3 hours on wiring

Today is Saturday and we spent 3 hours working on the wiring which included a trip to Home Depot for supplies. Ugh. We ended up cleaning and tightening the connections where the cable enters the house and that seemed to help. We thought we had it (internet and phone) working last weekend, but after a day or so it got very bad and had been down most of week. Hopefully that won't repeat this week.

(Today as I'm composing this it is actually 6/3 and it's been up and at a high speed the entire time. yay!)

Progress on windows

I'm making baby steps of progress, but at least I'm moving ahead.

Today I spent 45 min prepping the side door and culling the shade samples down to 4 (that's 4 shades of white, down from 10 in the same fabric family in the same shade).

So far on windows and woodwork to date: 261.5 hours.

Our internet has been down for days, and whatever is causing that is causing our home phones to not work as well. Given that we have bad cell reception always, that puts us pretty much out of touch. Sigh.

windows

Today I spent 45 minutes on the windows and woodwork for a total of 260.75 hours to date. I made some small progress, but even small steps forward every day will get it done. It's hard to find big chunks of time so I'm focusing on small steps daily. I narrowed the fabric samples for the blinds down to 6 (all shades of white) after moving them from the first location (dining area) to the bedroom.

I updated my whiteboard to reflect our new plan to get flooring in the public areas of the house sooner. I'm going to focus on getting the windows & woodwork done in the living room, dining area, kitchen and hall so we can paint and floor those areas and then do the bedrooms. It will be nice to have any flooring in more quickly.

I started prep on side door for the next coat of shellac.

We've had no internet since yesterday - something is haywire with wiring and it is very frustrating. I have so many web things to do that I can't do and the list is piling up. We will work on again this weekend.

Wiring internet jacks

Today was Saturday and we spent 4 hours working on the wiring. I actually wired 4 internet jacks myself! I didn't think I could do it, but I had to step up because Chris couldn't fit into the corner where the work needed to be done. He talked me through it and by the fourth, I felt like a pro! Our internet connection is a lot better. Yay!

Here are two of my jacks, with Danny as the spokesmodel:



Here I am hard at work:



My workspace:


4 hours, show pics, I wired 4! 3 work, internet much better. yay!

Window shades

Today I spent half an hour working on the window shade samples. Total on windows so far: 260 hours.

Side door trim

Today I spent 1.5 hours getting the side door trim up for a total of 255.5 hours to date on windows and woodwork. Unfortunately, I don't have a before shot because the trim makes a big difference. I had to scrape off the excess insulation from when I used the spray-in expanding foam to fill the crack around the door. I also cut my hand and got a little bit of blood on the unfinished door trim, which was worrisome because it soaked right into the unfinished wood. But I managed to wipe most of it off and sanded the rest. Now I can really say I've put blood, sweat and tears into this house.

Here is the after shot of the trimmed door. On to prep and shellac!


We have a tall hedge that separates our yard from the 2-story apartment building next door. We trim it every year, including the back side which faces their property. We don't have to do this - the local statute says the back side is their responsibility just like it is my unfortunate responsibility to cut the ivy-from-hell that grows into my yard from theirs. We also keep the hedge within the allowable height limits. So today I hear one of our neighbors on that side complaining about the hedge saying "they don't care, they just let it grow." I was mildly annoyed - I mean how much more am I supposed to do to meet the threshold of a caring neighbor?

Why finish carpenters make $

Today I spent 1.25 hours on the windows and didn't even get the first piece of trim up on the door I am working on. This is after spending an hour on this door's trim already. I tried to use the miter saw and the laser sight didn't work. Of course there is nothing in the manual about trouble shooting or maintenance on this, the most IMPORTANT feature which was printed in BIG RED LETTERS on the box. I thought it might be the batteries (even though there is hardly any time on the current ones) so I went out and got new batteries. I cleaned the battery compartment and the laser lens and got nothing. I decided to keep going anyway and do the best possible.

I messed up my first piece - because of where the saw is set up, I can only have the length of a long piece to my right. I mixed up my miter and cut it at the wrong 45 degree angle. Cutting the second piece went fine but it was very difficult to install because of the hinges. Since I didn't have the laser, I kept shaving off very small bits of length until I got it as close as possible. One more cut may have made it too short, and if there is any problem with the length it will be concealed at the top of the door.

Total on windows and woodwork to date: 254 hours

Notching the door trim by hand

Today all I could get in was 15 minutes on the door trim. It was better than nothing, and little bits add up over time as long as I'm consistent. One of the reasons I've been making slow progress lately is that I've only been working on the windows when I can do a big chunk which turns out to be not very often.

