Category Archives: First House

My first house, where I completed my first home improvement projects ever

On this section, you will find the home improvement projects I completed on my First House, including my first project ever! The one that infected me with this home improvement and do-it-yourself fever that has allowed me to plan and complete tens of projects to date, and still counting, enjoy!

My DIY Kitchen Remodeling Project – Part 2

DIY kitchen remodeling project completed

The new kitchen!

This post is a continuation of My DIY Kitchen Remodeling Project – Part 1.

As you learned on it, this kitchen remodeling project was basically a multi-project in which I pretty much used almost every skill I had learned on previous projects until then. On top of it, it also allowed me to learn a few new ones, like some basic carpentry and cabinet work and some electrical work.

As of the end of Part 1, I had removed some laminate and vinyl flooring, replaced it with new porcelain tile flooring, upgraded the lighting by replacing a fluorescent light fixture with some recessed lights, and custom built a new kitchen island using cabinets from Lowes.

It was time to move on to the next task!

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My DIY Kitchen Remodeling Project – Part 1

Builder grade kitchen, before starting my DIY kitchen remodeling project

Very builder grade kitchen

Having already completed a few projects in the garage, backyard, bathrooms and laundry room, I felt so empowered by the results and what I had been able to learn and accomplish that I decided to embark on the most ambitious of all my projects, to date, a DIY kitchen remodeling project.

This was basically a multi-project in which not only I was able to use pretty much everything I had learned so far with the other projects, but also learned about how to do many other things I had not done before.

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Replacing Vinyl Flooring with Porcelain Tile

Finished Master Bath tile work!

One thing I’ve never liked about most houses’ finishes is the flooring selection. Unless we are talking about higher end homes, most home builders only offer two flooring options, carpet and vinyl.

I specifically want to talk about vinyl, because I understand carpet has its place, especially in colder areas of the country, where you don’t want your feet to freeze every time you get out of bed or walk around the house in your pajamas on a rainy Sunday morning.

However, I don’t understand why, in this day and age, they insist on offering the vinyl option. I know, it is cheaper, perhaps not by much though, after considering that they need to install some kind of underlayment under it, but other than that, I cannot think of any other real benefit when compared to tile (whether it be ceramic, natural stone, porcelain or others), which is my favorite flooring option, for many of the following reasons, and more:

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Backyard Landscaping Makeover

Inexpensive backyard landscaping ideas? Follow my example and do it yourself!

My new backyard!

As you learned from my garage improvement post, I do not like eye sores! Unfortunately, this house had a few of them. As you’ve also learned, though, I was determined to do something about them!

Next on the list was the small backyard, full of all kinds of weeds, uneven, dry spots and an improperly installed sprinkler system with stuck out and mower broken heads.

In early August 2011, I decided to start working on it.

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My First Project Ever! Garage Improvement and Organization

Looking for garage project ideas? Finished garages look great!

Finished garage wall

Right after moving to my new place, I felt the need to start improving it, not only because I wanted my new house to look nice, but also because I wanted it to be functional.

I’ve always been very organized. I didn’t want anything scattered around or laying on the floor, but I also didn’t want anything stored in such a way that would make it difficult to get to any of the items should I need them right away.

A good example of what I didn’t like seeing and that I noticed every single day was in the garage.

It looked very disorganized, one of the walls was unfinished and there were two ugly shelves made of two by fours that took a lot of space. They didn’t have any doors or anything to hide whatever was “stored” on them. Not that I had a lot of stuff as you can see on the pictures, but they were still an eye sore, I was determined to do something about it!

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