$35 Front Porch Make-over for Christmas

Flipping through the decorating magazines this time of year, who isn’t motivated to spruce up a tired Christmas theme?  But like so many of us, budget is a large factor.   This year, I found myself attracted to the natural urn displays with tree sprigs and a few decorations for the pop of colour.  I also decided to switch out my tired door wreath for a decorated swag.

I went to the local grocery stores, box and home supply stores and could not find prices I was willing or able to pay.  The cheapest I could find, at a quality I wanted - $59 for a decorated swag and $40 for an urn display.  “I must be able to do better than that”, I told myself, and better I did.

• $15 for a basic, undecorated swag at Home Depot,
• $17 for a container of ornaments at Walmart,
• $8 for reindeer bells, ribbon and a few larger ornaments at the Dollaramma, and
• Some items I already had around the house; glue gun and sticks (wood chop-sticks and wood meat-kabob sticks), twist ties, and plant sheers.

I started with the urn.  Why would I pay $40 for springs and twigs when I already have bushes and trees in my yard that could use a fall trim?  I clipped and constructed as follows:

1. Empty old fall content from urns.
2. Collect two small planters, with leftover dirt from summer, to ground the new display.
3. Cut one multi-sprig branch from a bush for each urn centerpiece.
4. Cut many sprigs of pine/fern style bushes and trees – using the smaller/flatter ones for the first perimeter to fall over the edges of the urn.  The second type should be hardier and stand straight, once pushed into the dirt.
5. Lastly, pick three decorative balls.  Hot glue a stick to each ball and stick into the dirt, amongst the sprigs of pine/fern (in my case, cedar and juniper sprigs).

10 minutes total preparation time.

Voila – a beautiful, natural display that cost less than $5.

The decorated door swag took a little longer but turned out much nicer than the store displays.  I used decorations from the same set purchased for the urns, to tie the look together.  Instead of $59 for the store-bought version, this luxurious swag cost $30.

1.  Lay out swag with ribbon and ornaments to get a sense of the look you like, before pieces are affixed.
2. Attach bells first to the bottom the swag.
3. Weave ribbon from front to back, leaving large loops at the front for a fuller swag.
4. Lastly, attach balls with twist ties, in a repeated ‘S’ pattern, from the bells at the bottom to the larger bow at top, careful to rotate the colour and texture of balls used.

10 minutes total preparation time.

If you are ‘doing the math’ on supplies compared to the cost attributed for each project, you are quite right that it does not add up, yet it IS accurate.  A number of Christmas balls were left-over and deducted from the cost of the projects.  The remaining decorations will be used throughout the house on the indoor tree and garland to tie the outside displays to the inside décor. 

I am very happy with this project and so excited to complete the rest of the Christmas decorating.  For a total of $35 and one hour of my preparation time, I was able to update my entire holiday theme – now that is a great budget saver AND eco-friendly.  No branches or sprigs were cut that didn’t already need trimming this fall. 

Please share your great ideas for cost cutting projects!!! I will be back for more of the heavy lifting, in the coming weeks.

Happy Holidays!!!

I’m Feelin’ TRIM!!! PROJECT 1: FINALE

Oh yes, I do feel pride when I run my fingers along the smooth surface of my newly refurbished railing.  As I stand across the street and view the improved curb appeal of my home, I can’t help but compare this experience to how people react to my personal appearance on the rare occasion I actually style my hair, wear something other than yoga clothes and UGGS and put a little paint on my own trim.  With a little effort, this Baby cleans up well.

I’ll make sure not to use my zoom lens to reveal where I didn’t sand well enough and painted over old, chipped paint. Or the spots where I got ‘caulk happy’ with the clear silicone, just to learn that it is quite obvious once covered in glossy white paint!  And that’s just my face!!!!!

 

Seriously, the project is finally over.  I stopped for side trips, many days of rain, and some days of pondering (not to mention the time I had to dedicate to my business, family, FB, Twitter and reality TV!!!)  I will do better with the second project and be diligent to actually track time to complete the project.  My best guess with this one is 17 hours, not including the side trips. 

 

This last leg of the journey was more familiar to me.  Once all of the repairs were done, I used my palm sander with a medium paper to clear off the rough surfaces of paint that remained after the power wash.  The sanding was also necessary to repair some of the wood surface where light shredding occurred when I did get too close with the pressured water.

 

A clear silicone barrier at each wood seam is my insurance to avoid more rotted wood replacement in the near future.  That precaution took a great deal more time than anticipated, since the front porch alone has 110 spindles, in addition to the railings and pillars.  I found it easiest to use the squeeze applicator to apply and then my gloved finger to smooth the silicone in place. 

