Using My DIY Skills for My Lil' Sister's Wedding

So my little sister got married.  This is the last of my sisters to tie the knot and it was sure to be an exciting event.  They planned a lovely outdoor wedding at our family beach house.  A tent was ordered, floor plans were done, rentals were rented.  Not being a bridesmaid, I wanted to help out in some way.  So I offerred to build the ceremony backdrop. 

When I offerred this, I had no clue what she wanted or how I was going to do it.  But I did know it needed to be simple, elegant, and well, temporary. After a few different design discussion, we settled on one she'd found in a magazine.  It mimicked the look of a formal window with drapery and flowers.  It was beautiful. 

So how was I, with my limited DIY skills, going to replicate this gorgeous backdrop?  I realized the responsibility.  This would be the very setting where she and her hubby would vow to love and honor each other for all eternity....oh crap, it had to be really nice! 

The great thing about this design, aside from the ease of installation is that it can be completely customized to suit your wedding.  Using different colored draperies, or different paint on the wood, and different tie backs or embellishments, it can enhance the look of any outdoor wedding.  A bamboo rod with only sheers would feel like an island paradise, whereas heavy formal drapes would be an elegant contrast to the outdoor setting.

So here was how I did it:

Materials:
2 8' 4x4 beams
2 metal decking stakes with 30" spikes (designed to support low decks)
6 1.5" screws
2 8' drapery rods with finials
2 drapery rod holders (with two small screws to attach them)
2 very long drapery panels (108")
6-8 sheer drapery panels (96-108")

Process:
1. Paint or stain the 8' beams to somewhat match the drapery rods and finials that you purchased.
2. Attach the drapery rod holders along one side each beam - they should be centered but at the very top of the beam.
3. Decide where the backdrop will be placed and mark off a distance of about 7'8 to sink the decking stakes.
4. Using a good sized piece of scrap wood and a sledgehammer, sink the decking stakes into the ground.  This might be a team effort. 
5. Insert the beams into the stakes and attach with the 2" screws.  Ensure the beams are straight up and down by using a level. 
6. Put all of the sheer panels onto one rod and the solid panels onto the other.  Attach the finials on the rod with the solid panels. Hang the rod on the holders attached at the top of the beams. 
7.  Arrange curtains so they are neatly and evenly across.  If it's windy, secure the sheers to the ground with garden stakes/staples. 
8. Tie back the solid curtains using coordinating ribbon or even foliage from the floral arrangements.

Uh, Where is All This Water Coming From? DIY Fail.

My last plumbing job seemed to go pretty darn well (if I do say so myself). So I figured it was time to tackle the kitchen sink.

My kitchen sink is a cast iron monstrosity with porcelain veneer - sink in the middle with two large dish drainers on each side.  Someone with a large farmhouse and luxurious kitchen would appreciate it's antique charm and maybe pay top dollar. Someone with a 10x10 kitchen...not so much.  The faucet itself emerges not from the counter top but from the wall...Cute? Maybe.  Impossible to replace?  Definitely.

The hot water knob fell off about six months ago and after trying unsuccessfully to replace it, a pair of pliers have been the only way to use the hot water.  Considering I don't have a dishwasher, the hot water gets a lot of use and this delightful "fix" only worked for so long.  

So I bit the bullet and went online to find a decorative, wall-mount faucet that worked with my kitchen and didn't cost an arm and a leg.  Yeah!  Alright, I can do this.  The box arrived a week later and like a kid at Christmas, I excitedly tore the box open.  It's shiny, and new, and chic.....and oh crap, it has a LOT of pieces. 

Back to youtube.com I went to find a video on replacing a faucet.  Seemed pretty simple.  No problem. 

Step 1: Turn off the water.  In many older houses, you may not find a cut-off near the faucet itself like you'll find in the bathroom.  Being a smarty-pants, I knew that meant I'd have to turn it off to the whole house.  Found the cut-off buried behind my washing machine in the basement and turned it off.  DIY Girl Note: Use the bathroom before you do this. 

Step 2:  Turn on the faucet to drain the water.

Step 3: Using a wrench, begin to remove the old faucet from the pipes.  When I did this, I realized that the pipes were terribly rusted.  The elbow that connected the faucet to the vertical pipes coming behind the sink came off in my hands and there was no hope of reconnecting it to the new faucet.  Awesome.

