drainage report: digging up our yard
Back in May we talked about all the issues with our yard. Now that the deck is more or less done (still need to put the finish on it before the formal reveal), we’ve moved on to fixing our house’s drainage.
And you know what that means – it’s bobcat time!
So last weekend we rented a mini-excavator and dump truck. This was Kyle’s first time to rent heavy machinery of this caliber and after the 3 minute tutorial he received from the rental place, he was ready to roll. Backwards!
The main objectives of the weekend were to basically dig a moat around the front half of our house and take out extra dirt/mulch/gravel from the front yard. We picked up the bobcat and truck on Saturday afternoon. (One trick we’ve learned is that if rental places are closed on Sundays they usually rent from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning for the same rate as a 24-hr rental.) So we did that.
We started on the north side of the house. All was going well until we hit hardpan about 3′ down. Using the power of the machine, we thought we could just slam the bucket down a few times to break up the soil. Unfortunately, this method didn’t really work. What it did do was cause the right tracks of the bobcat to jump off the concrete driveway and into the dirt, which then caused the bobcat to get wedged against the house.
Bobcat FAIL! (As seen in the above right photo.) We popped a few boards under the track for traction and eventually backed it up onto the driveway, accompanied by the screeching sound of a crushed downspout. Oh well. On the bright side, we have plenty of experience restoring cedar siding and we also have an extra downspout. Which is good, because of course these aren’t your plain old downspouts that you buy at any big box store. No, they were special ordered from a gutter place up in Marysville. Why? Because they’re round. Ain’t no rectangle downspouts on chezerbey!
Once Kyle made his way to the west side of the house, he was getting the hang of things. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s grinning because he’s channeling Mike Mulligan (Kyle’s all-time favorite children’s book).
I mean, who doesn’t fantasize about being a steam shovel?
Even though we’ll be backfilling the dirt after installing the new drains, we still needed to remove and haul away a good amount. The process on the north side was tedious. Kyle would dump dirt straight into the wheelbarrows and I would then wheel them up and deposit the dirt in the back of the dump truck we rented.
I complained the whole time. I may have kicked a wheelbarrow, called it a name. Maybe.
This picture reminds me of that ridiculous arcade game where you try to use the claw to get a stuffed animal. Y’know…the game that is obviously rigged because no one ever gets the prize and the next thing you know you’ve spent your week’s allowance on a stupid machine. But I digress…this picture isn’t about arcade games, it’s about JORTS! Saturday was a blistering 82 degrees and the work jorts were in full effect. And Kyle owned them.
On Sunday morning Kyle started digging up the south half of our front yard and tearing out the weird mess of plants along our property line.
This half of our front yard is uneven and awkward and so our plan is to level it out a bit and create a small seating area (using some of the smaller pavers that we salvaged from the driveway in the backyard).
Digging on this side of the house went a lot faster and best of all – no wheelbarrows! We just backed the dump truck straight onto the sidewalk for easy access!
By this point Kyle was an excavating bad ass. Scoopin’, dumpin’, some more scoopin’.
And then tragedy struck.
Around 10:30 a.m. we noticed that one of the hoses was leaking hydraulic fluid. Great. So much for our full day of machine-assisted digging. [The good news – we get the equipment again this weekend for free!]
But no worries, we still had good old-fashioned hand-digging on our side!
We also had the good fortune to not bust through our water line. (The main line was replaced several years ago, but the old (and broken) pipe was left in place.) Phew. (Note: we had our utilities located before we started digging so we knew where everything was. We just used the bobcat to take the first layer of dirt off before hand-digging around the water line.)
Kyle spent the afternoon hand-digging around the sewer line on the south side of the house while I shoveled mulch and pea gravel from the north side. This is the area where we’ll reuse the large-scale pavers that we cut from the old sidewalk in the backyard.
While we optimistically thought we could get all of the digging done in one weekend (seriously, when will we ever learn?), we probably would have needed two weekends even without the bobcat malfunction. (We hauled away about 8 yards of dirt and probably have 8 more to go. Crazy!)
After dirt removal, it’s waterproofing and drains. Could this be the most unexciting house project yet? Maybe. Probably. Unless you’re Mike Mulligan Kyle Zerbey.
