10 things I learned today

After 24hrs of home ownership, this is what I have learned so far:

1) Replacing a deadbolt and door lock is not as hard as I made it out to be

2) Cleaning a fridge takes 2+ hours (and I'm not even done)

3) The guy at the Subway near my house has never heard of a Kia Soul

4) Sweeping a garage and cleaning it up is rewarding. Realizing afterwards you don't own a dustpan is not.

5) After watching a video on Youtube on how to install a dishwasher I no longer want to attempt it myself

6) The people on the DIY channels make this crap look easy!

7) Lowes is evil and can suck a bank account dry if you are not careful!

8) The sink I want is going to cost more than I care to spend on it

9) The fear I had looking at a wall of toilet seats was gone once the guy from Lowes let me know they are either round or oblong and that's it

10) Despite me wanting some awesome lock for the doors that I can punch in a combination to or put my thumb on, they just are not cost effective.

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The GF had plans for the day so I was by myself for the 8 hrs I spent in the house. Not knowing much about a LOT of crap I need to do, I successfully cleaned a freezer to look like new, replaced 2 out of the 3 door locks and deadbolts, and replaced a toilet seat. I really wanted to get the 3rd door done but thanks to an absolute downpour (thunder, lightning, the works!) I was not able to get it done. Fun stuff so far though but soooo long to go hehe

10) Despite me wanting some awesome lock for the doors that I can punch in a combination to or put my thumb on, they just are not cost effective.

Just to add some confidence to your decision here, one of our neighbors across the hall has electronic combo lock. It died on him one day and he had to call a locksmith and wait 3 hours. I am not sure if it was a battery thing or just a malfunction, but neither of those things would happen with an standard deadbolt and key. That door was the only way to get in so it may be OK for a house if you have other ways to get in, but it definitely changed my desire to get one of those. I guess deadbolts can have keys broken off in them so it isn't faultless either.

For the garage, definitely get a shop vac. They're inexpensive, and you can use them on all sort of things - like the interior of your car.

And yeah, installing a dishwasher isn't easy! If you have one you're replacing then it isn't as difficult as setting up the wiring/plumbing for a new one. Still, it takes much more work than one might think.

I agree with all of these things.

DeThroned wrote:

4) Sweeping a garage and cleaning it up is rewarding. Realizing afterwards you don't own a dustpan is not.

There's this awesome dustpan called "anywhere outside that big door" in the garage. Hurts your back a lot less, too.

Shortly after buying our house my wife and I came to grips with the fact that our "taste" is exponentially greater than our budget.

My wife and I have also discovered that there`s nothing wrong with our taste that money can`t fix...

In a totally unrelated story, we just paid $10k to have our front stairs built and our driveway partially relevelled. Woohoo!

*sigh*

Bear wrote:

Shortly after buying our house my wife and I came to grips with the fact that our "taste" is exponentially greater than our budget.

I know how you feel, except for me it's the girlfriend who has much more expensive tastes than I do. A princess I tell ya

PoderOmega wrote:
10) Despite me wanting some awesome lock for the doors that I can punch in a combination to or put my thumb on, they just are not cost effective.

Just to add some confidence to your decision here, one of our neighbors across the hall has electronic combo lock. It died on him one day and he had to call a locksmith and wait 3 hours. I am not sure if it was a battery thing or just a malfunction, but neither of those things would happen with an standard deadbolt and key. That door was the only way to get in so it may be OK for a house if you have other ways to get in, but it definitely changed my desire to get one of those. I guess deadbolts can have keys broken off in them so it isn't faultless either.

a good one will have a battery back up terminal on the front. Usually just two bare nubs where you can place a 9V battery to power the unit temporarily.

DeThroned wrote:

10) Despite me wanting some awesome lock for the doors that I can punch in a combination to or put my thumb on, they just are not cost effective.

I installed a numeric one that still sports a key slot, so it's always got a manual override. Kwikset even let me use my key I already had as it's one of their smart key devices that has easy re-keying. My wife is in a wheel chair and drives so the goal was to get one that has a single button you can push to lock the door. Considering how much trouble it is just for her to go out & start her van, locking the door on the way out requires removing the keys from the van, exiting it, and locking the door. Then getting back in the van and blah blah blah.

