Forgot, I was going to show you what the solar post caps look like since they're so small in the pic of the steps! I looked at everything available online and at the local Lowes but most were way too expensive. I found these at Home Depot, available online only but even with shipping they were less than $25.00 for both :) Most of those I found that I REALLY liked were $40.00 each!
rcn48 I love what you can do in Photoshop, and your projects look wonderful..... I like the stain on your steps, just one question? are you going to continue the stain onto the arch?
Janet
Dito.....The arbor needs the dark stain too. You are creating a thing of beauty. You are also creating work to maintain the stains. If the wood was treated I think I would not stain any of it. Your choice.
RCN, I don't think you will like the arbor unstained once you see it next to the stained stairs. When I did the rehab on the deck the unfinished parts looked just like that unfinished. You could stain or paint it a different color if you want it to stand out from the deck. Or maybe a mix, stain the sides and then paint the edges black.
I was thinking of how much your copper arbor reminded me of your bamboo fence and now looking at the fence shot again it reaffirms that thought.
BTW I saw a pic in a magazine (can't remember which one) of a garden with a black bamboo fence, tied in on the diagonal.
RCN, I agree that it should be kept all one color, but my preference would be no stain, just clear coating.
I like the way it looks unstained.
Okay, that does it - I'm going to save myself the hassle and leave everything natural :) Thank you, I just needed someone to tell me NOT to do it and now I can devote more time to getting the bamboo border done and get ready for planting in the spring. Sometimes I just get carried away with my ideas and think TOO much! LOL
Holly, I collected a bunch of photos when I was trying to decide on a design for the bamboo work and saw the diagonal bamboo fences but they look even more difficult! This is kind of the look I'm going for with the bamboo border but planning to make it a much more "simple" design - all those knots would take forever!
Wow I like that. Yours will look just as good when you finish it.
RCN, I really like the bamboo fence design that you made earlier. I found it very simple, but yet, quite elegant. Don't you want to repeat it?
Saving yourself work is always good... I did like the look of the steps with the stained risers & clear-coated treads, but I think you would then need to stain most of the arbor... maybe keep the 2 larger top pieces clear-coated or natural, but stain the posts and the small cross-pieces.
Critter, what originally got me thinking about staining the risers, etc. was I thought about staining the posts since they were really old 4x4's and I wanted to disguise the ugly stains on them. I might just stain the posts for a quick and easy fix and forget about the rest of it!
Stormy, I'm going to basically keep the same design as the fence I made but the new sections are going to be short so it will look a "little" different :) I'm hoping to clear out enough space to work in the basement to work over the winter since I definitely don't want to be tying knots for all the sections out there in the cold! That waxed cord is hard enough to work with in the heat, can't imagine what it would be like with frozen hands :(
So...my outside projects are on hold for right now and I'm heading inside! Two weeks ago our new tile was installed in the kitchen and I love the tile but quickly realized something needed to be done with the countertops. They're dark green and I never gave any thought to what they would look like with the tile and let's just say...they really don't look good :( New countertops are out of the question after spending the money on the tile so I was talking with the crew about my predicament and they suggested painting them! They told me about a kit you can use that mimics granite so I checked it out and found the kit online! http://www.liquidstainlesssteel.com/giani/ Probably going to take two kits to do all the countertop but I just ordered one to experiment with the island and if I'm successful will order whatever else I need to finish. The kit arrived yesterday and I'll be watching the informational DVD this weekend and hopefully get started next week :) Of course, after reading all the comments and looking at tons of ideas, I'm thinking I might try painting the almond refrigerator with their liquid stainless steel paint for another "new" look! LOL http://www.liquidstainlesssteel.com/index2.html
I'd like to see those when you finish. I'm moving inside too. I have a ton of work to do in here.
boy do I feel lazy.
I've started on the plant room upstairs. Boy I hate dragging all these plants up those steps. Not to mention that everything got dumped in that room so I have to organize it a bit before I can start the 20 or more trips up and down. I have a room down stairs that is pretty empty but it is the darkest room in the house and has a wood floor so it really isn't suitable. The one upstairs has 2 windows south and west facing nice and bright and a linoleum floor no worries about drips or spills. I still have some spider mite and aphids so each plant will get cleaned and sprayed as well as moved. All but the biggest ones go up and then I can clean and start decorating the living room. Ric will help when he gets up if he is able, he is still not feeling well.
