Basement Recreation Area

We moved all the stuff into one area so we could paint and repair the other areas. It has been about 25 years since we first remodeled the area






The basement is carpeted so we had to cover everything that we could not move. We used Benjamin Moore Aura paint. It was more expensive than most, but it does a great job. It is a self priming paint, but we used a tinted primer to cover the wood paneling




Nancy using the primer to cover the paneling. There is a lot of paneling in the basement and we primed all of it. I think that will pay off in the long run

We replaced the ceiling tile in the ham radio section of the basement. This is the first time we have installed tile and it went pretty easy. Just a little dirty, but it came out fine.

You think Nancy can paint Just look at this trim job. It was perfect. She trimmed the entire area, most of which was next to carpet and in one case next to the brick fireplace.








After the painting and replacing the ceiling tiles, the fun part started. Here are the ham radio station tables in place






This is really the fun part for me. Placing the ham equipment on the desks and doing the pre wiring. It doesn't look like it but there is a cable plan in place. Every cable is ran a specific way. Each connection is checked to ensure proper operation.




My retired fishing lures, all 271 of them, are now on display. These lures have caught many many fish, and in most cases cannot be replaced. Lots of ole memories here. I can tell you that every lure has a story and in every story the fish does get bigger.





Nancy spent several hours cleaning all the decor in the basement. The dust from the tile and just general dirt had to be cleaned up before we started putting the basement back together.






This is our old Secretary Desk decorated with our Southwestern decor. This includes a bottle of Wine from Mesilla in Las Cruces NM and our 100% Mezcal 100% Agave from Oaxaca Mexico. To good to drink. Part of our liquor collection. The bottles are setting on our hand made Southwestern ceramics.





The fireplace replica holds a few of our coffee cup collection and some of our Amateur Radio awards.





Long view of a basement wall.











The Ham Radio area on the right is just about complete. New wood kick panels were installed to cover the cable runs. . Above the speaker is my Railroad Clock. There is a detail picture of the clock down the page.






Our Daughter made this German Shepherd Hook Rug for us many years ago.







Part of our coffee cup collection. They represent many of our travels. On the right is the Jay Leno Tonight Show Cup. At one time we were Engineering Manager for a NBC station. That helps in getting tickets to the show




Before the Heart Attack in 1983 I used to smoke. The pipes I really enjoyed but no more. The coffee cup is from the Naval Air Station in Rota Spain. These are all Kaywoodie Pipes. Great Smokers but don't do your health any good







A friend gave us this Lionel Clock, which not only keeps accurate time, but every hour on the hour the little train goes around the clock face where is whistles and cho cho's. Sounds real. A friend of mine was a retired railroader and the sound always reminds me of him and his wife Phylis

As you come down the basement stairs there is a display of Nancy's Handiwork. We both like the SouthWestern Themes

Nancy has been a ham for over 25 years. Her call is NA8N and she is now sitting at remodeled ham station.

My call is W8FQ and I have been a ham for over 55 years

Thanks for viewing our blog and giving us an opportunity to showcase our interests.


Have a great week and thanks again for stopping by



Rick, Nancy Belle and Bandit

Bathroom Remodel

Nancy and I remodeled my bathroom a few years ago. In time the grout developed some bad spots. This was our first grout job so we made a few mistakes. This year I took a dremel tool and a tile bit and cut all the grout. Nancy then took the grout grabber tool and scrapped the grout. Nancy's final touch was with a grout saw tool. The end result was the majority of the original grout was removed.

To ensure she did not miss anything Nancy used a head Flash Light to highlight the areas. What was nice is this Head Light was given to us by our friends in Texas. This along with their advice worked out great. They did not even charge us a consulting fee.

Nancy installed the new grout and cleaned off all the excess. Job came out perfect.

I am not a great caulker but this job turned out pretty good. There might be a rough spot or two but what the heck. It looks great and doesn't leak





Nancy is admiring the tile work. The grout is a perfect match throughout. The first time we did this job we mixed the grout from powder and we had to do two batches. A friend of ours, Les works construction in Texas, and he told us that when you mix grout from a powder the amount of water and just about everything you do affects the color. This time we used premixed grout and it was great.

All the work is completed so Nancy is ready to head out for dinner. We even had dessert. This project took a little over a week and it is now completed. This is the best part of any project GETTING

TO DONE.

