Redesigning my home instead of a website

[TFP Admin]

A few years ago, I got sick and had to leave the home I had for 17 years and had just done a major addition and total redesign. It was a devastating loss and, combined with learning I had lung disease, I spent the next 3 years mostly in a funk and not caring one bit about where or how I lived. I moved into a converted garage for a living room and kitchen and a bedroom sliced off the unit next door. My closest friend for many years gave me a place to live, but I haven't been too thrilled about it. I'm an ungrateful son of a bitch sometimes.

Recently I found myself emerging from this self-imposed social and emotional exile and have decided to make the best of what I got. I know, I know, I have been see-sawing back and forth for months, fine one minute, pissy the next, and it will likely continue. But I see it as a couple steps forward, stumble some, a step or two more forward, etc.

Anyway, for the last few weeks I have been trying to come up with a scheme to make my hovel into a palace for me. I drew up a bunch of plans for different projects and couldn't wait for my landlord to come back from Arizona to ask him and his wife to let me do some of these things. He was also a builder and one of my customers, but it's been a few years and he never had me do anything but the cheapest flooring in his spec homes. Even though he saw what I did to my other home, he doesn't think of me as multi-talented - especially these days.

He arrived home a few days ago and I kinda bombarded him with all my ideas. Both he and his wife gave me a decidedly tepid response. I realized if I couldn't convince him that what I want to do will make his rental even more valuable when I'm gone, he'll never let me do much. I managed to get him and his wife to okay me doing some trim around the two 4-0 4-0 windows (4' by 4'). He was the original builder and this is what he put in the living area and the bedroom:



Pretty awful - dingy and characterless - and I am the guilty one for those hideous curtains.

My plan (well, one of them for several different projects - this is the window plan):



Notice I put a picture of him and his wife on the wall that I took last year. There's also their godchildren, who lived next door for a while and loved to play with my oxygen tanks. And my dog, who had to leave because he nearly bit one of the kids on the face.

Yesterday and today I should have been doing a bunch of other stuff, like taking care of a couple websites I manage, but I spent yesterday begging for left-over lumber and then buying what else I needed. Today I cut and installed all the trim except the small quarter round below the sills. I don't have to paint them yet - that's another project.



I was very pleased. The landlord let me borrow all the tools I needed and he set them up for me, but I didn't see him again for the rest of the day. I went next door to turn off the compressor (finish nailer's are wonderful when pounding a hammer tires you out) and he followed me over to have a look.

The best part of the day was listening to him praise what I'd done. He always joked about being a better framer than a builder, but he could never stand taking orders, so he always built spec homes and did all the work he could himself. He like what I did and just as he was leaving, he said whatever I wanted to do, no need to ask.

Actually, I had anticipated a favorable response when I first got this bug up my butt. I have been trying to harangue a couple members here to see if I could get some new flooring donated. I hope that works out because now I know I can do it. There might be a couple other things I will try to hit some of you up for. I don't really like asking for this stuff, but it's the only way I'm gonna be able to do some of these things. I'll try not to be obnoxious, but I'm anxious to crawl out of this cave I've been living in for 3 years now and turn it into something I feel good in.

I imagine I will sleep good tonight - I am one tired old man. Damn thing took all day to do and I missed my nap.

Jim

[Jon Scanlan]

Certainly looks a lot better Jim. Good on you

[Nick Arrera]

Looks good T .

[Barry Carlton]

It does look good. But why in the world would you want to paint stain grade??

b

[Lo Down]

I am one tired old man. Damn thing took all day to do and I missed my nap.

You work faster than Lo does.
The builder was impressed because if he only does spec homes, he's never seen anyone do the detail work that you did. Looks great, Jim.
I've worked in a lot of homes over the past couple of years and people are getting away from white and off white paint on the walls. It's amazing how the room feels much more comfortable with a little color on them. I've seen a lot of shades of green and browns on walls that really warm up a room.

[TFP Admin]

barrycarlton said It does look good. But why in the world would you want to paint stain grade?? b

Too many different wood/wood-like surfaces will make it look too busy. I am hoping for a vinyl or laminate material for the floor that looks like real wood. The cabinets are all Oak and my furniture is mostly assorted woods. The living/kitchen area is only 11³ x 19 and bedroom considerably smaller, so my goal is to make it feel less cluttered and more open. Installing trim around all windows and doors and painting it a warm white will add nice contrast to the light, cool color I will paint the walls. That will make the wood floor, furniture and cabinets stand out more.

Even the ready-made oak cabinets are a bit much. I have a plan to bring them into the over-all scheme and turn an eyesore into a feature. This is what they look like now (you can also see my former dining room table and chairs are now my "desk" and chair):



The plan or vision I have is to move the refrig to a position just across from where it's at now and turned to face the kitchen. Then I can move the stove (that's a 20 incher) and microwave, add a 18" dishwasher and a lot more counter and cabinet space. And that's cork on the backsplash to deaden the sound (common wall with the landlord's bedroom) and make the wall easier to clean (I think). That's the plan anyway, it will prob'ly change some by the time I can do that part.


