Not Nearly Perfect

Baby Steps

2009-10-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

I never expected blogging about my house would cause a sense of urgency towards projects, but this is awesome! I needed a motivator to get me going, having a huge gap between blog posts on a project this simple is something I want to avoid. I needed to put in two new squares of linoleum where I had widened the doorway. I scraped the old glue off with a chisel, then sanded and wood filled, then sanded again. I was really pleased with the way it turned out. Keeping that old roll of leftover lino really paid off. Then I finished the second baby gate extender. All that remains is staining, something I may just get at today.

Side note: I somehow misplaced one of the four threaded pieces that keep the gate in place. I used a carriage bolt, and took a holesaw to a hockey puck for the rubber stopper. It is the one on the bottom left, and I think it fits in rather well.

Doorway Woes

2009-10-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had nothing but rain for the past few days, so I will have to put the water pipe project on hold. Anyone with a dirt floor foundation has probably experienced this. Picking up with another project I have had on the back burner, I decided to get going on this baby gate extension. Since I widened the doorway between the kitchen and kid's playroom, the swinging baby gate has not fit. We've been using another one in the meantime, but it means constantly moving it out of the way or stepping over- which is becoming a pain for my 8 months pregnant wife.

This is side one of two, both of which will be stained to match the gate. I was unable to match the height due to the placement of the outlet, but both sides will be uniform.

Water Pipe Freeze Protection

2009-10-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

In each of the 6 years we have lived in this house, we have dealt with freezing water lines. The majority of lines are fine, but in each case it has been the lines leading to the washing machine. Throughout the winter I have allowed the lines to drip slowly into the washing machine, and emptied it in the mornings. On the really cold days, that isn't enough, so I have had to thaw them using a heat gun. This fall I plan on installing an electric water pipe freeze protection cable along the lines. Here is the lines:

Loose Screw

2009-10-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

This magnetic knife holder has been broken for weeks. The mounting holes are 18 inches apart, meaning that I could only affix it to one stud. It is gyproc on top of a plaster wall, and I could only put a screw in so far before hitting something. Unable to use an alligator clip, I chose to just put the second screw into the plaster, where it held for several years. Now that it has pulled out I cannot simply put a longer screw in because it can't go in any further. Never having had much luck with those plastic screw inserts, I rolled a dowel in wood glue and pounded it in the hole. Once it dries, I will put the original screw back in, snugging up the dowel.

Preface

2009-10-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Project. Even the word makes me squirm. I have lived in this house for six years now, and that word has plagued me since I moved in. Life has been a constant renovation, until the last few months. That was when I finally gave up. But the projects wouldn't let up. So here I am surrounded by a house that is falling apart, and all I want to do is have a house that doesn't need attention.

I should explain that I am a terrible handyman. I love the deconstruction projects, or the rough work, but I have no eye for detail. And that would probably be fine, were it not for the fact that I have a wife and two (soon to be three) children who deserve better than that. I'm not sure of the exact age of this house, but I don't know of to many homes with sawdust insulation, or knob and spool wiring.