Off To A Good Start

The interior work began this week. That's right, 75% of my house is officially under construction. We have been systematically stripping the house of all that is effete, stained carpets, sixty year old trim, painted brick fireplace and as always, wiring. Below are a few photos right before we starting opening the walls.

Living room

Living room looking North.
Living and dining rooms. The dining room wall was ripped apart from the bathroom remodel.
By the end of the day we had removed the rest of the sheetrock. Because if the mold in the sheetrock and insulation we stripped the wall to the studs for a fresh start. We also discovered the the "beam" we had always assumed was an integral structural member was just a cosmetic addition to cover a crack in the ceiling sheetrock.
The sheetrock under the windows was badly cracked and had some water damage. We ripped off the damaged portion and cut into the other walls to run the new wiring. This is the third room we've rewired this way and it no longer looks strange to me. In fact, I hardly notice it anymore.
And by Sunday we were ready to hang sheetrock. With my dad here to help everything was hung in just a few hours.
My mom enjoyed reading by the fire despite clouds of sheetrock dust filling the room.
We only added eight square feet in the foyer but it really makes a difference. It no longer seems so crowded and the living room feels a little more balanced.
Now for the fun part, mud and tape.

Show Them The Door

Since moving in last year we've known that the front door needed some work. Think of every mistake you can make while installing a door, then add an incompetence factor of 2.5. It was comicly bad; crooked in all three dimensions and held in place primarily by friction. To make matters worse the foyer was too small; barely large enough for two people and almost impossible to maneuver furniture through.

In the picture below you can see that the front door is inset 18" from the front of the house.

Since we were replacing the door, we decided to move it forward to match the front of the house. After ripping up the parquet flooring and removing the door we were ready to start tearing off the siding. The temperature was only 40 degrees and the house was getting cold fast so we started a fire and burned the old siding. It made for a comfortable working temperature and will also save us dump fees.
While removing the siding I could not help noticing the beauty of the shiplap. Not only is it well fitted, the quality of the wood is very impressive. Most of the boards were clear grade that I would love to use for building furniture. Alas, there is not time for such diversions right now.
With the new wall framed in we could remove the old framing and nail in the shiplap.
And the new door is in.
It sits 1.5" off the floor. This gives us room for the slate floor in the foyer and the deck we will be building next spring. We will also be replacing the siding next spring. Until then the neighbors will get to see our lovely homewrap.

And here is the new, significantly-less-drafty foyer.
Of course there is still work to be done. Once the electrical is updated we will hang sheetrock and lay tile.

Main Bathroom Mini Make-Over

You may remember that this summer we gutted our main bathroom and rebuilt it. And though I am pleased with the results there were a few little things that were just not quite right. First and foremost was the problem with the medicine cabinet. I found this on clearance at Lowes last year for $15.

There was a scratch in the paint which was no problem. I wanted to paint it white to match the trim. As you can see below, it is a surface mount instead of being recessed into the wall. When we installed it this did not seem like a problem but it soon caused problems with the lighting. It cast a heavy shadow over the sink making the area seem dark. It also blocked some of the light from the overhead vanity light bar.

Although I really did not want to cut holes in my brand new drywall something needed to be done. I cut the wall open and, as expected, found a stud in the way.

So I cut another hole in the dining room wall to get access to that stud. My new hole is the one on the right. The one on the left is from moving the shower stall it. We'll get around to fixing those...someday.

Once I had access to the back of the wall I moved the stud over and framed in a box for the new medicine cabinet. The finished product is not quite as fancy as the first version, but the lighting is much better and the sink is now longer in the shadows.

The other aspect of the bathroom that just did not work for me was the red shower curtain and rug. Don't get me wrong, I still love them but they are just too much for a small room.

A neutral colored shower curtain and sage bath mat just make the room feel a little more open and airy. All this has been done in the last two days while Luke is working out of town. I think he will be pleasantly surprised. Well, maybe not about the dining room wall, but the sheetrock was moldy anyway.

