Surrendering to Rampant Consumerism (and Finding it Pleasant)

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Stacey

Marge, weren’t you listening? This is a miracle breakthrough! Not one of these cheapo sucker deals!

– Homer Simpson

I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I am cheap careful with a dollar (or pound). Generally, I am very skeptical of designs on my cash, particularly for items that seemed unnecessary. “Who would spend money on a [blank] when everyone already has a perfectly good [blank]?” I’ve been heard to mutter on many an occasion.

(Incidentally, I saw an elderly lady muttering to herself — loudly — in the produce section the other day. “These apples aren’t as nice as last week!” she declared.  I gave her a big sympathetic smile about the apples, because that? That right there? Is going to be me. Big-time.)

My skinflint ways have been good for the bank account, but recently, I’ve become more susceptible to the siren song of convenience products. The Kev is bemused by the number of packages arriving at the house. I am simply too aggravated these days to resist things that might make my life a little easier. Maybe it’s because we’re in Project Mode, maybe it’s because I’m channeling Danny Glover.

I'm getting too old for this *@&^.

I’m getting too old for this *@&^.

Or maybe it’s because I freaked myself out shouting at my shoes the other day.

Whatever the reason, I picked up three things that have actually made things run smoother around here.

1. LED Motion Detector Light

The basement workroom has a single-bulb socket and a fluorescent fixture, both on pull chains and both several steps into the room. I have stubbed my toes so many times going down there at night, but I always muttered that I was perfectly capable of pulling a light chain, grumble grumble grumble. The other day I thought, what if a light came on automatically?

I put this in the single-socket fixture, and my toes have been safe ever since! It doesn’t throw out much light, but it’s more than enough to let me find what I’m looking for or get over to the fluorescent pullchain without injury.

2. Over-Door Shoe Storage

We had one of those wire, over-door shoe storage racks forEVer. It took up a lot of space and wasn’t all that efficient. But “we already own a shoe storage thing, I’m not buying another one!” Until I did.

Because it’s made of fabric, it doesn’t take up as much space away from the door, and I was able to put it on the back of our coat closet door in a narrow space, and store more shoes. Who knew??

3. Spice Storage Rack

Our spice cupboard has been through many iterations, and each time, it’s a little better than the last version. But it still doesn’t handle all our stuff, and it still becomes a huge mess. I noticed that my sister-in-law (of furniture-wrangling fame) had a new spice rack that was kind of cool. Since I’m APPARENTLY just made of money lately, I bought one, too.

I can’t help feeling as if there’s a tiny Borg Collective in my cabinet whenever I open it and find this cube in there. But I’m good with being assimilated because our spices are finally easy to find and neatly organized.

I can’t imagine this is a trend of any sort. I haven’t changed my fundamental nature. But these purchases do make things nicer around here.

What products have made your life easier? Did you resist their allure at first, or are you a shopping guru?

Posted in Organization | 1 Comment

Marble Countertops: The Post-Acid Test

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Stacey

Ned: How can we sabotage his labor of love?
Homer: I dunno. Gasoline, acid, I got some stuff in the trunk.

– The Simpsons

Ooooh, marble.

Ooooh, marble.

One of our goals for 2013 is new countertops in the kitchen. We have laminate that we installed about ten years ago, and it suffered a bit when we rented out the house. We’ve looked into several options, and it’s probably down to quartz, wood or marble. Despite all the naysayers, I’m kind of sweet on the idea of white marble tops. But there are a LOT of naysayers, so I’m hesitant, especially since I am a messy, messy cook.

I keep returning to an oft-cited post at Petch House on marble countertops. In the Petch House “acid test,” Greg sealed half of a piece of marble, keeping the unsealed side as a control. He then subjected both sides to tomato sauce, limes and red wine. The marble performed surprisingly well regardless of sealing.

