I did a happy dance yesterday when the UPS man delivered two new toys, tools, ok, tools! He laughed. Probably wondered why I was so happy to get a portable wet-dry vac.  The fact is you need the right tools for the job.  I think someone has said this before.  BY THE WAY… this is not an advertisement for these toys.  After many ‘hit n miss’ purchases over the years, these have worked for us.  Use what works for you!!

We have a work horse, 15-year-old Rigid wet-dry vac. Side note:  whoever came up with this name for a tool must be a man.  Go figure!

It has a 6-gallon capacity tank, detachable blower and can vacuum up anything! Remember the flooded basement we had to fix, this was the guy who sucked up all the water.  The big boss is heavy, awkward to pick up and doesn’t like to be hauled around. He’d rather stay in the basement – typical guy.

The basement stairs are narrow, steep and have low head clearance. Perfect set-up for disaster.

Late last Sunday, after a hard weekend of work, my husband was moving the big boss back into the basement. He grabbed the wrong handle, released the base, sending scraped off woodwork, sawdust, cobwebs and the occasional dead bug down the stairs and all over the floor.  It was a huge ugly mess.  After the maelstrom subsided and the neighbors came out of hiding, an executive decision was made.

We promptly ordered the big boss’ little sister.

The box says, “Portable” not “Heavy and Awkward”!! She likes to travel, is packed and ready to go with the same accessories as big boss.

 

We also purchased a Bosch orbital detail sander kit. Good sanders are a must!!! Look for random orbital sanders, they don’t make swirly marks in the wood. Swirly marks are a major pain, they are the result of the back and forth motion from lower quality sanders. You have to sand them out by hand, they show through stain. Spend the money on good quality sanding tools, they are worth it.  Life is too short.

These attachments will allow us to sand the corners of the doors and window frames with more ease than we can now.  Haven’t used it yet, will let you know how it works.  High hopes.

 

During a trip through Ace Hardware, we found these plastic pyramids to support pieces you are painting.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of the box and I don’t remember the name of the company who makes these, but you can find them in the paint supplies section of Ace Hardware, the big box stores too. They are a great timesaver. You can paint one side of a window frame, turn it over, support the work on these pyramids and paint the other side!

 

We purchased a good canopy at Home Depot in the early spring.

Confession, we’d never put one of these up before.

Raise the legs, what a great idea!

 

It finally happened. We both needed to strip paint at the same time. You guessed it, we bought a second heat gun. Look at the difference in these two tools. The bottom one has been used for one and a half years. The top one will look like that soon. Guess who gets the new one?

Milwaukee tools are one of our favorite. Good quality, sturdy workhorses, (have been dropped a lot), right price.

 

In the midst of big projects it’s nice to have a few things around the house quickly fixed and finished. We need that motivational boost while restoring the 14 first floor wooden storm windows. Stay tuned, that story is coming in a future post.

So, a couple of quick fixes from this summer:

The house’s original mailbox painted and doorbells replaced.

We chose “oil rubbed bronze” because the color adds visual depth compared to black which can appear dull.

Our next fix was the stairwell chandelier. The old one was circa 1972. Offers accepted, cash only.

The new chandelier.

The plan is to change the wallpaper, refinish the wood trim and the wall panels the same color used in the foyer.

Todd Phillips is co-owner of Quoizel, take a look at their lighting products online. Our new foyer light is part of this collection.

We continue to eat the elephant. Small bites. Stay hungry !!