The DisFort's Chit Chat Cafe
- Thread starter 2goofycampers
- Start date
Ever been working on a project and it leads to a bigger project? Seems Melissa and I are pretty good at that, except this time it was a bigger project then before. It all started with needing to upgrade out pin board. After the last trip to Disney we where running out of space on the old board. So we searched around for what would be the new pin board and changed out to it.
That little project was quick and easy. The bigger project was the result of a conversation about fixing up the old pin board holes and touching up the paint since not all of the holes where covered by the new board. That's when Melissa says "What if we swapped the window and door between the family room and the kitchen area?" Basically the back of the house you have the family room on the left, kitchen area on the far right and eat in area in the center fully open concept. We love it and it is the heart of our home. The old sliding door was starting to fail, it was hard to open and close and due to be replaced.
Last week after months of quotes, planning, sorting out how we plan to pay for it came to conclusion!!!
The old:
Large holes in my house!!!
The new door and window:
We love the new setup and the pups adjusted quickly to the new dog door location. So we joke that replacing a pin board turned into moving a door, but I really think it will improve the flow of the house and make the family room more configurable for furniture.
That little project was quick and easy. The bigger project was the result of a conversation about fixing up the old pin board holes and touching up the paint since not all of the holes where covered by the new board. That's when Melissa says "What if we swapped the window and door between the family room and the kitchen area?" Basically the back of the house you have the family room on the left, kitchen area on the far right and eat in area in the center fully open concept. We love it and it is the heart of our home. The old sliding door was starting to fail, it was hard to open and close and due to be replaced.
Last week after months of quotes, planning, sorting out how we plan to pay for it came to conclusion!!!
The old:
Large holes in my house!!!
The new door and window:
We love the new setup and the pups adjusted quickly to the new dog door location. So we joke that replacing a pin board turned into moving a door, but I really think it will improve the flow of the house and make the family room more configurable for furniture.
In addition to doing this work we replaced the basement walkout door which was showing its age.
With the basement door replaced I do plan to install a tile entry area to cut back on the amount of wet dirty pas the dogs seem to drag into the house if I leave that door open.
And the last piece of the door/siding work was supposed to be just replacing some rotting trim on the portico. Well once we opened that onion, it turned into a 40% rebuild.
New sheathing, new membrane, new railings and trim. All the trim facing weather is now PVC, only wood remaining should not see any weather though I will repaint them by Spring.
I feel like we did great finding a contractor that is fair on price and takes good care to do the job right. Of course this triggered us to think about a few other projects. Right now gathering quotes to refinish the deck with new boards and railings. Though based on what we are getting back, might be something I am willing to do myself since I am still capable.
With the basement door replaced I do plan to install a tile entry area to cut back on the amount of wet dirty pas the dogs seem to drag into the house if I leave that door open.
And the last piece of the door/siding work was supposed to be just replacing some rotting trim on the portico. Well once we opened that onion, it turned into a 40% rebuild.
New sheathing, new membrane, new railings and trim. All the trim facing weather is now PVC, only wood remaining should not see any weather though I will repaint them by Spring.
I feel like we did great finding a contractor that is fair on price and takes good care to do the job right. Of course this triggered us to think about a few other projects. Right now gathering quotes to refinish the deck with new boards and railings. Though based on what we are getting back, might be something I am willing to do myself since I am still capable.
Ok, so last of the renovation posts....for now. With the entry door moved and the renovation fire stoked I went on the hunt to find an electrician to move the switch bank from the old door location to the new. We also been talking about fixing the lighting in the kitchen for some time and had that looked into. And the last piece was some work to add 30A RV outlet, another 20A circuit to the garage, and power my 60 gallon compressor. After several all over the place quotes, I found one guy that was a straight shooter and the best price.
Saturday that crew came out and I cannot believe how much it changed the kitchen. The lighting change alone is seriously like night and day.
Before:
After:
That was only adding 4 6" can-less LED recessed lights in the main kitchen and a 4" in the pantry closet. The panty light is tied to the rest since it would take a LOT more holes to give it a dedicated switch. Unfortunately this left a LOT of holes to be fixed. And thankfully something I am mostly confident about doing myself.
The holes left to move the switches closer to the door and reroute the feed that used to run under the old window. These guys did a great job and really happy with the outcome.
As of this morning all the ceiling work is done and ready for paint. The wall work near the door is pretty close to ready for paint, and I am still finishing up the wall and trim work around the window area.
That will be the last one to see paint, but I am pretty confident that by the weekend after Thanksgiving it will be done and I can move on to decorating for the season.
and then the new 60amp sub panel mainly to feed the RV and garage, and the relocated water heater circuit.
I will definitely post an update when all of the finish work and paint is done!
Saturday that crew came out and I cannot believe how much it changed the kitchen. The lighting change alone is seriously like night and day.
