Been working on not purchasing “things” so much as purchasing materials to make the things I need/want and it’s been paying off in spades.
Needed new bath mat. Had the last one for 7 years, paid $20. So $2.86 a year.
Bought cotton cording and I’m stick weaving some of the best mats I’ve ever owned, and I’m not even good at this.
1/2
They’re going to last decades for 6 sticks and some cotton cording, cost $34. I’ll have two mats from this cord which brings it to $17 per mat. No joke these mats with the right care can last 20 years.
Brings the bath mat cost down to $1.18.
Less than half the cost for better thing for longer.
Makes the time worth it, because time has value, but it’s fun for me so I get the entertainment as a “cost.”
That looks fabulous! (And I'm not particularly happy that you've encouraged me to learn yet another fiber skill...😂)
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt same. I've been wistfully adding to my "weavings" board on pinterest for years without actually having woven anything. this post might push me right over the edge
I've looked at rope weaving for rugs that doesn't need tools. But, tools are half the fun. 😕
My husband is a woodworker. It's time we join forces! 😍😍
He's far more picky than I am. He'll work on sanding FOREVER. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. 😂
@Agatha @fernfren hehe that’s rad really, you’ll have the finest tools! He’ll be right too, the smoothness helps.
Used to do it as a kid with dowel rods, a hand turn drill and a pencil sharpener. Was usually too eager to get going to take any further steps. Can confirm, did get splinters, sanding would have helped 😂
He just made me a yarn box from wood from a set of shelves my dad made me as a teen! He knew smooth was vital for the yarn. He's all self-taught, but he had 2 step-grandfathers who were carpenters, and their work inspired him. ♥️
Fingers joints by hand. No nails or screws. Made it to my specifications. Inside you can see a vertical "scar" left from when it was a shelf. I asked him to leave it as a reminder. Dad would be proud. Dad threw the shelves together quick - not his finer work. So this was a good use for the wood. Hus made a 2nd one for my sister who also knits and crochets. ♥️
I'm going to add some rubber feet and nice handles.
Thank you. He said he learned a lot from making it, so that's a nice plus. ♥️
😂He's mostly working on the house.
WIP. He's converting all doorways & windows to look "fancy". He's also replacing all baseboards and crown molding, and eventually the stairs. Nothing is square in this house, so every cut is custom.
Those shelves were once a second doorway into the guest bathroom. There were just too many doors. Since we ripped out the nasty cabs, we needed the storage. We opened space bet wall studs to add more shelves & make it feel more open.
It's all messy atm. This weekend he will finally put up the new door. We're replacing all the hollow doors with solid paneled doors.
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren Ooh, can I join this conversation? We’re getting our bathroom renovated in about two weeks!
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren Yay! I don’t want to steamroll over someone else’s story, so please stop me if I do!
But we have a double-brick flat from 1960 and there’s a bit of galvanised iron pipe SOMEWHERE between the sink and the shower/bath that is gradually rusting closed so we have no hot water pressure. They have to take out an entire section of wall to find it so we figured we may as well do the whole thing!
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren Of course, that’s just the main issue. I’ll gladly regain you about everything g else that’s wrong with it 😅
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Agatha For example, this place has never had a proper exhaust fan. The previous owners DRILLED HOLES in the window to allow some steam out, and when we moved in there *was* a crappy little fan in the window, but because it was an after-though, it meant the bathroom couldn't have a fly screen and we need one so that if the window is open, the cats don't slip and fall out.
@Nimthiriel @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt
What is up with people and fans?? Texass code says if you have a window nearby, builders aren't required to put in an exhaust fan. That's NUTS considering 9+ months of the year it's too hot and humid outside to open a window!
Some genius here put in a regular ceiling fan in the primary bathroom - the kind you'd put in a den. 😬😭 (We remedied that already.)
@Agatha @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt First thing we did when we bought the place was get rid of the old gas heater and install a split system. How it’s legal for any residence in Australia to not have air conditioning is beyond me.
@Nimthiriel @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt
It's funny when southerners make fun of people who can't take the heat. Take away their A/C and they start SCREAMING. 😂 😂
@Agatha @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt Next nightmare: WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THESE EXPOSED PIPES???
@Nimthiriel @Agatha @fernfren popping back in here…
The drilled holes in the window. Helped with a few remodels in my day and I have to sincerely say, that’s the first time I’ve over send holes drilled in window framing to let steam out. I just… I mean that’s a needs must solution.
@Coffee_and_Salt @Agatha @fernfren This whole flat is one massive kludge istg
@Nimthiriel @Agatha @fernfren and I had two sips of coffee and reread my post. So. Many. Typos. But you understood so that’s something!
Our home had some issues we’ve discovered along the way, and some still to be discovered that I know are just waiting for us to find.
What’s your end goal for your remodel design?
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @Agatha hey y'all-- i just caught up, is it my turn? lol my house was built in 1952. it was a rental for a while, and then went up for auction-- bank repo, i'm guessing. so a flipper bought it, reno'd it (some of it half-assed, of course, and i bought in 2018 as my first house. it's got great bits, and crap-- like they just sheetrocked over the bathroom window and surrounding tile. cool. fan was venting into the attic insulation-- so much mold!
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @Agatha i haven't done much fixin' inside, i've been obsessed with having a yard for the first time in my adulthood and went a little garden-crazy. but there's white tile and grout in the kitchen, which, being the main entry from the yard, is my biggest regret. the bathroom is tiny, and there's only 3 tiny closets for storage and turns out, i have way too much furniture & stuff.
i really like those shelves between the studs-- that's a great idea @Agatha. yoink!
