I'm referring to our neighbors, who came over yesterday when we were completing the last of the re-seeding on our front lawn. They made the suggestion that we have the city come and trim the trees on the parkway, therefore enabling more sun to hit our lawn. Hmmm. Hadn't thought of that. Call the city of Chicago and actually have them respond?
One of the great things about this house is the shady factor, and being able to leave the windows open in the heat, and not having to run the air conditioner, so we had a decision to make... keep the shade on the house, or request the trees be trimmed, and get some sun.
The major deciding factor was we didn't want a storm to blow down a branch, and crash down on our roof, so a call to 311 was made, where they told me they'd be out as soon as possible. I'm betting on next year. Any takers?
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Busy weekend
What an eventful weekend!
Friday night, Michael decided to reclaim the wood that we tore down from this closet
to use to build a foundation for the spawn of hell (yes, I've nicknamed the bed). He measured and cut up 4 pieces of wood, which should have precisely fit onto the slats of the bed frame.
Turns out, the existing box spring we had from our previous bed was bad, and we believe it's what ruined the old mattress. This box spring was 1/3 the size of a normal box spring, and what it consists of is wood and metal, and the problem seems to be the metal beams poke through and do not balance the mattress.
So, here's Mike cutting up the wood, of course being supervised by Safety Sid. He gave his stamp of approval.
First, we need to remove the box spring and bring it downstairs. That was fun, as we got it halfway down the stairs, and realized it wouldn't fit since the basement ceiling is in the way. Up it goes to sit in our living room next to the old mattress.
Next, he brings the new wood into the bedroom. Uh oh. The existing slats are not sitting on a ledge, but instead, they're built into brackets holding them up. Michael didn't count on this, and now the wood would have to be strategically balanced to support the mattress. We finally got it sort of balanced, but a trip to home depot is needed to purchase brackets to secure all boards together.
That night, both of us slept amazingly well.
Next morning, Home Depot was holding a lawn and garden clinic. Wonderful, just what we need! We arrived 45 minutes early and were planning on doing some shopping for other things, but inquired as to where the clinic would be held. Turns out, since we were so early, the garden expert decided to give us our own personal clinic where he answered every single question we had. He spent almost an hour with us. One of his main theories about our lawn, is it's actually getting too much water, and the roots of the grass are being stunted, which is why after 2 months of being established, we still can't mow the lawn without them being pulled out. So, we will now water way less, and on top of everything, he gave us a new bag of grass seed for FREE! Total score!
Once we left, we stopped at the store for some barbequables, and on the way home, noticed a store right near our street had a bunch of crap sitting outside. Looks like a sale, so of course we stop in to check out crap. We walk in, and notice it's all crap, total badly used 80's furniture, but I walk right up to a 4 drawer file cabinet which we are badly in need of. Hmmm, these are really expensive in the stores new, well over $150, so I ask how much.... $30, and SOLD! We told him we'd pay for it, but would have to walk back with a dolly since it wouldn't fit in my car, and his wife said she was just leaving, and would deliver it to us for free. Double score!
Next on the agenda, Michael hung up our new address sign outside. It looks awesome, and hopefully we will now be getting all of our mail... but only time will tell.
Lastly, we decided to start on the yard again, and re-tilled by hand all of the bare spots in the lawn where grass hadn't grown. We couldn't believe how much there was to do, and got about 1/3 done (which took 3 hours). Hopefully, this will help, but we know it's an ongoing process.
We ended the night with a yummy BBQ and finally went to bed after midnight, where again, we had a great nights sleep.
Friday night, Michael decided to reclaim the wood that we tore down from this closet
to use to build a foundation for the spawn of hell (yes, I've nicknamed the bed). He measured and cut up 4 pieces of wood, which should have precisely fit onto the slats of the bed frame.Turns out, the existing box spring we had from our previous bed was bad, and we believe it's what ruined the old mattress. This box spring was 1/3 the size of a normal box spring, and what it consists of is wood and metal, and the problem seems to be the metal beams poke through and do not balance the mattress.