But the Petch House test didn’t take into account the messiness that is me in the kitchen. That test left a mess on the marble for as long as “over an hour” — an hour! I can easily imagine cooking for a party and leaving something standing on the counter for the duration of the event. Accidentally! But for longer than an hour.

I decided to do my own test for the worst-case scenario: if I (accidentally) left something horrible on unsealed marble for a loooong time, would I be able to clean it up?

Gunky MarbleI applied Cafe D’oh’s most common special ingredients to a White Statuary tile: pickled beet juice, red wine and tomato sauce. I split the mess semi-evenly (I divided the tile with electrical tape in honor of the Petch test). I smooshed it all around a bit and then left it…for 30 hours. By which point it achieved the crusty, disgusting state you see above.

The wine came off with a quick scrub, but the beet juice (and to a much lesser extent the tomato sauce) left a colored shadow on the tile.

Other than the pink shadows, this is a pretty good picture of etching on a polished finish.

Other than the pink shadows, this is a pretty good picture of etching on a polished finish.

To deal with the staining, I used two products, chosen because of their ubiquity (to go along with the “worst-case scenario” theme). On the left side, I used a powdered oxygen-based cleaner (most common name brand is Oxy-Clean, although I used a generic version). I added enough water to make a paste and slathered it on the discolored areas. I draped a damp dishcloth over it to keep the paste moist and walked away. There was significant progress in 20 minutes, and the stain was gone in 90 minutes.

On the right side, I used regular bleach (also generic). A puddle left on the surface for 20 minutes reduced the color only very slightly. I soaked some kitchen toweling with bleach, set it on the stain and left it overnight. Plain bleach left for eight hours took out the discoloration, even in a crack.

So both methods removed the discoloration, leaving the chemical etching you would expect leaving vinegar-based beet juice for so long.

Gunky CleanedWhat’s harder to photograph, though, is the impact of the powdered oxygen bleach. It seemed to accelerate the etching on the left side, even though it was on a much shorter time than the regular bleach.

Gunky CloseupAlthough it didn’t change the finish other places it touched, the oxygen cleaner did seem to reinforce the etching that it covered. The finish on the etched areas was much more pronounced than the etching on the plain bleach side, despite having originally been caused by the same ingredients.

I was pleased with the results from the regular bleach. I feel confident that I could remove a stain even if I failed to seal the marble. Or failed to maintain any sort of food hygiene whatsoever!

Posted in Decor, Food & Drink, Kitchen, Repair & Maintenance | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Right Red: Matching Vintage Woodwork

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Stacey

Hello, Vegas?  Give me 100 bucks on red . . .  D’oh!  All right, I’ll send you a check.

– Homer Simpson

Really quite red

Really quite red-red

There are two ingredients needed to match existing trim in an old house: gel stain and patience. Unless the woodwork is painted, in which case you need paint and patience. I’ve mentioned that patience is a tough one for me, but I have my stain matching technique down now. It’s easier taking the time when I know it’s going to work out. (Learn more about gel stain here.)

Many older homes (including Chez D’oh) have dark, reddish woodwork. Early on, when patching or replacing, I tried to match using a single, red-based stain. This was typically a major stain brand’s “mahogany” of some description. The depth of the color usually ended up ok, but the tone was always off.

Reds can tend to the yellow/orange end or the blue/purple side. The matching issue with most mahogany stains I’ve found is that they lean towards purple. The woodwork in this house is red-brown, but the underlying red is an orange-red. The difference is apparent when I put a red-red next to each type of finish (RED courtesy of the Farkel Party tin).

Farkel Door

Farkel tin next to house woodwork: orange-red

Farkel on the mahogany piano bench.

Farkel on the mahogany piano bench: purple-red

If you are trying to match woodwork, take the time to figure out what tones go into what you have. We’ve got brown/red-orange, and I use layered gel stains to achieve a match. This week, I’m applying my recipe to the storage bed to carry the trim color into the bedroom (where the woodwork is otherwise painted).

