August 26th, 2006 - Installing a Chair Rail

Pretty easy task amongst the home improvements, but it takes some getting used to.

Time: 2 hours, 2 people

1. Find your studs (2x4 beam in the wall somewhere) with a stud finder and mark it. Make a chalk line across the wall where the chair rail will go. Typically 36 inches from the floor to the bottom of the rail.
2. Measure and cut each peice as you need it. Cut the angled end first before cutting the straight end. Temporarily place them up against one another to see if they fit.









3. Predrill holes into the rail. Apply some liquid nail (optional) on the back of the rail to help hold it in place. Hold it for a few seconds.









4. Using 2 inch nails, nail the rail into the wall using the predrilled holes. Use a nail set to get the nail in further below the surface of the rail for a clean look.
5. Apply some wood glue to the corners. Use some cardboard to force the rail away from the wall so the glue can get in.
6. Use some spackle to fill in the holes for the nails. Sand it. Prime it before painting.
7. Caulk along the chair rail and the wall to seal up any open spaces for a clean look.

The corners of our bay window had an angle of 148 degrees. So the rail had to be cut at 74 degrees.

August 5th, 2006 - Why gardening is not for me.

I was feeling ambitious this weekend and with the summer coming to an end, I wanted to plant some flowers before it was too late. I love love Peonies and I wanted to plant some asap so they can be hearty next year. If I can't have them in my wedding bouquet (out of season), then I can have them in my garden.

My mom has a green thumb and I had hoped I had inherited some of her genes. How bad could it be, right?

First, I read up on the flowers I wanted to plant and how to prepare the soil. I had to buy some tools. Who knew Good Grips makes both kitchen and gardening tools! I can cook. I should be able to garden.

Oh Gross, I had to mix compost, soil and fertilizer and do all kinds of dirty dirty things! Oh the trauma! I bought myself a kneeling pad so my knees don't have to touch the dirt. Keith found it quite amusing that I wanted to garden but I didn't want to touch anything. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but when I dug back the wood chips and saw a ton of bugs crawling around....ugh words can't describe my digust.

This is possibly why my peony plant is now crooked because I didn't pack the dirt in tight enough. One of the branches was bent, so I took a pair of chopsticks to hold it up. The other two peony plants I bought are still sitting in their pots. I think I am going to get my mommy to finish the rest.

August 19th, 2006 - The Dining Room continued...

After last week's vigorous peeling of the wall paper and painting the deck, we decided to take things easy and do some light painting in the dining room. We thought we would have the dining room complete by this weekend, but we were just too exhausted.

We removed the existing "chair rail" and moulding along the ceiling. I was able to remove the chair rail easily with a spackle knife. Keith removed the molding along the ceiling with a pry bar. Believe it or not, we're so busy that we did these little tasks in the morning before work.









I spackled some of the areas. Then I painted the wall above the chair rail Behr: Rejuvenate and below in Swan Wing. I wanted to paint the wall below the chair rail a different color, but all these projects were beginning to add up $$ and the white is crisper.









I want to bring the chair rail all the way around the room and between the windows to tie it together. The backdoor already divides the room in half so I want to take the focus off of it.









I wasn't sure how it would look, but fortunately I found a project on HGTV.com which has the same windows as our dining room. Eventually, I will add molding to give the dining room a wainscot-look.









Stay tuned next week when we install the chair rail and crown moulding.

August 18th, 2006 - The Countdown Begins!

In exactly one year from today, we will be getting married! I went to work as usual and when I looked at the date on my google and saw a big "18", it dawned on me. It's here it's finally here! We'll be married in a year!

364 days to go!

(Soon to be Mrs. B)

Painting 101

July 1st, 2006 - Painting 101

Materials:
Tape ($5), rollers ($5-9), roller stick ($12), primer ($14), ceiling paint ($$), paint brushes ($$) , plastic drop cloth ($1.79), Paint ($25)

"I LOVE YOU" on the wall - PRICELESS

1. Clean and vacuum any dirt and particles. Prepping the room will relieve you of any mishaps while painting. ie. dust particles sticking to your brush and getting under the paint. Unscrew all wall plates.
2. Putty up any holes and cracks. Dry over night and sand. Vacumn and clean again.
3. Lay plastic down . I really didn't need it all over. I just put some down to lay my tools on. Gather all your materials together.
4. Tape along the floor using 3" Painter's Tape.
5. Prime any areas with dark colors and areas that required putty. It may take 2-3 coats.
6. If the ceiling needs painting, start with that first.
7. Paint the trim using a 2" angled brush.
8. Paint along all the edges, ceiling, floor, and corners about 3" in. It's worth the time to do it this way. The results will look much better. I found it easier to do free hand.
9. Then the easiest part, paint the walls! Make touch ups with a brush. If paint drips onto the floor, wipe it immediately with a DRY rag/paper towel. (Water will cause it to spread) These pictures are of the Master Bedroom. The forest green trim in the Before picture required 3 coats of primer and sanding helps the paint adhere to the dark trim.
The color we used for the trim is Behr: Swan wing. It's a creamy white. The color of the wall is Behr: Rain Washed. It's supposed to be a Teal color, but looks very baby blue. I would've prefered a more neutral color like Tan or Taupe, but Keith wanted a blue color so "we" compromised.
Is it me because I don't SEE the compromise? :)

August 13th, 2006 - Refinishing the Deck

We love our deck. It's wide, spacious, and has an overhang for shade (future bar area). It wraps around the back of the house nicely, has 2 stair cases, and 3 points of entry. Before the summer was up, we wanted to reseal/stain the deck to protect it from the winter and most importantly...THROW A PARTTTTTYYYYY!

