The Duper Dwelling

Demolition weekend

2010-03-21T20:29:00.004-04:00

I'll start this post by apologizing for the lack of pictures. I'm too tired to pick up the camera to plug it into the computer.

We spent Friday night, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday doing demolition work and filling our 20 cubic yard dumpster.

As of now (Sunday night), we have removed all walls, ceilings, carpet, and wood trim from the second floor hallway. We have also removed all walls and all of the trim (except baseboards) from the 1st to 2nd floor stairwell. Mike also used a variety of implements of destruction to remove our front walkway, which was made of crumbling concrete.

Dumpster status: 65% full.

When we bought the house, we had a bunch of people say, "You never know what you'll find in those walls." Imagine how excited I was when I found a large roll of yellowed paper in the wall on the first floor. It looked like it could have been a treasure map or the original plans to the house. As I excitedly chipped away at the plaster and lath, gently so that I wouldn't damage the paper, I had dreams of gold or floor plans running though my head. I pulled off my work gloves, brought it out onto the front porch, gingerly unrolled it, and then Mike said, "It's a window blind." Yep. At some point, someone either purposely or accidentally sealed a window blind in the wall. No treasure. No floor plans. Just a really, really old blind.

So that I don't continue to ramble in my fatigued state, I'll wrap this post up with a list.

Good things from this weekend:
- Discovered original wood floors in good condition on second floor
- Ripped out loads of old nasty dusty plaster and lath
- Ate pizza and Chinese food all weekend - no cooking!

Bad things from this weekend:
- Found the scariest wiring setup yet in the ceiling
- No treasure map, bag of gold, box of money, or floor plans in walls
- Tired and sore

Things left to do:
- Remove remaining trim and carpet
- Destroy the shrub monster
- Carry more crap to the dumpster
- Go to sleep at 9:00 p.m. on a Sunday.

Goodnight, all.

Month of calamity

2010-03-15T21:11:00.008-04:00

Don't let the lack of posting action fool you into thinking things have been quiet around here. Though the mountains of snow prevented us from beginning any new work on the Duper Dwelling, there have been plenty of things to deal with in the last few weeks.

First, the Icicle of Doom became The Fence Killer:

Then, while we were out one evening, the dogs decided to destroy our houseplants:

We know it wasn't the beagle - he was in his crate. Despite that, I still checked for signs that he escaped and then locked himself back in his crate.

A few days after that, in a fit of sudden superhuman strength, I ripped the paper towel holder out of the wall. Twice.

And then, best of all, the water main outside of our house broke. Three times in about a week. See the picture below?

During this third and worst incident, the water main broke around 9:00 a.m.
At 3:00 p.m., the water company hit our gas line while digging.
At 6:00 p.m., Mike took pictures and asked when they'd be finished. They said 5-6 hours.
At 11:30 p.m., we decided to turn off the light and try to sleep, despite the bulldozering and jackhammering fifty feet from our heads. (BANG BANG BANG...RRRRRRRRRRRR...BEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEP.)
At 4:00 a.m., they turned the water back on (yay) and started backfilling the hole (boo). It sounded something like this: BANG BANG BANG SCRAAAAAPE BANG BANG BANG SCRAAAAAPE BANG BANG BANG, only with each BANG, our house, windows, and dishes rattled.

Our alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. The water company left at 7:00 a.m. after having guys on the job for 22 hours. I hope they're being paid well.

Did I mention it was a Wednesday night?

Anywho, spring is here and we're past all of that. I have bulbs coming up and a dumpster being delivered on Friday. We're taking out the rest of the walls on the second floor and removing the nasty old tile from the front room on the second floor. Hopefully we'll make some real progress in the next month or two.

Snowpocalypse and the Icicle of Doom

2010-02-15T20:39:00.007-05:00

So it snowed last weekend, as you may have heard. Here's what it looked like after Mike spent three hours shoveling:

Thanks to below-freezing temperatures and daily snow showers, the snow is still here. It's quite unusual for over two feet of snow to stick around in Pittsburgh - usually we'll get rain or a warm snap within a couple of days. We have had some cold and sunny days, though, which have created...

THE ICICLE OF DOOM:

To give you a real sense of the size of this thing, look for the stockade fence at the bottom of the frame in the picture above. See the tips? That fence measures 6 feet tall. The Icicle of Doom has been making me lose sleep for approximately four days now.

I'm afraid that it will fall and A) knock over the fence, B) rip off our gutters, C) rip off the side of our house, D) kill somebody, or E) all of the above.

With both of us off of work for the holiday today, it was time to take action:

While Mike went after the IoD with a hand saw, I cleaned snow off of the garage roof. A few local buildings have had their roofs collapse, and with 4-8 inches of snow forecasted for tonight, it was time to lighten the load.