So, here's Mike cutting up the wood, of course being supervised by Safety Sid. He gave his stamp of approval.
First, we need to remove the box spring and bring it downstairs. That was fun, as we got it halfway down the stairs, and realized it wouldn't fit since the basement ceiling is in the way. Up it goes to sit in our living room next to the old mattress.
Next, he brings the new wood into the bedroom. Uh oh. The existing slats are not sitting on a ledge, but instead, they're built into brackets holding them up. Michael didn't count on this, and now the wood would have to be strategically balanced to support the mattress. We finally got it sort of balanced, but a trip to home depot is needed to purchase brackets to secure all boards together.
That night, both of us slept amazingly well.
Next morning, Home Depot was holding a lawn and garden clinic. Wonderful, just what we need! We arrived 45 minutes early and were planning on doing some shopping for other things, but inquired as to where the clinic would be held. Turns out, since we were so early, the garden expert decided to give us our own personal clinic where he answered every single question we had. He spent almost an hour with us. One of his main theories about our lawn, is it's actually getting too much water, and the roots of the grass are being stunted, which is why after 2 months of being established, we still can't mow the lawn without them being pulled out. So, we will now water way less, and on top of everything, he gave us a new bag of grass seed for FREE! Total score!
Once we left, we stopped at the store for some barbequables, and on the way home, noticed a store right near our street had a bunch of crap sitting outside. Looks like a sale, so of course we stop in to check out crap. We walk in, and notice it's all crap, total badly used 80's furniture, but I walk right up to a 4 drawer file cabinet which we are badly in need of. Hmmm, these are really expensive in the stores new, well over $150, so I ask how much.... $30, and SOLD! We told him we'd pay for it, but would have to walk back with a dolly since it wouldn't fit in my car, and his wife said she was just leaving, and would deliver it to us for free. Double score!
Next on the agenda, Michael hung up our new address sign outside. It looks awesome, and hopefully we will now be getting all of our mail... but only time will tell.
Lastly, we decided to start on the yard again, and re-tilled by hand all of the bare spots in the lawn where grass hadn't grown. We couldn't believe how much there was to do, and got about 1/3 done (which took 3 hours). Hopefully, this will help, but we know it's an ongoing process.
We ended the night with a yummy BBQ and finally went to bed after midnight, where again, we had a great nights sleep.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Pre-insulation Installation
After doing much research and getting several quotes for insulating the attic and master bedroom walls, we've reached a decision.
1. We will not be insulating the bedroom walls.
2. We're insulating the attic with what we believe to be the best product on the market, and it's a green product called Icynene.
The reason we have decided not to do the bedroom walls, they will need to drill a hole every 18 inches from ceiling to floor board to inject the insulation, and neither of us are ready for that mess. Instead, we think we'll try to tweak the furnace to pull the air into the bedroom, but that's another post for another day.
So, the product is called Icynene, and it's a spray foam which expands to the roof of the attic in seconds. We believe (and research seems to back up our thoughts) coating the roof with this product will keep heat out in summer, and cold out in winter, to make the attic very close to the house temperature. Now, Michael knows more about this, and I've been pestering him to write a post, but alas, nothing. So, you get to hear from me. Want to know more about this cool sounding product? Check out http://www.ecotecinsulation.com/
We need to have 5 1/2 inches of Icynene sprayed on the surface, and there are 2 ways we can have this product installed; either directly over our joists in the attic, or by building up the joists with 2x4's, and having the foam sprayed between these joists, thus leaving the beams exposed. The pros of adding the wood, if we ever want to drywall the space, we can. And considering we want to use it for a ton of storage, the less likely my head will poke through the foam, since it will be covered. So, we're gearing up for this fun construction project.
So, before anything can be done, we need to add quite a bit of wood to our attic. In the summer.
Granted, we've had what I believe has been the coolest summer since I can remember, but I'm sure that will change the day we head up to start this work.