As I contemplated this problem, I realized that there was a  small trickle of water coming from the pipe.  Huh.  Weird.  I'd turned off the water.  Figuring it was just residual, I left it alone.  Going down to my basement to look for more tools (because some tool in my basement was going to somehow UN-rust the pipe, right?)  I stopped dead in my tracks. 

THERE. WAS. WATER. EVERYWHERE.

It was leaking from the kitchen, pooling underneath and running anywhere it could.  Luckily the basement floor is concrete but seriously there is water running through the floor, even I know that this is a huge freaking problem. 

My heart raced and the panic of being in way over my head set in.  What had I done wrong????  How could youtube.com have lead me astray????  How much damage had I done????  How much was this going to cost me????

I tried to pull myself together and made a frantic phone call to a plumber friend of mine.  As I explained the problem to him, I had this image of him holding back hysterical laughter at this silly girl trying to do home improvement and I could feel embarrassment creeping past my hysteria.  But graciously, he sent a guy over to take a look. 

Well ladies and gentlemen, remember when I was laying out those steps?   Yeah, I missed one.

After you turn off the water cut-off (which I did correctly, thank you), it is critical that you drain the water out of the system.  To some extent I knew this and thought I had taken care of that by turning on the kitchen faucet to let it run.  I was wrong.  The most effective way to drain the system is to open up the lowest faucet in the house, in my case, a utility sink in the basement.  When the plumber did that, a gush of water came out. 

He assured me with a smile that I hadn't done irreparable damage and that it was a simple mistake.  Then the guy was swell enough to replace the rusted elbow and install my faucet for me (at $126 per half hour, !#@&!).

My Sweet New Faucet....installed by someone else.

Unfortunately, this project was a DIY Fail for me.  I was so excited that I jumped the gun and things got out of hand.  I'm grateful to the plumber but was disappointed that I hadn't been able to complete the project myself.  What kind of DIY Girl am I?  The kind who knows when to say when.  So there are two morals to this story, dear friends.

1.  When doing plumbing work that requires you to cut off the water to the house, be sure to drain your plumbing system by opening the lowest faucet in the house until it stops running.

2.  Know when you're in over your head, and don't let pride ruin your sub-floor.

Nothing a Little Silicon Sealant Can't Fix

Generally when something breaks, the tendency is to fix it. Well in my house, when something breaks (which is often), the tendency is to see how long I can do without it. Unfortunately, a bathroom sink is one of those things that a house, particularly one with three kids, needs to have working.

The suicidal bathroom sink had been safely removed and the kids had finally stopped laughing about the look on my face when I saw that thing hanging off the wall. Now it was time to replace it.

My dad, now back in town (too little too late, Daddio) was at the ready to call a plumber and have this thing taken care. No, I insisted, I could handle it, it was a simple matter of picking up a new vanity and installing it. Tab A into slot B, how hard could this be?

So off to my local Home Improvement Store (HIS for short and obvious reasons). I stormed in there pushing one of those big flat carts, feeling strong, capable and knowledgeable. It took about 15 minutes to collect the various "accessories" that I needed to get this job done - plumbers putty, vinyl tape, silicon sealant, two supply lines, springy anchors, a P Trap, drainspout, and a faucet. DIY Girls NOTE: The HIS employees do not like these things being called accessories. All the tools I luckily had at home already (adjustable wrench, pipe wrench, screw driver, a hacksaw and rubber gloves).

I had measured the space so I knew what I had to work with. I knew I wanted a sink with a vanity underneath for storage and that given space constraints, something with a narrower profile would work best. Most importantly, I knew that I didn't want to spend the entire month's grocery budget. I selected a dark espresso cabinet with a bright white sink, a nice mix of contemporary design with traditional aesthetic.

Then I encountered my first hitch. Getting it home. DIY Girls Note: Have a plan for getting big stuff home and don't give your tiny Saturn Ion so much credit. You'll just look sily.

Dad to the rescue! We got it home and in the house. I confidently tore the box open, took out all the pieces and pulled the directions out like I knew what I was doing. I did not know what I was doing. One read through of the directions and I was struck with a "What am I thinking" kind of panic.

Not to be deterred, I decided that the wonderful world wide web would be my guide. Youtube.com was a wealth of videos and our friends at Lowes had a series of DIY videos that were just about my speed.

Ok, panic over, I was back to being capable.

