Question Of The Day, Sunday, December 17, 2017

[micknsnicks2mom]

good morning!

lately i've been thinking about my plans for 'projects' for the warm/warmer seasons of 2018.

so for today's Question of the Day --



Do you have any projects in mind for 2018? (can be reorganizing, moving furniture in your home/redecorating, home improvements, crafts, lawn/garden, making a shelter for stray or feral cats, or (if you're like i am) ways to make things a bit easier as we get older, and etc)



i'll start!

i have several projects in mind for 2018!

first, i'll be installing two new pieces of cat wall furniture. one is a piece that requires (due to my 1880's house and it's peculiarities) installing two sets of probably three planks of lumber, cut to appropriate length and then painted, for the cat wall furniture to be attached to. the other, i'll need to create the piece of cat wall furniture, prep and stain it, then install it into (again) some planks of painted lumber.

i've also got in mind putting in a more permanent and attractive...retaining wall around my strawberry patch. i'm thinking to use attractive stone retaining wall blocks, the kind with the two holes through them (similar to cinder blocks), and use rebar (through those two holes in the blocks) as an extra measure to secure them in place. currently, there's the old wood planks with rebars to hold it all in place set up that the previous owners put in. however, the wood is disintegrating now, so i'm looking for a relatively permanent solution that also looks good. those retaining wall blocks are quite costly, so this project may well need to wait until the warm season of 2019, in which case i'd simply switch out the disintegrating planks with new ones for the warm season of 2018.

and then there's what i'm thinking will be the 'big' project. i'll be converting the long 'coat' type closet in my downstairs hallway next to the kitchen, into a pantry and linens/clothing closet (it's also just a few steps from my one and only bathroom, so works well for me to keep my towels and clothing in it). i plan on putting in wood shelving, painted, and have a plan for separating the pantry shelving side from the linens/clothing shelving side. these plans make this closet space much more space-efficient, and will also look much more attractive. i may be able to complete this project in 2018, but it's entirely possible it'll need to be finished in 2019.

this winter i'll be planning these projects carefully, and by spring of 2018 i should have it all worked out and ready to start on the projects.

i'll also be purchasing a two-shelved cart with wheels. my plan is to use this to stack the clean and folded laundry on, and then simply roll it over to the linens/clothing closet and put things on the shelves. the current routine is to fold pieces of clean laundry individually, then walk over to the closet and put them on the shelves individually -- more 'to do' than necessary. the cart idea is something that will make things easier for me as i get older.


how about you?

 

[JamesCalifornia]

~ Wow ... an 1880's house ! Would be nice to see a photo .

 

[Winchester]

You're going to be busy in 2018! I'd love to see how you do your projects; sometimes it's great to get ideas from other people. I'm always looking for new things to do. (My sister had a large coat closet in their hallway on the first floor of their house....I'm thinking their house is probably as old as yours. It's a big old thing. Anyway, she finally decided to tear the closet out and they put in 1/2 bath. It's gorgeous and it saves us the time of having to go upstairs to use their main bath all the time.)

Well, we are gutting our bathroom and starting over; that should start around the end of February/beginning of March, we're thinking. That will be the large project for the year. I want to get some Before/After pictures, like I did when we gutted the kitchen and did that over. It's a long process and I'm hoping the bathroom doesn't take as long as the kitchen did!

Hopefully, if everything goes OK this year, we're going to be replacing our front door, probably in the fall of 2018. This door would have highlights around it. A new screen door as well. Inside, a new foyer floor. We live in a bi-level and I'm looking at windows as I'd like to install a window above the front door at the same time. And a shelf right below that new window, supposedly to put some knick-knacks on the shelf. But you know and I know, that shelf will just turn into yet another cat bed. I might as well attach a pillow to the shelf and be done with it right from the beginning. I don't know how they'll get up there.....but they will!

 

[verna davies]

micknsnicks2mom you are going to be busy and I love the fact that you want to do it yourself instead of the easy option of paying someone. I love diy and moved to my home four years ago. I have only just finished altering it to my taste and needs so nothing to do at the moment but I'm sure I will find a project or five by the spring.

 

[jcat]

I'd like to sand and stain the staircase and sand and repaint the interior doors.

 

[neely]

Now that the kids have moved out and have their own lives I'd like to go room by room and declutter the house. Then strip wallpaper which I absolutely hate so have put off. Last but not least if there's any $$ in the budget I desperately need to update the kitchen, it's in it's original condition and needs a new facelift. We'll see how far I actually get.

