|
|
| Home Improvement Information |
|
|
|
|
Tearing Down the House
Last year, we bought this big ol' 1887 house. We are just now coming to grips with the magnitude of the "upgrades" planned. With a baby on the way and Little Lady all of two years old burning calories faster than pillagers burn the Amazon rainforest, how tough can "upgrades" really be? Ever since we bought the house, my wife has been urging me to tear "that thing" down. "That thing", at the foot of our lane, had been a shelter to keep kids dry while waiting for the school bus. It had seen better days. Like when paint could still be seen on the wood. Like when it stood upright ? taller even than the weeds! ? before gravity won the battle. "That thing" was our very own Roman ruins ... minus the Roman part, of course. So I finally tore it down. "What?" my wife asked. "You tore it down?" "Yup." "But how will people find us, now?" We had used "that thing" as a marker, even a beacon. "Turn right on County Road 7, and just keep going until you see the eyesore. You can't miss it. That's us." Houses grow and age just like people. Sometimes the old gets in the way of the new. Sometimes you have to rip things apart to build them up. Recently, I was ripping apart a couple walls of the soon-to-be nursery. I assured my wife it would be a two- to four-hour job. To avoid inhaling an overdose of plaster dust, she and Little Lady escaped to exile at Grandma's for the afternoon. Twelve hours later ... The clock ticked past midnight before those two to four hours showed me mercy. Little Lady and her pregnant mom wisely chose to remain in exile overnight. Instead of resting my weary muscles, I had a jungle of ? hack, hack - plaster dust nearly a foot deep to dispose of. Beach party, anyone? If tearing it all down took so long, how many hours will it take to put up the new walls, including the wall overlooking the staircase? (Did I mention I'm afraid of heights?) How long will it take to cut and place the trim (baseboards, casing, crown molding, and a new window sill ? I broke the old one trying to pry loose a lathe strip)? How long will it take to hang a new door? To sand the old floor? To clean up the big mess? To lift the wallboard to the second floor? To return to the store for more nails or to replace lumber I wreck or to pick up a few dozen items I forget? To replaster the corners I plaster wrong the first time (and the second and the third and ...)? I sat my wife down for a heart-to-heart. "Honey, we have a business to run, a toddler to nurture, family members to help, a house to clean on occasion, and a jungle that will need mowing one of these days. We need ductwork to thaw our bedroom this winter, the foundation needs crack-filling and this nursery would take Hercules many long days of hard labor to complete. I don't know if we can find time for all this before the baby is born." "Maybe we should put something off," my wife suggested. "Great idea!" I said, looking at my agenda. "Now, let's see. How long do you want to delay the delivery?" I ducked just in time. The easiest thing to reschedule turned out to be my sleep. Right now I have a house to upgrade. There'll be plenty of time for sleep next year. That is, if I don't grow too old in the meantime and need to be torn down myself. About The Author The author is David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy. To receive his column weekly in your inbox, sign up at http://TheHappyGuy.com/positive-thinking-free-ezine.html. Visit his home page at http://TheHappyGuy.com.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Daydreaming About Your Home Makeover Projects Most of us enjoy daydreaming about our perfect home. Do you ever think about your home just before falling to sleep? Instead of worrying about your tasks for tomorrow, try this exercise tonight: imagine you're arriving home. When your head hits your pillow, close your eyes and daydream about your homecoming. What do you see that greets you? Brighten Up Your Patio With Sun Catchers Sun catchers add sparkle and beauty to any room in your home. Far beyond the paint-n-bake sun catchers of childhood, sun catchers come in a huge variety of styles that dazzle the eye. Dehumidifiers Wring Out Your Home Anyone that has a home office or bedroom in the basement knows how valuable a dehumidifier can be. Without it, the basement would be damp and useless, mold and mildew would grow promoting ill health and insects would have a perfect place to live. Your basement is underground, humid and in constant contact with the cool damp earth. If you don't control the moisture and humidity throughout the year through dehumidifiers, your carpet and furniture could be ruined, even photographs can be destroyed. I have always found that I am more comfortable when the humidity is lower. I don't like hot weather, but I would rather have it be dry and hot than cool and damp. What is it they say? "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." You might want to consider installing a ceiling fan to work in tandem with the dehumidifier. They help circulate the air, will dry out the basement even more and you will feel much more comfortable. Ceiling fans don't cool the air, but you will feel better because of evaporation than if no fan were there at all. Installing a Brick or Paver Walkway The use of Bricks or Pavers to create a walkway or patio complements a home in a way that is unmatched. It adds a level of quality and elegance to a home entrance that can not be achieved with either concrete or asphalt. Brick and Pavers also come in many different colors and shapes allowing for unique color schemes and patterns to be achieved. In addition, installing a Brick or Paver walkway does not necessarily require a pro. With some basic knowledge and a relatively simple walkway plan, a homeowner is capable of undertaking such a project. Kitchen Remodeling Costs It is important to prepare a budget for your kitchen remodeling plan before you start implementing it. Without a complete and detailed budget prepared before the kitchen renovation begins, you may get swept into a spending spiral of unbudgeted extras. Installing Vinyl Replacement Windows In A Wood Frame Opening When we left off last week, we had removed the old wood sash