March 2nd, 2012
→ showerheads are one of those things that you don’t think a lot about unless you have one that you don’t like, then you can’t quit thinking about it (at least for the x amount of minutes you’re in the shower). in our last home i had a regular, unfancy, plain jane shower head, and sean had a rain shower head. for our new we-never-want-to-leave-shower, we wanted one that had/or was a handheld for easy shower cleaning. we went to lowes (you can seriously spend an unforeseen amount of money on something as simple as a showerhead in bath specialty stores) and the first thing we found out is that almost all of them are plastic. i don’t know about y’all but for $50-100 and up we were wanting something a little nicer, and more durable, than plastic.
soooo.. this narrowed down are choices considerably, as well as price, because no way were we spending hundreds of dollars. we got lucky though, this has a rain like shower (which i thought i wouldn’t like and instead love) and a removable handset, which i think is what makes the rain part so good because there’s really good pressure instead of feeling like you’re under something going drip, drip, drip.. plus tons of settings and is real metal! we chose chrome because it shows the least amount of water spots and we’re just saying.. if you’re in the market for a set, this is a good one. it isn’t sold at lowes anymore but i found it online here. (one last thing, it’s a set, with an on/off handle.. most were showerheads only, if all you need is the showerhead, you can find it here)
February 23rd, 2012
yesterday morning we woke up to bright sunshine and sixty degree weather, gorgeous. went for a walk around the lake, felt the sun on our faces, looked at buds on the trees, perfect start to the day. this morning we woke up to 4 inches of snow on the ground (and still falling). whaaat? the snow had just melted. yesterday we talked about how it had finally gotten just-hot-enough that the 30 inches we had lingering had disappeared and now we’re all covered in white again. oh, and before it snowed, last night the wind was so strong i thought the house was going to blow away like in the wizard of oz. stuff was flying (literally) down the street, and with it we’re sure stuff from our yard because hello.. it’s “stuff” central all around our house. it was so loud for so long we expected the roof to fly off at any given moment. (we turned the tv up louder and acted like nothing was out of the norm at all.. it sortof worked)
and diy? well, it’s a little like karate kid painting the fence around here, not much to see, all repetitive. he’s putting on mud, sanding off mud, putting on mud, sanding off mud (wax on, wax off) and there just isn’t much to show you at the end of the day (or three in this case). the master bathroom needed lots of mudding and sanding and he’s ensconced behind a curtain (no doors yet) doing just that. even when it’s finished all we will have to show is a white wall, that in photos will look no different (probably) than the walls you’ve already seen. but we’ll show you anyway. mudding, sanding, snow shoveling. that’s it for now.
Filed Under: everyday // bits & pieces
Tagged: camp1899, denver blog, denver colorado, small houses, tiny house blog
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February 21st, 2012
here it is.. our golden oldie. the vintage fridge that came with the house worked good and we had intended to keep and use it, but were unfamiliar with the world of interior freezers. when the freezer is inside the fridge you have to defrost the entire thing once a month or else the freezer turns into the largest block of ice known to man. we weren’t relishing the thought of unloading and unplugging and waiting for it to thaw, then cleaning, reloading and waiting for it to cool again. uhmmm. no thank you. we loved the idea of vintage looking, something like the big chill line, but they run for around 2-4000 dollars so that’s out. we just happened upon this vintage (60′s?) jcpenney fridge and the entire thing is a refrigerator, no defrosting monthly necessary. it’s small like most vintage ones are, but is huge on the inside, has all galvanized shelves & basket, and the cooling coils run along each shelf instead of on the back. we love it. we just got it in over the weekend, it is running a bit cold, so we may have to replace the thermostat, but we’re hoping that does the trick. (anyone reading ever replaced a thermostat before?) and one last thing.. it has a lock on it, how funny is that?
