Home improvement: What would you do?

[Mercedes Benzene]

If you really want to stick to a budget, you should start with the most necessary things...
This seems like an obvious rule, but I have known people who have gone out, bought a new 80 inch tv, when their front door was practically hanging off the hinges... =.=

Do the things that will make your house feel "homey" and "welcome" to you... and of course, the dishwasher replacement was probably a good idea too.

Best of luck to you with your new home!

[TheFaithfulStone]

Wow! You've done a lot of work. Thankfully it sounds like you're in pretty good shape structurally! Keep your fingers crossed.

(BTW, I got portions of my house actually fixed, so I'm less bitter about it now.)

TFS

[InfiniteNow]

Here's some pics... Still chipping away at my projects little by little.

In the first picture, there is now a hammock between those two trees... Ahhh... hammock. These have got to be one of the greatest inventions of human kind.






In the second and third, you can see where I took out the closet (the shop vac in the picture would have been IN the closet if it were still there). Removing it opened the space WAY up. You can also see the old tile which I've been working to remove for the past month. I've gotten all of the tile pulled up, and have been working to chip out the remaining mortar off the cement with a hammer and chisel for a few hours each night after work.

When I'm done, I'll be installing this:

[InfiniteNow]

http://hypography.com/forums/earth-s...tml#post130867

Originally Posted by iNow

First thing I did when I bought my house was install a 17 SEER HVAC unit.

Here she is, my big lovely 17 SEER, 3 ton, 2 stage Texas mamma jamma cooling unit...

She's (hmmm... I wonder why I've espoused my cooling unit with a gender... ) programmed with a Honeywell Vision Series Thermostat, which allows up to four settings per day, and you can program each day of the week differently as needed (i.e. Up to 28 settings).

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

I opened up a closet in the guest bedroom. They had closed it off and put a single door on it. Don't know why, but I tore down the framing and have that ready for a new set of doors. Want to find something different than bi-fold though... they never appealed to me. I've spent a lot of time spackling holes in that room. Just need to sand it all down now before I prime and paint that.

Well, tubs and tubs of joint compound later, and about a week's worth of evenings spent sanding, and the room is finally primed and painted.

It's the first room in the house that has color, and boy does it feel good. We chose a color called Russian Blue, and in the mornings when the light floods in through the windows it's gorgeous. I'm going to put in some crown molding painted bright white to make it really pop.

[Jay-qu]

looks great InfyNow

That backyard would be great for a game of cricket

Also I have been there done that with the tiles, if you can get your hands on a mini, hand held jackhammer, your life would be made a hell of a lot less difficult! What I had got done in an hour was obliterated in seconds..

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by Jay-qu

Also I have been there done that with the tiles, if you can get your hands on a mini, hand held jackhammer, your life would be made a hell of a lot less difficult!

Oh sure, wait until I'm done to tell me...


I actually considered renting one, but since I'm working both jobs, I think you understand why I did it myself. Basically, it was a choice between renting a jackhammer and not having enough to buy the new floor, or do it by hand and get a really gorgeous floor...

Sweat equity... Is that anything like filthy rich? No, not at all...

[InfiniteNow]

Well, I did my first bit of front yard gardening this weekend. Weather was purrrfect for it!


My front yard was in desperate need for curb appeal and vegetation. I did some planting. Three trees, some sage at my entryway door (smells delicious when you approach!), and some flowers which I don't know what they're called... If asked to explain them, I'd say they were pretty and cheap!

This spring, I will be putting in some purples and pinks and bright yellows to my flower bed. How fun this is! I never knew how much I was missing when living in an apartment.

Cheers.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

In the second and third, you can see where I took out the closet (the shop vac in the picture would have been IN the closet if it were still there). Removing it opened the space WAY up. You can also see the old tile which I've been working to remove for the past month. I've gotten all of the tile pulled up, and have been working to chip out the remaining mortar off the cement with a hammer and chisel for a few hours each night after work.

When I'm done, I'll be installing this:

I finally laid the concrete to fill that 1.5" gap yesterday. The gap was created when I removed that saltillo tile, and I bought, mixed, poured, levelled, and trowelled 2500 pounds of concrete yesterday, and boy are my arms tired (but my muscles are looking fantastic!).



Seriously, guys... I've been putting that project off for a year and a half because I was so anxious about the extent of the concrete work, but I am SO glad it's finally done.


Now, on to the next... but only after a beer or three.

[Jay-qu]

Well done, it is a satisfying feat to have done a long hard days physical labour, especially when its something you have been putting off doing for a while. Make sure you post some pics of your progress