Monday, February 27, 2006

 

Ty Pennington, I am not

For some reason (certainly not logic) I think everyone embarks on home renovation with images (delusions?) of 7-day magical makeovers where the only real work you do is walking around the job site with a loud bullhorn.

It isn't like that, and on most days, it's not even doing one little dramatic thing. Instead, most days are like today. I don't have a great before and after shot, but I got a lot of little details taken care of:

FIREWOOD (for the next 3 winters)


Actually, the guys who worked on the tree are coming to pick it up tomorrow.

UNUSED WIRING AND STUFFS


So I finally took down the unused DirecTV dish which has been on my roof since I moved (no DirecTV for me....I'm Comcastic!) Also, what took a lot of time and can't be shown in photo form is the removal of all the DirecTV wiring. Unlike someone with half a brain, the POs thought it would be great to run the wiring in plain view right under the eaves. It always bothered me but didn't that noticeable until the tree was removed. Now you can see it from the curb, so out it went. Along with all the little wire hooks, nails, and staples.

CHIMNEY TOPS


These blew off about a month ago and I just today rediscovered the joys of traipsing around the roof. Seriously folks, cheap thrill. Try and and see. Anywho...I spraypainted these with some Rustoleum silver metallic. Didn't do much good; I need a new chimney cap, preferably in stainless. Also, looks like it just might be time to paint the chimney.

WHERE ARE WE?


With the tree gone I feel like I've got a blank canvas to work with. Those of you with superhuman observation will notice the ugly weirdo gazebo thing is gone. Anyone want it? It's FREE! (<-- said just like Larry from Sit-n-Sleep). I've got to do something about lack of dimension. I've got some ideas. Midweek I think I'll post up some sketches.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

 

I love the sound of chainsaws in the morning...


So many of you have heard me talk about that @#$%#%$, #%#$^#$^%, ()*&#$$%#, @#^%&amp;@& ficus tree in my front yard. Not only was it placed in the worst place, aesthetically, the previous owners (POs) never trimmed it, it got way too big, and it's roots ran everywhere.

Goodbye...


I'm not sure how safe this is, but they look like they know what they're doing so far.


Monday, February 20, 2006

 

So it turns out I *DO* have a life...

No work on the house this weekend. Those of you who know me personally know what a car nut I am (here's a pic of my scooby):


So this weekend I did a Monte Carlo Road Rally -- my second one. This is one of the most fun things you can do in a vehicle -- while it's moving. :) Basically, it's like a big treasure / scavenger hunt with precision timing. You are given clues about where you need to go and told what time you need to be there...but it's your job to figure out exactly where you're going and how you're going to get there. It's very competitive and mentally straining so most teams have a driver and a navigator. Out of 25 or so cars in the beginner class I think my driver and I did pretty well:


These events are fun and relatively inexpensive and well-organized (this is really good if you're anal retentive like me). If you want more info: click here.


Sunday, February 12, 2006

 

Do you believe in magic?


I do, and its name is Wagner Paint Crew.

My parents were kind enough to give me one of these for Christmas.

I don't know if you're at all like me, but I have one of those friends that's a cynic. Whatever it is, new easy way of doing something, good deal on a car, someone else's success story, this guy's got a negative opinion. It won't work; it's too good to be true; you'll be sorry. And so was his reaction when I told him I got a paint sprayer: it will clog all the time, you'll have tons of overspray, 2 coats will be required. I will admit, I was a bit intimidated and it took me a month and a half before I got together the mental wherewithal to try it out. Some of you are aware of my front facade fence painting:

BEFORE:


The fence section of the right is really more of a termite graveyard than a fence. It's a POS for sure so I've been hesitant to paint it, using the logic, "why spend good time on the bad fence?" But that all changed with the sprayer. It's funny that they call it a "sprayer" since it doesn't so much spray the paint as conjures paint up on the object you want paint. Literally, it took less than 10 minutes to get to this...

AFTER:


The paint job is awesome on it. One coat, great coverage, very little overspray. Now, those of you with particular keen senses of observation have probably already noted that this photo is taken just before sunset. While it only took 10 minutes to paint the fence, it took 1.5 hours ("cynic friend" let out a grunt of satisfaction when I told him this) to clean up the sprayer. Though, I think I learned a few very important lessons and I bet I can get it down to 45 minutes next time. Overall, I'm very happy with the sprayer; if you do any painting at all I think it's a worthwhile investment. Because it was so easy, I'm now thinking of changing my house color. With the masking done I bet I could do it in a summer weekend.

Cool Pics:

One of my friends says she thinks my house looks really neat lit up at night. Also, some of you have asked why I spend so much time ripping out plants, sweeping up leaves, and painting fences instead of more "glamorous" interior work. Fortunately, the interior of my house is a lot farther along than the exterior so right now it's the wheel that squeaks the least. But here are some pics:


I really need a wider angle lens, but oh well. I think the full-size image is better: Click Me


Full-size here.


One thing I've always liked about the Cliff Mays, Eichlers, and many other MCM homes is the ability to see through windows to another part of the house. It's a level of transparancy and self-awareness missing from today's stucco boxes. Full-size here.

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?