Long Weekend Update – ZimFam edition – Aug 16-20
My wonderful parents flew in from Texas for a little home improvement trip.
When I was a kid, we used to plan stay-cations long before they were the cool thing to do. Some of our stay-cations included laying Pergo on the kitchen floor, tiling a bathroom floor, etc. Working with my parents on all sorts of projects was how we spent time together. We have always been a close family in part because of our affinity for working on home-improvement projects as a family. My sister and I tiled our first floor when we were 6 and 7. I remember Dad laying down the thin set and Bekah and I would lay down the tiles and the spacers. Mom has always done the grout-work since she has the most patience with the sponge. Even into high school when my grandmother came to visit, we had a project planned. It was a great way for everyone to keep their hands busy, to chat or not chat, just to spend quality time working together for a common goal. This week was very reminiscent of those memories. We worked together in silence or in friendly chatter as our moods dictated. It was especially neat to share in this longstanding family tradition with Stefan who has similar memories of working with his family but lacking the jokester that is my father and his partner in crime, my mother.
We got a ton done on this trip. My parents flew in Wednesday night and by Thursday morning, we had them working hard. The first task was to clean out the remainder of the plaster and lath from the closet room. The ceiling was already done so it was just the “easy” part, the walls and carrying all the debris down the stairs and out to the dumpster.
It looked great after it was all clean and empty. A little electric, some plumbing for the washer and dryer, and then some drywall and it will be a brand new room. We are leaving nothing except the floor which will get upgraded at some point in the future. This room and the bathroom are the only ones that will be completely gutted. The closet room had bad water-damage and by the time we cleaned that up, it was well on it’s wait to empty so we went ahead and took the plunge.
Thursday Afternoon, Mom and I primed all the lattice around the front of the porch. It looks so good even with just the primer. I can’t wait to get everything all painted. This porch is going to be gorgeous. In fact a man walking down the street was standing in awe of the porch and declared it to be “brilliant” in a great Flemish accent. He lives in a condo around the corner and has been following the progress of the house. Whenever we are out front of the house we are complimented on our porch and the progress of the house in general. We get a lot of foot traffic and it’s kind of neat how neighborly the walkers are.
While Mom and I were priming lattice, Stefan and Daddy were hard at work taking up the floor in the bathroom. The bathroom has been re-modeled no less than 3 times so all the floor joists have been cut every which way and there were probably 8 or more types of flooring. It was actually quite astounding that the previous remodel managed to get that cast-iron tub in the room, stable, and draining. Getting that floor up took all day and was quite a feat. The dumpster is full to the brim and once we get that ugly tree out in the front yard we’ll have it taken away for good! I’m so looking forward to the day when we can park our cars in the driveway with a passable distance between them!
In Zimmermann Family tradition no home improvement project is complete without a cat getting in the way. Vector LOVES walking around between the floors of the house. He gets all dirty but he has explored every inch of this house. When Daddy and Stefan were working, Vector climbed into the ceiling of the 2nd floor from the floor of the 3rd floor so he could watch the construction efforts. I wish I had a picture of that cuteness! Here he is dirty and exploring.
Friday morning the men worked on plumbing drain and then took an epic trip to Home Depot. Apparently they had an entire shopping cart full of PVC fittings but did they take a picture? Noooo. You’ll just have to imagine what $300 worth of PVC fittings looks like. While Dad and Stefan were planning and shopping, Mom and I drilled holes for electric and got wire strung between outlet boxes in the closet room. Drilling those holes is hard but I’ve recently gotten over my fear of drilling things and I’ve become a drilling fool. “Oh, Stefan, you need that hole pre-drilled, allow me!” Getting the holes in the studs ready took some work but it’s done and that’s my favorite kind of project. Daddy is going to mail us his right angle drill which will make things so much easier in the future.
In the afternoon, we worked on more lattice painting. We primed and painted the panels that the contractors hadn’t installed yet. I had hoped we would be able to spray them but I’m missing a piece for my sprayer 🙁 I’m usually so good about keeping track of that stuff but when I’m ready to spray, it’s no-where to be found. Stefan needs to call Wagner and see about getting me a replacement part. Note to Wagner: 1) I want to do a sponsored post on your paint roller (e-mail me!) and 2) you should stock more replacement parts on Amazon.
So, after the paint sprayer debacle, we got 6 cans of Kilz spray primer and went to town. We then painted the lattice the final color with Sherman Williams Duration which is too thick to spray anyways. I’m sure it can be done I just think I probably need an airless sprayer. Stefan’s brother has one…I’ll have to borrow it sometime.
