Category Archives: Distractions

Delays and other activities

Laminate Bathroom Floor

Posted on December 23, 2019 by ellen

I took another detour while my son and his family were out of town for a Christmastime trip. The old tile floor in the family bathroom was green shiny imitation marble. It was very slippery for a bathroom floor. And … Continue reading →

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One More Thing

Posted on November 10, 2019 by ellen

As time goes on I am involved in fewer projects at my son’s house. One of the last updates in the family bathroom was to change the dual flush unit in the tank. The dual flush button on the toilet … Continue reading →

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Living Room Furniture

Posted on November 8, 2019 by ellen

The large TV and its stand came from the apartment but the old couch had seen better days so it was donated and they wanted a simple, relatively firm couch in a light color. We found this one on Craigslist … Continue reading →

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Kids Furniture

Posted on November 7, 2019 by ellen

There were several new pieces needed before the family could move in. The two children had been sleeping in the same room in the apartment and now they have their own rooms! I missed out on the first crib we … Continue reading →

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Dishwasher and Refrigerator

Posted on November 7, 2019 by ellen

The appliances in the house were in decent shape and about 7-9 years old. They were all stainless steel although not high end. When I found a hardly used GE dishwasher at the Restore I thought it was a good … Continue reading →

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Cabinet Instead

Posted on November 6, 2019 by ellen

Every little project takes time. We had a perfect size cabinet to put in place of the wine fridge from reducing the size of the island. I just had to install it. The wine fridge was built in over a … Continue reading →

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Gas Stove and Hood

Posted on November 5, 2019 by ellen

The house had an electric stove and over the stove microwave. As dedicated cooks, the young couple wanted a gas stove and a hood to carry away cooking odors and fumes. This was a relatively large project. The electric stove … Continue reading →

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Hardwood Floor

Posted on November 4, 2019 by ellen

The entry and kitchen had been retiled with a medium gray wood grained tile. But the living/dining room was carpeted with a dark color berber. Although the carpet was not in terrible shape, hardwood was a feature they wanted. The … Continue reading →

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Dining Room Furniture

Posted on November 2, 2019 by ellen

I made an effort to have enough furniture on hand for the family to start their new lives in the house. They had decided not to bring most of their old furniture with them. They only brought their relatively new … Continue reading →

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Shoe Sign

Posted on October 31, 2019 by ellen

It’s tradition to remove outdoor shoes in most Asian households. Actually it’s also becoming an indoor clean air practice. Our LEED requirement is to have shoe storage at the door. But not all visitors are aware, and actually I need … Continue reading →

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Charming Playroom

Posted on October 29, 2019 by ellen

My daughter-in-law wanted a child’s playroom in the large basement family room. This is a wonderful room because the floor is over a crawlspace so its not cold and it is a heated space. The south side has lots of … Continue reading →

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Kitchen Faucets

Posted on October 29, 2019 by ellen

The windowsill was in the way of the kitchen faucet handle for the hot water. The handle bumped up against the wood so the water could not be completely turned on. When the new quartz was installed we requested that … Continue reading →

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Closet Organization

Posted on October 28, 2019 by ellen

I found a Craigslist deal for Closet organization shelves. The remodeler had removed the shelving from several closets. This type of shelving can be very expensive when new but the home owner sold all of the sections and parts for … Continue reading →

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Imported Tile

Posted on October 28, 2019 by ellen

My son was very impressed with the beauty of some Moroccan tile in a specialty tile shop in San Francisco. The cost was $250 a square foot. So he did some research to see if there was a shop nearer … Continue reading →

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Kitchen Quartz

Posted on October 27, 2019 by ellen

I found an ad for “white granite” on Craigslist. For only $60 there were two smaller pieces and one large one. Luckily my son was visiting when we went to pick up the pieces because the large one especially was … Continue reading →

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Granite Counter Failure

Posted on October 27, 2019 by ellen

I found a lovely piece of dark granite for $50 that I thought was large enough for the countertop in the family bathroom. It required more prep work than most because there were plywood pieces glued to the back of … Continue reading →

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Mirror Mirror On the Wall

Posted on October 24, 2019 by ellen

The basement bathroom mirror was damaged at the bottom edges. I read that moisture gets behind the coating on the back of the mirror and eats away the mirroring on the glass. The solution was to coat the back of … Continue reading →

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Basement Bathroom

Posted on October 23, 2019 by ellen

One of the earliest projects in the new house was a quick remodel of the basement bathroom. All the bathrooms had green Formica countertops, metal sinks and plastic crystal handled faucets. they were functional but builder quality and low end … Continue reading →

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Recover a Loveseat

Posted on October 20, 2019 by ellen

One of the latest projects has been recovering a loveseat to match my granddaughter’s room. We found the perfect loveseat for story time with a parent and two children. Luckily though it was on a third floor the lady helped … Continue reading →

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Year-Long Distraction

Posted on October 19, 2019 by ellen

My son and daughter-in-law bought their first house just three miles away from us about a year ago. It needed some remodeling and lots of updating and in the spirit of Do It Yourself I resolved to help them save … Continue reading →

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