1. You have a painting belt. Yes John has a belt that is specifically designated for painting. We learned early on that you can lose many an outfit to permanent paint drips so we each have one “summer painting outfit” (which consists of one pair of shorts and a tee shirt) and one “winter painting outfit” (which consists of one pair of jeans and a sweatshirt) to keep us from ruining everyday clothes all the time (and from having to dedicate an entire drawer to painting clothes). However, John did get paint on one of his belts pretty early on, so it has become an important part of both his summer and winter painting ensembles. He argues that he’s not very efficient if his pants are constantly falling down while he’s trying to get his roll on and I have to agree.
2. The first person to rub your baby belly is a Home Depot employee. Yes this is a true story. Thanks to my short torso and my genes, I started “showing” pretty much right after I found out I was prego. And although I heard stories of strangers and friends spontaneously reaching out to pat pregnant bellies, no one other than John had been near mine. Until we went to Home Depot to pick up a few things and one of my favorite cashiers immediately noticed and congratulated me by reaching out and rubbing my tummy! The funny thing is that I didn’t really mind. See, there are a bunch of employees who work there (and at Lowe’s and Ace and True Value for that matter) who are all like family to us. Why shouldn’t they be when we practically live there right along with them? So that’s how the first non-husband-hand to rub my belly came to be that of a Home Depot cashier. Think we should put that stat in the baby book?
3. Four out of the eight drawers in your kitchen are dedicated to tools and painting supplies. Yes it’s true. One is devoted to silverware, two are “junk drawers” and one is full of plastic bags, tin foil and wax paper. The other four are full of everything from hammers and screwdrivers to sandpaper and even rollers and paint trays. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home so I guess our tools have a special place in our heart.
4. Your eight pound chihuahua isn’t the slightest bit startled by the sound of a power saw or a hammer (and he’s afraid of pretty much everything else). Somehow over the years Burger has become immune to the sounds of us bashing out walls and nailing in trim, so even though his eyes snap open and get wide with terror when he hears a leaf rustle outside, he actually falls asleep to the sound of us noisily pulling our house apart (and just as noisily putting it back together).
5. There’s no limit to the extent of uncomfortable acts that you’ll commit in the name of home improvement. Showering outside with icy hose water in 40 degree weather since the shower’s torn apart? Check. Sleeping on an air mattress in the den because the bedroom floors are getting refinished? Check. Going without a kitchen for 113 solid days while you assemble a new one? Check. Waking up on New Year’s Day at 8:20 to hit up Ikea? Check. It’s like an episode of Survivor around here. We’re just crazy in love with our house and we’ll pretty much go to the end of the earth just to spruce things up. It’s a sickness people. And you know what? We’re oddly proud of it.
What about you guys? Do you deserve some insanity badge when it comes to your commitment to home improvement? Have you endured something truly strange or especially trying (at least now that you look back on it) in the name of DIY? Do tell.
Danielle@Newlyweds Paradise says
Well, lets just say, when I have to tell everyone on facebook that I got a new washer and dryer, I think I hit this mark. But, New Years Eve, I was helping my mom paint her living room. New Years Day, I was helping my brother rip out his carpet. So I think I am one of you now. :-)
Jen Z. says
Insanity for sure! We painted all 11 rooms in our house, demoed a kitchen, demoed a storage area & garage and made it into a Family Room (which took a year to finish), took down our old pool, installed two exterior doors so far in our house, layed laminate flooring, installed tongue & grove ceiling tiles that look like wood, dug up boulders that were left by the previous owners in the side yard (free cycled those), took out old wood & slate from the garden beds and installed brick for the border instead (free cycled the slate as well), hung dry wall & install a closet organizer in the master bedroom. Next we will be doing our laundry room. I’m tired just typing all of this. And we only own the house for a little over 2 years. Thank god we DIY, because we would not have done half of this stuff ourselves. Thanks to you guys, you give me more and more inspiration to do other things in our home. :-D
Amber @ Two Nuts in a Shell says
I don’t really think this counts, but one day my father stopped by our house. He came through the garage and remarked over how he had to step over all of Jason’s tools (my husband). Dad: “I nearly tripped on Jason’s saw out there.” Me: “That’s my saw.” Dad: “The jigsaw?” Me: “My jigsaw.” Dad: “The miter box?” Me: “Also mine.” He looks at my husband and asks, “Is ANYTHING out there yours?” Jason: “Nope, just the garage. She rents the space from me.” ;)
Sunny's Life in Rehab says
Well, Guys….