Before I mention one last thing, let me say that I am not a product representative and I do not profit in any way from this recommendation. For three years I worked for a whirlpool bathtub manufacturer. During this time I found the absolute best product for cleaning your tub.

Gel-gloss is a cleaning wax that will not scratch the surface of the tub like Comet or Ajax. You can find it at Lowes or Menards. Acrylic tubs scratch easily and abrasive cleaners put fine scratches in the finish, making the surface look dull and flat. Gel-gloss cleans the tub without scratching and also leaves a slight wax glaze that keeps dirt from accumulating as quickly. Since this wax can be slippery never use it on the bottom of the tub. Also, spend the extra dollar and get the spray wax instead of the liquid. It's much faster.
For any other information on maintaining your whirlpool bathtub just leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Unphotogenic Progress

It’s been a while since I lasted posted. Truth be told we have actually been making progress, but nothing that is photogenic. Since Labor Day we have been focusing our attention on the landscaping. You may have seen pictures of our spare parking area turned rock garden. I mistakenly thought that after all the river rock was cleaned and moved that the rest of the work would be easily and quickly accomplished with the use of heavy machinery.

The first task was to till up the yard. This whole area was once an orchard so the yard should be soft, easily tillable soil right? After four years of this you think I would know better. Under 1” of soft dirt was alluvial soil hard-packed by sixty years of mistreatment. The yard was also full of hidden surprises: buried chucks on concrete from when the slab was first poured, a waterline that does not exist on any utility map, and old green poly lines that might have once been part of a primitive irrigation system. Originally we planned to take turns using the rototiller but it threw Luke around so much that we decided I was just to small to operate it without the day ending in tragedy.

I was given the prestigious job of removing the old planter and filling low spots in the yard. On a happier note we think we located the original water shutoff in the planter. It’s unusable but at least we know where it is.

With the yard finally tilled we rented a trencher. Of course it had been raining all week so we had to fight the mud all day but Luke was able to get the whole yard cut for the sprinkler system with only a minor disaster. While cutting close to the house he nicked the sewer line, which was buried at 20” instead of 3’-5’. Fortunately the bathroom at the other end of the house has a separate line, allowing us to have a functioning bathroom overnight. Since then we have been frantically running sprinkler lines and backfilling, but progress has been hampered by rain, injury, and the Vikings-Packers game. In just a few weeks the ground will freeze and we better have the sprinklers finished and the lawn seeded by then.

Hopefully all this effort will pay off and we will have a lawn next year. Only time will tell.

Rock Garden Finished

After weekends full of moving and cleaning river rock the front easement is converted into a rock garden.

Before:
When we first moved in, before I took a hatchet to the giant weeds.

After:

We moved and cleaned twenty cubic yards of river rock but it turned out well. We have already received several compliments front the neighbors. It's a little bland now but in the spring I'll fill the planters with the brightest flowers I can find.

Added bonus, people have finally stopped driving through our yard! We were so fed up I was ready to lay tack strips for the next unlucky vehicle.

Another Find

I've been wanting a night stand for nearly a year now, but as much as I would like one, I value the house too much to divert remodeling money for furniture. But this summer I happened upon a free nightstand on Craigslist. It was old and ugly, but it was also pine hidden under the paint and varnish.

I'm not sure what happened to the sides. They were discolored and badly gouged. It took a lot of sanding to find presentable wood.

I had to build new drawer fronts from clear pine. While I had the drawers pulled apart I replaced the bottoms with plywood and sanded down a cedar fence slat to make a new drawer backs. Once the smell of poly has worn off the drawers will have a nice cedar aroma.
I think it turned out well.

This project has also given me my first real taste of woodworking. Before this I had never used a dado blade or router table. I found that I like this immensely. There will likely be many more such projects in my future...and of course, more tools.

