Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Completed Driveway
We finished the rest of the concrete pad a couple of weeks ago and had a contractor come in and pave from our pad out to the road. They finished up today and it is so nice to have it paved, although we can't drive on it quite yet. Hopefully this will cut down on some of the dirt and dust we have been dragging through the house.
Here is a better picture of the concrete pad
Here is a better picture of the concrete pad
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Stamped Concrete Border
Over the last three weeks, we have been busy working on different things around the house so we could get started on putting a driveway in. Travis's dad brought the tractor over one weekend and we graded our lot a little better and compacted the area where the concrete pad would go. After that, we had 12 yards of gravel brought in. While I was on the road for work, Travis spread all 12 yards around the area for the pad, but it still wasn't enough. So another 12 yards was delivered, but this time I was lucky enough to help. I think my back is still sore from shoveling load after load into a wheelbarrow; I couldn't imaging doing all 12 yards by myself! With the gravel all spread and compacted, we started building the forms for the concrete pad. Since Trav and I don't like to make things too easy, we decided to not only do the stamped concrete ourselves, but to do a pattern with a border as well. We were up until there was no more light trying to finish last night because the concrete truck was coming at 7:00 this morning and out working by 5:00 this morning doing all the last minute details. I'm glad I took a couple quick pictures of the forms last night because there was not a minute to spare this morning. We were still running around like chickens with our heads cut off this morning when the concrete truck arrived.
Here are the pictures I managed to get last night of the gravel, forms, rebar, etc.
And the truck arriving right on time...The truck we had made it so much easier. I think they said it could reach up to 50 feet, so they were able to just shoot the concrete right into our forms instead of us having to shovel it around. You can also see what the concrete stamps look like in this picture. They are the blue rubbery looking things. We bought two of them to try and make it easier on ourselves.
This was just after the got all the concrete poured into the forms. We had help from two of Trav's friends, which I am so thankful for because there would have been no way that we could have done it ourselves. You can also see that Trav has been making quite a bit of progress on the rock on the front of the house. He got one of the columns up to the archway and is almost there on the other side.
After screeting and troweling, the concrete was looking pretty good and we just had to wait for it to set up a bit more before we hit it with the stamps. We actually ordered more concrete than we needed, so Trav built a quick step off the door coming out the back side of our garage. It set up a lot faster because there was a lot more direct sunlight on it, so we were able to do somewhat of a practice run with the stamp on that.
By 11:30, we had the release applied which is a powder colorant and the border all stamped. It turned out so awesome and felt like such an accomplishment. Unfortunately I think I will be feeling this accomplishment in my hamstrings for the next couple of days.
The stamp was a cobblestone pattern, so in this view from the front door, you can see the actual pattern a lot better. There is still a lot of release on there, so the grout lines aren't showing up as much as they will. We will wash off the release tomorrow and will probably also add a darker colorant to the grout lines to make them stand out even more.
Mocha even found a new favorite spot!
The next step will be to take the forms off and then pour concrete on the inside of the border. We are looking at doing a red release and a slate stamp which is what we used on our stairs.
Here are the pictures I managed to get last night of the gravel, forms, rebar, etc.
And the truck arriving right on time...The truck we had made it so much easier. I think they said it could reach up to 50 feet, so they were able to just shoot the concrete right into our forms instead of us having to shovel it around. You can also see what the concrete stamps look like in this picture. They are the blue rubbery looking things. We bought two of them to try and make it easier on ourselves.
This was just after the got all the concrete poured into the forms. We had help from two of Trav's friends, which I am so thankful for because there would have been no way that we could have done it ourselves. You can also see that Trav has been making quite a bit of progress on the rock on the front of the house. He got one of the columns up to the archway and is almost there on the other side.
After screeting and troweling, the concrete was looking pretty good and we just had to wait for it to set up a bit more before we hit it with the stamps. We actually ordered more concrete than we needed, so Trav built a quick step off the door coming out the back side of our garage. It set up a lot faster because there was a lot more direct sunlight on it, so we were able to do somewhat of a practice run with the stamp on that.
By 11:30, we had the release applied which is a powder colorant and the border all stamped. It turned out so awesome and felt like such an accomplishment. Unfortunately I think I will be feeling this accomplishment in my hamstrings for the next couple of days.
The stamp was a cobblestone pattern, so in this view from the front door, you can see the actual pattern a lot better. There is still a lot of release on there, so the grout lines aren't showing up as much as they will. We will wash off the release tomorrow and will probably also add a darker colorant to the grout lines to make them stand out even more.
Mocha even found a new favorite spot!
