Introducing DIY Saturday

I’ve always been interested in working with my hands and, over the years, have become pretty handy around the house. I thought I’d try out a new feature here on SimplyForties, which I’m calling DIY Saturday.

I'm going to focus my Saturday posts on DIY projects around the house. Some of the projects, like how to change an electrical outlet or light fixture, are simple but expensive if you have to call in an electrician. Winterizing your lawn mower is also simple and, if you do it yourself, will save you money and keep your mower running longer. Some projects, like re-caulking the bathtub, I’m going to feature in order to make myself do them! I’m hoping to teach you some skills that will come in handy and maybe, along the way, complete some of my own projects!

I'm going to show you some fun projects too, like building a platform bed and constructing an outdoor pergola. If you have some jobs around the house that you would like to learn to do yourself, leave me a comment or send me an e-mail. I already have a list of projects in mind and would love to add yours.

This week I’m starting off by showing you my big project, which has been sitting for so long that I don’t even see it anymore. Does that happen to you? I’m hoping that by talking about it here, I’ll be shamed into completing it! On my list of goals for 2009 I listed it as #4 under personal goals, “Finish a particular, long ignored DIY project.” I was so vague that, in December when I report on how I did, I could claim anything! I’m going to introduce the project and then, periodically throughout the year, I’ll update it.

I live in a neat old house built sometime between 1910 and 1920. I was lucky to have purchased it, 3 ½ years ago, from a nice couple who had lovingly rescued most of it from the ignominy of many years as a rental. There are a few areas that still need a little work. One of them is this little pass through hallway from the living room to the dining room. To the right is the door to the basement and to the left is a built-in cabinet. The ceiling is the underside of the stairs to the second floor. Got the picture? It’s a very small space so it was difficult to photograph.

All the walls in my house were sheathed using a style called shipboard lath. It took so much wood that I doubt it’s used today. Instead of sheetrock (or lath and plaster), they nailed 2x6’s butted right up to each other, to all the framing. A linen-type fabric covered the boards and in turn was covered by wallpaper. During the subsequent years all of these walls have been covered with sheetrock and painted, with the exception of this small pass through area. After nearly a hundred years the fabric has sagged and in some places torn, was repaired with tape and painted over. It always drove me crazy and, a couple of years ago on Christmas Eve, I was standing in this area looking at the ceiling and started to pick at it where it’s low, just over the basement door. Before I knew it, I had torn the fabric completely away in a huge area. Oops!

Sometime later I removed the trim from one side of the doorway and a broken board from the ceiling. Two years later, I’ve done nothing else! Here are two more pictures so you can get a good feel for how really terrible it looks:

Now for the project. This a very dark area so the first thing I’m going to do is run an electrical line in here and install a rocker switch near the cabinet, which will control an outlet that will be out of sight up on top of the cabinet. I’m going to build some uplighting up there. I will need to replace the broken board and trim piece, sheetrock the whole area and paint it. It’s going to be a big job for me and I have got to get started! I have a pretty nice house and this area is a real eyesore. It’s been like this so long that I no longer see it but I’m sure guests in my home are really surprised when they come through here! Hopefully, setting myself up for a little public accountability will spur me to action!

Next week I’m going to illustrate how to change out a light fixture. I’ve done this for a lot of people; both men and women, so I know there are plenty of people out there who don’t know how to do it. If you’re one of them, stay tuned!

Let me know if you have a project that you would like me to cover. If you have a completed project and would like to do a guest post for a future DIY Saturday, send me an e-mail! What do you think of this DIY Saturday idea? Do you think it will be useful to you?