Adventures · Emptying the nest

Another letter to wannabe DIYers

Shelley

Dearest Wannabe DIYers –

Here’s the deal, the raw deal, the real-cut-down-to-the-rough-and-tough-and-chase-it-to-the-finish-line-kinda deal.

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You may be able to host a Thanksgiving dinner if you plan your project timeline well.  And give yourself plenty of leeway for obstacles along the way.   But all of you wannabes, you need more than a song and dance to get your way.

Let me tell you (as if you hadn’t noticed already) DIY kitchen remodels are NOT a project that can be done in a weekend.

It takes a lot longer than you think it does.  There’s a lot of waiting involved.  And you must learn to have the calm patience of a cat.

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Make sure if you’re doing it alone or with a partner – projects like this require a handyman, with upside-down screwdriver abilities.

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Not to mention a keen ability to figure out what is going wrong, and to find a solution.

Eventually.

Let me give you a quick recap of where we’re at as of this morning.  Grab a cup of coffee (or beverage of choice…wine works, too, just sayin’) while I tell you what you need to know about almost installing a new sink.

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Two days ago, Mr: “Did you see the sink is ready for install?” Me: “No, really, YAY.”
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Mr: “I thought you’d like to capture the stage for your blog, ‘cuz it can’t go in yet.”
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Me: “Why?”
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Mr: “The STRIKE here didn’t work.”
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Mr: “I have to chisel all the edges.”
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Me: “Well that sucks.”
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Mr: “Yep.”
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Finally Free!
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And what a mess it made!
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Everywhere.  And for those of you who understand plumbing – this is plumbed for a dual drain sink.  More on that in a sec or two.  Keep reading…
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Notice here, we have one drain in the new sink.
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Me: “So it’s in, now all you have to do is caulk it, right?”
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Mr: “No, it has to be attached with this little thingamajiggy (he used the proper term, I improvised) one each in all four corners.”

The thingamajiggy needed to be ‘tweaked’ and we (Mr.) tried different screws.  It didn’t come with any instructions either.  Involved a trip to the store to get make-shift ones.  They didn’t work, so he had to use the ones that came with the sink.  Four attempts later, and a tad bit of cussing, it was attached.  Only 4 of them could be used because of the design of the original hole for the sink.

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All attached and in place. The water is hooked up too. Still can’t use it, though. We need to caulk around the edges.
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And that double sink plumbing can’t be changed, so we need to get a flexible trap so that the single drain will work. That part is at the store.

Meanwhile, I cleaned up the messes.  Dusted and vacuumed the rest of the house, finally – I think the last time I cleaned was before the windows were installed and we started this remodel.  Umm..that was over 45 days ago.  My how time flies when you’re having fun!

Stay tuned dears…there may be more…xx

Post Inspiration – Join us over at Amy’s blog where she’s invited us for Lens-Artists #72 – Waiting and Terri over at Sunday Stills – the prompt today is Calm.

PS – It’s your turn – tell me a funny story today.  I’m all ears!  xx

 

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

56 thoughts on “Another letter to wannabe DIYers”

  1. You guys are doing great! When I had my cabinet shop, the biggest job I had was when a couple who were planning to remodel their entire kitchen gave up after several weeks work and no discernible progress. Projects just have a way of expanding. Still, you have a kitchen you like, you saved a ton of money and things were done properly.

    1. Thanks, Dan. I bet DIYers were steady customers for you. I wish you lived closer, Mr. and I would stock the fridge with Corona and fresh lime slices and steak on the grill for your assistance. :-)!
      Mr. is doing so well – I’m impressed with his abilities and his perseverance with every obstacle we’ve encountered. All the years we’ve been updating rental units (after renters do their thing on them) has no doubt helped him. It’ll be great to see him cooking in his dream kitchen when this is done. 🙂

      1. I offered a service called “Do-It-Yourself Support” where I would help people with a task, or perform an operation on a tool they didn’t own and couldn’t justify buying. We didn’t make much money on those services, but it felt nice to help people. Unfortunately, it was one of several services the insurance company told me I could no longer offer.

        1. I bet it felt good to help them. Damn insurance rules. 🙁 Is that why you made that comment about ‘insurance’ in your recent photos?

          1. Kinda. After I closed my shop, I went to work consulting to insurance companies and eventually was hired by one. It always came with mixed emotions. I understand the reasons behind the decisions they make, but they literally forced us out of business, and they did it in a very nasty way. I held a grudge for a good long time.

  2. Wow, so impressive, Shelley! That is a lot of work, the plumbing part looks complicated. I love your new sink and the countertop. 🙂

  3. I am trying to think of something witty………..nah
    Perhaps have some words of encouragement for Mr……..keep going don’t let the sink win
    Words of solace for you Shelley……..wine and Tostitos if that’s how they are spelt. Actually I saw packets of a variety of those in the supermarket. Maybe next time I’ll try some after I read the ingredients. I like mine with potatoes, salt and vegetable oil.
    Keep up the saga……I eagerly await the next installment

    1. Your clever words of encouragement are perfect and much appreciated.
      I did exactly that – wine with pizza and a chaser of Tostitos. They only have three ingredients. Corn, vegetable oil, and salt. 150 calories in a proper sized serving – my servings generally aren’t that proper.
      Oh, yes, the saga continues………….. 😉

  4. Definitely and without doubt the most beautiful sink I’ve ever seen! My “new” sink is now over a year old, and they didn’t do nearly as good a job as your husband did — which is why they had to come back a few weeks ago and fix a leak and why the caulking is visible instead of not and so on. You should seriously leave an offering for Hestia, goddess of home and hearth. I understand she likes the mild Tostito’s Salsa but you’ll have research on the chips on your own.

