Recent Home Projects You Are Proud Of

mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
Being a new home owner, I am new to this whole universe of home improvement projects; some are irritating, but some are really, really satisfying. My most recent one happens to be of the latter variety- the former owners left behind a beautiful piece of furniture. Well, it's beautiful now. I took it apart, sanded it down, cleaned it up, and painted it black. It's this big buffet/sideboard/whatever u want to call it. A very practical piece of furniture, and to buy a whole new one would cost quite a pretty penny. It's VERY HEAVY though - which is most likely why the last owners didn't take it with them; they probably never even tried to move it - I have a feeling it came with the house when they bought it.
Anyhow, before I attacked the buffet, it was a perfect shade of boring. now it's FANTABULOUS!! Looks like i paid a ton of money for it; straight out of a Restoration Hardware catalog, and it's going to go PERFECTLY with the new color scheme I'm painting in the diningroom.
I am super stoked.

anyone else have home improvement projects they wanna gloat about??
 
laurie01

laurie01

Member

Fabulous!!!!!!!!!! There is not a lot more satisfying than a rather large home project that you did yourself & had it turn out amazing. (Keep in mind though, now that you are a homeowner, the list is never-ending!!!!) Just when you think you get everything finished, it's time to start all over again - like staining the siding for example.
I stained a couple ******** doors and molding on the kitchen cabinets that I had to replace & match to the rest of the wood in the house-the local hardware store said I wouldn't have a problem and it would save hundreds of dollars. It was fairly easy once I figured out the exact stain shade to use (they were not much help there-told me the wrong shade).
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by laurie01
http:///forum/post/2779132

Fabulous!!!!!!!!!! There is not a lot more satisfying than a rather large home project that you did yourself & had it turn out amazing. (Keep in mind though, now that you are a homeowner, the list is never-ending!!!!) Just when you think you get everything finished, it's time to start all over again - like staining the siding for example.
I stained a couple ******** doors and molding on the kitchen cabinets that I had to replace & match to the rest of the wood in the house-the local hardware store said I wouldn't have a problem and it would save hundreds of dollars. It was fairly easy once I figured out the exact stain shade to use (they were not much help there-told me the wrong shade).
awesome!!!

got pix?? I'd post some, but my digital camera broke a couple weeks ago.
 
jennythebugg

jennythebugg

Active Member
i remodeled the washroom/pantry at the old house took 11 hours total - installed beadboard , crown /baseboard, new door trim ...i love beadboard
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
Originally Posted by 1knight164
http:///forum/post/2779221
I hung a picture up on the wall straight and level...and it's still there!!!


I am currently replacing our stairs. Well not just replacing, kind of redoing the stairs.
 
shinobi9119

shinobi9119

Active Member
Im helping build the addition to my house. Not done but moving fast. We are on the new second floor and are ready to tear the roof off he small part soon I hope.
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
i pulled off another project today.... i had an old table my late Grandparents gave to my Parents when they bought their first house - but it was UGLY; shiny gold, glass topped table w/ a rattan border under the glass table top. BLECH!!

So today I took it outside, sanded it down, and spraypainted the bejeezus out of it. Now the whole thing is a matte silver and it looks AWESOME!!!
I promise I'll get pix of everything tonight with my laptop once i get it all upstairs and into the diningroom.
 
D

dragonzim

Active Member
Havent done anything much since I bought my house 3 years ago other than spending about 15K on landscaping but I will hopefully be starting a basement finishing project in the next few months.
 
1knight164

1knight164

Member
Installed recessed lighting and crown moulding to the entire downstairs. Gotta love electrical work. Oh, and those angles on crown moulding....what fun! Especially without a combo miter saw.
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by 1knight164
http:///forum/post/2780032
Installed recessed lighting and crown moulding to the entire downstairs. Gotta love electrical work. Oh, and those angles on crown moulding....what fun! Especially without a combo miter saw.

how'd u do the recessed lighting? were there junctions already in place or did you run all new wiring?
 