Next time – more dogs and kittens!
kitten
Kyle and I went on our first date in March 2001. We were both in college in Oklahoma and had made plans to hang out during Spring Break. He was staying with his parents in Tulsa so I drove down for the day. It was a perfect first date – the kind that ends up lasting the entire day but at the same time goes by way too fast. One memory I’ll never forget is when Kyle took me to meet his parents at their house. They weren’t home yet when we arrived, so he instead toured me around and personally introduced me to each of the 3-4 cats that were living there at the time. As I soon learned, he’s always had a soft spots in his heart for cats – an affection that apparently goes back to his toddler years:
Adorable, right? Anyhow, Kyle has always wanted to have a cat of his own but we never lived in feline-friendly housing until we bought our own home. At the time though, it didn’t make sense to get a cat with a serious fixer-upper and golden retriever puppy to contend with. So the idea went on hold.
Ok, truth be told, I’m not a huge cat person. I like them fine and had a few great cats growing up, but I’ve always been of the mindset that if you’re going to get a cat, why not just get another dog? I know, that doesn’t make any sense.
Anyhow, I figured that someday the right opportunity would present itself and we would finally own a cat. So last week, when my friend Jenny sent out an e-mail looking for someone to adopt an abandoned kitten, I forwarded it on to Kyle with the disclaimer:
“I might regret this…”
Jenny brought the kitty over Thursday night for a trial run to see how she and Bailey would get along. We weren’t really worried about Bailey being aggressive with the kitten, but that the kitten would be aggressive towards Bailey. And that’s more or less what happened. For the first day or so, she’d let out a soft hiss anytime he got within a 3′ radius. Dumbfounded, Bailey kept his distance, tail wagging the whole time. I can’t say I blame her though, Bailey must come across as some type of urban lion and hissing is about the only defensive action she’s got.
After a few days together and some forced bonding time, the two are getting along a little better. There’s definitely less hissing, but they’re not exactly spooning or playing fetch with each other.
We haven’t completely made up on our minds yet. We still have a few concerns about the long-term relationship between cat and dog as well as the long-term relationship between cat and furniture.
Anyone have experience introducing a new kitten to a large dog? Is there any type of cat psychology that will help us tell her that even though he’s at least 20x her size, he’s completely harmless? We really want them to be BFF’s and it would crush us if Bailey was constantly being bullied. (I know, you’re probaby rolling your eyes, but this is Bailey. And I’ve known some snarky cats.)
Also – cat training? We have serious apprehension about our furniture, wood surfaces, etc. Any tried and true methods for keeping cats off of these things? (We’ve been squirting her with water which seems to sort of work.)
But she’s super cute right? I’ll even admit to that.
decked out
Ever since finishing the big 2010 project we’ve talked about hosting a celebratory post-reno house party. Now, we’ve had a few blow-outs at chezerbey before, but somehow they always seem to happen when the house is a complete mess. Case in point: three years ago we had a party for Kyle’s 30th, approximately one week after we demolished our bathroom. As if a sink-less bathroom and black plastic shower curtain wasn’t enough, we were still wrapping up the bedroom project and sleeping in the living room.
Then we had grand plans to ring in my 30th last year with the finished interior. And well, we all know that didn’t happen. (Although at the time it seemed like we were really close. Ha!) But by this spring we were ready for a real party. Oh wait, no. Let’s build a deck first! So a month or so ago we finally picked a date (coinciding with Kyle’s 33rd b-day) and in typical Zerbey fashion we worked right up to our self-imposed deadline, installing the final deck boards and hauling concrete just days before the event.
But the party happened. And it was good.
Pony kegs! I haven’t seen one of these contraptions since college, but it really did make the most sense for the 50+ people that we invited. (Besides, we classed it up with some local Maritime brews.) For the non-beer drinkers, we whipped up some sangria and a couple of pitchers of strawberry margaritas and noshed on mini sliders, an assortment of side dishes, and birthday cookies from Specialties.
Although the deck has greatly improved the backyard, we thought there was still something missing. No, not the planters, awning and fire pit that we still need to build. Party lights! Ok, so well-designed string lights were not the easiest thing to track down the day before the shindig, but we finally found some at a party supply store in North Seattle.
“Hi. Do you have string lights that aren’t flamingos or palm trees?”
“Yes, we have Midway lights.”