I’ve already prepped the drawers for stain. The bed is pine, so I used wood conditioner to prevent blotchiness; you don’t necessarily need wood conditioner for gel stain, but pine is tricky and it’s a quick step.

Step 1: Start with a base of your undertone. I use Varathane gel stain in Traditional Cherry to establish an orangey base.

After one coat on the drawer fronts

After one coat on the drawer fronts

I lay down two or three coats of this; it gets REALLY orange.

Step 2: Add dimension. Typically, older wood’s grain is the darkest part of the finish. When you are staining newer wood of a different species, you can end up with the grain showing up lighter or looking kind of flat. I deal with this by doing a light layer of Spanish Oak gel stain. I have the Old Masters version, and it’s almost black. (What is it they do in Spain to oak to make it so dark that it’s a known stain color?) I work it against the grain and then wipe (quickly!) with the grain to give the piece a little age and depth.

Spanish Oak layered over Traditional Cherry

Spanish Oak layered over Traditional Cherry

Step 3: Add the main covering color until you get a match. After Step 2, things don’t look very promising, but this last color step will get you there. To get from dirty orange to vintage woodwork, I layer General Finishes gel stain in Brown Mahogany. Unlike Minwax’s Bombay Mahogany or Old Masters’ Vintage Burgundy, this is a more neutral dark red-brown. “Neutral red-brown” may not make a lot of sense, but what I mean is that it doesn’t go violet or super-orange on you. It’s a nice, deep color.

I layer the Brown Mahogany (and layer and layer) and buff (and buff and buff) until I have a good match. It’s not going to necessarily be a perfect match on a different wood species, but you can get close. I put the drawers in front of existing woodwork to check the match in different lights.

Two drawers by an existing door jamb

Two drawers by an existing door jamb (flash)

Drawer in front of existing door

One of the same drawers in front of existing door (no flash, overhead light)

If you figure out all the tones, this layering technique works to match any complex stain color. In one sense, gel stain is almost like faux painting — it doesn’t sink in as much as deposit color on the surface. But it’s easy to control and use to build up a match.

Same drawer in front of paneling, lamp light and no flash. Pretty close for pine.

Same drawer in front of paneling, lamp light and no flash. Pretty close for pine!

If you have an “oops!” moment, it’s not as hard to fix as traditional stains that really sink in. Give it a try!

Posted in D'oh!, Decor, Furniture | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Before and After: Cat-Approved Bathroom

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Stacey

Ms. Hoover: What was Christopher Columbus actually looking for when he discovered America? 
Ralph: [hand up] Ooh! Ah!
Ms. Hoover: Ralph, this better not be about your cat.
Ralph: [hand down] Oh.

– The Simpsons

We are making some sloooow progress on the bedroom/closet project, but with work so crazy, it’s a bit like wading through treacle. While this makeover is pending (and to help me stay motivated), I want to share one we did earlier.

Our house is from the 192os, but the bathroom had been redone in the late 1950s or so. If you just walked by the bathroom, it looked pretty good.

When we bought the house, the walls were covered in bright blue fish wallpaper. Never took a photo of that for some reason.

When we bought the house, the upper walls were covered in bright blue fish wallpaper. For some reason, I never photographed that.

In the years between that remodel and our purchase, several layers of questionable flooring were added (poorly), as well as a nasty cheap vanity. It’s a small bathroom and had no storage to speak of. What floorspace there was was dominated by an oversized radiator (now installed in our bedroom).

This vinyl was about the fifth layer. It was held down with visible staples (and a cat) rather than with whatever you hold vinyl flooring down with, which is not staples.

This vinyl was about the fifth layer. It was held down with visible staples (and a cat) rather than with whatever you properly use for vinyl flooring, which I know is not staples.

The vanity cabinet was that faux-wood particle board, which I had painted white. Look at that door sag!

The vanity cabinet was that faux-wood particle board, which I had painted white. Look at that door sag!

