Painting Garage, Garden and Privacy Fence

Finally got the siding on the garage painted. I'll be installing corrugated metal roofing on the top part to give a real modern look. I think it'll be awesome. Check out my cucumber plant in my home made topsy turvy planter I made from a 2 liter bottle! yesterday at lunch I saw a bumblebee pollinating all the blooms! yay! In other news I've started the privacy fence as well. It's going pretty good and I really like the hard work. and hard work it is. I'm still using a clam shell post hole digger. People told me to just rent a one person auger, but honestly i really like the work out. My day job consists of sitting on my ass staring at a computer screen, so I take any chance to get outside and work out my body. Be sure to check out my carrots, pole beans and okra plant as well in the photos.

Things I've learnt...

thus far: (it's okay to laugh)

1. Measure twice, cut once.
   
2. Be sure to install trim BEFORE the siding.
3. Cutting fiber cement siding pre install with a utility knife is a pain in the ass.
4. Cutting fiber cement siding post install with a utility knife is a royal pain in the ass (see note 2.)
5. Beware of malfunctioning caulk tubes.
6. Caulk is great...when used sparingly.
7. Caulk is actually an "everything" magnet and you will find it where you least expect it. (see notes 5 and 6.)
8. Save your hardware store receipts.
   
9. Be sure to begin work on a satisfied stomach. Working when hungry only makes the project you are working on take longer and annoying.
10. Do not buy the cheapest materials. I repeat: Do NOT buy the cheapest materials.
11. Never assume any pre-constructed surface is square or plumb. ever.
12. A girlfriend who helps you put up fiber cement siding should be taken out to a fancy dinner immediately. Flowers would probably be good too.
13. 3:1 rule - If you hit your thumb more than 3 times while driving nails, it would be wise to stop nailing.
14. If you think you need a 6 foot ladder, buy an 8 foot.
15. A good set of properly built saw horses is worth it's weight in gold.
16. Those saw horse brackets are worthless pieces of junk. (see note 15)
    

More to come....

More Photos of Garage Conversion

Here are some more photos of the garage conversion. It is going very nicely I have to say. I've been having a lot of fun. Ginny helped me with the siding on Sunday. I'm using Hardiplank which is a fiber cement siding which is basically concrete. It's an non-toxic, eco friendly choice and is made from cement, silica and wood fibers. It was a little tricky to get use to. But after messing up one plank, we figured it out and got our groove and put the siding up in a few hours. You can read all about the product here.

I'm also adding the sides to the opening to accommodate a garage door. After the garage is done, I'm on to the privacy fencing!

Carport to Garage

I've been working pretty feverishly on converting my carport to a garage. In the past few weeks I've managed to frame out the exposed side, install sheathing, weather resistant barrier and 2 windows! It's been a very good learning experience and lot of fun. The only thing I'm not really happy with is the lack of "green" materials available in the area. I'm trying to be as eco-conscious as possible, but it's been a little tough. First I wanted to use FSC certified lumber. I could have sworn the Home Depot was one of the major proponents and carriers of FSC lumber. Well it must be region/store specific, because the Home Depot here as nada. Next I was trying to find "green" sheathing. I contacted a company called Berry Plastics that makes a great product called "Thermoply" However their regional sales person didn't really seem to know this area and said I could try 84 lumber. However, I called the local 84 lumber and they said they don't carry it. Then I'm trying to find eco friendly caulk and expanding foam. There's a low VOC caulk by Geocel and a soy based foam by Touch n Foam. Neither of which can be found in the area. Geocel's website lists a local Power Building Supply as a distributer. Says they are open on Saturdays, so I drove by and the place looks closed down and looks like a junk yard rather than a building supply. However I did manage to use a flashing that is made from recycled rubber! Yay! Sure I could order some of these things online, but how "green" would it be to have 2 cans of expanding foam shipped by a huge diesel rig? Or for me to drive all the way to Asheville and back for a couple of FSC certified boards? If anybody has any suggestions I am all ears. Enough of the soap box, below are some photos of the progress. I didn't get to take photos of the windows installed yet, as I just did this and finished at 10:00 p.m. so it's dark. I'll post tomorrow if I get a chance to take some photos. (The weird close photo is of my pliers stuck under the footer board. I inadvertently forgot they were there and couldn't for the life of me figure out why the board wouldn't tighten down. Luckily I figured it out before I cracked the brick foundation or split the board!) stay tuned...

