This post was originally published on DIY Network’s blog Made + Remade in January 2014.
I married an amazing, inspiring guy. Pete has a certain fearlessness when it comes to trying new tools, experimenting with new materials, diving into projects, and embracing this DIY lifestyle that we’ve made together.
He is a maker I love, and a maker I would love for you to meet.
I like to think that I’ve adopted his fearlessness. He brought out the side of me that learned to operate miter saws, that has purchased – and regularly uses – two different routers, and that has a spare cordless drill and bits in the trunk of the car next to the jumper cables, you know, just in case.
Pete’s an artist, a web designer, and a blogger. He’s the reason my own blog looks the way it does, and he’s a perfectionist when it comes to painting trim. He has helped with many a project, projects that we’re really proud to have conquered ourselves – ultimately, that DIY prowess has resulted in us having a lot of home pride. A few examples of his awesomeness to follow, some projects that were my brainchild, but probably wouldn’t have turned out nearly as well if not for his brainpower, know-how, and support.
1. He helped me build a beautiful flagstone patio. Flagstones are h-e-a-v-y, and they are not remotely circular, but he helped me follow through on the vision of a circular patio to fit in a space in the backyard. It involved a lot of digging, base tamping, and stone breaking (without saws) and turned out to be one of the DIY projects we are most proud of.
2. He didn’t flinch when I said I was going to gut and remodel our only bathroom. OK, he flinched a little bit, but he dove right in by helping me make decisions on tile and flooring, carrying the old shower surround to the curb (also carrying the new bathtub up the stairs), and re-trimming the windows. The finished bathroom was amaaaazing.
3. He told me he knew how to build a deck (I later found that he never had actually done it, he only said he had so he could woo me). We spent many hours, in those early days of dating, figuring out all of the math together on bar napkins.
4. He raced to install our new maple floors while I was 9 months pregnant.We wanted the hardwood floors installed long before our new baby arrived this fall, so the timing of it all wasn’t ideal since I couldn’t share in the heavy lifting, but he stepped right up to do some of the most demanding parts. While I opened boxes, sorted the wood, and racked boards, Pete stood hunched over drills and the pneumatic nailer for weeks on end in order to get the 1,800 sq. ft. of flooring installed.
5. He’s a DIY visionary, and he follows through on his plans. We have an ever-growing master plan for our new house, a long list of the things we want to make. Lately, we’ve been brainstorming play set designs, considering the layout of new garden beds, talking about the complexities related to installing brand new siding ourselves, and dreaming of the day that we have a beautifully organized workshop.
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