After four years of nearly full-time work (time out to camp & backpack of course) Completion! Happy Wife = Happy Life!
Some of the “Before” pictures are from an identical house that is currently for sale. Continue reading House Remodel: Before & After
Few things in a home remodel can make as dramatic and durable transformation like tile can.
For the first time DIYer, tile work may seem rather daunting. With planning and understanding, the first time DIYer can lay tile, resulting in a professional look and long lasting surface.
I had never laid tile before we did our house remodel, so I am a first time DIYer. Continue reading House Remodel: Wall & Floor Tile
Many years ago, before the age of Internet, I did some drywall work, using a couple home improvement books as a tutor. Normally, I prefer reading than watching a video to learn how to do something. Things like hanging drywall, which require a learned skill, are much different. Watching someone show you how to tape and finished drywall joints is much better than reading about it. Continue reading House Remodel: Drywall Tips
I have been an advocate of solar power for almost 20 years, ever since we installed our first solar system on our camper in 2003 and then on our next two campers. Solar isn’t for everyone and it isn’t applicable for every situation.
Back at the end 2016, after we completed extensive energy efficiency upgrades to our house, I asked posed the question is a post here (click for link), “Is home solar lipstick on a pig?” What this means, is solar just a Band-Aid for an energy inefficient home. I was advocating that homeowners should address the inefficiencies in their house before installing a solar system. I also mentioned that after a full year of data, after our energy upgrades, I would re-evaluate solar for us.
Given the accelerating costs of electricity rates, we decided to install a solar system. Continue reading House Solar Install
If I haven’t bored you yet, this is the next post on our house remodel.
Of all the rooms I completely tore down to the wall studs during our house remodel, this was the easiest. Probably because my skills improved as I progressed room-by-room, it was more intuitive to anticipate problems, and there was only one big obstacle in this room. Continue reading House Remodel: Guest Bath Demolition Phase
Again, I’m continuing the House Remodel series. What else can I do since backpacking and camping in California are pretty much closed to me. I have patience. The last post in the series was about our master bath demolition, which went well over all. The same cannot be said about the kitchen.
Of all the work I had planned, the kitchen was supposed to be the easiest.
In my post on planning for the demolition, I mentioned that,
A simple galley kitchen, there wasn’t a lot that could be done without some really, really major construction. So we would end up upgrading the cabinets, countertops, and flooring.
As it turned out, we found a plethora of problems after we removed the old kitchen cabinets. Continue reading House Remodel: Kitchen Demolition Disaster
Continuing the Home Remodel series. In the last post, I wrote about preparing for demolition, which was really a planning exercise.
In this post I’ll discuss what I tore out, why I tore it out, and what unexpected problems I found. Continue reading House Remodel: Master Bath Demolition Phase
Continuing my series on our house remodel. In an earlier post I discussed the importance of planning. In this post I’ll review the demolition preparation phase, with an eye to planning. Continue reading House Remodel: Preparing for Demolition
Most of us are sheltered in our homes due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now might be a good time to plan your next project, whether it be a bathroom remodel, making your own backpack or sleeping bag, or even just painting a room. I’ll share some tips on planning big projects, which of course, can be applied to almost any task.
Planning and research can help you complete projects as well done as professionals do it. Continue reading How to Plan House Remodeling Projects (or anything else)
Every homeowner, and really just about everyone, should have a few power tools. Tools are required to build and repair things, and knowing how to do use them can save huge amounts of money. Heck even a backpacker or camper/RV owner can benefit from owning and using power tools. Perhaps the backpacker needs to build storage for equipment. If you have a camper/RV, a few tools will enable you to make some practical modifications to your rig. In this post I will cover some of the basic power tools that are most useful.
Continue reading Home Power Tools