tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65973019557245550802011-10-27T15:00:10.828-04:00Our house (1975 ranch) is in a constant state of being remodeled. I'm going to use this site to help me keep a record of the changes we've made, with pictures of before, during and after, when I have them. If you have questions about any of the materials, tools, or methods we have used, please ask!Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-59692799852104163402010-04-17T10:58:00.004-04:002010-04-17T11:16:18.908-04:002010-04-17T11:16:18.908-04:00

Well, there is some painting to be done still on the trim around the window and the baseboard. But it's fully functional, and Thomas has "moved in." Yeah!Here's the before picture:And several after pictures:Eddie had to special order the mirror to fit the space, and then install the light above it.Thomas loves it, and so do I!

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2010/04/its-done.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-91208877970867999202010-04-11T11:47:00.003-04:002010-04-11T11:57:51.006-04:002010-04-11T11:57:51.006-04:00

Eddie bought and installed the toe kick (or whatever that piece of board is called) to cover the gap between the tall cabinet and the sink cabinet. He needed that in place before he could put the baseboard trim in place.He picked out a faucet which I really like. It sticks out far enough into the sink that your hands aren't hitting the sink bowl when you use it--the faucet in our basement

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2010/04/baseboard-and-trim.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-36210954848102988652010-04-03T09:45:00.008-04:002010-04-04T13:05:19.894-04:002010-04-04T13:05:19.894-04:00

Eddie installed the new door for the hall bathroom yesterday. He had to make some adjustments to the door trim because the wall was only 3 inches deep instead of the 4 inches allowed. (I think that's what he said.) And on the inside, the trim had to be cut down because the door was too close to the corner. It all looks good--just needs to be painted.The new hall closet still needs to have

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2010/04/door-and-cabinets.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-20103058104727800812010-03-26T17:14:00.005-04:002010-03-26T17:17:43.862-04:002010-03-26T17:17:43.862-04:00

Photos of the latest developments in the hall bathroom!

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2010/03/more-updates-to-hall-bath.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-24453601615793477422010-01-19T08:24:00.004-05:002010-01-19T08:31:31.533-05:002010-01-19T08:31:31.533-05:00

Sheetrock for the ceiling.Eddie had to add pieces of lumber in the corners to be able to install the sheetrock.This is where the linen closet was in the bathroom before, and now it will be opening into the hallway instead.First coat of mud.

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2010/01/latest-work-in-bathroom.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-73047106302440861642009-09-05T12:55:00.005-04:002009-09-05T13:12:41.454-04:002009-09-05T13:12:41.454-04:00

We kept working all weekend, and here are some of the pictures to show what was involved. First, the cabinet, sink and toilet were removed. Then the tile on the walls came down.More tile in the shower.The wall boards were removed, exposing plumbing and wiring.Then the floor tiles had to come up. I got assigned most of this job. I don't know why I can't get the picture to rotate and stay that way!

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com2http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-work-on-bathroom.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-35104497500493218292009-08-12T09:58:00.002-04:002009-09-05T13:13:36.153-04:002009-09-05T13:13:36.153-04:00

So it begins . . .

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2009/08/first-floor-hall-bathroom.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-9534460837987700242009-05-03T10:56:00.005-04:002009-05-03T11:20:59.595-04:002009-05-03T11:20:59.595-04:00

We rented a concrete grinder last weekend and Eddie got the whole back patio done. It was really rough, and even just kneeling on it would hurt--so imagine falling from a bike or just tripping!He went over each section in a cross-hatch pattern--north/south and east/west--and did that three times. The man is nothing if not thorough!We filled the large cracks with concrete filler.BeforeAfter--hard

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2009/05/smoothing-out-concrete-patio.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-79639648803350258122009-04-16T09:02:00.005-04:002009-04-16T09:20:01.128-04:002009-04-16T09:20:01.128-04:00

My brother sent me a link to something his friend did recently.The Automatic Chicken Door is pretty cool-looking. There's a short video clip at the link. And he got his plans for the door from this site at BuildEasy's The DIYers pages, How to make an Automatic Chicken House Door, by John Beaty, Director of Technology Programs, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. If you're looking