The short of it - instead of our door being locked sporadically, it's locked almost 100% of the time now. Sure, it cost me $100 but considering it also makes sure the door is closed all the time as we have 3 cats and 3 dogs, that is huge. We've both left the door open without realizing it before and so it was worth every penny.

DeThroned wrote:

2) Cleaning a fridge takes 2+ hours (and I'm not even done)

Just wait till you have to clean an oven -_-.

I moved into my new house yesterday as well, and learned a very valuable lesson:

If you are bringing appliances with you to your new home, ensure that they can fit in their designated spaces. I was under the blissfully naive assumption that most fridges were of a standardized length, width, and height.

I was wrong.

Dr._J wrote:

I moved into my new house yesterday as well, and learned a very valuable lesson:

If you are bringing appliances with you to your new home, ensure that they can fit in their designated spaces. I was under the blissfully naive assumption that most fridges were of a standardized length, width, and height.

I was wrong.

Ouch. Hopefully you can bring them back; hopefully you don`t get to cut new holes in your walls...

Chumpy_McChump wrote:

Ouch. Hopefully you can bring them back; hopefully you don`t get to cut new holes in your walls...

Many an option was discussed yesterday on the fridge problem. It ranged from getting a new fridge, to altering cabinets, to cracking the tiles underneath the fridge to give us that half inch we needed. Ultimately went with a new fridge, so thankfully no holes were cut.

Long story behind the appliances, but I wasn't able to bring them back to the store. I managed to sell the large fridge to a friend of mine yesterday.

Nothing like driving around town in a 27 foot long U-Haul at 5:30pm on Saturday evening looking for a fridge under 65 inches.

I had all my friends over yesterday to help me move, and I repaid them with beer and pizza. We spent the night reassembling some furniture and getting everything back together. I thought my friend's fiancee put it best last night: "Typical of all you guys: You have the computer, internet, TV, audio receiver, and XBOX hooked up, but there isn't a single dish or cup unpacked and in the cabinet."

So true.

Dr._J wrote:

"Typical of all you guys: You have the computer, internet, TV, audio receiver, and XBOX hooked up, but there isn't a single dish or cup unpacked and in the cabinet."

So true.

Hey, you have to take care of the important things first! Silly women.

Having installed three dishwashers, I can tell you it's one of those things you don't want to screw up, especially in combination with a disposal and a septic system. You need be a CONFIDENT home plumber, carpenter AND electrician. It's where the rubber meets the road on home improvement -- the Boss Fight if you will.

rabbit wrote:

Having installed three dishwashers, I can tell you it's one of those things you don't want to screw up, especially in combination with a disposal and a septic system. You need be a CONFIDENT home plumber, carpenter AND electrician. It's where the rubber meets the road on home improvement -- the Boss Fight if you will.

It may be more complicated but I'd take that job twice before volunteering to replace one of those wax gaskets under a toilet.

Thin_J wrote:

It may be more complicated but I'd take that job twice before volunteering to replace one of those wax gaskets under a toilet.

Been there, done that. I got a suggestion from a plumber to double up on the replacement wax seal. They're cheap, and doubling up often makes a huge difference in when you're going to have to hoist that throne again in the future.

LouZiffer wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

It may be more complicated but I'd take that job twice before volunteering to replace one of those wax gaskets under a toilet.

Been there, done that.

Me too. I only bring it up because I don't ever want to do it again

Should it come up though I'll remember the double up thing.

Thin_J wrote:

It may be more complicated but I'd take that job twice before volunteering to replace one of those wax gaskets under a toilet.

There are certain home improvement jobs that are either too unsavory or too complicated to bother with on your own. Not to mention that if something goes wrong with your installation then it's all up to you to fix it. If someone else does it THEY fix it.

Paying someone to install a new toilet while I sit in my chair and watch a football game is money well spent.

Dr._J wrote:

"Typical of all you guys: You have the computer, internet, TV, audio receiver, and XBOX hooked up, but there isn't a single dish or cup unpacked and in the cabinet."

So true.

Hah! That's pretty much all I was wanting to unpack the first day I moved in to a new apartment with Kannon. Pretty sure it wasn't even until the day after next that I got all the dishes unpacked.