There’s an 8 by 20 foot metal POD in my yard full of a lot of my possessions. The yard itself was plowed up during the delivery of the storage unit, and the company claims no responsibility. My sons are beached on the sectional couch while their rooms are in a burned-out shambles, we have electricity in 2/3 of the house, I still have boarded up windows, there’s rejected smears of paint samples on the walls, and my sliding glass doors are stuck open during a record cold Miami winter. The worst part of it? I’m so happy and excited I can barely contain myself!
Abbie says
You should definitely put the bit about the Home Depot worker in the baby book. That is such a fun story!
jane says
Right now we have no back wall in the kitchen. Last week the bricklayer was free (no doubt because of the snow and temperature in the teens here in St. Louis!) so he tore out the brick wall from our brand new kitchen to what will become the brand new utility room. There is only so much warmth that the furnace can keep on the first floor in weather like this in the midwest.
We have a very crude and temporary “door” blocking off the outdoors. And we spend a lot of time upstairs but I am looking forward to this new space in our old home so much that I’m OK with wearing extra layers until the project is done. I recommend the Patagonia wool base layer, Smartwool socks with sock liners, a down vest and even a cozy hat for anyone in a similiar situation.
Amy says
Let’s see…TWO years with no kitchen (torn to the studs), washing dishes in the basement utility sink…THREE years with no shower (kneeled in the tub with a handheld shower head). In the last four years, the two of us have replumbed, rewired, refinished floors, abated lead and asbestos (very, very carefully), tiled, rebuilt foundations (you get the idea)……Yep, we’re crazy DIYers! Though most of this came to a screeching halt about nineteen months ago, when our baby boy was born. Unlike Burger, he does not sleep through circular saw and drill noises. :)
Briel K. says
Aww, that picture of Burger is so cute! That’s hilarious that he’s scared of everything BUT loud renovation noises!
Amber says
My birthday is coming up and I asked for paint supplies and gift cards to lowes so I can paint our home. :)
Bailey@peppermintbliss says
You are both completely insane and we all LOVE you for it! I don’t know many people who could embark on such a project with such joy, nevermind such amazing results! It is a testament to both of you AND your marriage that you have taken such big DIY projects and challenges and made them fun and inspired all of us along the way!
I don’t have any really insane stories…yet…I mean unless you consider completely gutting down to the studs, ripping off the back wall, and roof all to save a historic faccade for your first home renovation insane. I think we have it pretty cushy since we are living in a cozy rental nearby while the mayhem happens, but we will see where we are with our sanity come May!
Congratulations on the bean!
Sarah says
No home improvement stories here because I live in an apartment, but my boyfriend did give me furniture sliders for Christmas because I’m always rearranging my furniture!
Cute picture of Burger!
Lauren B. says
Well, let’s just say that if you guys are surfing the pipeline in the ocean of DIY, we are the people sitting on the beach in our lounge chairs letting the water just touch our toes! Our only horror story is that our master bath shower door enclosure fell off over 2 years ago! It’s an L-shaped opening and one day, inspired by you guys, I ripped the enclosure out! I felt so powerful!!! Now, we are getting an l-shaped shower rod to replace it with a curtain (it’s about $750 cheaper to do it that way). But, we have had to put towels down all over the place to not get water on everything! One day, it will be done!
Amanda @geekdetails says
I haven’t done anything too crazy yet but I’ve only owned the house 7 months. I have gone to Lowes at 10 minutes to closing just so I can buy the tool that would help remove something from my hallway bathroom’s floor.
