How to Fish Wires Through Walls

I like being handy.

It's much cheaper.

There's a lot of things, however, I'm not so handy with.

Electricity is one of them.

Sure, I can install a new light fixture easy enough, but other than that, I'm lost!

So when I mentioned to my super-handy always-generous step-dad that I needed to relocate a light in my bathroom, I figured it was like free labor.

Right?

Right?

No.....

Click here to see how I turned an antique cabinet into a sink for this remodel.

See that light next to the painting? What an odd placement....plus it's also a fan (which vents into my clothes closet! Ew!)

So my step-dad came over, looked at it for a while, tapped on the walls with his knuckles for a few minutes, looked at the wall, then the ceiling, then the wall again.

After doing the random "tests" that I didn't understand fully, he told me where I could find all the tools in his garage necessary to complete this project, and then how to do it.

Wait....what?!

I was bewildered, to say in the least, but I knew that if I didn't complete this project, the rest of the bathroom remodel would never get done.

So here's my light.

I took off the cover, which just snaps on.

At this point, I thought it was probably best to shut down the power to the light and use a shop light for the rest.

Electrical shock doesn't tickle.

Trust me...

Take off the lightbulb to expose the screw.

Unscrew it, and the whole light-housing should come out easily.

This is plugged into a receptacle similar to a wall outlet. Just unplug it and the entire light part should come out.

There will be more screws holding the fan in. Unscrew them and the fan should come out easily as well.

At this point, I realized that this particular fan was installed with extending arms going to each stud, which means that the fan was installed before the drywall, making it impossible to easily get the rest out.

I would have had to get at the screws holding it onto the studs, but I couldn't do that without damaging an entire section of my wall.

So I grabbed my trusty hammer and pry bar and beat the fan box into submission.

With enough denting, I was able to pry the entire unit out of the wall with minimal damage.

And here's the view from inside the adjacent closet.

For the wires to go up into the slant of the roof, then up to the ceiling, I needed to drill a hole in the header.

I then drilled a hole in the ceiling where I wanted the light fixture.

Place your light receptacle box exactly where you want it on the ceiling, trace around it, then cut along your line with a drywall saw.

Make sure that one side of the box is touching the stud in the ceiling, because you will need to anchor the box to the stud after you pull in your wires!

At this point, you can begin fishing your line up into the wall.

Since the roof is slanted, and both holes (on the wall and the ceiling) were between the same studs, it fished easily to the ceiling hole.

Just stick your hand up into the ceiling hole. Have someone else fish the line up, and wait until you feel the line on your hand.  The person fishing the line might have to "jiggle" it a bit so that you can feel it.

Grab it and yank it through the hole.

Loop your new extension wiring over the loop on the fishing wire.

Tape all around the wires and the fishing wire. Don't make it too bulky, though, because you want it to be able to fit through the hole on the wall!

Tape it well enough so that you're sure it won't come apart behind the drywall!

Now start pulling on the fishing wire, and your new wires will move into the wall. Leave enough wires to be able to complete your lighting project comfortably.

This is the end that you will attach to the old wiring. Just follow the colors. White to white, black to black. Secure each wire with a cap then wrap with electrical tape.

This is what you should have on the ceiling.

Mount your electrical box to the stud, pull your wires through (securing the wires with the screws! You'll know what I mean if you see an electrical box), and strip the insulation off the wires.

Then it's all set to install your new light fixture!

This hole on the wall can be patched up!

It seems like a lot of work, and slightly confusing, but if you break everything down step-by-step, it really wasn't that bad.

Now, looking back on it, I'm very grateful that my step-dad made me do this project on my own. I learned a great new skill, and I have the pride that I did this project myself.

And, of course, I now have a whole list of electrical projects that I want to take on!

Never ending...

DIY Lipgloss

I'm not a lipstick wearing gal.

I've tried several times, but I always think I look silly wearing it.

But lipgloss....I can't go a day without it!

You can use your favorite lipstick colors for the base of a DIY lipgloss, giving you just a hint of the color.

For this project, you will need:

-An old Altoids tin

-Beeswax

-Vasoline

-Oil of essence (I used Spearmint)

-Lipstick

1. Cut the lipstick and the Beeswax into chunks about the size of a thumbnail and put in the Altoids tin.

2. Fill the rest of the tin with Vasoline

3. Add about 10 drops of the oil. I added a little more for a stronger scent.

4. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in your oven on the lowest temperature. Mine goes down to 175.

5. Wait until all of the wax and Vasoline is melted.

6. Take it out carefully and stir it to get the color and flavor evenly distributed.

7. Let cool overnight.

I found this idea at this website:

beautylish via my Pinterest page.

But I found that the recipe wasn't the greatest. It made the lipgloss WAY too hard.

So the recipe above is my own little concoction, after a few attempts.

I hope you enjoy!

How to Turn an Antique Cabinet into a Bathroom Vanity

Wow, I've been gone for a while, haven't I?

Today, I'm going to show you a project that I did this past Summer. I was working on a bathroom remodel.

When I first bought my house, a lot of the work I put into it was more of a temporary thing.

Most of my remodels didn't have much thought behind them.

Maybe because the previous owner had such horrible taste that I wanted to quickly cover it up out of embarrassment?

Or maybe because I was still a novice.....and broke.

I don't have any photos of the original bathroom. Here's some old photos I pulled off my blog of the first remodel I gave this bathroom.

I painted the walls yellow in an attempt at being "fun." I did put in that faux wainscoating, but now I realize it was too low.

There's that horrible fan/light (which fans out into my closet?) that's stuck on the wall.

This bathroom has no shower, so moisture really isn't a problem.