Other than that, there is not much to report. We are stalled on gutting the rest of the second floor as there is nowhere to park a dumpster on the snow-covered streets. I'm also delaying on more wood trim paint stripping work until it's warm enough to open windows. I think it's time to start planning my garden.

Our insanity grows - introducing the dream stove

2010-02-01T21:18:00.008-05:00

In the last two years, we have moved to Pittsburgh from two different locations, started new jobs (two for me, one for Mike), bought the Money Pit, gutted the second floor, replaced the porch, replaced all windows, replaced the front door, remodeled the second floor bathroom, adopted a third dog and a guinea pig, planned a wedding, got married, and done some other things.

But it's never enough. So now we're going to refinish an antique stove for our kitchen. Meet...the dream stove!

We scored this A-series Chambers range from Craigslist. It likely dates between the late 1930s and mid 1940s. The people we bought it from helped us load it on Bessie, the truck. When we got home, my dad and I promptly dropped it out of the truck on Mike's leg. He's OK now, I think.

It's mostly cast iron (just like the dream tub!) and easily weighs 300-350 pounds. Chambers are absolutely killer stoves, and there is a small but passionate online community devoted to their restoration and use.

We're also lucky that one of the people who is recommended for restoration work and parts is located in Pittsburgh, right across the Ohio river from us.

Up close, it doesn't exactly look dreamy. But with some cleanup and TLC, we're convinced that it'll look fab in our future kitchen.

I think she needs a name. Suggestions, anyone?

New year, new bathroom

2010-01-09T16:29:00.008-05:00

We've been busy since my last post. The bathroom is nearing completion (yay!).

We finished the crown molding (except for one more coat of paint):

Installed our sink:

Got the bathtub upstairs and installed it and the toilet:

Now, all we have to do is to hang the wall and door trim (which is stripped and ready for paint), put another coat of paint on the crown molding, install the shower riser and shower curtain over the tub, and install our towel racks and shelves.

Oh. And find the door. When we demoed the 2nd floor, we removed and labeled each piece of trim oh so carefully. We then took all of the doors off of their hinges and stacked them in the upstairs kitchen...without labeling. So we might have a plastic doorway to start.

Here's a fun peek at the before/after post I'll be writing in a couple of weeks:

Before:

After:

Quite a difference, isn't it?

It's here! It's here!

2009-12-09T20:05:00.006-05:00

OK, OK, I know - two posts in one night is kind of crazy for me but holy moly spicoli it's here!

TDB arrived Tuesday after nine weeks of waiting and a battle royale with the shipping company. It came in a giant wooden crate that reminded me of this one. (Fra-jee-leh. It must be Italian.)

I already sat in the tub! Don't worry - I closed the garage door. I didn't want the kids in the park across the street to talk about me. That's just what I need next, to be known as the crazy lady across the street with the giant down-filled coat who sits in a bathtub on a pallet in 35 degree weather.

But here it is!

Now we just need to get it up to the second floor. Volunteers, anybody?

Sounds of the Seasons - Duper Style

2009-12-09T19:53:00.009-05:00

Mike: Honey?

Me: Yes?

Mike: Do we have something flat that we can put the Christmas tree on?

Me: Why?

Mike: Well...

Me: Because our floors are uneven and the tree might fall over?

Mike: Exactly.

Me: Don't we have some plywood or something around upstairs?

Mike: Hmmm... (walks away)

(From the second floor)
BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ SAW SAW SAW SAW SAW BANG CRASH BOOM BUZZZZZZZZZZZ

Mike: (Holding a piece of plywood) Here! Perfect.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas and happy new year!

The best tool in the world

2009-12-05T22:41:00.004-05:00

If any of you are using a tool that looks like this:

I highly suggest that you open a window, remove the screen, and throw the staple gun away. Drop the $30 it takes to get this:

For jobs like hanging plastic to cover the holes in your house or installing insulation, it is the best tool in the world. I swear, once you use an electric staple gun, you will never use the old, squeeze handle version again.

(Dear Stanley tool company executives: you're welcome.)

The Griswold Dwelling

2009-11-29T19:38:00.006-05:00

I should have known, when Mike became a fan of Clark Griswold on Facebook, that this year's decorations were really going to be something.

Thanks to my dad, we had approximately one zillion Christmas lights in the basement. We couldn't use them last year, because we were out of town and, well, we didn't have a front porch. So we decided to go all out this year.

Here's ~~Clark~~ Mike, using some mountaineering skills:

Here, we're almost finished:

The finished product, with camera flash:

and without:

Crown molding

2009-11-22T13:56:00.000-05:00

is a giant pain in the rear. Especially when you discover that your walls do not meet at 90 degree angles--after you have cut up about $100 worth of wood.