Here is the finished bathroom. It is a small area but serves its purpose and looks great. We are glad this project is completed as the original grout did not match perfectly and that was a sore point with us.

On to our next project the basement recreation area.

Thanks for viewing the blog and hope you have a great day

Rick, Nancy, Bandit and Belle

Home Remodeling Projects

These are the pictures of our latest remodeling and updating of our home. Since we did not travel so much this summer we decided to put our time into home updates.





Porch was Scrubbed, new Grout and Painted. The job took 1 day to complete and looks great to us. We installed 4 New Porch lights and our home made railing painted. Nancy and I made the porch railing from Redwood. Redwood is really hard to find anymore.

The middle picture has all the furniture out and ready for a Happy Hour



I have a bad heel spur so Nancy had to climb the ladder 18 feet to trim the entranceway
ceiling. The Picture on the left is the hallway at the top of the stairs. So you know Nancy is
really afraid of heights. Lot of bravery on her part to climb the extension ladder. I should get a heel spur more often



Our home has 5 Bedrooms for the two of us, so we have converted them. This bedroom is now
a library. The Audobon Clock is a Christmas Present from Nancy's Sister Barbara. The view out the window is really nice summer or winter. The bookcase holds all of my Louis L'more Books

Nancy painted the room and I installed a new Casablanco fan system. Very comfortable space


Nancy's Master Bath. She Painted and installed the new floor. I did the plumbing and
electrical stuff. The new shower area is from BathFitters Inc. Nice job all the way around




Another bedroom was converted to our setting room. The walls are covered with a bunch of personal stuff including letters from my Dad, who was killed in WWII. The picture on the right is a graduation picture of Hyatts High School dated 1936 and my Dad was one of the 5 graduates.
The bottom left picture is a aerial view of a farmhouse where we lived growing up. The bottom middle picture is a stool my Dad made when in High School. This stool changes residences every now and then with my sisters home in Florida

The picture of the letters is in the center My Sister in Law Linda found the graduation picture in a closet at Olentangy High School where she works. Quite a surprise. There were no women in his graduation class. I attended Olentangy High School the very first year it was open.


This is the Master Bedroom and we really like the big space. Windows on both sides with great views of the trees and the area. Good thing is the room is on the 2nd floor so it is impossible to see in, just out. Nancy did all the painting in here plus the border. I replaced all the switches and ac outlet plugs and installed a Casablanca Fan. Usually when we redo a space all of the electrical stuff is replaced. Never hurts to check connections and if you check them, might as well replace them.





This bedroom was converted years ago into Nancy's office. The pictures on the wall are from yesteryear of both our families. They may be old but sure nice to look upon. She has a nice view of the woods outside both windows. Just finished repainting, added a ceiling fan, and new AC plugs and switches. Nancy's computer is part of the home network.





This is our spare bedroom, which we affectionally call "Carole's" Bedroom. Carole is my sister and when she visits this is where she stays. It is our guest room for anyone who visits with us.

Nancy did all the painting. I hung the pictures



Speaking of windows here are a few of the 22 new windows that were installed. This saved us a lot of money on heating and cooling the home. The middle picture is one of the windows and our new Patio Lights. New lights are also on the front porch. The right picture is me cleaning the paint brush with "Dicks Brush Cleaner" Dick was a friend of mine and a painter. He bought me this tool over 25 years ago. After Nancy washes the brushes I put the brush into the cleaner, operate the plunger and it twirls the brush and gets all the water out. Pretty slick.




The top left picture is our Total Home Protection Box. This eliminates all spikes etc that occurs with the power company or electrical storms. The middle picture is the documentation for the new circuit panel. The darker sheet is the original pictoral by the gentleman that built this home. The lighter sheet is the new documentation indicating location of the different circuits. We had a local electrical company install a new panel with 56 circuits. The phone lines come in through another protection circuit and there is also a protection circuit prior to our DSL modem. The horseshoe is for luck which probably protects us better than everything else. After 45 years in the Broadcast Business I can say that with Lightning you have no control on what happens. Hopefully what you do will minimize any damage.

We are in the process of remodeling a upstairs bathroom and the finished area in the basement. Those will take a few weeks. If you have the time please check back later for an update

Thanks for viewing our blog. Have a great week


Rick, Nancy, Bandit & Belle