Zen and the art of DIY? Why did I select such a name for my blog? The name came from the book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” by Robert M. Pirsig. According to the reliable Wikipedia, the title is an apparent play on the title of the 1948 book, Zen in the Art…
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My name is Dominic Isaac Yrager. (It really isn’t my name; note the initials.) I am a DIYer. I do not claim to be good at it. I consider myself just okay, but far better than those wannabes on DIY Network’s, First Time Flippers. I am also not a blogger. I do not claim to…
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It all started during a heavy rainstorm. As the rain poured down the roof and filled the rain gutter in the front of the house, the water started to cascade over the gutters. Even though it was a 100-year rainfall, it was amazing how much water the gutter system could not handle. We had the…
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The next day, I brought up the boards to look at them with some better lighting, and they looked great. Time for me to put this shelf together. I was doing some thinking about the assembly, and I was concerned that the 1-1/4” pocket screws would be too long and poke out through the boards.…
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I did not like the look of the back splash extending beyond the upper cabinet to the end of the overhang of the new countertop. It just did not look finished. Originally, I wanted to stop the backsplash where the upper cabinet ended. Efiwym, my wife and I had several discussions regarding this dilemma. She…
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After I was done sealing the grout, it was time to finish up with the electrical. I would replace all the ivory-colored outlets, switches and covers with the white ones Because of the thickness of the tiles, I needed to purchase longer screws so I could screw all the new switches and outlets back in…
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I was now down to grouting the refrigerator/desk backsplash. Again I noticed how quickly this grout would dry up when I was doing the sink side of the backsplash. This time, I would add a little bit more water to the grout mixture just to loosen it up and maybe extend the drying time. Applying…
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After learning my lesson of making too large of batches of thin set, I decided to go with small batches of grout. I would start grouting on the sink and stove walls and finish up on the refrigerator/desk side. First, I needed to remove all the switch and outlet covers and re-mask the cabinets and…
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I learned some good lessons from my first round of tiling. So, I was looking forward to this day. I believe I was better prepared than last time. There were a few changes. I would make smaller batches of thin set to prevent the thin set from drying out. I wanted to keep area clean. …
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The following weekend I planned on finishing the tiling of the backsplash. Even though the amount of tiling would be almost twice as much as my first run, I thought I learned a lot and could move through the job faster. Saturday was again spent moving stuff off the counters, taping, installing the edging and…
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I already returned the tile saw, but I got a call on Wednesday from the place how doers get more done that I needed to return the tile saw. What?? I immediately called the store and explained that the saw was returned on Monday before 9 o-clock. The clerk said, “Yeah, I see that the…
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DIY Project – Installing Stone Countertops – My DIY Projects – Installing a Backsplash – Tiling – The Struggle Continues As I got past the outlets, I still had the tile above them. I would come back later. I know I would need to due some rip (horizontal) cuts. I started working under the window. …