First order of business? But a cordless drill. Michael has been drooling over this cordless drill, so I can see that purchase in our future. Next, measure and purchase all necessities, wood, screws, nails. Finally, say goodbye to our nights and weekends for the next month or so. Currently, Peoples Gas plus the Federal Government are offering rebates on this work. But, in the case of the gas company, it's offered until the money runs out... so, we're sort of in a bit of a hurry to get this done.
Also, the reason I'm typing this post at this ungodly early hour? Because I lost the bet and won the bad side of the bed last night...
1. We will not be insulating the bedroom walls.
2. We're insulating the attic with what we believe to be the best product on the market, and it's a green product called Icynene.
The reason we have decided not to do the bedroom walls, they will need to drill a hole every 18 inches from ceiling to floor board to inject the insulation, and neither of us are ready for that mess. Instead, we think we'll try to tweak the furnace to pull the air into the bedroom, but that's another post for another day.
So, the product is called Icynene, and it's a spray foam which expands to the roof of the attic in seconds. We believe (and research seems to back up our thoughts) coating the roof with this product will keep heat out in summer, and cold out in winter, to make the attic very close to the house temperature. Now, Michael knows more about this, and I've been pestering him to write a post, but alas, nothing. So, you get to hear from me. Want to know more about this cool sounding product? Check out http://www.ecotecinsulation.com/
We need to have 5 1/2 inches of Icynene sprayed on the surface, and there are 2 ways we can have this product installed; either directly over our joists in the attic, or by building up the joists with 2x4's, and having the foam sprayed between these joists, thus leaving the beams exposed. The pros of adding the wood, if we ever want to drywall the space, we can. And considering we want to use it for a ton of storage, the less likely my head will poke through the foam, since it will be covered. So, we're gearing up for this fun construction project.
So, before anything can be done, we need to add quite a bit of wood to our attic. In the summer.
Granted, we've had what I believe has been the coolest summer since I can remember, but I'm sure that will change the day we head up to start this work.
First order of business? But a cordless drill. Michael has been drooling over this cordless drill, so I can see that purchase in our future. Next, measure and purchase all necessities, wood, screws, nails. Finally, say goodbye to our nights and weekends for the next month or so. Currently, Peoples Gas plus the Federal Government are offering rebates on this work. But, in the case of the gas company, it's offered until the money runs out... so, we're sort of in a bit of a hurry to get this done.
Also, the reason I'm typing this post at this ungodly early hour? Because I lost the bet and won the bad side of the bed last night...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Pain in the back
It's been one week since we've had our new bed from Costco, the Grande Elegance. Doesn't it sound just dreamy?
The bed comes in a box, and the instructions state it will take about 72 hours to fully decompress, but it also states you should be able to sleep on it the first night.
The first night, I had the worst night's sleep that I can remember. Although, I'm not sure I can really use the word sleep, more or less tossing and turning. My back hurt, but the worst was my arms and legs. It felt like I had slept on the floor all night. This bed is FIRM. Not exactly what I expected from this description:
"Your comfort begins with the breathable, top layer of one inch patented memory foam. The second layer of three inches of premium density memory foam along with the one-inch top layer, are supported by an engineered layer of patented high resilient poly spring foam. These three layers are then mounted on a seven-inch layer of polymer enriched base foam creating a sleep system second to none."
Finally, around 5:30am, I couldn't take it anymore. I got up, and paced the house. I checked more reviews on-line, but I couldn't find any bad reviews, only how this was such a wonderful bed, and blah blah blah.
Then I hear Michael get up. I was dying to hear what he thought. I walk in the room, and he proclaims "I love this bed! That was the best nights sleep I've had since I can remember!" He knew something was wrong since my jaw dropped and I was shooting daggers at him. So, we agree we'll wait the 72 hours for me to make up my mind.
After 7 full nights, the bed is still awful, and Michael loves it. What to do...? We decide to switch places last night.
Now, I admit, his side is a bit softer, but still, not very comfortable. He wakes up and said "There's something wrong with the bed. My arms and back hurt."
