Kitchen - Tight Squeeze!

PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW

Estimated Cost: $5800 (including appliances and electrical)

Time: Done over 6 years

From This to That: Evolution of a Garden Level Apartment

This garden level kitchen apartment project evolved from a busted a$$, cracked head infested kitchen; to decent kitchen with solid wood cabinets; then finally to a luxurious master bedroom suite with a fireplace. It only took 6 years.

The chimney for the fireplace was hidden behind the sheetrock in the kitchen. I removed the wall because I was tired of hearing mice scuttling and squealing behind the walls.

Damage: Estimated at $8500 plus back pain

The Best Stripper in Brooklyn

My family and friends don't believe that I am the best stripper in Brooklyn. I've been stripping for 13 years.

Tools: Wire Brush, paint brushes, 3 gallons of Klean Strip Stripper, assorted scrappers and steel wool
Man Hours: 3 Full days
Total Cost: $110

Step I:

Step II:

Step III:

Finished:

Concrete Jungle to Landscaped Oasis

I finally got tired of tracking dirt from the backyard into the house. While some may think that a concreted backyard is hassle free, mine isn't.
I finally scraped enough money together to purchase artificial turf. Even though doesn't look exactly like real grass it's pretty darn close.

Materials

1. Home Depot - 5 of Tundra 6 ft. x 7 ft. 6 in. Classic Artificial Turf: $695
2. Lowes - 6 bags of Rock City 0.4-cu ft Marble: $23.82
3. Estimated Total Cost: $718.82

Final Result:

This is how I originally found the backyard:

Step 1: 

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Those Windows Were Busted

Nasty Cellar Reno

I'm back from a two year long hiatus. I've been busy with my 9 to 5, night job, and the birth of my first child. Although I haven't been writing I've still been Renovating on the Cheap.

The cellar at Halsey Street was the ugliest, nastiest, mustiest cellar I've ever seen. It was cut up into four rooms. We think the previous owner probably had people living down there.

I spent two years planning how I could make this cellar usable. Prior to the demo I couldn't stand going down there. Everytime I did, I felt like puking.

The previous owners made it into some kind of a drug den or boom boom room. They added cinder block walls which divided the cellar into four rooms. This included a bathroom and a boiler room. One of the rooms was carpeted.

The cellar was dark and there were exposed wires and bx cables hanging from the ceiling. The walls were covered with sheetrock, which took away a few feet from the width.

Once we removed all the cinder block partitions, the fire proof door at the bottom of the stairs; the cellar looked much better. It still looked dingy and small.

To make the cellar look more spacious we painted the walls bright white and the sewer lines a glossy black.

We desposed of over 250 bags of rubble while doing this job.

Plan:
-Demolish the cinder block walls.
-Remove sheetrock from walls
-Remove illegal bathroom
-Paint walls, sewer and gas lines
-Sheetrock and plaster ceilings
-Remove exposed electrical wires and bring them up to code.

Tools Used:
-Hammer
-Crow bar
-Drill
-Saw Zaw

Materials:
-5 Gallon drum of primer
-5 Gallon drum of white paint
-Two gallons of black paint

Time: One week