I can’t wait for the day my kitchen is torn down to the studs so we can build it up pretty. I don’t mind having to grill or eat out for every meal as long as my kitchen isn’t cream of tomato soup orange anymore and is functional!
pve says
We gave our neighbors a small little “outhouse” for all the showers we took during the 1 and a 1/2 bath becoming 2 full baths. For a family of five with not a shower to shower, they were so kind to let us use their home for showers. We became experts and spot cleaning the important parts. Each Christmas, they would put our an entire Holiday villiage, but we noticed they needed and outhouse. We laugh about it still.
pve
Lacey says
My husband and I are not nearly as insane as you two, but we totally wish we were! We just bought a house in December, and we thought we’d be done with a few amazing transformations by now…but really we just spend our weekends with basic maintenance (picking fruit from trees, cleaning pool of leaves that drop constantly from said trees, etc.). This weekend we made it to Home Depot AND Lowes…and as much as we love those places, we ended up wandering around in each for hours before leaving empty-handed and overwhelmed! There’s always next weekend?
Julia says
Thank you for the photo of your messy den! Somehow it makes me feel better to know that your house isn’t in pristine condition at all times. (I have two kids, so my house is never in pristine condition!)
Ursula G says
So far we have two cases, thankfully none that involved showering outside! (Perhaps that will come in time.) We had to move our bedroom into the living room / kitchen area while we redid the floors. Let’s just say I do not miss the sound of ice making in the middle of the night. When we first moved in we also had to use oil based primer since we removed some wallpaper. We were not aware how dangerous inhaling it was until we finished and it had us seeing stars. That night we had to open all the windows in very HOT weather so we didn’t pass out from the horrible fumes. Showers were inside the next day though so it wasn’t too bad!
I also feel your pain Lacey, we have a pool and just that alone takes up much adored home-improvement time. lol!
Dee says
1.The employees at Lowes ask us what project we’re working on.
2. Both my husband and I have been asked on more than one occasion to help someone at Lowes, and we’ve been able to do it.
3. We’ve been married 11 years and have owned 8 houses.
4. We start finishing trim in a house AFTER we’ve called the Realtor to list it.
Vic says
My dad is the DIY master, and I like to think I follow in his footsteps. When I left for college he gave me a tool kit as a good luck/farewell present! One of the best gifts ever!
Rebecca says
We are remodeling our 3rd home in Norfolk and the craziest thing we have done in the past 8 yrs of remodels would be….sleeping on our mattress in the sunporch while the wood floors were being refinished, all our clothes in our cars, everything except our china/pictures/tvs in storage, and climbing through a TINY window into the bathroom for a month…..we would not let any friends come over to see the house becuase it was so embarrasing how we were living! I would go out in the morning to pick out my clothes and then lay on the floor to get dressed because it was all windows and NO curtains. When the ants invaded I insisted on a hotel room for that one night but other than that we suffered through ;)
Molly says
Well, I cannot claim to be a remodeler, but we have fond memories of our bedtable when we spent a week eating takeout on our bed while we painted the first floor in our old apartment. It was also before we had any furniture downstairs, too. It was fun!
Rachel says
Haha! That was a great post! Loved it…and totally get why you’d be proud of what you’ve accomplished. It’s really amazing. We get partway into something and fizzle out. But you guys don’t stop till it’s done. That’s impressive.
carey says
we learned the lesson about having different seasonal paint outfits real quick. we are currently painting EVERYTHING in our second house! thanks for all your posts!
Lauren says
Let’s see, in the 3.5 years we have been in our house we have experienced:
1. no heat (for the first two years)
2. no roof (for a few days while we replaced it in ’07)
3. no bathroom (for 4 months in ’08)
4. no bedroom (for a few months in ’08 – slept in the living room)
5. no kitchen, dining or living room (coming soon!)
Ahh! Why do we do this? It’s crazy.
