House

• Stair Gallery

  We converted the attic stairs in to a gallery.

• Handy Card Holder

  

• Basement Workbench

  It’s time to revamp the basement. Of course I didn’t take any photos of how it used to look, or the (very) old work desk in the corner. So for now look at the repainted walls, new baseboard, fresh floor paint and a brand spanking new work desk.

• Trailer Deck Gates

  At our trailer we have a lovely large deck with two stairs that are wide open. It wasn’t a problem before we got the puppy, but now we really need a closed in deck to let her run araound

• Pelmets & Sewing Machines

  Our trailer came with window blinds and some pelmets (the things above curtains) that were designed to fit in with the bland colour scheme. We (well, me) wanted to introduce some colour and one thing to do was to replace the pelmets. I could buy some, but the mother in law has a sewing machine and I’ve always fancied giving it a go. I got some basic lessons and this is what we ended up with.

• Christmas Tree Fence

  It’s our puppy’s first Christmas and there is so much for her to see, do and chew. After finding tree ornaments around the house it was time to restrict some of the temptations.

• The little Room that Could

  There’s a little (4’x4’) bathroom on the ground floor that was looking a little … unloved.

• A Guiding Hand

  This is one of the longer projects in the house. I added the handrail to the basement stairs in the first week of moving in.  Some years later I finally got around to painting it and putting on the the stair treads.

• Screen Door

  

• Privacy Film for the Front Door

  Privacy film is a covering you can get to turn clear windows into opaque windows.  We had a small window by the front door that the dogs were always barking at people walking past. Here it is covered up with bamboo.

• Mortise Lock

  Our house was built around the 1920s and still has some of the original features, such as doors and their mortice locks.

• Bedroom Oasis

  

  An oasis of calm

• Tile Cutting

  Recently I had to cut some of the little tiles for a kitchen backsplash. After a few attempts I sandwiched the fiddly buggers between two pieces of plywood.

• Kitchen Renovation

  Bit of a long one, this. Should have been posting regular updates but got a bit a busy. Let’s start with the before and after pics.

  After

• Coat Hook

  Made a coat hook for the mud room.

• Bedroom Renovation 3

  Final stretch! So far we have repaired the floor, added a dividing wall and new baseboard. At this point it was time to undercoat everything.

• Fish Tank Stand

  

  Fish Tank Stand

• Laundry Tub

  New house, new problems. Painting was high on the list, but there was something missing. Not paints, brushes, stirrers or anything else but where to clean them out. The kitchen sink? I think not. The bathroom sink? Too small. The laundry tub then … only there was no laundry tub.

• Attic Conversion

  This one is a bit of cheat, most of this was done by a contractor. I’m posting it because its a great conversion and also the first time I trimmed a window.

• Weightbench

  My sons have been asking for a weight bench for a while but I wasn’t going to be getting a new one so they could use it once and then let it gather dust in the corner.

• Broken Chair

  The boys are big teenagers now and a little on the clumsy side, so it is not always a surprise when something ‘accidentally’ breaks. Like, for instance, the arm of a chair that was clearly designed for a single person.

• Bee Hotel

  This is another one of those projects that came out of Suzanne’s garden lectures she goes to. is a buzz phrase at the moment as with all the bee diseases around it behoves us to look after the wee beasties. After all, who else will pollenate the fruit trees?

• No More Wobbly Toilet

  Our toilet wobble has been steadily increasing the last few months and it finally came time to do something about it. A quick investigation showed the bolt that attached the bowl to the floor was loose, and a slightly longer investigation showed the reason why was a broken floor flange.

• Mantelpiece

  Some years ago we had an extension built on the house. Just a small room, but enough to give us some quieter space away from the living room and the kids. At the time we had a gas fire installed but no mantel. No problem we said, we can do that.

• Refurbished Chairs

  The dining room chairs were looking a little shabby, they still had the same green coverings on them as when we brought them. Sue brought some red coverings and thought we could spruce them up a bit.

• Grow lights from scratch

  Continuing the weeks theme of grow lights, the other project I’ve been working on during the cold months is a set of grow lights built from scratch. The main frame is made from 2x4 and bolted together.

• Converted Grow Lights

  Sue likes to grow plants from seeds (annuals, vegetables, etc) but we don’t have a lot of bright windows to get sunlight from. What is needed are some grow lights, only the commercially available ones are quite expensive..