Flooring (entry)

The entryway needed work from the beginning. We ripped out the bookshelf, and it sat that way for a while. Then we let our friend Nick (same guy who took care of our tree) tear up the old tile...and it sat that way for a while. Then we put in new underlayment. Two weeks later, new tile!!!! Now that we're done with that, we can add new trim around the door, and finish the baseboard trim in the living room. Enjoy the pictures below. (It's amazing how much better the floors look after the refinishing.)

Original (Yikes! Oh, and you can see the original light fixture that I replaced.)

G'bye bookshelf


New tile!


Different angle


Close-up

Garage Pics

Finally some pictures of the garage. It's more garage-like now, after all of our belongings were moved into the basement. I hung some speakers, pegboard, shelves, a storage rack, etc. Plenty of space in here!

Doors & Shutters

Amanda painted the shutters, and the new door. We'll add a new storm door on the spring. The new door, and the new paint made a world of difference. I also power washed the siding, which helped. Below are some before/after pics.

Before --> After

Before --> After

Lighting

I played electrician this weekend. I replaced the single-bulb light over our washer/dryer with a 4-foot fluorescent fixture (which came from an unused area of the basement). Then I replaced two light fixtures upstairs with new recessed lights.

After

Before --> After

Before --> After

What a sweet fixture.

Updates!

So it's been a while since my last update. We had some extra help from Amanda's family this weekend, and things are really coming along. Our bedroom is finished! Our improvements (since the last posting) have been...

The master bedroom:

• I ripped out the old shelving in the closet, and installed two new shelves.
• Amanda's dad/sister put the closet doors back on.
  

The second bedroom:

• Two TV/data jacks installed
• Closet shelving replaced
• Walls painted
• Closet door hung (with new, matching hardware)
• Window treatments hung

The rest:

• New front door! (Andy hung this for us, and it is a huge improvement to the house)
• Amanda painted the front door (exterior) and the shutters.
• Our friend Nick ripped up the old tile in the entry way, and we'll be ordering the replacement 'tile' shortly.

I've had an absolute field day with the garage. I moved all of our stuff from the garage, to the basement. Let me tell you, we have a lot of crap! Anyway, with the stuff in the basement we finally have room in the garage to start storing things.

The garage:

• I visited my grandparents, and received a bunch of tools (many of which I've already used several times).
  
• Hung shelves. Lots of shelves.
• I went on Craigslist for an old stereo receiver and a pair of speakers. I mounted the speakers on the wall, and the receiver under the work bench.
• We had a 'door' in the basement that was made out of pegboard. I removed the door, and hung the pegboard in the garage.
• Hung the bike on the ceiling.
• Hung the rakes, shovels, brooms on the wall.

Up next:

• Lay the new tile in the entry way of the house.
• Finish painting/hanging the interior doors.
• Start on the kitchen!!!

This week is shaping up to be pretty laid back, so I should have time to post pictures tonight/tomorrow.

The Bagster

So we decided to try out The Bagster. Basically, you buy this nylon(?) bag from Home Depot, fill it with your garbage, and then call for a truck to come pick it up. So we threw in anything and everything we've ripped out of the house so far. And then I started ripping out the oh-so-nasty wood paneling off the basement walls.

Doors

A few weeks ago, Andrew and Bethany stopped by to help us sand doors. They made quick work of all the doors we could throw at them. Unfortunately we haven't made nearly as much progress painting them. (Notice the ladder propping up our formerly-broken garage door)

Our bathroom door... until we get the door painted, and the door trim sanded/painted.