Posts by Brian Schnee
My Great Maine Adventure Chapter 11 “WHAT I LEARNED”
Organization, planning, thinking out of the box, hard work, dedication, communication, and companionship helped Pamela and me accomplish an unbelievable amount of work in three weeks. Pamela and I worked from sunrise to sunset every day for three weeks. Lets Review What We Accomplished! My Friend, The Propane Tank Kerb Appeal Worker’s Paradise A Time…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter 10 “Stairway To Heaven”
Liliane’s Post and Beam house has two levels. On the first floor is the kitchen, living room, bathroom (not really), master bedroom, wood burning stove, and dining area. Upstairs is a loft: 2 queen size beds, clothes dressers and storage space under the eaves. I promise, in the next chapter I will give you a…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter Nine “Face Lift”
I could’t believe it, just a few years ago Hope and I spent two weeks taking care of the exterior of Liliane’s house. We pressure washed, repaired damaged trim, painted, and did everything that needed to be done to protect this beautiful Post and Beam house from the severe Maine elements. Look what has happened…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter Eight “Really X 2”
We have to be proactive in taking care of our homes. As we saw in chapter six, this did not happen; we had to rebuild the rear staircase and landing. The FORMULA = (no power washing + no treatment of the cedar materials = another project for Brian and Pamela! ) Step by step, I…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter Seven: “A True Wilderness Experience”
A True Wilderness Experience Many of you asked, what it was like to live off the grid in the wilderness of Moosehead Lake. Well, not too bad. Challenges: If it was a cloudy day, and the solar panels were unable to charge the batteries, we started up the generator, (of course after 7:00am). The propane…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter Six “A Time To Flop”
It is now June: We usually entered Lil’s house using the steps in the rear, as this led to a mud room. Suitcase in hand, I started up the stairs. As soon as I stepped on the first step and grabbed the handrail I knew there was a problem. My foot went through the first…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter Four “Kerb Appeal”
The stakes just got higher, and the family was raising the ante. Prior to our departure the decision was made to put the house and property on the market. Not only did we have to make essential repairs, we had to put the house into pristine appearance, focusing on the kerb appeal. So when an…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter Three “Getting My Ducks In A Row”
Chapter Three is all about getting the project organized. I had to create a to-do list for simple projects and a project planner for more extensive challenges. Did I have the tools needed to complete the projects? How about materials? No way am I going to make a Home Depot run and carry everything up…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter Two “Me and the Propane Tank”!
So, I kinda left you guys in the lurch, wondering what happened with the tree and its new friend, the 1000 gallon propane tank. Here’s What Happened I turned off the motor of my beloved 2004 Tundra, hightailed it a distance away from the tank and called the Greenville Police Department. They were terrific, contacting…
Read MoreMy Great Maine Adventure Chapter One
“How I spent My Vacation Rebuilding Mum’s Home” You remember Liliane, my 96-year-old mother-in-law who helped me build the peg board pot rack. Well, Liliane owns a beautiful Post and Beam home, waterfront property, right on Moosehead Lake in Maine. Her home needed a little TLC, so, guess what came next? One morning at…
Read MoreFire Prevention Week
A few years ago, I attended a Commercial Construction Certification Seminar in Philadelphia. At 3AM my hotel phone started ringing. Hope was on the other end, it seems that the smoke/carbon monoxide detector in our bedroom was sounding, but there was no fire. Was carbon monoxide “the silent killer” getting into my house? I told…
Read MoreOk, it did not go on, but they learned how to use the scientific method to find out what went wrong, THEY LEARNED.
Baron Of Whitfield’s DIY Story “Greetings Brian, I need your advice on how do I determine if the switch is faulty? I get a short in power when I turn on the switch the light flickers and turns off. Let there be light! I had this light switch in my hallway that after I turned…
Read MoreIs Your House Ready For Winter?
Insulation Insulation Insulation Student question to me: ” how do you know if you are in need of insulation in your attic. I answered ” do you have insulation in your attic? ” Read on for my advice!!!! Are You Getting Ready? Ok, I know, its still hot and humid. But, the days are getting shorter…
Read MoreOMG Page 26
Just to let you know, Nassau Community College holds a special place in my life. It was a stepping stone for me, my kids, and many other students. It is a stepping stone for all who want to learn something new and to improve their lives. Last February I received a call from Elizabeth Turner…
Read MoreThe Great Planter Challenge
Other than my family, there are two things that I really love in life: a challenge and helping out other people. So, when one of my online students challenged me to build an above ground planter “online“, well, you know what I did!! Why did I label everything? Well As you will see from the…
Read MoreStay At Home Project #1 Update “Hardening Off” Really??
First tomato flowers of the season!!!!Yea
Read MoreStay At Home Project #1 Update: We are In Trouble!
Ok, so I completed the wire rack shelving and got the lights installed. Seeds were planted, covered with plastic to keep in heat and moisture for my babies. All right, they are starting to show me something, maybe they want to meet me? Yea man, looking good. Ok, so I told Hope that in order…
Read MoreDIY Tabletop Cell Phone Stand
I was talking to Billy this past week, you remember Billy from the “Royal Flush Episode? “ “You know Brian, I have too much of this stuff. Instead of just putting it into the Blue Bucket, any ideas how I can use it around my house? Let’s Make A Cell Phone Stand Here are the tools…
Read MoreStay At Home Project #1 Update: (seeds were planted March 15th)
Okay, so you are probably wondering what’s going on with our plants. Well, it came time to thin out the seedlings. I just couldn’t do it, I couldn’t kill any of them. So, off to the barn I went with all the babies. I ended up separating and transplanting ALL the seedlings. I doubled what…
Read MoreStay At Home Project #3 “Pegboard in my kitchen, are you kidding?”
If you guys know me, you know that I love to cook. But in order to produce a good meal you really have to be organized with your ingredients, spices and cooking utensils, namely, your pots and pans. So, where do you think we keep the pots and pans? You guessed it, in that beautiful,…
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