Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Oh My!

So we have two simultaneous big projects going on here chez Brave New Home. The first, of course, is the research stage of a giant (and gi-normously expensive) bathroom remodel. The second, is to make our front yard look less of an eyesore to our neighbors and get some curb appeal going. It's a huge task, involving reseeding the lawn (and actually getting the seeds to grow) and ripping out and replanting all our gardens. This then, is step one: testing the soil.

Rather than send our soil out for professional testing, we decided to try an at-home kit, for the impatient and cheap (it's not actually that expensive to send out soil, but there is some shipping and fees involved; a test kit only costs about $10 and is even better if it's free because your parents give you theirs).

So first we dug up a few samples from both sides of our front yard and mixed them in a bag. We only dug to about 3 inches because that's the depth that the grass roots go to. If we were testing the areas where we have shrubs and trees, we would have dug deeper. Then we laid them out on a towel, crunched up the bigger pieces, and left them to dry for the night.

The next day, we were ready to test. First up, ph levels. Mix one capful of soil into the test tube filled with water and a ph testing tablet (for anyone who grew up with pet fish, this is remarkably similar to testing their water ph).

Vigorously shake, then compare the resulting color. We assessed our soil at about 7.5 (both sides came out the same). We realized afterwards that we should have used distilled, filtered water, so to be safe, we checked our tap water ph level, which was about 6.5-7, so it wasn't anything too crazy that would impact our results.

Next we followed the instructions for testing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which all involved essentially the same concept (there was one more additive, but you get the idea). Here they all are (both sides tested about the same):

It's probably a little hard to see, but the results are that we are medium for phosphorus and potassium, but very low for nitrogen. Nothing too groundbreaking (pun intended...). But now we know when we pick out our fertilizer that we need one with more nitrogen than anything else, maybe a 15-5-5 blend (even more awesome: now we actually know what those numbers mean--the relative rations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the fertilizer).

But for now these results are just "interesting" and don't really impact us much. You can't fertilize before you plant, because it's too harsh for new baby grass. So stay tuned for our next post for what happened next: thatching, composting, and seeding.

Here we go...

We're about to embark on a new adventure: a complete bathroom remodel. It's a scary prospect and we're doing a lot of research and getting a lot of quotes to find exactly what we want. It will definitely be the most money we've put into the house in one go. If we go through with it, that is. As a reminder, here's what our upstairs bathroom looks like now:

Beige and pink with a cheap vanity, teeny tiny tub, a more-or-less dysfunctional toilet and all manner of ick. In our New Year's post, we talked about trying to decide whether to do a full scale remodel professionally or attempt a do-it-yourself version. Well we saved a little money and started figuring out what we want and decided that total gut and remodel was the way to go. We're hoping to not have to move any electrical or plumbing, though while the floors are exposed, we may decide to replace whatever piping is down there with PVC, depending on the condition.

So what are we looking for? Here's our wish list:

• rip back to the studs, subfloor, etc, insulate outer wall and window area and install backer board
• install neutral, non-porous, large tiles to ceiling in shower area
• new water-efficient toilet (white--none of this cruddy pink stuff anymore)
• new, larger tub
• deep sink on a vanity (need the extra storage space)
• built in shelves in tub area
• grip bar in tub (who knows? might come in handy)
• recessed medicine cabinet
• new ceiling fan and light
• new lights over sink
• hand-held adjustable shower

I want a door rather than a curtain but if this eventually becomes a children's bathroom, a door might be too hard to maneuver around (though we also have a full soaking bath in the main floor bathroom)...What do you think? Also we decided against a "comfort height" toilet for the same reason--not very child-friendly.

A picture in a recent issue of Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine had a picture that sort of exemplified a lot of what we want:

I think I'll probably stick with gray on the walls too, but otherwise, this is a fairly good idea of our ideal style.