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2009/04/great-automatic-chicken-coop-door-idea.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-92146666413815029202008-11-28T13:29:00.004-05:002008-11-28T13:38:28.313-05:002008-11-28T13:38:28.313-05:00

We already had split a bunch of wood the other week, and used up probably an 8ft by 4 ft stack of it. Eddie brought home more, probably all oak and some pieces weighed more than him, so that was our post-Thanksgiving workout.Splitter still in pretty good shape, but Eddie's not happy with the gas reservoir; it seems to have a leak that he's unable to fix. There was also water in the carburetor. At

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/11/its-that-time-of-year-again-back-to.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-70871161872455663212008-07-11T15:33:00.003-04:002008-07-11T15:49:33.786-04:002008-07-11T15:49:33.786-04:00

Last but not least, Eddie put the trim up around the kitchen window. The only real issue to deal with was ripping the bottom trim piece to fit above the sink back splash.The sill is in place.I painted a primer coat on the unfinished piece of wood, and then we'll be caulking and filling holes and painting the trim on the window and the two doors.

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com4http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/07/interior-door-and-window-trim-part-3.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-52519476790217169862008-07-11T13:03:00.006-04:002008-07-11T13:43:56.472-04:002008-07-11T13:43:56.472-04:00

Eddie next went to work on the new door we added.Door trim going in.He put shoe moulding across the bottom.Finished door, still to be caulked, holes filled, and painted.

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/07/interior-door-and-window-trim-part-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-46648043826064785172008-07-07T10:30:00.007-04:002008-07-07T11:22:39.038-04:002008-07-07T11:22:39.038-04:00

We installed the slider and kitchen window quite a while ago, and added the new door more recently, but had not put the trim up because we were eager to finish the siding first.On Saturday we headed to Lowes to buy trim and also boards to fill gaps from the previous slider's opening, which was a bit larger than this one's.This is what it started out as:We also wanted to cover the piece of wood

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/07/interior-door-and-window-trim-part-1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-66537078237915543712008-06-15T10:16:00.004-04:002008-06-15T10:21:02.283-04:002008-06-15T10:21:02.283-04:00

After taking care of the long skinny branches, of which there were too many for us to count, we started in on the huge limbs, and this is the result:The top half of this is from the tree:And we had just been saying to ourselves, we'll need to start bringing wood home to split for next fall . . .

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/06/firewood-from-our-fallen-tree.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-46178700865108707072008-06-10T12:18:00.005-04:002008-06-10T12:43:24.452-04:002008-06-10T12:43:24.452-04:00

We're hoping the tree will live despite the damage. We knew we needed to remove some of the lower limbs, especially one that hangs over the roof a bit. Oh well.So many small branches on this willow oak!The main trunk had a secondary trunk, I guess, and that's what fell during a rain storm. It took three other huge limbs with it.Needless to say, we have a head start on firewood for next

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/06/cleaning-up-fallen-tree.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-80590771968988625302008-06-10T11:49:00.006-04:002008-06-10T12:17:39.731-04:002008-06-10T12:17:39.731-04:00

I came home Tuesday night from jazz classes with Emily and pulled into the drive to see this:Amazingly it didn't hit the house or the fence!And in daylight.I'll post another article with the cleanup effort.

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/06/when-trees-go-bad.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-71917887620656123412008-06-10T11:28:00.007-04:002008-06-10T13:09:07.290-04:002008-06-10T13:09:07.290-04:00

I said there was more, and it was quite the highlight of the day. You might ask yourself, why is that man wearing an ace bandage around his ankle? Good question! When he was lowering the pump jack, the release was stuck, and he shifted his feet around.Then all of a sudden it released, and the jack part, that sticks out and you would put your foot in to raise the jack, slammed down across the side

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/06/so-what-else-happened-that-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-22307147335901371802008-05-27T08:51:00.004-04:002008-05-27T09:09:06.761-04:002008-05-27T09:09:06.761-04:00

