Reviving Our Colonial Revival

Long Overdue Update

2008-09-01T09:47:00.008-04:00

In trying to make progress on the house, lots of travel plans, and a new job, I have kind of fell off the wagon on my posting. The last I reported, we were just finishing the master bedroom and things were getting going on the new porch. Where do we stand now?

With the exception of decorating (that's the last thing on my list), the master bedroom is complete. Thankfully, we purchased bedding and furniture a LONG time ago, so once the bedroom was painted and carpet installed, we could pretty much get set up and move in. For some reason, I don't have any good before photos, but for the after photos:

We used a dark sage green on the walls, then went two shades darker on the same paint swatch for the fireplace color. We are pretty happy with how it looks, and we are happy to finally have a master bedroom.

As far as the porch, the contractors built the structure for us, and we have roofed it and installed some trim around the outside. Their only part left is to install gutters and a window where the door used to be. The rest (ceiling, lighting, paint) is up to us. We do think it's a major improvement. For this, I do have a much-needed before photo.

Before:
Now from the yard:
Now from the porch (my favorite view):
We worked yesterday on installing crown molding around the outside of the upper overhang. It needs wood filler, caulk, and paint before gutters can be installed by our contractors. We found lights and beadboard ceiling this weekend, so this fall looks like it's going to be pretty busy. We are happy with the outcome, but are really looking forward to enjoying the space.

The Stars Aligned Today

2008-07-21T21:42:00.002-04:00

Two major developments today! 1. Our contractor returned to begin construction of our new back porch. 2. Our master bedroom is painted - all surfaces and all coats!

To elaborate, we have been put-off by our contractor for several weeks on a start date for the porch. First we had to wait for our special order columns to come in. Then we had to wait for the crew to finish up work on other job sites. Thankfully, they reappeared today with columns, lumber, and tools to build our porch. To save on cost, they will be doing the structure, and we will be doing the roofing, lighting, and beadboard ceiling ourselves.

I haven't taken many pictures of the master bedroom transformation because I've just wanted to get it done. I did a touch-up skim coat (after the first sand by the rented sander) and a second sanding by hand, and the walls looked pretty nice. So, throughout the week last week we were able to get the walls and ceiling primed. On Saturday, Chad painted two coats on the ceiling while I primed the trim. We were able to get two coats of paint on the trim yesterday and one coat of color (medium shade of sage green) on the walls late last night. I finished up the final wall coat today.

We really hit a set-back on Saturday with priming the trim. I only budgeted a few hours, but this room is 27 feet by 14 feet, with 1 foot wide baseboard, 1 foot wide crown molding, 5 windows, 3 doors, and a ton on trim on the fireplace. Priming it took ALL DAY Saturday and even a few hours Sunday morning. Thankfully, the painting of the trim went considerably faster, completing one coat yesterday afternoon and the other last night.

The only painting left to complete is the fireplace and its surround. The wood mantle and trim (very decorative and detailed) has a coat of latex paint that needs peeled off before it can be primed and painted. Then, I will be painting the wall above the fireplace a different shade of green than the walls to help it stand out. This should be done soon, maybe by the end of the week, but we'll see.

As a small "break" on Saturday, we ordered our carpet for the master bedroom. It should be installed in 2-3 weeks, after which we can move in to our master bedroom, our first official master bedroom in 10 years of marriage. We are super-duper excited.

I will have pictures SOON of the bedroom and the progress on the porch.

Skim Coat and Sand

2008-06-30T08:32:00.004-04:00

While waiting on the porch to be rebuilt, we re-focused our attention back inside to our master bedroom. I finally finished stripping the wallpaper, which wasn't that painful and didn't take that long. It was just a matter of me realizing it wasn't going to get done without a few days of my attention. Over three days, I was able to strip the remaining 3 walls and wash them down.

Once I had the wallpaper stripped, I skim-coated all of the walls to hide imperfections and wallpaper sizing. The room is 13 feet by 27 feet (with 10 foot ceilings), so this took the better part of 2 days. Before sanding, though, I did a little research. I feel like there must be a better and cleaner way to sand that kind of wall space. I found the Porter Cable electric drywall sander. It's basically a 9" orbital sander on a pole, with a dust collection system. The cost was a bit more than we could spend ($450), so we were able to rent one from the local tool rental for $30.

I'm not a real good skim coater, but I can get the job done with a couple of light sands. We used the drywall sander for the first sand, and it did pretty well. I admit, I was hoping for perfection with the first sand. But, it did as well as a first hand-sand would have done, but Chad was able to sand the entire room in 2-3 hours with very little dust. I am going back in (as I always do after a first sand) and even out the low spots, gauges, and air pockets. We returned the sander this morning, so our next sand will be by hand. I do think, though, that the sander saved us valuable time on that first sand - it's always the worst. I would have liked to have had the sander for the next sand as well. In all, I think it probably works as well as hand sanding, but much faster and cleaner. For a big job, I would rent one again.

Throughout the week this week, I will continue to touch up areas on my first skim coat, plus do a second sand if possible. I would like to dream that in the next couple of weeks, we might have a finished master bedroom. Ahhh.

Update on the porch rebuild - the columns are in, and we are about a 1-2 weeks out from making it back on our contractor's schedule. It looks like we could have our new porch by the end of summer.

Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands

2008-05-27T17:00:00.005-04:00

So after we finally got an estimate for the re-build of the porch, we had to reevaluate our plan. The estimate came in much higher than we had expected (and much higher than we can afford). We started looking at some of the labor costs on things we can do ourselves and realized we'd save about half if we did some of the more basic labor ourselves. We have decided to frame up and build the porch floor, lay shingles on the the roof, and install the beadboard ceiling.