We've already had two estimates so far and plan to get a lot more. We've gotten some contradictory information (one guy thought they might be able to save us some space by installing a pocket door but the other guy doesn't think it's possible given the location of our studs; one guy suggested we automatically replace our original pipes with PVC but the other didn't think we should bother unless the pipes look corroded) but are getting a fairly good idea of what's possible and--more importantly--what it will cost. Usually I don't like to discuss price but this blog is a good place for a sanity check, so I'm just going to throw it out there: it looks like we can expect to pay approximately $10,000.

So, dear readers, here's where I ask for your help! I know some of you out there read and never leave comments but we want advice and opinions, so please send us a message. Have you done a remodel and what do you wish you had known? What features would you add to your bathroom if you could? What features should we add/remove to make it more child-friendly? What kind of design elements and colors would you recommend? We need ideas!!!

Stay tuned while we get a few more estimates and report back with our findings.

Honeymoon's Over

Our second anniversary is upon us. Two years ago today, we committed to this house. It hasn't been all fun and games, but I think the marriage is going strong.

According to "The Newlywed Game" rules, we are no longer honeymooners in this adventure of homeownership. The shine has worn off just a little, the excitement has died down and we've settled into a pattern.

Unlike last year, we're not going to bother doing a year in review because, well honestly, this year wasn't as exciting as last year. But that's not a bad thing. We continue to make progress, but now the projects are either smaller and less noticeable or really major/really expensive. So we're spacing them out and seeing fewer drastic changes.

But never fear--we have some exciting new posts coming soon. Two people have come by already to give us estimates on totally remodeling our upstairs bathroom and we've got plans to overhaul our front yard landscaping (the honeymoon really must be over--we're looking into the house equivalent of face lifts and boob jobs...).

Fiber Snob 3

Here we are at the third post in our trilogy (here and here) on fancy schmancy textiles.

WARNING: This post is not for the squeamish (which I am, so why am I even posting this...). No seriously. Stop reading if bugs gross you out.









No really, last chance.













OK, don't say I didn't warn you...

Moths are not particularly scary, as insects go. But to a knitter--or really anyone who values animal-based fabrics like wool and silk--they are pure evil. Because moths love to eat these fabrics for the protein.

So you can imagine my concern when we started seeing little beige moths that may or may not be these flying around our living room:

All my precious winter knits were already in vacuum bags on the very wise suggestion of my friend and fellow knitter, as was my "stash" (a common knitting term for all the as-yet-unknit yarn). Our food was also stored securely as Fort Knox, because a moth infestation in our previous apartment has made us lock up everything in jars and tupperware. It was summer and the house was generally full of bugs (more on that in a future post), so despite a nagging worry, I didn't think much of it.

And then one day a few weeks ago, while searching for a travel umbrella, I opened up a cubby in our Expedit and found the source...

It was just a tiny thing. One little moth fluttered up at me when I pulled the seagrass basket out:

That's when I remembered all the hats, mittens, and scarves that we store right there, near the front door. I had completely forgotten about them all spring and summer!

Needless to say, I shouted for D and he took care of the rest (including taking all of the following pictures). The inside of the basket was basically a nest of moth larvae:

We threw that right into the trash.

Our knit goods fared pretty badly as well. Here's a (store-bought, thank goodness) scarf covered in larvae. They made their home on the side made of fleece:

And ate their dinner from the side made of wool:

They particularly enjoyed feasting on my (again, store-bought) cashmere scarf:

The only really tragic victim was one hand-knit scarf. My favorite (of course...). It was too badly injured but there were a few holes and, frankly, who wants to wear a scarf that was covered in moth larvae?! Even after a thorough cleaning. So this beauty went into the trash as well.

I should be grateful. The moths hadn't found the other cubby full of mittens and hats (which are now freshly washed and wrapped up in ziploc). There were a few other casualties--cheap acrylic scarves that didn't hold up well in the scalding hot wash cycle I put them through. The moths didn't eat them but they sure set up residence on them, so the only way I would ever consider wearing them was if they survived several loads on high heat. Some didn't make it.

There was really no way to avoid it, except obviously to be better about wrapping up our woolens. But seriously, how do these things get in?! Nasty!

