Clean Up and Loose ends

Cleaning up and loose ends are tasks that I always drag my feet on, but it must be done. Spackle residue lingered for weeks to months after we did our kitchen, so I wanted to be sure I got everything this time in after we were done with the dining room. I got on a ladder and wiped all the dust from the top of the window and door trim. I vacuumned over and over again because spackle or plaster would keep appearing. Then I got a mop to clean the walls off.


From ShopRite, this mop was extra wide which made cleaning up a lot faster because I was able to get a large area at once. The pad is disposable and washable, so after I cleaned the walls I used it to clean the floors. To clean linoleum floors, use water and a little bit of Ivory soap (from This Old House).


See the white residue left on the walls from the plaster that fell from the ceiling and sanding the spackle. That is everywhere!


Damp the mop just a bit and just wipe down the walls and all the trim.


For all of you who thought I was just be paranoid, look at all the dirt from the walls alone.


Tadaaaa! Clean and beoootiful.

Also, there was drips of paint or spackle on the floor which I scraped up with a spackle knife.(obviously, do not do this if you have hardwood floors!) Paint is water soluable so a wet rag should do it but for more stubborn drips, you can use a spackle knife.

Next: Changing out all the old outlets in the room. I have selected the new floors for the house but that will be a future project. Since all the tools are out, I'm thinking of finally putting up the faux paneling. That will take some planning since all our walls are different lengths.

Hanging the chandelier

Time: 5 Hours + then some

Hanging a chandelier requires a few things. It's a two person job. Preferably two strong, tall people. I would recommend hiring someone.


After we decided how low we wanted the chandelier to hang, we took it back down to shorten the chain and fix the wiring. The two lights closest to the north wall were turning on when the chandelier turned on, so something wasn't connected right.


The trash can came in handy to elevate the chandelier as we worked on the wiring.


This is a weight that goes on the bottom of the chandelier holding the arms together. It keeps the chandelier balanced and from swinging around.


Hold it and screw them in.


Using pliers, open up the chain, take some length of it out and reconnect it. You need a lot of strength for this. Then Keith shortened the wires, but not by too much in case we need it in the future. You can always reconnect the chain but not the wires. Then he bundled them up. The gold bracket is what gets screwed up into the bracket in the ceiling joists (not shown)


After a while, I just couldn't hold the chandelier anymore. Neither of us were tall enough. Our dining room ceiling is high and our ladder wasn't long enough. We had to get our friendly neighbor to help us. This took maybe 2 hours just because the wires kept getting caught in the chain and there was a lot of tweaking that needed to be done.

The following day, Keith spent another 3-4 hours fixing the wiring. It was only this complicated because we had two circuits on one switch but in two locations. There was something that just wasn't connected right so keith kept disconnecting and reconnecting a different combination of wires until the lights turned on individually from both switch locations.

Sore Arms

I know you're all anticipating some pictures of the chandelier (if you haven't already seen the one on face book). I'll type that post as soon as I can move my arms again.

More to come on that!

Potted Mug

Over the weekend, I hit up Marshall's and Home Goods for some cheap, sweet finds for the dining room or kitchen. I picked up this monogram mug for $1.99.


It has a wide and heavy base which made it PERFECT for a little houseplant on the window ledge.


Using a large plastic cup, trim until it's level with the rim of the mug. Poke holes in the bottom of the plastic cup for drainage and air circulation. Why do I do this? In the past, I just found that this was much easier to maintain instead of putting the soil & plant directly into the mug or ceramic planter.


Then fill the cup with potting soil. I keep some handy near the house.


I pulled these spider plant babies off a larger spider plant. Just tuck them into the soil and water it in. Spider plants are really easy to maintain house or office plants. They are very forgiving.


I did the same with this soup tureen from Crate n Barrel. I love its rounded shape which goes great with these succulents because they will multiply in a big mound. In the winter they look very dark, but once summer comes they will plump up and look bright green again. These require almost no water.


I couldn't help myself and I made just one more with my little bowl for melted butter.

Capiz Mirror

This is bellisimaaaaaaaa! (And so out of our budget!)


from Pier 1 $299.95

Ah, the joy of home ownership

The hubs was on a roll with the dining room. He worked until dark and without electricity. That's him holding a flash light as he sanded the ceiling. The room was a mess!





HE installed the chandelier, but we didn't hang it until all our T's were crossed and I's dotted. We tested it with one light bulb.

I can't wait to reveal the finished dining room.

Baseboard trim

I have the best husband in the whole world! Besides finishing the ceiling, installing the lights and chandelier the hubs caulked all the trim in the kitchen and even installed the baseboard trim.



We did salvage the old trim and planned on reusing it. After some thought, we decided to update it and buy new baseboard that was 6" instead of 4. There's just so much wear and tear on a kitchen and I think the taller baseboard will be easier to clean too.