We also found a more cost-effective option for the floor. We were going to do a tongue and groove floor, but we were worried about its exposure to the elements and its cost. We were able to find nice decking boards at Menards and decided to go that route.

Over the last few weekends, we installed the floor supports and joists for the decking. That took us about a day and a half, about what the contractor estimated it would take them. Call me crazy, but I would think a professional should be able to do a job quicker than me.

Over the following two weekends, we installed the porch floor. It's 350 square feet, so it took us quite a while. Plus, the weather on some of those days was unbearable. Since the joists run two directions, the flooring does as well. We did the straight side first, and it was pretty easy and quick. It's just the size of the space that took us awhile. We did the diagonal side second. Once we figured out the angles (one against the deck boards, one against the house), it went pretty quickly. Here is the finished floor on the straight side, then on the diagonal part:
Now we are waiting for the contractor to come back, and that will happen once the support columns come in. The contractor will build the supports and and framing for the roof and ceiling. Once that is done, we can complete the project by shingling, wiring for new light fixtures, and installing the beadboard ceiling. It puts our schedule behind a little, but it will be well worth it cost-wise. This process reminded us why we do all of our work ourselves - sticker shock. I'm just glad we were able to come up with some cost effective options so we can still have the porch we want, but at a price we can afford.

Screeching Halt

2008-05-21T18:35:00.003-04:00

So, we have come to a complete standstill on the porch project. They finished demo about 2 weeks ago, but we have been waiting on drawings and an estimate on the re-build of the porch. We got a loose estimate and drawing yesterday, but aren't ready to start the construction of the porch until we have something a little more concrete. So, we wait for a better idea of what to expect cost-wise before we give them the go-ahead to get started. Hopefully that will come in the next couple of days. We may end up doing some of the work (laying decking and roofing) in order to save a little money. I am confident we'll get moving along soon - maybe next week.

They did come back today and hook back up a couple of electrical circuits they left from the demo. Our entire upstairs and front entry hasn't had lights for 3-4 weeks. When I came home today to see lights I was elated. It can finally look like someone lives here.

Demo is Complete!

2008-05-11T09:48:00.006-04:00

I know I skipped quite a few days in between (about 5 or 6), but the demo on the addition is finally done. It took a little longer than anticipated, but with any project we had some additional things we wanted/needed done that weren't in the original plan.

The floor of the original space was something we were hoping to keep, but it was pretty weak in many places, so it had to go. Same with the one-story part of the porch. When taking down some of the trim, we found the roof of the one-story porch was supported by 1-by6's over a span of about 8 feet - not good. So it had to go as well. We also upgraded our electrical service and re-located where the electric comes in the house from the pole. This means we needed a new meter can, disconnect at the meter, and an upgraded box (I think I mentioned we had the old Pushmatic breakers that needed to go). We also had them re-build the box gutters on the back of the house. Originally that would have been part of the re-build of the porch, but doing it now seemed much smarter.

Over the last 2 weeks, we have been carting the debris from the demo to a trailer in our driveway. It has been nearly every night of the week and once on the weekend. We are exhausted. We figure at 10 loads, approximately 8000 lb of material each load, ugh. No wonder our bodies finally gave out over the last few days. But the trailer loading is finally finished and our yard is cleaned up (at least temporarily) . Now for the photos:

This is what we came home to on the day the two-story addition finally came down:
Another view:The two days after that mess was cleaned up, they took up the floor and jack-hammered out the wall that supported the staircase. That was two more loads, one during the week and a final one yesterday. This is the view after clean-up yesterday:
Interesting find - after taking up the floor boards and joists on the first floor of the two-story side of the porch we found an old sunken patio:
Our contractor was over on Thursday evening to discuss what happens next. He'll be over early in the week to take measurements and then start working on drawings for the new porch. He doesn't seem to think the re-build will take as long as the demo (which took a total of 10 days) - maybe about a week. And he's hopeful to complete their current project this week so they can start here a week from tomorrow. Provided the weather cooperates, the porch could be finished by the time school is out!!

Addition Demo Days 3-5

2008-04-27T07:47:00.006-04:00

Work continued through the week on demo of the upstairs kitchen and outside staircase. The crew worked Thursday and about half of Friday, and Chad and I worked several hours on Saturday. They demo-ed almost the entire upstairs, plus the interior of the staircase. They left us the pile shown in the photo to load in the trailer this weekend.
After we were done loading what they had demo-ed, there was still room in the trailer for more. So Chad and I started tearing off exterior sheathing on the staircase, plus some more plaster in the staircase. When we were done with our work yesterday, we could actually see the yard from the porch - something we have never been able to do. It's certainly not anywhere close to done, but it gives us a good idea of the potential greatness of the new porch. Here are photos from the inside of the porch and from the yard after we were done with our work yesterday:

They also started work on the electrical Thursday and Friday. Do you see the one tall piece of the upstairs addition on the right? It's there to keep our electric service in tact. We are having the service moved to the left side of where the upstairs addition was, but on the main house. But moving the service point and the meter makes it more than 5 feet away from our electrical panel. That means we have to have a disconnect at the meter, then our main panel will be turned into a subpanel. In the main panel, we have old Pushmatic breakers that are very corroded from old water damage, so we decided to upgrade our entire panel while we are at it.

The problem? Not a lot more demo can be done until the electric service is moved from that corner. It can't be moved until the exterior and interior electrical work is complete and an inspection is done. That may not be for a couple of days, unfortunately. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed on having the electrical and demo complete by next weekend, but we'll see.