This task was a process, so don't expect to get it done in one weekend.

1. Powerwashing:
Time: 2 weekends, 1 person
Before (left) and After (right)
Be cautious not to over do it. You can damage the deck or overdry the wood.





2. Sanding:
Time: 1 day, 1 person, 23 splinters
"I feel like the Karate Kid! Wax on Wax off"~Keith

"That's Japanese!"~Anita

"Except HE was doing it by hand." ~Dennis


3. Sealing/Staining:
Time: 4 hours, 3 people
Not too bad. Just a little messy and sticky. We used Behr Stain/Sealer in "Cedar".






Drum roll please...
Presenting the finished product! Look, even the sky opened up for us!

Removing Wallpaper 101

August 12th, 2006 - Wallpaper Removal 202

Pre-requisite:
Prep 101: Develop a thick skin.

Total Time: 8 hours including major cleanup.
2 person job

In Summary: We found this was the best way to do it.
1. Score the wall paper in a circular motion using a scoring tool ($8). Use the weight of your wrist. If too much pressure is applied, it will also perforate and rip the wall board when wet. With a utility knife, gently cut along the edges and ceiling.
2. With a drenched sponge with warm water or spray bottle, soak the wall paper. It will make the pulling process alot easier.
3. With a steamer ($49), steam the whole area. One person steams while the other person pulls.
4. Gently scrape off the leftovers using the head of the steamer.
5. Soon after, clean the wall off with a wet rag with warm water. Rinse often.

TIPS:
1. Wear goggles, gloves, and LONG loose pants! I received a severe burn from the condensation dripping from the steamer through my jeans! KEEP CHILDREN AWAY. Send them somewhere for the weekend or in the playroom. No running around under the dripping hot steam.
2. If you have a 3rd person that's great! Clean up the wall paper on the floor periodically before it dries and sticks to your floor! It makes a messy process just a little bit easier.
3. Multi-task! Clean the glue off the wall while it's still warm.
4. Soaking the wall paper with a spray bottle before steaming helped alot. It peeled right off. It's redundant in a sense because that is what the steamer is for, but that only works in an ideal situation when burning hot steam isn't dripping on your arms, hands and legs.

"Oh this doesn't seem too bad."


We started in a discreet area of the dining room. I tested a small area the previous evening to get an idea of how difficult it would be and how many layers there were.

(7 hours into it) "I wouldn't do this again even if you paid me!"
We averaged about 2 hours per wall. Here's my little brother on the last section. If you notice above the doorway, I cleaned the wall with warm water and a rag. You can see the difference to the right wall where it's still yellow with glue.

"Ugh, now we have to paint?"

After the walls are cleaned and dry, we patched up any holes with putty. Then we primed the walls to get it ready for painting. The ceiling also turned yellow from the misting glue. I cleaned it with a warm, but we decided to repaint the ceiling anyway.


Note: Our house is probably under the best conditions. We have a very clean canvas to work on. The previous owner renovated the room within the last 20 years. Ironically, they must've done a really good job wallpapering; otherwise, we wouldn't have had such success with removing it. If you have layers of old wall paper on paint on wall paper on paint, on sheetrock, you will have an even harder time than we did and the possibility of tearing your sheetrock/wallboard. If you have plastered walls, that's a whole other ball game.

We were really impressed with the results and proud of our effort.

July 18th, 2007 - The new addition to our house
At approximately 8:18pm a huge storm hit the area and all these trees came down. A huge limb from the neighbors' tree fell down across our driveway just missing the house by a leaf! Whew! It's a good thing I went to class that night; otherwise, my car would have been parked there.

Fortunately, no one was hurt and there wasn't any major damage to any property. We still electricity unlike the rest of the area. The power was up and down for the next few days. Some areas were worse off than others. Keith stayed home the next day and with the help of our friendly neighbors, they cut up the tree for firewood and trash pickup.

June 16th, 2006 - Home Inspection

Always always always get a home inspection! The mortgage company sends an appraiser to 'appraise' the house to evaluate its worth before approving the mortgage, but you still need to pay for your own inspection to tell you 'what's wrong with it'. It's something like $300 and your real estate agent can recommend a good inspector.

*Even if you're not a first time home buyer or if you're buyer a newer house, it still wouldn't hurt to get an inspection. HVAC ("and sometimes+R") has really evolved in the last few decades. (I know because I am an AE student and I work in the ME dept) The standards may have changed and it's to 'get to know' your equipment.

*It's actually part of your contract with the seller; so, if you chose to have an inspection, the seller is obligate to remedy any problems. As first time home buyers, the inspection was very useful. The inspector showed us how things worked, too little, too much, costs, what to be prepared for (ie. water heater breaking down), what needs replacement and when.










We didn't have too many problems. Everything was in good shape. The utility sink pipe needed replacing. The windows were missing the spring that held up the window. There was a tiny bit of termite damage in the basement which the seller had to pay to get replaced. *Termite inspection is additional, but the same inspector will do it at the same time AND it is an absolute must that termite damaged is fixed and treated before you can sell/buy a house.

These are some pictures I took that day of the house.










We had a very good experience. Both our real estate agent and inspector were very helpful.

June 30th, 2006 - Welcome to our new house!

We are very excited to own our first home and begin our life together. We're getting married next year on August 18th, 2007 at The Three West Club in NYC. Besides working, attending classes, and wedding planning, we are determined to do as many home improvements with our own bare hands as possible!

We started this blog to keep track of our "first house" musings, home improvements and to share it with our friends and family.

So if you have some time, feel free to pop in and have a cup of coffee!

Love,
Anita and Keith