Now what? Well, he thinks it could be the box spring (I think it's the bed). So, couple things to try. Rotate the bed, and see if my side is still bad. Also, he wants to try putting plywood between the mattress and box spring.
I'm game for trying, but not sure how much more I can take. Maybe we got a defect?
The bed comes in a box, and the instructions state it will take about 72 hours to fully decompress, but it also states you should be able to sleep on it the first night.
The first night, I had the worst night's sleep that I can remember. Although, I'm not sure I can really use the word sleep, more or less tossing and turning. My back hurt, but the worst was my arms and legs. It felt like I had slept on the floor all night. This bed is FIRM. Not exactly what I expected from this description:
"Your comfort begins with the breathable, top layer of one inch patented memory foam. The second layer of three inches of premium density memory foam along with the one-inch top layer, are supported by an engineered layer of patented high resilient poly spring foam. These three layers are then mounted on a seven-inch layer of polymer enriched base foam creating a sleep system second to none."
Finally, around 5:30am, I couldn't take it anymore. I got up, and paced the house. I checked more reviews on-line, but I couldn't find any bad reviews, only how this was such a wonderful bed, and blah blah blah.
Then I hear Michael get up. I was dying to hear what he thought. I walk in the room, and he proclaims "I love this bed! That was the best nights sleep I've had since I can remember!" He knew something was wrong since my jaw dropped and I was shooting daggers at him. So, we agree we'll wait the 72 hours for me to make up my mind.
After 7 full nights, the bed is still awful, and Michael loves it. What to do...? We decide to switch places last night.
Now, I admit, his side is a bit softer, but still, not very comfortable. He wakes up and said "There's something wrong with the bed. My arms and back hurt."
Now what? Well, he thinks it could be the box spring (I think it's the bed). So, couple things to try. Rotate the bed, and see if my side is still bad. Also, he wants to try putting plywood between the mattress and box spring.
I'm game for trying, but not sure how much more I can take. Maybe we got a defect?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
What NOT to do to a Chicago Bungalow
Today, I bring everyone a new series titled "What not to do to a bungalow". Lately, we've been driving around, and just cringe when we see what could have been a beautiful house, but the owners have destroyed it by either adding what they think looks good (usually doesn't) or hiring people or doing work themselves that they clearly shouldn't be doing.
So, Part 1 of this series will start with our own Happy Bungalow. I'm not sure what the PO (previous owners) were thinking, but they sure have left us cussing them out.
Do not use a gray silicone-like material to patch tuckpointing. It looks like crap, and causes me to frown. Also, when painting outside, mask off area's to be painted and try to be careful. Little drips of white paint all over the red face brick doesn't look cool.
When you actually do the right thing and use mortar for patching the tuckpointing, USE THE SAME COLOR as the rest of the mortar! No, pink is not red.
When you have beautiful wood crown molding and beams in your bungalow, do NOT paint them.
Well folks, there is part 1 in our upcoming series.
Also, I must mention that last night, Sidney discovered fireflies. For awhile we were convinced Sid is not a cat, but last night proved us wrong. He went straight into hunt mode, and was running around the yard like crazy. Turns out, we have a cat!
So, Part 1 of this series will start with our own Happy Bungalow. I'm not sure what the PO (previous owners) were thinking, but they sure have left us cussing them out.
Do not use a gray silicone-like material to patch tuckpointing. It looks like crap, and causes me to frown. Also, when painting outside, mask off area's to be painted and try to be careful. Little drips of white paint all over the red face brick doesn't look cool.
When you actually do the right thing and use mortar for patching the tuckpointing, USE THE SAME COLOR as the rest of the mortar! No, pink is not red.
When you have beautiful wood crown molding and beams in your bungalow, do NOT paint them.
Well folks, there is part 1 in our upcoming series.
Also, I must mention that last night, Sidney discovered fireflies. For awhile we were convinced Sid is not a cat, but last night proved us wrong. He went straight into hunt mode, and was running around the yard like crazy. Turns out, we have a cat!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Happy 4th
We had a great long weekend, and ended up getting a lot done around the house, with enough time left over for some much needed relaxation.
