My next big project

[greatbear]

Finally. After postponing this for years due to health issues, money issues, time issues, timing issues or just plain procrastination, I finally ordered up a new front door for La Casa Mayhem, and I picked it up today. I had to convince the people at Homo Despot that I had a nice big truck, and the wonderful shipping pallet it was delivered to the store on was ideal for me to get it home with the least chance of additional damage. The material handlers, obviously walking around with "Loading..." graphics floating over their heads were having problems processing this. The forklift drivers were out to lunch, and the guys rolling the door around the store seemed to be colloquially in the same place. Both me and the cool gal in the millwork department I had been dealing with were basically saying the same thing. Finally one of the forklift operators returned and all of us humped the thing onto the truck, where I tied it all down and headed home. Jeff came home soon after I did, and the two of us wrangled it off the truck and onto the carport where it will sit safely until I begin work. I'm glad I had the pallet to keep the thing safe and upright, if anything were to knock it over before I installed it I would be fit to be tied. I took a couple quick shots of the thing still cloaked in plastic.





In addition to taking out the original door/sidelight assembly, I might have to resize the rough opening slightly for best fit, plus reroute the doorbell wiring. I also plan to affix a hidden alarm switch as well as I am doing the work. This should complete the basic door installation. While I am focused on that part of the house, I will also take out a small section of an adjacent wall where the light switches are in order to consolidate some of the outdoor lighting controls as well as prep it all for ongoing home automation. ALso, for over 25 hears, my OCD has been bugging me because of a small electrical hack hidden in that wall. After the house was built and all the electric hooked up, I found there was no power to the outlets in the front part of the living room. Turns out the electricians who wired the house forgot to run a branch to the five outlets there. To fix it, they popped a hole in the one living room outlet box and the outside lightswitch box in the entryway, and connected the two with a piece of ratty UF cable. I discovered this when I changed a light switch in the entry years ago. It's been bugging me since, because the composite boxes have large pieces missing, and this also puts those outlets in a lighting circuit. While I have the wall apart I will replace the boxes, reroute the branch feeder to a different circuit, and put in a larger device box for added controls for the outside lighting along the walkways and the two post lights. All four of these circuits will have automation-/remote control-ready switches installed. My janky motion sensor setup for the outside front door light will be replaced with a setup that integrates with the lighting control system. I will also install the little dome camera in the ceiling outside the front door, part of an extended remote monitoring system I am putting together.

If my body survives the exertion and labor needed for these projects, I will hopefully be able to complete the living room skylight project that's going on four years now, and the sunroom, which, sad to say, been on hold for eight years. Neither of these are really backbreaking work, but involve working overhead for extended periods, something that was impossible for me for a long time. Not too long ago, I refitted several light fixtures in the Mayhem Lab with new ballasts and bulbs, and I found I didn't have a single problem or flash of pain during or after. The lighting project was a test for this, as I could've simply done one fixture at a time or dropped that project temporarily had it become an issue. Go me!

When I headed outside to snap the pics of the door, I discovered Jeff had quietly come home and was sitting in his new car, airconditioning on, grooving to Pink Floyd and answering messages on his phone. I realized I didn't take any pictures of the car for LJ, so I did, and also snapped one of Jeff in his work duds, hat, and his beard, which I remodeled a little while ago. :)





I took some time tonight to poke around the MVA website, and I discovered that the personalized plate text I had come up with for his car is available. For kicks I also checked to see if another was available for one of my cars, and I was surprised to find it was available too. Sooo, we might have a pair of cool vanity plates in the near future if all goes well.

Comments

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Lots of positive news! I couldn't quite tell from the photos ... Is it a double door or a single door with a glass side panel?

Jeff's new car is spiffy and he looks very handsome in the shirt/tie combination he's wearing.

Hope completion of all of the projects goes quite smoothly!

