New Driveway

The old, cracked and broken driveway has finally been replaced!  Our neighbor's dad is a professional who was able to all the work of hauling away the old stuff and putting in a new, solid driveway.

We were then inspired to create a little bit of curb appeal to the front.

What do you think?

The old side-by-side comparison always makes me feel good.

What's Old Is New...

A stereoscope is a device for viewing a stereoscopic pair of separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, as a single three-dimensional image.
 
The earliest type of stereoscope was invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1838.^[1][2][3] It used a pair of mirrors at 45 degree angles to the user's eyes, each reflecting a picture located off to the side.

This Victorian innovation basically allowed people to get a 3D perception of a location by looking at two pictures using a lens.  As the current Internet is experimenting with ways to bring virtual reality to people, I thought it would be fun to take a few stereoscopes  of the property for your fun and enjoyment.  You merely look at these pics through a special lens which could be on your $1,500 Google Eyewear or simply using one of these $5 models.

And voila!  You are experiencing "virtual reality" right here on this DIY website!  I'm sure real estate companies will be employing this technology which would allow buyers to tour a house in 3D.  But you know those chaps tend to be a little behind the times.

Otherwise, Enjoy!   Please, don't go blind!

Entry into the Secret Garden

First of all, HAPPY SUMMER!

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about entry into the Secret Garden.

Oh, you think you can just sashay and walk in an ostentatious yet casual manner into our garden?  Oh my you are so so incorrect!

You see the garden entry way is now protected by this 100+ year old wooden, Victorian door with old and new locksets.  There is a wrought iron gate, which once protected the front window, beside it with very sharp spears at the top. An old wicker chair with a plant stands as sentry, alerting nature of your approach! Notice the key?  Oh yes, you NEED a key to enter this private oasis of calmness and beauty.  This just isn't any old key, this is the SECRET GARDEN KEY!!

But you know what?  I'm a nice guy so let me give you a bit of sneak preview whence you are ENTITLED to enter the garden. But only for a brief moment.

Bon Appetite!

Master Bedroom Suite: DONE

There is nothing better than uttering the word "DONE" after completing a major DIY project.  Of course, nothing is truly done when it comes to renovations.  What "DONE" means to me is achieving a point where you can sit back and view the work completed thus far and truly, truly enjoy it.   There are a dozen little things here and there that need to be finalized but that will happen over the next few days but the key thing is that the major work is DONE.

And, Gosh!, does it feel gooooooooooood.

Andrea pointed out that the whole room had a "Cape Cod" feeling to it and after thinking about it, she's right!
And Cape Cod makes sense since the shower is called "The White Whale" etc.  Overall the feeling is like being in a nice B&B in Cape Cod with the sound of waves crashing and nice bright light flowing throughout the room.  So I think we'll call the new bedroom 'New Bedford', which is the name of a former whaling city in Massachusetts where the real story of Moby Dick first launched. 

Anyway, I'm too tired to go into details right now so I'll just post some pics for you and write about the details later.

Thanks for visiting!

The Luck of the DIYer

I wanted to share a quick, fun post with you today about always having "on" the DIY mentality.

We recently spent 4 days in Los Angeles visiting a nephew who was graduating from high school.  We flew back home, jumped on BART to the station nearest our house and decided to take the 10 minute walk instead of the usual $5 cab ride home.

On the way, we see a solid core door with a 'Free' sign on it near the sidewalk.  I needed a solid core door for the access way leading from the basement into the garage.  The door was in great shape and just needed a little painting.  So I scooped it up and carried it the rest of the way home. 

Want proof?

We returned home from Los Angeles with a free door I need!  Andrea stopped laughing long enough to snap these photos.

So the moral of the story is; keep your eyes open and walk often because you just might find what you need! Saved me about $50 and a trip to HD.  

Growing a Ghost Orchid

"Not only rare but fascinating, the Ghost Orchid is a plant that was presumed to be extinct for almost 20 years and only recently materialized again. The plant is so rare because it is near-impossible to propagate." http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-rarest-flowers-in-the-world.php

You'd think this post would be about actually growing a Ghost Orchid but it is actually a metaphor for the 4 months it took to finally finish the Master Bathroom.

Building a new bathroom in your home can be a daunting task if you are mostly doing it yourself.  It's surprisingly expensive and more surprisingly time consuming.  There are layers and layers of foundational things that need to be done before you can even add water to the mix.  Anyway, if you follow this blog, you know the history.

Btw, thank you to those of you who contributed to over 50,000 pageviews on our blog. We hope that you either learned something, or got a great laugh at the work we are performing on this 1898 Vic.

So it is the middle of May and we are about 97% finished with the Master Bath. 

So let's get right down to the pics and the specifics:

First a pic of the demo from January,

 And the same angle from today.

We went with a color scheme and tile work that mimics a bygone era of the early 20th century.  Apparently the "subway" look was very popular back then because of all the new subways that were operating in the western countries. The archway makes it feel like you are stepping into a subway to take a shower.  Why?  Why not??

The flooring is a b/w white octangular type of style which is TEN times more brutal to deal with than your 16 x16 tiles.  But it's period accurate and seems fun to look at NOW.