Before:
After:
That was only adding 4 6" can-less LED recessed lights in the main kitchen and a 4" in the pantry closet. The panty light is tied to the rest since it would take a LOT more holes to give it a dedicated switch. Unfortunately this left a LOT of holes to be fixed. And thankfully something I am mostly confident about doing myself.
The holes left to move the switches closer to the door and reroute the feed that used to run under the old window. These guys did a great job and really happy with the outcome.
As of this morning all the ceiling work is done and ready for paint. The wall work near the door is pretty close to ready for paint, and I am still finishing up the wall and trim work around the window area.
That will be the last one to see paint, but I am pretty confident that by the weekend after Thanksgiving it will be done and I can move on to decorating for the season.
and then the new 60amp sub panel mainly to feed the RV and garage, and the relocated water heater circuit.
I will definitely post an update when all of the finish work and paint is done!
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friendofeeyore
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2014
Kris, prayers for your Mom!
jbrostek, great job on your remodeling.
Enjoyed the train info. As I have stated earlier I was raised around trains, as My Dad worked for REA, also Grumpy Aggie(Arnold)
Wishing everyone & very blessed & safe Thanksgiving!!
jbrostek, great job on your remodeling.
Enjoyed the train info. As I have stated earlier I was raised around trains, as My Dad worked for REA, also Grumpy Aggie(Arnold)
Wishing everyone & very blessed & safe Thanksgiving!!
garneska
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2003
Some good news. Mom was moved to a rehab facility today. This will mean lots of PT to try and get her up. She seems pretty good on all the other medical fronts. The kidneys are functioning better. The main thing is can she get strong enough to get out of bed.
I will say the rehab facility is depressing. Trying to remind myself that it is better than being in the hospital. It is older but I thought the nurses we had dealt with so far were really good.
I will say the rehab facility is depressing. Trying to remind myself that it is better than being in the hospital. It is older but I thought the nurses we had dealt with so far were really good.
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
Those are a lot of changes, @jbrostek. I bet you WILL be glad when they are all finished.
Kris, you and Bert hang in there. We went through similar procedures with DW's dad.
I have a little more bounce in my step knowing that the 60-day ADR window opens up in a week for our next WDW/Fort stay.
Decisions, decisions ......
Bama Ed
Kris, you and Bert hang in there. We went through similar procedures with DW's dad.
I have a little more bounce in my step knowing that the 60-day ADR window opens up in a week for our next WDW/Fort stay.
Decisions, decisions ......
Bama Ed
garneska
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2003
@bama_ed what are you trying to get for ADRs? Yes vacation planning feels so much better. I just canceled a 3 night cruise on the Wish in Dec. we had a few extra vacation days. Issue now is with mom so just decided to cancel. Trying to also replan a celebrity cruise. That one only has a deposit paid but in mom’s current state prepping for switching it to t cruise later in 2024.
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
This is a low-rent trip, @garneska, so we will likely do a table service restaurant during our MK day (only theme park day). And we have a Tent/Pop-up site reserved so we are taking more of a budget approach to this visit.
In MK I don't want characters, AYCTE, or prix fixe so that narrows the list. We did 'The Plaza' last Thanksgiving so that leaves me with Jungle Skipper Cantina or Tony's. I have read better things about Tony's with a new head chef and an improved menu (in terms of choices) so I am tempted to try Tony's but it depends somewhat. Nothing fancy or new I think.
Still have to touch base with some folks and make plans but can make my ADR(s) starting the end of this week. We're visiting in late January 2024 which I think is not busy in terms of crowds so I don't feel compelled to HAVE to book right at 60+10 or such.
Ed
FtW Mike
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2016
Decisions, decisions ......
Bama Ed
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
Today was FINALLY a day to get caught up around the house.
DW and I are hosting our family Thanksgiving on Friday (rather than Thursday) in a scheduling attempt to make it possible for as many as possible to attend. But I got a lot done today.
- changed out two ballasts in the fluorescent lights and put in new bulbs and they both work now in the attic where the trains are.
- cooked some homemade whole cranberry sauce which will be nice and cold/gelled for our meal.
- baked the chicken and shredded it that DW will use for the cornbread dressing she will prepare tomorrow.
- the pumpkin cheesecake is in the oven now and will chill overnight and be cold for Friday. Someone is bringing a pumpkin pie and I will make the pecan pie tomorrow (story to follow).
I did want to show some new-to-me train rolling stock (3 pieces) that have joined my railroad. Two gondola cars and one is a small wooden looking bobber caboose.
The Southern gondola is a customized/used one that someone put the 'Southern' name on themselves. Since it was modified and not stock, it was inexpensive. The yellow gondola was to observe that my preferred train manufacturer, Aristo-Craft, had purchased the molds and manufacturing rights of Delton (who went out of business) back in the late 90s. Both are pretty good sized at over 15" in length.
Gloria, I also picked up an inexpensive REA bobber caboose.
