DIY : Phase 1

[drumher]

Been a while since I posted anything and I wish it was some R/T art but the past two months I was busy playing in two musicals which left little time for anything else. I also made the mistake of starting my Home Improvement project for '07 at the same time. D'oh! Well, the musicals have finished their runs and I've traded my drumsticks for various

Comments

[fantasticjackie]

O.O You did all that yourself? Wow! That's incredible! :) And it looks really, really nice. I like the tile a lot, and I love the stairs! The colors are verreh awesome together, though you with your art, that's not a surprise. ;)

Your kitties are so pretty! Seeing them in that stairwell makes me want to see them run up and down them, though. - I love to watch animals move. =D

Good luck with the main floor! I hope you got good and relaxed after all that hard work. :)

[drumher]

O.O You did all that yourself?

I did, indeed. It's cheaper that way and more satisfying when the job is finished. Of course I can't sue the contractor if it doesn't turn out right.

Your kitties are so pretty! Seeing them in that stairwell makes me want to see them run up and down them, though.

Fran is fun to watch run from behind. She has a sort of lopsided lope and her tummy sways from side to side. One of these days I have to catch her on video.

[lady_bracknell]

You've done a lovely job. Those stairs look ace.

Isn't ripping up tiles the worst job in the world? I love doing wall tiles (Boyfriend was impressed/a little scared by my abilities with a crowbar), but floor ones.... Sheesh. We only had about three square metres of the stuff in our bathroom but it took us two days. And I skinned my knuckles. Sexy.

Kitties are uber cute, too.

[drumher]

You've done a lovely job. Those stairs look ace.

Thank you! I'm enormously pleased with them and often waste time just standing on the landing and gazing at them.

Isn't ripping up tiles the worst job in the world?

OMG, yes. I'm not looking forward to that part at all. I don't know what I'd do without my crowbar. A wide blade chisel does a good job too but make sure you're wearing gloves and goggles. You are wearing gloves and goggles, aren't you? By your skinned knuckles comment, I'd say no. Shame.

Kitties are uber cute, too.

I'll pass that along, thanks. =) Wish they were as acrobatic as yours. Murphy does all right, being only 4 years old but the others are all dipping in to their senior years and have too much dignity (and weight) to leap about like that.

Looking forward to seeing the results of your bathroom redo.

[lady_bracknell]

Me too. I can't wait til it's finished. I'll probably do a bit of standing in there, staring, too.

I'm not looking forward to that part at all. I don't know what I'd do without my crowbar.

There was a point where we were ripping the third and final layer of tiles off the walls (because helpfully, the previous owner hadn't done a proper job and had laid tile over tile over tile in places - on the upside, now we've ripped them down, the room's about two inches bigger), where Mr Bracknell offered me the pick of the tools and I said 'hand me the blue one, that's my favourite crowbar', 'oh, really?' he replied. 'I like the black one'. And we just looked and each other and went, 'it's weird that you have a favourite crowbar...'

A wide blade chisel does a good job too but make sure you're wearing gloves and goggles. You are wearing gloves and goggles, aren't you? By your skinned knuckles comment, I'd say no. Shame.I had goggles (I've got pictures of me in goggles, and it's a sight to see), but we could only find one pair of gloves, so I

[drumher]

I think the worst part of home improvement is when the previous owners were idiots and had no friggin clue how to do things. (ie: laying tiles on tiles? WTF?) Fortunately for me, the people who owned it before me only painted. How boring but I do have to deal with the original construction not being square in places.

'it's weird that you have a favourite crowbar...'

LOL. Is it the color? Weight? The lovely bend of the claw? What makes it your fav?

And then, of course, having been fine all day, I slipped and grazed my knuckles right down the brickwork.....

well, naturally...

[bratanimus]

Wow, that looks GORGEOUS. I love the tile. And your work on the stairs is flawless. So flawless that the kitties had to make sure everyone knew the work was indeed done by humans. ;)

You should be really proud of your work. It's fabulous. :D

[drumher]

So flawless that the kitties had to make sure everyone knew the work was indeed done by humans. ;)

They'd like to think that they contributed to the work but that's only if you count the times I had to hold them back with one hand while smoothing mortar or chasing after them so I could clean the stain/varnish/mortar off their paws after bypassing my security measures! Fran would on occasion, jump on my back while I was kneeling down, in an attempt to get to the screen door handle so she could escape. She gets so frustrated by not having opposable thumbs. Poor thing.

[bratanimus]

She gets so frustrated by not having opposable thumbs. Poor thing.

Aw, poor kitty. :)

I just noticed on your Info page that you like Are You Being Served! That's one of my favorite guilty pleasures! It's such a silly show, but I LOVE it. I wish I could download the theme song to my phone. :D

[bratty_jedi]

Randomly jumping into your conversation:

I just noticed on your Info page that you like Are You Being Served! That's one of my favorite guilty pleasures!

I have an ex who was madly in love with that show. He owns the entire thing on DVD (most through presents from me). I really liked it the first time we watched it. But he was one of those people that would get hooked on something and watch it over and over and over. After the tenth time seeing the same episode in one week, I'd be ready to kill him and destroy the DVD. I really did like the show, though, and rather miss it now that I've gone a coupe years without seeing any.

[mrstater]

Oh, lovely job! I think you've made great material choices, and I'm sure the kitty paw prints add character. Hehe

Don't work yourself too hard!

[drumher]

Because Saltillo tile is air dried outside in the Mexican sun, wild animals often walk by and leave their foot prints in some of the tiles. This is considered good luck to have some in your home, so I'm not concerned about a few paw prints on my stair treads. I have noticed that the animal prints I've encountered in this batch of tiles look manufactured, which takes away some of the mystique. I've been working around some of the more obviously fake ones.

[gilpin25]

Would you like to come and do some DIY in my house? That's very impressive, and I'm sure it looks so much better than the carpet, as well as wearing better. Love the thought of the cats creating their own Hollywood paw prints of fame! They're very cute and ... angelic looking?!

[drumher]

Would you like to come and do some DIY in my house?

Sure! Just buy my plane ticket and find me a place to stay and I'll pack my tools and come on over.

That's very impressive, and I'm sure it looks so much better than the carpet, as well as wearing better.

What kills me is that when I bought this place years ago, it was entirely carpeted, except the kitchen! Over the years I've removed more and more carpet and will eventually only have carpet on the second level stairs. It's just too much work to keep it clean and the cats aren't helping, either!

They're very cute and ... angelic looking?!

Ha! Anything but. If you look closely, Fran's planning her next attempt at the front door and Murphy'll be right behind her. They think I can't read their body language but I'm not just some stupid human, ya know.