Be sure to click the images to see them full-size.

The treatment for the cabinet doors is coated fabric (with a painted warm white edging on the doors). Again, to deaden the sound or sound absorption. It's a very heavy fabric that I'd like to put on the wall to the right of the kitchen, which is also a common wall to the landlord. On that wall, my plan is to put some half inch quilting batting on the wall and cover it with the fabric. Bringing it to the raised panels of the cabinets repeats the theme, makes the whole area look larger, updates the look of the cabinets and absorb a little sound - remember, this room used to be a garage with no insulation.

---

Lo, green is a cool color. I will have plenty of color spread around. This is a very tiny place and I need to be careful how I use color and other elements. The drapery for the windows will have plenty of color and the fabric covered wall will be my gallery for showing off a lot of my own photography. Here's the tentative plan for that wall:



The Coke magazine ad and the dog in a marshmallow can are not my pictures, but the rest are. The dividers are faux columns holding up faux beams on the ceiling - the columns also hide the seams between fabric panels. For those not familiar with the style I am following, it's the American Craftsman style, with a bit of my own personal style thrown in.

I hope to replace my old couch with a couple upholstered chairs and an ottoman in bold colors and there will be other decorative elements that add color. The backsplash and cabinet doors should add a good use of color and feature the kitchen wall nicely.

All my plan pictures are to scale, by the way.

Jim

[rgfloor]

TFP Admin said A few years ago, I got sick and had to leave the home I had for 17 years and had just done a major addition and total redesign. It was a devastating loss and, combined with learning I had lung disease, I spent the next 3 years mostly in a funk and not caring one bit about where or how I lived.

And during this span of time you got TFP up and running and guided it to where it is today. In my book you're THE MAN!!

Just think, with T in a good mood (not GRUMPY) one can only imagine where TFP will be in another 3 years.

[TFP Admin]

It's amazing what you can do with a resentment.

[Lo Down]

TFP Admin said Too many different wood/wood-like surfaces will make it look too busy. I am hoping for a vinyl or laminate material for the floor that looks like real wood. The cabinets are all Oak and my furniture is mostly assorted woods. The living/kitchen area is only 113 x 19 and bedroom considerably smaller, so my goal is to make it feel less cluttered and more open. Installing trim around all windows and doors and painting it a warm white will add nice contrast to the light, cool color I will paint the walls. That will make the wood floor, furniture and cabinets stand out more. Even the ready-made oak cabinets are a bit much. I have a plan to bring them into the over-all scheme and turn an eyesore into a feature. This is what they look like now (you can also see my former dining room table and chairs are now my "desk" and chair): Attachment 5983 The plan or vision I have is to move the refrig to a position just across from where it's at now and turned to face the kitchen. Then I can move the stove (that's a 20 incher) and microwave, add a 18" dishwasher and a lot more counter and cabinet space. And that's cork on the backsplash to deaden the sound (common wall with the landlord's bedroom) and make the wall easier to clean (I think). That's the plan anyway, it will prob'ly change some by the time I can do that part. Attachment 5984 Be sure to click the images to see them full-size. The treatment for the cabinet doors is coated fabric (with a painted warm white edging on the doors). Again, to deaden the sound or sound absorption. It's a very heavy fabric that I'd like to put on the wall to the right of the kitchen, which is also a common wall to the landlord. On that wall, my plan is to put some half inch quilting batting on the wall and cover it with the fabric. Bringing it to the raised panels of the cabinets repeats the theme, makes the whole area look larger, updates the look of the cabinets and absorb a little sound - remember, this room used to be a garage with no insulation. --- Lo, green is a cool color. I will have plenty of color spread around. This is a very tiny place and I need to be careful how I use color and other elements. The drapery for the windows will have plenty of color and the fabric covered wall will be my gallery for showing off a lot of my own photography. Here's the tentative plan for that wall: Attachment 5985 The Coke magazine ad and the dog in a marshmallow can are not my pictures, but the rest are. The dividers are faux columns holding up faux beams on the ceiling - the columns also hide the seams between fabric panels. For those not familiar with the style I am following, it's the American Craftsman style, with a bit of my own personal style thrown in. I hope to replace my old couch with a couple upholstered chairs and an ottoman in bold colors and there will be other decorative elements that add color. The backsplash and cabinet doors should add a good use of color and feature the kitchen wall nicely. All my plan pictures are to scale, by the way. Jim

Jim, I'd die for a kitchen that big. I ain't kiddin neither.
If I could, I'd swap the micro and fridge positions because of the accessibility issue. Microwaves always open that way for some reason. (open to the left)
Wanna trade up fer some top end 5/16" thick5 ply real walnut trailer paneling?