The next step will be to take the forms off and then pour concrete on the inside of the border. We are looking at doing a red release and a slate stamp which is what we used on our stairs.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Other Bar Updates
We had just a plain white beer fridge, which just didn't have enough flair. So Travis took the angle grinder the the front door and came up with this "stainless steel" look.
No more white door!
Here's a look at the bar area now. We got the shelving all finished and another tv hung.
We had a little Super Bowl party, so here's a video pre-party to show our downstairs made for entertaining! With 3 tvs going at once, it was hard to try and decide which one to watch!
No more white door!
Here's a look at the bar area now. We got the shelving all finished and another tv hung.
We had a little Super Bowl party, so here's a video pre-party to show our downstairs made for entertaining! With 3 tvs going at once, it was hard to try and decide which one to watch!
Concrete Countertops
Travis had the past couple of weeks off, so he was busy finishing the bar area. He had to build a couple cabinets for our microwave, wine fridge, and single drawer dishwasher. Then he installed all the cabinets and framed out the countertops so that we could pour them. Here are the forms. There are 2 parts to it; one for the countertops to overhang the cabinets and one for an actual edge.
Then we put in wire
Next we hand mixed the concrete and poured into the form and smoothed out the surface.
Then we waited for it to dry a bit and then we took off the forms around the edges so that we could finish the edges a little better.
And here's the dried concrete. We weren't happy with the color and it dried differently in places, so Travis sanded it down a little bit.
Then we bought concrete coloring and our lack of artistic talents came out. In Travis' attempt to strive for perfection, we ended up putting so much coloring in it that it was darker than we wanted. So, he put another skim coat of concrete over the top and we attempted the coloring again.
A couple coats of sealer and here's the finished product
Then we put in wire
Next we hand mixed the concrete and poured into the form and smoothed out the surface.
Then we waited for it to dry a bit and then we took off the forms around the edges so that we could finish the edges a little better.
And here's the dried concrete. We weren't happy with the color and it dried differently in places, so Travis sanded it down a little bit.
Then we bought concrete coloring and our lack of artistic talents came out. In Travis' attempt to strive for perfection, we ended up putting so much coloring in it that it was darker than we wanted. So, he put another skim coat of concrete over the top and we attempted the coloring again.
A couple coats of sealer and here's the finished product
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
New Furniture
Over the past couple of months, I haven't really posted much, but we are still doing little projects around the house. Most of the projects usually stem from them having to be completed by a certain time frame. For example, Trav's parents stayed with us one night, so Travis hung a shower curtain, towel rack, and toilet paper holder in another bathroom, so we didn't all have to shower in one bathroom. I really like the double towel racks. They are such space savers. I got them for all the full baths, but this is the only one we have installed so far.
In order to give ourselves some more closet space and clean up some of the items lingering in the hallways, Travis installed some shelving in the pantry
In order to give ourselves some more closet space and clean up some of the items lingering in the hallways, Travis installed some shelving in the pantry
in his closet
and my closet. I still have some laundry and unpacking of all our clothes to do, but with having all the hanging space, I have some encouragement to do it...just some though:)
I know I already showed the foosball table, but we are slowly starting to decorate a little bit. Travis is currently working on the bar cabinets and countertop, but once that's finished you can all come join us at the Handl Social Club...notice that it says "We serve cold beer...Did you bring any?"
Last night we installed the TV over the downstairs fireplace. It was a big pain to get it up there, so we decided if we ever sell the house, the TV is staying.
Our newest purchase was a gift from my parents. We got theater seats for the theater room...just in time for Super Bowl Sunday! Here's what they look like reclined
the room setup
and looking into the Handl Home Cinema! We also built the projector screen since I last posted, which turned out quite nice.
Mocha also got in on some new furniture as well. She got a new bed but really only lies in it when we put it in front of the door when we are gone. I think she probably prefers the theater seats as you can see from the previous picture.
and my closet. I still have some laundry and unpacking of all our clothes to do, but with having all the hanging space, I have some encouragement to do it...just some though:)
I know I already showed the foosball table, but we are slowly starting to decorate a little bit. Travis is currently working on the bar cabinets and countertop, but once that's finished you can all come join us at the Handl Social Club...notice that it says "We serve cold beer...Did you bring any?"
Last night we installed the TV over the downstairs fireplace. It was a big pain to get it up there, so we decided if we ever sell the house, the TV is staying.
Our newest purchase was a gift from my parents. We got theater seats for the theater room...just in time for Super Bowl Sunday! Here's what they look like reclined
the room setup
and looking into the Handl Home Cinema! We also built the projector screen since I last posted, which turned out quite nice.
Mocha also got in on some new furniture as well. She got a new bed but really only lies in it when we put it in front of the door when we are gone. I think she probably prefers the theater seats as you can see from the previous picture.
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