Ok…it’s [mostly] fun. And somewhat addictive.
erin p. says
we love our house too, we just bought it in july and have done a LOT to it in the 6 months weve owned it; put in a fence, painted almost all the rooms, put in new flooring in kitchen/living room, got rid of the carpet on stairs and put in new railing, put in new kitchen cabinets and countertops (which sucked… didnt last as long as you guys as we went with ikeas adel white kitchen but countertops/sink took a while so we were doing dishes in the laundry “room” for 2 mths, we’ve replaced 1/4 of the lighting, and are currently replacing old dark doors and rinky dink trim with new white trim and 6 panel doors… which my hubby and dad (who is a carpenter and has helped a TON) are doing now as i’m at my moms with our 2yr old (and baby #2 in belly!)
i love seeing the transformation of our dark and dated 70’s tri-level into a bright updated home that suits us!
Krys72599 says
Well, I know the feeling! I slept on a mattress in what was their tv room but would become our dining room ’cause the 2nd floor and the stairs were being sanded and polyurethaned. And then when they were done and we were able to go upstairs, we did the living room, the library and the dining room floors and had to hop, skip and jump from the kitchen onto the bottom stair to get upstairs at night while the 1st floor was curing.
And then jump down into the kitchen making the reverse trip. And to make it worse, I fell down the basement stairs the 2nd week we were in the house and there’s no bathroom on the 1st floor so dear hubby had to carry me down to the basement bathroom (no weight bearing on the ankle for a week!) and back upstairs again…
And let’s not forget eating in the dining room with a microwave and a toaster over while we gutted and redid the kitchen from July to November one year…
And then we bought the lake house and added a second floor…
MagPie says
Unrelated to the topic, but something you wrote caught my attention:
You and John have a junk drawer?!!??? TWO of them?
::doing a happy dance::
My lord, you are human afterall!
Emily says
I refused to live in my first house (just bought it in October) until we pulled up all carpet and linoleum and did finished concrete instead of the rest. It was almost painful to have to wait before I moved in – almost a month. It took forever to get the glue, paint, etc. from the floor, but finally we did. Totally worth it.
Also, the Lowe’s paint guy knows us because we are in their almost on a weekly basis getting paint, samples, more brushes and rollers, etc. So now that we are in the midst of painting, my living room looks quite similar to the above picture with the couch covered…We’ve got drop cloths, paint cans, and taped off areas EVERYWHERE!
Missy says
David and I have the bug too. I wouldn’t say we love every second of it though. Then again, we’ve gone over a year without a legitimate kitchen. Once the kitchen reno is complete, I think I can handle anything. I think.
Ann says
It’s not really a diy badge of honor, but when we listed our house for sale, we closed off both of the stairways to the 2nd floor. You see, one stairway was hardwood and our beloved dog scratched the wood going up the steps. We repaired the treads ourselves instead of hiring someone else to do it. We used cut up cardboard boxes to slide between the balistrades to “doggy proof” the steps. Whenever we showed the house, we put the dog in the car, removed the cardboard, hid it in a storage closet, and drove around. When we came home, we ran in the house, put the cardboard back up, and brought the dog back in. What a nightmare!
Anita says
Everything but #2 applies to us (for now) wink wink.
Well, let’s see. I’m currently sitting at my kitchen table which is now in the living room and our poor dog Basil is laying on the couch next to some pliers, sheet metal and has white plaster dust on his face :D On the positive side, I have a ceiling in the kitchen now after 2 years and don’t have to wash dishes in the bathtub or outside anymore kekeke OH and we patched up the hole in our ceiling which fell down yesterday!!
kitliz @ DIYdiva says
No Shower. 3 Months.
Never.
Again.
Kathryn says
YAY!
First off, I’m a new follower, and I LOVE, LOVE your blog…I’ve been checking it every day for the last month or so. I originally found it because I found a link to your adorable on-a-budget wedding, and now that we’re newlyweds and decorating, it was the next logical step to start reading your blogroll!
Thanks for the creative ideas, and I so look forward to keep up with you guys. :) And our chihuahua-mix is a big fan of Burger! Hello from Luna!
And yes, I can totally relate to the madness that is DIY..I’m a pile person. When in the midst of a project, I take over the table with crazy piles of “stuff.”