 
I applied one coat of water/stain resistant base, but the appearance of that product is milky and partially translucent so I did the second and third coats in a semi-gloss outdoor paint without the bells and whistles for wood protection.  I decided the caulking and single coat of special paint are more than the builders used 13 years ago so it should stand up reasonably well.
 

While painting, I wore gloves to protect my hands and each time I had to stop for a break, I used a little trick to protect the brush.  I held the brush in the palm of my hand as I removed that same glove, causing the glove to become a protective cover over the brush, until I picked it up again.  When painting around the house, I use the same strategy as painting my nails; first coat light but close attention to detail for coverage, and subsequent with a small roller using more paint to create a smoother, and glossy final product.  By the way, I highly recommend the new microfiber rollers.  The advertising is true – they use less paint and don’t drip, while providing more than adequate coverage.

 

What did I learn from this experience?  It is much more fun to do a boring maintenance project when you have others cheering you on. Thank you to all of my new Blog fans, FB friends and Twitter followers for your support, ideas and assistance.

 

On to the next job – out of necessity, husband and I need to do that toilet repair.  Every hour or so it sounds like our Master Bath toilet is flushing itself … join me back in a few days for my telling of that adventure.

 

SideTrip Notes (PROJECT 1: Repaint Outdoor Railings and Trim)

 
At last, some progress was made with the intended project.  Good thing my Mother-n-law reads my Blogs.  She harnessed the creativity of her husband to solve the issue of raising the pole to replace the rotten wood.  In the last post I was perplexed about the method to support the posts to install the new solid pieces I purchased to replace the rotted wood.  My Father-n-law suggested using 2X4s that are slightly longer than the actual space between the cement porch and the overhang roof.  He suggested I place them in the space between and hammer in gradually until there is enough room to replace the wood.  Success!!!  Not only with the idea but getting additional resources to assist with the project.  Husband and Father-n-law lent their hands and creativity to this solution.

While waiting for their assistance last weekend, I managed to finish one of my side projects.  Goodbye old green doors, hello midnight blue.  Clean, contemporary look to spruce up our curb appeal.  However, only ‘laneway appeal’ thus far as the front of the house provided a larger challenge.  I need to back-track to explain why.

 In addition to the doors at the back, I realized I had to remove and paint the shudders to complete the look.  Very happy with the final results and moved to the front to replicate my success.  Thank Goodness Husband caught me before I started painting.  “Come across the street ad look up”, he suggested.  Oh no – not another wrinkle!!!  I can handle the front door, and the shudders beside them, but I am not so sure about climbing on the overhang roof to remove, repaint, and reinstall the shudders on the second floor exterior.  I completely forgot about them. 

 

I bolster my courage and think I can climb out my son’s bedroom window without too much risk or knees shaking from my fear of heights.  As I am voicing my plans, my husband looks at me skeptically and his Mom begins to regale me with tales of injuries her friends have I incurred falling from roofs and other risky locales.  I decide I will leave this next side trip for a ‘spring vacation’; perhaps when we get our shingles replaced next spring I can convince the roofing company employees to remove the shudders for me …

 Back to the project at hand.  New pole bottoms are now secure, however, since the replacement pieces are a little smaller, the horizontal railings no longer have a surface to lay on for support – so, my husband and our friend/neighbour John head over to John’s scrap-heap from deck building and fashion several shunts to support our horizontal rails.  Next, I must prepare the wood for painting but before that, I take two extra precautions, at the advice of my helpers and audience.

 

 Precaution 1:

Husband wants L-brackets added to each connection of the horizontal rails as well as the new shunts.  That was a breeze, well perhaps closer to a high-wind, when you consider the angle needed for some of the shunts, but a small ‘girly’ screwdriver comes in handy for that issue.

 
Precaution 2:

My neighbour, Karen, tells me that the person she hired to do her trim and railings also applied silicone seal to each joint of wood to deter future wood rot, in those lower areas where water tends to pool.  I think that is a great idea and proceed.  This takes much longer than anticipated due to the large number of spindles on the railing but, well worth it if it saves me from replacing the wood in another 15 years …. Hmmmm ….that is a long time away.   Maybe I am doing more than needed but better safe than sorry!

 

New additions to the supply list:

·         L-brackets made of galvanized steel
·         2- pressure treated pole toppers
·         2-2X4s 9 feet tall
·         1 pressure treated 2X4 cut into shunt sized pieces (caution – raw edges are no longer pressure treated so use caution)
·         Exterior silicone seal.

Come back and visit next week (optimistic) to see resutls of my first finished project!