Addition Demo Days 1 & 2

2008-04-23T21:12:00.008-04:00

What a difference two days makes. The crew has been hard at work tearing down the old addition piece by piece. Yesterday was day one, and they removed nearly all of the plaster from the walls and ceiling of the upstairs kitchen:
One of the big question marks was how well the plaster would come off of the brick that was the original exterior and will go back to being the exterior. Surprisingly it came of pretty well, although in tiny pieces. They said cleaning the brick with a special cleaner will remove the rest of the residue.
The crew said the addition was really a well-constructed addition. Unfortunately it fell into terrible disrepair over the years, but at least it was well done. We've never seen such nice wood and so many nails. The walls and ceiling are covered in 8-inch wide planks of solid wood (see photo below). I can't even imagine the cost if this addition were constructed today with the same materials. It would never happen.Today the rest of the plaster came down and the roof came off. The ceiling joists are still there, but you can see sky from the upstairs room now.

I couldn't believe how much taking out the kitchen and plaster improved the room. It was like a totally different place with all that stuff gone. It made me a little sad to see it go, but I know the decision is a good one.

Tonight Chad is working in the basement to terminate the plumbing to that upstairs kitchen (it'll save us some money) so they can rip out the plumbing tomorrow. I think he may also be installing an outside spigot (the only one we have is in the front of the house - a long way around) while he's at it. I think the crew will start working on the electrical updates tomorrow, as well as continue more demo.

I have to be honest, it's been great being at work all day knowing something at the house is being accomplished. I could really get used to this.

'Twas the Night Before Demo

2008-04-21T19:51:00.009-04:00

In my last post, which has been quite awhile, I mentioned Chad and I are taking a small break from our constant work on the house. But, this isn't keeping us from moving forward. We have recruited some much needed help - both for the house and our sanities.

Since we moved here 2 years ago, we have been longing to address a huge eyesore on the back of our house:
The white monstrosity you are seeing is an apartment that was added on to the house, probably in the 1930's. It was a quality addition at the time, but it's seen much better days. The inside of the second story of the addition is actually a kitchen and laundry area:
You can get to the addition through an inside bedroom or this lovely staircase that is accessed from the outside of the house. This staircase blocks the view to the backyard from the porch and inside of the house completely. This is the view to the backyard and staircase:
The first floor of this addition is a screened-in porch that has some real potential, but could use some help:
So, we hired a local remodeling company to tear off both stories of the addition and the staircase - all the way down to the existing floor. We will keep the floor, as it's a nice wood floor in great shape, and will build up from there. Once the demo is complete and we see what we have to work with, they will draw up plans and build a one-story open porch. It will follow the current floor, which wraps around the back of the house. We would like fluted columns to match the rest of the house, and without balusters in between. It will have a sloped and shingled roof overhead so that we can enjoy the porch during three seasons, rain or shine.

We are so excited. We love the front of the house and think it's so grand. But, taking guests around to the back has always been an embarrassment. We feel a little bad eliminating a part of our house, but it's not original (we've seen the 1920 maps that don't show this addition) and it's an extra 300 square feet of extra maintenance, heating, etc. The house is already 4300 square feet. Going down to 4000 doesn't seem like a big loss. Plus, we will address a safety issue by eliminating an outside entrance to the house. Thankfully, we were able to salvage much of the cool old trim and architectural details, which we'll put to new and creative uses.

Work on the demo starts tomorrow, and they expect it to take about a week. They have another job to do after the demo and before they can start on re-building the porch. Fingers crossed, but we may have a new porch by the time I am done with the school year. I'll do my best to keep the blog updated with the progress.

Living Room Curtains

2008-03-29T20:44:00.008-04:00

After a much needed vacation from house work and blogging, we are getting back into it, but slowly. We have realized that as much as we love working on the house, we like doing lots of other things, too, and want to have a little more balance in our lives. We have even decided to enlist some professional help (gasp!) to get us closer to a house we can live in and enjoy. More on that later.

As for today, I finally finished the curtains and sheers for the living room. I started them way back in the fall and have spent hours upon hours of hand and machine sewing these things. I am so relieved to have a finished product, I can't even explain. Not only are they finished, I think they are fabulous. Certainly they are an improvement from the temporary lace curtains we've had up for the two years we've owned the house.

Here is a before photo. I'm sure every person in the neighborhood could see in through the lace sheers, especially at night.
And now:

The panels have a solid tape through the top, so they will never be able to be drawn. The tape allows them to be gathered ever so slightly. The sheers have elastic through the top to allow for gathering and the flexibility of opening them. This set-up allows for both the sheers and the panels to be hung from the same rod and clipped on shared drapery rings. It gives the illusion the panels could be drawn, but they can't. We checked out the sheer fabric in advance during the day and at night. They allow for complete privacy. Here is a photo of the set-up at the top:

In my next post, I'll explain the work we've decided to have done on the house by a local remodeling company. We are quite excited about the shape the house can be in soon, even by summer time.

Celebration!!!

2008-03-02T18:58:00.003-05:00

What did we do yesterday as celebration for finishing the bathroom? We took a 2 1/2 hour drive to the closest IKEA store for inspiration and ideas for all of the projects to come. Sad, I know. We did really enjoy IKEA, though. We had never been, but had heard and read lots about it. Our shopping experience wasn't a big one, but we were able to find light filtering blinds for our master bathroom and a small pull-out magnifying mirror for the vanity. We got several cool ideas, especially for the kitchen, whenever we decide to tackle it. Plus, we got to visit Pittsburgh, a place neither one of us had really been. I expect us to go back to IKEA, and when we do we'll spend a little more time in the city - dinner will be a must.