Debbie, I'm really interested in the finished look of the Giani when you get it done. The web site photos look promising to say the least. I told Holly to get her plants and room ready and I'll go the stairs in an attempt to ease her knee. Ric
rcn, it might be trickier than you hope to stain "old" 2x4's and get an even looking result... sand 'em good, of course, but even so stain penetration may be pretty uneven. What about disguising them some other way? wrapping with rope, or with some sort of metal mesh... are they close enough to your bamboo fence that they'd look good covered with bamboo uprights?... maybe the place with the fancy paints has something that would be fun (copper?)...
Debbie, Jill is right about getting an even look. Sanding may be too big of a job though, and sanding the old PT is not recommended. What we had good success with was pressure washing. We were even able to remove old opaque stain and pretty much match the old wood to newer replacement pieces, then we restrained with a semitransparent Olympic cedar tone. It really rejuvenated the look of the wood and allowed us to do repairs and changes. That was 2 years ago and the new stain will probably need redone next year, but will require a whole lot less work. I believe some guy did an article on the process using Holly's postings, I'll have Holly send you the link. I have a friend that used this method on a urethane sealed deck gone bad and saved the job and cost of replacement. Ric
This message was edited Dec 12, 2009 11:48 PM
maybe the place with the fancy paints has something that would be fun (copper?)...
WOW! Deb, I just checked out the link you added, and I'm definitely impressed. Holly and I installed rather inexpensive and squared off tops in the kitchen with the thought of tiling them later, but with the changing styles and what-not..., I'm really impressed with these results. Since you've had your floor done and want something different, I guess this makes you the sacrificial lamb in trying this out. A project like this requires a lot of waiting, that may be a good thing, I may actually have to go fishin' to leave it alone, or shopping somewhere not near!LOL :-} Ric
Well folks, the great experiment seems to be working. The temperature has dropped to 19 degrees, two nights in a row and all the vegetables in my garden boxes seem to be tough enough to take these cold temperatures. I'm still planning to wrap bubble wrap inside the boxes for extra protection. I spent the last two days wishing I had already done that and was sure my plants were goners in the 19 degrees. I got a nice surprise yesterday when I peeked inside. they are all thriving!
Hip Hip Hooray!!
jfleming
I just love your cold frames, very nicely done.
Janet
Looking good jf ! Would be interesting to place a thermometer in one box to get a reading to see just how cold they do get.
jfleming, They really do look good. I put in an outside to inside thermometer thru the wall to the garage wanted to see if maybe it would be warm enough to put some of my plants and things. It usually is about 10 degrees higher than the outside temp. But with the cold snap earlier this week I have already learned that won't work as it was 35 degrees
But Holly, the cold frames with their clear plastic tops, might stay even warmer because of the sunlight.
Oh yes Stormy, I had just hoped that my garage would stay warm enough to maybe use it for some of my gardening needs. I did use it last spring as extra space with my seedling. My garage isn't really used as a garage it has a glass sliding door so it does get some sunlight.
great, jfleming. We probably didn't get that cold here but we have had some ice form overnight. I have a small patch of lettuce, surrounded by milkjugs of water, and covered with floating row cover, which have been OK so far. Lot messier looking LOL
great, jfleming. We probably didn't get that cold here but we have had some ice form overnight. I have a small patch of lettuce, surrounded by milkjugs of water, and covered with floating row cover, which have been OK so far. Lot messier looking LOL
The boys are coming in a few hours to install Holly's new washer and dryer. As far as what had to be done is! I just hope we can get the house back to semi-normal by the 23rd, as that is when the entertaining starts.Easy, I'm cooking for 4 if I can find my kitchen! Ric
Ric, you might be cooking for more then four now that you put the word out! Remember we know where you live, and we have seen and tasted your cooking! LOL
They are in! As you can see Ric was up most of the night messing about with one thing and another to be as prepared as he could for when the boys came early this morning. They all did a great job and everything looks really nice. It's such a small area so it is hard to get some good pics for you to see. There is still some trim work to do in the doorway and hall area. You can barely see my spounged floor which turned out pretty nice.
These things are huge in comparison to my old W&D. Not just taller but they sit out farther from the back wall. My old W&D had space between them where the laundry basket sat. These had to be set side to side, what little space 18 inches, is all on one side. It will give me a place to hang brooms, mops or my Ironing board. I can barely reach the first shelf of the cabinets, so I will need a step stool back there. Although I couldn't reach the top shelf before but I could just craw up on top of the washer to reach what I wanted. Won't be doing that with these new ones.