Total on windows and woodwork to date: 252.75

Door trim MacGyver fix

Today I spent 45 minutes hand carving a notch into the door trim on the side door to accommodate the strike plate. This is the only door in the house that needed this - on the other doors the plate just cleared the door. But, in a screwy old house nothing is quite the same.

Total to date on windows and doors: 252.5 hours

Here is the notch I carved:





Here you can see how the curved end of the strike plate does not fit against the straight trim.





And here is the notch I did. I was quite pleased with how well it fit.

Window blind samples

Today I spent half an hour ordering fabric samples for the window blinds. Why do I need samples if I just want white? There are 10 shades of white for 3/4 inch pleated fabric for this blind line alone. It also comes in a 3/8 inch pleat and there is another entire family of color which has it's own dozen or so shades of white.

Time on the windows to date: 251.75 hours.

Still here, still trying to catch up

I'm posting this on July 1, so you can see how behind I am but I am still here, still remodeling and still blogging! I'll catch up on both someday I hope.

8 more bags of chips and first pass of yard is done

Today I laid down 8 more bags of wood chips around the perimeter of the yard, and I am pleased to say that the first pass is done with a total of 84 bags! Before you get too happy though, let me say that it took so long that I already have to go over 1/3 - 1/2 of it again because the chips have biodegraded or been picked up with doggie doo. I am concerned that this is going to be a constant maintenance thing, which I am not pleased about. We are considering changing it to pebbles, but we'll see. One dog uses the chips in the farthest corner of the yard for a bathroom and it is really convenient - easy to pick up and far from the house - so I don't want to mess that up.

Outdoor furniture and blind shopping

Today I cleaned the patio set, which has been down since the rain in February. That's the way it goes with a fixer upper - things take a long time.

I spent 1.5 hours looking at blinds on the web, bringing the total to date on windows to 251.25 hours.

I've narrowed the choice down to just two choices and am very happy with what I found, which is a cellular shade with cordless top down/bottom up. I didn't think cordless top down/bottom up existed (it is usually corded) because this is the first time in two years of looking at blinds that I had seen it. Of course, it can't be that easy though; now I have to order samples because there is 10 different shades of white. But little by little, I am making progress.

Shopping for window shades

Today I went to a local bricks-and-mortar store to buy blinds. It is a local mom-and-pop that has been in business a long time. All they sell is blinds and they have a great reputation. They also have a showroom with lots of things on display. I felt sure that I would leave having ordered my first window shade and was ready to pay a little more just to be out of my misery.

After 2.5 hours, I finally left with no blind ordered. Even the saleswoman was overwhelmed and told me how hard it was to buy her own even though she sells them for a living. She confirmed what I've found - blinds are among the most complicated projects I've tackled so far in the house.

I couldn't find an option I liked for less than $200 for one window and with 12 windows and 3 doors there is no way I'm spending that much. Even that option was not great. The price for what I wanted was over $400 per window. In addition, they charge $60 PER WINDOW to measure and install. Installation is 4 screws - that's it. You can do it yourself, but at $400 per window they should throw that in! But of course, there is no way I would spend that.

It really shouldn't be so hard - I want some shade of off white, inside mount, top down, opaque with light coming in. The saleswoman was very helpful and really tried to find something for me even though I knew what I wanted. I decided to open the parameters since it looked like I couldn't get what I wanted for under $400 per window. I looked at 3 different brands of cellular shades, wood shades, roller shades, and a variety of others and the were still all over $200 per window. I can get them for less online, but I am concerned to buy them without seeing them first. Also, since you are measuring yourself, there is no guarantee and they are not returnable for any reason.

After I recovered from the ordeal, I spent 2 hours online trying to find shades. I learned a lot and found some good sites to buy from, but still no order.

Total time on windows and woodwork to date: 249.75 hours.

A little on windows

I was very tired today, May 4 for those who know, but managed to get 15 minutes of sanding in bringing the total on windows and woodwork to 245.25 hours. I'm trying to be more consistent on windows - a little a day will get the job done more quickly than not working because I can only do a bit. It seems to be working - I'm making progress and it's a mental boost to make any headway because it brings peace a little closer. Even a marathon is run one step at a time.

Behind, as usual

Not only am I behind in the renovations, I'm behind in blogging the renovations. Stay tuned because I do have everything written up - it just needs to be finished an posted. Someday.

In a few weeks, you'll see a switch to one post per week. It's more appropriate to the rate of change in the house and it will help me get and stay current.