Thrifty Strategy- Frame art yourself

As I've mentioned before, my husband has become quite good at framing posters and photos. Most of the art in our house has been framed by him, and he has also done some framing for other people. The project you see below is a wedding picture of his sister and her husband. My husband framed it for them as a gift.

There is an initial investment in a mat cutter, saw, biscuit joiner, point gun, etc, but it has more than re-paid itself. The cost to get a piece of art this size framed at Michael's or another store is easily over $200.



1. Gluing two pieces of molding together to create the desired frame thickness




2. Cutting the long pieces into the individual sides of the frame











3. Side view of the molding after being cut






4. Using biscuit joining tool to cut slots in each side



5. See how the biscuit fits into the two pieces

6. After the two sides are glued together, sanding edges smooth

7. Staining the completed frame

8. The mat cutter

9. Measuring the width of the mat

10. Cutting the mat

11. Putting it together

12. Attaching the backer (foamcore) with point gun

13. Rolling brown paper over the back and taping in place

14. Attaching the hardware to hang the frame

And the final product- A double-matted (orange inside, cream outside) custom-framed piece of art! He usually uses plexiglass instead of glass, but for this one ended up using glass.

New Project

Yes, our daughter is almost 13 months old. And yes, we still need to fill some of the walls of her bedroom. My husband and I have been debating and browsing art for over a year now, but a sale on art.com finally got us moving. We just bought these prints for our daughter's room and two prints for our room- we've been in our house for over three years and the walls of the master bedroom are still mostly bare.

Next step is for my husband to build frames and mat them. As I mentioned here, framing and matting your own art is a thrifty strategy. The art for her room will all have matching white-stained frames and each will have a different colored mat (I think). The frames for our room will be stained to match our bedroom set. I have step-by-step pictures from his most recently finished framing project, those will be coming in a future post.

DIY Project- Bathroom Remodel Part 4

Back to the 2009 bathroom remodel (wow, two years ago already). As I covered in my previous posts, my husband remodeled our upstairs guest bathroom back in 2009. We were able to save quite a bit of money in labor and use high-end products that we are still really happy with.

Today: The Vanity

Once the floor was installed it was time for the vanity. We picked out a dark wood vanity, the wood color matched a swirl in the granite for the floor. Because the space for the vanity was a bit larger than the vanity itself, we also purchased an extra piece of matching trim board, to bridge the small gap that was going to be left. That allowed us toget a vanity off the shelf rather than custom which saved quite a bit of money.

When visiting someone's home that winter, we saw a great idea. They had installed tube lighting under their vanity that can be used as a night light. We copied the idea for our bathroom, and wired the lighting on its own light switch.

Next it was time for the countertop. My husband had heard about a place that sold granite remnants left from larger kitchen and bathroom jobs. We headed over to their office with one of our floor tiles. Luck would have it that they had a piece of matching granite that would work! We also had back and sidespashes and a threshold for the floor cut from the same piece. They came to measure our space, we told them what kind of sink we wanted and what facuet we were installing, and they cut the granite to our specifications. Awesome!

The faucet was from Home Depot. We picked one that would go with our modern vibe. We also ended up buying coordinating drawer pulls because the ones that came with the vanity didn't fit our style.

Things were really taking shape, next it was time for the biggest project- tiling the tub surround!

DIY Rule #1: Multiple trips to the hardware store

We are visiting some friends this weekend and my husband is helping them with a home improvement project- installing a new toilet. Sounds simple, right? Well, they are on their third trip to the hardware store in two hours! No matter how much you plan, make lists, and measure during a home improvement project, there is always just one more thing you need, one part that is the wrong size, or one more tool that would make the job easier.  And that's OK. Even with the cost of gas and your time, most DIY projects are still thrifty, plus you get the satisfaction of doing it yourself and the knowledge teach others.

DIY Project- Bathroom Remodel Part 3

As I mentioned here, here and here, in 2009 we (well mostly my husband) remodeled our guest bathroom. We were able to use high-end products and keep the project thrifty by doing the work ourselves.

After the heated floor coils were put in, it was time to lay the floor tile. We picked out granite tiles at Home Depot, the color was called Golden River.

Tiles all laid out

Had to cut a hole in one of the tiles for a toilet pipe

Mixing the mortar

This was the third home improvement project my husband had tackled that required a tile saw. In the past we had rented by the day, but this time took the plunge and bought one. Since he had to use it for the floor tiles as well as the upcoming wall tiles, it made sense. He was also tired of feeling rushed, like he had to get everything done in one day so he could return the saw. We can also use it on future projects. It was $50 per day to rent a saw and $140 to buy one. So thrifty tip: If you keep renting a tool, it might make sense to buy one instead.

Next Up: The vanity and sink!

DIY Project- Bathroom Remodel Part 3

The Heated Floor

One of the features we really wanted in our new bathroom was heated floors. How nice would it be to walk on nice, warm, floors on a cold morning! The heating wires had to be installed on the subfloor and then covered with layers of floor leveler (a liquid that you pour on that dries smooth and flat) before the tiles were laid. My husband used a kit that included the long piece of wire and metal tracks that attached to the floor which the wire was hooked to. There are also kits with pre-made mats but this was the better choice for us. We also had to wire in a programmable thermostat which is on the wall so the floor warms up at the right time each day.

