Making Final Decisions

I am committed. Really. I mean it. I'm doing it. Yes, I know many of you have heard this before but this time I am serious. With two weeks off for spring break and an able-bodied accomplice, Paul, who has agreed to help with some backer-board action, I think it's time to truly and honesty say that I'm going to do it: In t-minus 7 days I will begin renovating our upstairs bathroom.

So I'm at the final decision-making stage on one major item: the bathroom vanity. I was hoping for a different one but with budgetary and time restrictions I'm going to have to go the way of stock materials. Right now, it's down to color. Right after buying the house a couple years ago, the local Home Depot closed down and moved to a new location, which meant big discounts. So we got a sweetheart of a deal on floor tile. So, we've kind of had to design around that choice. It's hard to explain and I'm not sure a photo will do it justice but it's a light colored blue base with tan and darker blue accents.

So which way do we go? Since we're planning to put white beadboard as wainscoting on the bottom half of the wall and we'll have white tile on the shower walls and this lighter colored tile on the floor (white toilet, white sink, white bathtub, eventually), I was really thinking that a dark-colored vanity might be the ticket. It's not a huge bathroom so I was originally worried about anything dark but I now wonder if the darker color might anchor it somehow - especially because we can only work a 30 incher in there anyway. Our shower curtain (that we're keeping) also has a dark brown color accent in it. Maybe this will work? It's the last thing I need to get and I've been very hesitant about it. I'm concerned I'll spend a bunch of money and hate it. Anyway, here's one I'm considering from HD they call Java ($279):

I really want drawers but I also wanted something more shaker style, which this is not - either way, I'd change the ugly hardware. Lowe's has one - a bit darker colored, which they call "Pepper" ($268), which is shaker style:Thom is going to hate it but I might make him go with me and help choose. I'm torn.

Yes, I finally fixed the doorbell

How long has it been now? At least a few months. But, yes, I finally fixed the doorbell. What was wrong with it after all that rigmarole of wondering if I needed a new transformer, wondering if it was the wiring, or the actual bell? It was the button. I feel fortunate it was the lesser of evils because my motivation has been lacking, to say the least.

So, I finally fired up the awesome Dremel Thom got me for my birthday and hacked away at the doorcasing to make the new one fit. I think it looks pretty nice. Once summer comes and we can repaint the front of the house, it will look even nicer all touched up.

In other, less exciting, news, I finally bought a tool box (well, I actually bought it back in December with my prize winnings) but I finally put actual tools in it instead of leaving them on the heap of crap that's been continuing to build on the shelves on our basement landing since we moved in two years ago (happy belated houseiversary, Bangor Foursquare :). My super sweet niece-in-law also got me an HD gift card for Christmas so I think I might continue the productivity and go buy some shelves on which to put our amassed paint and miscellaneous crap that has been piling up in the basement.

Other than that, just waiting for spring break to start on the bathroom. I was really hoping for a big, fat tax refund this year to pay for the bathtub resurfacing but no dice - the government decided to cut taxes to put more money in our pockets and now we owe money. Makes sense, doesn't it? Anyway, it looks like bathtub resurfacing will wait until summer when my grant money kicks in. We'll just have to live with a nice new bathroom with an icky old cream-colored tub for a while longer.

Ding, dong, the doorbell is still dead

I was quite proud of myself today...which quickly evaporated. I was on my way to HD to buy a new transformer for our broken doorbell, thinking that was its problem. As I stood on the stepladder with my flashlight in the basement, I learned that the voltage for the existing transformer was only 8 volts. I think I had assumed it was more like 12-15 so I really thought it was kaput. Seeing that and testing it again, it was exactly 8 volts. So, the transformer is fine. So I figured we just needed a new button. I went to HD and got a nice one and returned home to install it. Unfortunately, despite its beauty, it still doesn't work. So, no issues with transformer, button is new and properly wired (I am pretty sure, at least), so that means it's either the chime or the 90-year-old wiring. I am thinking that instead of buying a new chime or having to rewire, I'm just going to buy a wireless one. I know, I know - tacky, but functional, right? Maybe I can find a cool-looking one?

Bathroom Reno: Postponed

I am sad to admit it but the bathroom renovation will be postponed. I'd like to say that it will be postponed until spring break but I'm really thinking that I need as much time as I can get and not feel rushed. If I've learned one thing over the past two years, it's that projects generally take at least two times longer than you expect them to take. If I think the bathroom will take over one week to complete it will probably be more like two weeks. So, I think the best bet is to wait until classes are over in May. Besides, I can then afford to get my new bathroom vanity and maybe those heating pads that go under tile. I know we're going to need an electrician and probably a plumber too to deal with wiring and our hot water problem. So, we'll just have a spare room full of toilets and tile until then. In the meantime, I'm considering using some tax refund cash to get our fireplace fixed. With all the power outages here in the winter it might be nice to have an alternate heat source. I think we need the chimney lined and then the flu fixed. I guess we'll see. Anyway, Happy New Year, housebloggers!

$74

That's how much I have spent of my $300 True Value gift card. Thom and I went back and forth this weekend about just plunking it all down to buy a small snowblower (we're supposed to get up to 14" today, some say) but instead I invested in one of the snow scoops (a bit like a small sled with a bar to hold), a tool box (we actually don't own one!), a speed square, and some ice melt. Nothing sexy or glamorous, unfortunately. I was really disappointed to see that our local True Value doesn't really have buildling materials so my plan for buying bathroom items is a no-go. My new plan is to buy a nice DeWalt drill/driver (our Ryobi cheapie just doesn't cut it for anything major) and maybe then save the rest for miscellaneous tools we'll be needing for the bathroom renovation. My plan is still to tackle this thing when we return from Washington after Christmas. I wanted to give myself as much time as possible, given the fact that everything seems to take at least double to triple the amount of time I expect it to. See? I am learning.

We WON!

I cannot believe it! I never win anything. But, believe it! We won the My First DIY contest on houseblogs.net. It wasn't really skill or anything, just random chance, but I do not look a random chance in the mouth.

I am already dreaming of a million ways to use the $300 gift card.

• Will it be a new vanity for the bathroom (instead of recycling the current one)?
• Will it be a new medicine cabinet for the bathroom?
• Will it be a new toilet for the downstairs Harry Potter bathroom?
• Will it be shelving for our basement so our DIY paraphenalia isn't all over the floor?
• Will it be something else?

Hooray for houseblogs.net!

Ding, dong, the doorbell's dead

Oh, sad. Our doorbell - which is probably as old as this 90-year-old house - has died. It gave one sad little last hum today and then promptly up and died. Serendipitously, TOH Magazine had a little story about fixing doorbells this month. I started with step one, which included seeing if it was the bottom that was broken (according to TOH, this is the common problem). However, the screws were corroded and stripped. I called Paul to see if he had a screw extractor I could borrow but he instead came over with his arsenal of tools and got it unscrewed. Unfortunately, it wasn't the button. We checked the chime - it wasn't the chime. So it appears to be the transformer. I guess the issue will be finding a transformer that is the appropriate voltage - 12 volts, I am guessing. I don't know how lucky I will be in this quest. I think while we're at it, we will also get a new label for the box - it's poorly labeled and we have no idea what breaker is for what.

So, no sexy pictures - sorry. Maybe once I get a new transformer I will take one or two photos. Because, you know, transformer=sexy.