We've been going great guns on the house. We've got kids coming home for a visit, and they have centered their activity with the family in Grand Valley, so we'll move a couple beds into the house. The camper did not get opened up this season, so I'll get it ready for use on Saturday while Tim is at a family reunion.
Next week is quite a jumbled up week for me. Jury duty on Monday. That kind of worries me. If it is for a day, that's okay...but the last time I got jury duty, the trial lasted for 4 days. I don't have time for that. I'm getting ready for a company and trying to move in the same time frame. But things always have a way of working out. I mean, in the end, it will turn out as it is meant to.
So today's project was the basement door. I was worried about small granddaughters tumbling down the basement stairs. Sounds simple enough. Except that we both decided that what we wanted was a dutch door.
We have the heating stove in the basement, with the idea that the house was small enough that the heat would rise through the uninsulated floor. A dutch door would allow us to open the top half and let the heat flow that way as well. In the summer, the basement is cooler than the rest of the house. When we lived in the woods, we made good use of that: we set a fan up to carry the cooler air upstairs to the warmer house.
Dutch doors are expensive, though, and so we got the idea to make our own. Tim did a very good job. He was afraid that he'd ruin a $300 door, so he measured everything over and over. A fourth hinge was required, which needed to be routered in. The door needed to be cut in half. We wanted a ledge on the top of the bottom half which required a 1 inch gap to be cut out to accomodate the board. Of course, there was all the fiddling and shimming required to get the door jamb in place and leveled. Then the hand rail needed to be moved to the other side of the door so as not to interfere with opening and shutting. And as long as the handrail was down, there was some trim work that needed to be done... In short, it took all day. The whole day.
It turned out very nice, and I would have taken a picture except, stupidly, I managed to step back and (once again) impale my foot on a screw sticking out of a board, which hurts more than impaling your foot on a nail sticking out of a board, in case you've ever wondered, mostly because you've got to pull the screw out of your foot.
Anyways, in the ensuing hubbub, I forgot to take a picture. I will take one tomorrow.
The interior doors are all in now.
Tomorrow, I'm taking the livingroom rug, and two smaller rugs to be professionally cleaned before taking them to the new house. Once we have them, we can set up beds up in the bedrooms, and the camper sleeps 6, so that will be fun for the kids and whoever is sleeping out there with them.
It's all very rushed, but we are only moving in what we need right now. We will spend the rest of the summer mindfully selecting what we want to come with us.
Looking around there will be small little interior jobs which will need to be done, but we've got all winter to do that work, when we are actually living there. Seems strange to say that out loud.
It will be a great housewarming!
ReplyDeleteYes. I hope that it is the beginning of happy memories in that little house.
DeleteOuch on the dangerous misstep!! But I love that idea of the dutch door. Sounds like it is perfect for getting the cool or hot air upstairs AND for keeping little ones from tumbling down the stairs at the same time. Brilliant. A lot of work but worth it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck n only one day at jury duty. :)
I don't mind doing my duty, but ack! The timing of this could not be worse!
DeleteDutch doors seem rarely used but I think they would be great for ventilation and to keep animals and children contained.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly will have a full on week. I think here, you can be excused from jury duty if you have already served before.
I plan to listen carefully and if this is going to turn into a multicase day, I am going to beg off and swear to come back next month.
DeleteGood times, now and coming! I love a Dutch door and they are so practical. Hope your foot heals well. I've stepped on nails in boards but never a screw that I recall. Ouch!
ReplyDeleteTim has a bad habit of just tossing stuff on the floor to be picked up later. I have a bad habit of not paying attention.
DeleteWhen I was six my mother had triplets and my father made every door in the house, (except for the bathroom), a dutch door.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that screw. I hope it doesn't get infected.
I soaked it in Epsom salts and am using a good drawing salve on it.
DeleteI never heard of Dutch doors before but I have seen them.
ReplyDeleteWe both felt like the basement door needed the safety of a closed door, but we wanted the air flow...heat in the winter, cool in the summer.
DeleteI'd never given any thought to stepping on a screw vs. a nail. Screw really does sound awful.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sickening feeling. Tim accidently drove a screw into my finger while I was holding something 'right here like that' for him. He was able to reverse the driver. That came out a lot easier than tearing a screw out. Ack!
DeleteDo you have an estimated move-in date?
ReplyDeleteMary, we will be moving two beds into the bedrooms and slapping down some rugs. We'll bring up the enamel kitchen table that's been carefully waiting. I've got some chairs. It won't be fully furnished, but between the camper and the house, everyone will have a place to sleep. We'll spend the rest of the summer mindfully moving in and winnowing things down. We'll be living there, though, because that is where our bed is.
Deletejust realized I never said. Next week.
DeleteI am so impressed you were able to turn the door into a dutch door and get in hung in one day. We replaced all our interior doors a few years ago and I can remember the struggle with regular doors - much less creating a fancy one! And it looks GREAT!
ReplyDeleteNow the food and screw is another story. Oh my. At least you are caught up on tetanus shots, right? And the Epsom salts is the ticket to avoid infection. I just hope it doesn't bother you too much with the company.
I'm going to cross my fingers and toes that the case gets settled before the jury gets seated. That happens a lot around here and hopefully I can send you some of that magic!