View of metal tracks and wires from the doorway

You can see the metal tracks and copper wire in toilet area (got to have warm feet while you're using it!)



Toilet area after one layer of floor leveler- you can still see the wires so another layer was needed


Once the wires were installed and the floor was level it was time to put in the granite tile floor.... stay tuned!

DIY Project- Bathroom Remodel Part 2

The first step was demolition. We removed the toilet and stored it in our guest room throughout the project as we were planning to keep it. Everything else but the bathtub had to go. And yes, we did have guests during that time who got to sleep in the same room as a random toilet, I covered it with a beach towel to make it "blend in!" Too bad I didn't get a picture of that.

While demolishing the floor

Floor and vanity are gone!

Hole where toilet used to be

Tub surround is gone. Safety first! Note the red ear protection muffs ready for any loud noises.

DIY Project- Bathroom Remodel

Back in December 2008, we (well mostly my husband) started our biggest do-it-yourself project to date: remodeling our upstairs guest bathroom. Here are some "before" shots. Over the next few weeks I plan to run a series of posts about the project, which was finished in April of 2009. It turned out to be a pretty thrifty project. My husband kept track of all of the money spent, and we ended up finding some good ways to save money while getting the new, stylish bathroom we wanted.

Right before demolition began- boring bathroom!

Before- Tub surround

DIY Project- Bean Bag Toss (Cornhole) Set

When we lived in California, we learned of a super fun yard game called cornhole (or bean bags, bags, corn toss...). You set the two boards across from each other and take turns attempting to toss the beanbags either on the board (one point) or in the hole (three points). You play to 21. The game is best played with a beer in one hand. You can play on grass, concrete, or even at the beach! It's fun for any skill level, you can move the boards closer together for kids or less-skilled players.

It's a fun project to make the boards yourself. My husband made a set, it took a few hours to make the boards and then he painted them over a couple days. The hardest part is cutting the circle. As you can see, our set has one Wisconsin Badger board and one Minnesota Vikings board. We also made a set of beanbags with our sewing machine and some heavy cloth, but they self-destructed after one season. After that, we got a set of beanbags as a gift.

Making your own set has several advantages: first, you know the quality of the boards is good- storebought sets are often made of cheap particleboard or an almost-cardboard like product. Also, you can choose your teams and combine teams from different sports or leagues, like we did with Badger/Vikings. If you already have the tools, it's very thrifty to make a set, you just have to buy a few pieces of lumber, some bolts, and paint. Finally, your friends will be impressed that you are handy enough to make your own!

Here's a link to the official American Cornhole Association site: http://www.playcornhole.org/. On the site you can find the official rules which includes plans to make your own boards and beanbags.

Anyone out there like to play?

Home Improvement- Staining our Deck Days Two and Three

On Saturday and Sunday, it was time for the main event- applying the stain. My husband picked out a redwood color and bought two cans based on the square footage of the deck. However that didn't take the railings into account so by the end of the project we ended up purchasing four cans of stain- unfortunately an overage on our budget.

The Behr stain
 

On Saturday, we tackled the railing and spindles. I didn't count the number of spindles, but it took most of the day. My husband was on a ladder on the outside and I was on the inside. It was a great opportunity for some deep conversations!

View from on the deck

View from the yard- partially complete

On Sunday afternoon it was time to finish the floorboards and the flower boxes and benches. We finished everything but a couple of the flower boxes and two benches.

Complete deck and some of the flower boxes. Still have to take blue tape off of the lights.

Completed deck!

So, all-in-all a successful and pretty thrifty project when you compare to the cost of hiring people to do it for you. Here is the equipment needed. We already had everything except the cleaning chemicals and stain.

- Pressure washer
- 1 container mildew cleaner
- 1 scrub brush for cleaning the deck
- 1 container pre-treater
- 1 tall ladder
- 1 large paintbrush attached to long stick for applying stain to floorboards and large areas
- 2 to 3 smaller paintbrushes for spindles and detail work
- Blue tape for taping edges against house and outdoor lights
- 4 cans deck stain
- Sheets and other drop cloths to keep stain off of house
- 1 weekend's worth of time

Home Improvement- Staining our Deck Day One

We couldn't put it off any longer- our deck needed to be re-stained. This is our third summer in our house and the deck was showing signs of age. Some boards had greenish mildew stains, the stain had worn off of some areas, and it was generally time for a facelift.

Before- note poor condition of floorboards

Before- Color was uneven on railing as well as floorboards

Before- Mildew and staining on parts of the deck

The first step was powerwashing (with a powerwasher borrowed from my in-laws) to remove as much dirt and mildew as possible. We then scrubbed the mildew stains with a brush using a special chemical and rinsed, then scrubbed the whole deck with a pre-treater to ensure the boards were ready to soak up the new stain.

Pressure washing

The floorboards after the chemical treatments.

So at the end of the day Friday we had a clean, prepared deck and we were ready to take on the actual stain application on Saturday... more to come!

Home Improvement- Staining our deck

I am too tired for much of a post tonight. For the past two days we have been working on cleaning and re-staining our backyard deck. A post or two with before and after pictures will be forthcoming. We are saving quite a bit of money by doing this project ourselves instead of hiring someone.... that's what I was telling myself today as I painted 50 or so spindles!

Meanwhile, here's a link to an article from The Wall Street Journal about talking to your kids about money:

"Daddy are we rich" and other tough questions