About Me

Blog

Work Experience

Project Portfolio

Contact

Return to Homepage

This is an ongoing catch-all account of my home improvement projects.

Outdoors

Gardens

I created 3 garden beds, 1 raised 3x5ft bed, and 2 5x8 beds fenced with chicken wire. I normally grow herbs in the raised bed and various vegetables in the lower beds, primarily snap peas, tomatoes, and peppers, with others as I wish such as dill, beans, cucumbers, and other pepper types (jalapeno, cherry bomb, bell, etc)

Fence

I built a 10ft long fence in order to keep my dog in the back yard

Deck Rebuild

After a large storm destroyed my front deck, I rebuilt it to house built-in garden beds where I've planted flowers and plants.

Roof Repair

After a large storm placed a 2ft wide hole in my roof, I learned about how roofs are designed and I repaired the hole using plywood, asphalt felt, and shingles.So far (2 years later at the time of this writing), no leaks have occurred.

Wood Pile and Water Barrels

After a large storm destroyed my tree, I chopped it into logs and created a wood holder so outdoor fires would never be short of wood. In the event of a lack of power, at the very least I would be able to cook over an open fire.

I also obtained some 55 gallon drum barrels that I hooked into the gutter system and collect rain water to water the gardens, and in the event of a severe crisis where I don't have running water, I would be able to draw from there and (after filtering) have drinking water and the ability to flush the toilet.

Indoors

Reseat Newel Post

The newel post on the railing for my upstairs was dangerously loose when I first moved to this house. I drilled through the subfloor and added a dowel to secure it further. I then screwed in more supports to keep it from being as wobbily. It's not perfect still, but I feel comfortable leaning on it.

Pour Concrete

When I first moved into this house, there was an unfinished storage room in the basement (affectionately called The Murder Room), I poured concrete to finish the floor and added a light bulb to make it a more useful room.

Install Utility Tub

Next to the washer and dryer, I added a utility tub and water hammer arresters to the basement. This allows me to wash extremely dirty things as well as avoid having the pipes bang when the washer is running.

Rewire Lights and Outlets

I rewired the basement lights to be all on one switch rather than being on pull-chains. I also added a light switch for another basement storage room.

In the kitchen, I replaced two florescent tube light fixtures with an LED track light, and moved the wire from the second light fixture to be over the sink, and added another hanging light fixture there.

I moved the kitchen dining area fan light switch from the middle of the counter space to the edge of the room so it was significantly more convenient to use the fan and light.

Add Insulation

I added a significant amount of insulation to the crawlspaces of the house (it is a cape-cod style with crawlspace attics behind knee walls), as well as the garage addition that had no insulation either, allowing me to save money on heating and cooling.