February 17th, 2012
oven & microwave cabinet ↑
pantry cabinets in the making ↓
and a spot for the fridge ↓
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: camp1899, home diy blog, home renovation blog, small houses, tiny house blog, vintage refrigerators
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December 14th, 2011
we drove just under 1600 miles in two days (with a quickie visit in between) and we are really, really glad to be home! our first travel day was sunny and beautiful, but day number two, not so much. non-stop rain and foggy like pea soup for the first eleven hours. the most perfect welcome home? only five minutes after crossing into colorado we had sunny blue skies. it was cause for celebration.
the last thing we had hoped to show you before heading out to the carolinas was the porch roof but it wasn’t finishes until late in the evening and then we left in early morning darkness. i tried taking a photo anyway but night photography and a point and shoot don’t really go together (at least with me manning the camera). so our first thing to show you coming back is that we finally got all of that pretty silver metal installed.
we have a long to-do list. this seems to be a recurring theme, one that we’d like to reverse for the upcoming year. (; we are getting to some fun DIY so be ready.. like finishing walls, tiling the master bath (big big BIG fun plans for that little space), doors, a fireplace, a new age fancy pants heat and ac system.. lots. of. stuff. be patient, we’re both scrambling around like crazy, but we’re feeling it, we must, we must, we must create more dust… here we go. again.
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: camp 1899, colorado blog, edgewater co, home diy blog, home renovation blog, small houses, tiny house blog, tiny houses
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October 17th, 2011
the last big thing to be completed on the exterior (that has to be done this season) is the front porch roof and decorative wall above. almost all of the old bungalow style homes in our neighborhood have some form of gingerbread siding; scalloped, square (like ours), triangular, or a mix of the three. ours were made of wood and badly weathered. this time around we’re replacing with scalloped instead of square, and using a long-lasting cement board product instead of wood. (more details when we get to this part of the project) basic demo, then a few well measured cuts of plywood and we were all set. husband covered the plywood with safeguard weatherproofing (just as he did on the entire roof) giving us extra mileage on both the wood base and the cement board. a few more steps to go before we’re all done. as with many projects, one thing, uncovered many. oye.
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: diy blog, home diy blog, how to home repair, porch diy, small houses
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October 11th, 2011
for the most part running electric for a house is not that difficult. when broken down it is quite straightforward and a realistic do-it-yourself project. only exception, wiring & set up of the electric panel, absolutely hire a professional for setting up your main box. this is where all major problems stem from (typically) and you will save lots of money doing the time consuming job of running wires and installing outlet boxes, which is much more of an abc project.
one thing to know before you start, it is time consuming. very time consuming. our house is only 528 sq. ft. and it’s taken him 3 weeks of working on electric to get it all done. don’t create a squeeze on your schedule by underestimating how much time you need blocked off. another suggestion, most homes have 15 amp breakers, for a little more money install 20 amp breakers and 20 amp wire. having this little bit extra prevents you from overloading so easily; we even added four dedicated breakers for each side of the house for holiday decorating. christmas lights (in particular) eat up electricity and cause you to blow breakers, the last thing you need during the holidays with family!
and then the nitty-gritty, the do-re-me. this is where you’ll be really happy to have added running electric lines to your list of do-it-yourself projects. supplies ran us around $1500, but we were quoted $2200, in this alone we saved $700. the electrician quoted $5000 for labor. ouch. it is very time consuming, so if you hire it out be prepared. electricians charge $60-$120 an hour so you will pay a premium for their time, where as your time will be “free.” the electrician that quoted our job definitely underestimated the time needed and too often this can prompt cutting corners to keep their time table correct, no one works for free so something has to give. this was a huge savings and the cost to install the electric box/panel was only $100. in total, we kept $5600 in our pockets….. yes, please!!!
if your wires are running close to the edge, through the stud, less than an inch and a quarter, you install protective metal plates which prevent someone nailing into your electric line. they are so inexpensive that we put them on every spot, better to go the extra mile on electrical safety.
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: 20 amp breakers, electical diy, home diy blog, how to run electric, small houses
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September 8th, 2011
a little progress.. the half bath being framed in (that husband of mine knows sturdy). (;
Filed Under: D-I-Y
Tagged: diy blog, diy home renovations, diy house framing, small houses
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