Getting the house painted

We are getting the house painted. They are almost done with the front of the house. They started priming the lower porch yesterday. Luis has done a great job and will post his information soon. painting your house is obviously an investment. Luis and his men have made that an easy decision with their quality work.

Ikea - Friday Night!

Patricia told the wife that she was going to IKEA since they have free dinner for the kids. Since we are in the market for a new couch for the family room we thought we would check it out. After all, they also have 45 minutes of free babysitting. So, we headed down to Red Hook for a quick visit that quickly turned into three hours.

We dropped the kids off at Ikea babysitting. Alexander opted out for 10 minutes then wanted to go and we obliged. We were able to check out the empty IKEA, scope out leather (or pleather) couches, and didn't have to entertain the kids for almost an hour.

The store is like every other IKEA in the world, but there is something about the experience when the store is virtually empty. We bought a couple of new beer mugs and new beer glasses. Checked out some sofas. Decided on some throwaway silverware. All I can say is 45 minutes goes by fast.

Dinner at Ikea is ... lets just say stick with the meatballs. I got pasta, sauce, and meatballs. The meatballs were good but the pasta sucked and the sauce was ketchup with oregano. The kids said the Mac and Cheese was gross and concurred on the pasta. The apple juice and chocolate milk passed muster. We ended up buying 2 hot dogs and a pretzel to fill up their empty stomachs. The wife liked her meatballs and mashed potatoes.

We then went through the store again with the kids doing all the things kids do:

- Jump on all furniture

- Touch everything that is fragile

- not listen

- Ask multiple times when we are going home and then running away before you can answer

At the end of the night I was impressed that we burned through 3 hours painlessly, the kids did not watch TV or play video games, and the wife and I were relatively calm. I think I found a place to go on cold winter nights.

Blowing in the Insulation

We decided to fifnish up the insulation on the third floor so it was cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This is the crawl space that is at either end of our bedroom. 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. One day we will figure out what to do with this space. Walk in closet, space for dresser, etc.

They insulated the walls



Then they laid down a think coat of snow. They did this in the attic as well. The pictures weren't as great.






Since it was the third floor they had to blow the insulation in from the inside. Lots of patching and repainting. The clean up took about a day and about 95% of it was done by the wife. While the insulation costs a pretty penny, we ended up getting about 25% back from National Grid. We also might qualify for more if our heating bill goes down significantly.

The Mantel

When we bought the house a mantel was left in the garage. So Six Pack aka Gordon got to work on it and started stripping it. The mantel itself is Oak but has only one column which is slate and the side tiles are also slate. So we had to buy two new legs and not sure what to do with the slate?? The mantel will go in the living room.

Borders without Wars

When we bought our house the backyard boasted no less than 2 fences which were set back anywhere between 7 inches and 2 foot 7 inches from the actual property line and that was on one side. Before Spring and Summer caught up with us we decided to reclaim the backyard and restore it to a more reasonable rectangle instead of a rhombus.
One side of the fence which borders our next door neighbor unfortunately had to remain in place. So there is now two feet of unused space which includes a row of bushes, a chain fence, and a wooden fence, in that order from their side to our side.
The back fence was easier since all fences were clearly on our property and no bushes. Luckily it was the most askew and need of straightening out.

The Garden

The wife likes every thing to look nice and clean, so she works really hard to make sure that even I notice the effort and energy she puts in. Now that spring is coming it's time to start thinking about the Garden. Friday was a nice warm day so the wife and our enthusiastic gardening tenant (aka Torie) started to clean up the the areas around our house that have been reserved for plant life. They started by planting some summer bulbs and giving our "earthen canvas" a good coat of ecological primer (raking, rooting, etc.).
The spring flowers (planted last fall) are already coming out. Tulips, Daffodils and a variety of others are in their infancy.The main front garden we are pulling out the large green bush on the driveway side (not pictured) and planting a Holly tree with some other green fillers in the middle, not sure if we are going to grow grass or just keep the whole front filled with assorted foliage.

On Friday she planted Peonies , elephant ears and other summer flowers.
She is pulling out the large green bush and wants to plant a Hydrangeas(?). Leaving the small front for seasonal flowers.

I am not a gardener but the wife is trying hard to make it look as pretty as she possible can just like her!!!!!!!!! Any suggestions or ideas would be great.

A Grill

On Sunday my wife got an offer to buy a grill for $100. My first and only comment was, "Can I pick it up now?". So for the past few nights we have been "grilling up a storm". Beef kebabs, Chicken, Potatoes, etc. The inaugural meal was a steak. Which came out pretty good considering my grilling skills are more in line with "Grilling for Dummies" at this point. After all this is my first grill.
The grill might have been a little dirty but it is getting the job done.

Now that the Inside of the House is done...

It's been almost two months since the renovation on our house was completed. It's been really quiet. As the weather warms up "the Wife" starts to get ideas. So, we are starting to think about some outside stuff that needs to get done:

• Garden in front and back
• the good news here is that are tenant is interested in gardening. Less work for Jorin
• Fence redone in the backyard
• the bad news here is that 40 or so feet is really expensive
• Garage Needs to be "Organized"

Anyway you look at it seems like it could be a busy spring here on Rugby Road.

Looking Back...

