Home Improvement

If you drive around this area and take careful note of your surroundings, you’ll find many an ugly thing. One of the most ugly was the shed we had situated in our very own back yard. On more than one occasion when driving home from the grocery store or from some other outing and after […]

I received the final section of our wood stove chimney yesterday. I’ve been purchasing these things a few at a time over the past few months as to keep the expense of installing a new wood stove as least noticeable as possible. Overall, I say I’ve done pretty well because, as I’ve mentioned in one […]

I did a lot of work outside on the driveway this afternoon. It’s strange – I thought I was actually becoming lazy over the summer. I didn’t want to do anything. The moment the heat and humidity disappeared though, I jumped out of my seat and ran outside to get things done. In the past […]

The first question I’m sure you have is: what the heck is stone dust? Well, I can tell you that it’s not exactly stone, nor is it dust. It’s a coarser version of regular sand. Stone dust is the byproduct of crushed rocks. Gravel if you will. As the rock crusher crushes larger rocks, chips […]

As you’ll surely read in my next post, I completed a small plumbing project this week. I had to change a bad well pressure tank out for a good one. While this wasn’t a difficult task, it did come with some quirky areas that made me lose some sleep at night. First, there was a […]

Just so you know, there’s no difference between a shallow (dug) well pressure tank and a deep well pressure tank. I stuck the word “shallow” in the title because I thought people might search for that and land on this page. I’m clever like that. Here’s the situation. A few weeks ago, I began hearing […]

I have no idea how I pulled this off. I’m not a plumber or a carpenter or an electrician. I am, however, a Gaulard and this is what Gaulards do. They figure things out until there’s nothing left to figure out. About a month ago, I made up a saying. It goes like this: You […]

I happen to be in the middle of a bathroom remodel project. I guess I shouldn’t really call it a “remodel.” While the bathroom certainly is getting remodeled, this project isn’t something I actually wanted to get into and to be honest, it’s taken me just about five years to get around to finishing it. […]

This was a very exciting project for me. I’ve had a bathroom that I gutted about five years ago, sitting here doing a whole lot of nothing. It’s been waiting for me to get up off my bum to put things back together. If you don’t remember, years ago, we had an extremely cold winter […]

Do you remember the time I told you that I had to do some concrete cutting at the back of our house? If not, you can read the post where I describe the process I undertook here. Basically, the person who built this house poured the concrete pool deck right up against the pine board […]

I just went downstairs to visit my freshly encapsulated crawl space and was shocked. I was shocked by the absence of smell. Have you ever smelled a crawl space that hasn’t been encapsulated? If you have or if you’re living above one, you surely know what I’m talking about. It’s like smelling dirt. Ugly, wet […]

Did you know that basement crawlspaces were a “thing”? They are. There are people around this world who deal exclusively with them and there are websites dedicated completely to them. I should know. I just ordered some specialized tape from one of these websites. Crawlspaces are a hot topic on Youtube as well because they […]

I believe the job of filling the basement crawlspace in with dirt has officially begun. The hot and humid air has left the building and in its place is much cooler air that’s conducive to hard labor. My body reacts well to cool air. I can think better, fight better and actually get things done. […]

I’ve been doing a lot of stain and polyurethane work on wood lately. I think I may be getting the hang of it. I never used to stain anything and would only apply polyurethane as a protective coating, but now, I’m a staining madman and apply multiple coats of poly. I apply one thin coat […]

For some strange reason, I’ve recently become infatuated with area carpets. I always had a fondness for them, but just a few weeks ago, things have gone to a new level. At the wee hours of the night, I find myself watching random “Turkish Carpet” sales videos on Youtube. You know the ones; tourists get […]

Wouldn’t you just know it. As I was writing yesterday’s post about fixing a leaky Symmons shower valve, the only part I still needed was sitting in our mailbox. I could have replaced everything at the same time. Oh well. I guess I have to stick to my plan for replacing some parts and then […]