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @Agatha i'm currently having a deck built onto the back, and converting my bedroom window to a door that lets out onto it, and caging in half to be a catio for my precious house-bebes.
the guy doing most of the work is my friend's husband and he thinks i'm kidding when i say i could keep him busy every weekend for a year if he's up for it. there's so much i want to do!
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
The deck off the bedroom. 😍 Something I want one day (not in Texas though - yuck).
I get what you mean - we've been working on this place for 5 years. It's ENDLESS.
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel i'm in SC, so our temps are comparable to yours, plus we have near-tropical humidity, yay! but's it's perfect for early morning coffee sits, and late afternoon wine sits. i mainly wanted the catio, but builder could not wrap his head around that-- he wanted to build a massive open deck w/ a small box for cats-- and i'm like, i am not doing bbqs out here ok. i have 1-2 guests, tops. i am HERMIT CAT LADY and i want a big catio and space for a lil bistro set
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
I lived in SE GA for 25 years. I know that feeling! Plus sand gnats! (I've been in Texass 10 years. I didn't want to come here... I grew up in San Francisco.)
@fernfren @Nimthiriel @Agatha sheet rocked over the window?!? But why?? And and did they seal the window before? So many questions!!
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @Agatha i KNOWWWW i didn't realize it for a year or so and then i was out on that side of my house and realized i had an extra window outside that i didn't have inside. and then i realized how thisck the walls are and how i couldn't drill in to hang the shower curtain rod in one spot -- bc i hit ceramic tile. there's a plastic shower insert.. it's just ugh.
i can't bring myself to crawl under the house to see if there's water damage/leaking
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @Agatha just reread that & it's very disjointed and possibly incomprehensible, but you get it. i have feelings about the bathroom that i've been repressing.
i really should look into it... but i'm instead focused on a deck and catio LOL, --water damage and slowly rotting bathroom be damned
but now that we've had this convo and i've said it "out loud" i have to face it. so there. *sips coffee and breathes*
my trim is a mess too + wiring issues, etc.
@fernfren @Nimthiriel @Agatha all made sense here.
Have similar issue. I know a wall is going to have to come down and be replaced. But now it’s a matter of can we afford this… like ever?
One step at a time right?
I’m still spinning over things like holes drilled in window frames and windows entirely sheet rocked over! There’s ways to figure out an answer and then there’s… well, I suppose those were solutions.
@Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren @Nimthiriel
Sheetrock is doable. Messy, but doable if you can diy. We need to remove all sheetrock on exterior walls downstairs. Old damage, but mostly we need to put in new insulation and sound proofing.
Some genius did wiring here. Couldn't fit all the wires into a couple of the junction boxes, so he just cut the back off the boxes. Kinda defeats the purpose there, bucko.
That is when they used a junction box at all. I'm truly shocked this house didn't burn down.
@Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren @Agatha We can only afford this thanks to my spouse’s family being extremely generous and helping us with the money. The thing is it’s got to the point where we really can’t put it off any more :(
@Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren @Nimthiriel
I DETEST flippers. 😡
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel yeah, i learned a lot -- didn't realize he was a flipper until too late. but tbh, i really had no choice. the housing market here is ridiculous. yeah, i'm boxed in by a highway, an airport, a major shopping area and a railroad, but it's mine, i have a bit of nature all to myself & i can't hear my neighbors arguing thru the walls. would've lost my mind during COVID if i did not have a garden of my own. so i don't mind a bit of fixin' :)
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
We bought before the housing market went nuts, but we got the house cheap because it needed so much work. So, we went in with our eyes open. No flipper got to it, thankfully, or things would have been even worse (& more hidden).
I get it though. Renting this house would be twice our mortgage. Buying just made sense. And we love being able to do what WE want.
@Nimthiriel @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt
I wonder if this flat originally had plumbing? I know you said 1950s, but I know not everything was plumbed yet in the 50s. So much shoddy post war housing was built EVERYWHERE.
@Agatha @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt I suspect this flat had plumbing but not for a washing machine. There would have been a communal laundry downstairs originally, but it’s just storage now. The plumber told me that the waste water pipe from the washing machine is plumbed illegally :/
@Nimthiriel @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt
Ah that makes sense. Of course it's done illegal. It usually is... 😡
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Agatha So the upstairs neighbour’s shower leaked, hence the damage to the wall.l (also getting fixed) This was the original rail for the shower curtain which bent at 90° and gave you half a bath’s space in which to shower. So I got a temporary rail from Daiso and that’s been our shower ccurtain for over 5 years 😅
@Nimthiriel @fernfren @Agatha I don’t know it would have ever occurred to me to bend a rail at 90 at a shower.
@Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren @Agatha It definitely occurred to somebody :/
@Nimthiriel @fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt
Half a bath? HALF? That'd drive me nuts. I don't like the curtain touching me when I'm shampooing my hair. I got one of the kind that bows outward for extra elbow room.
@Nimthiriel @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren
We have mostly copper, but our gas line is galvanized. I'm waiting for it to go. (1976 house)
@Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren
We had a plumbing issue that required removal of the old giant double sink. I said NEVER AGAIN. 😂
This house has a lot of storage. Almost excessive. We figured we could do without some cabinets. Besides the giant double sink cabinet, there was another huge floor to ceiling one next to the toilet. We found mold on the ceiling when we pulled it out. 🤮
Doors were constantly in the way of each other, too. Super annoying.