 

[Cub and Belle]

Will finish off a self build in the countryside, early 2018. Black metal gates to go on at both ends of front wall. Parking area/driveway to complete with heather or gorse coloured brick pavers with a trim around of a cream brick paver.

Et voilà.

 

[Margret]

~ Wow ... an 1880's house ! Would be nice to see a photo .

Actually, I'd like to see several photos of it!

I'm deeply involved in political activism at the state level right now, which is taking up a lot of my time, but there are a few projects I'm trying to get going. In no particular order:

1. It appears that my husband has an un-diagnosed illness that's causing a great deal of trouble; I absolutely have to get him diagnosed and treated.
2. I still need to find a hand-held jigsaw capable of handling things at least 4 inches wide, so I can build that cat tree for Jasmine, and it has to be for a price I can afford, which isn't much or I'd simply be buying her a cat tree.
3. I'm thinking about starting a small business.
4. I desperately need to find a good external sound card for my computer, for less than $50, so I can transfer some audio tapes to digital format.
5. If I get that sewing machine I want for Christmas I have several sewing projects I want to get busy on.
6. I want to finish this afghan I'm making in time to use it next winter.
7. If I can figure out how, I'd like to build Jasmine her very own catio.
8. I'm still working on trying to get my left hand back into full working order, and I really need to spend more time practicing guitar, both as occupational therapy for the hand and because I love the guitar.

It's a pity there are only 24 hours in the day, and some of them have to be spent on annoying things like sleeping and eating.

Margret

 

[Max's Human]

To try to be as healthy as possible with the odds against me. I have a genetic illness that causes me to be a multimillionaire with my excessive platelets, which cause strokes and other TERMINAL issues. I was on JAKAFI, an experimental drug that runs $10k a month w 100s of bad side effects! I changed doctors and asked to no longer be an experimental guineapig so now I'M on UREA with much less issues and over all feel better. I have no immune system so when people cough And sneeze the are putting my health at risk and I work with 300 PEOPLE! I'm going to STOP ALL SODA DRINKING and stick with unsweetened teas and fruitjuices. Since I have 3 dogs, thats 3 walks a day minimum. And no picking up food at drive up windows!!! Never a junk food lover so this should be easy >

 

[MoochNNoodles]

We were going to have a pool put in; but that's on hold. We found out our spetic system was insalled the year I was born...even though our house was new when we bought it in 2009! So we want it inspected first. And that will help determine its location.

Otherwise we are talking about replacing the flooring in our dining area. My kitchen/dining area is one bit L shaped room and the dining half is carpet. Light gray carpet! The back door opens onto it. We eat over it. We do school in here. The cats spend most of their time in here. It's awful. I'm not sure what kind of flooring we want though. The kitchen is a decent vinyl. It hides dirt well enough too. But I don't want the whole room in that; even if I could "match" it up. It's an odd angle between the two halves of the room too. We don't want something our kids will damage and destroy. But I do want it to look better and hold up to our active life. DH says we can get something a bit cheaper now and replace it again when the kids are older teenagers.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

~ Wow ... an 1880's house ! Would be nice to see a photo .

thank you! we like it.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

You're going to be busy in 2018! I'd love to see how you do your projects; sometimes it's great to get ideas from other people. I'm always looking for new things to do. (My sister had a large coat closet in their hallway on the first floor of their house....I'm thinking their house is probably as old as yours. It's a big old thing. Anyway, she finally decided to tear the closet out and they put in 1/2 bath. It's gorgeous and it saves us the time of having to go upstairs to use their main bath all the time.)

Well, we are gutting our bathroom and starting over; that should start around the end of February/beginning of March, we're thinking. That will be the large project for the year. I want to get some Before/After pictures, like I did when we gutted the kitchen and did that over. It's a long process and I'm hoping the bathroom doesn't take as long as the kitchen did!

Hopefully, if everything goes OK this year, we're going to be replacing our front door, probably in the fall of 2018. This door would have highlights around it. A new screen door as well. Inside, a new foyer floor. We live in a bi-level and I'm looking at windows as I'd like to install a window above the front door at the same time. And a shelf right below that new window, supposedly to put some knick-knacks on the shelf. But you know and I know, that shelf will just turn into yet another cat bed. I might as well attach a pillow to the shelf and be done with it right from the beginning. I don't know how they'll get up there.....but they will!

a total re-do of your bathroom, and you're planning on replacing your front door!!! those are awesome plans!!

i love your idea of having a window put in over the new front door! and a shelf right below the window... that sounds like it would be lovely, and let (more) light in there. oh yes! the cats will know that shelf is for them!

