Re-purposing Wood

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Momzoo

When we bought our land it came with a few extras (and not, I’m not talking about the mice or snakes or lizards) it came with piles upon piles of construction waste, debris and general garbage. Now we were fully aware of the “baggage” that came along with the land (we did however not count on them leaving a basement full of junk, but that is another story) it was one of the reasons we were able to afford this place and we fully intend on cleaning it up and taking care of this place. Some of the items are just junk, they can’t be used, piles of ply wood that have been sitting outside for ten years are ruined, pieces of vinyl and other small odds and end just need to be hauled off to the dump.

However, there is some wood that can be re-used and re-claimed and as time had gone on we have found many uses for the naturally aged wood that is lying around.

(a group of poorly build out buildings and sheds that need to come down, we are re-using everything we can)

(One example of the numerous piles of stuff just lying around)

Dadzoo has been slowly cutting and stacking the smaller pieces of wood to use as fire wood next winter when we have a wood stove.

I have also had my eye on a few pieces, and since I love all things rustic and old Dadzoo was able to build me some shelves and a cabinet for the new bathroom and laundry room.

Sometimes junk, is just junk, but sometimes it can become treasure too.

Home

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Momzoo

There is still much to be done
mostly everything needs to be done on the inside of this old house.
Despite the lack of fresh paint, new floors and general decorating,
things are starting to feel like home.

Tile

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Momzoo

As part of the bathroom remodel Dadzoo and I decided (well, to be honest I decided) that we could lay all the tile ourselves. With a little help from our superman handyman we were able to lay all our beautiful travertine tile on the floors, shower surround and the bathroom countertop. I love it, it is so beautiful, and there is much satisfaction in work well done. Here is a sneak peek.

I wasn’t able to get pictures of all the kids helping, things were a tad crazy, but all of the older children helped measure, cut, mud and lay the tile. Dadzoo and I (Dadzoo mostly, as he did the majority of the work) had to muster all the patience in his body, but it was well worth the effort as memories were made as we all worked together, as a family, to build our home.

Mudroom, an Update

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Momzoo

Remember the Dog room?
(ahem)
I mean the Mudroom that was destroyed by a dog?
Well, we’ve been a working.
The sub floor has been replaced, along with the doors, door jams and base boards.
It smells nice is there.

It is a nice big room, and there is one big wall right next to the garage door that is just screaming to be used for coats, hats and other such outdoor gear

While I would have loved to do something like solid wood built in shelving and trim and all that, the budget isn’t allowing for such things anymore, but I think we came up with a great solution that total cost about three hundred dollars.

This is a Billy book case from IKEA, the tall skinny one. It is about the size of a locker.

We got enough to span the length of the wall, it came to eight total.

We did a little modification, so we could mount hooks to the back of the bookcases that would be strong enough to hold backpacks and small children (who like to hang on such things). Dadzoo ran three boards the length of the wall screwing the board into studs, then screwing the bookcases into the boards. That way they are solid, no tipping over.

He was then able to screw hooks into each bookcase or “cubbie” as we call them. Each of the older children gets their own cubbie to keep coats, backpack, shoes and other such items, the two little girls get to share one for now. The two cubbies on each end hold other various outdoor items, like the dog’s leash and toys, my purse and shoes, etc.

I love how it turned out! Finally a workable solution for all those zillion items that are bouncing around this place!

The Front Door, I need help!

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Momzoo

We had to replace our front door for various reasons, the biggest one being that the door opened out. Not very secure, considering all it would take to get into the house would be taking the hinges off the door, also it was a bit awkward when someone would come over, I had to be very careful not to hit them with the door as I opened it. It also looked really strange, the door casing itself was just put in backwards, so the metal plate, the one the keeps water outside the door was on the inside of the house. I know, weird. The casing was hodgepodge together using molding, instead of one sold piece, the walls, being cement, are 12 inches wide, so standard door casings don’t fit, hence the hodgepodge.

So anyway, we got a new door, and it needs to be painted. I want to do something fun and bold. The house is a brown, greeny color, trimmed in cream… BORING, I want the front door to pop. I am looking for suggestions, I don’t want to do white, cream, black or plain brown (although I am open to some brown colors, like a red/brown), what do you think?

What color should I paint the front door!