That is all.

My best impression of a car

2009-11-10T19:21:00.005-05:00

When Mike and I bought the ~~money pit~~ Duper Dwelling last September, we went to the local Busy Beaver hardware store. Lo and behold, they had motion lights on sale. Since our garage is at the back of our property and it faces a community park full of bored teenagers, we decided to get one for above the garage door.

In March, when cleaning out the basement, we found our motion light. It was still in its bag, covered in dust. Then we forgot about it again.

When fall came around, we found it again. I started hinting to Mike that it sure would be nice to have that motion light installed since the days were starting to get shorter.

While our garage has power, it did not have any switches. So motion light installation would include switch and box installation, as well as cutting a hole in the garage. For a job like this, we called my dad in as reinforcement. He and Mike installed it last Saturday and my dream of a year came true. But they did not adjust it. Every time a car drove by, our shiny new floodlight turned on.

So tonight we calibrated it. Mike stood on a stepstool while I walked back and forth in the street, on the sidewalk, waving my arms and pretending to be a car. I'm sure it was quite a sight for the neighbors.

I have no pictures as it was dark outside. But trust me, the light looks great and I looked like an idiot.

Happy Halloweenie from the Dupers

2009-11-04T20:10:00.008-05:00

We took a break from construction last week to enjoy Halloween preparations.

The victims:

I love the picture of the before-carving pumpkins because it gives you a good idea of daily life in the Duper Dwelling. The kitchen table is 2 feet deep in paper piles, and one electrical outlet has about 70 things plugged into it. Oh, we can't wait for the day when we will have updated and ample electricity in this house.

Note to self and others: while a Dremel tool looks like a terrific pumpkin carving tool, it actually will just fling pumpkin goo directly into your face and eyes. So stick to the pumpkin knife.

Mike's pumpkin:

My pumpkin:

And the end result on our fabulous front porch, highlighted by the light coming from our beautiful front door:

Fall - the season for grouting

2009-10-24T18:10:00.011-04:00

Today, Mike grouted the bathroom tile. Isn't it beautiful?

Speaking of beautiful things, I was thinking today that we're fortunate to live near lots of pretty trees but not actually have any on our property. We only have to rake the leaves that make it over our fence, but we get to look outside and see these two beauties.

We can also look outside and see the lynching out back.

Let me zoom in on this one for you so that you can get the full effect.

Apparently our neighbors are really into Halloween. Or hangings. It takes all types, right? Right?

I can only imagine how they plan to celebrate Christmas.

And the tiling continues

2009-10-18T15:07:00.009-04:00

We spent yesterday finishing up the edges of the hex tiling - so we basically cut about a million hex tiles into little pieces and placed them along the walls. Then today, we placed the bullnose tile around the walls to act as a baseboard - and finished before 1:00 kickoff. Here's the progress:

We also got the chance to start doing some finishing work in the bathroom and hung the rest of the lighting:

And...our sink faucet was delivered via UPS. Here it is:

This is what it will look like once it's installed. Only the sink will be cleaner, and not in a box, and not sitting on top of a debris pile. You can use your imagination:

Next up, grout time!

Hex tile-a-rama

2009-10-11T07:01:00.009-04:00

So yesterday my dad came over, and while I ran errands and cleaned, he and Mike set our bathroom floor tile.

Lessons learned:

Rubber mallets come in white
Spacers are waste of time when placing individual hex tiles
Tiling is hard on the knees and...
Can lead to plumber butt.

And the pre-grout, finished view:

Oooooooh - isn't it pretty? I think it looks amazing.

Introducing...TDT!

2009-10-07T21:25:00.002-04:00

Ordered and hopefully on the way*:

*Booooooo. Backordered until end of October/early November.

On toilets and tile

2009-10-07T21:02:00.011-04:00

Did you know that modern toilet footprints are bigger than older toilet footprints? Mike and I went upstairs on Sunday to do a final measurement before ordering The Dream Tub (henceforth known as TDT). We placed the toilet on the flange and discovered that d'oh - the water supply line came up from the floor directly underneath the ceramic of the toilet.

So last night, Mike and my dad moved the water line by ripping apart our kitchen ceiling. Here's their finished work (applause please):

I know it looks a little unexciting, but this was a huge deal for us. And so now the toilet is resting comfortably in the hallway.

And...we got our floor tile! Isn't it purty?

We are going to do a hex tile design with flowers - kind of like this:

Tile placement starts on Saturday. Woo hoo!

I cleaned!

2009-10-07T20:57:00.006-04:00

Can't you tell?

After one full year of working on the second floor (!) it was time to do some organization. I also hung plastic in anticipation of winter. Really, if you were here, you would notice a huge difference. Seriously.