As you can see, the old bathroom featured pink and black tile. I want to assure all lovers of pink bathrooms that we were on board with having a pink bathroom. I like ’em. If there had been infrastructure there worth saving, we would have conserved it. But the plastic tile had been installed without spacing for grout, and as far as we could tell, with some sort of industrial adhesive not intended for tile. They could not be taken off the wall intact, and since they could not hold grout, the plaster behind the tiles had swollen with water and contained a fair bit of mold.

This shot most accurately shows the condition of the tile, and some of our contrived attempts to work with it.

This shot most accurately shows the condition of the tile, and some of our contrived attempts to work with it.

While I like an intact pink bathroom actually dating from the pink bathroom era, I wasn’t going to replicate the look on principle. We went for classic black and white tile and added colour on the walls. We chose hex tile for the more-open floor and glass block for the window (formerly double-hung but covered with a shower curtain).

Where's Mayya?

A smaller radiator was recessed into the wall on the left. A cat was installed in the bathtub.

We decided on a vanity cabinet again for storage reasons instead of a pedestal sink. I was of two minds about using a vessel sink, but the best 18-inch vanity cabinet I found was made for a vessel sink and it’s an easy thing to swap out later if we ever tire of the look. Plus, having a vessel sink actually gives us a little bit of counter space we otherwise wouldn’t have.

Vessel sink and vanity cabinet -- only 18 inches wide. It's a TINY bathroom.

Vessel sink and vanity cabinet — only 18 inches wide. It’s a TINY bathroom.

The wall colour is “Hawaiian Sky” from Dutch Boy (E4-4) in semi-gloss. The hunt for the right aqua or Tiffany blue led to Saucy Dwellings and a whole place done in that shade.

This bed is just right!

What? It’s for me, right?

One major improvement was that we opened up the wall behind the door to allow access to a “dead end” in the linen closet. Now we have storage! In the bathroom! I never dared dream…

Cabinet doors added to access otherwise dead storage space (and the clothes chute).

Cabinet doors added to access otherwise dead storage space (and the laundry chute).

Toto toilet -- there's a whole post coming at some point on how hard it is to find a compact toilet. This one was perfect.

Toto toilet — there’s a whole post coming at some point on how hard it is to find a compact toilet. This one was perfect.

 

The medicine cabinet is mirrored inside. I thought that was silly, but it's cool not to have to open/close-open/close to use the mirror.

The medicine cabinet is mirrored inside. I initially thought that was silly, but it’s nice in practice. It’s still kind of silly.

We did some things that were really specific to us. We picked hooks instead of a towel rod. We just liked them better for this particular room. The Kev chose the Hollywood vanity light because they are not used in England, so it struck him as quintessentially American. I picked a black toilet seat because when I was a kid, it always seemed like fancy old buildings had black toilet seats, so it makes me feel fancy. If you can’t feel fancy in your own bathroom, where can you feel fancy??

FANCY

FANCY, I tell ya!

There’s even mood lighting integrated into the extractor fan in the bathtub area!

This is one of the most satisfying remodels we’ve ever undertaken. I appreciate that room every time I walk in there. It just has a bright, refreshing feeling. And when we’re in Project Mode, it’s nice to remember that things do eventually get done.

Posted in Bathroom, Before & After, Decor | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How Does Your Garden Grow? It Doesn’t

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Stacey

Bart: Now is the winter of our discontent.
Ralph: Oh, no! Run!

– The Simpsons

I keep returning to this wonderful article by botanist Phil Gates for the BBC as I wait for spring.

And wait. And WAIT. Stupid tundra! Why must you piddle in my Cheerios?? I dared to think spring had arrived, but since Winter Storm Walda hit (and since when did they start naming snowstorms?), I’ve lost the will to go on.

Meteorologists and their colorful maps. Bah!

Meteorologists and their colorful maps. Bah! Image: mpr.org

Also: WALDA? Who names a storm Walda?

