We finally unveiled the house to my side of the family two Sunday's ago. We had brunch for my grandpa's birthday courtesey of my brand new stove! The party went really well and the day was perfect for being outside in the garden! I want to thank all of my family for coming by, bringing food and presents! We were so excited to show off our home and host the party!
Our home is really feeling like ours now that we are getting all the details unpacked and finished. There is still so much to do but we have the rest of our lives to continuing working on it. Next on our list of things to do before fall:
-finishing putting up shelves/artwork
-getting a furnance/AC
-rearranging the laundry room before it gets cold
-getting a driveway
Our house rebate cannot come soon enough!
July 27, 2009
July 14, 2009
No More Pilot, We're Going to Burn...
So, last Saturday our brand new oven arrived. With it's arrival meant the departure of our old, gross stove. This stove had pilot lights, it was that old.
For those of your unfamiliar with pilot lights, they are continuously burning flames underneath your stove top and underneath your oven. They use a small amount of gas to keep the flame going, and when you turn on your oven, the burners receive enough gas going to them that the gas pushes through a small tube to the pilot light, which ignites the gas, and then the burner. A oven with pilot lights is literally a series of tubes in order to operate.
New ovens use an electric spark to ignite the gas, which allows the oven to use less gas over it's lifetime. However, this adds a new type of energy to your oven; electricity. I started to wonder how we were going to plug in the oven. There is an outlet above the middle counter, but I think it would look tacky if there were two major appliances running to the counter above.
Luckily, when Hilary and I were cleaning around the oven, she noticed there was indeed an outlet near the baseboard behind the oven. We were in luck! The oven would merely be plugged in behind itself. The electric issue was resolved, and I replaced the outlet with a new one, along with adding a missing cover plate. I went with the cheapest plate available, somewhere around $1.
Anyway, the major task of making the oven functional was going to be hooking up the gas line. Gas can be very dangerous, and it seemed that we would need to call the energy company to see if they could install the oven for us. I called Xcel, and apparently they do not install gas lines. Weird, being that they SUPPLY us with natural gas. Oh well. Instead of calling a plumber, my father and I decided to tackle the project ourselves. It can't be that difficult, right?
If you are thinking "Don't play with gas, please, Nick!!!" I understand your concern, but actually gas work is so similar to plumbing, it can be done as long as your are VERY cautious. Plus, my father knows which measures to take to ensure safety.
With the old oven gone, we had a very long copper pipe to deal with. The pipe was too long to use with the new oven, since the hookup location is different on each stove. So, we headed to Menards. We bought an oven installation kit, which makes everything a little easier.
For an oven to be up to code, there needs to be a flexible gas line and a shutoff valve behind your stove. At Menards, the installation kit included the flex line. Plus, right below the kits on the shelf were the ball valves that would make the whole thing legal. We also put specially-approved Teflon tape into our cart. Finally, we bought a flaring tool that would be needed to connect the lines. A flaring tool is like a giant, top-shaped piece of metal that is forced into the end of the pipe. This causes the soft, copper metal to expand outward. The result is a pipe that has one end similar to that of the sound emitting end of a trumpet.
We went home and started working on the line. I descended into the basement, shut off the gas, and head back to the kitchen. The flaring tool we bought also came with a pipe cutter, so we cut the copper piping about half as short. My father and I decided to practice with the cutting tool, since we needed a very smooth cut to make the flaring tool work. However, after using the left over metal for practice, we found that the cutting blade was destroyed in the process. For tools, you really get what you pay for. Distraught, we took a look at the end still in the wall. Thankfully, our first cut was the best. It was smooth enough for the flaring tool to work. This meant we didn't need a second trip to Menard's.
So, we flared the end of the gas pipe to what we thought would be the perfect size. We placed the valve up to the pipe's end, and found it did indeed fit perfectly. We took the Teflon tape and wrapped it counter-clockwise against the threads of the valve, grabbed two wrenches, and tightly secured the valve to the pipe.
Since this was the first step (and hardest) of the oven, we decided to test for leaks and call it a night. For gas leaks, there is a special, soapy spray that you can buy. We sprayed the entire valve down and I turned on the gas downstairs. If there were any leaks, the soapy spray would generate large bubbles. Luckily, no bubbles appeared. The valve was securely in place, and we called it a night.
The next day, we had to buy a second adapter for the flex pipe. So, after the Menard's run, we had everything we needed to finish the process. We Teflon taped the two adapters, making sure to wrap the threads counter-clockwise at least three times. We took our two wrenches, and secured both adapters, one to the valve and one to the oven's back.
