Our First House Galleries

Back Yard Improvements : We hired a contractor to come save our back yard from weed invasion and turn it into a comfortable place to relax. We had the terrace leveled, the retaining wall cleaned and extended, a paver patio put in, a french drain installed, and concrete stairs poured up to the patio. Over the next year or so, we'll be planting some arborvitae to add some privacy, adding raised planters on the terrace for a garden, and possibly adding a small shed.

Back Yard Improvements

We hired a contractor to come save our back yard from weed invasion an ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2009 5:40pm PST

Front Yard Improvements : Our front yard started as an unlevel mess, scared by the loss of two trees to death and disease. To make it manageable, we decided to install a retaining wall around the entire yard and grade the yard to one consistent level. So far, that's involved cutting out a nice chunk of reinforced concrete, removal of a pesky root left by the fir tree, excavation, pouring and leveling of a sand and gravel foundation, and setting and leveling bricks. After nearly a year of stagnation, we finally had to bring in some help to finish the job. Now the wall is done and grass is in.

Front Yard Improvements

Our front yard started as an unlevel mess, scared by the loss of two t ...

Updated: Mar 07, 2009 8:22pm PST

South Bedroom :

South Bedroom

Updated: Dec 04, 2008 9:33pm PST

Downstairs Bathroom : The downstairs bathroom just got a coat of paint and some new trim.

Downstairs Bathroom

The downstairs bathroom just got a coat of paint and some new trim.

Updated: Mar 09, 2008 7:11pm PST

Emergency Sump Pump Power : Our house is serviced by two sump pumps: one in the crawl space and one we share with our neighbor, under the driveway in a large reservoir. When we moved into our house, our neighborks house hadn't been built yet, so the shared driveway pump was powered off of our power panel. In a recent heavy rain storm, we had troubles with the breaker to what we thought was the driveway pump tripping every fifteen minutes. After investigation, we found that the builder had wired both pumps to the same circuit. So, when they both turned on, they overloaded the breaker. To fix this problem, and improve the overall system, we had a new circuit installed to run the crawl space pump, added indicator lights for both pump circuits so we could quickly verify that they were powered, and added a generator switch and receptacle so that we could run the pumps in the event of a power outage.

Emergency Sump Pump Power

Our house is serviced by two sump pumps: one in the crawl space and on ...

Updated: Jan 05, 2008 10:47am PST

Master Bedroom Improvements : In late June, after four months in our new house, we finally started working on our master bedroom so we could move the cats out and us in. First we stripped the molding off to prep the walls for painting. In the beginning of August, we finished painting the walls "raisin torte". Next we'll paint the door frames and doors and add new baseboard and crown molding.

Master Bedroom Improvements

In late June, after four months in our new house, we finally started w ...

Updated: May 15, 2007 10:20pm PST

Master Bathroom Improvements : Originally, we did not plan to do much with the master bathroom for a couple of years. But, we decided it would really benefit from a splash of color. So we decided to add an accent wall. We had also originally planned to put a "swirl wall" in the North Bedroom, but realized it was a better fit for the bathroom. So, Sarah painted her trademark swirls and we hung a new painting for the final touch.

Master Bathroom Improvements

Originally, we did not plan to do much with the master bathroom for a ...

Updated: May 15, 2007 8:18pm PST

Den Improvements : The new paint is on the walls. But, there's more to come. We're adding a custom built-in desk for Sarah, baseboard, and crown molding.

Den Improvements

The new paint is on the walls. But, there's more to come. We're addi ...

Updated: Jun 27, 2006 10:08pm PST

Front Room Improvements : The new paint is on the walls. But, there's more to come. We're adding furniture, baseboard, and crown molding.

Front Room Improvements

The new paint is on the walls. But, there's more to come. We're addi ...

Updated: Jun 27, 2006 9:55pm PST

New Kitchen Countertops - April 3, 2006 : Hanstone "Blue Lagoon" countertop installed by Coast Home Improvement

New Kitchen Countertops - April 3, 2006

Hanstone "Blue Lagoon" countertop installed by Coast Home Improvement

Updated: Apr 04, 2006 9:05pm PST

Front Room Painting : We started the work on the house interior by painting the front room. The wall on the den side was painted "dillweed", a light green. Spencer, who could be a professional edger, helped us paint "blue nose" on the two other walls of the front room. Too bad Spencer won't be around to edge the den and master bedroom for us.

Front Room Painting

We started the work on the house interior by painting the front room. ...

Updated: May 10, 2006 11:14pm PST

Trees : We bought our house with three large trees on the property. The two in the front yard were either dead or dying. They are being cut down. The one in the backyard just needed a good trim.

Trees

We bought our house with three large trees on the property. The two i ...

Updated: Apr 10, 2006 10:54pm PST

Front Room Rear Speakers : We installed a pair of NHT rear surround speakers in our front room. Unfortunately, my stud finder missed a 2x4 sheetrock nailer behind the left speaker (because there was an air gap) so the left speaker was a challenge. But, after a lot of drilling, chizzeling, cutting, prying, pocking a hole through the back side of the wall, and some sheetrock repair, all is now quite well. I'm sorry I didn't get pictures of the mess I made.

Front Room Rear Speakers

We installed a pair of NHT rear surround speakers in our front room. ...

Updated: May 11, 2006 7:46am PST

Making the house our home : Moving in and unpacking

Making the house our home

Moving in and unpacking

Updated: Mar 05, 2006 8:48pm PST

Final Inspection - 21 February 2006 : Final inspection day before closing

Final Inspection - 21 February 2006

Final inspection day before closing

Updated: Mar 05, 2006 8:32pm PST

14 February 2006 : Visit to take room and window measurements, locate wall outlets, and walk through with sellers

14 February 2006

Visit to take room and window measurements, locate wall outlets, and w ...

Updated: Feb 20, 2006 9:52am PST

First Look - 14 January 2006 : Pictures taken by Sarah on her first visit during an open house.

First Look - 14 January 2006

Pictures taken by Sarah on her first visit during an open house.

Updated: Jan 14, 2006 4:10pm PST

Driveway! : After nine and a half months of waiting, on November 13th, we came home from work to find a driveway at our house. That means no more cars getting stuck in the gravel, no more wading through mud, no more rocks in the wheel wells, and we can finally wash our car. After eight months of getting the run-around from the developer about why we had to wait to pave it, he was finally ready. That's when the rain started. It's been so rainy this fall, we had given up hope of getting the driveway until next year. Fortunately, the rains cleared for one beautiful day. That was all we needed.

Driveway!

After nine and a half months of waiting, on November 13th, we came hom ...

Updated: Nov 15, 2006 9:34pm PST