The Fhit hit the San

Or the Ceiling hit the Floor. Whatever your tastes are.

When the first light installed so easily and without any repair needed to the surrounding ceiling, we knew we were in for trouble.

I'll spare you the details, but the saw got caught to the wood which supported this old a$$ plaster ceiling. The wood flapped back and forth and pushed the ceiling down. It crumbled and fell straight down onto the floor.


Here's when it first happened. Plaster kept falling so we were nervous if it would keep crumbling.


I googled "How to repair a plaster ceiling" and This Old House said to use some kind of board, cut a patch out, nail it to the supporting wall and then apply two coats of compound to level it to the existing ceiling. That's what Keith did here but we were running out of daylight and we had enough.


This is just one part of the room. Plaster was everywhere. We spent an hour just sweeping it up, putting it in the trash, vacuuming it up, and putting the trash out.


The following morning, the ceiling dried like this with cracks everywhere. Keith applied another coat. But before he did that, he had to repair this part of the ceiling where the light was going to go. He went out and bought a circle cutting attachment and cut a perfect hole in a piece of wood paneling. Then nailed it to the supporting wood above. Made sure the light would fit. Then continued to spackle until it looked flush to the ceiling.


After hours of repairing by spackling so that it matches the ceiling, covering the holes up and doing the same.

It's still not 100%, but we'll keep at it until it looks ya know...less holey.

Luke Wilson

I love that Zgallerie has art work for under $100, but it's still a little too pricey for me especially with the extra $10 handling charge. I currently have a crush on these.

Blue Modern Rug

I'm feelin' this rug right now. It would look great in a big home office with wood floors.


From Overstock here

In with the New

After we removed the old lights, it was time for the new lights. We took a trip to Lowe's and using our gift card from Christmas, we decided on these babies in white & 4".

The housing looks like this. The metal box is just a casing to hold the wires somewhere so that they aren't all over the place in the ceiling. The metal things that look like wings hold the light in the ceiling. Push the whole thing in and the wing pop back out.


The white rim and light will sit on the outside flush to the ceiling.

Now, we could have saved ourselves the trouble of putting these lights in and just sealed up the holes and pretended there was never anything there. But like moths to a flame, we had to get all fancy shmancy and couldn't leave a good thing alone.

***Turn your electricity off*** before proceeding.


Keith and I took a basic Circuits class which was part of our Engineering course study. He's much more hands on, but I'm more theoretical so between the two of us we were able to figure it out. We were simply connecting to the existing wiring of the fluorescent lights. The tricky part was the way the previous owner wired it. 2 hours into it and lots of trial an error - Two lights, two switches, the tv in the living room were all on one circuit. One of the outlets powered all that. So there was this extra red wire that went from wall outlet to light which jumped to the third light which was on a separate 2nd switch or switches. That is also on the same circuit as the someday powder room. I know that makes no sense.


2.5 hours later when we had all the lights and switches wired properly, we turned some of the power back on so we could power the tools (not the lights!). Trace a circle where the light housing is going to go.


Armed with some cutting tools and googles, gently trim the circle out. Careful not to cut the wires (or your fingers) by accident. As Keith began chiseling away, the plaster from the ceiling was just crumbling down. It was awful and made a mess. That's why you should googles and a face mask.


Our first light was in! Yay! It looked awesome! It was so quick, clean and easy that we knew were going to be toast later! :(


To paint around the light, pop this part of it off by turning and removing it. Paint around the casing that sits in the ceiling and then put this sucker back in.

This was all well and good. We stood there admiring our new light and talked about how beautiful it was going to be once the whole room was done. But like I said before, when the first light went in so easy we knew were cursed.

Next: How were doomed from the beginning and why you should never say "Hey, that was easy!" when doing a home improvement.

Out with the Old

Because I track our FedEx shipment on the chandelier like a serial killer stalker, I "encouraged" my husband to take down the old lights so we could prep the ceiling before the chandelier got here.

Here's how this was all suppose to go down:

1. Remove old fluorescent lights.
2. Install new canister or recessed lights.
3. Remove existing ceiling fan.
   
4. Replace light switches.
   
5. Do any ceiling repair on damages done by the old lights.
6. Repaint the whole ceiling.
7. Install the chandelier.
8. And voila! Life is grand and I would have my beautiful dining room put back together.
   

Now, this is how it really went down:

Before:

Clear all the furniture out of the room. Stow everything away. Cover the furniture left securely with a drop cloth. The room was so spacious!


Pull the covers off the lights. Gently turn and remove the fluorescent lights. They break really easily. Just a bump against something hard and they shatter to a bazillion pieces. I put them in a cardboard box for the time being. Later, I'm going to put them into a garbage bag, go outside and break them in the bag before I throw them out. Better me than an unsuspecting sanitation worker ya know?