“??”
“Y’know, the kind you see at carnivals.”
“Perfect!”
We originally wanted to do all clear bulbs, but they didn’t have enough so we alternated with the amber color. It’s fun without being too carnival (if you know what I mean).
The weekend before the party our driveway was still a haphazard (and hazardous) pile of concrete rubble. We put an ad on Craigslist thinking everyone would rush to get our beautifully cut chunks of driveway, but by Sunday evening we didn’t have a single bite. I panicked a little and quickly considered my options: 1) e-mail my family that was coming into town and tell them to bring their work clothes or 2) pay to have a hauling company come and take it away. Fortunately, neither scenario happened because Craigslist saved us (like he always does). Early last week we were contacted by a local landscaping company who saw our ad and wanted it all. Best of all, they had the crew and trucks to move it. PHEW. There was still a truckload worth of small rubble that Kyle, my brother and I shoveled up and disposed of late last week.
Ok, so the remaining dirt pile wasn’t exactly awesome, but it did provide us with a nice venue for corn hole! (And the dirt was a big hit with the toddlers at the party.) Eventually this whole area will get planted, but we’ve got all sorts of grading and amending of soil that needs to happen first.
In a last-minute stroke of genius, Kyle bought and installed a magnetic door stop that allowed the back door to stay open throughout the party. It also helped pump the tunes from the living room to the backyard. (Don’t worry, we gave our neighbors a heads-up and many of them even joined us. In fact, one of my favorite memories was seeing our neighbor passing out a tray of birthday cake shots.)
We’ll do another post that shows more finished shots of the deck, but you get the idea. We pulled the bbq out for the event, but it will normally reside under the kitchen window where the kegs were.
Oh, and just so you don’t get any crazy ideas that our house is always perfectly clean and organized…
(Ok, yes – as soon as the last guest left I totally started cleaning up.)
The next morning, summarized in one photo:
(FYI – the floors were a hot mess the next day, but they cleaned up nicely with a wet microfiber mop.)
Big thanks to everyone who pitched in at the last-minute to make the party a success. With an actual space for people to gather, we’re thinking about doing this party thing on a more regular basis. (Dancing on the coffee table again? Maybe not.) At any rate, those string lights aren’t coming down until winter.
kitchen follow-up
It’s been just about 8 months since we finished (and revealed) our new kitchen, so we thought it was a good time to report back and let you know how we like it.
(Don’t remember the horror that it was before? Click here.)
Before we picked up a sledgehammer, we spent a lot of time designing the space and researching various fixtures, appliances, materials, etc. Below is the final materials palette that we assembled in May 2010 which represents the actual products used. For a complete list of everything we chose, check out the resources page.
Cabinets
Starting out, we were a little skeptical about the quality and durability of IKEA cabinets. But after reading a number of good reviews we decided to just go for it and so far, we’ve been very impressed. Granted, custom cabinets would have been better crafted and more durable, but for us this was an area where we could save a substantial amount of money without sacrificing function or our overall design ideas. We also came up with a layout that uses IKEA components but doesn’t scream “hey there, I’m an IKEA kitchen!”.
So far, we have had no issues with the functionality of the cabinets. (There is a slight squeak when you turn the carousel in the lazy susan cabinet, but I haven’t been motivated/annoyed enough yet to take everything out and remedy the problem.) Aesthetically, one minor issue to keep in mind is if you’re using white frames and a darker cabinet/drawer face, you can sometimes see a bit of the white behind if the faces don’t precisely line-up (and they often don’t). At first we were concerned and even corrected the issue on one cabinet by adding a piece of black electrical tape over the frame edge to create a “reveal” of sorts. It worked fine but we never got around to doing it on the other cabinets and unless you’re standing directly in front of the gap and crouched down, you never really notice.
The pull-out pantry has been a lifesaver for storing food in a small kitchen (we also use one of the island drawers for snack food items).
The “soft close” hardware? Totally worth it. Totally awesome.
Another great thing about IKEA is that, contrary to popular belief, you’re not limited to small drawers and cabinets. The unit to the right of the range is 36″ wide and deep enough to store the food processor, large baking sheets and the toaster (I know, a little weird, but the toaster is ugly and must be hidden from view at all times).