I figured that today might be a rest day, but we were both motivated to keep going. Chad got up early (around 6:00am) and started removing staples from the wood steps to the basement. When we moved in, these steps were carpeted with disgusting stained fluffy Berber carpet. That stuff was tacked down in as many places as possible and was a real pain to get up. Until today, there were remnants of the carpet attached to hundreds of staples in the stairs (thank goodness visitors didn't go down there - what an embarrassment). It's been bothering both of us, but apparently it's been bothering Chad a lot. It took him most of the morning and afternoon to pull the staples and sand down the eight stairs. He has applied a coat of primer and paint to them, and next he will tack vinyl treads down the middle to protect them. We got lucky on the paint at Home Depot - they had a nice color on their "oops" rack and only cost us $1. They look really nice - a definite improvement.

I didn't get up quite as early as Chad did, but I started stripping wallpaper in the bedroom. I'm using the new Wagner Wallpaper Steamer we got for Christmas (thanks Kelly & Brent!). The wallpaper is cloth, which is pulling off without any steam but leaving behind a thin layer of paper. The paper is coming off very easily, but the sizing is a little more difficult (but do-able). I bought a new scraper for this job, and I love it. I have always used a putty knife to strip wallpaper, but the 4" scraper with razor blade works like a charm, especially on that sizing.

We are so thankful that the bedroom project won't be nearly as huge as the bathroom was (no plumbing!). It will take time though, simply because the room is so large (it's about 15' by 30'). The summary of our work on it: strip wallpaper; repair and patch walls; sand and scrape woodwork; repair and patch ceiling; install new lighting; paint walls, ceiling, trim. We will hire workers to install carpet and a gas-burning stove in the existing fireplace opening. My goal is to have it finished by the end of May (the end of my school year), which I think is actually possible.

Are Those Angels I Hear?

2008-02-27T19:50:00.003-05:00

We put the finishing touches on the master bathroom last night, moved our stuff in, and had our first complete morning routines this morning in the new bathroom. I hesitantly say the bathroom is done, although that seems very strange to say. Our projects are never completely done; there's always some small detail (or four) that needs finished. But on this project, I think I can say we're done, and it feels amazing.

The most important finishing touch was installing the mirrors, and I am so proud of us on this task. The original bathroom had a huge mirror, about 36" tall by 60" long. Instead of getting rid of it, we took it to the local glass service and had it cut down and polished to two mirrors 36" tall by 24" wide. This involved two cuts and polishing the edges. The total cost was $10. I can't imagine what we would have paid for two brand new mirrors that size. Not only did we save lots of dollars, we also kept a good usable product from going to the landfill. Yea!

Here is the vanity with the newly installed mirrors:
As for the morning routine, mine will get adjusted a bit, but in all it was a spectacular morning. That new shower made it much easier to get out of my warm bed this morning and head off to work. I guess the 2-hour delay due to snowy/icy roads helped a little, too.

Vanity is IN!!

2008-02-24T18:38:00.006-05:00

It always seems like the small finish work takes the longest, so I am glad to report a major completion on our master bathroom - the vanity. This is the part I have been most excited about, and I am glad to say it well exceeded my expectations. I can't wait - here is the photo of the finished product:

For the vanity, Chad and I agreed on a furniture-style vanity. We researched our options at the local home improvement stores and online and couldn't believe the price for the quality of the product. So, we headed out last winter (probably about a year ago) to the Scott Antique Market in Columbus and found the perfect furniture piece for use as a vanity. It was a 1920's buffet/sideboard, about 5 feet long. Of course it came with an entire dining room set (table, 2 leaves, 6 chairs, and a hutch), but the price for the entire set was less than we would have paid for the single buffet on its own. Plus, it was less than the other vanity options we found, and this was an actual furniture piece! It is made out of real wood and has a real history. So cool!

Chad started working on the vanity last year when he sanded down the top, stained it, and coated it with 8 coats of spar-urethane, like polyurethane, but for waterproof applications. He cut holes on each end for the sink and faucets. Then, the vanity sat and waited for yesterday - its installation day.

Fairly easily and without leaks we were able to install both sinks and both faucets with few problems. Very little of the vanity needed cut to accommodate for the drain and water lines. With the exception for a little cut for the right sink drain, everything fit in the door compartments:

Once the plumbing was installed, the top drawers needed cut down for the drain pipe to the sink (they're now about 8 inches deep), and the bottom drawer needed a small cut out of a back corner, but otherwise it was an easy transition from furniture piece to bathroom vanity.

We found the vessel sink and matching faucets from Lowe's, and I think they really fit the look. The only problem we had was that for two "matching" faucets, one was quite a bit different than the other in its water line parts. It didn't make much sense to us, and it cost us a little extra time, but nothing too major.

I am in love with this vanity. It has lots of storage space, and is so classy looking. I just can't believe we pulled this off. In addition to the vanity, we did lots of other finish work this weekend - enough to keep us busy and to feel like there's really not a lot left. We even cleaned out the master bedroom in preparation for our work in there. Next weekend we will have our mirrors for above the vanity; hanging those should be IT!

Closet Organization

2008-02-19T17:56:00.010-05:00

This past weekend was dedicated to getting our closets in the new master bathroom organized. Chad and I chose different features and layouts in our closets, but organized them with pieces from the Lowe's line of ClosetMaid products. I think we both found these products easy to put together. Chad got the more expensive line of organizers, so his were a bit higher quality. Each closet ended up being about 45 inches deep by 55 inches long.