these next 4-5 years or so will likely be the last that i'll be able to handle some bigger projects -- as i'm getting older now. yes, i agree! it's very helpful to see what others have done, and how they've done it! i love looking at home improvements/renovations at Houzz -- great website, and so much to see/so many ideas there!

i'd love to have a 3/4 bath upstairs -- soaking tub, sink, and toilet. i know exactly where i'd put it, where the plumbing/pipes would work, and it would be lovely. that would be something i wouldn't attempt myself, would have a contractor do. so your bathroom renovation is especially interesting to hear about!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

micknsnicks2mom you are going to be busy and I love the fact that you want to do it yourself instead of the easy option of paying someone. I love diy and moved to my home four years ago. I have only just finished altering it to my taste and needs so nothing to do at the moment but I'm sure I will find a project or five by the spring.

you've just finished altering your home to your taste!!! most excellent!!

thank you! i'm fine with doing some things myself, as long as i feel it's within the range of my abilities. and i do enjoy taking on these projects.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

I'd like to sand and stain the staircase and sand and repaint the interior doors.

you're thinking to sand and stain your staircase, as well as repaint the interior doors!!! very nice!!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Now that the kids have moved out and have their own lives I'd like to go room by room and declutter the house. Then strip wallpaper which I absolutely hate so have put off. Last but not least if there's any $$ in the budget I desperately need to update the kitchen, it's in it's original condition and needs a new facelift. We'll see how far I actually get.

ahhh, decluttering -- that's usually a big project, and ongoing too! and then stripping wallpaper... and hopefully to work on updating your kitchen!!! really great plans!!

i'd like to do some serious updating of my kitchen too! from what i've read while looking into it, kitchen updating or remodeling can be quite costly. what i see as the good news is that the planning of it can be quite fun! i mentioned the Houzz website earlier, and that's a site at which i've looked at many kitchens/kitchen renovations -- just beautiful kitchens, which i allow to 'soak in' and then i ruminate on everything. while i plan, i've also got time to be saving towards.

one of the things i'd like to do if/when i renovate my kitchen is to remove the ceiling above it. there's just an attic above my kitchen, and i really like the idea of having exposed beams and a peaked (whitened wood) ceiling high above that. and i'd like to have a window (possibly stained glass, preferably an older one -- salvaged) on one wall up above the beams level -- to let in some more natural light, and also to help the airflow, particularly during the warm/hot weather months.

 

[neely]

i'd like to do some serious updating of my kitchen too! from what i've read while looking into it, kitchen updating or remodeling can be quite costly.

Exactly why we haven't done a kitchen remodel and have put it off for so long. I tried to think of ways to keep the cost down or do without a total renovation but since it's too big a job to do ourselves we just keep putting it off.

 

[betsygee]

Now that the kids have moved out and have their own lives I'd like to go room by room and declutter the house.

I was thinking exactly the same thing this morning, and was making 'decluttering' my 2018 resolution. We have a big house and used to entertain a lot. Now we rarely have big family dinners or parties but we still have so much STUFF. It's time to let some stuff go.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Will finish off a self build in the countryside, early 2018. Black metal gates to go on at both ends of front wall. Parking area/driveway to complete with heather or gorse coloured brick pavers with a trim around of a cream brick paver.

Et voilà.

you'll finish off a self build, putting in black metal gates and paving the driveway/parking area!!! very nice! those paver colors sound very pretty, and the trim around of the cream brick pavers sounds like it will make the end result simply gorgeous!!

a self build!!! oh, how i wish...that i had the know-how, and was younger. i'd love to build my own home!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Actually, I'd like to see several photos of it!

I'm deeply involved in political activism at the state level right now, which is taking up a lot of my time, but there are a few projects I'm trying to get going. In no particular order:

1. It appears that my husband has an un-diagnosed illness that's causing a great deal of trouble; I absolutely have to get him diagnosed and treated.
2. I still need to find a hand-held jigsaw capable of handling things at least 4 inches wide, so I can build that cat tree for Jasmine, and it has to be for a price I can afford, which isn't much or I'd simply be buying her a cat tree.
3. I'm thinking about starting a small business.
4. I desperately need to find a good external sound card for my computer, for less than $50, so I can transfer some audio tapes to digital format.
5. If I get that sewing machine I want for Christmas I have several sewing projects I want to get busy on.
6. I want to finish this afghan I'm making in time to use it next winter.
7. If I can figure out how, I'd like to build Jasmine her very own catio.
8. I'm still working on trying to get my left hand back into full working order, and I really need to spend more time practicing guitar, both as occupational therapy for the hand and because I love the guitar.

