Holiday, what holiday?

15 years ago

Hope you all had a great 4th. I had planned on doing a litte shopping and planning for the bath redo, but NOOOOOO.

DH decided that this was the day to rip up the carpet in the master, upstairs hall and stairs! We are going to put down laminate soon. But since we are trying to save costs and a friend offered their truck for us to use to haul stuff to the dump, wanted to maximize our savings.

Geesh they put carpet down good on stairs! How did you ladies do it, when you ripped it up on your beautiful stair redo!

Of course the kids are complaining that it is hard on their feet, teenagers! And the dog isn't sure what is going on!

But it does feel great that we accomplished something, just could of waited till the 5th!

Today we are going to finish the stairs and maybe start the demo on the hall bath. We are just demoing fools!

Toodles,

Laura

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

mdmomof7
15 years ago
Are you putting laminate down on the stairs? I wondered how hard that would be. Keep us posted here if you can.

We just finished a laminate install in the FR and are getting ready to do the same in the kitchen. Easy as pie, esp. for me as dh measured and cut and 16 yo dd installed and I inspected! lol!!

For the kitchen install, first, we have to fix a subfloor area that rec'd. moisture damage from a leak at the slider to the backyard.

The brazilian cherry laminate looks better than I thought it would. Dh and salesman talked me into laminate, but I wanted hardwood. lol!!

Keep us updated. I'm really intersted!
chelone
15 years ago
I hear you. The DIY scene is no picnic. It's about planning, sweat, and dealing with the unforseen "things" that invariably pop up. We each worked 2 jobs for several years and worked to "build our estate" in our free time.

We'd bust our asses to get all the prep. work done so that we could spend our vacation getting the most inconvenient projects finished. It wasn't easy, and we squabbled with each other, too. You will learn a lot in the "doing"; a lot about how to plan, how to execute a plan, and a lot about each other. But from my own perspective it was time well spent. And there were several very meaningful holidays involved.

Keep your noses to the grindstone and keep your eyes on the final goal. Our best discovery was that the most effective tools in the arsenal were good senses of humor. Know what? we're still using certain key phrases coined under the most adverse conditions and we're still laughing about them, nearly 17 yrs. later.

"The "frosting" on the cake of your effort is seeing the finished product in situ. For us it was a beautiful woodstove atop a raised hearth and in front of a finished interior chimney (that had been cinderblock for 12 years). Or watching beautiful gardens arise from gravel and backfill. Or buying the perfect screen door for the main entry.