The lattice looks great. I’m getting so excited about getting the porch painted and landscaped and getting the yard ready to go.
Once the boys returned from Home Depot, they got to work on the plumbing. Getting those 3″ drain pipes in place seems to be a lot of work. They drill and fight with the holes and then use the sawzall and circular saw to fix whatever didn’t go right. You probably need a Clamping Knob Arm Distributor if You’re trying to keep a nice drain angle so it’s a little tempermental. They did get things working eventually and over the 4 days they managed to get most of the drain work done.
In the evening, mom and I hung light boxes but didn’t bother with pulling the wire to them. We decided to wait for Stefan and his giant dewalt drill since drilling overhead is hard enough let alone if you need to use the heavy drill.
On Friday, Mom and I also ran to get a yard of dirt from Weiss Farms in Stoughton. It was a neat old farm that has turned into landscaping supply. We nearly killed the truck with the dirt but we needed it to re-grade under the porch. We are trying to fix our leaky basement problem and keeping the water from pooling under the porch next to the foundation was the primary fix. Getting the porch done and the gutters up is fix number 2 and that should happen this week. Operation get some dirt was rather scary and to top it off, the contractors didn’t get to shoveling it under the porch on Friday and it rained…a lot on Friday night. So Saturday morning, Dad and Stefan shoved about a half yard of dirt under the porch. Dirty, backbreaking work but they managed. Meanwhile, Mom and I worked on an arguably dirtier task of running wire. We ran electric up the chimney into the 2nd floor bathroom while the men were working. Getting it up to the second floor was the easy part. It was getting it across the basement from the electric box to the chimney that was tricky and dirty. 100+ years of dust and the beams across your attic ceiling get to be rather filthy. And when you’re working up there, that dirt falls onto you, particularly your face.
Mom and I ran maybe 800 feet of wire. 7 runs to the second floor and 2 runs to the third floor. We kicked the spool and Saturday night had to go out to get more. We also picked up mulch, gravel, more PVC, Grooved Plywood flooring, more electrical boxes, and even more PVC fittings. It was a $700 Home Depot trip. We should be good for a while though..I hope. We closed the ‘ol HD and the poor kid at checkout was not pleased to see us. We weren’t at our normal HD so we didn’t have our usual lady to check us out. She just finds our escapades amusing but this kid was less than pleased not that I blame him.
Sunday we visited a church nearby. So many young couples, good friend potential. Once we get a little more settled I’d like to start making some local couple-y friends and getting involved with a church in some fashion. After church, again in the Zimmermann Family fashion, we bolted as quickly as possible so-as to avoid small-talk with strangers and got back to work. To be fair, we did have a lot of work to do. The boys were quite productive on Sunday. They got another toilet and the shower drain installed.
Mom and I pulled a final 3 wires up to the 3rd floor.
We spent some time on the yard mulching a couple areas. My hydrangea is looking so good. I put down some weed-block cloth last weekend and just hadn’t had a chance to do the final mulching. It looks so good now.
Last week I had this brilliant idea that we should get rid of any vegitation next to the AC units. We have just about 12″ of space between the fence and the AC units. It’s not enough to even get the weed-whacker in. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier but I just layed down some landscaping cloth and two 5lb bags of gravel and voila, a walk-able path. Mom helped me lay everything down and spread the gravel. Quick project that will make our lives sooo much easier.
Mom and I weren’t quite out of energy (Hah) so we decided to do some brick carrying. A couple loads from the 3rd floor and a couple more from the basement. If that wasn’t enough, we also caulked the entire front porch. It only took us about 2 hours which was quite a bit less than I expected. It looks so good. Mom could barely walk by the end of the day and I’m sure I’ll be sore for weeks but it felt so good to get so much accomplished.
Monday morning, we had the morning to get even more done. Stefan and Dad got their project to a nice stopping point and carried a bunch of things up the stairs, or up, over the porch and through a 5’x1′ window as the case may be. Mom and I painted the porch until the contractors came to finish things up. It looks soooo good in it’s rich creamy beige. We used a roller on the strait parts of the spindles and then followed behind with a brush to hit the corners. It actually goes pretty fast, espescially with two people. We got over 1/4 of the way done over the course of about an hour.
Then I had to get to work since I needed to work a full day on Monday. Mom was put in charge of making sure the men-folk didn’t hurt themselves (perhaps the hardest job of the weekend) and I said my good-byes and went off to work. Stefan dropped them off at the airport at 2-ish and the weekend was done. It was such a fun trip and the 4 days just flew by. If my entire body wasn’t sore, I wouldn’t have believed it was a full 4 and a half days.
