DIY Home Improvements

[Jane&Andy]

What sort of DIY projects have y'all tackled?

Last year DH built us a new patio using cement pavers. He working on our upstairs bathroom now. A friend's DH helped us remove our old bathtub (it was blue!) and then my DH has been working on it on his own since then. Its been a slow project but it'll be worth it in the end. DH is installing new drywall now and once that is done we'll call in a plumber to install our new white tub (can't remember why but there is a specific reason we need to hire someone for that part). After that we'll move on to removing the blue wallpaper, blue laminate floor, blue toilet and blue sink. (seriously it looks like a smurf exploded in the bathroom).

We're also planning to start building our own fence soon.

[Jane&Andy]

pictures of my ugly bathroom:
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C965523232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E2328%3D%3C26%3D524%3 DXROQDF%3E23234%3C3636%3B73ot1lsi
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C965523232%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2328%3D%3C26%3D524%3 D977%3B33b26344923%3D32325664%3A645%3Cnu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C965523232%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2328%3D%3C26%3D524%3 D977%3B33b26344923%3D32325664%3A6656nu0mrj

this is the new vanity we bought
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da04b3127cce91059a1958d800000016108AZN27Ny3btK

[Jane&Andy]

the patio DH built:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da25b3127cce90ab3700400800000016108AZN27Ny3btK
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd07b3127cce908368d6859b00000016108AZN27Ny3btK

he built it over the pre-existing patio - a concrete slab with a brick border. it was cracked and very torn up in one area.

[Fluffy Bunny]

Your patio looks great. We just finished screening in our patio. Next up is replacing the slats on the patio roof with a full roof. Luckily, all of the structural support for the roof is already there, so hopefully it will only take a few weekends to complete.

[diedra1027]

looks awesome!! How cute is your dog standing on the picnic table?!?

DH and I remodeled our kitchen and bathroom in our old condo - it was so rewarding! We found out that I was pregnant the day we closed on our current house, so our project list for our new place was limited. We managed to remodel our main floor bathroom before baby arrived, but that's about it.

I'll dig up some pictures to post when I get a chance.

[kmmommy]

Jane ~ I love the new vanity you got for your bathroom. Plus, your DH did a great job on the tile patio.

Your puppy is so sweet!

[Katie&Micah]

I love the vanity too.. where did you get it??

[KRM&TPS]

Thats a great vanity Jane. That will look so good. And what a great job on the patio.

[Jane&Andy]

Katie - we bought it at Lowe's. We also bought the faucet that is in the picture. I'd post a link to it on the Lowe's website but when we bought it a month or so ago I never could find it online. So I scanned in a picture from a brochure. Its made by Waterfront.

thanks for all the compliments! Our backyard looks better since that picture has been taken. We had a new patio door installed and finally removed that ugly awning. :)

I also painted all of those shutters by hand last Spring. Years ago the house was powerwashed and it ripped all the paint off the shutters but they never repainted them. They looked pretty bad before.

diedra - we need to remodel our kitchen. We have metal cabinets! they are so ugly, we just don't have the money for new cabinets right now.

[kadee_29]

We will be remodeling our kitchen here in the next month or two. And then we will be doing lots of other smaller projects around the house so we can get it ready to sell.

We just purchased unfinished cabinets at Menards. They arent quite as nice as some of the finished ones but they are nowhere near as expensive. I spent less than $350 on all our cabinets. I am excited to get it done.

[Jane&Andy]

"I spent less than $350 on all our cabinets."

wow, DH and I may have to look around for something similar - we don't have Menards but maybe someplace around here sells unfinished cabinets. Anything would be better than what we have now.

[kadee_29]

I think Lowes has something similar. I dont know about Home Depot because we dont have one.

Our kitchen didnt take much to do though. I am trying to remember off the top of my head what we bought. The 60 inch sink base, 36x15 (?) for over the sink, 30x15 (?) for over the fridge, a skinnier longer one and I think a 24xwhatever longer one. Then the 3 door cabinet for over our washer and dryer. I will have to go look tomorrow to be sure.

