tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13971892929712315352024-03-12T20:30:07.316-07:00Owner Built Home ProjectAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-12770225660230916842013-09-26T08:08:00.001-07:002013-09-26T08:15:40.387-07:00House Interior, Fall 2013We have not been working on the house, and will not get back to it until early next year, but these pictures of what the house currently looks like.
Below, a picture of the stairs from the front door. There isn't much of an entry - it's almost immediately stairs. There is no railing, and the walls have not yet been trimmed out. The stairs are just the plywood base, no treads and risers yet. The Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-26636216421955625902013-07-15T14:55:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:44:59.810-07:00Time Out: Bathroom RemodelWe started this year doing a complete remodel of a bathroom at Stephen's uncle's house. And I mean COMPLETE. Not only were the walls taken back to the studs, but damage to the floors required that Stephen replace part of the subfloor, and discoveries about the old plumbing required him to replace all of the existing plumbing in the room. He also had to make some changes to the electrical. HoweverAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-47181812712617441592013-07-15T14:21:00.001-07:002013-08-28T07:45:10.195-07:00Time Out: Kitchen RemodelWe've been taking the year off to do a remodel, and here are some pictures of the kitchen, which we just finished. It isn't officially part of the Owner Built project, but at least it shows what we've done with our time. Stephen moved a door frame and I assembled the cabinets before we started the remodel, which started with a complete tear-out of the existing kitchen on a Saturday, and the work Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-82342407287568197932013-01-30T08:17:00.001-08:002013-08-28T07:45:22.010-07:00Awesome Tools for the LadiesI do not have a long history with tools, and largely find power tools to be a little frightening after some experience with table saw kickbacks and arc welding fiascos. That being said, I have a number of tools that I find particularly easy to use, and not at all frightening. They are:
Drill - Drills are crazy easy to use. Be sure to invest in a quality drill and an extra battery if you have Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-44722093996544777302012-11-20T14:39:00.000-08:002013-08-28T07:45:40.406-07:00November 20th, 2012Stephen got in the stove on Thursday. One of the ovens needs a screw to shut all of the way, but otherwise, it's awesome. Everything works. Notice in the photo that I put the microwave under the washtub - I've had enough microwave for a long, long time.
I painted some stuff outside today. I spackled and primed the garage hoods and the exterior front entry a few weeks ago, so it needed to be Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-52756493983186501432012-11-16T08:01:00.000-08:002012-11-16T08:09:46.915-08:003rd Week November, Wood StoveI tiled the stove pad over vacation before we put in the wood floor. Then Stephen made some trim for around the tile a couple of weeks later. I cut the trim with the miter saw and installed it, then taped it up and grouted the marble tiles. Why doesn't a miter saw ever cut angles precisely? After I took off the tape and sanded, I carefully stained and polyurethaned the trim with a little brush. &Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-83979240771234943492012-11-16T06:31:00.002-08:002013-09-26T08:21:13.493-07:003rd Week November, Kitchen
Sink wall, before
I thought I was going to get better about posting when we got back, but I haven't gotten back into the habit yet.
Since vacation and the fence, we built the kitchen. We bought some inexpensive MDF-front cabinets and I primed and painted them. I ordered and installed some Staffordshire ceramic knobs for the doors and drawers. Stephen cut some plywood for the counters and IAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-37470783329075345232012-10-15T04:57:00.001-07:002013-08-28T07:46:19.525-07:002nd Week of October, 2012
Fence on right and left
As the fence did not get finished either over the vacation or the weekend after, I stretched the last 1/3 of the welded wire myself. Used some straps and a come-along. Why is it that all outside tools are made for strong people with calloused hands? Then this weekend I made a picket gate and hung it all by myself. Amazing.
Stephen worked on finishing up the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-42153209328379111232012-10-08T06:36:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:46:33.733-07:002012 VacationIn three weeks of Stephen's vacation, we painted the interior of the apartment, put in oak floors, and started the dog fence. I usually do all of our painting, but we used a paint gun this time, and I don't know how to do that very well.
Stephen also insulated and drywalled part of the garage after putting in a big beam with a post between the garage doors. That post and beam were in my Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-12931410567951986442012-05-02T07:28:00.002-07:002013-08-28T07:46:50.318-07:002012 Update
My last post was at the end of June, 2011. At the beginning of July, we put the house we were living in up for sale, and I sold it the next day. That's right. One day.
We had to be out two weeks later, moved to the property in our 13' travel trailer with no kitchen, bathroom, phone or internet. We took showers under a garden hose and went to the bathroom in a bucket. Gross.
THEN, about Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-68906296449000977182011-06-05T07:41:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:47:10.834-07:00Week 27: Vacation II
Stephen took another week of vacation, borrowing a Bobcat for the first weekend. The photo from week 25 is actually from this week, and shows some of the dirt he moved away from the front of the carriage house. He moved it to the front left of the carriage house, creating the pad for our house. From various areas around the house, he moved dirt that was leftover from the construction of the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-70793652431083330212011-05-15T09:12:00.000-07:002011-05-15T09:12:06.974-07:00Week 26: DrywallI worked on the drywall this week, putting on corner layers and then floating out the mud build-up from the corners. While I did this, I put a thin layer over most of the walls to make a sort of rough plaster finish. I didn't want a spray type of texture, I really wanted it to have a smooth look like plaster. I still need to do a final sanding before I prime and paint it, but it looks great.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-58248901737929648262011-05-15T09:03:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:47:29.664-07:00Week 25: Vacation!
