I told myself I wouldn't be that person who posts a new picture of their project every time they drive a nail into a piece of wood, so I've been quiet on here trying to avoid that. But this morning I finished sanding down one side of the door I got last month and I am very excited about it. When I first got the door, with the stain and varnish on, the grain looked like oak grain. However when I started sanding and got all the gunk off I realized it was douglas fir! This is great because my dream door would be a douglass fir, natural stained craftsman style door, like so:
So if I can get the dourglas fir part off my checklist I'll be a happy girl. Now to before and after pictures:
Now I just have to strip the paint off the other side.
After doing some spot sanding on the panel I saw it was kind of an ugly plywood just held in by the surrounding trim that was rotting away. So, I'm just going to replace the whole panel. I figured there's no sense in sanding it down if it's going to go away anyways. I also picked up new trim to go around the windows and panel which I think will change the feel of the door quite a bit too. Right now it's a quarter round with some detail, but I'm going to change it to a small, rectangular strip to make everything more boxy, simple and craftsman.
After doing some spot sanding on the panel I saw it was kind of an ugly plywood just held in by the surrounding trim that was rotting away. So, I'm just going to replace the whole panel. I figured there's no sense in sanding it down if it's going to go away anyways. I also picked up new trim to go around the windows and panel which I think will change the feel of the door quite a bit too. Right now it's a quarter round with some detail, but I'm going to change it to a small, rectangular strip to make everything more boxy, simple and craftsman.
The other big thing that's been going on is my car. About two weeks ago I had to take it in for an oil change and to have them check out a weird shaking thing it had been doing here and there. When I went to pick it up they told me they found bits of metal in the oil, which I found out is pretty much a death sentence for a car. I looked at the oil myself and sure enough, they weren't pulling my leg. The mechanic said when metal is in the oil it's a sign that the engine will fail/explode any day. The crappy thing is we JUST got the engine replaced last September for $2,200. Also this is a huge hit to my Tinyhouse savings. So, the past two weeks have been somewhat stressful, sharing a truck with my dad and trying to find a cheap car that can get me from Bozeman and back daily.
But, this week I found a 1998 VW Passat for $1,000 that only needed the alternator replaced. It was a hell of a deal that I got from a very nice, young family. Luckily my dad said he'd be able to replace the alternator so I wouldn't have to take it into the shop and spend money on labor and parts. It's a fun little car though. It has a 5 speed manual transmission, a leather interior, a sun roof and as I just found out this morning, heated seats! I think this is going to be a great winter car.
But, this week I found a 1998 VW Passat for $1,000 that only needed the alternator replaced. It was a hell of a deal that I got from a very nice, young family. Luckily my dad said he'd be able to replace the alternator so I wouldn't have to take it into the shop and spend money on labor and parts. It's a fun little car though. It has a 5 speed manual transmission, a leather interior, a sun roof and as I just found out this morning, heated seats! I think this is going to be a great winter car.