Oh, no, no! That picture is not OUR dutch door. I just posted a picture of one so that people unfamiliar with the term would know what I was talking about. We used a door which matches our other interior doors. The company will not be getting here until the evening of the 18th, so we'll see how it all shakes out.
DeleteOver here they are called Stable Doors - for the horse to look out of!!
ReplyDeleteI managed to have one at the smallholding - when we did the kitchen but would have loved one everywhere.
OUCH about the screw in foot. So easily done but longer to heal. Hope there's no infection
I think we will find this comes in quite handy, and we will get quite a bit of use out of it. It is quite nice to be able to build your own place with the practical touches that work for us.
DeleteEverything seems to happen at once, but I'm sure it will all sort out.
ReplyDeleteIt is, but in the end, it will get sorted out. It will be much easier to entertain everyone there instead of driving back and forth between here and there. More time together.
DeleteIn my experience 'simple' jobs are rarely simple once you start doing them! The stable door sounds really practical, so worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteHaving a screw stuck in your foot sounds horribly painful. I hope it heals quickly.
We have a long history of having simple projects that turn into huge time consuming big deals. It's our special talent, I'd say.
DeleteI’d say you two built and installed that door miraculously quickly!!
DeleteOuch! Hope that screw has been dealt with now, and the wound it left.
ReplyDeleteHere a Dutch door is called a stable door. We had one on the "back place" (lean to store room on the old house). I'd like one on my front (well only door) door here but it's not essential and I will hang on to my money.
Have a lovely time when family visit and I hope that the Jury service IS just one day only.
It really did turn out even more nicely than we hoped. Tim did a good job.
DeleteI like Dutch doors, great idea. Not so much stepping on screws though. I hope that heals fast.
ReplyDeleteWell, walking is a bit awkward this morning, but I imagine that it will either get better or it won't. I'll keep an eye on it, keep soaking it, and using a drawing salve.
DeleteWow, you will be in the new house full time in no time! It must feel amazing to look at this house and know that both of you have had your hands on every single thing! What an accomplishment. LOVE a Dutch door, so charming and useful.
ReplyDeleteWe will begin sleeping there next weekend. I imagine that what will follow is a lengthy, frustrating period of looking for something we need only to discover it is at the other house. :(
DeleteYou folk have great ideas and the skills to implement them.
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes that our imaginations outstrip our actual skills.
DeleteYes, dutch doors are wonderful - if it opens to outside I wonder if you can put in one of those split screen hanging doors for the top half? We live in a very buggy place so my thoughts always turn to screens, every should have a hobby.
ReplyDeleteCheers, ceci
It is an interior door. There will be a screen door on the basement door which IS an exterior door.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea for the basement door and it's great that Tim is so talented that he can build that!
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you have work boots to wear when you are working at the new house so you don't get hurt when you step on things!?! Of course, now you are almost done but still... be safe!
What a great house opening celebration you will have soon!!
Tim really needs to stop chucking things on the floor. Or at least chucking the things where people are working. chunk of wood with a screw in it seems kind of obvious. But when he's focused on achieving something, he can get pretty careless. And me? Let's face it. When I'm looking up, I am not looking down. I never even saw it on the stairs.
DeleteHope your foot soon heals. I broke my little toe in the safety of my own carpeted bedroom last week (admittedly moving a heavy chair in bare feet) but it’s been surprising how much of a nuisance it’s been.
ReplyDeleteOh Lynne...this sounds like a very 'Debby' thing to do!
DeleteThat is an ambitious project and, as always, I'm impressed that Tim was able to pull it off. Regarding your foot -- OUCH! I hope it heals quickly!
ReplyDeleteWell, we both read through the instructions and it sounded pretty straightforward. You tube: not just for cat videos@
DeleteSometimes everything hits at once, yikes! Sorry about that screw, makes me cringe just reading about it.
ReplyDeleteI could not even bring myself to pull it out. Tim had to
DeleteA dutch door is an excellent idea. I really hope you've had a tetanus shot lately, and maybe wear shoes in the house. I have sore feet, plantar fascitis), so I have indoor running shoes with orthotics that I always wear inside.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see the photos.
Tim really needs to stop tossing stuff on the floor
DeleteI need to pay attention, too.
Ouch on getting screwed!! Like Pixie, I have several foot issues, so I can't go without shoes anymore. Sounds like you shouldn't, either!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your door, but in the meantime I want the dog in the stock photo you provided. I already have a name for him. 😉
Lots of moaning, but no pleasure. Disappointing as far as getting screwed goes.
DeleteWhen I did jury duty I was on a case that lasted a week. It was interesting but I would not want to do it again. Thankfully I am now too old. Maybe you will be excused. Hope you will have time to be with your family. Gigi
ReplyDeleteThe last time it was quite strange. I was never interviewed. I had a speech about why I couldn't do it and I never got to make it. This time I will make a stink about it.
DeleteIf you have to walk through a metal detector, your new knee will set it off!
ReplyDeleteDid you step on that screw with the foot connected to that new knee? If so, you might want to let your doctor know ... find out if you should do anything different or get some antibiotics! You do not want an infection in that knee!
Your veggies are growing nicely! Enjoy your company!
Of course it was the new knee leg. I never do anything in halves.
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