Headboard halfway done

Ok ok, it wasn't listed as a resolution goal, but I've been wanting to make a headboard for quite a while. The large pillows I have kind of mimic the effect of a headboard, but it's not the same (see old blog post). Everything fell into place to do it: I had a Living Social deal for a fabric store, so a friend helped me pick out fabric and buttons for 1/2 off. And I had some friends visit with a large vehicle to help me get a big piece of ply board. All I needed was foam, which I bought on Sunday.

Many of the DIY headboard tutorials are for headboards that attach to the wall. I didn't want to drill into the wall, so I built a frame with wheels that attaches to the metal bedframe. For my queen bed I had the ply board cut to 60 inches long. I decided to leave it 4 ft tall so that the frame wouldn't get top heavy. That will make attaching the fabric and foam more difficult, but I'll tackle that challenge next weekend after the foam has had 5-7 days to expand after being rolled up.

I cut 2 sections 55inch long pieces of 2x4. I drilled holes and attached a plate caster wheel to an end of each piece.

my observer is pretty darn cute

After the wheels were attached to the 2x4 I measured the height for drilling holes for the bolts (I should have measured the width apart from one 2x4 to the other, but luckily it worked out ok... this time Lesson Learned: Measure Measure Measure!) I used 4 bolts on each 2x4 to attach the frame to the metal bedframe.

Then I attached the plywood to the top part of the 2x4s using wood screws.

I drilled the holes for the bolts, including a place for the head of the screw.

The bolt holes should have been a little closer to one of the sides... had I measured.

I attached it to the bed and here's the half-done look.

Up next:

1. measure and drill holes for the buttons 
2. attach foam and fabric
3. cover the buttons
4. attach the buttons

Trips to hardware store - 2 - (1) plywood and 2x4 (2) caster wheels.

Resolutions

I'm not one to normally do new years resolution, but after a less-than-ideal 2011 for house productivity... I need to set some goals. These may be big but I think, with some help, I can do it!
I want to complete all house projects in 2012 except for the basement and having my driveway repaved. So what does that really mean?

• Building a deck in my backyard (this is where I need most of the help from friends and family)
• Get roof replaced
• Completing my upstairs bathroom
• finish sanding walls
• prime and paint walls and ceiling
• install base tiles
• grout touch-up on the floor tiles
• recaulk around bathtub
• Install doors and baseboards (I'll solicit help for this too)
• Paint all trim (includes a lot of taping... anyone?)
• Install rest of stair railing
• Paint touch-up on knee wall and ceilings

Now these goals are out there...
If you have a hankering to help with any of these projects PLEASE let me know! :)

Whomp Whomp Take 2

Darn this house and its water issues that cost lots of money. My roof is drippy. I need to get it replaced before it gets snowy. I suppose it's an ok thing that I procrastinated on putting more insulation in my attic after doing the foam insulation because I was able to discover the leak before it damaged my ceilings. I heard the water dripping against the foam, which I wouldn't have heard with other insulation (cellulose or fiberglass).

So my next project will be hiring someone to replace the plywood and shingles for my roof. I need to meet my neighbors who just moved into the other 1/2 of the duplex to see if they are having similar issues so we can get it done at the same time.  Half roofs can be done, but getting it all done would probably be better.

Then, I'll get to add more insulation to my attic like I've needed to for a while.

In other news, I got nail guns today. Another step in the direction of new baseboards!

New Leaf Compost

It's FALL! The leaves have fallen and it's getting cooler.

This past weekend the temperature was just right to spend some time outside cleaning up some of those fallen leaves. Most of my neighborhood raked or blew their leaves to the curb... or more likely bagged the leaves and put them at the street. The city's loud truck came through and sucked them up to hopefully turn them into mulch and compost on a much larger scale than I will.
My next door neighbor and I put our leaves in my compost bin, but that quickly filled, so I put together a new leaf-only compost bin. The leaves were slightly damp from the drizzly weather we've been having, but it's good to make sure that the pile is damp throughout. I used my chainlink fence as one side of the pile and had some plastic plant posts (whoa there alliteration) and chicken wire to make the other 3 sides. I secured 3 of the posts and left one side open to rake most of my leaves and neighbor's leaves into the pile. When it got too high to rake more into it. I secured the last side with one of the posts and used an old recycling bin to put the rest of the leaves over the top.
Here's what my bins look like after some more rain and gravity settling a few days.

Slow Bathroom Remodel: Pulling faucets

I have ordered a new showerhead and faucets for my bathtub... and thus, the slow bathroom remodel continues. In an effort to find out the current set-up of the faucet, I tried to remove the old handles. Since nothing is easy in my house, I couldn't just remove the cover and the screw. No, I had to get a Faucet Puller. This corkscrew like tool is helpful when the old handles are corroded to the water connection.

Not a torture device

despite its looks

It took a little maneuvering to get the puller situated correctly. I held the two "arms" in place so that they stayed behind the handle while I turned the screw part... and the handle just popped off. Earlier, I had tried pulling on the handle itself, but it was more likely to pull the whole pipe unit instead of only the handle. It was definitely worth the $10 I spent on it.

Now, I just wait until my new faucet comes and I have a free day to work on it.

and this sucker will be gone forever

Another Ceiling Fan

One day I'll be able to install a ceiling fan from start to finish without a ton of issues, but this time and last time were not the time...

I FINALLY got my spare room ceiling fan installed correctly. It's been functional for a while, but was not connected to the light switch. I had connected black and blue fan wires to the electrical box black live wire, and the white fan wire to the electrical box white wire. Well... turns out, in my house, the electrical box red live wire is the one that is connected to the switch, so the black and blue wires need to be connected to that instead. The electrical smoke detector needed to be connected to the black live wire, but I had to remove that anyway because it was too close to the fan. It took me many adjustments to get this fan up over the span of months, but I was determined to fix it today and Amanda was great enough to hang out with me (and hand me screws) so that I could do it.

I have a rule that I can't do electrical stuff without someone else around (ya know, that whole possibly electrocuting yourself safety thing). I'm just glad I had the motivation to fix it when I had someone over today.

FYI - fan manuals don't tell how to hook up the wires, but this website was helpful.

Little Fan for Little Room

The joys of living attached

I live in a side-by-side duplex, which makes my place an "attached" house/dwelling. For months the other 1/2 of the duplex has been unoccupied. The owners decided they would try to sell it and the renters moved out. I didn't notice much difference because normally I can only hear people in the other side going up and down the stairs.
I'm not sure if the house has been sold or not (pesky bad housing market), but for the past week or two, people have been renovating the home during the daytime. I only knew this because there was a bathtub in the front yard one evening, and more recently, I have seen the people wrapping up their days' work around the time I get home.

I was teleworking yesterday and all day they were making a racket. I was fairly certain it was the same racket I made 2 years prior... sure enough they were sanding the floors. Luckily for me, no one was living in that half when I was sanding floors since a large amount of my sanding was done while burning the midnight oil. (btw- I'm just using the expression. I know my house was a disaster, so I feel compelled to clarify that I did, in fact, have electricity).

I came home last night to a familiar potent scent that must have permeated through the fire wall. Oh joys!

This is a PSA to be careful when using sealant because if I was able to smell it strongly through cinder blocks, it's evident that it's extremely potent!