Sunday, August 8, 2010

So what can happen in a year? Part 2

So other than trying to sell a house, adopting a dog, burying a dog, vacuuming, vacuuming vacuuming... I have also dipped my feet into the DIY world. For those of you not obsessed with HGTV, (Hellllooo! Get with the program(s)!) DIY or Do-It-Yourself projects have pretty much been an obsession since we put the house on the market.  They have also been a necessity.  We are selling the house to get out from under the massive mortgage made heavier by homeowners insurance that more than doubled since Katrina.  Putting a lot of money into a house whose value has plummeted since the economies down turn is just not feasible nor possible.  So, BUM BUM BUM BAA, in comes Handy Homeowner

A small list of my accomplishments, of which I am very proud.
  1. Removed my kitchen sink, faucet, etc to make ready for new counter tops. This included removing the plumping connections below the since.
  2. Replacing my old faucet, hot and cold handles and sprayer with a new one and connecting the hot and cold water back up.
  3. Replacing a plumbing pipe or two under the kitchen sink in order to secure the water pipes would fail as they had in the past  thereby flooding the cabinet under the sink.
  4. Patching and repainting wall blemishes.
  5. Painting the front stairs and restaining the front porch.
  6. Removing the glass shower doors from the main floor bathroom and replacing it with a shower curtain.
  7. Removing the dated toilet paper holding and towel rack from the main floor bathroom, patching the walls and replacing with updated fixtures.
Not too shabby if I do say so myself. But the big projects still lie ahead.  Here is what I want to do when I find the courage and watch enough YouTube Vidoes.

  1. Remove the very out of date bathroom counter, sink and faucets in the main floor bathroom and replace with a nice stand alone vanity and sink.  (Oh gosh will there be ceramic tile under the counter or will I have opened a flooring can of worms?)
  2. Remove the wall to wall mirror in the same bathroom and replace with a nice up to date medicine cabinet. (7 years bad luck... will never get the house sold.)
  3. Remove the ceramic tile from around the fireplace and replace with an updated and colorful alternative. (Grouting... scary!)
  4. Install a kitchen back splash that compliments my new kitchen counters. (Grouting... scary!)
  5. Sand and re-varnish the wood floors which, by the way, need it desperately.
The sadly funny thing about the DIY stuff is the more I do, the stronger connection I feel to this stupid house.   Is my ambivalence showing... eek!

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