Step 1: Attach the vanity to the wall. Luckily, the holes in the wall from the previous anchor were still strong enough to be used. I secured the vanity to them using springy anchors. These are actually called toggle bolts - when you insert them into the wall, they spring open and secure themselves to the side of the hole. I measured and pre-drilled holes through the back of the vanity, slipped the bolts through, put the anchors on, slid them through the holes and tightened them using a screwdriver. Two springy anchor things and that bad boy was not moving.

Step 2: Assemble the faucet and sink. This part is especially important to follow the directions that are included in your faucet packaging. It was actually pretty darn simple. This is where the vinyl tape and plumbers putty will be put to work. While you have the sink out and uninstalled, now is the time to attach the supply lines to the faucet. I do want to remind DIY girls that they aren't kidding when they say to not overtighten, nothing will ruin your day more than a giant crack in a brand new porcelain sink.

Step 3: Attach the sink to the vanity. Some sink/vanity combos come with holes and screws to attach the sink to the vanity but most directions just call for a generous bead of silicon sealant. I like the kind in the tube that doesn't require a caulk gun. Theoretically, you pipe a bead along the top edge of the vanity like piping frosting on a cake and then set the sink on top. In reality, you make a giant mess and white sticky caulk gets everywhere. This is a good time to employ some rubber gloves and damp paper towels. It's a total pain to clean off your hands and other surfaces. Be careful to wipe up excess caulk before it dries. DIY Girl Note: Silicon sealant is handy to have around. Don't toss the tube, clean it up and seal it. You'll be glad you did.

Step 4: Deal with the plumbing under the sink. To install the plumbing under the sink I used both the DIY video and the manufacturers instructions for the P Trap. Don't try to wing it. Take it slow and keep checking your instructions. The drainspout attached neatly to the underside of the sink as part of the faucet installation. I loosely assembled the p trap to the drainspout and measured the pipe that was to enter the wall. Most P Traps are longer than they need to be so they can be cut to size. Once you assemble the trap, mark it with a pencil or marker and cut the PVC using a hack saw (seriously, don't even try to use a kitchen knife, I know you want to but a $15 hack saw is worth it). If you're not able to really get in there and get a good measure, cut it longer than you think and measure again. Better to have to make an extra cut than end up with a pipe that's too short.

I found that the P trap essentially holds itself together with the included nuts and the pressure of the installed pipes. The one problem I encountered with this part of the installation was that my very old pipe that came out from the wall was too thick for the PVC nut to fit around. The PVC P Trap fit quite snugly into the pipe but it wasn't quite watertight. A generous bead of silicon sealant where the pipes met easily solved that problem. If you encounter this too, I'd recommend waiting to apply the sealant until after you're sure everything is working because you'll want to run the water and the sealant needs time to cure.

Secure the supply lines hanging down from the faucet to the (still turned off) water supply. It's pretty simple with an adjustable wrench. Make sure they're good and tight, this is a common place for leaks.

Step 5: Turn everything back on and start praying. This is the second point in the project where you start to question you're abilities. Don't fear, the worst that can happen is a little leak so keep a towel, bucket, and that wrench nearby just in case. Make sure the faucet is in the off position and turn the the water supply back on. If your nuts at the supply aren't tight enough, you'll have a little leak here so be ready to tighten if necessary. Then remove the aerator from the faucet and turn the faucet on, this just prevents construction debris from getting trapped in the faucet. Let it run for a minute and check thoroughly below for leaks - do more than look, touch each joint and juncture to feel for moisture.

Step 6: Do a little dance, a little fist pump and update your Facebook status. This step is optional but the atta-girls from friends made me feel great.

Conclusion: In the span of about 3 hours and a total project cost of about $275, I was able to purchase and install a brand new vanity and sink in my bathroom. It was scary at times but pretty darn painless (except when I took the skin off that one knuckle - ouch!).

Subsequent conclusion: I am not a complete idiot.

And then the sink fell off the wall.....

As most mom's can attest, mornings are utter chaos. Admittedly, I'm not a morning person so they probably seem even more chaotic to me. But one particular morning, things got really crazy.

