Putting up stuff around the house

There was a space for an entertainment center/tv to the left of the fireplace that we couldn't find what to fill it with since we hung up the tv above the mantle. A custom built in cabinet/shelving would be nice but a little pricey. There are certain things that I will spend money on and some things I just feel that I can take care of myself. Jessica didn't like the idea of me just putting in built in shelves up and down that space. She insisted that I hide all of my electronic components from plain view. We finally decided to buy some cabinets from IKEA. The beauty of buying cabinets from IKEA is that you can design and configure them the way you want them with the understanding that they do only have certain configurations that you can work with. While my space is 54 inches in width (roughly) and IKEA did have a combination of two cabinets that was exactly 54 inches (30 inch cabinet + 24 inch cabinet) but we decided to leave a little space on the sides and go with a 51 inch combination instead. The main reason is that I wanted the unit to be on casters (wheels) so that you could pull it out to get to the wires or if I ever decided to put in a more permanent solution later. I didn't take a picture but I made a hole on the side so that you could still use the gas key to turn on the gas fireplace. I also made another hole that lines up with where the cords and wires come out of the side of the fireplace that connects to the wall behind the tv.

Below are the two cabinets connected and sitting on top of the base with wheels.

Below is a view of the base.

The finished product.You can see the lights of the machines through the frosted glass doors. We went with the frosted glass doors so that the IR remotes can access components with ease and the frosting to hide your stuff. I had to buy a laminate countertop and cut it to fit the cabinets. Cutting it basically destroyed the side laminate outer layer so I had to glue another piece of laminate finish back on to the cut side. The other cuts were made to the wood planks that make up the base. I bought the casters (wheels) from Lowe's.

An open view of the unit below. I will add additional shelves or an upper unit at a later time.


Project # 2: Window seating with storage for shoes in the MUD room.

These were also made out of IKEA cabinets, refrigerator cabinets to be exact. We wanted a place to sit to put on your shoes before going out through the garage and also a place to store shoes.

For this project, I had to build a base that gave enough clearance to allow the doors to open but also support the weight of people sitting on top. I also had to put a top on for sitting. I also stained the top and bottom to blend in with the wood flooring. The diagram below illustrates the parts involved in the construction.

New wood floors...TV hung up.

Sorry for not updating lately. Been real busy getting situated in the new house. It seems like I get home from work and then work on installing stuff or doing something with the house. Starting to paint a little, hook up things, assemble shelving, furniture...etc. My hands always feel a little sore lately. Two major milestones to report. The wood floors are finally done and the LCD TV is up on the wall.

We originally planned to have some wood flooring in the entry way when we picked out stuff at the design center. However, I thought the builder markup was so ridiculous so we just had carpet put in where we would potentially put down hardwood floors after we moved in. The difference in cost is at least 50%. A little bit of a hassle after you move in but not too bad since we were still unpacking and have not started using the rooms that got new flooring.

So I bought some handscraped engineered hardwood flooring, buckets of glue, and trim pieces. I bought the wood from Lumber Liquidators as they were the only ones in town that carried the exact wood we wanted. It was hard to find some T-Molding that matched the color of the wood so I ended up getting some unstained molding and applied the stain myself. Turned out to be a perfect match. I hired some flooring installers through Lumber Liquidators to put it in. They came in on Saturday morning and finished about 8 hours later. There were 2 guys, one installing and one cutting the wood. They did a great job. However, I could have hired them directly without going through Lumber Liquidators. I've always had mixed feelings about Lumber Liquidators. It seems like they've gone down in selection and service lately. If you know what you want and know what things cost then it's okay to buy from them. If you are totally clueless, I'd recommend going through a reputable, local flooring place. I wanted to save some money so I bought my own wood, loaded it and transported it back to my house to avoid delivery charges. The buckets of glue were some of the heaviest things I've ever had to lift. Because my wood was going down over concrete on the first floor, it had to be glued instead of being nailed down. If it were upstairs, it would have been nailed to the wood subfloor. If you do a "floating" floor, it will sound kinda hollow. Glue downs eliminate this problem but is very messy.

By the stairs and kitchen.

Dining room.

Mud room going to the garage.