Gretchen says
JACKING UP THE SECOND FLOOR OF OUR 100+ YR OLD HOUSE!!!!!! Quite possibly the single most stressful day of my life in my 26 years of existence thus far (no kids yet). About $600.00 in rough hemlock posts and beams and other materials, an army of a dozen friends, and somehow we managed to jack up the second floor, install the beams and posts on the first floor in order to support and fix the sag in the second floor, and we didn’t screw it up! Our project leader had done it before and knew what he was doing, so that certainly helped a lot! :) We now have an open and flowing floor plan downstairs instead of three smaller rooms, and the second floor isn’t sagging two inches any more! The downstairs was three smaller rooms that were all plaster and lath that we spent weeks ripping out and removing…the most disgusting job I’ve ever done – tons and tons of rodent poo, plaster dust, and other “goodies”.
We also did a smaller jacking and post/beam installation project in our barn to support the car we store in there.
Also:
-our entire upstairs is partially sheetrocked at best, some walls have insulation with plastic over it and no sheetrock yet
-the entire upstairs is still just subfloor, though we have boxes and boxes of lovely sugar maple hardwood flooring ready to go (want to finish the sheetrocking, taping, and mudding first so we don’t damage the floor)
-are in the process of completely gutting and re-doing our main bathroom (the ONLY shower just like you guys, and we do have another functional toilet)
And of course we have tons of other smaller projects that aren’t as crazy (replacing windows, insulating attic, rewiring half the house, etc).
All since buying the house in August 2008… *phew!*
Condo Blues says
I can walk through my Home Depot and Lowes blindfolded and still find what I need.
Yesterday we went to Lowes to buy a faucet for the utility room. My husband said he was buying a power drum auger to deal with future clogs. I kissed him and told him if he bought that he didn’t need to buy me anything for Valentine’s Day (what was I thinking?!)
My dog supervises all DIY projects that do no require safety glasses. Oddly he’s OK with black powder weapons firing on vacations (like Willamsburg) but barks every time I use a staple gun.
threadbndr says
My son gets the DIY badge! How many Marines come home on leave from Iraq and immediately go to work to put a shower in their mom’s house?
True story!
Aimee says
This photo of Burger is too adorable for words! And this post is hilarious!! We too have many DIY badges of honor, but I am sure that yours take the cake.
Erica says
My crazy DIY stories are not as crazy as some people’s here (only went about 2-3 months without a kitchen instead of a few years, though technically it’s not finished yet!) but I do have a few stories that make me laugh. When I bought my house, I went to Sherwin Williams to buy paint, and of course went back several times. The last time I was in there, the guy behind the counter was like “long time, no see!” That freaked me out a little bit.
Also, I ripped up the nasty old carpet in the house and refinished the hardwood floors with the help of my dad. I had my mattress on the sanded but not polyurethaned floors of my office while I did the bedroom and dining room. I have a shotgun style house with one bathroom, which is off the kitchen, so I had to go outside the house and around into the kitchen to go to the bathroom or take a shower. I’ll bet I looked really silly a few mornings when I ran outside in my pajamas to go into the bathroom, and even sillier with my robe on and hair wrapped in a towel to go back into the “bedroom” to dig my clothes out of a box so I could get dressed to go to work!
However, I know I’m totally insane because I want to preserve the original beadboard wainscotting in the kitchen, so I’m chipping the 100 years of paint off it by hand using a screwdriver and a hammer. It’s going to take months, and then I get to figure out how to make it look pretty again.
Briony says
We are DIY people here too. In August we ripped out the entire top floor of our 4 level split ourselves. Including gutting the bathroom and tossing the bathtub out of our bedroom window! Then we had spray insulation put in, Next we drywalled ourselves, primed and painted. Installed flooring in the two bedrooms, new doors, put in windows all on our own! We also changed the sink taps and installed the bath fixtures (we had a plumber move the drain and taps because we put in a soaker tub). We scraped the ceilings and spackled them again..put in new light fixtures, new baseboards. Slept on a airmattress for 63 nights. We’re back upstairs but still working on the touch ups.
Taking the whole entire floor down to studs and ripping out floors too made us feel pretty hardcore.
