The motor also gets its cooling from there I think. The oxygen delivery guy says I can't box it in or reduce the amount of air that flows around it. He makes sure I don't have it pushed into a corner.
It's okay, I'm actually used to the noise and I will manage to find a place for it somewhere in the remodel. It has to be easy to get to so I can clean the filters and the delivery guy can do his tests every other month (he hooks some gadgets to it to measure its efficiency and production rate - or something like that).
There's a big toggle switch that turns it on and I use it primarily at night, while I sleep. I'm s'posed to be on oxygen 24/7, but sitting at my computer and watching TV are times when I don't usually wear it. However, when I have to talk, even when I'm not doing anything else, I find I need it. My preferred delivery comes from a small tank I carry around in a backpack and a hose in my nose. The concentrator is just a hose, but the hose is 50' long and gets tangled, snagged or even bent when I wear it around the place and am doing stuff. I have several different backpacks now, so I can be stylin' and coordinated with whatever I wear.
The entry is beginning to enter the finish stages. I installed the sheetrock and started the taping and mud work.
Click images to see full-size.
I'm not in a rush to get the mud work, especially the texture, finished just yet because there is a refrigerator surround, in the form of a L-shaped pony wall to put in. It will also need drywall work and I think it would be easier to do all of the drywall work at the same time.
Before I can put in the refer surround, I have to get my old carpet out of here. That means moving furniture too. I'll make a couple calls and see if I can get some friends to come over and do that for me this weekend.
I took a break from the living area yesterday and finished a project I started a year and a half ago. My landlord cut into the neighbor's utility room to give me a utility room and them a utility closet. When he was finished, I had a large hole in the wall next to the neighbor's closet. My plan was to turn it into a towel caddy - much needed storage for this tiny apartment.
I just never got to it though. Kept putting it off. The county housing department inspects my place every year to make sure I am following their rules for my housing allowance and they saw the hole the first inspection after the utility room was added. They didn't say anything, but I knew it was on their list for the next inspection. I still hadn't done anything, so I got some scrap melamine from a cabinet maker and just screwed a big cover over the hole. The inspector didn't say a word.
But I have this new-found ambition to make my living conditions better, so I finally did the towel caddy. It isn't painted yet, but that's all it needs now.
Now, you may have noticed (at least I hope you have) there are a couple new ads at the top of the site now. Along with the Globus Cork ad, there are some ads for FlooringMarket.com. I have been talking with Robert Sandlin, the COO of Flooring Market, about my desire to have Konecto flooring in my living area. He sent some samples and we are still negotiating, so I thought I would take the initiative by putting some ads in the header. They had one ready-made ad, but I designed 2 others that I thought would give them a little better brand recognition and also promote their current specials.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Me, Mike Sahli and Roland Thompson have been badgering anyone who will listen in hopes of getting some flooring in exchange for ad space or something. Each of us have been pursuing different contacts and haven't had any luck. It's a really bad time in the flooring industry right now. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the efforts they have gone to. And let me not forget Scott Tullis, who found a supplier that was willing to let me have some really nice hardwood at about 1/5th regular price. That was a great price and very generous of Scott to make that deal on my behalf. Unfortunately, it was still more money than I could afford, what with all the other expenses of this remodeling and the time-line I have to work with.
For now, I wait to see if Mr. Sandlin will come through. You guys can help by scrolling up to the top of the page and click any of the FlooringMarket ads (refresh the page if you don't see one there - they rotate with the Globus Cork ad and change every time you change the page). I decided on the Konecto Prestige Sunset and think it will look really nice and be very serviceable even long after I'm gone and some other low life tenant gets my beautiful apartment.
Thanks for following along while I chronicle my remodeling projects. I'm enjoying it a lot.
I know you guys was anxious for an update, so here ya go.
A new friend dropped by on Sunday to visit. He asked what was next and did I need any help. The guy is in the final stages of recovering from a broken neck - can't turn his head left or right because of fused vertebrae or something.
I said I thought I was gonna do the faux beams on the ceiling, but didn't have the money to buy the materials yet. My next plan was to do the refer surround, but I couldn't do that until the carpet was taken out. He said, "let's gitter done." He did most of the work because the dust and physical energy was more than I could handle, but we got it up. The carpet is in storage and the floor is scraped and as ready as it's gonna get for now.
Click pictures for larger view.
He even helped me bring my matching chair in from storage, but I think I'm gonna have to get rid of it because it takes up too much room. A carpet and upholstery cleaner I know is going to clean the sofa and chair and I'll try to sell it after that.
So, with the carpet out, today I thought I could start the refer surround. But wait, before I can do that, I have to know where the front of the refer will sit in relation to the bedroom door trim, so I gotta do the bedroom door trim first. But wait, before I can do the bedroom door trim, I have to take out the old door and its trim and I have to bury the TV cable in the sheetrock around the rough opening and then put the trim over that.
I took the old door out and all its trim and found the actual opening was about an inch or so wider than the original doorway. And without the door stop, it's even more wider. Fat boy has more room to rush to the bathroom through the bedroom. You can see by the pictures below how precious space is - my bedroom furniture takes up way too much room (that's a whole 'nother project).
Looks pretty good. I enjoyed doing it so much I did it twice. Okay, I didn't enjoy doing it twice, but I forgot to bury the TV cable the first time, so I had to remove the trim, bury the cable and reinstall the trim. I'm an idiot sometimes.
Now I can do the refer surround. Oh wait, I have to move the light switch so I don't have to snake my hand between the wall and the refer to turn the light on an' off. Then I can do the refer surround. But wait... no, I think that's it. But I'm too tired to do anything more today, so this is all you get for now. It's progress though and I feel good.
I love doing things twice also Jim. When I rebuilt my engine for the first time, I had it looking like a shiny orange piece of artwork. Sealed up the pan and about that time, I realized my idea of dropping the oil pump drive in from the top side wasn't going to work..................... so had to unbolt the pan, clean the gasket surfaces and buy new gaskets. It was more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
I love doing things twice also Jim. When I rebuilt my engine for the first time, I had it looking like a shiny orange piece of artwork. Sealed up the pan and about that time, I realized my idea of dropping the oil pump drive in from the top side wasn't going to work..................... so had to unbolt the pan, clean the gasket surfaces and buy new gaskets. It was more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Lots of progress goin' on there Jim.
worse than that I have left out the oil pump drive shaft on 2 rebuilds.
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...........T, I just choked on my filet-o-fish when I saw that smiley...........
They'd work for me for sure.
... ......