windows and prepared the opening for the vinyl replacement windows. Now it's time to install your new windows. You should have someone there to help you when doing the installation. First, Remove all shipping materials from the window. Now, if you are installing several different sizes, make sure you are putting the correct window in the correct opening. You need to put the window into the opening to make sure it's going to fit, then remove it and run a bead of caulk on the face of the outside blind stop where the window will rest. You don't want to caulk, only to discover the windows are too big. It's worth the extra few minutes to make sure it's going to fit. Lift the window and set the bottom in first. Then raise the top until it rests against the outside blind stops. Sometimes, when raising the top into position, the window frame will hit the top of the wood frame. You need to tap down on the top of the vinyl frame while keeping pressure towards the outside. Outdoor Kitchens ? Simple and Sophisticated After September 11, many of us decided to stay closer to home. We are electing to remodel our existing homes instead of buying new and moving. We are also entertaining in the backyard more than ever, so it is a natural progression to take what we love about our hearth and home and put it all outside creating the perfect outdoor room. If you have never thought of installing an outdoor kitchen before, it is time you start thinking about it. You don't need a backyard the size of Southfork to create an efficient, fun outdoor kitchen of your very own. Planning For a New Deck Part of the fun of a new deck is the planning! When you plan your deck, you can let your imagination run wild and add all kinds of fun features. As your planning process moves forward, you can whittle down your design to a more practical (and buildable) plan. Planning a new deck can be as simple as a few sketches, or as complete as a blueprint. You can have an architect or designer create plans for you, or you can do it yourself. Also, there are many new software programs available to make planning easier. Checking for Asbestos in Your Home If you are concerned about asbestos exposure you are not alone. Many individuals wonder if they have been exposed, and if so, what they can do to help protect their health. If you think that you have been exposed to asbestos or are looking for ways to prevent an exposure, look no further. We will go over some of the health problems that arise from asbestos exposure, and what can be done to prevent them. Breaking Away from White Wall Paint Paint is one of the most affordable and easiest ways to change a room. But choosing the right paint colors for your home can seem like an overwhelming task. The Science of Architecture You're told to take vitamins, drink plenty of water, get a good night's sleep and exercise, but has anyone ever told you that the design of your home and office can impact your health? You wouldn't be alone in raising an eyebrow and questioning how this could be so, but thousands of years ago, the ancient seers of India spent entire lifetimes observing how man-made structures impact humans beings. Their findings were compiled into a body of knowledge called Vastu Shastra. Add A Room To Your Home With A Patio Awning Do you need a patio awning for your lovely patio off of your backyard that only gets half the use it could because of rain or far too bright sun? Installing a patio awning to shade and protect it can be almost as good as adding a room to your home! Successful Motor Protection Formulae As we have discussed before, all overload relays have one major limitation - because they operate on line current, they do not directly sense the motor temperatures. Metal Carports: Steel Carport Guide Buying a carport to protect your investment can be a very frustrating task. With hundreds of manufacturers claiming to have the best product, how do you know who to trust? First you must ask yourself, are they out to make a buck, or to protect my truck? The first line of defense is to know what makes a good carport and the second is to trust your first instinct and know that you are protecting your mobile investments. Bathroom Wall Cabinets ? Create Extra Space with a Touch of Style! Is your bathroom looking cluttered? How about fitting new bathroom wall cabinets to store all your toiletries and appliances? These days we all tend to have a myriad of lotions and potions to keep us looking our best, but the result of having so many bottles in our bathrooms is that our bathroom vanity surfaces can become untidy and crowded. Adding more bathroom storage cabinets can give you welcome space to store all your accessories, leaving your surfaces tidy and clutter free! Refinishing A Hardwood Floor Want to bring your hardwood floors back to their former beauty, but don't have the money? Then read on for some tips on how you can refinish the floor yourself. Tips To Improve The Quality Of Your Outdoor Space And Patio It's easy to get overwhelmed trying to figure out just how to bring an outdoor room together to make it a peaceful spot to relax or enjoy quality time with friends and family. But if you think of it as yet another room to decorate and furnish, the space will come together more easily. Bakers Racks Add Flair And Style To Your Kitchen Many items a person can add to the kitchen are stylish and functional. Bakers racks fit this description nicely. This kitchen furniture has been seen in homes for decades and their popularity is increasing all the time. Bakers racks can be used for extra storage space and to brighten up a lonely corner. Uses for them seem endless. The Benifits of Home Ventilation The purpose of a home ventilation system is to maintain a healthy living environment by supplying fresh air to your home while at the same time removing stale and polluted air. Home ventilation also helps to maintain proper humidity levels of 30 to 50 percent. Removing Your Old Sliding Glass Door Last week I explained how to measure your existing sliding glass door so you can order the vinyl replacement door. This week I am going to go over the steps required to remove the old sliding door before installing the new door.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2005 |