So right on the end of my two week "vacation" we were greeted home by wet floors and walls. We suspected the damn air conditioning unit again since it had been under repairs 4 or 5 times already for leaks and freezing over. Some kind of lemon law had to be in place to get us a new A/C installed (or so I had hoped), but a new kind of hell was in store.
Friday, October 12, 2007
So two weeks later I am still still giving the thumbs down for certain costs concerning a repipe - a patch job is not even part of the equation. My house is in shambles and we have to continuously turn on/off the water when not in use. The good news is that we get new floors (again) and plumbing which will help sell the house that much faster...
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
What Am I? An Idiot?
Usually about this time of year El and I take a two week vacation somewhere fancy schmancy. This year, however, due to budgetary restraints and having an additional family member we (or I rather) decided to do something different.
It's virtually impossible for me to do any home improvement or take on any sort of long project that can't be completed in a couple of hours or days. It's part of the reason why I actually hired a landscaper recently to do our yard makeover - a job that once a year only required me and El two to three days to do ourselves.
I had set my sights on redoing the pig sty called "the garage" for quite some time. I knew I wanted to seal and redo the floor, but with the tangle of powertools, lawn equipment, sporting goods and assortment of other heavy items I knew it would require some planning. The WHITE walls had taken a beating over the course of 5 years and needed some fresh paint. I've always hated that a single 40 watt bulb was my only light source as the sun set and wanted something brighter without tacking on more to my electric bill. Over the years my collection of Bob Villa tools had really started to amass and El despised everything literally piled on top of each other in there. She even purchased sets of plastic tupperware cases to sort the various items (electronics, light bulbs, screws and nails, etc), but it eventually became a losing situation.
It's virtually impossible for me to do any home improvement or take on any sort of long project that can't be completed in a couple of hours or days. It's part of the reason why I actually hired a landscaper recently to do our yard makeover - a job that once a year only required me and El two to three days to do ourselves.
I had set my sights on redoing the pig sty called "the garage" for quite some time. I knew I wanted to seal and redo the floor, but with the tangle of powertools, lawn equipment, sporting goods and assortment of other heavy items I knew it would require some planning. The WHITE walls had taken a beating over the course of 5 years and needed some fresh paint. I've always hated that a single 40 watt bulb was my only light source as the sun set and wanted something brighter without tacking on more to my electric bill. Over the years my collection of Bob Villa tools had really started to amass and El despised everything literally piled on top of each other in there. She even purchased sets of plastic tupperware cases to sort the various items (electronics, light bulbs, screws and nails, etc), but it eventually became a losing situation.
No I needed an industrial strength solution. My garage needed a makeover. So I had the genius idea of using two weeks of my vacation to tackle some much needed home improvement. I figured 4 days tops to do my garage and then pack the family with boat in tow to SC for another project - my parent's front patio. I guessed 3 days to lay porcelain tile and in between spend time at the beach, deep sea fishing, and cruising Charleston harbor to sightsee. I even called Carl who volunteered to set up some kind of barkada cookout. It sounded like a solid plan - sure would've been awesome if it actually happened.
First, my garage...
I actually started a week before my vacation to get the jump on the beast of a project. I figured I could have more fun in SC if I actually finished it before I had took time off from work. I ended up removing everything from the garage to the back patio and cleaning the hell out of the floors. The whole area was swept and all oil spots removed with mineral spirits and then hosed off. Rinse and repeat. Rain delays extended my cleaning and prepping time by 4 days. Once dry enough I could actually paint the floor with Rustoleum's Garage Floor Paint. Once that dried I took the time to install two florescent worklights in the ceiling. By the time my vacation actually started I was able to finally patch and paint the walls and trim. Lastly, I purchased four 7' x 4' cabinets to sort through the riff raff of guy shit. This last part was more of a bitch than I guessed it would be.
I actually started a week before my vacation to get the jump on the beast of a project. I figured I could have more fun in SC if I actually finished it before I had took time off from work. I ended up removing everything from the garage to the back patio and cleaning the hell out of the floors. The whole area was swept and all oil spots removed with mineral spirits and then hosed off. Rinse and repeat. Rain delays extended my cleaning and prepping time by 4 days. Once dry enough I could actually paint the floor with Rustoleum's Garage Floor Paint. Once that dried I took the time to install two florescent worklights in the ceiling. By the time my vacation actually started I was able to finally patch and paint the walls and trim. Lastly, I purchased four 7' x 4' cabinets to sort through the riff raff of guy shit. This last part was more of a bitch than I guessed it would be.