The flex-tubing was the easiest part. You need no Teflon tape (they say NOT to put it on) and you can almost hand tighten the bolts on the piping. We used a wrench to cinch each end down, and after tightening the last bolt, everything seemed good to go.
To make sure everything was good to go, I sprayed down pretty much the entire operation with the soapy spray. I turned on the gas from downstairs, and found no bubbles around any of the fittings. The oven was up!
We pushed the beast into place, drooling every inch since the oven looked better and better the more it was in it's rightful place. Once in place, we leveled the oven so that cakes would bake evenly and the burners would receive the same amount of gas from front to back.
To celebrate, I turned on all four burners and watched the blue fire dance around. After satiating my pyro urges, I allowed Hilary to operate the oven and cook some fish and chips.
Needless to say, we are very excited to have our new oven, and even more excited that we were able to install the beast all by ourselves. Of course, I thank my father for all the know-how and tools to help me do these projects.
For those of your unfamiliar with pilot lights, they are continuously burning flames underneath your stove top and underneath your oven. They use a small amount of gas to keep the flame going, and when you turn on your oven, the burners receive enough gas going to them that the gas pushes through a small tube to the pilot light, which ignites the gas, and then the burner. A oven with pilot lights is literally a series of tubes in order to operate.
New ovens use an electric spark to ignite the gas, which allows the oven to use less gas over it's lifetime. However, this adds a new type of energy to your oven; electricity. I started to wonder how we were going to plug in the oven. There is an outlet above the middle counter, but I think it would look tacky if there were two major appliances running to the counter above.
Luckily, when Hilary and I were cleaning around the oven, she noticed there was indeed an outlet near the baseboard behind the oven. We were in luck! The oven would merely be plugged in behind itself. The electric issue was resolved, and I replaced the outlet with a new one, along with adding a missing cover plate. I went with the cheapest plate available, somewhere around $1.
Anyway, the major task of making the oven functional was going to be hooking up the gas line. Gas can be very dangerous, and it seemed that we would need to call the energy company to see if they could install the oven for us. I called Xcel, and apparently they do not install gas lines. Weird, being that they SUPPLY us with natural gas. Oh well. Instead of calling a plumber, my father and I decided to tackle the project ourselves. It can't be that difficult, right?
If you are thinking "Don't play with gas, please, Nick!!!" I understand your concern, but actually gas work is so similar to plumbing, it can be done as long as your are VERY cautious. Plus, my father knows which measures to take to ensure safety.
With the old oven gone, we had a very long copper pipe to deal with. The pipe was too long to use with the new oven, since the hookup location is different on each stove. So, we headed to Menards. We bought an oven installation kit, which makes everything a little easier.
For an oven to be up to code, there needs to be a flexible gas line and a shutoff valve behind your stove. At Menards, the installation kit included the flex line. Plus, right below the kits on the shelf were the ball valves that would make the whole thing legal. We also put specially-approved Teflon tape into our cart. Finally, we bought a flaring tool that would be needed to connect the lines. A flaring tool is like a giant, top-shaped piece of metal that is forced into the end of the pipe. This causes the soft, copper metal to expand outward. The result is a pipe that has one end similar to that of the sound emitting end of a trumpet.
We went home and started working on the line. I descended into the basement, shut off the gas, and head back to the kitchen. The flaring tool we bought also came with a pipe cutter, so we cut the copper piping about half as short. My father and I decided to practice with the cutting tool, since we needed a very smooth cut to make the flaring tool work. However, after using the left over metal for practice, we found that the cutting blade was destroyed in the process. For tools, you really get what you pay for. Distraught, we took a look at the end still in the wall. Thankfully, our first cut was the best. It was smooth enough for the flaring tool to work. This meant we didn't need a second trip to Menard's.
So, we flared the end of the gas pipe to what we thought would be the perfect size. We placed the valve up to the pipe's end, and found it did indeed fit perfectly. We took the Teflon tape and wrapped it counter-clockwise against the threads of the valve, grabbed two wrenches, and tightly secured the valve to the pipe.
Since this was the first step (and hardest) of the oven, we decided to test for leaks and call it a night. For gas leaks, there is a special, soapy spray that you can buy. We sprayed the entire valve down and I turned on the gas downstairs. If there were any leaks, the soapy spray would generate large bubbles. Luckily, no bubbles appeared. The valve was securely in place, and we called it a night.
The next day, we had to buy a second adapter for the flex pipe. So, after the Menard's run, we had everything we needed to finish the process. We Teflon taped the two adapters, making sure to wrap the threads counter-clockwise at least three times. We took our two wrenches, and secured both adapters, one to the valve and one to the oven's back.
The flex-tubing was the easiest part. You need no Teflon tape (they say NOT to put it on) and you can almost hand tighten the bolts on the piping. We used a wrench to cinch each end down, and after tightening the last bolt, everything seemed good to go.
