Date: 12/13/15
New roof has already improved the temperature in my house (yeah for more insulation!), so today is trying to get everything inside the back bedroom out for a while, scrub the back bedroom, and reorganize everything I keep in there. The leak encouraged mildew to grow so scrubbing. The leak also encouraged me to toss things away from getting wet so reorganizing.
Mom peeked in while I moved things and suggested laminate flooring to put on the ceiling once I finished tearing off the sheetrock. I gave a despairing look at the paneling I put on the walls to cover the nasty sheetrock (a job finished back in 2006 when I tore out the built-in closet). It has all warped under the leak's humidity and as I move more things out of the way, the warping goes all the way around the room. It all needs wiping off with bleach and nailing down and securing parts of the Closetmaid system again. "I haven't made plans yet," I tell my mother just so I can keep working without her in my hair.
But the having no plans isn't exactly true. I have made plans. This plan in fact:
This plan calls for the horribly constructed back bedroom and kitchen to be torn off and rebuilt, better, stronger, faster (cue the Six Million Dollar Man's theme song). This plan is also somewhen five, ten, maybe twenty years away.
Since I know this plan is so far away, my unthinking response is to keep the back bedroom shut off so I don't have the constant desire to go get a wrecking ball right now. Out of sight, out of mind.
And right now as I move things out of the way to clean the room, I recognize that is dumb, wasteful idea. I'm already using it as a giant closet. That is storage I must have. I have sewing I'd love to have a more dedicated space for. Ignoring the room is more wasteful than spending a little money now to spruce it up.
Ideas
- A real file cabinet for sewing patterns about 48-inches tall.
- Move all the Acadiana Faire stuff to the C-can. More floor space after that.
- The butcher block table I put the sewing machine on in the living room will fit under the bottom shelf on the west wall next to the fourth stud.
- Fix mission chair and move to the living room.
- Dresser holds keepsakes, garb props, and magic gear and is doing a great job.
- Need to rip out paneling but replace it with what?
- Like doubling up the pine shelves for deeper shelves.
- Use the big storage totes that were under all the Closetmaid shelves to keep the mattress and box spring propped against the wall.
- Will the hats and wigs fit on the shelf above the long closet rod?
- Put medieval bed together again. Medieval bed needs sanding so the pegs will come out easier. Add medieval bed to the C-can.
- I really like the Styrofoam ceiling tiles that look like pressed tin that Epbot used for their ceiling. I need to take better measurements of the back bedroom for ceiling, floor, and walls.
- Small boxes and craft projects go on the Closetmaid shelves.
- The tub I was keeping weight plates in glued itself to the floor with mold. Buy a plate rack.
- Chalkboard paint on Gram's old slate so it's functional again.
Date: 12/21/15
So what's the progress a week later? Not much. Truth is, I don't want to do heavy demo after coming home from work and the weekends have been booked with other things before the holidays.
I still don't know what to put on the walls and ceiling. I haven't been on that aisle in a home improvement store for over a decade and there are a lot more products available. The websites would be helpful if I had a clue what I want to put up and what will let me install my Closetmaid system without destroying it. So I have to make time to go look in person.
What I do know is I want to work in purple in the room and the walls are what I have to work with. So what I buy needs to be paintable and cheap because I don't mind spending money to make the room usable, I don't want to go over $500 in total. That's including flooring and ceiling rehab too.
Mom's first suggestion: laminate flooring. The con she stated a week ago: "You'll be looking at more wood."
Like my house really needs more wood on the walls. In fact, the back bedroom has a focal wall that was the back siding of the house. Okay, the mattress and box springs covers half of it, but it is there! Yeah, there are some cheap options in laminate flooring, but the colors I like are more expensive. And then drilling screws through it will be difficult and painting won't happen, so next choice. Oh right, I need to see other choices in person.
So before Dad and I left for his Christmas present, I mentioned how my house doesn't need more wood and I need to find cost effective solution because the paneling must go.
Mom's next suggestion: "Pallets! You can go to the local paper and get them for free and people on TV do beautiful walls."
"I just said the last thing my house needs is more wood. Let's go to Star Wars now."
Half the things destined for the C-can are inside it. I ran out of daylight Sunday before getting the rest and I have another box to pack. At least I hope I can fit it all in one box. Heavy storage totes had to go back into the back bedroom to hold up the mattress and box springs. I hadn't wanted to put stuff in until after I got to do some demo. :p Not that it's made a difference in how upside down my house looks with the stuff that's still out.
The BookWorm
No comments:
Post a Comment