Stay Focused!! (PROJECT 1: Repaint Outdoor Railings and Trim)

I was full of positive energy, as I returned home from the local Home Depot with my tools in hand.  I started with:

• Low velocity power washer,
• Paint scraper,
• Sandpaper for my palm sander,
• Paint brushes and rollers, and lastly
• Mildew and water resistant white paint.

 

I did my due diligence and asked a few neighbours what they used for their trim maintenance, Goggled it, and let my mind mull over ideas for a few days.  During that time, I saw a console table in a neighbours garbage, pulled it out and “side trip number 1” began.  I examined my new find, decided it just needed some sanding and black paint to be reincarnated into stylish home design.  Since I am known for repurposing other people’s garbage, my husband groaned when he saw it and said, “where is THAT going to go?”.  “I have no idea.”  I replied, and added, “if I don’t find a great spot I will sell it – don’t worry.”  I expect this is the same reason he bans me from trolling garage sales.

 

Back to Home Depot I go to buy a finer grade of sandpaper and black melamine paint for the table.  Notice I have not yet made any progress with the first project.  I return home with the chipped paint on the house and garage trim still greeting me, I sigh and refocus.  OK – “step away from the table”, I tell myself.  I change into my painting clothes, and return to project number one.

 

That day and over the next several, I manage to squeeze in 1-2 hours of trim work on good-weather days.  I power-washed all of the loose paint away, taking care to keep the nozzle at a distance from the wood to avoid damaging it.  When I reached the base of the railing trim, the wood flew into pieces when met with the spray of water I had aimed at it.  It looked like the trim was not pressure treated wood.  It had collected water as the paint chipped and the wood had rotted.  No problem (translation in brain – crap – now what), it is just trim, I will take it all off, buy some new trim and “Bob’s your Uncle”.  “Not so fast”, yells my insecurity – as I look closer.  It is NOT just decorative trim that I’m dealing with but trim that is actually supporting the base of the structure – and not very well, considering the condition of the wood.  I have just opened a can of worms .. .exactly what scares me about these projects.

 

The washed wood required a couple of days to dry, my apprehension jumped at that excuse to grow and I let my subconscious mull it all over.  I was worried about two things.  First, I wanted to put a solid piece of pressure treated, trimmed wood in place of the decorative trim that had rotted, so that this same problem would not return in a few years.  The problem with that is finding wood that is already the right size and finished decoratively OR figuring out how to use a router and make it myself ... gulp.  Second,  since I am basically removing the bottom piece of a structural pole and replacing it, how do I support the rest of the pole/railing and porch roof while I am at it?

 

Inspiration came from one of my favourite pastimes, internet shopping!!  Home Depot sells ‘rail toppers’.  They are used for the top of rails to make them look pretty.  They are pressure treated, come in all different sizes, are a solid square of wood and offer decorative edging.  Perfect!  Off I go, again.  While there I see some bulbs for tulips at a good price (side project number two), grab a new garden tool to plant them, and along with my six rail toppers (because I have now decided to replace all lower trim on poles) – off I go again. 

 

Thank God it is raining – I get to take a few more days to figure out how I am going to lift the pole to get the new wood blocks in place.  I also need to mull over if I should paint them ahead of time … AND figure out how I will get project number one, and two and three, all done within the next two weeks, to remain on my schedule.  Come back and visit me to see how I do!!!

Blog Number 2

Welcome to my second blog.  I am having so much fun with the first one (JustMOMsensations), I thought I would share my home repair adventures with you.  My theory - whatever I love to do - I'll write about it. Well - maybe not everything - I AM a Mom.

I consider myself fairly handy, although as the last child of 4 and a girl, to boot - I didn't get as much training from Daddy as needed to successfully attack my future tasks ... but attack I will!!!

My motivation?  Save money with DIY projects, a new outlet for my creativity AND (most of all) to try something I am afraid of - because I KNOW the greatest adventures come from attacking our fears.  What am I afraid of?  Failure! But I am prepared to try, and will surely turn all lemons into lemonade  - after all, that is what we teach our kids ... so I must practice what I preach.

Projects that are coming ....

• Stripping and repainting outdoor wooden railings and trim,
• refinishing a table I took from the trash (reuse, recycle ... my favourite!!!),
• repair damage on indoor window sills and wooden shutters from condensation,
• replace seal on leaky toilet,
• replace broken ceramic tile in kitchen (and if budget permits .... refacing counter and back splash),
• repairing large scratch in hardwood floor,
• leveling patio stones,
• built-ins in basement recreation room ...................................

..................to name but a few, and in no particular order.  I will probably procrastinate the ones I am MOST afraid of.  Ah well - no body's perfect - certainly not me.