Then you're left with this. There were really long screws with anchors that held the casing up to the ceiling. The ballast (black box) is somewhat heavy so you need an assistant as you remove these. Using a drill, take the screws out. Pay attention to how it's wired. Ours was wired all funny. More on that later...


Take a break. Pet your dog.

Next: Installing canister or recessed lights.

The disappearing act

Now you see it.


Now you don't. Hey, where did the ceiling go?


Oh there it is! Found you!


More to come...

2009 Projects & Renovations

January

• How we brightened up our Hallway with paint.
• Sewing: Pot Holders.
  

February

• Budget Bathroom Makeover: DIY shower curtain, changing hardware & decor.
  
• How we installed Chair Rail in our Hallway.
  

March

• Adding Chair Rail Ends and how to fill nail holes.
• How to Tile a Kitchen Floor - Tools, Prep.
• Tiling: How to lay cement board.
• Tiling: How to lay down the tiles.
• Tiling: How to grout.
• How to move a Supply Register (HVAC).
• How to move an Electrical Outlet.
• Had our dishwasher installed by a plumber.
  
• A Man's Pad Makeover: How I sewed a valance and chair cushion covers.

April

• Side entrance Hallway makeover.
• Staining a Railing.
• Organization: Organize your tools by task.

May

• Sewed an Ottoman Cover.
• Lots of Gardening: Peonies in bloom! Corn. Tomatoes. Carrots. Roses. Herb Garden. And mulching.
  

June

• Cheap DIY canvas wall art.
• Sewing: Nursing Covers.
• Sewing: Little Girl's Play Dress Up.
• Sewing: Living Room Window Panels - A balancing act.
  

July

• Redecorated Guest Bedroom.
• Repainted our front door red.
• A Chair Remade.
• Gardening: Working on Curb Appeal.
  

August

• Made Salsa from the Garden.

September

October

• Our awesome french bulldog Basil made us a family.
  

November

• How to crochet a baby afghan.

December

My hands are itchin'

It's like Santa came down on his sleigh and Rudolph couldn't halt fast enough. We received the rug for the dining room and the roman blinds. I haven't opened up the rug yet but the blinds look pretty nice. The one thing we needed most that we haven't received yet is the chandelier. Since you oughta work from top to bottom, we have to install the chandelier and patch up the ceiling before we lay anything else new down below. The last thing we need is plaster vomit all over the new rug. That reminds me I should scotch guard the rug when we lay it out. Keith is going to work on getting the fluourescent lights down this weekend and then we will patch up the ceiling. In the mean time, it's killing me that I can't buy any decor stuff until we have all this other stuff done! As for the dining room floor, we're not doing anything with it yet. If we do replace it, we're going to replace the living room floor all together.

In addition, I saw this image and really liked the way the curtains are done here.

Shucha Shiny Shtove

We got our new stove! Yay! Let the cooking begin!


ooooooooohhhh aaaahhhhhhhh

I can't believe what a face lift it gives to the kitchen! That old stove was really a drag like an unwanted prom date. The new stove is so much cooler to hang out with. Looking back (if we had the funds), we feel like we should have gotten the stove sooner because it's been such a transformation!

More To-Do:

• Paint and install baseboard trim around kitchen floor.
• Fill in nail holes with spackle on door trim. The repaint.
  
• Order a new counter top. (gulp)
  
• DIY wall spice rack.
  
• DIY wall shelves for displaying white china and cookbooks.
• Install cabinetry toe kick and crown molding.
  
• DIY white, linen curtain.
• Shelf in mid section of window for plants (*This is going to be a project*).
• Buy White ceramic pots for house plants.
• DIY cork board for inside cabinet.
  
• DIY chalk board for messages.
  

Rug Runner

For the kitchen. 2'-6"x7'-6" It's the perfect length for the sink area of our kitchen. I wanted something with a lot more pop, but in the mean time I thought I could not pass this up since it's tricky to find something that is the right combo of size and style. I haven't found my "style" yet for the kitchen, so I wanted to avoid investing in something that I would later regret. We still have shelving and artwork to hang, so until then this will do.


from Overstock here.

New Rug

Time for an intervention! Just one last thing and I'm done...for now. To go with the colonial style of our home and the antique furniture, I chose this traditional but muted rug. The blues, beige and greens will also tie all 3 rooms together. I surfed the web for months. I love the contemporary rugs, but that's more for the living room and not a dining room.


Indo Tabriz Rug from Overstock

I can't wait for everything else to be done, so we can finally put the room together.

Basil Rings Potty Bell

Click here to view this video

Baseboard

Keith decided it was best to rip off all the old baseboard instead of trying to mend it and nail new wood trim down. It was a great idea!


We went to Home Depot and bought a piece of pine and 1/2" bead trim. Cut to length and put in screws.


Spackle, sanded and painted twice. It almost looks as though there were never a bar!