I hadn’t done much for the past couple weeks thanks to a virus and two abscessed teeth. When I was starting to feel better Sally decided it was time to nudge me with a gentle hint. She put a sweet look on her face (really always there) and asked me: When are you going to finish my utensil hanger?
With such tact and logic, what could I do? There is an age where you realize that flowers wilt, chocolate fattens, and we don't drink. This would make an excellent present for Mothers' Day which was right around the corner.
Sally and Lettie painted the cabinets several years ago and the finish seemed to be pretty durable. I decided to follow their lead. It’s also a good idea to do that when you are absolutely lost matching colors.
As you can see, this utensil hanger is comprised of two L shaped boards turned to face each other. Then we fit slats to it just like an old bed.
The hooks were trial and error. You can fit a fairly large hook into a fairly small slat without splitting it if you pre-drill. This was perhaps the third set of hooks we bought. I bought the first one and lost it when I got the virus. They will show up sometime or other and set around my shop for a decade or two till I find a use for them
We bought the second set together and were dismayed to find that the handles grew while we weren’t looking and the hooks weren’t large enough.
I took a spatula to the hardware store when I went back. I hadn’t found the time to lose the receipt yet so I was able to turn the second set of hooks back in to the store. The third set fit. Installing them was a little bit hard 'til I used the brown cheater bar (hollow pipe) to give myself more leverage.
As you can see, this utensil hanger is comprised of two L shaped boards turned to face each other. Then we fit slats to it just like an old bed.
The hooks were trial and error. You can fit a fairly large hook into a fairly small slat without splitting it if you pre-drill. This was perhaps the third set of hooks we bought. I bought the first one and lost it when I got the virus. They will show up sometime or other and set around my shop for a decade or two till I find a use for them
We bought the second set together and were dismayed to find that the handles grew while we weren’t looking and the hooks weren’t large enough.
I took a spatula to the hardware store when I went back. I hadn’t found the time to lose the receipt yet so I was able to turn the second set of hooks back in to the store. The third set fit. Installing them was a little bit hard 'til I used the brown cheater bar (hollow pipe) to give myself more leverage.
Not bad if I do say so myself. It took some thinking but we didn't see anything commercially that fit our needs or didn't require a second mortgage on the house.
The thing is that this window was extremely ugly until we installed this.
Ladies, if your husband has a marginal grasp of colors (as I do) it could lead him into dangerous territory if you tell him he did well. Your best bet is to do what Sally did and lead him without being noticed.
That small window wasn't as ugly as this one.
Of course a double window with the standard 15-year-old venetian blinds can become double ugly.
Sometimes some things just grow on you. A fungus is a good example and this window is not that far behind. The first thing that happened was that everything got stripped and a new coat of semi-gloss applied. A whole lot less masking tape gets used if the wall is empty.
That small window wasn't as ugly as this one.
Of course a double window with the standard 15-year-old venetian blinds can become double ugly.
Sometimes some things just grow on you. A fungus is a good example and this window is not that far behind. The first thing that happened was that everything got stripped and a new coat of semi-gloss applied. A whole lot less masking tape gets used if the wall is empty.
This picture shows how we dealt with the factory windows in the past. Sally let me know that the utensil hanger matched well with the cabinets. In a burst of enthusiasm I told her that I could do the window in red just as easily if she liked. Luckily it is the Rustoleum red that you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes.
If you are forgetful (I am) you can help yourself in this day and age of cell phone cameras. Just take a picture of how things looked before you started and you know where to put it when the job is done. This all had to come down for us to paint the wall. I would have been lost putting it back. By the way that works when you are disassembling most anything that you are going to put back together.
I cut the wood and did some sanding. Then something popped up that hadn't for a long time. About 5:30, the sky got dark and it started to rain. It was my intention to paint this wood but it had to wait till the following midday. The hot Texas sun dries wood fairly quickly and it didn’t have time to warp.
This was the scene after breakfast and a grocery run. All measured twice and cut once from yesterday. Today they got a double dose of Rustoleum red.
Two drills saves time and labor. Drill a pilot hole before you start a screw. Life is easier that way. Also, it helps to miss the metal window frame and hit the wooden stud when you are putting in the screws. Don't ask me how I know.
Cut with a chop saw and there is no need to worry about square corners. The need for square corners came into play with the windows themselves. Who would have thought that our windows were not square. Duh.
You can’t see it in the pictures but just past the vertical board on the right is an electric outlet. The manufacturers were smart enough to realize that someone might fit trim and made room for it. Or else it just happened that way.
Whatever the reason the one on the left is a lot closer to the window. Yup, I was reminded what it meant to assume. It all worked out okay.
Whatever the reason the one on the left is a lot closer to the window. Yup, I was reminded what it meant to assume. It all worked out okay.
The next thing is to make the shelf that goes under the window. We are going to make it a wider shelf than the other windows. Need a place to put herbs that Sally can grow indoors. Now just hope the dogs don't develop a taste for herbs.
The caulk you see is a result of the window not being square. It will be ok though. The white seams and spots you can see are screw holes and cracks. When this caulk drys it gets a final touch of paint and that part will be done.
I am publishing this because tomorrow is Mother's Day, not because the project(s) is/are finished. I will add pictures as the days go by and publish again when the project is finished.
I am publishing this because tomorrow is Mother's Day, not because the project(s) is/are finished. I will add pictures as the days go by and publish again when the project is finished.
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