I’m spending tonight with my Excel-sheet to see which invoices need paying, which subsidies I can claim already and what has to wait, etc. Mr. Imma has left the room because he’s so tired of seeing spreadsheets! We can afford doing this, we spent years saving for it and then we spent about a year making calculations to make sure we really had enough saved, but we’re still spending a lot of time juggling large payments. We’re naturally frugal people so seeing our savings dwindle makes us a bit nervous, even if the expenses were planned and we saved the money specifically for this purpose.
Hardboard replacement. The panels on the bottom front of the garage are new, you can see the texture pattern is different than the upper level, and the side of the garage, but from the street it looks the same. Also the dark wood is new.
And I’ve been chipping away at the guest room (which I call the @Abbeeroad Room). The heavy part was done by the painters, who removed the wallpaper and painted. Jim put together the bed, and I went nuts with pillows and blankets, and added a few runners to soften all the hardwood, and embroidered curtains. I have a carved wood piece from India to hang above the bed. Now I gotta find a dresser for the room, because my mom left clothes here for her next visit.
And, they are in the process of grinding down the surface of the counters to correct the concrete issues (whoever mixed it screwed up, but art is just a series of accidents, right? lol). It looks so much better, though it’s easier to see when wet what the finished top will look like.
Love that room! And that window in your kitchen is
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(Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)
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Since I rent, there isn’t a whole lot I can do permanently…but, the house was powerwashed for spring cleaning and looks so fresh that I now want to change out the bedding and curtains!
I am also going to check out some temporary wallpaper and maybe paint the fireplace bricks…right now they are white and just so stark!
@MistressJennie – your house is looking good…and yeah, it can be frustrating dealing with prior owners’ quirks, but, when you do, it will be the way you want it for your family…I sort of wish the landlord had taken off the outlet covers in some of the rooms we have…I mean, I like the ocean, but I don’t really like the cutesy dolphin outlet covers or the flower knobs on the closet…
I remember something on a house blog I used to read about a product that you wiped over painted doors/frames to ‘degloss’ rather than sand. It was US blog, so I assume a US product, bit can’t recall what it was called.
When we moved into our house, all the door frames were missing the strike plate (the bit where the latch clicks into?). No idea why, all it did was make the doors rattle when it was breezy.
I hate being right. Keep in mind, I’m a chemist by education.
Because of the screw-up with the countertops, and because the sealer they used smelled so bad, I asked to know what product, specifically, they were using. All concrete sealers are different, both in application and in end-use properties (more or less resistant to stains, scratches, heat, etc.). I was told that they’re professionals, know what they’re doing, would only choose the correct product, yadda yadda yadda. Nope. I was so right to ask. The product they were using has VOCs, has to be applied to properly (28 days!) cured concrete, and was designed for flooring. I am so angry.
The builder says that the concrete guys will use the product I choose, if the other one isn’t okay. I sent him a link to a no-VOC, food-safe, countertop sealer.
I have to agree with you on that. Always trust your gut.
The epoxy resin I’m having them use is impact resistant and heat resistant to 475 degrees F. As long as they apply it properly and no one messes it up before it’s fully cured, it should be fine and withstand everything the boys throw at it. DH wanted to put his air fryer, toaster oven, and popcorn popper down there. We need a clear coat that’s not gonna melt if they drop a hot pizza roll on it, for Pete’s sake…still gonna get some stone cutting boards or something to go under those things, though.
Wow, that’s a huge mistake I hope they can fix this.
One thing i definitely learned in this whole process is that many people make things up as they go. Even experienced builders. I mean, I do the same when I’m sewing, but I hadn’t considered that it’s the same for tradespeople.
Oh and one more pet peeve. In a very visible spot in my craft room, we’d talked about finishing a certain area with wood (just one board, not a lot). We didn’t discuss what type of wood but we talked about “wood”. I’d somehow assumed that they’d get back to me about what type of wood later on, I hadn’t expected them to finish that spot for at least a month or so. I thought they said they’d needed to get the plasterwork done before they could put that up, but apparantly not?
When I was at the house the other day (builders weren’t there) I saw they had somehow already finished that spot and instead of wood they chose some kind of white plastic coated MDF board?! I’d been thinking of solid pine, something that looks nice and fresh and clean. I know you can paint laminated MDF board but it will always look and feel plastic-y.
We have like a 15-page contract with these guys, but it doesn’t contain those tiny details. I’m sure these guys put them up in good faith and that they really honestly think plasticized board looks much better than plain wood. They didn’t go with the cheapest option but bought a good brand. In the previous version of our house, I had a few of those laminated MDF boards in my house but I used them as shelves in the basement … easy to clean. I would never want something as ugly as that in plain view. It’s only one board and I’m tired of having the same discussions with these people so I’m sort of thinking “well, I’ll rip it out and put up something nice when they’ve gone” but of course that’s kind of ridiculous as well.
The esthetic of an artist, it’s just incomprehensible for a lot of builders.
The guy we bought our house from did a lot of diy, some really beautiful, most crumbling to pieces, lol. While I love all the details, I’d trade most of it for durability & energy efficiency at this point. Our kids have been so brutal on everything, it’ll need replacing before too long.
We bought our house for the period details (but, honestly, also because it was literally the cheapest house on the market in my city in 2015) but we have also ripped out a few of the authentic parts to make it more energy efficient. Our UPVC windows were installed a few weeks ago and while they don’t look that nice, we don’t even live there yet and we already know it’s a major improvement. You can hardly hear any noise from outside now, and you don’t feel a breeze indoors anymore either.
We don’t have kids, but I’m afraid Mr Imma and I are already brutal enough on our stuff, so in several places we’ve chosen durability over beauty, such as tile floors instead of nice hardwood. I’m sure over the years we’ll be able to update our house with beautiful things, I’m trying to see it as a blank canvas that we can improve on in the future.
I get the impression that the concrete people started out, and spent most of their time, doing outdoor projects, and have only recently branched out into countertops. Either way, they’re accommodating my request, so I’m just going to hope for a good outcome.
I’m sorry your nice, wood detail got missed. That’s disappointing.
Fingers crossed for a good outcome ! In the end, my wood detail isn’t a huge deal. I could easily replace that later on. A countertop that’s not fit for purpose is a real issue!
The counters now look amazeballs. And the concrete guys love this new epoxy resin sealer. I’m such a crafty enabler, lol. There’s some bubbles because, well, concrete. But, after it hardens, they’re going to sand those out and probably throw a quick second coat on. No big deal.
It’s epoxy resin, so I doubt it’ll need much maintenance. It’s supposed to be pretty resistant to damage from impacts or heat, or even UV (though it won’t get much of that in the basement, except the windowsill). Even if it gets scratched up, it’s easy enough to just brush on another layer of the stuff.
Other than the veneers on the steps being installed and clear coated and the electrician installing lines for the RV and generator, we’re pretty much done with the indoor stuff. They’re going to hang the TV bracket for us and move the slot machine and treadmill downstairs this week before they finish the stairs. Got a quote on the new walkway and fixing the grade away from the house, so they’ll get going on that soon.
I’ve started moving my furniture downstairs (that we already had) and sorting through my supplies. The pegboards are on their way. I do have to finish shopping for the rest of the furniture. We’re kind of waiting to have some of the new furniture in before moving all the books down…not sure exactly how we want to lay out the sitting area.
And that window in your kitchen is 
I hope they can fix this.
! In the end, my wood detail isn’t a huge deal. I could easily replace that later on. A countertop that’s not fit for purpose is a real issue!