And quite honestly, I don't know why the previous owners would want whatever smell was going on in that bathroom to be emptied out into a closet with clothes in it.

In a later post, I will show you the basics of running wires through walls. I changed the light fixture, and put it on the ceiling where it belongs.

Also, that vanity literally takes up half the bathroom. I'm not entirely sure how we even got it out of there. The thing was monstrous, and the bathroom is tiny.

I knew we needed a new one.

I love the look of antique vanities.

I started pricing vanities for the look I wanted:

Over $2000 for this one at Lowes:

I loved it, but YEESH! That'll put a dent in the ol' pocketbook!

I drooled on the keyboard for this dresser-like vanity priced at $900:

Still out of my price range.

This one was the cheapest, at $400, that still had the look I was going for:

Unfortunately, $400 was still over my budget. Heck, I wanted to pay way less than that for the entire remodel!

So I searched Craigslist, and wouldn't you know it, I found the perfect antique cabinet! It used to be a radio cabinet.

So I took the old vanity out.

I placed the two vanities back-to-back.

My wonderful husband helped move the cabinets for me.

He's wonderful!

Anyways, putting the cabinets back-to-back will give you a perfect template of where to cut a hole for your plumbing. That way you don't need to take measurements.

Just open up the old vanity, and trace inside the old hole.

Next, lay your new sink on top of your vanity, making sure it is centered, and trace around it.

Make sure the sink is far enough from the back so that you are still able to turn the faucets. The sink shouldn't be flush against the back of the vanity.

Then, trace another circle inside of that, about 1/2 inch inside. This will give the sink a lip to sit on. You will make your cuts on the inside line!

Drill your pilot hole and start cutting with a jigsaw.

Next, squeeze a large bead of silicone all around the lip of the hole. This will keep the sink in place and prevent moisture from getting inside the cabinet.

Then just drop in your sink and "shimmy" it into place!

And you have a new, DIY bathroom vanity.

Total cost without the faucet: $70.

Knowing that your piece is a real antique and that you made it yourself: priceless!

Oh, and a little tip before you try this project:

Measure the height of your old vanity. Try to find one around the same size. While plumbing can be adjusted (I had a slight variation), you don't want a vanity that is uncomfortably high or low.

How to Buy the Correct Sized Picture

I wanted to buy a huge print of my new family photo to put above our entertainment center.

I measured and re-measured the space, debating sizes with my husband.

We went back and forth for hours on what size to order.

Finally, I came up with a solution:

Take a picture of the area.

Upload both the picture you want to hang (A) and the picture of the room (B) into a software like Photoshop.

Place photo A onto photo B, and play with the size of photo A until you like the look of it.

Remeber to think about the thickness of the frame you will be using!!

Once you get it looking right, measure the actual space using cue points. I used the glass hurricanes on the entertainment center, measuring just between them.

This should give you an idea of what size to order!



Hope this helps you for the next time you need to order some prints! Happy Monday everyone!

Turn a Gumball Machine into a Fishbowl

My husband took part in a carnival for his college.

Do you know those booths with all the fishbowls and you have to loop a ring around the top of a fishbowl and you win a fish?

That's the one he was running.

Guess what he brought home?

Yeah....three fish.

Yay......

I guess the kids have been nagging me about getting them some fish.

I've also been storing an antique gumball machine in the basement, knowing that someday I wanted to turn it into a fishbowl.

This was just the push I needed!

Directions:

Start with an awesome gumball machine.

(Note: not all gumball machines will be built like this one, so you may have to modify this a bit)

The top will have a screw in it.

Unscrew it and take it out.

Once you life off the top, you will be greeted by this thingamajig:

Take it out and this is what you should have:

At this point, you should be able to remove the bowl and get some glass cut.

Go to your local glass cutter with the bowl and ask them to cut a circle for the bottom of the bowl. Make sure to mention that the measurements should be taken from the outside of the bowl, not the inside. You want to be able to set the bowl ON TOP of the glass, not have the glass sit within.

So this is what you should have after removing the bowl.

This mechanism should lift out easily.

There will be a similar mechanism underneath that.

This one lifts out just as easily.

Now you should be left with just the base and the rod.

This is threaded at the bottom, so just twist it off.

But this rod is a double rod. A rod inserted inside of a rod...

...but this enables you to take the entire base off the platform.

This 2nd rod is also threaded. There should be a nut on the bottom securing it in. Turn everything over, take off the nut, then start twisting the rod until it comes off.

Now, that threaded rod is what keeps the bottom from falling off the base, but we needed to rod off so that we could set a fishbowl (with a bottom on it) on top of the base.

So my solution was to put some Mighty Putter around the edges to keep the bottom platform in place. I gently tapped in on with a hammer.

So this is what you should have, and all the parts on the table can be tossed in the garbage.

If you've gotten your bottom fishbowl glass plate back from the glass cutter, you can now secure it to the bottom of this fishbowl.

You can NOT use any silicone. It has to be special aquarium grade.  I had to go to Mighty Pet (a local store, but I'm sure anyone could find it at any specialty pet store....just not Walmart, I tried!) to find it. The staff was very helpful.

This is what it might look like:

Follow the directions on the tube.

Put a generous amount of silicone around the bottom lip of the bowl and carefully put the cut glass on top of it. Wait the directed amount of time.

You might have to go back and add more silicone around the inside part of the bowl, sort of like caulking a tub.

I had a leak the first time, so I had to do this.

I greatly recommend it!

I also added silicone to the base so that the fishbowl would be stuck onto the base. With this fishbowl being top-heavy, I didn't feel it was secure enough just sitting on the base.

After waiting for all the silicone to cure, add your water, bowl decorations, rocks, and of course...your new buddies!

Meet Red, Desmond the Moon Fish, and John!