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.
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.
@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 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.)
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel ha! i grew up in GA, along the AL border. summer air so hot and thick it was like walking through soup. couldn't wait to leave, but didn't make it too far away to be much different tbh. at least we catch a breeze off the ocean here...
Fell in love with SF when I went to visit, if i grew up there i'd've put down a tap root and been immovable 😂
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
Unfortunately, my parents couldn't keep up with the rising costs there, so they retired to GA. 😔
I lived in SW GA for a year near the AL border - Bainbridge. I was SO happy to escape that place.
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
oh, yeah just peeked at a map-- you were also very close to FL. hoo--the confluence of AL, GA and FL is not an ideal location
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
Definitely not. The local kids called the town Braindamage. 😂
@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.
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel the overhead light in my living room flickers so much i can't use it. The bedroom ceiling fan was dripping water during the last hurricane and i never did find out why... went in the attic and did not see any water where it shouldn't be... laundry room door is too narrow for anything but a stacking dorm-style combo unit, which is enough for me, tbh
but also it's mostly original hardwood floors, new windows, and the kitchen is big & sunny. solid bones.
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
That's what we saw - solid bones.
But narrow doorways here, too. Each bathroom and closet. God forbid someone with a walker or wheelchair needs in?? We're widening the ones we can.
I'd LOVE old hardwood floors. 😍
Definitely replace that light fixture, or rewire it if it's worth saving. That flickering could turn out to be something dangerous.
We lived in a house w/a ceiling leak. Turned out it was the chimney, which was 10' away. Water ran along beams.
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel couldn't find water running anywhere-- pulled all the insulation out.
but thanks for the warning re: flickering light-- i probably need to rewire the entire house, that's why i'm afraid to investigate. Next time my deck-builder is here tho, I'll get his help looking into both ceiling fans.
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
You mentioned hurricane - which reminds me! 😂
We had a storm come through that blew the rain sideways. Only time our den ceiling leaked - not a big amount. There's a second story above. I figure the water found its way in through some flashing & ran along the wood. It's only happened the once, so no big staining.
My neighbors had water that came in through their eaves. Their gutters were clogged and the water came in sideways.
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
when I went up to look, I was checking for pipes between the bathroom to the fan, didn't think then to check the other side from the eaves to the fan. i flipped the breaker off to the bedroom for a couple weeks before I worked up the nerve to try it again.
the funniest part was that i first noticed the leak bc the walls were dripping in a horizontal band abt eye level & i was just utterly mystified --fan was on and slinging water around the room. bizarre
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
Oh crap that would NOT make me happy!
I found out when our a/c line (attic) clogs up the water runs down the outside of the plumbing, goes sideways past the 2nd floor, & onto my sewing room ceiling.
Guess who found the ceiling sagging & had to drill holes to drain 5 gallons of water so it wouldn't collapse?
Got the ceiling repaired. Found out our a/c "emergency drain line" is tied into the regular drain line, so that's bloody useless. GENIUS. 🙄🙄
@Agatha @fernfren @Nimthiriel ahh this list of shared trauma. this is community. being able to share this pain.
@Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren @Nimthiriel
I'm not sure what I expected from a house that's also Gen X, but here we are. 😂
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren Istg back then everyone “knew” how to DIY and now we’re the ones left having to fix their mess 😅
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel oh, oh no when you put it like that-- my house is a Boomer
@fernfren @Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel
Well that explains the leaky plumbing. 😂 😂
@Coffee_and_Salt @Agatha @fernfren Maybe it’s the wine talking but I’ve never felt so close to a group of online people before
@Nimthiriel @Agatha @fernfren likewise. The commiseration and support is just different from other places. *hugs*
@Nimthiriel @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren
It's the relative lack of anger, I think?
@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 :(
@Nimthiriel @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren
We tried to address the most immediate issues with this house first - basically anything that leaked for starters. (hheeeyyyy new $13k roof! That was painful. Took us 2 years to save up the money.) Leaking valves inside, etc all needed addressing.