Stephen got his vacation this week! We put in the last piece of drywall on the bathroom wall, built the stairs, finished the siding and exterior trim with a boom lift, and put in the well. We also built little concrete slabs for the well and the front door. Stephen put in a front door, as well. It is a nine-light all wood door, with some old, real wrought iron Arts and Crafts Colonial Revival Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-26064414177851118672011-04-18T13:48:00.000-07:002011-04-18T13:51:04.149-07:00Week 24: Tile DisasterThis week, I tried to lay tiles over the places I had scraped up last week. I did not, however, scrape up the mortar QUITE all the way to the edges, and had several places where only one or two tiny tiles popped, so Stephen recommended that I just leave the mortar in those places. Unfortunately, that doesn't work. We both assumed that the new mortar would settle in between the old, dried mortar. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-40735262492026743262011-04-05T17:26:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:47:55.853-07:00Week 23: Bathroom Tile
I marked quadrants for tiling the bathroom, then put up/down drywall mesh tape on the drywall and tileboard. I mixed a little mortar and put it over the floor tape. I put green painters tape on the quadrant lines and cleaned the floor really well - I even brought over the vacuum. Mixed mortar with latex additive and stripped tags off the backs of the tiles while I waited for it to cure. Put Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-52228277420766450682011-04-05T17:22:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:48:16.023-07:00Week 22: Bathroom
Monday and Tuesday: This week, my parents were in town, and they helped me get tileboard in the bathroom. Stephen told us we didn't have to drill pilot holes, but my Dad and I both broke a screw tip each and decided to go ahead and drill pilots first.
Friday: I worked on removing paint and some of the glazing from the enormous window.
Saturday: I put down the tiles for a dry fit and marked Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-31772635130108910102011-04-05T17:13:00.000-07:002011-04-05T17:13:02.230-07:00Week 21: BathroomThis weekend, Stephen had to reframe the window for the bathroom, because the old church window we bought turned out not to be the size reported by the guy we bought it from on Craigslist. It's actually about 5' x 5'. It takes up almost the whole wall. We put in drywall in the bathroom. Stephen finished out the electrical in the bathroom and hired to have the major electrical cable hooked upAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-84448021292357015342011-03-14T08:49:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:48:35.828-07:00Week 20: Bathroom
This is a picture of the Great Room taken from the future kitchen.
We have decided to buy a vintage "canned ham" travel trailer and gut it to make a sleeper/lounge. This will allow us to partially move out of our house (or, more accurately, "the house we live in now") to be closer to the work. It will also stop us from freaking out if the house we live in now should sell before we are done Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-61148328196413468762011-03-14T08:36:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:48:54.643-07:00Week 19: Electrical
Stephen dug a trench with a "trencher" (practical if uninspired name.) It's like an enormous chainsaw. Then we put thick electrical cable in PVC pipe, fastened the sections of pipe together, and dropped it in the trench. Stephen attached an electrical box at the pole, and another in the shop, and attached the cable to it at both ends - we will have buried lines. Then we started putting in Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-46419783770391436402011-02-18T15:23:00.000-08:002011-04-07T10:19:04.985-07:00Week 18: Siding
Between three snowstorms (two blizzards,) Three illnesses (including Type A Influenza,) and Stephen working at his job on weekends, not much has been done. The work completed could've been done in a productive weekend, so I'll compress it. We put up siding on the entire back of the house and most of the front. To reach over the garage hoods will require the boom lift. We bought a scissor-type Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-48023447184014361352010-12-28T16:52:00.000-08:002010-12-28T16:52:17.807-08:00CleanupIt was Christmas, so we held off on the big stuff this weekend and took time out to put on temporary carriage doors, install door hardware, and clean and sort the inside of the shop/garage. Now we can work inside and store stuff without fear of theft! Awesome.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-3006851975943145132010-12-23T10:47:00.000-08:002011-02-18T15:26:10.445-08:00Week 17: SidingWe put up siding. It is pre-primed HardiePlank. It is scored with a box cutter and then it breaks at the score. Very easy to work with. We got the gable ends done up about as far as could be done without the boom lift. The job took a great deal more time than expected largely due to the time lost marking lines and studs, moving scaffolding, etc.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-64318109555805546202010-12-06T09:05:00.000-08:002010-12-23T10:40:29.618-08:00Week 16: Trim Saga Finale
Stephen put up misc. trim, roofing and flashing to get us ready for siding next week. We still couldn't get the boom lift to do the gable trim, so it will have to be done at the same time as the top gable siding.
Much of the weekend was spent trying to locate siding and discussing options.
I primed half of the rafters that will remain exposed in the apartment.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-12963691890163367172010-12-01T08:44:00.000-08:002010-12-01T08:44:26.642-08:00Week 15: ThanksgivingFor the four day weekend, we had planned to get a boom lift to get into the gables to put up trim, but they didn't have any available. Instead, we put up the eyebrows, primed and tar-papered them, and Stephen trimmed out the cornices and soffits on the non-gabled sides of the house. The soffits are a foot deep, and the trim extends a foot below the soffit. The trim detail (dentil blocks, etcAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1397189292971231535.post-89752495748732965602010-12-01T08:30:00.000-08:002010-12-01T08:30:51.096-08:00Week 14: Door Trim and EyebrowsOn week 14, Stephen built the door trim, including the doorways that don't yet have doors. He finished up the cornice returns.
He also built the half-elliptical hoods for the carriage doors (eyebrows.) I built none, but designed both the look and the construction method. Two arches were cut out of plywood for each set of carriage doors, then the plywoods were connected Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13758563547271718267noreply@blogger.com0