We are going to try to plan another work-cation for early spring. If we can get into a 4 times a year visiting schedule I think we’ll be able to maintain the jovial, tight-knit family we’ve always had. Some families only spend time together in relaxing or sitting around talking but I hope my family continues to bond and celebrate being together with projects and purpose. I think it makes us unique and it has certainly made us very close. We don’t currently have anything project-y planned for Thanksgiving but Bekah, Mom, and I are dead-set on following in the Mommy-Grammy tradition of working on fun craft projects when we visit. In fact, one such unfinished Mommy-Grammy project may be basis of this Thanksgiving’s craft. More on that later as we get all the details worked out. I know Stefan will have a project. Computers always need maintenance and Daddy always needs a hand in the garage.
The weekend was productive and solidified my belief that my family is awesome from the self-portrait at the airport to the last sheet of plywood precariously hoisted through the second floor window. Gotta Love ‘Em!
Sarah
Master Bedroom Inspiration
I purchased this linen set quite a while ago to be the starting point for the master bedroom, then I realized I could have gotten several Matching Bedroom Sets from another store that was much more affordable.
The bedspread has a great green and taupe floral/damask pattern to it.
I loved that the colors were soft but still not too feminine. I bought the entire set for $89 at TJMax! It is Lauren by Ralph Lauren but I haven’t been able to find the name of the pattern. It doesn’t seem to still be in production. We plan on moving in a year or two and I’ve been looking at these beautiful new home designs in Perth. So for now we are starting to paint the walls here and get it ready to be sold.
The paint happens to match the taupe in the bedspread perfectly which these digital color samples fail to show.
I fell in love with this image on the cover of the Pottery Barn catalog this spring. The bed has been out of stock all summer but it’s back up on the website but at $2199.00 it’s a bit out of the price range.
I found this one that fits my style a bit better but it’s even pricier at $2700.00
The bed, which we ordered at https://posh100.com/best-sleeper-sofa-bed-couch-pull-out-futon-couch, is going in front of a window:
Here is the room…messy, I know.
So I started thinking that perhaps a canopy of 4 poster bed isn’t the direction we should go in though I do love a good 4 poster bed. Since we will have drapes, sheers and blackout, on the window behind the bed, we don’t really need anything dramatic.
We could do some sort of sleigh bed or even just a nice wood headboard. I do think it needs to be wood. I’m afraid white would read a little more country cottage than I’m going for. I’d like to stick with the pastel colors but stay in a more victorian era with modern touches of course. This bed’s statistics can be found on: https://www.daringabroad.com/best-bunk-beds-with-stairs-loft-bed-with-desk, there’s no chance that we will compromise on sleep and so we are making sure that everything is perfect.
As far as side tables, I’ve got a couple options. I bought this great kidney shaped table for $20 in New Bedford.
My initial thought was to use it as a side table with a nice old chair as a sort of writing desk. I think it needs a neat lamp and perhaps a leather writing pad. Some old ink wells would make it a great vignette. On the other side, I can always do a stack of vintage suitcases.
Any other wood table that I happen upon will do as well. I’m sure I’ll be re-arranging side tables for the rest of my life. No need to nail that down now!
What I do need to figure out is lighting. Bed-side lamps of course but what about overhead lights. I love the idea of a chandelier on a dimmer.
Seems so romantic. Is it going to look gaudy and tacky though? I suppose it depends on the light, but I diffidently love the BeddingNBeyond covers I was able to find. Perhaps just a romantic pendent rather than an actual chandelier would be more appropriate.
I’ll have to keep thinking about that one. The room also needs an amazing rug. The tan oriental in the bedroom with the chandelier above is great. I keep finding pink rugs but I had hoped to really keep the pink fairly minimal. I’ve got a pink kitchen, a pink powder room, and a pink closet/laundry room. The rug for this room will be a challenge. Stefan doesn’t like light colored rugs but I’m just not sure what else will fit!
Below the TV, I need some sort of anchor. It can’t be too deep so that it doesn’t interfere with the flow into the room and into the bathroom. A pair of short Barristers Bookcases would be perfect but pricey and hard to find. A girl can dream though!
Well that’s the plan for the master bedroom. I’ve still go to get the details of the master office/nook sorted out. If you recall, there is a bright little room right off the master bedroom but I’ll go into that another time!