WOW, very snazzy, Holly. I love the red. Tile & floor look great also!
How much space do you have in the corner where that case is at? Enough for your laundry basket? Maybe enough for a shelf or two where you can tuck a laundry basket or fold clothes? I don't remember what else is on the right-angle wall.
U don't know if your nook has doors... ? In our upstairs laundry nook, I put a rod and made big panels of denim to hang from shower curtain rings (just used my machine to put buttonholes along the top seam of the panels and put the rings through those, or you could use big grommets). It works well to screen off the nook, and it also gives me a great spot to hang clean clothes to sort or to finish drying.
Thanks Critter, It isn't finished yet. I'll try to describe what I have without being too confusing. My laundry room is divided almost in half one half is a bump-out that Ric built years ago. Inside dimensions are 73 inches X 44 inches. The opening is 56 1/2" and can't be enlarged due to the placement of an electrical box. Ric actually did a lot of work to expand the opening as far as he could. But he could only move the electrical panel so far. The W&D sit in the bump-out and take up almost all of that space. They are 55 inches combined length that leaves an extra 18 inches that unfortunately isn't very user friendly. The old set up had the W&D pushed against each wall with the extra space between. Can't do that with the front opening doors. They have to be in front of the opening. I can put some hooks in there and use the little extra space to hang mops and things I can reach around but can't squeeze myself into that space.
Here this might give you an idea of that space. I did put a small laundry basket back there. From this angle you would be looking towards the mud/utility room and you can see a small section of the floor and back door.
The bump-out runs all the way to the roof and on the second floor it is a walk in closet from our bedroom. The area where the W&D sit has a poured cement floor with a floor drain and there is a laundry chute from my upstairs closet that drops the clothes pretty much right in front of the dryer.
In this pic you can see what the bump-out looks like from outside.
The other part of the laundryroom I call the hallway area. It is a bit longer than the bump-out it's 8ft long and 3ft wide. You are right there was a shelving unit an old rusty metal one that sat at the end. Ric is going to build me new shelving for there. He did tell me that he could make me a fold down table to fold my laundry on with a space under it for the laundry baskets. But that storage space use to hold my big kitchen items. Punch Bowl, Ice cream maker, cake servers and bigger crock pots. Things that take up a good bit of space but don't get used all that often, so I'm not sure how much of that space I want to give up. The cabinets over the W&D can hold a lot but they aren't wide enough for big things. There will be some storage going in that hallway area. Besides the shelving unit at the end. He is going to put up a high shelf on the blank wall to the left after the drop ceiling goes in. I have an old narrow cabinet that might also fit along that wall but I will have to try it out and see how much space it will take, I want enough room to move around. I've got the other laundry basket sitting on my step stool. There will be a door put in at sometime between the mud/utility room and the laundry room. Plenty of space for a full door and Ric has an old antique door he got out of Josh's garage.
hollyann
love the solar panels ya got there, how long have you had them, and how well are they are lowering your utilities?
Also love your backyard.
Janet
Janet, The solar panels aren't on line right now, we are going to have the system reevaluated and reconnected, probably by the same company that installed the system. When it was installed my sister and son were here, so there were 3 adults and 5 children (1 in diapers). I believe Holly said the electric bill was $60 to $75 a month less. With deregulation coming it will probably a wise move to get it back on line. This was also tied in to our coal and wood stove so even with no sun we produced hot H2O in the winter. Ric
Thanks Janet, The backyard is a bit empty as we have several good sized projects planed for back there so I am holding off on putting in more beds until the heavy equipment work is done. There is a Greenhouse planned for the area between the bump-out and the raised brick patio.
That solar system is more than 20 years old. We shut it down several years ago when one of the holding tanks started to leak. As Ric said it was a good system and tagged into the wood/coal stove the hot water tank really only ran in the spring and fall. Days when it wasn't sunny enough to heat and not cold enough to have a fire in the stove. We also have a passive solar slab in the living area. That's what all that glass in the back is for. Holly
Sounds very interesting.
I want to get a wind turbine so bad and just as we (our neighbors on both sides of us) were going to get one, our local government decided no one could put one in until they decided how much of a fee to get a permit to put one in.....
Government is on my poop list right now.
Janet