It's a pity there are only 24 hours in the day, and some of them have to be spent on annoying things like sleeping and eating.

Margret

thank you!

, for being deeply involved in political activism (at the state level)!! your efforts will make a difference.

ahhh, you have quite a few projects in mind!!! most excellent!

i'm so sorry to hear that your DH has an undiagnosed illness, and that it's causing a great deal of trouble. i'll keep you and your DH in my thoughts, that a diagnosis is made soon, and that the treatment is effective and resolves the illness quickly.

hmmm...are you talking about 4 inches in width, or 4 inches in thickness? i'm assuming 4 inch thickness. now, i'm not particularly knowledgeable about maximum thickness that either a jigsaw, circular saw, or table saw is able to cut. i did check over at the home depot website, looking at table saw specs (because it seemed to me that they'd be the tool that might be able to handle 4 inch thickness cuts), and the most i saw that table saws can handle is 3.25 inches. so the best saw for cutting thick lumber is a compound miter saw -- $$$.

okay, so i've found some info that might be helpful, about cutting 4x4 (aka, thick) lumber. here you go -- Cutting 4x4 lumber? | Ana White Woodworking Projects . read down through the posts/replies, and you'll see some options. since it sounds like you're not going to be cutting 4 inch thickness lumber often...?, i might suggest either having it cut at a hardware store (i use Lowe's, and they charge 25 cents per cut, the first five cuts being free -- at least at the Lowe's i go to) or using the method that 'Carrie and 3Chicks' post/reply describes in post/reply #2. i *think* that you'd need a circular saw for that method. that's the method i'd use, circular saw, mark all four sides, then cut down into each side. then use a sander to smooth the cut down.

a catio, for your Jasmine!! have you checked out the enclosures and catios that members here at TCS have posted about? many have posted photos too. those might well be useful, give you some ideas.

 

[Margret]

hmmm...are you talking about 4 inches in width, or 4 inches in thickness? i'm assuming 4 inch thickness. now, i'm not particularly knowledgeable about maximum thickness that either a jigsaw, circular saw, or table saw is able to cut. i did check over at the home depot website, looking at table saw specs (because it seemed to me that they'd be the tool that might be able to handle 4 inch thickness cuts), and the most i saw that table saws can handle is 3.25 inches. so the best saw for cutting thick lumber is a compound miter saw -- $$$.

okay, so i've found some info that might be helpful, about cutting 4x4 (aka, thick) lumber. here you go -- Cutting 4x4 lumber? | Ana White Woodworking Projects . read down through the posts/replies, and you'll see some options. since it sounds like you're not going to be cutting 4 inch thickness lumber often...?, i might suggest either having it cut at a hardware store (i use Lowe's, and they charge 25 cents per cut, the first five cuts being free -- at least at the Lowe's i go to) or using the method that 'Carrie and 3Chicks' post/reply describes in post/reply #2. i *think* that you'd need a circular saw for that method. that's the method i'd use, circular saw, mark all four sides, then cut down into each side. then use a sander to smooth the cut down.

My problem is that it isn't "lumber." I found a book of cat tree patterns in the perennial book sale at the local library, and every one of them uses branches (and the results are rather spectacular). I've been collecting branches from damaged trees, and going to great lengths to protect them from "helpful" people who want to cut them up and haul them off for me. And some of the branches are up to a 4" diameter. I can't use any kind of a table saw to cut these, because they won't lie flat, and to get a good flat cut I really need to do it in one go.

I called the best local woodworking tool shop and asked them what I wanted to look for and they said to check garage and estate sales for a 4" hand-held jigsaw, and mentioned a couple of brand names.

a catio, for your Jasmine!! have you checked out the enclosures and catios that members here at TCS have posted about? many have posted photos too. those might well be useful, give you some ideas.

Yes, I have, actually. And YouTube videos, though I haven't managed to go through all of those yet, of course. Basically, I need to start with enclosing my back porch in chicken wire. The top is easy; the porch is covered, so all I need to do is rent a staple gun and staple the chicken wire to the wood. But how do I attach it to the concrete and tile of the actual porch? That part I haven't figured out yet. Once I know how to handle that it should be easy enough to add a human-sized door for direct access to the back yard, and a cat run from the porch over to the Catalpa tree for Jasmine. I don't intend to invite her to climb the tree, however. (I'm so mean to that poor cat! Just ask her!)

Margret