Boy, that sure is...green.

2009-10-07T20:39:00.011-04:00

After sanding, and sanding, and sanding, at last, it was time to paint our bathroom. We picked out a green color called "Corn Husk Green." Doesn't that evoke a nice, sunshiny, bright green?

Well, it sure ended up being green:

In between adding paint to the walls, I worked on removing it from the trim. Our whole house is full of beautiful, intricately carved trim. And 99% of it has been painted with 15 layers of white paint. I've discovered that gallons of paint stripper combined with a scraper, rotary tool, steel wool, and dental picks just bring that stuff off in a jiffy! Or not.

It's been a big month here

2009-08-16T17:58:00.008-04:00

Whoo-eee. It's been a big month at the Duper Dwelling.

We got a new Weber (thanks Mom & Dad D!):

We finished sealing the front porch:

We bought and assembled two Adirondack rocking chairs:

We finished mudding and sanding the drywall in the second floor bathroom:

And now we're keeping ourselves busy arguing over paint for the bathroom:

Next on the agenda is paint, tile floor, and then hallelujah we get to install our toilet, sink, and yet-to-be-ordered bathtub.

Four walls and a ceiling

2009-07-25T14:36:00.006-04:00

Can you believe it? We have a room again where the bathroom used to be. Bring on the drywall mud!

Spindles 'R' Us

2009-07-05T17:45:00.005-04:00

I've always admired Queen Ann Victorian houses, with the gingerbread trim and giant front porches, everything painted in contrasting colors.

After spending most of our weekend staining/sealing our new front porch, I now know the truth. People who own houses like that a) hire someone else to do the painting or b) are masochists.

It's been two full days of applying tinted sealer, and we haven't even touched the decking. It will look fabulous when we are finished, but until then, I've decided that I truly hate spindles.

In this pic, you can see the contrast between the finished posts (and spindles!) and the unfinished decking:

Likewise, note the contrast below. Heck, we might leave it like that - it would be educational, right? Please? Someone give me an excuse to be done with this job?

Best part? We get to do it again in 3 years.

I'm not sure why we call it a garage

2009-06-07T14:50:00.009-04:00

since it doesn't have room for cars. But it's nice to have a giant storage shed. Too bad the door is hideous:

The previous owners did (big surprise!) a bad job when they painted it, oh, probably 40 years ago. Then, in an effort to keep people from peeking inside, they spray painted the windows from the inside. By the time we bought the house, everything had started to peel.

So with scrapers and paint in hand, we did our best today to make it look a little bit better. Eventually we'd like to get a new ~~garage~~ storage shed door, but until then, it will be painted to match the front door. Here's the result at the end of today - one coat down, one or more to go:

Hopefully we can knock out the second coat this week after work.

Well, now that THAT is over with...

2009-06-06T14:22:00.005-04:00

We were kind of busy doing this:

But now that we're hitched, work on the house has started again. The upstairs bathroom is now fully insulated. We need to make one repair to the drain pipe and then it's time for walls (yay).

Our roses are blooming, and our horrid privet hedges are trying to take over the neighborhood. Spring/summer has brought a lot of yard work with it. You all have seen how neglected the inside of the house was. Now just imagine the outside.

Today I planted flowers while Mike battled the privet beast.

Tomorrow I'm planning to scrape paint off of the garage door and hopefully start painting it. We just need to squeeze that in between some family time and trips downtown to see bands playing at the Three Rivers Arts Festival (Black Keys last night; Medeski, Martin, and Wood tonight). Back to work!

Spring Has Sprung

2009-04-18T16:30:00.017-04:00

And just like that...winter is finally gone. Well, not completely, but we're mostly there. Two months blew by since my last post, and we've managed to do the following (along with plan the upcoming wedding and attend to general life things).

We got a new front door.

It will soon be painted green to match the lattice on the bottom of our front porch. Here's a shot of the pattern in the glass from the inside:

Mike finished the basement doors. Check the previous post for the "before" pictures.

We installed three of the four glass block windows. Window number four (seen at far left in this image) is going to be tricky. After installing three windows, we've decided to pay someone else to do the last one.

We hung up our flag and porch numbers, on the porch that is 99% completed:

And though you can't see them, we planted rosebushes in front of the lattice. We hope to someday have plants that don't look like dead sticks.

We had our upstairs bathroom rewired, and we installed drywall (XP board) and a fan/light on the ceiling. I'm really excited to have a ceiling again. We may even have walls again soon.

And we finally carried the foosball table from the garage into the attic/office. Next we will plug in the beer fridge that was conveniently left up there by a former tenant.

Stay tuned for bathroom walls and maybe even a toilet! We can all dream, can't we?