Our new garage doors have been installed!

We immediately noticed a difference in the temperature of the front bedrooms. The garage is warmer, and we don’t have to worry about leaves, rain, and snow getting inside anymore. I’m sure we will also see a difference on our heating bills this winter.

We need to sand down some of the stair treads this week. Aside from paint touch-ups and cleaning a little mildew off the master bathroom ceiling, we haven’t been doing much with the house. Our washer and dishwasher stopped working on Thanksgiving. We had to call a repairman for the washer, but the dishwasher was too expensive to repair. We are going to list the old one as-is on Craigslist after the holidays. I’m just glad to have a functioning (and warm) household again!

We got a couple of estimates for new garage doors. The second one was from the company who recently installed our new door opener. Their quote was $600.00 less than the first! We are going with the Stratford 2000 series by Amarr. It’s a double layer door (they said even the single layer one is three times more insulated than our existing 41-year-old doors). We went with short panels and clear glass. It’s a bi-level house with no window grids… So yes, I know I shouldn’t get too carried away with the exterior.

Installation day will be sometime in the next two weeks.

One of the first things we noticed when we bought this house was the condition of the garage doors. We talked briefly about replacing them, but quickly took to other projects. It’s been 5 1/2 years, and these 41-year-old doors are not going to hold on much longer.

I painted them in 2006, and that made them look better. Still, that couldn’t change the fact that the top panel of the left door never closed completely. It got worse over time.

If you stand in the front of Will’s bedroom during winter, you can actually feel the cold air blowing upward into the room. It’s almost as bad in Lily’s room. The culprit:

The opener on the left door wore out a few months ago. We bought a replacement, and finally got around to having it installed last week. It seemed to work fine. Then, it got stuck. The entire top panel bent.

I noticed from the outside that the old latch was turned to the lock position. I still don’t know how this happened. Something may have snapped. I don’t think the kids would have the strength (or motive) to touch it. Nonetheless, that is why the door would not open. The horizontal bar that acts as a lock is jammed. I’ve tried everything, but it won’t budge.

See the gap on the bottom? It’s almost as awesome as a PO’s choice to paint the interior side of the doors to make the garage look like a fire station. They even painted the support beams to match. Wow, thanks!

The company that installed the opener is coming back on Wednesday to look at it. We decided it was time to finally just replace it. It only makes sense to replace both at the same time. We’re going to get a few estimates this week.

I want to find a very energy efficient replacement. We also need something that lets in some natural light. I can’t wait to see what (affordable) options we have!

The garage is organized! We still have extension cords running/hanging everywhere for the Christmas lights, and there is a cluster of things on the right side which will fit in the closet once all the boxes of Christmas presents move into the house. Otherwise, it’s done.

The entryway needs a bit of work. The flooring (Micah says it’s VCT) has been chipped in various places. It was installed by a PO, and years of kids throwing toys down the stairs have taken their toll. I started out looking at tile, but once again the commitment phobe in me wanted to go with something easy to replace later. It also seems like a better option because we have all of these crazy children (and their toys) flying up and down the stairs all the time. We chose TrafficMaster Allure flooring in Ashlar because the colors tie in with the chandelier, the hardwoods and the flooring in the downstairs hallway. We also chose Behr’s Cliff Rock to add a little contrast from all the upstairs rooms (Behr’s Wheat Bread) and the downstairs playroom (Behr’s Castle Path).

The “platform” as we call it (the small entry area between the front door and stairs) is just over 4 x 6, so this won’t be a very big project. I am hoping to get it done before Christmas.

I never posted a photo of the garage ceiling when it was finished, so here it is:

I also wanted to share a product tip. Years ago, I used Pledge Revitalizing Oil on our kitchen cabinets. I finally found it again a few weeks ago. This is not like the ordinary Pledge in the spray can. It is a bit greasy, but leaves a nice shine. I haven’t found any other use for it because of the consistency, but it’s an easy way to bring life back to your old, dull kitchen cabinets.

Lastly, my parents bought this for me last week (because they are awesome):

I am going to keep this in the kitchen for quick fixes.

Next up: Lots of yard work. Everything behind the house is growing out of control, so we are going to clear most of it and plant grass.

We had our garage ceiling replaced shortly after we moved into this house. We never got around to replacing the framing around the duct work in the garage, though. It was caving in and torn in various places, and I suspected there were some cracks or tears that were letting in cold air.

The same person who built the wall is working on this for us. Today was demo day. The insulation was filled with nests and other friendly indications that rodents had been living there. We think they’re long gone, but it still was disgusting. They had chewed their way into the duct work and were probably running through it. Obviously, some areas need to be sealed off. The frame is still in good shape, so we just need new insulation and Sheetrock.

It will be done tomorrow.

A couple of random objects were stuffed into the insulation. I’m not sure if they were deliberately hidden or somehow fell between the walls, but we found a bride’s file box from 1988 and a ceramic Santa mug… This isn’t a very old house, but it made me curious about its history and the people who lived in it!

The downstairs bathroom is complete. We decided to choose a wall color that would
match the flooring, and a dark brown for the trim that would give a natural wood appearance. I chose a semi-gloss for the walls (as always), but a flat paint for the trim. This worked very well. I painted the frame of a wall hanging and a cabinet we had on top of the toilet to match the trim, purchased a new shower curtain and a candle with holder. It all was very time consuming (especially when it came to the painter’s tape), but we are happy with the results and it was an inexpensive
improvement.

After walls were painted:

Before:

After:

I am exhausted. Even if there was anything left to paint, I wouldn’t do it!
I even re-painted the master bath ceiling tonight so Micah wouldn’t have to.
That was not a fun job, but it had to be done! Yesterday was a big house cleaning
day, and I had to do some odd jobs like put a new plug on one of the track light sets
downstairs, sweep the garage and organize to start making room for Micah’s car.
There were a lot of large items I had to throw out. Winter will be here before we know it, and I’m not sure if I am excited about that!

Well, a garage ceiling is a luxury for us now! They finished working today. I am so glad we have sheetrock. Now, there are no more ugly cracks or insulation falling from the ceiling!