It’s all just icy roads and snirt out there. Snirt? The dirty snow left at the end of the season. It’s depressing. I just want to get back out in the garden, and finally get the growing season underway.

Is this too much to ask?

Is this too much to ask?

As Mr. Gates points out:

[O]nce the gardening bug has bitten you may find yourself committed to an annual roller-coaster ride of emotions that can transport you from the heights of elation to the outer limits of exasperation and — along the way — deliver a reminder of what it is to be human.

Lovely. But Mr. Gates lives in that green and pleasant land where the daffodils are already up, while we’re here. Where it sleeted today. I could tell him a thing or two about the outer limits of exasperation.

Posted in D'oh!, Yard & Garden | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bedroom Remodel: Settling in for the Medium to Long Haul

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Stacey

Bart: Are we there yet?
Homer: No.
Bart: Are we ever gonna be there?
Homer: How would I know?

– The Simpsons

The Kev and I have both had a week and a half already, but we’ve managed to make some progress on the closet. After opening up the wall, we were here:

closet pre paint

As of today, we’re here:

Closet Progress

So that’s something, right?

With bigger projects, I always reach a point of frustration before I settle in for the longer term. Maybe there are stages for home improvement? Instead of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, maybe optimism, frenzy, exasperation, exhaustion and putting the house on the market? I kid.

Hatch sort of in place.

Hatch sort of in place.

ANYHOO, there’s one part of our progress to date that felt somewhat satisfying. Our closet has a hatch into the bathtub plumbing, which is just a slab of plywood that didn’t stay in the hole very well. If you look at the “before” picture above, you’ll see the hatch languishing on the floor, as was its habit.

We used to duct tape it shut, but the cats tore the tape off. Because there’s no finer place to hang out than behind the bathtub, dontcha know? The goal was to make it stay in the hole, with the secondary object of making it less COMPLETELY HIDEOUS. Tertiary goal was not to spend much time doing so, but then later to spend a half-hour writing about it. MOVING ON. I wrapped that puppy in beadboard wallpaper, painted it, attached a sash lift we had on hand, and slapped on a couple of hasps.

New and improved cat-proof hatch.

New and improved cat-proof hatch.

I wish I had a photo of Mayya coming to terms with her own “exasperation” phase when she realized she couldn’t access the under-tub pavilion.

Posted in Construction, Furniture, Walls & Floors, Windows & Doors | Leave a comment

What We Have Here is Not a Failure to Communicate

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Stacey

Homer: Wow, Marge, you really do understand me.  See, I thought we weren’t soulmates because…
Marge: …we had a fight?
Homer: Right, and we don’t like the same things.  It’s like you’re from Venus…
Marge: …and you’re from Mars.
Homer: Oh, sure, give me the one with all the monsters.

– The Simpsons

The Kev and I sat down the other day to figure out how much lumber we needed to buy for the closet project. It went something like this:

K: We need 1x6s for facing the inside of the opening, so enough of that to cover roughly 8 feet, both sides…1x4s for the trim around the front sides.

S: Both sides. I’m gonna draw a picture. [scribbles] So, yeah, here and here and the back side as well.

K: Construction lumber to frame in the upper cabinets [more drawing] and we need a piece of wood for the inside top.

S: The inside top of what?

K: Of the closet.

S: You mean, where the ceiling is?

K: Yeah, because…

S: The trim is going to snug up against the existing plaster. [drawing] Ok, look, here I am in the closet as it stands — not to scale — and I’m looking up. What do I see? Ceiling.

K: You look like you’re hanging yourself but you’re happy about it.

S: In that case, I should be waving.

drawing

With a little more drawing (the complex upper cross-section to the left of the main drawing), I understood what he meant — and yes, we do need some wood to frame in the upper cabinets.