Let me know what you think!
Sarah
Projects for Another Day – 2
These are mostly clothing/accessory projects to ponder.
1) Lacey jean shorts
Saw this on pinterest and I’d love to try it! I love the idea of being able to make these as long as is comfortable while still being feminine and cute.
2) Hex nut jewelry
I love the touch of metal and the structure without the bangle look. It’s impossible to type with a bangle but perhaps a layer of bracelets like this is something I could pull off. I’m working on building a wardrobe that is both casual and together. I’m getting there but some jewelry would pull me in the right direction I think.
3) Dip-Died t-shirt
here is a great tutorial/walk-through from wit & whistle .
4) T-shirt re-do
I have a t-shirt with a sequin stripe. It got me thinking, What else could I applique onto a simple t-shirt? Rick-rack, sequins, lace edging, ruffles, ribbon, etc. I almost always wear a cardigan to work so I can get away with a T underneath as long as it has a little pizzazz! Actually, I could just wear a t-shirt, shorts, and tivas like everyone else in the office but A: it’s too cold and B: I’m trying to look like a grownup.
Here is a similar shirt from J. Crew:
5) Spray-painted cowboy boot
I have my old, utterly worn out pair of cowboy boots lying around. I’ve decided it’s high time I do something with them. I’m thinking maybe purple. Pink is a bit much and I don’t want to be afraid to wear them. I’m planning on buying a pair of actual black boots so there’s no neat to stick to something so boring. Grey would work but equally as boring. My mother had a pair of navy boots for a long time. That’s an option.
Again, let me know if you try any of these! I’d love to see your progress and get some tips!
Sarah
Weekend Update – Aug. 4/5 and 11/12
The kitchen is taking a bit longer than expected to finish. I can’t wait to show the final pictures but alas, there are no final pictures to show.
Aug 4/5 we spent a bunch of time getting the apartment cleaned out. We still have a TON of stuff over there but we had a new sub-letter coming in and he didn’t need the room furnished so we had to move all the furniture out. It wasn’t raining as is typical of moving days but it was perhaps the hottest day of the summer. After loading up the truck and the Honda fit to the brim, we were drenched in sweat and ready to rest a bit. The goal for the kitchen was to get the sink installed. That task had a couple pre-requisites.
First, we had to get the vertical piece next to the fridge installed:
And we needed to get the drain re-done. We did figure out how to hook in the sink drain to the vent stack. That really helps the sink drain much faster. If you’re unfamiliar with plumbing drains, as I was about 6 months ago, the vent basically lets the “bubble” of air out of the drain. There is a column of air between the water in the sewer and the water in the sink. This can be especially seen if you fill a sink and then pull the drain plug. Poorly vented sinks will stay full until enough agitation occurs to let the big air “bubble” bubble up through the water in the sink basin so that the water can drain. The vent is a branch off the main trunk of the drain that lets that air escape so the sink can drain without issue.
Before we could move onto the sink, we needed to get the counter placed and the hole for the sink cut. We also needed the corner piece of countertop cut and installed before we sealed everything up since the seam between the two sections of counter was right under the lip of the sink.
Here is Stefan cutting the big sink hole.
Getting that corner piece cut was no small feat. We finally settled on making a cardboard template which worked out well but ended up taking approximately forever.
Between Saturday of Moving and a super fun brunch on Sunday along with the life sucking heat and lack of adequate insulation to help the AC keep the house cool, we didn’t get much done.
By the next weekend, Aug 11/12, we managed to have the corner piece cut and installed. Whoohoo. Yay for those couple hours of free/work time after work.
Friday evening, we got the sink set into it’s hole. Whoo, it looks so good! By Saturday we had it plumbed and running. This weekend was Massachusetts tax free weekend so we went on a marathon 3 hour, $700 trip to Home Depot.
On Sunday, we cut a hole for the vent hood and spent most of Sunday which was an absolutely beautiful day working on the yard which was in desperate need of some tlc. Stefan mowed which was quite a chore since it had been more than 5 weeks and every pass with the lawn mower had to be done 2 or 3 times to get the long grass cut. We also spread some grass seed and took out 3 full trashcans of yard waste. I still have a lot of weeding to do but I figure if I can keep the weeds from flowering this year, the weeding can wait until things are a little less crazy.
My wonderful parents are coming in tomorrow(!!) for a long weekend of working on the house. I will be diligent in photographing the progress.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! The porch guys started on the posts and railings last week. It looks amazing!
I’ll keep you post-ed! hehe
Sarah