For the three upper cabinets, we installed the special hinges that allow the doors to stay open and then softly close with a slight tap when you’re done. Again, a must-have for cabinets at this height. Kyle made the two open shelves and wine rack out of fir plywood (with a fir edge band). At first we were apprehensive about the open shelving from a dust standpoint (aesthetically though, two thumbs up), but because these are our “everyday” dishes they aren’t on the shelf long enough to get dusty. The wine glasses are an exception, especially since we like to drink almost everything out of the smaller tumblers on the right. So we might shuffle those around one of these days.
We’ve noticed a slight discoloration on the wood where the stacks of dishes are, but it doesn’t bother us and you won’t be able to see the discrepancy unless we rearrange.
The steel drawer pulls were a splurge, but we know they’ll last forever. The only minor complaint I have is that they can act as a mini-shelf for crumbs, especially at the island where most of the food prep happens.
Plumbing Fixtures
We purchased (and still own) three kitchen sinks. The first was a double-basin that we foolishly bought several years ago. After nearly four frustrated years of our double-basin Sears Roebuck sink (seriously, did people not have pots and pans back in the day??), we were single-basin converts. The second sink was a cheaper single-basin that we picked up at a shady location in South Seattle. It was ok, but we were concerned about the quality (the brand was unknown). Finally we found this Kraus sink on Craigslist. I love this sink. It’s clean and modern, but the slight radius of the inside corners means there’s no place for gunk to collect. At first I was indifferent to the rack that sits on the bottom, but have since found that it keeps the bottom of the sink from getting scratched and allows air to circulate around dishes that get left in the sink overnight (or for a few days). Oh, and undermount vs. self-rimming – this is not even a discussion worth having with yourself.
The Grohe Minta faucet was another splurge (although we did get it at a discounted price), but it was worth it. It is incredibly durable and we haven’t had a single issue with the retractable pull-out sprayer (when you turn the faucet off, it pulls the sprayer hose back into the faucet). Oh, and it’s pretty.
The adjacent soap pump has been a great way to free up counter space and even though we initially planned on a separate water filter, we eventually nixed the idea. The modern filter faucets were almost as expensive as the main faucet and after drinking out of our bathroom sink for a few months we decided that the water quality was actually pretty good. Problem solved, money saved.
Countertops
For the countertops we mainly wanted something that was durable and would reflect light. We collected a bunch of different samples and ultimately ended up with Silestone composite quartz in “white north”. By purchasing the countertops through IKEA we got a discount. By sweet-talking the dealer into an architect discount, we saved a little more. (Sadly, we could not talk them into a “double architect” discount. Damn. Why does the double architect discount never work??) Anyhow, the quartz is very durable and easy to clean. The seam at the corner is nearly invisible and I generally have to show people where it is for them to notice. Silestone was not the cheapest option out there, but knowing that the counters would be one of the most abused surfaces in the house we knew it would be a good investment.
For the island, we opted for butcherblock for a few different reasons. First, a solid piece of Silestone that size would have been crazy expensive. (Aesthetically, I think our kitchen proves that you don’t have to have matching countertops or matching cabinets to make it feel cohesive.) We also liked the idea of the island being a true work surface and a place where people could gather to help prep a meal. We looked at several different butcherblock options (including IKEA), but ultimately decided on Lyptus, which had a coloring similar to the surrounding fir wood and was surprisingly affordable. (To save on costs, we bought one 12′ counter depth piece, cut it in half and biscuited the two panels together.) Even though the intention was to use it as a giant chopping block, it was so new and pretty that I’m still pulling out the cutting boards. Over time I’m sure we’ll eventually transition to cutting directly on it, but at least we know we can always sand it down and refinish it (with a food-grade finish) if we want it to look all pretty and new again.
Trash
You know how excited I was about our fancy waste organization system. 8 months in it’s still doing its job. We knew summer would be the real challenge though – right around this time of year we start to get fruit flies and of course they love to hang out in the compost container. Our temporary solution? We converted the cookie jar to a countertop compost container. It doesn’t have a charcoal filter or any of that fancy-ness, but as long as we empty it every couple of days, we’re ok. For larger items (pizza boxes, egg cartons, etc.) we just take them straight to our yard waste/compost container.