We generally communicate pretty well, but even with over 15 years together, we’re still learning little bits and pieces of each other’s specific brands of English. The Kev is English, naturalized American, and I’m American, naturalised British. We’ve each lived the other place at length, but we still surprise each other. “A bit cold around the lugs,” Kev said the other day. “Legs??” I queried. “LUGS,” he emphasized, gesturing wildly at his head.

Anglo-American Lug Conference, 2011

Anglo-American Large Lug Conference, 2011 (image: Guardian.co.uk)

Since these new examples still crop up from time to time, we put together a DIY translator. This led to unexpected hilarity as we reviewed American/English glossaries on the web.

PANDA CAR?! Maybe in 1962! (image: http://www.classicvehiclesunlimited.co.uk)

“PANDA CAR?! Maybe in 1962!” (image: http://www.classicvehiclesunlimited.co.uk)

Here’s our hopefully more current British/American glossary of home-related terms.

UPDATE! We’ve made this glossary into its own page as well so we can add to it as we think of more examples. You can also get there from the “US-UK” tab above.

American English British English
Allen Wrench Allen Key
Anchor Rawlplug
Apartment Flat
Attached Bathroom En Suite
Band-Aid Plaster
Baseboard Skirting Board
Basement Cellar
Built-in Cabinets Fitted Cabinets
Buffet Sideboard
Caulk Mastic
Cinder Block Breeze Block
Closet Wardrobe
Clothes Pins Clothes Pegs
Contractor Builder
Counter/Countertop Worktop
Cutlery Knives (sharp ones)
Dirt Soil
D’oh! D’oh!
Double-Paned Windows (or low-e or insulated glass windows) Double Glazing
Drill Press Pedestal Drill
Dryer Tumble Dryer
Duplex Semi-Detached House
Emergency Room Casualty
Faucet Tap
First Floor Ground Floor
Flashlight Torch
Floor Lamp Standard Lamp
Flatware/Silverware Cutlery
Fly-By-Night (tradesperson) Cowboy
Full Bed Double Bed
Garage (guh-RAJ) Garage (gair-ij)
Ground (electrical) Earth
Half-Bath Toilet
Hardware Store Ironmonger
Home Improvement DIY
Interior Latex Paint Emulsion
Level Spirit Level
License Plate Number Plate
Living Room (or family room or den) Sitting Room (or lounge)
Lumber Yard Wood Yard
Medicine Cabinet/Vanity Bathroom Cabinet
Monkey Wrench Adjustable Spanner
Outlet Socket
Physical Therapy Physiotherapy
Pipe Wrench Stilsens
Power/Service Line Mains
Queen Bed King Bed
Range Cook Top/Cooker
Saw Horse Trestle
Screw Extractor Stud Extractor
Second Floor First Floor
Sheetrock Plaster Board
Sod Turf
Spackle Polyfiller
Stairs Apples and Pears (ok, now we’re just messing with you)
Stove/Oven Oven
Tank (toilet) Cistern
Tempered Glass Toughened Glass
Toilet Bowl Toilet Pan
Tub Bath
Twin Bed Single Bed
Tylenol/Acetaminophen Paracetamol
Vacuum Cleaner Hoover
Valance Pelmet
Wall Heater (if in the wall anywhere) Electric (or Gas) Fire (if in sitting room, especially in a former   fireplace)
Washing Machine Washer
Worn Out Knackered
Wrench Spanner
Yard Garden

Some of these have substantial cross-over, and some may well be regionalisms.  Apologies for anything way out of line! What would you add? Please tell us in the comments what terms you would like to see, whether British, American, or another variety of English altogether.

Posted in American vs English, Construction, Romance | 2 Comments

Rink-uiem

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Stacey

No! My sugar is melting. Melting! Oh, what a world.

– Homer Simpson

Spring is here! Sort of! It’s been a long time coming, but finally there are fewer treacherous sheets of ice hither and yon. But I’m missing one sheet of ice — my beloved backyard skating rink.

