Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I saw; then sawed

I was taking the dog for a walk this morning and passed by my neighbor who is a carpenter. As I continue my remodeling mania - I've been thinking about removing some spindles that are between by living and ex-dining room.

My husband swears these spindles are holding the wall up...




I'm pretty sure Paul is lying to avoid a project. So I ask Matt to stop over.

Matt says the spindles are not holding the wall up.

That's all I need. I get to work taking out the spindles. I shuffled through all of Paul's tools in the shop and find these two items. One is clearly a saw, the other has a blade that cuts through stuff... but I'm not sure what it is, or why the blade isn't a complete circle.


Whatever. I started with the hand saw. After about 10 minutes, I decided it was taking too long and my hands were hurting. I pull out the other saw/blade/thing. Evan promptly stops me and says:

Evan: Mom. I don't think that is for wood. I think it is for metal.

Me: Well, if it cuts through metal it'll cut through wood, right?

Evan: Yeah, but you'll ruin the blade.

Ruin the blade? The razor I use to shave my legs needs replacing ever few weeks - surely we can buy a new blade for this thing?




Ta DA! It worked! My GOD I love this electric thing! I've never used an electric tool besides a drill... but my new favorite electric thing is this half-circle saw!



Even better, the boards that the spindles were connected to were just nailed to the drywall. Two nails. That's it!

I just pulled them right out.

Then I vacuumed up, took the spindles to the shop, and walked away. All in all, a 1/2 hour of work to finally saw off four large thorns in my side.


Now... I'm wondering how hard it would be to smash those half-walls out of the way... Tell me what you think?

3 comments:

  1. I want to cry I am so jealous. My house is in desperate need of a makeover and I have no idea where to start. You should freelance as decorator/project manager to help people like me. I love everything you've done!

    My concerns with the 1/2 walls would be painting the wall after they're gone. Matching the drywall texture can be a tricky thing. That being said, it's not like those 2 little spots on the wall are main focal points. I say go for it!

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  2. Erin - I wondered the same thing. Also, I'd have to figure out what to do with the flooring if I took the half wall out. Taking them out may end up being more of a headache than it is worth. Maybe if we change the flooring in the ex-dining room someday, I'll take down the half walls.

    I am NO decorator... believe me. One of my favorite new websites is http://www.houzz.com/
    OMG - FILLED with some many inspirational pictures... check it out. And if you need someone to saw something off, I have this electric thing I found that works wonders... :)

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  3. Hi Najla! I think the room would look great without the half walls, but patching the walls and floor might be tricky.

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