HUGS!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

A single, 36" door with a 14" sidelight. I wish there was more space to put a double sidelight assembly, but because of how the house is built, there's not enough width. Besides, seeing that the door is offset to the right on the house itself, the asymmetry of the door fits with the house. I also don't have enough wall height for a transom, something I wanted to have more than a pair of sidelights. :)

Jeff loves his car, and I'm happy for him. Like a lot of new cars (and, by 2015, it's required), it has a backup camera. Jeff enjoys driving in reverse now. I need to install a backup camera on my truck, so I can hook up trailers easily when by myself without a hitch any problems.

Jeff is the clothes horse of the family, and he has to dress for work. No casual Fridays! If I dress up, I look like a goon.

[barak.livejournal.com]

Oh, the PRETTY!!!!

Your new door looks awesome. I'm jealous of your handyman abilities, some of those things (electrical, cutting walls, etc) are beyond my ken.

But yeah, you've got a handsome hubby there too. You two must be quite smashing out together. :-)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I was somehow cursed/blessed with a mechanical aptitude from a very early age. My Mom used to yell at me for taking my toys apart, but she soon realized that I was making different toys from the parts. Over time it morphed into an ability to figure out how most anything worked, and that led me to designing, building and repairing so many different things in later years. One thing it has allowed me to be is very independent. The unfortunate side effect is any time I am out of commission, I worry that I will have to depend on others for the things I normally do myself. Experience has taught me that it's very difficult to get work done right, or even get someone to do it at all. I get very frustrated.

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

Reading this post, I kept thinking "I need him in Plalm Springs!". Having no woodworking skills, I dream of projects but can never seem to afford them. As to my electrical skills, let's just say that I've insisted for years that I had nothing to do with the great New York Blackout of many years ago during the time I was living there. And I'm taking no credit/blame for the SoCal blackout of a couple of years ago as I was living here too. JUST coincidence. Really!

Oh, and my husband will want Jeff's SUVlet. Can you deliver it in black or red please?

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Jeff's dad prodded him to get a red vehicle. He almost did, until he saw the green. Then it was like, "Dad who?" :)

[tonethbone.livejournal.com]

It's a very nice door...and a great project. Be careful (And I know you will be) with the glass. And then enjoy it. We have had ours for 12 years..and I love the light it brings into the house (pkus the value added)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

The entryway sits to the side of the living room, and despite there already being a small sidelight already there, the front door is recessed from the outside and that area tends to look dark. I like a lot of natural light, and this area is lacking. The main bathroom of the house is in the "middle" of the house, away from outside walls and windows. It was always dark, and the light was always needed. I put in a sun-tunnel skylight when I replaced the roof, and it is delightfully bright now. No electric light is needed until the sun goes down.

I am going to have help in maneuvering the door assemblies in and out, so I am covered there. I've wanted to replace this thing for years. I am basically doing all the upgrades and fixing while I am able to so I can enjoy it as I get older. There will soon come a time where I won't be able to do all this work (I've gotten a few years tasting what that's like), so I gotta get things set.

[tonethbone.livejournal.com]

I can no longer do heavy work..but there is this thing called "son in law" who helps me...and for some jobs supervising is a lot more fun than doing.

Here is a picture of my front door. I couldn't be without it now

[redmoonriver.livejournal.com]

I love the doors! Hopefully one day I'll get a chance to see them in person!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I hope so too!

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

Nice door!! Frank Lloyd Wright-esque! Your HD experience with the door was much like ours last summer. Your door will get installed faster than ours did!!

Nice pic of Jeff, BTW :)

Good luck with the installation.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I hope to start on the project tomorrow. Take out the interior trim, make measurements, start disassembling things. If I can get all the needed materials ready, set up my "workshop" on the carport, etc., then I only need a day to get the majority of the installation done. The inside trim will wait, since I will be redoing the doorbell wiring, the security sensors and the like, plus other work in the entryway. After I do the painting, the trim will go back. That is, after I tile the floor. lol

I was going for a combination of FLW and Craftsman styles with the door, and my desire to have a lot of the outdoors blending with the interior. Lots of light, low windows, interior wood trim, and the like. I like the more rectilinear elements of Art Nouveau as well, and while I adore the more flowing, organic features, I'm afraid I would turn the house into something out of a Yes album cover if I started to go too far that way. Not a bad thing, IMO. ;)

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

Both our new doors from the contractor debacle are a craftsman style-goes with the 1921 modified foursquare that we live in...but the storm doors are single panel, all glass and we love them. The inner doors are always open and the light that come in is great.