They each weighed 200 pounds and I had to assemble each one versus fork over the $15 Home Depot would've charged me to preassemble each for me ($60 total + delivery fees - c'mon I'm on a budget here). It took three days to assemble all four of these poorly engineered cabinets. Luckily I had El help me assemble and move them into place. Seeing my goal in sight I hustled to move all the tools back into the garage so we could finally get on the road to Charleston. I started my garage project Wednesday the week before. It was already Tuesday of the following week and I had burned thru almost a week of my two week hiatus...
Because of all the damn rain I never made it out to the storage facility to prep my boat for travel. I had planned on leaving it in SC and eventually selling it if an opportunity arose. Since having Isa I haven't had a chance to take it out, but I kept up with its maintenance and upgrades. Command decision time. I would leave the boat in Florida for another time. I couldn't take it out in Florida or SC even if I wanted to. Scattered thunderstorms along the east coast made sure of that. Plus, I still wanted to tackle my parent's front patio project.
By Wednesday morning we were on the road to Charleston. Once we were there I took the night off to chill with Isa's grandparents. The next day my father and I went to price out and buy his tiles. Once selected I wanted to clear out the patio, but he wanted to rest. ok. The NEXT day was spent clearing out and pressure washing
it. Every three years he would reinstall a new outdoor carpet to the patio and every three years it would be disgusting. Even more so because their damn dog uses it as its personal toilet. I was determined to permanently enhance the look of their house while avoiding having the front patio smell like a urinal anymore.
it. Every three years he would reinstall a new outdoor carpet to the patio and every three years it would be disgusting. Even more so because their damn dog uses it as its personal toilet. I was determined to permanently enhance the look of their house while avoiding having the front patio smell like a urinal anymore.
By Wednesday morning we were on the road to Charleston. Once we were there I took the night off to chill with Isa's grandparents. The next day my father and I went to price out and buy his tiles. Once selected I wanted to clear out the patio, but he wanted to rest. ok. The NEXT day was spent clearing out and pressure washing
it. Every three years he would reinstall a new outdoor carpet to the patio and every three years it would be disgusting. Even more so because their damn dog uses it as its personal toilet. I was determined to permanently enhance the look of their house while avoiding having the front patio smell like a urinal anymore.
It took about three more days to cut and lay the tile and let it cure. I would say I did my fair share of sweating my ass off. My father hasn't had the strength or stamina since his bypass to handle hard labor like he used to so I've taken it upon myself to do what I can to handle whatever needs done. Over the recent years I've given my father choice powertools as gifts vs the standard tie or shirt - I figured it would help make his life a little easier. Once the tile was laid El and I took it for the team and grouted it with my dad. I'll leave the sealing to him.
it. Every three years he would reinstall a new outdoor carpet to the patio and every three years it would be disgusting. Even more so because their damn dog uses it as its personal toilet. I was determined to permanently enhance the look of their house while avoiding having the front patio smell like a urinal anymore.
It took about three more days to cut and lay the tile and let it cure. I would say I did my fair share of sweating my ass off. My father hasn't had the strength or stamina since his bypass to handle hard labor like he used to so I've taken it upon myself to do what I can to handle whatever needs done. Over the recent years I've given my father choice powertools as gifts vs the standard tie or shirt - I figured it would help make his life a little easier. Once the tile was laid El and I took it for the team and grouted it with my dad. I'll leave the sealing to him.
We took the last two days of my vacation to spend with some friends (Steve and Carla, Carl and Kristy, and Marc and Crystal). Sorry we didn't get to do what I had hoped to do while we were there, Next time na lang. We plan on coming back in November to celebrate Isabella's first birthday.
Auntie Lalaine also made a brief appearance from Connecticut to say hello and spend some time, Sorry we didn't get to take her out really.
Auntie Lalaine also made a brief appearance from Connecticut to say hello and spend some time, Sorry we didn't get to take her out really.
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