Hardin Home: Home Improvement Projects at a Country Home in Verona, WI
Home Improvement Projects at a Country Home in Verona, WI
One of the last appliances that I needed to buy for the lake house was a washer dryer. It will primarily be used for swim suits and towels, since we don’t keep a ton of clothes at the lake house, but it is still very nice to have. Space is absolutely an issue, since the … Continue reading Lake House Washer/Dryer
This week I had an electrician come to the lake house and finish the wiring for the kitchen remodel. He had to install new junction boxes for the oven and range upstairs, linking them to the old junction boxes in the basement ceiling. After that, I did some final cabinetry work to build a base … Continue reading Lake House Kitchen Finished
Today, the last round of deliveries from Best Buy arrived, along with a bonus delivery from Restoration Hardware. Best Buy installed a wall oven and range on the upstairs kitchen, plus an oven, range, and refrigerator in the downstairs kitchen. There is some final electrical work to be done to wire the upstairs oven and … Continue reading Lake House Appliances Almost Done
Today, I called in a pro to help with three plumbing issues at the lake house: Installing the Dishwasher Disconnecting the Bathtub Drain Connecting the Refrigerator Water Lines The second and third issues were things I could have done myself, but since I already had a pro helping with #1, I figured I might as … Continue reading Three Plumbing Problems Solved
Last week I was supposed to have the new dishwasher installed at the lake house, but the Best Buy installers were unable/unwilling to solve a basic plumbing problem and were unwilling to allow me to do it for liability reasons. The basic issue was the placement of the water valve, which needs to be moved … Continue reading Dishwasher Installation Failure
This past weekend I conquered the final boss level of demolition for the bathroom remodel project: removing the cast iron tub. I had naively thought it was fiberglass, and this thought I’d simply sledgehammer it into pieces. When I tried that, I quickly saw what was underneath the enamel: Therefore, the solution became obvious: saw … Continue reading Cast Iron Tub Removal
For a long time, I’ve wanted to replace the thermostat that controls HVAC for the top two floors of the house. My wife hated the old one, and it was clunky with no ability to control via my phone. I took advantage of a Black Friday deal for a Nest Learning Thermostat at the Home … Continue reading Nest
Since it is the week of Black Friday, I’ve taken advantage of some insane promotional deals at Best Buy to replace all of the appliances at the lake house, in both kitchens. Essentially, best buy has a 40% off promo going for most appliances, with the added kicker that you get $50 gift cards for … Continue reading So Many Appliances
In addition to ripping apart and remodeling the master bathroom at the lake house, I’m also replacing all of the kitchen appliances this winter. The first one to be replaced is the refrigerator; the old one is from the early 90’s and is very dated. I am replacing everything with stainless steel, and went with … Continue reading Lake House Kitchen Remodel
This past Thursday, plumbers worked all day in the lake house (they finished after 11pm) to replace the old pressure tank, water softener, and water heater. Now that this is done, the entire HVAC and plumbing system at the lake house has been fully modernized and all of the original 1974 appliances are gone. It … Continue reading Lake House Plumbing Overhaul