Chad chose a corner shelf organizer with three racks going from the corner piece to the wall. I think he'd like to add a few hooks, but for the most part he's happy. He did say he could use a little more hanging space.

I fold most of my clothes, so I chose 12" by 12" cubes for both sides of the doorway. There are 12 cubes on the right (2 units with 6 cubes each), and 6 cubes (stacked in a single column) on the left. Under the 12 on the right, I got a shoe organizer the same width, so they stack. That left room along the back wall for two racks of hanging clothes. The bottom rack doesn't go all the way across so that I could hang dresses from the top rack. I haven't "moved in" to my new closet yet, so I'm not sure how it will work yet, but I'm hopeful it will be great.

After we had all of the elements in our closets, Chad installed the newly stained and polyurethaned closet doors. That didn't go as smoothly as he would have liked, but they are at least in. The only thing that needs done on those is a little repair work. Chad put the knobs in the wrong location (bifold doors - tricky), then the screws were too short for the thickness of the door. It was rough for a little while, but we/he made it. It may seem strange to have painted woodwork and stained doors, but it matches the rest of the upstairs, especially the adjoining bedroom.

In other touches, we added a towel rack above the toilet and next to the shower for easy shower access. We considered an option we found online, but we saw this at Bed Bath & Beyond for a better price, so we went with it.

The progress this past weekend puts us approximately one weekend away from completing this project. This weekend - installing the vanity.

Privacy

2008-02-13T19:01:00.008-05:00

Thank goodness for snow days - I've had two this week (Tuesday and Wednesday) and have used the time somewhat wisely. Granted, snow days aren't packed full of activity, but I try to take advantage of the extra time. It's funny, one year ago this week I had three snow days (followed by three more the following week) during which I stripped the woodwork in the guest bedroom. I can't say I was nearly as ambitious this year, but I can report progress.

The completion I am most excited about is applying decorative window film to the window in the master bathroom. This window is really cool - rectangular on the bottom and rounded on the top - nothing I'd ever want to cover up with a curtain. But, since it's a straight shot to the new shower and toilet, I had to do something about the privacy issue.

I considered using frosted spray paint, but I'm not a good spray painter. It tends to gob up in places, and I was concerned about an even coat (mom said she had the same problem). I decided against frosted contact paper because it always sticks in places I don't want it to, plus the air bubbles - ugh. Instead, I found decorative window film at the Home Depot. It's quite a bit more expensive than contact paper ($20 a roll), but worth the extra money.

How it works: Cut the window film (it's paper backed) down to size with a utility knife. Apply water mixed with a little dish soap to the window with a sprayer or sponge. Peel the backing from the film, and apply to the window. The liquid underneath allows for correct positioning, then use the squeegie (sorry about the spelling) provided with the film to remove the excess liquid. It can be removed and re-applied if it needs cut down (although I made sure it fit before I peeled off the backing). I do recommend not trying to re-stick it to the paper backing if you remove it from the window. I tried that once to make a small adjustment and part of the backing ended up sticking to the film and was a mess to fix.

I was really worried about how this small project would go, but it was awesome! I moved quickly through the rectangular pieces, but the rounded pieces slowed me down a bit. I ended up using wax paper (because it's so flexible) to get a pattern for the four rounded panes. I used that pattern to trace onto the film, then cut with the utility knife. I learned that scissors also cut the film and were helpful on those rounded sides. I made sure to dry fit each special piece and cut down where needed before removing the paper backing.

I'm really happy with the result and am glad to have privacy for the shower/toilet area. I like that it lets in the same amount of light, but I don't have to worry about a curtain to cover up that neat window. The window from a distance:
And the film/texture close up:

This film is sold in many patterns and textures, but this one is the only semi-clear one available (it's called Champagne). The others are all patterned or stained glass.

In addition to the window film, I also applied two coats of stain to the closet doors we special ordered. They've been waiting for stain for a long time, and I finally got there yesterday and today. I applied the first coat yesterday, but it just didn't seem to fit the richness and color we were looking for. After a second coat today they are perfect. As always, this small project took longer than I had expected (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours per set of doors both days). After polyurethane, they'll be ready to install.

I Heart Boston

2008-02-13T07:06:00.011-05:00

I mentioned in my last post that my sister and I spent a weekend in Boston two weeks ago. Neither one of us had been, so it was a new experience for both of us. Until this trip, my favorite city was San Francisco, but Boston may have given it some competition. Like San Francisco, it is easy to get around by either foot or by public transportation, but it didn't seem quite as large as San Francisco, so you could see more in a day.

By far, my favorite part of the trip was visiting the old neighborhoods and gawking at the old houses. Boston is such an old and historic city, little (and big) nuggets of architecture are everywhere. I've never seen so many brick row houses - but all with their own unique features - and in gorgeous condition. And these neighborhoods went on for blocks and blocks and stretched through several parts of the city that we visited. It was just amazing.

This is the first house I laid my eyes on, but when I look at the photo I'm not sure what made this house so special. I think it's because it's the first house I saw, and had no idea the amazing houses that I would see over the next four days of the trip.

This is one of the most amazing houses we saw on our walks, and it's the back and side of the house! I'm not sure what happens in this house today, but can you imagine who must have built this house and lived here originally? It is located in the Back Bay area of the city, just west of downtown.

The area of Charlestown is just north of Boston (within walking distance) and it's the location of the Bunker Hill Monument. This was one of my favorite spots of the trip. We walked through neighborhoods of old row houses to reach the monument, where you could see the city in the background behind the old houses.