Ben and me, testing the ice over Christmas.

Ben and me, testing the ice over Christmas.

If you have ice rink-worthy outdoor space (and climate), it is not too early to think about next winter. We always thought our backyard was fairly flat, but when we used a level, we found out that the drop was considerable.  Whichever end of your yard is lowest is going to be the deep end of the skating rink, and you don’t want to be trying to buttress several cubits of water with plywood. The summer before we had the rink, we spent some time leveling the rink space. We had fill from exacavating for a large ground-level deck/patio, so we distributed it to the low end of the yard and compacted it. We managed to raise the low end several inches. The deepest part of our rink is a bit over a foot, shallowest (at the high end) about three inches.

The rink, draining -- imagine 40 linear feet of this over several hours dripping into your house.

The rink, draining — imagine 40 linear feet of this over several hours dripping into your house.

Keep in mind that you generally want the grade to fall away from your house. I’m not recommending building up an area near the foundation — ice rink drainage should be running away from your home!

Knowing the extent of the grade and the size of the space will help you choose what type of skating rink to build. We use a 20 x 40 foot Nice Rink system, purchased used on Craigslist, and It. Is. AWESOME. (Also? One of my favorite product names.) But it’s not the only game in town, and you might not need sideboards at all. Here are other ways to have your own private ice rink:

  • My Backyard Ice Rink offers info on building rinks, and goes through the options in much greatest detail. They even cover synthetic ice. C’mon, synthetic ice? I’m not even going there. If you live in the north, it’s ice or nothin’! MBI even has an online RINK COMMUNITY. (Rink community? That’s time I could be skating!)
  • Iron Sleek (an icerink company and NOT a heavy metal band, although your confusion is understandable) uses a bracket system without boards that you can install even after the ground freezes. Their rinks do look kinda sleek.
  • My Family Loves It has detailed instructions for DIY ice rinks — their model is what we were going to do before I found our Nice Rink on Craigslist. Guess what? Their family loves it.
  • Lifehacker also has a good post on a few ways to put together a home hockey arena, including a method for a “puddle” rink (banking up snow and filling with water).
A bad day skating is still a good day.

A bad day skating is still a good day.

It’s nice to have one thing to miss about winter! But just the one.

Posted in Outdoor Building Projects, Yard & Garden | Leave a comment

Captain’s Bed? Mate’s Bed? Storage Bed? Our Bed

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Stacey

Aaand lift, and strain, and hyperextend!

– Homer Simpson

After a lengthy quest, we finally found a storage bed of appropriate size and price. In our last post on storage beds, we concluded that we would probably build to one of Ana White’s plans. But then the Kev and I both got extremely busy at work, I took on a part-time teaching gig…and we just want our room back as soon as possible. When we found a new reasonably priced option, we jumped on it.

We found this at Futonland in New York. Buying from FUTONLAND made me feel slightly ridiculous, as if I were shopping at Forever 21. But the bed works with standard mattresses as well, and a deal is a deal. (Not hating on futons — I just associate them with my university years.)

What a dump! (possibly one too many Bette Davis references)

What a dump! (possibly one too many Bette Davis references)

Shipment was via freight with curbside delivery, and required that the recipient offload the truck. The Kev couldn’t get away from work, so I took the afternoon off and enlisted the help of Mary the Magnificent, sister-in-law extraordinaire. Mary is a very pretty, petite woman with Bette Davis eyes and the strength of a longshoreman. Initially skeptical, the driver was soon very impressed with Mary (and tolerant of me).  He was nice enough to let us take the bed off the pallet, which made it much easier to move.

Mary is a full-time landscape foreman and a part-time life-saver (previously seen in both roles here), and she made sure both halves of the thing got into the house. Then, looking refreshed and healthy, she headed off on her next mission, while I collapsed on the couch, red-faced and wheezing. I should note that for another $100, we could have had “white glove service” rather than curbside (Brit: kerbside) drop-off. But this way, I got to hang out with Mary on a Wednesday afternoon, which was good fun. Totally worth the wheezing!