Why all the toilet hate? It's like an hour and half, tops. No big deal.

Chumpy_McChump wrote:

Why all the toilet hate? It's like an hour and half, tops. No big deal.

Today, on out of context theatre...

IMAGE(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/3981512040_5ecd797650.jpg)

Love mein toilet! Touch it!

Good stuff on day 2. I've now replaced 3 locks and deadbolts, 2 toilets seats, and a shower head. The fridge and freezer look like new and some of the windows got cleaned. Oh, murphy's oil on the cabinets. Apparently I was told to polyurethane (Thank you spellcheck!) the cabinets once we get em nice and clean. I almost attempted to replace the faucet in the kitchen but there was no decision made between me and the GF. There was an $80ish one that seemed made of plastic and a $130 that was not plastic (Stainless steel I believe). Not sure if it's worth the extra cash for the sturdier one.

Our largest problem now is paint. I have absolutely no idea what paint I want. Here's a picture of some paint we slapped up on the wall. Originally we wanted the burgundy/reddish color for the walls and gray for the trim but now I'm not sure. We are going to keep the paneling as it is. Any ideas from you guys?

IMAGE(http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1346/dsc01083zw.jpg)

Are you painting the paneling or just the walls that have no paneling?

If you are leaving the paneling I would paint the walls lighter and trim darker.

DeThroned wrote:

Good stuff on day 2. I've now replaced 3 locks and deadbolts, 2 toilets seats, and a shower head. The fridge and freezer look like new and some of the windows got cleaned. Oh, murphy's oil on the cabinets. Apparently I was told to polyurethane (Thank you spellcheck!) the cabinets once we get em nice and clean. I almost attempted to replace the faucet in the kitchen but there was no decision made between me and the GF. There was an $80ish one that seemed made of plastic and a $130 that was not plastic (Stainless steel I believe). Not sure if it's worth the extra cash for the sturdier one.

Our largest problem now is paint. I have absolutely no idea what paint I want. Here's a picture of some paint we slapped up on the wall. Originally we wanted the burgundy/reddish color for the walls and gray for the trim but now I'm not sure. We are going to keep the paneling as it is. Any ideas from you guys?

Good lord man paint that paneling. The color won't matter just paint it!

Seriously though, we're in the middle of massive painting project. When I say we I mean "me". As my wife explains it, she's the designer, I'm the labor.

We chose a couple of colors that turned out to be very earthy and worked great with our decor. I can't understate how important it is to pick a color that's in the fabric or that goes with the furnishings. It doesn't need to be the main color, preferably it should be an accent color. I'm also a big fan of not painting the molding the same color as the walls. It's just too bleh and doesn't make the molding stand out or pop.

We only use Behr pains from Home Depot because frankly, they work the best for me. Anyway, take a look at "Cup of Cocoa" and "Pumpkin Butter" from Behr. If you'd like something with a bluish/silvery look try "Quiet Moment. They look amazing on the walls! I'll snap some pics and throw them here.

PS: I don't know who picks the names but the color's are far better!

Number 9 is true, but make sure you install it correctly. You do NOT want one of those things running in reverse!

Here are a few pics of what we chose. Sorry about the quality, it's from my phone. They're actually 2 different colors but it's hard to tell at night.
IMAGE(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3471/3981507149_7cf575a17f.jpg)
This is the "Cup of Cocoa" that we used on the upstairs hallway, the stairway and downstairs hall.

IMAGE(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2657/3982268330_ff3bcc0ff1.jpg)
This is the "Pumpkin Butter" that we used in the "family room".

IMAGE(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3457/3981506803_2d5b414581.jpg)
Family room #2

Pumpkin... butter? How do you milk a pumpkin?

Thanks for the pics bear, looks good! I was doing some research and testing on the Benjamin Moore site and it looks like we are going to go with a combination of "Mocha Madness" and "Pittsfield Buff". It reminds me of a cup of coffee

I'd put a pic up but the Benjamin Moore site is absolutely frustrating. It's locked up more times than I recall just trying to design and pick colors. Now that we've hopefully figured out the living room I gotta work on tackling 3 bedrooms and a hallway!