My twins were in the hallway arguing over socks (blue vs. white - what does it matter?! They wear freaking uniforms!) and my son was in the bathroom getting ready to brush his teeth. I was in my room trying to remember who I was and what these children were doing in my house when I heard a crash followed by "OH MY GOD!" and "Mommy!" and then "Mommy's gonna kill you." I mustered up all the spring I could at 7am and ran to the bathroom to find my son looking both terrified and confused while my daughters were somewhere between amazed and pleased (because they were sure he was in deep trouble). What was all the excitement?

Well, the bathroom sink had fallen off the freaking wall. I'm not kidding, a heavy porcelain sink was hanging on by the drain pipe.

My main floor bathroom needed a renovation ten years ago. But single mom, three kids, renovations aren't in the budget. We were doing ok with some minor repairs here and there. I guess over time I'd noticed the sink was sort of loose and like a bad home owner, I'd done my best to ignore it. Well three kids, one adult, teeth brushing, hand washing, hair fixing, the anchors holding this bad boy on the wall had just given up. Much to my daughters' dismay, it was not my son's fault.

I managed to get the kids off to school then came home and literally stared at the thing for about 15 minutes. Now what?

Plan A: Freak out and call Dad. Damn, dad's out of town.

Plan B: Man up.

I realize the immediate problem is that this thing is pretty heavy and is putting a lot of stress on the pipes. It's gotta come off before things get really ugly. So I propped it up to hold the weight (hello scrap of wood in the basement), turned off the supply lines (not rusted, shocking), drained the water by turning on the faucets, and grabbed the toughest looking wrench I could find. Luckily, someone had left one of those big, red Colonel-Mustard-in-the-Library-with-a-Wrench type wrenches in my basement.

I started with the supply lines using a smaller wrench (adjustable wrench) to unhook them from the water supply (where I turned the non-rusted knobs off). Then using the Col. Mustard special (Pipe Wrench), I went to work on the drain, disconnecting it where it met the wall. I figured it was all old pipe and if I was replacing the sink I might as well be uncharacteristically thorough and replace all the piping. The key to what seemed like a simple operation was not dropping the 50 or so pound sink on my head. I managed without serious brain injury.

After loosening the nut thing that was holding it to the drain, the sink basically slid right off. Now here's where other DIY Girls need to take note: Have a bucket nearby! A bunch of water and other nastiness from the P trap (the part of the drain pipe shaped like a sideways "P") will come out. It was gross...but on a high note, I found an earring. Drain the pipe out and get that bad boy out of there. Check your local waste management to see if they recycle porcelain or other home improvement debris. Keep it out of the landfill if you can!

Removing the sink, cleaning up the mess, I felt a little tougher and a lot braver. Who needs dad? Who needs a boyfriend? Who needs a plumber? I GOT THIS!

What I don't got is a bathroom sink. Tune in to see what happens next.

Welcome: Adventures in Home Improvement

Dear Fellow Adventurers!

So you're for one of two reasons:

1. You're looking to commiserate because everything seems to keep breaking and you hate calling repairmen.
or
2. Someone sent you the link as a joke after you spackled over the only outlet in your bedroom.

Either way, I think we can help each other out. I'm Susan, a single mom and homeowner. We live in a little brick cottage in a historic town in the Washington, DC suburbs (not the fancy schmancy kind, just the old kind). We've lived here for 10 years and I've finally decided that I'm losing the battle with my own house. With me being 33 and it being 74, it's managed to outsmart me on a number of occasions and I'm tired of losing to brick and mortar. But I've decided to take control and show this bastard who's boss!

Well, sort of.

Look, I'm tired of paying repairmen, or worse yet, letting things go unrepaired. I'm tired of living with things being broken or on the verge of being broken. Or going without simple, inexpensive upgrades because I'm afraid of what it'll take to do it. I like to consider myself of average intelligence and ability, (my kids would probably disagree but who asked them anyway) I can follow instructions, I assemble IKEA furniture, paint my own walls, unclog the toilet. I have some tools, I can do this!

So what am I doing here?

I figure I'm not the only fed-up, moderately able and intelligent girl out there. There are more of us! We can learn, laugh, share, and best of all DO....and we can do it together! So from time to time I'll post stories, pictures, problems - basically document my adventures in home improvement. I'll ask for help, maybe answer some questions, likely be called an idiot by some contractor who happened upon my blog. But I don't care, I get a weekly dose of humility at my local home improvement store. So join me on the adventure.

It should be fun....and at least you won't be using plyers to turn on the hot water anymore (true story, more later).