Saturday started out rainy, but by the time everyone arrived, it was wrapping up. We had a nice BBQ with some happy mark&tina-gria.
(Don't mess with Beth when she's packing corn!)
Turns out, this neighborhood gets pretty nuts on the 4th. There were so many fireworks, almost as much as we saw when we headed out to Palatine the night before to hang out with Michael's mom, brad, and my mom. It was like our own personal backyard show.
Feeling quite full, and wanting to walk around in the weird smokey fog which descended upon us, we decided a walk from our past was long due, and walked the 2 blocks over to the 2 flat where all of our family grew up. We sat out side and sang amazing grace... I'm sure if anyone saw us they would think we were nuts, but it was an ode to the legend that was Aunt Gracie.
We were going to walk around some more, but people were lighting fireworks on that block, and since some were blowing up in the street, we quickly got the hell out there.
We wrapped up the night with some s'mores (Hollie, you're the BEST). Yummmm. It's been forever since we had those.
Sunday morning, we went out to the backyard to lay in the hammock. About 6 hours later, we finally got up since our neighbor next door was barbecuing and made us up a plate (they rock!). So we had to move to go sit at the table, then back to the hard work that is chilling in the hammock. It was just what we needed.
Saturday started out rainy, but by the time everyone arrived, it was wrapping up. We had a nice BBQ with some happy mark&tina-gria.
(Don't mess with Beth when she's packing corn!)
Turns out, this neighborhood gets pretty nuts on the 4th. There were so many fireworks, almost as much as we saw when we headed out to Palatine the night before to hang out with Michael's mom, brad, and my mom. It was like our own personal backyard show.
Feeling quite full, and wanting to walk around in the weird smokey fog which descended upon us, we decided a walk from our past was long due, and walked the 2 blocks over to the 2 flat where all of our family grew up. We sat out side and sang amazing grace... I'm sure if anyone saw us they would think we were nuts, but it was an ode to the legend that was Aunt Gracie.
We were going to walk around some more, but people were lighting fireworks on that block, and since some were blowing up in the street, we quickly got the hell out there.
We wrapped up the night with some s'mores (Hollie, you're the BEST). Yummmm. It's been forever since we had those.
Sunday morning, we went out to the backyard to lay in the hammock. About 6 hours later, we finally got up since our neighbor next door was barbecuing and made us up a plate (they rock!). So we had to move to go sit at the table, then back to the hard work that is chilling in the hammock. It was just what we needed.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Whoopsy
Apparently the lawn is not ready to get cut. We started out, and quickly realized instead of cutting the grass, it was pulling it all out, leaving nothing but mud. Oops.
Here, Michael is scolding the lawn for not being agreeable.
But all is not lost... (except for the grass) for we fixed both gates in the back yard so now we can actually open and close them without it getting stuck on the ground.
Success!
Here, Michael is scolding the lawn for not being agreeable.
But all is not lost... (except for the grass) for we fixed both gates in the back yard so now we can actually open and close them without it getting stuck on the ground.
Success!
More presents for the bungalow
With a nice long weekend ahead of us, it's time to do run to our 3 page to-do list, and start getting this house in order.
We've lived here for almost 9 months, and have yet to hang most of our art. With plaster walls, it's a pain in the butt to even get a straight nail in the wall, but today's the day. Yay.
Speaking of art, when we were in Hawaii, we came upon an artist that we fell in love with, Brigitte D'Annibale.
We ended up purchasing an artist proof of a piece titled Vintage Hawaii, however 1 1/2 months later, when it came, we were sent a limited edition instead. Oops. Luckily, the gallery admitted their mistake, but it's been a bit of back and forth (island time) for them to correct the problem. For the meantime, we have the wrong piece in our living room, but hopefully we get the correct one shortly. We also fell in love with the piece Hula Blues. Maybe a birthday present Michael?
