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All of Those Unfinished Projects around the House

August 3rd, 2013 at 05:00 pm

Last month I briefly investigated building another house (lot prices are very low right now, and as an architect I can get good pricing on construction and do a lot of the work myself). The investigation was brief because the numbers didn't work out the way I wanted them to (my goal was to wipe out our mortgage - about $86k left - or the project was a no-go).

Also - things would be too iffy (how much could we sell our house for? would it sell quickly) and the whole thing would be a giant pain (moving into a rental for a year, managing construction when I am supposed to be working).

OK, enough of that. The result was a new appreciation for our house. I built it in 1998, 16 years ago. If we sold it, there are a few things we'd need to do - these are mostly minor repairs and updates like painting (I've never repainted most of the rooms!). Since we are not moving, it makes sense to do these things so we can enjoy them!



So I decided to make a list and tackle those things a few at a time. My goal date for completion of most of these is Thanksgiving since the entire family is coming here for the holiday. Some of these are five-minute tasks (sometimes it's inexplicable why I haven't just done them).

In case you ask why my husband is not helping with the list: he is not allowed near my tools! I like him with all of his fingers.

This project starts today with a trip to Home Depot! I will keep you posted on the progress.

General
have a garage sale (find items in hall closet and spare room closet)
crack repair in master bedroom, pantry stain, threshold to bedroom, big chip in F’s room, shower)

Master Bathroom
declog drain
new showerhead

Master Bedroom
put in baseboard (measure, buy wood, cut, paint, install)
reattach trim
fix peeling paint

Living Room
adjust strike at front door
find out about glass in door
sand door and seal
cabinet for tv
paint table white
remove black covers off of track lighting
repaint!
remove nail and spackle
declutter entry table

Dining Room
move play kitchen upstairs
repaint!

Kitchen
adjust strike
trim piece below door (measure, buy at home depot)
appliance garage of some type
shelf for my grandmother’s cups and saucers
repaint!

Fs Bedroom
new rug (measure, get sample of paint color, Home depot)

Hall
paint
cut nail ends at nicho
spackle at nicho

Den
spackle holes
paint wall behind desk
weatherstrip (already bought! remove old strip and reinstall)
picture frame for picture I want to hang
edit the pictures on the picture shelf; frame as needed

Outside
paint unmatched stucco
replace dead aspens with foresteria

Fs Bathroom
redo grout (remove old grout first!)
paint table white

10 Responses to “All of Those Unfinished Projects around the House”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1375546329

    Very nice design on your house! Those projects sound less expensive AND less time consuming than building a new house. Good luck.

  2. Wino Says:
    1375568270

    If you have a pin nailer, I suggest you use it for your baseboards and trim. I have a Grex and I love it. It will shoot up to two inches, but I always "cross" the pins in trim for a better hold. You don't even need to paint until the rest of the trim needs it, because you can't see the "pin hole" without looking for it.

  3. Buendia Says:
    1375570539

    I do have a nail gun - it's awesome except I have to use my air compressor which I don't love. Does yours require a compressor? I'd love to sell the nail gun and the compressor and get one that doesn't require a compressor...

  4. ThriftoRama Says:
    1375571875

    It's beautiful! Very modern. I am a fan.

    Those projects don't sound too terrible. it's much easier to do them in small chunks, trust me. We moved and then had to do a whirwind, 6 week 'renovation' of all the little things we put off but needed to do to sell. It was a lot of work, but the house sold within 5 days on the market, and this was in 2010, when things really weren't good.

  5. rob62521 Says:
    1375572958

    Very nice...good, comprehensive list. I love the part about hubby not allowed around your tools because you want him to keep his digits!

  6. Buendia Says:
    1375575019

    Finished a bunch of things today. I had a really nice shower afterwards in a shower that drained! With a new showerhead!

    Thank you for your nice comments about our house! It's a nice house to live in. It's easy to clean. And a good investment: total invested in the house including the land - $300k; current value $550k.

    Just today I asked my husband for a pair of pliers and he came to me with wirecutters! Hee hee! But he does all the computer/electronics/internet fixing.

  7. ThriftoRama Says:
    1375576360

    I think we're married to the same man.

  8. Buendia Says:
    1375583450

    That's funny! I guess it's one of the things about marriage - you end up dividing up tasks. Division of labor! (I am better at laundry, but I don't sweep. He sweeps, but can't bang in a nail).

  9. Wino Says:
    1375613210

    The Grex needs a compressor, but you can get a pancake compressor, and it will have enough volume and pressure for the pin nailer. I have tons of wood working and construction tools, and many of them are pneumatic. I have a large compressor, but I have about 250 feet of hose, so I can reach anywhere in the house. I have a portable pancake if I have to go to someone else's house. I never do HVLP painting, so the pancake does about anything except sanding. I use an electric sander (jitterbug). One thing I've learned is to buy the right tool, learn to use it, and get the job done a lot faster. I'm certain I have the tools required to complete an entire house over the 30 years I've been collecting power tools.

  10. pretty cheap jewelry Says:
    1375623151

    IMPRESSIVE and I thought I was the only female homesteader out there. My husband is the builder but it is almost an excuse for him just to buy tools. Deep down inside he thinks there is no problem that can't be solved with a tool!! Anyway I just raid his tools for my jewelry biz !

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