Appliances
It’s hard to find something to dislike about our range, mainly because it was a huge upgrade from every other cheapo electric range we’ve had in the past. We purchased a scratch & dent GE Cafe dual fuel (convection oven with gas range). It has the professional styling w/o the crazy expensive price tag and the flaw was on the side of the appliance and not visible. Cooking with gas has been great and the only downside is that the cooktop surface is harder to clean than the glass-top electric varieties.
After living with our stupid, non-functional (and brown!) range hood, we made it a priority to find the best hood we could afford. We purchased a simple and modern model from Vent-A-Hood. At an equivalent 900 CFM’s, it is certainly powerful. The only negative? It’s loud. This probably has more to do with the way it’s ducted, but at least I don’t have to fear high temperature cooking anymore. (You don’t want to see what Bailey does when the smoke alarm goes off.)
Even though we briefly considered not having a microwave, I’m glad we found a way to incorporate one in without it being all in your face. The location works well and even though it’s lower than counter height, it hasn’t been a problem to use.
(Note: our fridge and dishwasher were purchased in 2006 when we moved in.)
And what does Bailey think about his custom dog bowl station? Well, he doesn’t really care as long as we put food in there twice a day. Storing the food within an arm’s reach under the sink was a good move, especially when Bailey wakes me up at 5:30 every morning. Does he wake me up to go to the bathroom? No. He wants to eat. So every morning I make him go outside first, then stumble bleary-eyed to the kitchen and feed him before going back to bed.
Lighting
Lighting has been one of the areas that we were most nervous about (so expensive! so many options!) but that we’re really pleased with. Almost all of our fixtures are made by different companies but everything meshes together while also serving its intended purpose.
The Bruck linear chandelier over the island provides good task lighting and is elegant enough that it doesn’t overwhelm the space. The two wall-mounted reach lights above the kitchen window provide additional task lighting and are only used if we’re cooking at night. The undercabinet LED lights also don’t get used all of the time, but serve as additional lighting and sometimes as a nightlight when we have guests staying with us.
Flooring
I know this is probably the product people were the most skeptical about: the cork flooring. So here’s what we like about it: the color, the texture, the easy maintenance and the slight cushion underfoot. What don’t we like? Here’s a clue:
To back up just a little bit, we ordered our cork tiles prefinished with a hardwax oil. For whatever reason, they didn’t come that way so the dealer and manufacturer ended up splitting the cost to have a floor company come out and apply a wax finish over the installed tiles. We chose a wax finish over a polyurethane one because it could be spot repaired and since the cork was throughout most of the house, we thought that would be a good thing. We also thought that even though we have a dog, he isn’t the type that runs in circles around the house (in other words, he’s kinda lazy). The thing we didn’t completely realize? He likes to lay “froggy style” and as a result his back claws tend to scratch the floor every time he scrambles to his feet. You can see a little bit of that here:
So what to do? Fortunately, the scratches are just in the wax and not the cork itself. I haven’t tried to do a true spot repair yet but it’s on the list. Since wax is a “buildable” finish, adding more layers will increase the life of the flooring and this might be the strategy we need to put in place. We’ve also though about scrapping the wax and going with a poly finish but this would mean emptying out the house and most likely hiring the work out. We’re going to live with the flooring and try a few spot repairs for now, but if we’re still not happy in a year or two we’ll weigh the different options.
So all in all, we feel like our research has paid off. The space functions well, is comfortable, easy to clean and is a bazillion times better than the shameful 5-doored room that was our old kitchen.
Want to read through all of our kitchen-related posts? Pour yourself some coffee and click here.
deck progress: 82 is too hot
Well, we started the day with every intention to finish the deck and clean up the concrete rubble in the backyard. But today was hot, like…82 degrees. Too hot for manual labor. So we scrapped our plans and did this instead:
Gasworks Park – so many people, so many watercraft!
Bailey is one of the few brave enough to swim in Lake Union.
So the basil died. After a few months it developed these small brown pimples and then the stalks started to turn brown. After I raided the entire plant for pesto one night, it was never the same. So lemon verbena has taken its place. Fingers crossed. In other news, Bailey has still not figured out how to push the sliding doors open. Yesterday morning I heard him whimpering and found this sad sight.
Truthfully, it felt great to take a day off. We’ll finish the deck – next weekend.