A Few Photos

Here are some photos of the finished laundry room and then a couple of the messy living room and kitchen. I did the natural slate tile job and replaced the baseboards as well. Those movie seats are ones I restored and you can see my cat Beaufort on top of my new microwave in the kitchen photo!

Cork Floors and Slate Tile

I promise I'll be posting photos soon. The good thing is that I've been busy with the house (and a few other things) The laundry is coming along very nicely. I laid down the slate tile and installed a nice modest frosted globe light fixture. I also installed new power outlets and light switches. The only thing left to do is install new baseboards.

My next project is installing cork floors. I ran into a bit of snafu with the flooring company (iFloor). I placed an order for some cork flooring to cover my living room and hallway to start. I used their no interest/no payments for 18 months credit offer. (I know, I know, I already had a conversation with my brother about financing home improvements...) Anyways the company just filed for chapter 11 and I can get anyone on the phone to find out how and when I can pick up my flooring. Soooooo I guess that's a clue that I should not have financed my flooring. Waiting to hear back from their attorneys...

Orange Laundry Room, New Refrigerator

My first week in the house has gone pretty well. One of the "surprises" was that the refrigerator didn't work. As much as I like to cook, this was a priority. I was planning on updating the appliances in the future anyways, just not this soon. So purchasing a new refrigerator moved to the front burner, so to speak. I settled on going with bisque color appliances since I don't really like stainless steel, black is too gloomy and white is just so...what's the word i'm looking for? white. Bisque is pretty retro without committing to seafoam green or avocado (by the way I actually love both of these colors) Plus I'm planning on using earthy colors throughout the house so I think the bisque color will compliment pretty well. I've been doing tons and tons of research on "green" remodeling and energy efficient appliances, etc. "They" say that a fridge with a bottom freezer is the most energy efficient. Which is totally awesome, because I love bottom freezers. I think they look cooler too and somehow more classic. So I got a 21 cubic inch Maytag. I really wanted a Frigidaire but they don't have any bottom freezers and seem to duck the bisque color scheme for the most part. No biggy, the Maytag is freaking awesome! It's sooo huge. Now there's no excuse for me not to cook wonderful meals from now on!

Next, my friend Ginny found me an awesome 70's pearl crushed velvet couch at a Goodwill in Atlanta. We went to pick it up this past Saturday. While we were over in the neighborhood we stopped by SimpleFloors. They are one of many flooring places that carry bamboo, cork and other eco friendly flooring. After much research I have decided cork is the best way to go given my dogs and my back. It apparently "gives" a little bit, kind of absorbing shock and stress. I also prefer the designs that are available in cork over the bamboo. There's swirly kind that is available from many brands that I freakin' love. I got some samples from the store and took them back to the house and I think it's going to work just fine. I'm going with the floating kind so I don't have to mess around with glue. I'll have to do the house room by room instead of all at once given my budget. I'm going to do the biggest room (the living room) first to get that wallet pain out of the way. It's going to cost around $1000 for that room and about another $1700 for the rest of the rooms that I want to do. $2700 total - not too bad.

Last, I wanted to start on something that would be small, inexpensive and rewarding. Luckily the laundry room is the first thing I see when I enter the house. This room is about 6x3 feet. I decided I'll tile the floor, paint the walls and replace the lighting fixture. Simple, but enough work to make me feel like I'm doing something. So tonight I painted it "Lucky Penny", a sort of light rusty orange. It's by Olympic's Low VOC paint. (I'm trying to go as green as possible on this house). Tomorrow I'll stop by Lowe's and pick out a nice, simple light fixture. I'd like to use reclaimed tile, but since the room is so small, it might be more "green" for me to get a few new tiles at Lowe's rather than have a few recycled tiles shipped via air polluting diesel rig from out of state. Pictures soon....