So have you had any unwelcome and unpleasant critters hiding in your home and eating your food or knitwear? How have you dealt with infestations and what do you do to prevent them?

Fiber Snob 2

A continuation from this post about fibers (I did warn you that it was a trilogy).  Today I'm not going to talk much about home decor or maintenance, but a cool housekeeping gadget I found. It's all house-related somehow or other...

Because I love natural fibers that don't take kindly to the high temperatures and tumbling of a dryer, I've been forced to find other solutions. Dry cleaners are expensive, time-consuming, and just plain gross (not to mention bad for the environment). Plus natural fibers like wool and silk have been around a lot longer than dry cleaners. So regardless of what the tag says (and this goes for clothes as well as pillow covers, blankets, duvets, etc.), I just use a gentle detergent and a tub or sink of water. Works wonders...

We have an elaborate network of drip drying racks, flat net platforms, and other contraptions in the basement to air dry these things, but it's pretty awkward. Enter my new best friend:

The most awesome part about this is that it seems to average about $50 online at places like Amazon, but I got it, of all crazy places, on sale at CVS for $5. Yes, FIVE. Not fifty...OK, it doesn't come with the clothes hanger. But still.

So basically the contraption has four net shelves (which alone would typically cost about $5-10 a piece) and a fan that blows air across them to dry everything more quickly. Sorry I'm only showing two, but imagine two more stacked on top:

It is also a new favorite kitty hiding place.

Just pretend it has clothes or pillow shams on it. (It was actually drying some bras, i.e. just not something I wanted in the picture, which is why it's bare.) And it collapses into practically nothing.

I figured even the net racks alone were worth the $5 but I have to say, the fan is really helpful and will come in especially handy this winter for big bulky sweaters, which always take days to dry.

Worth $5? You betcha! Worth $50? Well, actually, I think, surprisingly, yes. And of course, I'm not being paid by Hamilton Beach for the endorsement (though I wouldn't mind a little compensation, hint hint :) ).

On a totally unrelated note, please do leave a comment on our sump pump post if you have any advice whatsoever. It seems like the only solution out there is to add a complete battery back up pump system, which means having a whole new sump drilled. No thank you. I hope we're missing a different, cheaper solution!

Pump That Sump!

We interrupt my planned trilogy on textiles to bring you this update in the wake of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. Besides about 9 hours of power outage and a lot of yard debris, we were incredibly lucky and sustained no damage. We were, however, reminded of how awesome our mostly unappreciated sump pump is.

We lost electricity at about 1am after quite a few hours of sustained rain. The sump pump had been working all Saturday evening, reliably pumping every 15 minutes or so. When we finally got up at 9 the next morning, we took a deep breath and went downstairs to face what we feared would be a totally flooded basement. By some miracle, we were dry! But we figured we should start manually pumping out the sump just in case, because of course we had no idea how long we'd be without power.

So we drained...

 And we drained some more....

(Note the snazzy head lamp. It was dark in the basement!)

The weird thing was how, because of the magical way a sump system works with pressure and water tables and whatnot (you can tell I really did my research here...), we kept draining water but the water level in the sump stayed totally the same! It seemed like something out of a crazy fairy tale! In the end, we drained 100 gallons of water in a little under an hour by hand! It looked like by the end of it that maybe, just maybe, the water level had gone down about a centimeter. Fortunately when we went upstairs to take a break, the lights came back on and the pump could get to work without our manual labor.

And yes, we know we need to install a battery back-up system. But they are really intimidating! We looked into one more than a year ago, expecting to find some kind of mini generator we could plug into our existing sump pump. What exists instead, it seems, is a complete system that would require a total overhaul, like this:

Picture courtesy of Lowes

Totally scary!! So if you have any advice (along the lines of "no really, it's very easy to install") or suggestions for brands or installation techniques, please share them! We don't want to risk a flood next time there's rain and a black-out at the same time (because guess what? those things usually happen at the same time...).