[BethS0103]

Jane, your patio looks great! Was it very hard/expensive to do yourself? DH and I are buying a brand new condo and rather than spend $5000 to have them build a deck or put in a patio, we're going to wait until next summer to do it ourselves. I know decks are fairly easy to DIY, but how easy was the patio for you guys? We might consider the patio just because it's low maintenence compared to a deck.

[Jane&Andy]

kadee - I think I have seen unfinished cabinets at Lowes now that I think about it. Need to pay attention to what they cost next time I'm there. We have a fairly small kitchen so we wouln't need tons.

Beth - I think the patio ended up costing us about $1000. It took DH a very long time to do it but he did all of the work himself. And instead of ordering the supplies all at once and having Lowe's deliver them he brought it all home in small carloads in our Honda Civic. But it was worth it and much cheaper than it would have been to hire someone. We built over an existing patio so he just filled in the holes with gravel (in one section it looked like someone took a jackhammer to the old patio) and then covered it with sand, smoothed out the sand and laid the pavers. Once he was done he swept red sand over the patio to fill in the spaces between the pavers.

[Jane&Andy]

I know I'm doing this backwards but I just thought I'd come in and post this before picture of our patio:
http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B%3A%3A8%3B923232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E2328%3D%3C26%3 D524%3D84464%3Ab26343723%3D323255%3B956986nu0mrj

[juliemag]

We closed yesterday - yay! And we've begun our first DIY project. :D

Scraping popcorn off our ceilings.
Just sprayed water up there w/ a garden sprayer, and scraped it down. Level of difficulty is about a 3/4 (between 1-10) because of the mess it makes.

Here's DH doing so, last night:
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C%3B95923232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D9%3A7%3D% 3B34%3DXROQDF%3E23239379%3A6%3B%3A%3Aot1lsi

And the "after" shot. Just have to paint the ceilings and we're good to go.
http://images.snapfish.com/343%3C%3B95923232%7Ffp58%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D9%3A7%3D% 3B34%3DXROQDF%3E23239379%3A6%3B%3B2ot1lsi

[Jane&Andy]

wow Julie - y'all are moving fast!

here's some before pictures for our bathroom remodel - I just took them last night and we've already started the project so its a big mess but you can still see what we started with
blue vanity and huge medicine cabinet and ugly wallpaper
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce922404fe618200000026118AZN27Ny3btK
blue toilet
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce92240428615400000026118AZN27Ny3btK
tin can light fixture
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce922407a5214000000016108AZN27Ny3btK
ugly floor
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce922406b4e0f900000016108AZN27Ny3btK

[juliemag]

Jane&Andy - I know - we're definitley in the "get er done" mode!! Are you guys doing everything in the bathroom yourselves?! One of the houses we considered had a smurf bathroom similar to yours - what were people thinking? Haha. Good luck :)

[Jane&Andy]

these are some during shots of the bathtub area. For before, just picture blue tub and tiles to match the toilet and sink. :p :eek:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce92240677610a00000016108AZN27Ny3btK
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce9224018ba05d00000016108AZN27Ny3btK
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce922401a0214600000026118AZN27Ny3btK

[Kimberland30]

Jane, I really love your patio! We have a rather large concrete patio that is cracked and stained, and I was thinking about refinishing it. But after seeing yours, I'm going to see about doing something similar.

Does it get hot in the summertime? That would be my only concern.

The rest of your projects look great, I can't wait to see your remodeled bathroom!

[Jane&Andy]

post cont'd since it would only let my include 3 photos in that last post....

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce922401a3a07500000016108AZN27Ny3btK

We already have the new tub, toilet, sink/vanity and sink faucet (all white!) so now we need to pick out new tile for around the tub, new flooring (will just be a sheet of laminate since its cheap and easy), shower head, tub fixtures, mirror and towel hooks, rods, toilet roll holder. :) We're painting the bathroom tan to match our bedroom and my Aunt gave me some gorgeous red towels for my birthday (I want this to match our red and tan bathroom).

