[Wayne]

Hi guys,

After owning my house for 8 years, I'm now working on remodelling it. To that end, I have started a blog to chronicle my progress. The latest step is to order a few skylights and have installed them in my house. I just picked them up from Home Depot and it was quite the adventure getting them home in the RAV4...

You can see what I mean on my blog page.

Wayne

 

[ian g]

This vehicle is only partially loaded. I can still see some space down the side there. You could get loads more in that. At least a dog, and the week's shopping!

And there's still the roof and possibly a trailer too. Why take more trips to Home Depot than you need to?

By the way, that looks like a few quids / dollars worth of Velux. I wouldn't leave the door open for too long.

 

[waltrav]

Wayne a trailer is definitely the way to go when renovating.
Even getting a used one. If you are lucky and have a friend with one than borrowing is always better than owning. :wink:
I rebuilt most of my home on and off over the last 12 years and should have purchased a trailer even before my RAV. But I did not know weather I was to live in Italy or CAN so I never did. :roll:
Hopefully this summer I will make simple aluminum one.
Because I am going to keep the RAV in great condition for many years, I regret packing it with large, sharp items. Even with towels and blankets she still gets abused.

I seen picks of your kitchen. Is part of your project to gut it and rebuid a new one?

My last project was re-building all the upper floor/ interior side of the exterior walls with R10 insulation. That and a few other things has brought my house over 60 % Gas saving over my neighbors home this winter. I still have to get some more data to get solid confirmation but I have no double I can reach 70% or more even without a high efficiency furnace. Plus there are the savings in air con., furnace motor, life of furn. & Air Con. units, better air quality, environment friendly, backup generator runs less, etc…..
The only insulation these old homes had was the actual cinder block, bricks, air space and plaster. But I was amazed in how inefficient many new homes are today. :shock:

My next project is to get a hospital type air purification system that I have been looking at for 5 months. That, added with what I am working on now, which is 2 fresh air intakes, 1 for breathing, 1 for combustion and fans.

Aren’t houses a joy? Even with time plus money consuming maintenance and re-modeling we still love them..

Cheers,

Walt

 

[Wayne]

Wayne a trailer is definitely the way to go when renovating.

Hi Walt,

I don't really want to go off topic here. I just thought it was funny to see the RAV4 so completely loaded and thought I'd share. I'm surprised no one has shouted "you ought to have a 4.3, they're bigger"..

While off-topic, in answer to your question, yes, I am gutting my kitchen, but a few things (such as the roof and skylights) come first. You can see what I intend to do in the blog.

Wayne

 

[ozzy1975]

Kitchen renovation

Hey I am renovating my kitchen as well and for your cabinets definately go to HOME DEPOT and cehck out the KraftMaid stuff. I just ordered a bunch of cabinets (got delivered today actually) and they are pretty affordable and good quality, I don't have a huge kitchen but as long as you don't get delusions of grandeur you should be able to get all your cabinets at a decent price. I got all of mine for about $4500 and they are Maple. Check it out, have the guy come over and do a kitchen measure for $50 it is no obligation and you can keep the sketch.

 

[waltrav]

Ok Wayne I will oblige by code 4 in article 211 stating I must have one response on the particular subject.

“nice job filling up the Rav” :lol:

Please post the blob project Off Topic later on so we can see what’s happening?

Ozzy, in my renovation I custom built high quality cabinets for my upper shelves but the lower I did almost the same you.
It just happened that a line of cabinets were discontinued and also at that time and some slightly damaged cabinets were being unloaded to that one store (without doors). So I bough everything oversized, then like an assembly line, cut and rebuilt it on one side to fit. They discount huge on that stuff. Most Cabinets went within a day or two. They cost me less than building them from scratch.
As long as the broken section was hidden or chopped I was ok with it.

As for my insulation estamite, it was a bit premature to give any numbers because I still don’t have all of the data, which I will share off topic if anyone is interested.

Cheers,

Walt
.

 

[Becky J.]

Very cool, Wayne! Looks like the skylights are a perfect fit! :wink:

Now I wish I had taken a pic of the time a few years ago when we bought a new 10' Christmas tree (artificial, in a very LARGE box) and brought it home from the store in my '96 2-door. One of us almost had to stay at the store while the other took the tree home, but we eventually managed to cram both of us and the tree in the Rav! :lol:

Best of luck with your remodelling projects...do keep us updated!

Becky

 

[Marcutio]

Didn't think of it at the time but I've moved a Leather sofa(with the door strapped closed) about 6ft long. A regular 6ft sofa. 1 million boxes and a tonne of furniture. Of course at different times, but not once thought of getting a picture.

Mine is a workhorse since I build custom furniture by request only as a side business. Not much spare time now with the new promotion at work.

"Jam it in, Tie it up, Drive it home!"

Later. M.

 

[RAV4Don]

Wayne, neat pic. Best wishes on your renovation. I used to live in Decatur, AL. The homes there look familiar.

I am in the process of buying a new home and found your renovation project interesting. We are looking at homes that need to have renovated kitchens (at least according to wifey) Nice website.

I am making a long trip this wekend and have removed my rear seats in preparation for hauling a bunch of stuff 740 miles to what will be our new location in southern eastern IL. I need all the space in the RAV that I can get.

 

[Jeff]

Many years ago I decided to try and standardize how I store and transport my possessions. Instead of using the various boxes and bins that I had accumulated up to that time, I chose to start using only one type of storage implement -- the 18 gal Rubbermaid Roughneck storage bin -- which can be found just about everywhere these days for a couple of bucks. My family has used them for years and they are just as durable as Rubbermaid claims. I use the 18 gal bin for most everything I need to store or move, although I have a few of the smaller 14 gal bins and larger 25-31 gal bins for items that are too small or too big for the 18 gal bin. One of the major reasons I decided to use one model of storage bin for just about everything is that since they are all one model, they all nest together into one stack when empty, which has saved a lot of space in the various dorm rooms and apartments that I've had over the years.

Anyway, my point is that not too long after I first bought my Rav4, I found out that I can neatly fit about a dozen of these bins in the back of the Rav4 with the seats out. Even with the back seats and my subwoofer box in, I can still fit quite a few, because the dimensions of these bins make them easy to load into the Rav4.

 

[Wayne]

Anyway, my point is that not too long after I first bought my RAV4, I found out that I can neatly fit about a dozen of these bins in the back of the RAV4 with the seats out. Even with the back seats and my subwoofer box in, I can still fit quite a few, because the dimensions of these bins make them easy to load into the RAV4.

Something to note, when I start clearing out the garage later (knowing me, probably july when it's 104 degrees outside)..

Wayne

 

[waltrav]

Jeff that is also what i have in the back of my RAV. No seats just one (I think Rubbermaid) bin. I throw everything in it and it does n't move around..
No fun smelling something funky and finding some fruit that rolled under the seat 3 months earlier. :shock:

Later,

Walt