home improvement

Compressor Painting

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I enjoy painting. Both artistically and otherwise. One of my favorite mediums is using spray paint. I have used it on Cosplay, wicker furniture, canvases, even my lawn. I find the use of spray paint very versatile.

Yesterday I finally bought myself a gravity fed paint gun. I’ve been wanting one for years and this little dude was only $65. Well worth a test drive into the world of paint spray guns.

I’m going to attempt to paint a couple of Muskoka chairs and see if I like the results. I figure it will take a bit longer than just painting them with a roller or brush, since I’ll need to thin out the paint in order for it to flow through the nozzle.

A bit of trial and error will be required to figure out the right consistency and pressure to use from the air compressor. But I look forward to tinkering with my new toy. I should be careful about the overspray and ventilation used.

Wish me luck!

Front Deck Part 1.

Posted on by Josef Havelka

The other day my wife mentioned how she wanted to change the look of the front of our home. We’ve always had stones lining the front of our house from our driveway to the wall. Nothing fancy really- take a look:

When we first moved in, there was a couple of rotting flower boxes. We quickly removed those along with a half dead “Prickly Pete” bush that hid our gas meter by the carport. We’ve tried livening it up by putting a bench and an old wagon in front. But it just didn’t look good. So my wife asked if I would make a new deck. I jumped at the chance. This will be my third deck build. I enjoy them.

I wanted to get an early start on this project, but didn’t leave the house until after 10am. The Home Depot stung me for about $600 in pressure treated lumber. Even though the deck area is five feet wide- it is 36’ long. I also opted to give it a bit of height to add a step and level it off. I returned home with 72 deck boards- which irritated one customer because I took all the good ones- I got to work on my next project around lunchtime.

I was hoping to be posting about a “One Day Build” but starting at noon makes for a tough challenge. Instead I opted to have our fourteen year old son help me. That way I could teach him how to use power tools, as well as the tricks to making a good sturdy deck. Safety was the first thing I taught him. Safety glasses, taking your time and common sense were expressed. As much as he groaned at first, he got into the workload pretty quick. A few errors were made, but nothing tragic.

We’ve gotten about half way through this project before calling it a day. Building the frame and leveling it off was the toughest part and took quite a while. My son wanted to keep going after dinner, but I explained to him that it was disrespectful to the neighbors to be noisy as dusk fell. He has decided that we will be waking up at 7am and be back at it by 8am. He wants to be done by lunch. I’m happy about his enthusiasm. He’s also proud of his workmanship.

Little does he know that I also have a Porch Swing project in mind for us… That would finish the new deck off quite nicely.

Oh No. I Made A Big Hole In My House

Posted on by Josef Havelka

You read that right. I made a seven foot high by twelve foot wide hole in my living room. And it needed to be closed off…

There used to be a sliding glass door. My two youngest helped me move it out (after I figured out how to get it out.) As my daughter said, “It’s now open concept like they say on HGTV.”

So I put her to more work for the snide remarks. I hit Home Depot early this morning and picked up four door slabs. I got lucky since barn doors are all the rage and I was able to get them at seven feet tall- fitting my opening perfectly.

After a bit of trimming and cutting out placements for the hinges- the doors are now installed. Now my daughter is quoting more HGTV saying, “It’s rustic farmhouse chic.” Which will ring true once our new doors are finished.

Tomorrow is installation of the doorknobs and adding the finishing trim around the doors. On Saturday (or more likely next week) I will stain the doors to match the wood finish in our home. My brother-in-law stopped by earlier and is impressed that I was able to keep with the look of the home.

I appreciated the help that both my kids gave me today. And it took all day. I hope they learned some DIY and door installation.

I’m a Bad Husband

Posted on by Josef Havelka

The title of today’s blog could be considered a lie. I’m usually a great husband (tooting my own horn). But I decided to do something all wives hate right before Christmas- Home renovations.

Yes. I have become that man. The one who is using his time off to redo our 1/2 bath. One week before Christmas.

It’s not all my fault. Really.

I was supposed to have some vacation time back in November, when I had this project planned out. But things changed. And my time off moved. Which I was totally okay with. I don’t think I’ve ever had December vacation before.

So now I’m tiling a cramped 3 foot by 6 foot room. They always tell you to add 10% for waste. But I can’t figure out the formula for how long a project takes. I’m already 12 hours into it and don’t see an end in sight. I’m regretting starting this project ten years ago……. but it has to get done. There was never going to be a good time to do it. I’m sure I could’ve hired someone, but I like doing this sort of thing on my own.

The hardest part is knowing how much there is still left to do. New toilets and vanity to install after the tiles are all done. And the tiles are at least two more days of work. Mostly because I am a perfectionist, every row needs to be level and precise. No cutting corners!

I’m content to be doing stuff like this during my time off from work. Sure, travel would be nice as well. But knowing that I will have a nice looking bathroom once it’s all said and done, is a great sense of accomplishment.

So, even though I may be a bad husband for doing a home renovation project right before Christmas- it’ll be a nice gift once it’s all completed. I’ll be back in the good books then.