To make sure everything was good to go, I sprayed down pretty much the entire operation with the soapy spray. I turned on the gas from downstairs, and found no bubbles around any of the fittings. The oven was up!
We pushed the beast into place, drooling every inch since the oven looked better and better the more it was in it's rightful place. Once in place, we leveled the oven so that cakes would bake evenly and the burners would receive the same amount of gas from front to back.
To celebrate, I turned on all four burners and watched the blue fire dance around. After satiating my pyro urges, I allowed Hilary to operate the oven and cook some fish and chips.
Needless to say, we are very excited to have our new oven, and even more excited that we were able to install the beast all by ourselves. Of course, I thank my father for all the know-how and tools to help me do these projects.
July 12, 2009
Before and After: Hilary's Office
Finally I have unpacked my office! I still have one box of miscellaneous junk I can't seem to figure out what to do with, but overall the office is complete! I have a great work station for paperwork and my laptop and have my desktop fully functioning! It is my girly-room in the house where I can have flowers and pink and everything else that makes me happy :-)
Before
After
After
July 11, 2009
Before and After: Stove!
Our new stove was delivered today! Now that I am getting rid of the old one I have an awful story about the old stove. When we first moved in and were cleaning things from top to bottom we realized that the mice lived behind the stove, fridge and cupboard. As we got to cleaning we found out that they didn't just live behind the stove, they lived in the stove! We had mice, in our stove. We disinfected the crap out of that thing, but you can't really enjoy a meal knowing that mice lived where that meal was created. Ack. There was also only two temperatures, on and off, and no way to really adjust the burners.
I am so unbelievably excited to have a brand new stove! It is so exciting!
AFTER
The new stove is so lovely!
I am so unbelievably excited to have a brand new stove! It is so exciting!
BEFORE
AFTER
The new stove is so lovely!
The love for my garden grows daily
Every time I go into my garden, there is something new in bloom or growing! The newest addition to the garden are the coneflowers (above) which are in white and pink shades and everything in between! I took one of the pictures (the first) on a cloudy day and the other two on a super sunny day. They are really beautiful and seem to be lasting a really long time.
I also have roses on my American Beauty. I cut one and put it in a vase! They smell amazing!
I also discovered this really beautiful purple flower. It is some sort of Lily, I think, and is such a deep purple!
There are also a ton of other yard pictures in our album. I am trying to get some bird pictures. We have three types of woodpeckers that live in our yard. We have also had a few Cardinals. Our newest critter are gold finches! We bought a really cheap little feeder and they are already catching on! We need to get a bigger gold finch feeder that can feed more than two at once. We saw a really cool cooper feeder for finches at Menards and might have to splurge in a few weeks when I get paid again.
I also have roses on my American Beauty. I cut one and put it in a vase! They smell amazing!
I also discovered this really beautiful purple flower. It is some sort of Lily, I think, and is such a deep purple!
There are also a ton of other yard pictures in our album. I am trying to get some bird pictures. We have three types of woodpeckers that live in our yard. We have also had a few Cardinals. Our newest critter are gold finches! We bought a really cheap little feeder and they are already catching on! We need to get a bigger gold finch feeder that can feed more than two at once. We saw a really cool cooper feeder for finches at Menards and might have to splurge in a few weeks when I get paid again.
July 7, 2009
New things a-brewing
We will have a rather large update on our house projects coming up shortly. We are very busy at the moment, but please be patient. :-)
Edit: Expect it Friday or Saturday.
Edit: Expect it Friday or Saturday.
July 5, 2009
4th of July at Winifred!
We celebrated our first 4th of July at Winifred! We are a few blocks from the Taste of MN, so we got four nights of fireworks, the 4th of July being the best! We found a nice grassy area a block away to watch. It is right where they shoot them off so they are huge! The last night we tried to view them from the look out without the trees, and they were fantastic! We are definitely watching them from the lookout every night next year!
Overall we had a great little get together with our families as we celebrated the 4th and Nick's birthday! We ate and ate and ate and had a lot of fun enjoying our garden. It was the first 4th of July that we had rain, but luckily the flash-floods and downpour were over by the time we had our bbq!
Here is the fireworks from the view of the lookout with the skyline in the background. It doesn't do justice to how great they were!
Overall we had a great little get together with our families as we celebrated the 4th and Nick's birthday! We ate and ate and ate and had a lot of fun enjoying our garden. It was the first 4th of July that we had rain, but luckily the flash-floods and downpour were over by the time we had our bbq!
Here is the fireworks from the view of the lookout with the skyline in the background. It doesn't do justice to how great they were!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)