The Italian neighborhood, just north of downtown Boston, had street after street of Italianate-style row houses. Many of the houses had restaurants, groceries, or shops at the street level, then I assume residents on the upper floors. We had dinner here one night at a fantastic Italian restaurant.

The Beacon Hill neighborhood really took me back in time. I could imagine the gas lights on the streets and houses. It also had an area of shops and restaurants, but it was mainly residential. It was also quite hilly - another reminder of San Francisco.

I hope you don't mind my quick Boston re-cap, but it was an amazing trip. It was cold (and rainy one day), but we didn't mind at all. It was a great chance to escape the house for a weekend, but also gaze at some amazing houses and architecture.

Off The Wagon...

2008-02-09T20:41:00.000-05:00

... at least for a couple of weekends and for good reasons. It seems like forever since I've posted and since we've worked on the house. Chad spent a weekend out of town, I spent a weekend out of town (I'll post about my trip to Boston soon), and this week and weekend I've come down with a terrible cold/sickness.

The last I posted, we were working on staining and polyurethaning the newly refinished bathroom floors. After my mis-judgment of polyurethane drying times, Chad and I were able to get the three coats of polyurethane on the floor in two days (without sanding in between :) ), which seemed to meet the newly modified drying schedule. We ended up doing each coat about 8 hours apart; it took about that long for each coat to dry completely. The floor is now finished and we are quite happy with the results:
We had never refinished floors, but we saw a recent episode of Ask This Old House in which Tom Silva helped a homeowner refinish her kitchen floor. He had a great suggestion - the first two coats of polyurethane should be a gloss finish, because it is the strongest finish and will hold up to wear the best. Then, the third and final coat should be the sheen you want. When we started the floor project, our intent was to do the first two coats in gloss, but then do the final coat in satin. But, after the first two coats of gloss we really kind of liked the look, so we went with gloss for the final coat. It looks nice and another plus - we saved money on the second gallon of satin polyurethane that we can return to Lowe's (the best part of all).

Best Laid Plans

2008-01-27T19:18:00.001-05:00

I started the day today in hopes of getting all three coats of polyurethane on the bathroom floors I stained yesterday. The can says 4 hours in between coats, so I figured if my first coat was finished at noon, the second coat could go on between 4:00 and 5:00, and the third and final coat could go on between 9:00 and 10:00. The only part of that that actually happened is the first coat was on before noon. I've been waiting for it to completely dry before my second coat and the last I checked (around 6:30), it was still sticky in many places. I'm not sure why I didn't build this into my plans, or at least think this problem would be a possibility. I guess I've polyurethaned very few things, so I probably wouldn't have known.

I hope to at least get the second coat on before bedtime, then get to the third coat tomorrow after work. It doesn't set us back, but it is frustrating to have the day planned nearly to the hour and it not pan out. On the positive side, the floors do look nice after that first coat, so I'm excited to get them completely finished.

So, the Sewing Machine doesn't do it all

2008-01-26T21:56:00.001-05:00

With the bathroom somewhat off limits this weekend (in between coats of stain and polyurethane on the newly sanded floor), I returned to my most recent sewing project: living room curtains. I started these back in the fall, but work on the bathroom has taken time from my side sewing projects.

The last I discussed the curtains, I had hemmed the sides of the striped panels with my new Pfaff sewing machine and sewed the top pocket so they were ready to hang. I had also cut the sheers down and zig-zagged their sides. Then it was time for hemming the sides of the sheers. This is where the sewing machine "failed" me. I wasn't able to use the hemming feature on the sheers because of the lightweight material. The machine could do it, but it puckered the material and it looked pretty sloppy. So, I decided to hand-sew the side hems on all four of the sheers (2 sets of 2 sheers). It doesn't sound like a big deal, but the sheers are at least 10 feet long, and there are 8 sides in all to hem. Each side is taking about an hour and a half to complete, plus I can't do it all day because I won't be able to move my neck for several days (this already happened a couple of weeks ago). I completed both sides of my third sheer today, and if all goes well the fourth should be finished by the end of the day tomorrow. Then I can go back to the sewing machine to sew the pocket for the top, then the panels and sheers will be ready to hang, hem, and re-hang permanently. Yea!!!

I think my biggest frustration actually came tonight while I was sewing when my DVD player ate the DVD I was watching (Ally McBeal Season 1) and I was forced to watch HGTV. Not that I don't learn a lot while watching some HGTV programs, but tonight was "Design Time Saturday Night" when entire rooms are started and finished in a half hour. There I was sewing my two boring sets of curtains for the gazillion-th hour in a row while David Bromstad did a gorgeous kitchen, living room and dining room in 2 days.

The Waiting Game

2008-01-21T19:10:00.000-05:00

Time is not on our side right now with finishing the bathroom quickly. Most of the things we still have to do require the wood floors we refinished yesterday to be stained and sealed. The thought today was to stain and get one coat of sealer on, then do the last two coats of sealer another day. But, the directions on the sealer say a coat that sits longer than 12 hours requires sanding before another coat can be applied. I hate sanding, so I'd like to avoid extra sanding if possible. I figure if we start early one day, we can get all three coats on in day without sanding, since each coat can be applied 4 hours apart. My new plan is to have the floor stained by next Saturday morning (the stain must sit at least 8 hours before sealer is applied). Then, we can do our three coats of sealer in one day.