It's worth every minute of your time. Trust me on this count.
Related Discussions
What's your Thanksgiving holiday horror story?
Q
Comments (100)
Shawlin, That happened to us, except it was on a 10 hour trip and we were about halfway there before it started, and it was during a Christmas holiday. We had to stop at a gas station after our toddler had thrown up yet again, but this time it was on her pillow... she was trying to keep the puke from dropping off the pillow, but then we hit a bump and SPLAT! Now she was covered in puke, it was dripping off her hair. Hubby asked the gas station attendants to bring out the hose and while he sprayed down her car seat, I took her into the bathroom and tried to wash her hair in a gas station bathroom sink... you know the kind where the faucet is really short and the sink is small? By the time I came out of the restroom the nice gas station employees had coned off the area with yellow caution tape. I felt SO BAD for the mess, I was apologizing profusely, and they were SO NICE. I can't even recall what state we were in by then... it was a nightmare. During the family reunion, there were about 20 of us, and only me and one of my sister in laws stayed healthy through the whole reunion (we weren't the only family who came in sick) and we spent the every day cleaning with bleach. LOL! We actually all have a lot of great memories from that trip though... we can all laugh about it now.
...See More
What wrong with my holiday cactus? Fungus or pest?
Q
Comments (10)
Flies, if small, are most likely fungus gnats. They will not cause such damage on leaves. Larvae feeds on roots, adults don't live that long - just long enough to lay many eggs!!! I don't think any flies would cause it. Snails may, but unlikely because they would leave a slimy trail...you be surprised - there is a chance of tiny mice in the apartments. Some damage is just from something falling on the branch, or pressing on it - I don't see any serious problem in your photos. My plant is older, see the corking:
...See More
What’s your holiday tip?
Q
Comments (57)
Attached photos of the cranberry upside down cake. Another tip I will add is to make one special holiday splurge at a time. I find I enjoy one cake or one type of special cookie much more if I can eat them individually instead of tables and tables and a huge array. The individual specialness of each gets lost. I once went to a party that had a three cheese board, some good quality crackers, a holiday punch and big brightly decorated cut out Christmas cookies and a bowl of mixed nuts, and decaf coffee, it was an evening party. That was it. Plain old school. I found that I really enjoyed all the individual elements of it, the simplicity. When I put out a big spread, inevitably only a few things are popular and I end up with one or two things that don't get touched. Better to stick with just the crowd pleasers and maybe one gourmet thing if you want to stretch your wings. Maybe it is just my crowd, but in general for entertaining I see that the basics are the most fun. A splurge for Christmas parties can be as simple as guacamole. It is the perfect color and if you add chopped tomatoes it is perfect for the basic Christmas color scheme. Another simple and fun thing is to make sour cream dip of some type, and splurge on a couple of gourmet chips like blue or sweet potato ones . . . That will make most people more than happy, no need for anything more exotic. My Mom used to try and make a lot of things and put out a big spread, and I remember her getting so frustrated . . . I was that way too, until I worked on simplifying. Splurge, but splurge on a few nice things, not a overstuffed table with so much stuff that individual things lose their value. I think it is the same with Christmas presents. Hubs and I limit ours to three to five, tops. Five if the stuff is small futzy things, but usually just three. This year he's getting one thing. I dialed down what I got the grandkids too, when I saw first-hand how much stuff they got from how many people, and I observed with so much stuff they couldn't enjoy any one thing fully. Plus it left them tired and overstimulated, which can happen with grownups too!
...See More
Holiday Greeting
Q
Comments (33)
I am opposed to a 'state' religion and believe strongly in the separation of church and state. I am no defender of religious symbols in gov't. But a large percentage of the US population celebrates Christmas, whether they are Christian or not. I didn't hear a fuss about erecting a Christmas tree in DC or decorating the WH for Christmas, as has been done forever. What about the Easter Egg hunt that happens for kids of all religions? In God we trust on our money? Prayers in our gov't institutions? Bibles being sworn upon? Some of those things are definitely Christian, at least they were historically. And some have become secular celebrations or symbols that people other than Christians participate in. Since the Biden's have tried to be inclusive by recognizing religious celebrations other than their own traditions, there is nothing to be gained by ignoring the biggest celebration this country has, which is Christmas. Wishing all those celebrating Christmas a Merry Christmas does not diminish other people's religions any more than wishing Jewish people a Happy Hannukkah diminishes non-Jewish people. They could have said Happy Holidays, but what holidays besides Christmas would they be referring to? Hannukkah is over, Kwanzaa hadn't begun (and they probably will issue a greeting about it separately, too). A Merry Christmas greeting does not exclude anyone.
...See More
teacats
15 years ago
Excellent job!!! -- and well worth the hard effort and time spent to see that final result!

Then you can enjoy checking out the Before and After photos -- just like the decor magazines that feature those projects! :)

Jan
laurmela
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks guys! WE finished the stairs, got a system down he pulled it up and I came by and pulled up all the tacks!

We have laminate already in the whole downstairs, love it. So easy to keep clean and with 2 teenagers and a dog... But now that we have decided to do it upstairs, wouldn't you know they don't make that particular laminate any more. I called all over last week, but no one has any extra! So we are going to take an extra plank and shop around. I hear that Wilsonart has a stair tread that is just one piece, so will have to check that out.

As you can see we don't have typical stairs, only 10 require regular treads, the rest will have to be cut. We are also going to take down the existing railing and get wrought iron. So we will have to wait till we have all our ducks in a row on that one!

We do have a great friend that is a contractor so he is helping us do the work, we are just demo guys and apprentices!

We are also going to retile the kids bath and get a new tub, so add that to the list as well.

It is crazy, but I am glad that it is all finally coming together!

Thanks for your inspiring words!

L

Holiday, what holiday?

Comments (4)

mdmomof7

chelone

Related Discussions

teacats

laurmela
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Holiday, what holiday?

Comments (4)

mdmomof7

chelone

Related Discussions

teacats

laurmelaOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

laurmela
Original Author