1knight164

1knight164

Member
Originally Posted by Mimzy
http:///forum/post/2780055
how'd u do the recessed lighting? were there junctions already in place or did you run all new wiring?
Ran all new wiring. The housing I installed had junction boxes attached which made it easy as far as wiring was concerned. Hardest thing was running the wires through the ceiling joists and walls while cutting as few holes in the wall and ceiling as possible. The pain is repairing those holes and trying to match the existing texture. Takes a lot of practice. While I was at it, I replaced my switches with lighted rockers.
 
mimzy

mimzy

Active Member
Originally Posted by 1knight164
http:///forum/post/2780068
Ran all new wiring. The housing I installed had junction boxes attached which made it easy as far as wiring was concerned. Hardest thing was running the wires through the ceiling joists and walls while cutting as few holes in the wall and ceiling as possible. The pain is repairing those holes and trying to match the existing texture. Takes a lot of practice. While I was at it, I replaced my switches with lighted rockers.

AWESOME!!! Wow.

::sigh:: one day, I'll get there. For now, I'll keep patting myself on the back for refurbishing old furniture. LoL.
 
rotarymagic

rotarymagic

Active Member
I recently unloaded all my boxes and moved into my apartment, for a lazy guy that's quite an accomplishment.
 
1knight164

1knight164

Member
Originally Posted by Mimzy
http:///forum/post/2780089
AWESOME!!! Wow.

::sigh:: one day, I'll get there. For now, I'll keep patting myself on the back for refurbishing old furniture. LoL.

Refinishing is no small task and takes more skill so I avoid it altogether. Mistakes are more evident. Mistakes in my projects are easily covered with joint compound, texture coat, and paint!
So hats off to you!
Maybe someday i'll take on that challenge.
Funny thing is my wife dreams up these projects. But when I start the "destruction" phase, you can see the agony in her eyes!!! We have a brand new home. You should've seen her when I installed a side door in our garage! I had to cut a hole through the exterior stucco, frame the hole to code, and cut through the concrete footing before I could even hang the door. She thought the house would come crumbling down!
I just hate it when she follows me around with a broom and dustpan and keeps putting my tools away before i'm finished with them.
So she wanted french doors for our patio door. I told her what it would take and when I told her "Cut the stucco and reframe the opening" she had second thoughts. So next project is floor tile. I can feel the back-aches already!
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by 1knight164
http:///forum/post/2780132
Refinishing is no small task and takes more skill so I avoid it altogether. Mistakes are more evident. Mistakes in my projects are easily covered with joint compound, texture coat, and paint!
So hats off to you!
Maybe someday i'll take on that challenge.
Funny thing is my wife dreams up these projects. But when I start the "destruction" phase, you can see the agony in her eyes!!! We have a brand new home. You should've seen her when I installed a side door in our garage! I had to cut a hole through the exterior stucco, frame the hole to code, and cut through the concrete footing before I could even hang the door. She thought the house would come crumbling down!
I just hate it when she follows me around with a broom and dustpan and keeps putting my tools away before i'm finished with them.
So she wanted french doors for our patio door. I told her what it would take and when I told her "Cut the stucco and reframe the opening" she had second thoughts. So next project is floor tile. I can feel the back-aches already!
I feel your pain! I've recently done all new hardwood flooring in the bedrooms, new bathroom vanities, and tiling in our bathrooms. When the time came to do tile throughout the house, I let my fingers do the walkin'. I hired a pair of fly-by-nighters, which is only a good idea if you're willing to watch the work. I didn't mind playing foreman; they did a good job. But I just KNOW what would have happened if I let them hang out at my house unsupervised!
A lot of my home projects get started with my wife also. I learn as I go, like everyone else, so when my Wife says "can you do this?" I usually say "sure..." and mumble "I think soo...." under my breath! In this day and age, the internet has become a wealth of DIY knowledge.
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
1Knight, I once gave my wife a cutter and told her to cut out all the parts of the carpet that smells. Needless to say I have refloored the entire house.
In some places two or three times.
One of these things just doesn't belong here
One of these things just isn't the same........


You like my new Sawz-all? It seems every time I do something major I new a new saw, I mean how many ways are there to separate a piece of wood?
 
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