With this plan in mind for most of the day today, we tried to get everything done we could that didn't require the floor to be refinished. So, I did some trim painting, which I think is finally done (yea!), filled gaps between the baseboard and floor with foam sealant, and put up the new fancy outlet covers. Chad installed the toilet (still no leaks), two robe hooks for towels, and a paper towel holder. The only thing I was hoping to get done and didn't was to stain the closet doors, but they can't be installed until the floor is done anyway.

The shower installation went remarkably smooth, much better than we could have ever anticipated. Chad was really impressed with the quality of the shower fixtures and shower door - all Kohler products - and thinks that's part of the reason things went so well. We were lucky to find the fixtures online for a much better price than buying them at a kitchen and bath showroom or by special order (they aren't stock items at any of the home improvement retailers). We did buy the shower door kit at Lowe's and are really happy with it. We considered doing custom doors, but we just couldn't see spending the extra money.

The only issue we had is my fault, I think. I was in the shower yesterday helping with the doors and when I stood up, BAM, I knocked my head (yes, it's pretty hard) on one of the shower on-off valves. After that we seemed to get an infrequent drip. We (especially Chad) were none too happy about this, but think he got it fixed by taking apart the valve and re-installing it.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed on the 1-2 weekend estimated completion date. It's getting so close I can almost taste it!!!

(Mostly) Better Luck Today

2008-01-20T22:45:00.000-05:00

By 11:30 this morning, the floor sander had been returned to the local Lowe's store. Chad went immediately and picked it up. It wasn't without trials, though. First, one of the pads on the sander had lost its hook and loop piece that kept the sandpaper on there. When Chad would start it, it would kick off the sandpaper. So, I went to Home Depot and bought a round piece of hook that was adhesived on the back. That seemed to do the trick.

Then, when Chad was using the rented sander and I was using the MultiMaster for the edges, we blew a fuse. We searched and searched for the flipped breaker and couldn't find it (we checked our large panel in the basement and a small one on the second floor). As a last resort, I asked if we might have another electric panel in the attic. Sure enough - there's one up there we had forgotten about and it held the flipped breaker. That event set us back about 45 minutes.

In the end, we got the floor sanded - first with 36 grit, then 60 grit, then 80 grit. We used the rented sander from Lowe's for the majority, but the orbital palm sander and MultiMaster were used for the edges. Tomorrow we will apply one coat of stain, then three coats of polyurethane.

Thankfully, the floor hasn't been our only accomplishment. With the exception of some touch-ups, the walls and trim are completely painted. The ceiling light/fan in the shower half of the bathroom is installed. Both of the shower fixtures are installed and working (no leaks!), and the shower doors are also up.

We are nearing the end (finally!), so what's left, you ask?
1. Stain and poly the floors
2. De-haze and seal shower floor
3. Install and paint shoe molding
4. Install toilet
5. Install vanity
6. Stain and install closet doors
7. Organize closets
8. Install accessories (towel bars, toilet paper holder, robe hooks, etc.)

The list may still seem long, but several of those items should be finished by the end of the day tomorrow. I would think that in one or two additional weekends, this project should be done! Yea!

Floor Sander (and Lowe's) Woes

2008-01-19T18:57:00.000-05:00

Our goal today was to have the wood floors in the master bath sanded down and stained. Every time we've been to Lowe's in the last month the floor sander has been there ready for us to rent. Of course today, it was gone when Chad went to rent it. So, we did some other projects - finished installing the baseboard, finished sanding and primed the walls and ceiling, sealed the grout, and did one of our few remaining shopping trips for this project (we have a toilet!!). We figured we could go to Lowe's in Columbus to rent their floor sander, a 45 minute drive. Chad called ahead to see if theirs was available; it was, and they promised to hold it for us. When he arrived at the store, he waited in line at the paint counter for an hour only to find out from the manager that their floor sander is actually broken. So he will return in an hour with no sander. Our next resort - keep our fingers crossed that whoever has the sander from the local Lowe's store returns it on time tomorrow at noon so we can rent it.

Even though Chad will return with no sander, he should have a set of shower doors, provided Lowe's has them in stock. We'll keep our fingers crossed on that, too.

Anatomy of Trim

2008-01-18T20:31:00.001-05:00

We started the trim in the on-going master bath project with a sheet of MDF. Chad had an employee at the Home Depot cut the sheet into long strips - 4 of them 4 inches wide and 3 of them 8 inches wide. He built our trim from there by using the existing original trim throughout the upstairs as a guide. Here were his steps:

1. Plinth Blocks.
These needed to be a little thicker than the door casing and baseboard, so he cut a piece of luan the exact size as the plinth blocks and used it as a backing. This gave him about an extra 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. He started with a rectangle (4" by about 12") of MDF backed by the luan, then routed the top edge of the MDF with a round-over bit.

2. Side Door Casing.
For these he used the 4 inch wide strips of MDF and routed both of the long sides with a round-over bit. It was fastened just outside of the inside door jamb edge so caulk can be used to fill the seams.

3. Header.
The header is two pieces - first a thin strip of wood rounded on all sides that protrudes slightly past the casing in all directions. Above that is a 6 inch wide piece of MDF that is the same width as the door casings.

4. Crown.
In order to attach the crown and keep it solidly in place, Chad laid a 1-by piece of wood across the MDF header. He ripped this through the table saw, beveling the edge cut at the same angle and position the crown would make with the ceiling (if there were a ceiling to attach it to). This gave him the opportunity to fasten the bottom of the crown to the MDF piece, and the top of the crown to the 1-by piece. Even the small outside corner pieces were attached in the same way.

5. Baseboard.
I was able to get a router bit profile that closely matches the trim that was already in the bathroom. Chad routed the 8-inch wide pieces with this bit to create the baseboard. This was added on both sides of each closet door and on the long wall where the vanity will be.