 

les toilettes - les WC is the latest low-flow, water saving type from Delta.  It has a pretty strong flush and was fairly inexpensive and easy to install.  

 Without a doubt, the biggest battle was with the huge subway tiled shower I affectionately call 'The White Whale', after Moby Dick.  This shower took a huge amount of time to complete and is bigger then YOUR walk-in closet!  (Maybe). lol   I added a high shelf, which at the time seemed like a good idea, but contributed to some headaches later on.  Now it is a great space to put things that won't get too wet. The irony is that we may only get to use it for 3 mins a day because of the drought. lol!  What a world!

 

I added un petite shower bench and a recessed cove.

So we looked at several vanities and we agreed that this dark stain/ceramic vanity from IKEA was the best choice. Why? Because the depth of it was just right.  Most vanities are about 22" in depth and I had the hardest time finding one that was about 19" in depth and IKEA had one which happened to have a nice vintage style and the kind of back splash that evokes an older time. Plus it has some great storage spaces in both drawers.   I knock IKEA a lot for its cheap products but this one is a good fit for us at a good price.  I really like the built in sink so I don't have to re-caulk around a drop-in sink ever again. 

I am most proud of the electrical work I did in this bathroom.  Shockingly, I didn't electrocute myself and I've developed a greater appreciation for how devices can illuminate and activate various motors and light fixtures.  Someday, I'd love to make a door that swooshes open like the ones on 'Star Trek'. 

Cost?  Well, I originally budgeted $3k for the whole thing but the city inspections and the plumber alone took all that money.  So it took another 3K for the materials we estimate. It's astonishing to find out how the littlest things tend to be the most costly.   But in the end we get a private bathroom in the master bedroom and we are already enjoying having that luxury.   Would I do it again?  Are you effin crazy?

xoxoxoxo

Paradise Syndrome

What is paradise to you?  A question I posed to Andrea (and to myself) after watching the Star Trek episode with the same title.

In the opening sequence of that episode, Kirk, Spock and McCoy discover a planet just like Earth and inhabited by the 1960's stereotypical view of Native Americans.  Kirk remarked how peaceful and serene it all looked and, for a brief instant, dreamed of leaving it all for this "paradise".   Then, in honor of Passover, we ate Matzo and watched 'The Ten Commandments'.  That story is all about seeking a different kind of paradise as well.  So what is our "Paradise"?

I thought about the religious, spiritual, natural and man-made references to the concept of "paradise" all weekend and came away very conflicted by the whole notion.  Anyway, there is much to discuss about the idea of it but I'm going to just focus on it in relation to our DIY house efforts for now.

First, today I felt compelled to cut the first flowers from the garden and place them in my sister's lovely vase.  The roses are from a bush that existed in our yard mixed with a few California Golden Poppies we had planted last year.  I think this combination captures the essence of our DIY experience thus far.

Pink roses with Golden Poppies 2014

So what's a paradise without a garden?  I am happy to see our backyard efforts are paying off. Everything is growing quite well and we seem to have fewer bug/snail/aphid issues after employing natural repellents like ladybugs, birds, organic snail pellets and blasting the plum leaves with water.  We moved the rain barrel to a new location where we could access it more easily and we have been able to reduce our water consumption by 600 gallons for the past 60 days!  Does that mean our water bill goes down? Nope, it sure don't. Investigation to commence...

While on the topic of water, we are very happy with the solar water pumps we use to create our water features.  This trickling water feature is made up of a vintage light fixture-cover from the house, filled with rocks and and set amongst the Gold Rush era plants we got from an artist two years ago.

Our garden is the most restful, calming and tranquil area of the house. Whatever "Paradise" is, it HAS to include a garden... 

Fresh Veggies for dinner!

Paradise can mean many different things to many different people.  Although I've been working slavishly on the new bathroom and master bedroom and regularly covered in "stuff" with body aching all the time, I find that hardwork, doing something you feel your loved ones will enjoy, is a kind of paradise.   Being able to use your hands and your mind to craft materials together so that water, electrical and hard material coalesce into a unified, functional addition to your home experience can be a kind of paradise-of-the-mind.   The end reward of all that hard suffering labor is knowing you are going to reach a kind of 'Promise Land' where beauty exists amid flowing milk and honey.  Although, right now, I feel like Capt. Ahab battling a white whale as I try to finish tiling the shower and bathroom after two long weeks.

First demolition of the old closet and then reframing the new, small Master bathroom.

To get to this point, you have to add layers of water proofing materials.

The floor to ceiling Subway tile shower takes over 700 tiles! I affectionately call it the "White Whale".

I did ALL the electrical installation myself and it passed inspection with flying colors.

 So as I approach the 'Promised Land' of a nice, new finished master bath, the aches and pains of the past begin to slip away.  There is more pain ahead as I start to finish the work but I can see light at the end of the tunnel, signaling a better place (or heaven) is just ahead.

Do I suffer from 'Paradise Syndrome'?  You bet your sweet monkey I do!  Why?  Because I've come to learn that our true paradise is created and earned and can never just be given to us.  When we create our own paradise, we know it, understand it and love it better.

Find your Paradise.
  "I AM KIR-OK!"