How the Hub spends his weekends...

Super Hub here:

Lately I've been contemplating the term "Homeowner". Does it mean "one who owns a home" or is it really "one who is owned by their home"? More and more I'm suspecting it's the latter of the two. I think about this a lot as I spend every waking moment of my weekend inhaling toxic substances, wrangling with wiring, and asking myself "what the #%$@& were these people thinking?!?!"

The latest example is the exhaust fan. At some point someone took a 4 inch external exhaust, cut a slit down the duct, and then rolled it up like a burrito so it would fit a 3 inch opening in the exterior wall. Mike Holmes would definitely not approve. They then connected the conical duct to a 4 inch pice of vinyl ducting using electrical tape. There's duct tape and there's electrical tape - note the difference?? At the other end they connected the 4 inch vinyl ducting to a 3 inch exhaust fan by simply wrapping it profusely in the electrical tape. Apparently a 3 inch to 4 inch connector was too expensive - they do cost a whopping $2.59, after all! The worse part is it probably took them longer to do it wrong than it would have taken to do it right in the first place.

I just don't get it. Your home is your single biggest investment and your single biggest asset. Why do things in a completely half-assed manner? Doing it right usually takes no more time than doing it wrong. You don't have to be a contractor to figure these things out - most items come with instructions and when in doubt your neighborhood hardware store can usually provide you answers (one more reason to support your local shop and not the big box chains which seem to employ people with little in the way of actual knowledge!).

My new weekend routine is:
1) Stirred from slumber by the hot, swampy breath of the hounds.
2) Attempt to fall back to sleep trying to ignore the hounds.
3) Resign myself to the fact that the hounds will not let me sleep.
4) Stumble down stairs and feed hounds. Naturally, after they've been fed they head back up stairs and go back to bed. I'm not so lucky. Once I'm up, there's no going back.
5) Pour coffee to ward off mid-morning stupor.
6) Watch "Holmes on Homes" (http://www.holmesonhomes.com/) to get psyched up for the days project. Mike Holmes is my new personal hero.
7) Head down to Maple Leaf Ace for whatever is needed for that days projects. Lately, I've been making 3-4 trips a weekend to this gem of a hardware store.
8) Load up the tool belt and head into combat. Never a dull day at El Dinero Hueco!!

World's Ugliest Bathroom - Phase 1

We had the World's Ugliest Bathroom. Seriously. It was so heinous we submitted to the bathroom makeover show on HGTV, but for reasons unknown they didn't pick us. Perhaps they were intimidated by just how craptacular it was?

Let's go over its many attributes:
- Walls spray painted silver. Yes, with actual Krylon spray paint.
- Powder blue commode and matching sink...cracked sink, that is...sitting in a dingy 50's vanity.
- Dark blue and brown vinyl floor.
- Cheap aluminum window.
- Ceiling fan poorly installed with what appears to be 15 years of mold and dust. Legionaire's disease anyone?
- Particle board medicine cabinet complete with Knight Rider stickers featuring both David Hasselhoff and KIT! (I should note that Chris, reading this over my shoulded, noted that the car's name is actually an acronym and should be in caps. Little frightened right now.)
- Light fixture with huge 80's globe lights (we'd taken it off by the time I took these, but trust me, it was there).
- Broken towel racks.

Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself...

We are happy to report that Phase 1 is now complete! We...
...painted it "Reflecting Pool" blue/white. Only took one coat of primer AND two coats of paint.
...replaced all towel rods and the paper holder with lovely brushed nickel pieces.
...trashed the medicine cabinet in favor of a mirror (sorry, KIT!).
...installed a new light fixture that actually matches the other fixtures (I know, crazy!).
...yanked the distgusting vent and put in a clean new one.

This last part needs special mention. The former residents actually thought it was a good idea to use electrical tape to connect the ducting to the exterior vent...and that was the least of it. It took Chris about 3 hours to replace the ceiling fan, ducting and exterior vent. Yep, Super Hub!

Here's the result (note, we haven't gotten to the trim yet). Up next will be Phase 2...fixing the floor. Followed by Phase 3, aka all things powder blue going bye-bye.

Oh la la!

Chris, who shall now be called "Super Hub" installed a dimmer switch in the living room. Impressed? Oh yeah!

Kitchen...almost done!

Other than the fact that we're going to remodel the whole thing next year and will be getting new windows installed (hence the purple leftover one over the sink)...the kitchen is DONE! Much better, eh?