Less Talk, More Do » Home Improvement

Abandoned workspace

Christopher Finke — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Took this picture of the just-drywalled kitchen after calling it quits for the day, and it turned out to have a really eerie feel (which I love).

Own a piece of history

Christopher Finke — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:31:31 +0000

For the low, low price of $189,900, you could own this piece of Web software history:

This is the very building where I worked on such projects as Slashdotter, Netscape Navigator 9, OPML Support for Firefox, ScribeFire, the Digg Top Users list, and most recently, Twits Like Me. If you act now, I'll even throw in the very desk that I sit at while I work my programming magic. Deals like this don't come along every day, especially when you consider that I was named as Time Magazine's 2006 Man of the Year!

This introductory pricing won't last long, so you'd better hurry up and make an offer.

Software isn't the only thing I build

Christopher Finke — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:00:23 +0000

Christina and I just finished remodeling the stoop in front of our house. What used to be crumbling concrete steps covered in peeling outdoor carpet is now a wider and more inviting stairway complete with flower boxes and new handrails.

Except for the handrail parts, we designed and built it ourselves from scratch (scratch being a pile of treated 2x12 lumber and some plywood). Now it's onto cleaning up the yard as it's late April and winter has finally ended in Minnesota.

America's Next Top Remodel

Christopher Finke — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 00:14:06 +0000

My wife and I recently remodeled our back entryway, partly because it needed it and partly as preparation for remodeling our kitchen. We replaced 25 year-old linoleum with laminate flooring, stripped off the textured wallpaper, painted the walls and doors (after repairing some pretty big holes and cracks hidden by the wallpaper), and put up some wainscoting. I also added a built-in bench with storage under the seats, which I think is pretty sharp. Click the thumbnails for bigger before-and-after comparisons:

And since I know that I would be curious, here are the details of the products we used:

The flooring is Tarkett''s "Heritage Maple" laminate flooring.
The wainscoting (also called beadboard or just plain paneling) and chair rail are both from The Home Depot.
The paint is Glidden's Drum Beat Red with their grey "Gripper" primer underneath.
The red rug came from Wal-Mart, but I can't find it in their online store.
The curtains are from Brylane Home.
The bench was just made out of surplus lumber from one of my father-in-law's many wood storage sheds, but the hinges are from Ace Hardware.

This post isn't sponsored by any of the companies above, but I'd recommend any of the products I just listed. We managed to make good choices with just about everything that went into this project, with the possible exception of choosing to have me do the work.