[Lo Down]

I'm not sure, but I think more could be done with sound deadening without a lot of cost. If the cabinets are just screwed in, is it possible for a sound deadening membrain to be installed on that wall, like the one under laminate flooring? The light green stuff that everyone likes. I can't recall the name of it. Floor muffler?
add 2 by 2's to furr it out and a layer or sheetrock.
Existing drywall then add a strip of sound deadener on two sides of a 2X2 furring strip then sheetrock.
Simpler would be, existing sheetrock covered with a full layer of Floor muffler, then soundboard, another layer of sound muffler then new 9/16" sheetrock. Minimal fasteners to limit sound transmission.

This stuff Acoustiblok, would be ideal, but probably spendy unless you could work out an advertising deal with them on the website.
I have a small sample of it here somewhere. They sent it to me after I viewed their website link from an engineering newsletter.
It's a thin, heavy and very dense rubber membrane.
http://www.acoustiblok.com/residential.html

[TFP Admin]

There are a couple of things that need important consideration: Cost because I have so little money and physical labor involved because I have so little lung capacity.

Removing cabinets to install sound deadening material is out of the question. I have to do what I can without that. I know there are ways to do this better, but I can't do it that way. There are only a few things my landlord is willing to do - painting and any necessary taping and texturing of sheetrock and he will be able to help me move my heavy furniture around. He also said he'd help do a concrete countertop, if that's what I want. He volunteered to do that so he could practice on mine before he did his own. hmmm

Anyway, I have a huge list of small projects that make up all this remodeling and I will just try to tackle each one when and how I can. I'm looking forward to it.

Jim

[Jon Scanlan]

Jim I reckon you need a working b. If I wasn't so far away I would be a starter. Time costs nothing

[Jerry Thomas]

I wish I lived close to you, I'd be glad to offer a hand. Is there anything we can do from a long distance away?

[TFP Admin]

Jerry Thomas said I wish I lived close to you, I'd be glad to offer a hand. Is there anything we can do from a long distance away?

Thanks for asking, Jerry. Although this is all going to take me time to do because of the physical limitations I have now, I am looking forward to being able to do most of the work myself. But the time to do all of this will be greatly extended because of the financial limitations. I have contacted a couple of members here that have close manufacturer connections to see if I can get donations of flooring material (I want the hardwood floor look, but need to be able to leave a spill if I can't clean it up right away - and leave behind something another tenant might not take care of when it's time for me to go), so I am optimistic for that.

There's still a few things I will have a very difficult time affording. I think the biggest item is an 18" white dishwasher (no dishwasher here now and no space for anything bigger).

I'd like to use prefinished cork tile for the backsplash (see one of my posted pictures for the look I'm after) and am thinking about making a new desk to replace my too big dining table and topping that with the same cork, which is about 46 sq ft (23sf of each color) of 12 x 12 cork tile for both surfaces.

This place has never had a built-in heater, so I have been using a borrowed portable electric heater the last 3 winters. I'd like to build in a 4' hydronic baseboard heater (hydronic heaters are good for people with asthma or emphysema). The landlord said he would add a 220 volt circuit to do it, if I got the heater.

There is already a 2-bulb ceiling light fixture centered in the "living room" and a ceiling fan I have to duck when I'm on my Segway near the kitchen area. I'd like to remove the fan and replace the light fixture with a flush mount, low profile ceiling fan/light (and I wouldn't mind having another one of those in the bedroom to replace the single light fixture). This would unclutter the ceiling (there's also a smoke detector and a 4' florescent fixture to light the kitchen) and offer good lighting and cooling.

Those are the biggest items. Lumber to build the desk, refer enclosure, built-in storage for the bedroom, storage bed, faux ceiling beams and other things are fairly manageable as I have the energy to build them - and there are a few builders I used to do work for that I can get some lumber from. The landlord said he will supply the paint, but I have to pay the difference from his standard cheap brand, flat off-white, but it's a small place and that shouldn't be too much (mine is about 6 or 7 bucks a gallon more).

This kinda reminds me of the Christmas wish lists my mother used to ask for when we were kids. Can't remember ever getting anything on the list. But I appreciate you asking anyway. I have a bunch of old lunch pails I'm gonna try to sell on eBay. I also have some really beautiful, but way too big maple bedroom furniture I am going to have to sell. When I build my new desk, I'll have a nice dining table and 4 chairs to sell too. Those will help me.

R'gards,

Jim

[Lo Down]

Jerry Thomas said I wish I lived close to you, I'd be glad to offer a hand. Is there anything we can do from a long distance away?

Not just Jerry, a lot of us do Jim. You know that we are all thinkin of you and what you have done for all of us. For me payback isn't in the cards right now. Last month grossed a whoppin' $460. I have more free time than a clock.
.............. but not to despair buddy, it's lookin better by the minute. I spent $1 on Powerball, so both of us will be doin' great tomorrow night.
.......movin' on up, to the eastside, to a big apartment in the sky................ we're movin' on up...........