'Tis the Season to Seal

File this under the category of tip that I should have known. I took on the task last night of installing rubber gaskets around our basement outside doors. Wanting to keep the cold (and millipedes) from coming in, I bought the premium rubberized gasket that provided heavy duty protection when the doors are shut. What I DIDN"T do was check the size of the door gap I had before installing them. Yep, the doors wouldn't shut all the way once it was installed. So after ripping it off and reinstalling it differently a few times, I got it to work. Now time will tell if there is enough adhesive still on there to keep them in place. So the tip? Well, invariably you are going to have some gasket left over after your project. So before you even start, snip a 1 inch piece off and install it where you intend to install all of it and see if the thickness will allow you to close your doors fully. If they do, that's great. If they don't, go buy something thinner and save that thicker stuff for somewhere around your house.

Hey buddy, got a light?

Our latest project was replacing the carriage light (white) next to the front door. The existing one was 4 ft. tall, ugly, installed improperly, and did I mention ugly? After I unbolted it from its cheap painted plywood backing, I stumbled upon the "floating" electrical box. Yeah, it wasn't even attached to the brick. Well, after installing a wood backer behind the brick, I attached a new electrical box and installed the new carriage light. Good to go.

Pic of Daxton

Something for you to enjoy while you wait for house pics.

Entering the blogosphere!

Gretchen and I have always enjoyed working on the various houses we've lived in. Our latest house is no different. Our life situation, however, is very different. Four kids, all their activities, a busy dental practice and a new house is alot. Yet, we are trying to find the time to update this diamond-in-the-rough to our liking.

I figured if we're going to go to all of the trouble to update this house, and since it will probably be a multi-year deal, it might be fun to blog about our updates for our friends and family. We'll have before and after pictures, tips and tricks, and photos of some really cute kids along the way.

Away we go...