Locker-style Dresser is finally done! 0 comments

Silas’s dresser went to the curb about a month ago, of course without having a replacement dresser. So he had nowhere to go with his clothes for the last month, and you can imagine what that looked like. I saw a plan on Ana White's blog for a Dumpster Dresser made out of 2 by 4s and figured it looked solid enough to withstand an F-4 tornado, or Silas, whichever came first. It is officially tornado season here in Nebraska...

Now wouldn’t it be ironic if our house did get demolished by a tornado and this dresser was the only thing left standing? Don’t laugh, it’s happened before. You’ve heard the stories about the toilet or the front door, or even the dinner plates left on the kitchen table while the entire rest of the house is completely gone…

Anyhow, we made some major modifications to the plan and ended up with a solid piece of furniture that will hopefully last the kid quite a few years. My favorite part is that there are no rails. Any parent who has had the lucky task of repairing and replacing drawer rails can feel my pain. We even built in a secret compartment (shhhh) into one of the drawers.

A coat of navy blue and metallic latex and it’s finished!
Moving on!

What just happened?!? 0 comments

Saturday we lost a limb out of the giant maple tree in the front yard. Since there was hardly any live growth left, we had to make the decision to take it down. So Tim spent all day Sunday removing what was left of the top (not much, I might add. I think he got all of the live branches stuffed into ONE dump truck load. For a tree this big there should have been close to FIVE dump truck loads.)

Next thing I know we have Terry & his Ho digging up what seems like our entire front yard.

Notice the crowd of onlookers. Give ‘em big equipment taking down trees and they will come in droves. Even the neighbors across the street sat in their lawn chairs and watched. They said it was “better than TV!” 

Oh, Hail No. 0 comments

Did a giant hailstone leave that rather large dent in new garage siding? No. Abigail accidentally hit it with a log today. A log. 

Building the Back Door Overhang 16 comments

Got the frame up and bolted to the house. Thanks again Mark & Marlene for taking time out of your weekend to help us build the frame! 

After putting on the 3/4" T & G ceiling, we started attaching the Azek fascia board. This step took quite a while to do. Tim ran each fascia board through the table saw at the correct angle so the roof sheeting would sit directly on top it.

Added the sheeting to the roof. The first 7+ inches of roof sheeting is actually a 1x8 of Azek trim. Then the remainder of the roof was cut out of 3/4" plywood. Had to use compound miter angles where each face met. I think this step took us a couple of hours.

Silas making some S’mores over a makeshift campfire.

Terry showed up at just the right time. Those brackets are HEAVY. They got the tar paper on just minutes before it started to rain. We’ll save the Ladder Safety Course for another post.

Almost done -- just need to shingle, caulk, add the moldings and paint!

Finished!

Working through the week 0 comments

Got lots of work done this week. Painter-Man started painting the house on Tuesday, and by Friday had the north and east side done.

Painting Has Begun! 0 comments

Yippee!!!!

Paint Removal: Cont’d 0 comments

The painter has been at it for about 5 hours today. It’s so exciting to see things taking shape. He said I was doing a nice job fixing the sill horns on the windows. (Yay!) There are some large chunks missing out of a couple of the window trim boards so I’m going to start working behind him to do the repair. The major repairs, unfortunately, are going to have to wait.

Except for this one — that rotten sill you can see in the upper window.

Gay and Gay Focker Construction. Hard at work.

Paint removal has begun! 0 comments

As fast as this man is working, he will have all the paint removed in 5 days. He may not live to see those 5 days with all the lead dust floating around in the air, but hey, what the heck. What he’s done so far has only taken him about 5 hours.

Working over the Weekend 0 comments

Abigail making a cheeseball. Scary stuff.


Grandpa ready for the big game. Go Big Red!



Logan and Lincoln.

Boys spying on the Klopeks as they try and take down a tree.

The Broom, the Boxelder Bugs & Me 0 comments

Figured I’d get started on refinishing the front porch whilst I’m waiting for all the men folk to start on the house and geerage. Don’t know whose sander I’m using, but it’s coming in darn handy!

Had lots and lots of company today while I was working. Company on my shirt. Company in my hair. Company squashed under my shoes.

Look at what we found! It’s ——— the broom!