We've finally started again on the siding, after taking all winter off, not to mention that Eddie had back surgery in April! Last weekend he cleaned and organized his workshop, a semi-annual event, so he would be able to find all the tools we'll need to finish this job.We got it all finished in one day. There's still a fair amount to do on the corner, because there's a gap (that you can't see in

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/05/back-to-working-on-siding.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-33900910648876591492008-03-31T08:57:00.005-04:002008-03-31T09:29:16.155-04:002008-03-31T09:29:16.155-04:00

Wish I had a good answer to this one. Since my last post, we've lost yet another chicken. This time, however, it appears to have been a hawk that found it's way inside the chicken's fenced and bird-netting-covered yard. No digging. Just a hawk and a dead chicken. During the day. I'd seen a hawk flying from their yard to a nearby tree the week before, but it hadn't been inside. And the chicken

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/03/more-on-keeping-chickens-safe.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-83256909218826869632008-02-15T09:53:00.005-05:002008-02-15T10:45:12.764-05:002008-02-15T10:45:12.764-05:00

We had yet another chicken killed last night. The week before we lost one, but I believe it was during the daytime when the hens were out of their fenced yard.This time it looks as though something tried in three places . . .to dig under the fence,and finally did in this spot. It then got into the coop (the doors will now have to be closed at night also) and dragged a hen outside. It only ate

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com1http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-do-you-keep-your-chickens-safe.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-3571292176772645272008-01-13T15:53:00.000-05:002008-01-13T16:01:21.539-05:002008-01-13T16:01:21.539-05:00

While I was taking a CERT chainsaw class on Saturday, Eddie and the kids went to bring home more firewood. He cut it into lengths before bringing it home. Today he got it all split. I did lots of stacking.Eddie thinks this will last the rest of the winter. I guess we'll see . . .

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/01/all-in-days-work.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-42050012263442314722008-01-05T15:56:00.001-05:002008-01-05T16:01:07.982-05:002008-01-05T16:01:07.982-05:00

Ok, so here's the picture I promised yesterday.Not much left. That back row is mostly full, but the one in front of it is mostly gone, as is the row on the right. Of the wood that's not split, two are going to be planters. :) They're mostly hollow so they wouldn't give us much firewood anyway.Today's the last day of hunting season around here, so Eddie will be bringing home more logs to split

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/01/remaining-firewood.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-83167389566289697362008-01-04T21:36:00.000-05:002008-01-04T21:52:17.673-05:002008-01-04T21:52:17.673-05:00

This was what we had back on December 5th. The two rows of stacked wood in the back was mostly gone. I had split a lot of the latest wood that Eddie had brought home by then, pictured in this post. That's just in a pile and covered by a tarp in the picture above.That wood is now stacked in the back section, and we've been burning the more seasoned wood on the right. Tomorrow I'll try to get

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/01/firewood-situation.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-15573851971369323402008-01-04T21:11:00.000-05:002008-01-04T21:21:47.846-05:002008-01-04T21:21:47.846-05:00

I think that wind is more of a problem than just the cold temperatures, so I stapled up clear plastic sheeting on the sides of the coops. Because they were originally chicken tractors, they didn't have solid sides. The floors are still just the wire mesh or fence material, so no heat is being kept in, but I'm hoping the hens will be happier if there is less wind on them at night, and will

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com0http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/01/winterizing-chicken-coop-sort-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597301955724555080.post-64535056339932024552008-01-01T09:45:00.000-05:002008-01-01T10:43:51.541-05:002008-01-01T10:43:51.541-05:00

On my other blog, I wrote about wanting to find uses for the gazillion small coffee cans we have, that I just to want to throw away. I stumbled across an idea (so simple, really!) of adding a handle to the can and then using it as a scoop for dog food.Eddie just happened to be on his way out to Lowes to get some things he needed, so I asked him to get several of the cheapest handles he could find

Silviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18258194238677454294noreply@blogger.com5http://casaincostruzione.blogspot.com/2008/01/easy-scoop-for-feed.html