Spencer had brought up 'people' for the railroad and AC did make figures so I picked up a few.
One is the Stationmaster.
The others are in a set and still in packages but they are part of the hobo collection (still missing one hobo figure). Left to right they are:
Biddy Lavender - Queen of the Road, Bedroll Bill, Big Bart - King of the Road, and Rob O' Toole.
Still missing is Campfire Carl. I plan to put them out together far away from the station.
Hope to run some trains Saturday or Sunday.
And we hope everyone will have a great Thanksgiving.
Ed
DW and I are hosting our family Thanksgiving on Friday (rather than Thursday) in a scheduling attempt to make it possible for as many as possible to attend. But I got a lot done today.
- changed out two ballasts in the fluorescent lights and put in new bulbs and they both work now in the attic where the trains are.
- cooked some homemade whole cranberry sauce which will be nice and cold/gelled for our meal.
- baked the chicken and shredded it that DW will use for the cornbread dressing she will prepare tomorrow.
- the pumpkin cheesecake is in the oven now and will chill overnight and be cold for Friday. Someone is bringing a pumpkin pie and I will make the pecan pie tomorrow (story to follow).
I did want to show some new-to-me train rolling stock (3 pieces) that have joined my railroad. Two gondola cars and one is a small wooden looking bobber caboose.
The Southern gondola is a customized/used one that someone put the 'Southern' name on themselves. Since it was modified and not stock, it was inexpensive. The yellow gondola was to observe that my preferred train manufacturer, Aristo-Craft, had purchased the molds and manufacturing rights of Delton (who went out of business) back in the late 90s. Both are pretty good sized at over 15" in length.
Gloria, I also picked up an inexpensive REA bobber caboose.
Spencer had brought up 'people' for the railroad and AC did make figures so I picked up a few.
One is the Stationmaster.
The others are in a set and still in packages but they are part of the hobo collection (still missing one hobo figure). Left to right they are:
Biddy Lavender - Queen of the Road, Bedroll Bill, Big Bart - King of the Road, and Rob O' Toole.
Still missing is Campfire Carl. I plan to put them out together far away from the station.
Hope to run some trains Saturday or Sunday.
And we hope everyone will have a great Thanksgiving.
Ed
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FtW Mike
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2016
For any of us that have a SUN OUTDOORS RESORT nearby or use them on a longer trip, this is a good week. They are conducting a Black Friday sale until Nov 28th. . Stays of over 2 nights for the vast majority of Next Year are eligible for a 40 % discount.
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
Good thinking, Jimmy.
I may need to go for an aggressive walk tomorrow (Thursday) to make room for all those Friday calories.
Ed
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
Good. I can't stand a dirty house.
Ed
PS - this is not me. I'm not going to show up unannounced, Jim.
(an attempt at humor, folks).
For those of you who have extended family coming in.
Teamubr
From somewhere outside StL
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2010
PS - this is not me. I'm not going to show up unannounced, Jim.
(an attempt at humor, folks).
For those of you who have extended family coming in.
You could swing by. A few more won't matter. You would be some of the more "normal" ones. But I'll warn you. It's cold up here.
Actually having both sides of the family (well, some of them) over today and heading to mid-MO tomorrow to see my dad and his wife.
P.S. Donna said it is almost dinner time. Ham and potatoes are in the oven.
j
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
The story is:
We live adjacent to the University of Alabama campus and of course the place is dead this week with school out this week for the holiday and the football game Saturday is away. But it's a great time to walk around the beautiful grounds on campus (lots of oak trees) but scour the ground under the handful of pecan trees that are in a few low-foot-traffic places. I used to buy pecans in the grocery store to use in the holiday pie (dark Karo syrup only, ya'll) but this year I got them off the ground for free.
A few trees are in high visibility places where you circle it and might only find a handful. But when you find a tree that hasn't been harvested yet, they are numerous within arm's reach. I'm happy to take what the land will give me. The place I get them cracked at told me Monday they couldn't guarantee them to be ready Tuesday (Christmas trees were arriving on a truck) and they would be closed Wednesday and Thursday (today of course). So I cracked enough by hand at home to make my pie today but I have another 4# (including some I picked up today on my walk-to-burn-calories) in the shell still that I will take next week to get cracked (flat $5 fee). That should be enough for several pies over the coming year. I am done looking for pecans now. This pie will legitimately have a "local" flavor.
Thus the story is that there was money just LYING there on the ground waiting for somebody to come along and pick it up. Regretfully, I waited too long to go looking after I got the idea to do so and the last round of grass mowing chopped up a lot of the fallen crop (tire tracks, shell fragments, and seeing them mow in person). But there was still a bunch if you know where to look.
Ed
PS - my dad asked me where the trees were and I felt a little reluctant at first to tell him. It's like someone asking where your secret successful fishing hole is. But I did reveal my secret.
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