Deren Monday says
My wife and I once painted from Friday afternoon before Easter at 1PM until Sunday morning at 10AM (Easter Day). We lived off low-carb Monster, Hot Pockets and an overwhelming desire to see our project finished. Now we have kids, and are forced into sanity…
Laura C. says
You know you’re an obsessive DIYer when your 14 year old daughter’s Facebook status reads “came home from school today and we had no stair bannisters. not weird at all.” We’re working on re-staining them this week.
Our kitchen table has only been tool-free for a total of about 3 weeks since we bought our house in 10/08. We’ve been working on DIY things constantly and often simultaneously – clearing brush, installing fences, remodeling the kitchen and bath (1.5 to go), installing hardwood, travertine and crown moldings throughout the house, painting, installing a “storage attic” in our 18 foot tall garage, etc. etc. etc. We’re pooped.
Ellie says
Ok…I love your blog. Totally blog stalk you…but I’ve never actually commented b/c I don’t like commenting on blogs I don’t know but I had to for this post.
When I was preggers with my little girl…the first person to rub my belly was a Home Depot worker too! But I didn’t know her and it totally creeped me out (I’m the “it’s MY belly you’re rubbing NOT the baby” type). My husband is usually the one to run to Home Depot b/c it’s easier for 1 person to go than both of us. I would usually stay home and paint or whatever it was we were doing but this 1 time I went…yup, totally got belly rubbed by the checker-outer lady. Good to hear it’s not just me! Haha! :)
Gina says
I tore out all the carpet in my bedroom one night because I wondered what condition the wood floors were in. I couldn’t stop. I sanded and refinished them over the next week. Then painted and wallpapered. It was the most fun I have ever had… And I don’t even own my home, I rent. I am certifiable. And when I do have my own place, I will be a DIY machine. Can’t wait.
Charley says
When I was 11 I lived with my parents in a camper for four months that sat on the front lawn of the house they were completely gutting and renovating. The only running water in the house was the toilet and shower spigot in an unfinished shower. We washed our hair using gallons of water in the front lawn and washed the dishes in the tub.
Nicole RJ says
Well we’re wimps compared to everyone else! *lol* Hubs is dead set against living in a “construction zone.” But the morning before our wedding, when we should have been focussing on wedding-stuffs, not to mention getting to the venue, we were shopping at our local big box for paint for the house we’d closed on the week prior!
tammylee says
love the picture of you on your airmatress in the living room. keeping it real. we all know our houses look like this more often than we like to admit. glad to see yours does sometimes too :)
Funky Junk Interiors says
I really enjoy your website/blog!
But when I saw the pic of the tools in the drawer, I knew I was in love. :) Allow me to explain. I’ve linked up that pic to a current post I’ll be making Wed Jan 13. It’s all about setting up a workshop no matter what your circumstances are. Your rockin’ tool drawer was meant to be in the piece. :)
Donna
Funky Junk Interiors
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/
Lauren says
ok, that last picture is hands down my 100% favorite shot you have ever posted – and it’s very difficult to beat out master burger! so nice to see that despite all of your covet-able organization and cleanliness, even young house love is in a state of chaos sometimes! my diy-loving husband and i have had at least one room of our house completely unlivable over the past 7 months, and it’s so comforting that even the diy pros experience the same thing :) thanks so much for all of your hard work on your home and this blog – you’re definitely an inspiration to us!!!
Jenney says
hahaha I can’t help but comment on #4! My dog, who does not like strange noises (especially my hair dryer!), has been laying down and chewing on his bone about 2ft away from my husband drilling supports into our new mantle and drilling into the wall. He even tried to smell the drill while it was drilling! Silly dogs :)
Meg says
You know you’re obsessed with Young House Love when you have a dream about them. Yep, creepy but true. I had a dream the other night that my friend and I somehow found our way into your home and were touring it. We felt like we were on a movie set and face to face with celebrities.
You were sweet about it, albeit a little exhausted from your pregnancy. John was nice too, but a little more obvious about not really wanting strangers squatting in his house. We hung out forever and I think we even started calling friends to come join us.
I woke up realizing I might be a tad bit too into your blog…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha that’s so funny! At least we were nice- we’d be sad if we were divas in your dream or something!
xo,
s