So now nothing is leaking, but the siding is rotten and the windows have failed. So that's next...
It's exhausting. We save up money all year long only to have the house & medical bills eat it all.
@Agatha @Nimthiriel @fernfren growing up my dad taught me a lot about plumbing, basic carpentry, I can do basically most thing in terms of appliance and fixture install and replacement myself (if I can lift it I can install it), my partner tiles cause I’m sloppy. I cannot square a door to save my life though. Between us here doing our own repairs we have saved I’d say 50k in labor over the years here. And we are no where near done. Siding and windows. It’s always the siding and the windows…
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @fernfren
We DIY everything that we can learn/do safely. He does woodworking & plumbing. I do electrical & most painting. He did the floors, bc I was injured at the time. But I've tiled a house. I installed the range. He repaired the washer.
So yeah, we've saved a LOT in labor. I will not replace the main breaker panel though. I know my limits.
He's going to practice windows & siding on the garage. If that goes well, he might do the house - or at least some if it.
@Agatha @Nimthiriel @fernfren oh man if you can do the labor on your windows/siding you’ll save so much money and have the knowledge that it was done properly. That’s priceless.
It drives me mad that so many home owners pay for crappy labor to do small jobs that many really are smart enough and capable enough to do. Then the next buyer is stuck with whatever weird shortcuts that cheapest bid bought.
And hell no to the main panel. I’ll swap out a single breaker. beyond that I’ll fork the cash.
@Agatha @Nimthiriel @fernfren to clarify, I hate that many are unaware and feel like they are unable to do these repairs (if physically able) and that the cheapest labor usually involves corners cut without the clients awareness.
People are often more clever than they give themselves credit for.
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @fernfren
After my sister divorced, there were a lot of smaller things either her ex did, or they hired out. I've been helping her learn to do some of it. If nothing else, it's a big confidence boost!
@Agatha @Nimthiriel @fernfren so so much. And a solid way to vent some stress. Few things as therapeutic as a solid demo.
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @fernfren
Except carpet. Removing carpet is just nasty af. 😂
@Agatha @Nimthiriel @fernfren I don’t know if some folks are aware how much carpets sieve dust and silt into the pad and areas below.
@Coffee_and_Salt @Agatha @fernfren Getting rid of our carpets a couple of years ago was THE BEST decision since we got the dishwasher (which was its own saga!)
@Nimthiriel @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren
In my last house, the fools carpeted the kitchen AND bathroom. In my current one, they carpeted the bathrooms, even flush around the toilet in one of them. 🤮
@Agatha @Nimthiriel @fernfren I mean I suppose for someone who is a permanent fall risk? But that’s… that’s not hygienic. That’s just. That’s unsafe.
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @fernfren
We put in vinyl "wood" plank flooring (Houston floods - no hardwood flooring on ground level!). I was concerned about slipping, but it's not been an issue *at all*.
@Coffee_and_Salt @Agatha @Nimthiriel there are other ways to keep from falling that do not involve such unhygienic measures as carpeting a bath/kitchen. carpet in general is just so gross, even in dry rooms. one of humanity's worst ideas, IMO
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @fernfren
Have you guys done windows/siding? If so, any words of wisdom?
@Agatha @Nimthiriel @fernfren best tip I have is to take whatever you’ve got allotted for replacement lumber budgeted (not the siding, the framing) and increase it by half. Always have found more framing to replace than anticipated.
@Coffee_and_Salt @Nimthiriel @fernfren
I'm assuming our framing will have some rot. I'm hoping it's minimal since it's second story (brick exterior on the ground floor), so no ground contact. I know our eaves edges are rotted. Bottoms of exterior door frames, too.
No termites so far! 🤞
@Agatha @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren Not yet, but we’ll need to invest in new window frames before too long. I recommend PVC, it’s durable and a good insulator.
@Nimthiriel @Coffee_and_Salt @fernfren
I know vinyl is the thing now. We have aluminum atm. They're shit. 😕
@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.
@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!