Next on our to-do list... the bed. I had bought a bed a little over 3 years ago. In the beginning, it was so comfortable, we nicknamed it cloud-gate. Now, 3 years later, it's a lumpy, bumpy, piece of crap that makes us toss and turn all night. I started doing some research, and we thought the Tempur-Pedic would work well for us. You know, where you can put a wine glass on one side, jump on the other side, and the wine won't spill?
So, Costco sells a similar brand, and because they're return policy is awesome (you can return anything at anytime, as for the bed, they'll even send a truck to pick it up for free if for any reason you don't like it) we decided to go ahead. I've been checking out there website waiting for it to go on sale, and Wednesday was the day, and the order is in. I can't wait for the bed wine party!
Another thing that I was able to cross off the list, an address plaque. Because of all the trouble we've been having with mail service, the USPS and I agreed that an address plaque listing our address AND street name would help the postman deliver our mail. So, the order is in for that too, just waiting for it to arrive.
Lastly, and this was a big one our our list, is to insulate the attic. I perused Angie's List for some highly rated contractors, and picked 3 to come and give us quotes.
The first came yesterday. He first explained how he would do it, and then said with the insulation on the floor, we would not be able to use the attic for storage. Um, not an option. Then, he quotes us a price for building a sub-floor in the attic, and blowing the insulation under the floor. That would work, but I'm picturing us not being able to stand up in there. Regardless, I was pretty surprised at the cost for building a whole new floor and the insulation. Not too bad, but obviously not cheap.
Monday we have another guy come who uses the spray foam, which we believe will be placed on the roof, instead of the floor. Plus, it's an all-green product. And next Thursday, another place comes.
Looking forward to getting this over with soon.
We've lived here for almost 9 months, and have yet to hang most of our art. With plaster walls, it's a pain in the butt to even get a straight nail in the wall, but today's the day. Yay.
Speaking of art, when we were in Hawaii, we came upon an artist that we fell in love with, Brigitte D'Annibale.
We ended up purchasing an artist proof of a piece titled Vintage Hawaii, however 1 1/2 months later, when it came, we were sent a limited edition instead. Oops. Luckily, the gallery admitted their mistake, but it's been a bit of back and forth (island time) for them to correct the problem. For the meantime, we have the wrong piece in our living room, but hopefully we get the correct one shortly. We also fell in love with the piece Hula Blues. Maybe a birthday present Michael?
Next on our to-do list... the bed. I had bought a bed a little over 3 years ago. In the beginning, it was so comfortable, we nicknamed it cloud-gate. Now, 3 years later, it's a lumpy, bumpy, piece of crap that makes us toss and turn all night. I started doing some research, and we thought the Tempur-Pedic would work well for us. You know, where you can put a wine glass on one side, jump on the other side, and the wine won't spill?
So, Costco sells a similar brand, and because they're return policy is awesome (you can return anything at anytime, as for the bed, they'll even send a truck to pick it up for free if for any reason you don't like it) we decided to go ahead. I've been checking out there website waiting for it to go on sale, and Wednesday was the day, and the order is in. I can't wait for the bed wine party!
Another thing that I was able to cross off the list, an address plaque. Because of all the trouble we've been having with mail service, the USPS and I agreed that an address plaque listing our address AND street name would help the postman deliver our mail. So, the order is in for that too, just waiting for it to arrive.
Lastly, and this was a big one our our list, is to insulate the attic. I perused Angie's List for some highly rated contractors, and picked 3 to come and give us quotes.
The first came yesterday. He first explained how he would do it, and then said with the insulation on the floor, we would not be able to use the attic for storage. Um, not an option. Then, he quotes us a price for building a sub-floor in the attic, and blowing the insulation under the floor. That would work, but I'm picturing us not being able to stand up in there. Regardless, I was pretty surprised at the cost for building a whole new floor and the insulation. Not too bad, but obviously not cheap.
Monday we have another guy come who uses the spray foam, which we believe will be placed on the roof, instead of the floor. Plus, it's an all-green product. And next Thursday, another place comes.
Looking forward to getting this over with soon.
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