    1. Aw, thank you, Ellen. After 3 tries to get a different one, we’re thankful this one made its way to our lives. Bummer that you paid someone and it didn’t turn out well. I’d be mad about that.
      LOL – Hestia would be worn out if I called her everytime I had a Tostito and salsa craving. Mr.’s picking me up another bag today while he’s shopping for more parts for the project. ;-)!!!

  7. Keeping calm through all the construction takes experience, which sounds like you have, Shelley. Once done, they are so worth the wait. You have the kind of sink I want, except I prefer the undermount.

    1. Thanks, Terri. We just commented this morning that all the years renovating rental properties prepared us for this project.
      We couldn’t do the undermount with the laminate counters. I do love the look of the undermounts too.

  8. Oy! Remind me NEVER to attempt such a DIY project! We needed help just to change the filter on our filtered water tap😊😊. You two are quite a team!

    1. LOL – it’s not a one weekend and you’re done kind of project. Thank you, we do think we’re quite the team 😉 He works and I photograph him. PS – I love your sweetgrass photos you shared this week. So peaceful looking!

  9. That was one uncooperative sink at first! So much for the Strike Here idea. It looks great now though – nicely done :). We never attempted DIY plumbing and I am glad we didn’t. I am SO impressed with what you have done together.
    Go Team!

    1. Yes, indeed, it has been uncooperative. Well worth the wait though. Thank you for enduring my updates along the way. It has preoccupied my thoughts that’s for sure. We’re on the homestretch now. I think ;-)!

  10. Our kitchen is the original that they installed when they built the place. We’re going to have a HUGE job on our hands when it comes time to redo it. There ain’t no way we’re going to be able to do it ourselves.

    1. Retro is back – you may have waited long enough to be trendy ;-)! I don’t recommend taking a project on like this unless you have done a lot of the stuff before and if you have the time to spare!

        1. The distressed look, eh? Have you been to WMH? I haven’t, it looks fascinating. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a crew of people to keep your house dusted and clean and ready for company? I’d like that.
          Yeah – you might just want to gut the place. We didn’t want to do that, and we wanted to DIY. It’s been a big job. We certainly won’t do it our selves again! Good luck when you decide to take the project on!

          1. We could really use a crew to come in and clean.

            I’d like to gut the whole house and rebuild it inside, but that’s not practical. I’ll limit it to the kitchen, which really needs work.

          2. You’re likely in luck – there are plenty of companies that do both – clean and restore. Maybe you could get on one of those HGTV shows and get a deal?! 😉

    1. Thank you, Damyanti! I finished your book – I left a review on GoodReads and I still need to go to Amazon too. Your impeccable details and twisted plots were enjoyable to read, despite it being such a horrific topic to cover. Thank you for what you’ve shared in your book to help the victims. While I can take photos of a project, I could never write a book like you’ve done (topic and so well written too)! xx

  13. Oh my – make sure Mr. uses good seals so the drain does not come apart like it did for me on a cold and snowy January night around 7:00 a.m. It was during a Polar Vortex and I had a constant trickle to warm the pipes … sitting in the kitchen, heard a crash and the cupboard was open to let the pipes stay warm and first one went down, then the other one. Luckily I have a dishpan beneath the pipe (do that for all drains).

    The plumber got here around 11:00 p.m. to fix the drain (double drain for double sink and they both fell apart) … I said “please use plumber’s putty now” … he says “no ma’am, we don’t use that anymore, we rely on the seal and use channel locks, and call me in two years and I’ll tighten it again for you. He said sometimes they come loose if you have a garbage disposal. I do not have one, it came loose because of the former plumbers – I had already called them about two times before just weeks after they replace the pipes.

    1. I hope Mr. has – he said he has. At least I know where to find him if there is an issue. I’m sorry you had such a terrible experience!

      1. Yes, the whole experience with those plumbers was horrid – I don’t like the new drains as you have to take the sink basket out of the sink to let water go down where it was just a twist before.

  14. You are really making progress, although it may seem like it’s taking forever. This is a great post for this week’s waiting theme! It takes so much determination and patience to get this right. You’re both doing great through it all! If we were going to document our attempt at doing something like this, it would have a great outcome!!

    1. Thank you, Patti – yes, it has seemed like forever, but we’re trying hard to do it right. Good things come to those who wait, right!? I loved your post for the prompt – your words of creative waiting wisdom hit a cord for me, I’m inspired, thank you!

  15. You are really a fantastic couple doing this all by yourselves – wish I would dare to try…A beautiful sink and I so admire your patience and skills!

    1. Thank you, Anne-Christine. We have definitely tapped into the waiting mode and into finding our patience buckets. We’ll be very happy when it is done. I love your photos for the challenge this week! Your gift of composition always inspires me!

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