This all began back in October. "This" is the kitchen renovation and the creation of the family room. Here are two pictures of the old kitchen and the old bedroom which became the Kitchen/ Family room.
Tomorrow we have a professional cleaning crew coming in to finish the job. Sunday we should have a few pictures to share with you all. Here is a run down of some of the highlights over the last few months:

Living Room/ Alcove

• At one point it was sealed up to keep out the dust from the demolition. It was like living in a bubble.
• Kitchen Table in the alcove. Somehow we managed to seat six people at that table one afternoon - Six Pack, Uncle John, Alexander, Alexandra, Ryan, Kaz and Myself. (The two kids make one )
  

Dining Room

• Painting it Bullseye Red back in September, stripping the baseboards and windows. Repainting it "pink" in January.
  
• You strip, stain and polyurethane the woodwork before you paint the walls.
  
• SoyGel
• The "Electric" range in the kitchen, then the dining room, and finally our front porch. Hope your happier at Cynthia's house.
  
• "Prime All Cuts" - Well not all the woodwork in the house is oak.
  

Kitchen

• "So, this will take two weeks", I say. "Yeah, maybe a little more", says the contractor.
• Crown molding is unforgiving. Keep the twists and turns to a minimum
• I love my granite counter top
• Hating, then loving the bay window in the kitchen. Now the wife wants to fill it with plants.
• The mouse letting me capture it alive. Me setting it free -- down the block.
  

Family Room

• Painting it the same color as before
• Catch that mouse
• Piles of construction equipment
• My one year old playing on the power saw, finding every other hand saw, and attempting to eat every nail, screw and small metal object in site. Lesson Learned- Renovate house, then have children.
  

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Now playing: Bold - Looking Back
via FoxyTunes

"I don't think I Like the color " - The Wife

I tell her, "We ain't painting it again".

Lincoln Logs

The kids got Lincoln logs from their Mema. We built the house on the tin. I loved Lincoln logs as a kid. Needless to say the minute after this picture was taken a "Tsunami" (see force of nature to left and right) destroyed the house.

The End in sight!!!

So we are more then 90% done. The kitchen looks great.
Back splash is in, it is a green glass, with sea foam green grout. I forget the color of the granite I think it's something like vertigo blue, but it's is a dark blue/green iridescent color.

Joanne (AKA mother in law) came over all weekend and help put the kitchen back together.

What is left to do:
Stain the bay window
The accent trim to molding (rope)
Molding over Microwave
Paint
Saddles

That's pretty much it.

Backsplash

This is up and grouted. It looks awesome. We are a week or two away from being done with construction and the major parts are over. Just the finishing touches.

Maybe Sea Monkeys Were the Wrong Analogy

I was trying to remember the product they sold on the back of comic books. You add water and rainbow colored coral like mountains grew in the "aquarium". Well, here it is the counter top. On Friday 5 guys showed up from Mondials to install the counter top.
Next up is the back splash. That should be done by the end of this week and also the trimming on the kitchen closet and bay window. So by the time the New Year rolls around we will have a brand new kitchen and family room.

Just like Sea Monkeys

Alright, I bought this piece of granite from a little old man reading a comic book on Coney Island Avenue. He sold me this little piece of granite for $10,000,000 and said "if I just add water It will become a beautiful counter top in just 24 hours."

How could I argue with the price?

BTW, The Who Sells Out can be had for $9.97 over at Amazon.com. Another mythical consumer trap. "There is magic in my eyes..."

Floors - Take Two!

The living room, dining room and stairway are all clear for the Micolosi Brothers. We are having another coat of Polyurethaned slapped on and some light sanding done to the floors. Not in that order of course. So, tomorrow we can repopulate these rooms and get one step closer to living like human beings.

Finishing Touches Pt. 1

Your probably asking what the saw and an unrecognizable piece of wood are in terms of finishing touches? Well, it's the crown molding. One step closer to a finished kitchen! Hallelujah!

My future counter top

What the heck is this? This is the slab of granite that will eventually be cut into my counter top. The thing is huge. The shapes in the granite are our reflections. We got the counter top from Mondial ((718) 232-0800 6501 14th Ave) and they ask that you come in and "inspect" the piece before they cut it up. Our type of granite is pretty much uniform so our inspection was more customer service than any real decision process. So, next week (w/o 12/10) we should have a counter top.

The Dumb Waiter

Talk about you never know what you will find till you open up the walls.
We found a dumb waiter. Pretty cool!

The Kitchen!!!

The kitchen is gutted. I really did not think we were gutting it but I guess my ideas and my wife's ideas are two different ideas.
Cabinets are on order. They should be here in, hopefully, in 2 to 3 weeks. The electrician has started working. Frank plumber comes tomorrow to move the gas line for our stove and for the dryer on the 3rd floor.
I guess as a first time home owner and a first time renovator you really do not realize what goes in to doing a kitchen and how many steps are involved. You have to to follow a certain order and each steps depends on the other. Some things like the counter top cannot be ordered until after the cabinets are installed. Then we have to wait two weeks for the counter top to be cut and installed, then we can install the back splash.
You need a lot of patience to do a kitchen. No matter how good your contractor is, if you want a nice kitchen, you want nice materials (i.e. granite counter tops, etc), then you have to wait for them.
I think it will be worth it all in the end.

Just hoping it will be done for Christmas. The wife is planing a big party!!!