We were supposed to move in November. Then December. January, February, and now it’s mid-March. You’d think that, with all that time, I’d have tackled all of the sorts of things I knew I wanted to tackle. Right? WRONG!
Now, with the move nearly complete, and boxes oozing out of the corners of every room, I realize the true scope of what it means to go from renting to owning.
Most of the inside doors don’t close properly. The issue seems to be with the strike plate clearance, which many online DIY help guides will instruct me how to fix.
The doors that one would want lockable, such as to the basement, don’t lock. And most are lever knobs instead of round knobs. Our toddler son can make quick work of lever-style door knobs, and there aren’t as many quick or inexpensive safety solutions as for round-style door knobs.
In one of the bedroom closets, there’s a massive cleanly cut rectangular hole. I don’t know if it was something the contractor cut out for some reason, or it’s something the previous owner did, such as for the installation of a since-removed wall safe that we were in the dark about.
Some of the freshly painted door frames have some peeled areas, where the doors stuck in the frames too soon after being painted. The painter was meticulous about preventing this from happening, so maybe the new 2nd floor heating zone changed the dynamic of how everything fit together, helping to cause this?
There’s a golf ball-sized hole in the hallway closet floor, where there’s an oversized hole for a gas line and electrical connection to go to the attic’s HVAC unit.
We need rugs.
We need to figure out where mice came in from the outside (the blocked off basement window that went unused when the deck was built?).
The list goes on and on.
A mission for this week is to figure out if and where to retrofit the existing downlight with LED bulbs and trim kits.
Why is it so dark in the basement, and what should I replace the lights with?
Some of the light switches and outlets need to be replaced.
I finally figured out what I want to do about the basement floor to cover up the asbestos vinyl tile. I’m going to use a suitable underlayment (AirGuard or similar), and click-together Allure Ultra vinyl flooring. It’s thicker than the similar edge-glued Allure tiles, and the in-store samples at Home Depot looked decent.
So there’s what I want to do about the floor. And do I still want to paint over the wood-style wall paneling?
I want to install brand new smoke and CO monitors. As part of the home inspection, they had to verify that there were working alarms where there should be, but who knows how old or effective they are? I’ll put a smoke alarm in every bedroom, and maybe a combo unit in the hallway.
Some of these things can wait, some can’t. Securing the basement door from my son, for instance, is something that cannot wait. The same goes for installing a top-of-stairs barrier gate. He is FAST and relying on “oh I can stop him” instincts would be a mistake.
But hey, at least putting up temporary window shades is something I was able to knock off my to-do list.
Then there’s the of course it’s got to get done list, which includes unpacking, reassembling the work benches and desks, building a new workbench for the garage, finding a place for everything, building some shelves, and so forth.
Oh, and installing some ceiling lights in the garage and maybe the basement as well.
I think I might want a subpanel installed in the garage, for both more outlets, and a 220V line or two. That way I can run a heater in the winter, for year-round working. Maybe I should insulate the garage walls first. What about a mini split combination heating and cooling system? The current garage attic stairs are a little too short and should be replaced.
Oh boy, the list goes on.
But, more space means more projects, and potentially quicker progress. Eventually?
I’ve got my work cut out for me.