Pallet Project - USA!

Every home needs some "Merica in it.  So I rounded up some pallets and created a US Flag that is 43" x 36".  I put it on the ledge in the stairwell going to the basement, since we are down there often to watch movies anyways. You can do about and design with any product by googling it, so nothing too hard to make.  This is just an idea on what we did.

Accent Wall

Just finished making an accent wall in the basement.  Since I get to decorate the basement, I figured I would start with something simple.

Tools:

2" Brad Nail Gun.  I used 1 5/8" nails
Air Compressor
Orbital Sander
Jig Saw
Level
Rubber Mallet
Dual Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

2.5 packs of Antique Laminate Flooring from Lowes
1 matching transition strip to finish the right edge of wall with a clean line
2 sticks of quarter round for left edge and top of wall.

The only tricky part was cutting the top part as the left side of the wall was 3/4 higher than the right over the entire length.  The easiest method I found was to measure 2.5 feet at a time and make the cuts, as its easier to get a straight line at 2.5 feet then the entire length of the board.  I used the Jig Saw to cut the top pieces since I dont have a table saw to cut at an angle.  Maybe Christmas will be good to me???

I recommend taking the face plates off whatever you have on this wall as it makes it easier than trying to cut around and it looks better.  We will eventually replace the covers with something that goes better with the flooring.  For perspective, the tv is 60" and mounted on a full swinging arm. I didnt take it off during the install of the wall, as I could just move to either side to make room for the boards.  I also ran the boards to the edge of the wall mount as 1) you wont see it and 2) it was not worth the time and effort to cut little pieces to fit inside the mount.

I may add rope light behind the TV to give it a nice glow when watching movies, but we are still undecided on what we want to do, as we usually leave the single basement light on, as seen in the bottom picture, while we watch movies.

Closing completed!!!

We got the coveted Ryan Homes bag filled with useful goodies!!!!

Everything went well with closing. Took about 2 hours of which  30 min was waiting for the forms to go through QC and a copy made of all the forms for us. Our loan officer was in touch with us routinely so there were no surprises at closing and we knew exactly what we would be getting back.

A note for people using a VA loan:

We had a last minute surprise that we had pay off and close one of my credit cards for debt ratio, which is no big deal. The problem is that the VA recently made this change and we didn't find out about it until the day before closing. That left me scrambling to get my reward points cashed out from Cabela's as I would lose them when the account was closed. This can be avoided by making sure your card balances are low or zero, prior to applying for the home loan. NVR bases your debt ratio off that initial credit pull, so keep that in mind and use the info how best fits your situation.

All of our pre settlement blue taped items were fixed during the week. Can't say enough good things about our PM. We should have very little things to address at the 10 day and 30 day marks.

We will be posting more pics of how we decorated as we get the projects done and as funds allow, lol.