Friday, December 18, 2020
Monday, November 2, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2020
New LED cabinet lighting
The original electrical was an absolute mess in these. When I moved in, they worked great but slowly each halogen light went out. So I ran to Home Depot and bought 5 new halogen lights, put them all in, and then...
POP -$10
POP -$10
POP -$10
POP -$10
POP -$10
Ouch.
So after a very dark period of time, I finally decided to tackle this project and install new LED fixtures, each with a transformer to reduce the voltage running to the fixtures. They've worked great ever since!
Sunday, October 11, 2020
110 year old piano made by Hardman, Peck & Co., distributed by Thomas Goggan & Brothers
Found this beauty for free on NextDoor. We had it moved for $250 and the tuning cost $135, but it's been a joy!!
Only started playing a few weeks ago so forgive the hiccup at the beginning
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
DIY lean-to storage shed
Monday, September 28, 2020
Thursday, August 13, 2020
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Researching the history of an old house
My partner’s house (and my home) is 105 years old. I love it. To me, it’s more than a fixer-upper; it is representative of his scholastic/career achievements and sometimes I think I may have more of an emotional attachment to it than he does. I’ve seen what it was when he bought it, and the time and effort that he has put into it. I’ve also seen the signatures of the care (or lack thereof) of previous owners, and appreciate the narrative of how it’s changed through time.Trust me, I am no stranger to old homes— and I can tell you that they’re *huge* pains in the derrière...but worth it.I’ve sanded, puttied, and painted more than I ever thought I could do in a lifetime in only the past year.The lives that were here (like the 2nd owner that accidentally shot himself in the front room and now rests in the cemetery down the road) play into a larger picture.My Best has mapped out every inch of this place; researched the gas, water, and sewer lines; requested obscure documents from the city in order to determine boundary and property lines, and knows more about the layout of our neighbors’ plumbing than even they know.I’ve learned more about railroad right-of-ways, encroachments, and federal protection of raptor nests than your average chick.Old homes are not simple things.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
You know you're an old house owner when...
- ....the guys at the scrap metal yard are constantly astounded by the amount of aluminum siding you bring in.
- ....you take scrap metal to the junkyard so often that the attendants start asking how your week has been.
- ....you wear your respirator like a backwards baseball cap so often that you often forget to take it off for trips to the grocery store.
- ...earplugs are always dangling around your neck, even when you're doing the dishes.
- ...white t-shirts are no longer white
- ...you buy gloves as frequently as you buy toilet paper.
- ...you know the employees at the city Environmental Service Center on a first-name basis.
- ....the local grocery store is nicknamed "Combat Kroger."
- ...while removing rotten wood from the backyard, you are disappointed to find a post that no roaches came running out for you to stomp on.
- ...you realize that picking an exterior paint color is one of the toughest decisions you've ever made.
- "You have 17 extra doors, and none of them fit any of the door-frames that are missing doors in your house!" (from my blogger friend Daniel Meyer, ourvictorianbingalow.com)
- ...you despise people who only build new and won't even consider reusing materials.
- ...you wonder why people pay so much for simple things like drywall repairs
- ...you neglect your friends and your job just for a few extra hours to work on the house
- ...you're no longer petrified of crawl spaces
- you trade out your car for a pickup
- ...you start selling junk on Craigslist, just to get the few extra bucks for building materials
- the ladies at the salvage warehouse keep a running list of things you need
- priorities are set based on a) what's sparking* b) what's leaking c) what's causing you to trip all the time
[*just kidding about the sparking part—thankfully haven't had, nor ever expect that issue to arise] - you constantly find yourself saying, "yea, I was working on that but... [then X happened]"
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Go big or Go home: Tips for DIY LED landscape lighting
![]() |
1st attempt, using a 45 watt transformer and 20 watt food lights on the trees |
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Mask shortage
Someone donated a set of masks in the little free library during the COVID-19 mask shortage. How cool is that!??!
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Workshop upgrades
[x]
Installed that cute cast iron Kohler sink I bought for $60:
Monday, April 13, 2020
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Mouldings...mouldings EVERYWHERE!
Work in progress
I've been replacing the door casings, baseboards and window casings to better match the architectural era of the house. Luckily, I was able to find a local lumberyard that has great prices, so the materials for 42 doors and windows (which includes both the interior and exterior trim) was only $250.
Took a little time to figure out how to address the 1/2" difference between the frames and the drywall, but after some trial and error, I finally found an easy solution. They've come out beautifully!
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Monday, March 23, 2020
Monday, March 9, 2020
Saturday, December 14, 2019
DIY Built-in bathroom storage shelves
Now that Renee is all moved in, we needed a place to store stuff in the bathroom, so came up with a quick fix using the space where the door used to be:
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Saturday, September 21, 2019
A new enclosure for the water heater
After discovering that the 20-year-old water heater had pretty much scorched the inside of it's enclosure...
... I decided it was time to be out with the old water heater. Replaced it with a brand new, larger capacity one. The original enclosure was fine for a while, but it needed a facelift. So, here's the upgrade:
Monday, June 10, 2019
Oops
I was installing the new built-in shelves in the bathroom but forgot that there wasn't any shiplap there to nail into...
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Attic insulation
The insulation made a HUGE difference. Also had the HVAC man out to tune-up and clean the a/c, which is a new unit he installed when I moved in. The temp inside the house has remained about 20 degrees below par. Prior to the insulation the house would have been over 80 degrees at this time of summer. Now that the insulation has been added and lots of gaps sealed up, the inside temp has remained steady at 71-73 degrees.
Something weird is going on. We live in a hot swamp (otherwise known as Houston) where summer temperatures commonly reach 100° with 80% humidity. While the house is indeed cooler after adding the insulation, the difference has not been quite as spectacular as my *fairly-extremely comprehensive research efforts* indicated we should expect...
Friday, November 30, 2018
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Building the front porch columns
Unfortunately, the original wood columns were in disrepair, so he replaced them with brick. I'm perplexed as to why he chose to install brick columns, since he was such a skilled carpenter.
Step 1: Sledgehammer out the bricks
A local laborer was able to knock this out in about 20 minutes. I piled up the debris and posted it on the free section of Craigslist, along with the note 'You must load.' Like magic, it vanished.
The original support posts were just (2) 2x4's sistered together. The support on the inside column was not bearing any weight...it was just kind of...floating there.
While the jacks were in place, I used a diamond grinding wheel to level out the base caps so that the new wood base would sit flush on the concrete caps. Using the grinder, I slightly tapered off the edges of the caps so that rainwater would drain away from the wood:
![]() |
Before |
![]() |
After |
The frieze board (that's the underside of the porch that rests on top of the columns) was rotted. This meant the porch was in danger of collapsing down if not repaired, since the support beams need a solid surface to bear the load. So we repaired the rotted sections:
![]() |
Before |
![]() |
After |
Step 4: Build column base
Gabriel gave me dimensions for the wood base pieces, so I was able to tackle these while he was away:
Step 5: Build column housing
Gabriel and I prepped all the pieces that make up the actual columns. He was the brains of the operation. Couldn't have done it myself without him!
Step 6: Glue, nail and trim them out
TBA
Project Cost
Brick debris removal - $0 (gave away on Craigslist)
Lumber - $200
Metal supports - $35
Screws and bits for metal supports - $20
Carpenter's labor - $60 (bartered for trade of the contractor saw I bought on Craigslist for $60)
_________________
GRAND TOTAL: $335
Special thanks for my friend, pro-carpenter Gabriele for helping with this project. He was a great teacher and fun to work with!