What I’m about to share is for the greater good. I’ve done all the work and I’m willing to tell you all about it. If you have a shower valve that looks like the one below, and it leaks, you’re in good hands. I’m about to help your life immensely. Here’s the scenario – every […]

I’ve had a home improvement project that I’ve been avoiding for quite some time now. The project has to do with making shelves for the insides of the kitchen cabinets, the laundry room, three bedroom closets and a hallway closet. In all, I’d say we need about 15-20 shelves. All different shapes and sizes, mind […]

Just last night, I finished taping the good majority of the drywall joints in the log cabin room. I say majority because I still have to tackle the seams around where the cross beams meet the drywall. There are 30 seams there, so that will take a little while. This first step in adding joint […]

It’s been an exciting past two days. A few weeks ago, the heat of summer broke and I got up off my duff to begin working on the house once again. The first project was to finish the drywalling in the log cabin room. This is something that has taken me almost two and a […]

Since we received some nice snow recently, Laura and I decided to go for a walk in it. We did our usual route – up the road and back. It’s two miles and just long enough to get out whatever it was that we needed to get out. Remarkable how that works. Take a break […]

I have a somewhat entertaining story for you. Here goes… Last week some time, mother nature decided to throw some -2 degree temperatures at us. I read the weather forecast ahead of time and after reading it, I stood up tall and puffed my chest out. I did this because I was me – and […]

I’ve got a fun story for you. You probably won’t want to read it if you aren’t into smelly basements and septic pipes, but if you are, read on. You might be entertained. When we moved into this house last November, I remember going down to the basement to check things out. One of the […]

As I mentioned in my last post, I had to install a new septic tank baffle. For one reason or another, our existing concrete baffle broke off and is currently sitting at the bottom of the tank. Here is a picture of the exit pipe with no baffle. Don’t know what a septic tank baffle […]

Can anyone tell me what happens to a valve if it freezes with water inside? Okay, I’ll tell you. The seal gets ruined. Something happens when the ice expands in the valve, so after a few freeze/thaws, you get some leaks. We’ve had it happen to the kitchen sink after that froze this past Winter. […]

I’ve got a project to complete that I’m really not looking forward to. It’s called something like, “filling in the basement crawl space with gravel, dirt, sand…whatever.” Do you remember back when I told you about my nifty installation of our sump pump? Well, that installation worked wonderfully. Every time the basement filled with water, […]

Rigid foam insulation is the best thing since sliced bread. It’s thin, effective, has a great r-value and acts as a vapor barrier. With the time and space saved, it’s worth its weight in…well, rigid foam. It’s sort of expensive though at $18.99 per 4’x8′ 1 inch thick sheet. But the mice hate it and […]

I was looking at yesterday’s post last night and I began thinking about those pictures of the foam I sprayed around the newly installed windows and how sloppy it looked. I knew I was going to trim the foam, but I was concerned that those of you who read yesterday’s post may think I’m some […]

I just finished installing the new windows in the log cabin room. Surprisingly, the ordeal only took about an hour and a half. I’ve had terrible visions of this project, but now I realize I shouldn’t have worried. It’s just that I never installed windows before and issues can arise. Really, all I did was […]

Laura asked if I needed anything from town today. I’ve been going back and forth with this window thing because I didn’t want to drop the money to pay for them. I know they’ve got to get done, but it’s difficult paying for something that gives me such little satisfaction. Even worse, we already have […]

One of the things I’ve got to finish up before Winter rolls around is the window replacement in the log cabin room. I’ve already done the wood stove installation and now I’m going to tackle the windows. Basically, I’d like to get everything done that I couldn’t do while there was six feet of snow […]

I really didn’t think I was going to get to this project until September. I mean, I knew it had to get done, and the sooner the better, but the way I’ve been procrastinating lately – well, let’s just say I’m surprised. I think it was two Sundays ago when I said to Laura, “let’s […]