Shoveling River Rock or The Slow And Painful Demise Of My Shoulders

One of the many head-scratching aspects of our house is the parking setup. The driveway is huge. We have room for 17 cars but apparently that was not enough for the previous owner. So he converted the front of the yard into additional parking spots. For months we puzzled over what to do with this 50'x23' space between the rest of the yard and the sidewalk. Because of the way the yard is laid out grass would not work unless we wanted to have two separate front lawns. Take a look at this photo and you will understand why.

See all that wasted space? (Top left)

Not only is there a raised berm, there is also a concrete curb separating the yard from the former parking area. At last we decided to convert the space into a rock garden. But creating the rock garden will require a huge amount of work. The house is currently surrounded on three sides by river rock. Approximately 20 cubic yards of it.

The previous owners, not to mention the renters before them, did nothing to care for the rock. By the time we purchased the house last year the rock garden was full of dirt and leaves. On Labor Day Luke and I were finally ready to start moving rock, but first we had to come up with a system for cleaning out all the crap. After only one trail version we built the following cleaner:
We cut the center out of an old door and stapled in 1" x 1/2" fencing. As the rock rolls down the screen the dirt and leaves fall through the fencing leaving only clean rock in the wheelbarrow below. We are using the leftover dirt to level out low spots in the yard before we till it up and plant seed. It is a slow process that takes it's toll on the back and shoulders. But all the rock is finally moved. The yard is looking a little bare now. We still need to bring in some top soil to level everything out before we till and seed.

The Garage Is Finished

After what seems like an eternity, the garage is finished. One year ago it looked like this:

I am pleased to report a few slight improvements since then.

Because this is only a one car garage we needed all the storage space we could get for our tools. The shelving and benches allow plenty of storage without sacrificing our precious floor space.

We both like to watch/listen to movies while working. We added computer speakers and a sub so we can hear over the noise of the tools. Overkill? Maybe. But it sure makes the garage a pleasant place to work.

Heater, A/C, cable and wi-fi are all hooked up. When we start our demo of the main part of the house this will make a nice little living area as well.

Garage Progress - Exterior Finished

It's been nearly a year since we were granted our building permit and began the conversion of our carport into a finished garage. Since then we have managed to run into every kind of possible delay, back ordered supplies, code problems, health problems and Luke's unexpectedly busy work schedule. Despite all these complications the garage is finally finished. I will be posting interior pictures later; today's post is all about the exterior. Below is the slow evolution of our carport into a usable garage/shop.

August 2008. Our lovely carport the day we moved in. We learned from the neighbors that the previous owner had the carport built to cover some of the junk in the back yard. The city had received multiple complaints about his yard and ordered him to get rid of the junk or cover it. And so the carport was built. Judging from the design it was never intended to be converted into finished space.

September 2008

October 2008

March 2009

May 2009

Now

The accent colors look very purple in this light. It's actually burgundy.

Compared to the freshly painted garage the house looks shabbier than ever. New siding and paint to match the garage won't be happening until next spring. Until then the condition of the house will continue to serve as a theft-deterrent. Really, who would break into a house that looks like the owners are too poor to buy paint?

I think having a lawn would dress up the garage even more. In fact, landscaping is our next project.

Guest Bedroom - Before & After

The guest room is complete and on time. I can't say that happens to us very often. The before photos really don't do justice to how run-down the room was. Here is how the room looked when we moved in last summer.

The paint had all been while at some point, but the walls, trim, ceiling and doors were all discoloring into various shades of dirty yellow.

Though this is a poor quality photo, it highlights the problems we found all over the room. There were bubbles in the wallpaper, seams that overlapped as much as 1" and the walls were cracked around the windows and doors.

And here is how it looks as of July 14th.

It may not be a dramatic change, but for those of us who live in the house it completely changes the feel of the room from old and dingy to fresh and sunny.

Up next on the to do list : finish the garage.