Hallway/Entry.



I finally hung up the 52" Samsung LCD HDTV up above the fireplace. I had an outlet put on the wall and also a conduit that runs inside the wall so I could hide my cables. My next major project is to add cabinets and shelving to the nook just to the left of the fireplace. All my components that hook up to the tv will go there.


Below is a picture of the first scorpion caught inside our new house. We caught it alive and I thought it would be cool to take a picture of it on our countertop. It tried to run away but it wasn't fast enough. Now it is in Jayden's bug jar.

Moved in, Unpacking

So we officially closed on the house last Friday. We made the big move on Saturday morning with the help of Mike/Nancy, Leslie/Flora, and Winston. The POD container that had been in storage since late April was dropped off on the driveway. It was just a matter of moving stuff from the container into the house. I also rented that same box truck I used to move out of the old house to move the stuff I had stored at Sam and Karen's and also the stuff from the apartment we have been staying at. Right now we are still unpacking and getting stuff back in order.

Due to the lack of pictures right now due to the mess inside the house, I will leave you with a few pictures of the toilet seat bidet I installed. The plumbing part took a while to figure out due to the different size connections or connectors that weren't readily available. I had to make a run to Lowe's to find the right combination of hoses, couplings, and "nipples" to connect to the valve that comes out of the wall and divert the water line into the seat itself. For those who have never had the pleasure of using one of these, it basically shoots water up from underneath the seat to clean your butt after relieving yourself. You still have to wipe yourself but only to dry off. The basic functions are: seat warmer, water temperature selection, butt wash, and female wash. If you ever come to my house I will let you into the master bath to give it a go.

The new bidet seat installed. I had a GFCI outlet installed next to the toilet to power up.

Another view of the toilet seat. The controls are on the left side. The seat is also removable for cleaning. I've noticed that Costco online and even Sam's online are now selling them. Just do a search for "Bidet."

Closing pushed back a few days, house is complete

The house is complete now pending final walk through and closing. Our closing got pushed back a few days due to paperwork issues.


If you notice, the side yard close to the street is mulched in. This is the piece of land that is owned by the city and not technically ours. The builder put mulch there to help with weeds and stuff as we wait for the developer of the neighborhood to put in their sprinkler system and then all the landscaping they decide to do. Hopefully, it will be more plants and stuff instead of just grass. That way I won't have to worry about taking care of it at all even though technically, I shouldn't have to.

Landscaping (the grass was just put in so the sprinkler system is on).





French doors in the study haave been installed.





Media room for future home theater.

Preliminary Walkthrough, One Week to Closing

We had our first official "walk through" today with the builder. We just went over all the basic functional stuff and put blue tape on paint/caulk areas that needed touching up or fixing. We will have a final walk through one day before we close. Only the grass is missing now. Everything else is already installed. The air conditioning was turned on today for the first time.

Front door stained and installed.

Vent hood replaced (prior one wasn't what we ordered), oven finally installed.

New dishwasher installed (prior one was incorrect model).

French doors for the study arrived but not yet painted.


Fence installed.

Carpet installed, closing date finalized

The carpet has been installed through the house. The pictures don't really show the proper color but it is a tan color. I am planning to put in wood floors on the first level from the entry to the living room and also to the flex room. The dining room will also be changed from carpet to wood. We didn't like the builder selections at the time and didn't like the up-charge by the builder for the flooring. The builder would also not just leave the concrete uncovered due to liability issues and letting buyers use the unfinished floors as a reason not to close in a bad economy. Carpet is easy to rip out anyway and is the easiest floor to change out. The sprinkler system has also been installed. The grass should be going in by the end of the weekend.

Our official "walk through" is next Monday and we will close on the house on July 28th.



The stained staircase is still needing a final coat of finish.

Kitchen Backsplash, Some Kitchen Appliances

Ceramic tile backsplash with glass tile accents.

Cooktop. All of the builder included appliances are Whirlpool.

Notice the missing cabinets above the fridge area are in now.

The microwave is in but we are still missing the oven. The wrong range hood was put in so I will not show a full picture of it until it is corrected. The wrong dishwasher was also put in so it will not be shown until the correct one is in place.