History Is Repeating And We Wish It Wouldn't

So in our first home, within weeks of moving in we had some issues with our dryer smelling like a campfire. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, just a filthy dryer vent that needed a cleaning and it was back to new. Unfortunately, history has repeated itself at our new house and this problem didn't have such an easy fix. 

The good thing was that we learned from the first house issue. When we put the first load of wash into the dryer here at the new house, we hung out for a bit and made sure to keep our noses alert and boy, are we glad that we did! After less than 10 minutes the basement started to stink like burning fibers. Not exactly what you hope to smell. 

We switched the dryer off and immediately pulled it away from the wall. Oh my, we couldn't really believe our eyes. The problem was obvious. The gas line (a problem in itself but we'll get to that later) had rubbed through the foil accordion-type tube leading to the solid vent. Because of this hole, there was a thick layer of lint on everything behind the washer and dryer. 

      

These pictures don't honestly do the thick layer of lint justice but I will tell you that I could peel the lint off the floor in 1+ inch thick sheets. Yuck!

After scraping the floor and vacuuming up what was loose on the walls and back of the machines we left both machines unplugged until the professionals could come in to look at the issue. Here's what they came up with: the dryer vent had  too many right angles on the way to the exterior vent. The more right angles in a vent, the more chance for lint to get stuck and problems to happen. We had to re-route the vent and in order to do that, had to take out some drywall and the cabinet above the washer and dryer. Rob was channeling Chip Gaines on demo day! 

   

   

Of course the first space we broke into was where the water lines were running (something you wouldn't know by the exposed pipes - another weird choice) and so we had to move over and break into the next section. The insulation came out and the ceiling also had to be exposed to move the gas line. The professionals moved the dryer vent into the space where you can see the insulation above and they moved the exit point on the outside of the house as well. Now there are only two turns (as per usual) and it's a solid pipe so there are less places for lint to get caught. The professional said that it was a miracle a fire hadn't started because it was clearly used for a long time with the broken vent. 

We still need to have the gas line rerouted so it isn't as long as it is now (something to look forward to... ha!). This house is proving to need quite a bit of work to say the least, but we LOVE this house and are having a fun time making it our own!

Until next time, thanks for catching up!

looking up

Painting the ceiling is a task, let me tell you! It's not easy being upside down and edging in (even with my favorite paint brush).

 

We thought painting the ceiling would be a nice way to break up the monotony of all the white in the hallway. We didn't want to paint the whole hallway, not because it would have been hard but it would have looked heavy. The way the walls are, with lots of corners, doors, and molding, we were unable to hang much art in the hallway to add interest. Enter a beautiful, lush color that makes a definite impact: Phantom Mist by PPG. 

 

This Manor Hall Timeless PPG paint was the $10 gallon that I scored on New Year's Eve! It's so nice to work with high quality paint, especially in this dark of a color. Coverage was great - only two coats with the paintbrush on the edges and three with the roller. This is great considering that I didn't prime and was applying to a pure white ceiling! 

 

After edging in, it was clear that this small and inexpensive change was going to make a beautiful difference! The color offset the white walls perfectly. 

I used a foam roller brush to apply the paint to the majority of the ceiling. Because of the type of application it took three coats to get full coverage with no streaks. 

  

 

Top left: foam roller and paint - that was all the paint I needed for the whole ceiling. Top right: first coat. Bottom left: second coat. Bottom right: third coat / final product!

We are so happy with the result! It makes the hallway, which connects each room of our house, cozy and keeps all the rooms feeling connected!

  

It's fun to see the pop of color from the adjoining rooms!

Thanks for following along -
Until next time,
Lindsey

Refinished floors and bruised knees

While we still had an empty house we decided to re-finish the hardwood floors in a couple of rooms. We didn't go all the way to full sanding and re-staining but my (Lindsey's) mom and I did sand the whole floor with hand sanders while crawling on our hands and knees - hence the bruises. You never realize until the next day how hard the floors actually were on your bare knees and chins, ha! We took the top layer of polyurethane off the floor and re-coated with a new layer. We had to sand, wipe, sand, wipe, make sure there was no dust remaining and then we started to paint on the polyurethane (clear coat). Mom was such an asset during this process, she honestly did most of the work!!

Mom rocking out the floor! 

The only parts that we had to stain were the replacement pieces from taking down the wall. The long piece in the walkway was replaced and stained to be a close match to the floor - we wanted it to be a little different that the rest of the floor for distinction between rooms. 

Close-up on the re-stained and replacement pieces. They blend pretty darn well! 

You can see the division between the rooms here. We only refinished the room to the left of the new walkway. It wasn't necessary to refinish the right side because it was previously a bedroom with very low foot traffic. What a nice perk that was since it took a long time to get the first half done! 

The finished product was shiny until it dried. Now, it just looks fresh and clean and there are no areas that are chipping away. We were also able to fill any holes or nicks with wood putty so there aren't any snags.

Before it dried.

Dry floor: you can still see the wear marks but everything is smooth and finished feeling. 

Big time thanks to my mom for all the help, it was so much easier with her help! We now have all our furniture moved in, pictures to come once everything feels more settled!