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Saturday, July 11, 2015

DIY: 30-Minute Scrap Wood Project

Hi friends!

If you were following along with DIY projects on the Humble Hammock last winter, you’d have seen the Elfa linen closet makeover. Remember that first photo on the post? Oh, it’s all right I’ll wait… go look at the post….

Being the thrifty crafter that I am, I saved those pieces of wood for a rainy day project. Today happened to be rainy so I hammered the nails out of the corners of each piece, lined them up in a fun pattern and created a little wall piece for the dining room. Don’t worry ladies, it just took one vertical piece of wood on the back with two screws holding each horizontal piece of wood to the vertical piece. You can do it without help!

Yes, I'm wearing pants :)

Not sure what I’ll paint on it yet, but I’m thinking I’ll hand letter the prayer we use for dinner and repurpose those frames I designed from Decorate: Dining Room Prayer with some of our wedding photos instead.

What was the best part of this DIY project? It was FREE!


Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! If it were yours, what would you paint on the new wall art piece I created today?


Saturday, July 4, 2015

Budget: I'll Side with Duramax

If you live in the glorious flyover state of Indiana, you’re certain to be experiencing a wet summer full of fluctuating 60 – 90 degree temperatures during the day and the occasional hailstorm or tornado. As luck would have it, our home wasn’t hit by a tornado; however, we did luck into some hail. 


So here we are, a couple of homeowners in the dark on who to call for siding replacement. When we have problems bigger than we can handle, I start by calling our realtor, Cate Waggoner, who over a year later still refers us to awesome contractors and keeps a pulse on our journey. Cate pulled through for likely the fifth or sixth time since we’ve had possession of our home and gave me a list of contractors.


The list dwindled quickly with no callbacks and no interest in repairing aluminum siding. Steve, the owner of Duamax Roofing and Siding, replied to an email almost instantly, visited our home and assessed the damage within a couple of days, and had an acceptable quote for our insurance at the visit.

Steve went above and beyond by giving us two quotes - one for two sides of aluminum siding (to replace what was damaged), and one for four sides of vinyl siding so that the home would be completely damage free and match forevermore. He came by with samples, made customized suggestions and even worked well beyond the required workday to be sure that the job was done right.

Here's the final product...

Before

After
After
His team consisted of four gentlemen who were incredibly tidy while they worked and constantly picked up trash and debris that came off of the home. They also didn't bring any materials for the job until they showed up on the first day of work - which meant our yard didn't have to be the eyesore of the neighborhood while we waited on work to begin.

It took three days (during which it rained and rained) to get the job done. Afterwards, the craftsmanship and attention to each detail was undeniable. Steve's crew even added some personal touches, replaced compromised wood that they weren't required to do based on the scope of our work, and fought off bees living under our siding. They even replaced the fascia above our garage door with a custom, handmade overhead detail that now sets our garage apart.

Garage door fascia replacement
Front detailing and rehanging of the shutters
Chimney detailing

Window trimming and caulking with attic vent detailing
New gutter with perfect color match for our back patio
More craftsmanship around the roofline, chimney and corners
Corner channeling and clean siding lines
We cannot give enough kudos and recommendations for Steve at Duramax. Check out his company if you live in the Indianapolis area and need a referral for roofing, siding, or an honest to goodness contractor with a knack for quality. You can find out more about Duramax on Angie's List, BBB and Facebook.

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock!
Cara