Now that the new outside trim has been re-done, I'm hoping we can get the inside trim up--Harry made all the trim at his Dad's shop in Cleveland and hauled it all bak to Roch over a year's time. It's all wrapped in the basement, waiting for staining. I wish we had a garage to do that. *sigh* I fear it won't get done until Spring.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I really wanted a single panel, full-lite door and sidelight, but I thought it unwise because of the dogs as well as how both of us tend to push the door open with our feet. The dog issue is still there on the inside, as Snickles will furiously scratch at the door when there is someone outside, so until he grows out of it, I will have to fit the inside lower portion of the entire door and frame with Lexan panels to keep him from destroying the interior finish.

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

I was a little concerned that we'd put a foot through the storm, but so far....

I am, however, forever cleaning Pooch slobber off the back storm. Dobre has been doing a number on that. LOL

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

I like Jeff's car!

Jeff is a very handsome man! I agree with others here: you are a very good looking couple!

The door is gorgeous! I want to see what it looks like when completely in place.

I'm glad to see you are able to get back to doing the projects you love!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

People (even recently) have asked if we were related, and they are surprised when we say yes. Even more so when we say we're married. Overall, the reactions have been quite positive.

I will be taking pictures before, during and after. I like having progress shots.

Jeff had been wanting another truck, but seeing I have two already, and he does a rather long commute for work, we both decided something that has a lot of flexibility/utility along with decent gas mileage made a lot more sense. This vehicle has lots of room inside, a lot of tall cargo space, and still has a decent AWD system to get us around in bad weather. And it's quirky. I like quirky.

[geometrician.livejournal.com]

The doors are beautiful. Your ability to take on and complete projects fascinates me. I'm always impressed at the things people do with their houses, that I have no skills for.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I've never been afraid to tackle projects, even things I never did before (Build my own house? Sure, why not?). My only gripe lately is not being able to do what I used to, and my independence in those sorts of things is something I rely most heavily on. I hear constant horror stories from people trying to have work done and it gets screwed up, and quite often I can't relate to it. When I was completely out of commission during the last few years, I tried to get people to come do some of the work. Most didn't bother to answer, some made a commitment but never showed, and in most of the cases where outside people came in, I did a surprising amount of the work. This still boggles my mind. In some cases, it was like life playing a cruel joke. For the first time ever here, the sewer backed up. I couldn't do anything, so I called a local plumber. The guy didn't show up at first when they said he would, but showed up the next day. When he did, he had back problems almost as bad as I did, and, guess what. I was disconnecting the toilet and moving it as much as he was. Fortunately, it was all fixed rather quickly, and only cost me about half of what buying the equipment and doing it myself would've cost.

Then there was the time I had the GE factory people come and do warranty work on my Geospring heat pump water heater. Guess who not only lent (several) hand(s), but who was the one that knew how to enter into all the factory service modes and tests? Hint: it wasn't the guy from GE. The damn thing has broke down again and has been running like a plain old electric water heater now for two years, I couldn't deal with it back then, and I really don't want to bother anymore. We paid 1600 dollars for the thing. It was wonderful for the first year or two, then the really stupid problems started. It's a great idea that failed miserably in practice. Do NOT buy one even if your life depended on it.

Okay, end of rant. :)

[dan4behr.livejournal.com]

Yep, the door is awesome. And ya know what? I'm excited to smithereens you're up and about and raring to go again on things like this. Makes me want to try something like that, but I'm afraid the results would be disastrous. I do want a replacement for my (sold) front door that would bring some light into the front entry hall. Nice choice!

Nice Subie and driver!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I'm also excited, but also quite wary and worried that my body will give out at any moment. I am hesitant to do a lot of stuff, and there is a lot that I just can't do now or, sadly, anymore. I'm still going to try. It's hard-coded into my very nature.