[WisWis]

It makes me feel good to see other people tackling DIY projects, and also makes me think we aren't quite as crazy as it seems sometime. We just bought an older home and are doing some major renovations. Bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, you name it, we're working on it. Thank goodness we have another month before we have to move in! I'll take some pics when we're over at the house today and post them. It isn't pretty...yet!

[mrsliby2004]

subbing -- I will hopefully have some pics to share soon! ;)

[Janey]

Subscribing! :D

My only DIY project (so far) has been tackling the yard (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/369603/). We have lots of work to do inside though... the big parts we've called in a contractor for. The DIY stuff will mostly painting, but we'll have some ripping out of walls and such, as well.

[MsPeachy]

Well, as of right now, the only project counting as a DIY is painting. Since we've moved, we've had new tile and carpet installed in several areas and a fence built but for the sake of time, difficulty and warranties, we paid contractors to do them.

We do have 2 fairly large DIY projects on the horizon though. One is that we need to remove/replace/reinstall some of our overhead kitchen cabinets so we can put a microwave in. The other is to finish our basement. We need to jackhammer the foundation to move some plumbing so that will be interesting. :rolleyes:

Jane - I can't wait to see how your bathroom turns out! :)

[Old Home Remodelers]

blowing off the dust

[Makena]

I dont' see a similar thread, so I thought I'd start one. (ETA: apparently there is a similar thread, just not one from smaller projects - oops!)

Just wanted to show of some of my latest DIY projects. I'm really starting to get the hang of power tools!

Custom Established Sign
I needed a specific size to cover a hole in our chimney. I couldn't find anything I liked so I decide to make my own. I made the wood sign using MDF and moulding. I painted it with blue paint, and a little bit of brown to make it look distressed.
I ordered the vinyl word art from Off Woodland Lane (www.easysite.com/offwoodlandlane) - she was great to work with!
Total cost for the project was under $18.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l318/alyssa5617/CIMG0948_nolastname.jpg

Custom Sign
I wanted something fun & whimsical for the back of the kitchen island. This was inspired by a sign I saw at Longhorn Steakhouse. I just adapted it to fit our life. We love seafood! And the towns on the bottom are all significant to us;all are in Hawaii or Maui. Kaneohe is the town I used to live in, Makena is the town where we got married, and Ka'anapali is where we honeymooned.
I made this with plywood and moulding. Painted black and sanded to distress.
All the lettering is handpainted - what a pain in the butt!
Total cost for this project was under $25.
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l318/alyssa5617/CIMG0960.jpg

[Makena]

Headboard
Inspired by Restoration Hardware
Made with leftover MDF and moulding from our many renovation projects.
Total cost - Free!

Inspiration pic
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l318/alyssa5617/sutterheadboard-1.jpg

During building process
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7dd37b3127cce8281c1ffb1c700000016108AbNnDdy0aM_
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7dd37b3127cce8281c10bb13300000016108AbNnDdy0aM_
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7dd37b3127cce8281afd2b1dd00000016108AbNnDdy0aM_

Finished
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l318/alyssa5617/finishedheadboard.jpg

[Makena]

Wall Letter
I traced the "H" onto MDF, and cut it out using a jigsaw. Then sanded and painted it.
Total cost for this project - Free (the MDF was left over from the kitchen reno)
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l318/alyssa5617/CIMG0913.jpg

Thanks for letting me an attention wh0re for a little bit! :p

[Lindsan]

Bloody hell Makena, that is just amazing!

[Jane&Andy]

Bloody hell Makena, that is just amazing!

can I just say ditto? :p

wow!!!

[Weddings by]

Wow, it looks like you had fun!

[carrie9142]

Wow. I can't freehand for crap! You really could probably start a good home/side business if you had the time and inclination. Esp. for custom work. I bet loads of people would be willing to pay for it!!

[Pineknot]

Makena......WOW :eek:

I am so impressed with your handiwork!! I would LOVE to make that headboard, but the process pictures you are showing aren't coming up. I tried to bring up the website of them, but it just didn't work. Could you check your links?

I love your letter H as well. Seriously, you need to sell your work on Etsy or something. I can't imagine people not wanting to pay for your talent. :)