I have filled nail holes and the plinth block/luan edges with wood putty, and caulked all of the seams. It has a coat of primer and is waiting on two coats of white paint to match the original trim.

Out of Steam

2008-01-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

With the shower finally tiled, we were able to focus our efforts in other areas of the bathroom today. As for the shower, today we grouted the walls, front lip, nooks, seat, and almost all of the floor (we have run out of steam). With all of the wiping that has to be done on such a large surface, it took much of my day, and Chad joined me in grouting after he did some of his own projects. I'm always amazed at how much grout really transforms and improves the look of a tiled area. We will finish grouting the shower floor and floor in front of the shower tomorrow. Here is where it stands now:

I can't say enough good things about the place we bought our tile - The Tile Shop. We picked out the tile we wanted, told them the dimensions of what we were tiling, and they did all of the planning. They gave us all of the materials we needed - the right number and types of tiles, the right type and color of grout, grout additive (we didn't quite get enough of it, but we're making it stretch), mortar mix. We were concerned today that since we lessened the width of our grout lines on the floor in front of the shower to 1/16 inch, we'd have to go back and get unsanded grout in the floor tile grout color. At closer look, they planned for this and gave us a container of the floor grout color in unsanded. They are so good.

In addition to the grout work, Chad was very busy. Last weekend he bought MDF to make the door casings and baseboards. He took the widths he needed for both to the Home Depot and they cut a sheet down to the widths he needed. We found a router bit profile at the local woodworking store (WoodWerks) to make a close match to the baseboard trim that was already in there. He is using a round-over bit for the door casings and plinth blocks. He ran everything through the router today, and after a coat of primer all of the trim will be ready for installation.

After he made the trim, he fixed an area of the hardwood floor in the bathroom where old heating pipes had run out of the floor. A PO had covered them with flimsy metal circles. Chad used the MultiMaster to cut out the floor pieces that were ruined by the holes. It didn't end there - of course one of the pipes was sticking out of the floor and needed cut off. He was then able to use some floor planks we salvaged from the floor under where the shower is now. Here is the before and after:

Again, the right tools made a difference today. The nice router and router table we bought a few years ago really saved Chad time and frustration on making the trim. We was done with it in just an hour or two. As for the floor repair, the MultiMaster saved the day again (as it does so often) with an assist by the reciprocating saw.

We had intentions of going to dinner and to the Depot, then back home to complete the grouting, but we are exhausted. Good sleep tonight will hopefully lead to more accomplishments tomorrow.

Tiling: The Right Tools Make All The Difference

2008-01-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

I have done lots of showing of the shower tiling project, but I haven't taken much opportunity to talk about some of the things we learned and some of our processes during this tiling job. I try not to talk like we're experts, because we're not. We simply do the best we can with the knowledge, skills, and money we have. I know our way isn't always the most acceptable way, but it works for us. In this post I do want to share some of the things we'll take with us from this job.

First: Tools.
When we moved to this house and seeing all of the tiling jobs to come, Chad's dad loaned us his wet saw indefinitely (thank you!!). It's one of the ones you can find at Lowe's or Home Depot for around $1o0 (maybe even less). We could have never done this job without it. We counted that we probably had least three to four times as many cut tiles as we had whole tiles. This saw did great length and width cuts, plus L-shaped cuts for around the nooks, and even 45 degree cuts for where the corner seat meets the wall. We've used a scoring tool for smaller jobs before, but will never go back even for simple cuts. The saw is just a must.

One of our big concerns tiling the shower was cutting circles in the tile for the shower fixtures. In previous tiling jobs, we tried tile nippers (dreadful), the rotary tool (didn't work), and square cut-outs (looked bad), but nothing really did the trick. Even doing research online didn't turn up many results. So, we tried our jigsaw. Now, I don't think this job is for just any jigsaw. We asked for and received a new jigsaw for Christmas from my parents (thank you!!): a Bosch 6.4 amp saw. It is quite an upgrade from our basic $50 Craftsman jigsaw. It is a little more expensive than the average jigsaw, but it was totally worth it for this job alone. We bought a carbide blade specifically for floor and wall tile up to 3/4 inch thick and it worked like a charm. We (Chad really - he's the cutter) made large holes for the temperature and volume controls, and small holes for the shower heads. We planned ahead and put grout lines in the middle (horizontally) of each hole so that we wouldn't have to actually bore through the middle of a tile. We made half circles on the vertical length of each tile for every one of the holes we needed.

Second: Workshop.
We had no idea the horrifying second floor kitchen that was added on in the 30's would come in so handy - ever. We're planning on a complete gut and makeover of the space in the next year, and thank goodness it didn't come sooner. Even though the sink's water and drain are shut-off, Chad used the counter tops and sink in there to do all of the cutting. That saved him going up and down the stairs from the second floor to the basement for every cut. Not only did it save his legs, but it saved valuable time.

Third: Tile laying.
While the cutting was Chad's job, my job was the tile laying. I don't have lots of secrets, except I suggest using a square notched trowel (I used 1/2 inch square) to do large, heavy wall tiles. Early on, I tried the smaller v-notch trowel specifically for wall tiles, but I think it's probably only for smaller tiles. It was just too hard to get good stick and level with such little mortar.

I also had plenty of tile spacers, but I also used lots of composite-material shims. Not every grout line is a perfect 1/16 inch, especially in corners, around nooks, and around holes. They were handy to level up the tiles on the bench seat, the top tiles in the nooks, and to keep some tiles from shifting out of level.