This will be the first post in a long saga of something I like to call the, “Log Cabin Room.” The log cabin room is a part of our house that really doesn’t fit with the rest. The original owner of the house told us that the log cabin room was the very first section […]

Just a few minutes ago, I finished the pool fence. The only thing left I have to do is to trim four posts. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to dig those post holes the full 3 1/2 feet I dug all the others. While digging those four, I hit what looked like concrete chunks. I’m thinking […]

I want to post a quick update to my little fence project. I think it’ll be fun to look back upon my progress with putting this together. I do it all the time – sit here and remember all the work that goes into what we do. Okay, the fence is coming along nicely. The […]

Back last year, when we were sitting in Florida, looking at houses in Maine online, we discovered a real beauty. The beauty we found online happens to be the one we currently live in. I can thank Laura for that. She did all the research and hunting throughout the web. She had her criteria and […]

Yesterday, I began tearing apart the half-wall that ran along the side of the basement staircase. I’m sorry I didn’t take any pictures of it, but I was kind of on a roll. Basically, I just needed to get rid if it so I could begin building my trapdoor. And by the way, I guess […]

I finished up the basement support beam last night. We no longer have a floor in the log cabin that sags or bounces. When you walk up there, it’s as firm as a fiddle. And it only cost me around $15. I already showed you the first half of this project. If you haven’t read […]

A quick note before I begin. The beam I set up a few minutes ago is not meant to bear weight. It’s simply meant to lift the floor above about a quarter inch and to reduce its sagging. I would also like to take the spring out of the floor as well. Good. Glad I […]

I’ve been kind of busy down in the basement for the past few days. I had to get the insulation project finished up. It was getting on my nerves. It all started like this – remember when I told you all about how proud I was of myself for shoveling the long trench all the […]

I finished up the bathroom insulation yesterday. That’s not to say the bathroom looks good, but I’ll tell you what – it’s a heck of a lot warmer in there. As a matter of fact, the entire house feels warmer. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or not, but it sure seems that way. […]

I was doing some work yesterday that required I turn off the main water source for the house. I had to repair a few frozen broken pipes and I needed to release the water pressure in the system. I also needed to get as much water out of the pipes as possible. After fiddling with […]

Funny story here. The story’s not actually over yet, but I think I’ve got a handle on things. A few nights ago, Laura and I were talking. We were kind of chilly and our discussion revolved around the next evening’s low temperature of -24 degrees. Apparently, much of the country recently went through some huge […]

I just finished up my sump pump discharge project. I finally got around to ordering two check valves for PVC pipe from Amazon and they arrive yesterday. I had almost everything I needed, except for a ten foot length of 1 1/2 inch PVC tubing. I got that yesterday while I was picking up supplies […]

I’ve been doing a lot of reading on home insulation and one popular space I see a lot of people talking about is the rim joist area of the basement. Apparently, rim joists are either avoided, forgotten about or simply never insulated for one reason or another. I think it probably has to do with […]

I’m kind of at an impasse with my little basement project. I finished up insulating under the stairs and have run out of material. I thought the 2″ thick rigid insulation board would go further. I have a small amount left over, but not enough to warrant me getting all filthy dirty. I’m going to […]

From what I’ve been reading online, there seems to be a general trend that’s moving people away from traditional fiberglass (pink stuff) insulation and moving them towards either spray foam insulation or rigid foam panel insulation. Because it’s still relatively new and mostly requires professional assistance, spray foam is expensive. If you were to have […]

I think I’ve told you about my electric hot water heater project coming up. I’ve kind of been procrastinating on this one because it’s going to cost a few bills. I’m picking up the supplies I’ll need piecemeal, so the final cost won’t be such a one-off shock. I mean, it’s not a lot of […]

I kind of got ahead of myself with this project. I have been doing something, sitting and thinking about it, then doing something again, thinking and on and on. One thing leads to another and I find myself laying on my back looking up at the floor joists. Last night I did just that – […]