Backyard Renovation: New Garage (Phase 2)
Our existing garage has been in bad shape for many years now. Wood rot and a collapsing roof has made the garage completely unusable. And with some property line issues…
Backyard Swing
When I was looking for backyard inspiration, I really loved the look of cedar post archways, especially contrasting against a black fence. I then saw a few examples where these…
Backyard Renovation: Floating Deck (Phase 6)
Phase 6 was supposed to be the final step in our backyard renovation plan. Our garage was supposed to be done in early May and I'd have all summer to…
Backyard Renovation: North Fence and Gate (Phase 1)
Once we had our backyard design locked down, I started to plan how the work would be done over the summer. Knowing that I would be doing much of the…
Basement Renovation: Part 4 – Construction
Our basement construction involved two major construction pieces: the underpinning and the hydronics work. Since it only required us coordinating with two trades, we decided to coordinate the work ourselves and…
Basement Renovation: Part 1 – Hiring Professionals
After investigating a kitchen renovation, we decided to renovate our basement first. The most compelling case for the switch in scope was made by our real estate agent who reassured us…
Exposing Brick
One of the walls in our bedroom is uneven because the chimney juts out. It's also in an awkward spot because we want to put our bed against that wall,…
Replacing Hardwood: Part 5 – Shimming
After yet another trip to Home Depot with an AutoShare cargo van, we think we have everything we need to start (and hopefully finish) the subfloor. Our house isn't level,…
Fireplace Renovation: Part 7 – Finishing the Hearth
On Sunday we (mostly) successfully poured our concrete hearth. It was quite the feat - both in mind and body. Here's what it looked like when all was said and done: The concrete…
Fireplace Renovation: Part 6 – Pouring a Concrete Hearth
Our mold was ready and we were excited. The day we were working towards was finally here! Today we mixed and poured our concrete. Prep To prep the area, we…
Fireplace Renovation: Part 5 – Building a Concrete Hearth Mold
Alex's mom is visiting this weekend, but we stole a few hours for ourselves and made some serious progress. In the couple of hours we had before dinner on Saturday,…
Fireplace Renovation: Part 3 – Installing Backerboard
Just when we think we've got it all figured out, we realized that we haven't. Our grand plan was to patch the fireplace and pour the concrete (for our hearth)…
Fireplace Renovation: Part 2 – Preparing the Floor
We've been stalled on our reno work for a while because we've been trying to figure out what to do next. Our concrete hearth idea is complicated for newbies, and…
Fireplace Renovation: Inspiration
It all started with the floor. We tore up the old hardwood and with it came the stone in front of the fireplace (also know as the hearth). No problem,…
Replacing Hardwood Floor: Part 3 – Feeling Overwhelmed
The next step in replacing your hardwood is feeling overwhelmed. This is likely a necessary step in all renovation projects, but the first is probably the worst. There are a…