Bed awaiting sanding and stain

Bed awaiting sanding and stain

I was nervous about buying sight-unseen, but I’m generally quite pleased with the bed. It’s unfinished pine, so I’ll be staining it. I will post the final version, but here are my first impressions:

  • Construction: It’s pretty solidly built. It’s all wood/plywood, with no particle board. There’s no dovetailing or anything, but it is solid. And heavy. Everything is super-square and neatly fitted.
  • Hardware: It comes in two pieces, and while each side is plenty heavy, I’ll probably add hardware to link the sides together. Futonland’s site shows drawer pulls, but I haven’t found them yet (although the drawer-fronts are drilled for them). I’m not concerned because I intended to buy different pulls anyway. (Update: I did finally find them in a bag in the last drawer I sanded.)
  • Storage Capacity: The drawers are a good size (interior dimensions: 25 by 20 by 5.75 inches) and solidly built. The bottoms are plywood rather than hardboard or anything goofy. It will definitely replace dressers in our room.
  • Finish: The overall finish is a little rough. You can see slightly ragged edges where the plywood was sawn, for instance. I picked up a few splinters when moving it (and it was heavy, did I mention?). I’ll run over all the edges with a palm sander before staining.
  • Function: I did not opt for metal drawer glides; they were a reasonable additional price, but they would have driven up the freight charge dramatically. My plan is to retrofit glides (probably Delta glides from Rockler), but the drawers do operate well as delivered, thanks to competent construction.

Futonland’s customer service was good overall. My only quibble is that it took longer than expected for the order to ship. FL’s site says they strive to get orders out in five days; it was ten days from order to shipping. Once the freight company had it, they only took four business days to deliver, and we had the bed sixteen total days after the order. As I say, not a huge deal — we’re in Project Mode with plenty to do. But if you are interested in this bed and need it shipped, it’s worth knowing that you might have a wait.

I’ll report back when we put it into service! (Update: here’s our review after finishing the bed and sleeping in it for a few months.) If you’ve decided to take the storage bed route, what model did you go with, and what do you think of it?

Posted in American vs English, D'oh!, Decor, Furniture | Leave a comment

Don’t Mind My Dust: Keeping Renovation Mess to a Minimum

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Stacey

Let’s take a look … inside the containment dome!

– Radioactive Man

"I love Project Mode!" (copyright obviously Charles Schulz)

“I love Project Mode!” (copyright obviously Charles Schulz)

We are formally in “Project Mode,” which means that the house is somewhat less orderly than usual — more general messiness, less resistance to convenience foods, more feline demands for reassurance (they don’t like change!).

One thing the Kev and I both really dislike about Project Mode is the dust. Sanding, drilling and sawing all contribute to more grit in the air. We try to keep the dust corralled, but usually haven’t been very successful. Worst case was when we broke down the concrete porch — the whole outdoors wasn’t enough of a containment area to keep dust from covering everything in the house. If you’ve ever tried to keep dust from home improvement out of the way, you know our pain.

This time, though, Kev improved on our usual plastic-sheeting-curtain model, and we’re seeing very little dust outside the Project Zone. Usually we throw some sheeting over the door, but for this project, Kev created a little plastic lobby area.

Viva duct tape!

Viva duct tape!

It’s sealed top and bottom and uses the door as an extra layer, rather than as a dust-distributing fan mechanism, as was our habit.  

Little Plastic Entrance

To get in, after first closing the door(!), one squeezes between two tape-secured flaps that lie against each other. Low-rent rebirthing therapy! A towel on the floor inside the flap helps keep foot-dust down.

This is so much better than unsealed butcher curtain approximations we’ve used. Get yourself a little plastic lobby, and breathe easier!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Posted in Construction, Organization, Repair & Maintenance | Leave a comment