Old Home Remodelers - Volume 2

[Old Home Remodelers]

This is a Group Thread for anyone who owns and repairs, restores or remodels an older "period" home built before 1969. Members of this group are interested in approaching their home improvement projects in a way that is sensitive to the period of their homes. This thread is a place where we can give and get ongoing support and advice from others who have taken on these sorts of projects, and share our accomplishments, resources, tips and tricks.

Anyone can comment, ask questions and offer advice and encouragement. To consider yourself a member of this group, you we ask that you:

Own a home that was built prior to 1969.
Be interested in preserving, playing up or just not clashing with the period features of your home.
Plan to stick around and let others see and read about your successes, and benefit from what you’ve learned.

If the above does not describe you, you might want consider:

Joining the Home Repair and Remodeling group (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23701)
Starting a thread in the Home Forum (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=35) to solicit advice about your specific project.
Posting photos in the Before and After thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5), the DIY thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65), the bathroom remodeling thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15801), or the kitchen remodeling thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1258)


Volume One of our thread is located here. (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9688)

Please post your stats:

Name:
Year house built:
How long you've owned house:
What remodeling projects:
At Home:
DIY or Hire out:


Note: if you were a member of the Volume One thread, and you would like us to repost your old stats, please PM to let us know. If possible, please ensure any old posts linked to actually display any photos that are included.

[Old Home Remodelers]

one more for good measure :)

[lil_geek]

I'm here!

Just wanted to announce that we passed electrical inspection yesterday!! We are free to start insulating and drywalling!!!!


(Too bad we still have other crap to do... but it's a BIG step forward in my mind!)

[amorey]

Reporting for duty!

[Hello Kitty]

Yay, thanks! Looking forward to ongoing discussions. :)

Name: Kat
Year house built: 190?, 'remodeled' in the 20's
How long you've owned house: Jan 05
What remodeling projects: Done: privacy fence, Garage door, changed lighting fixtures, finished garage, decorating. In progress: New front door. To do :D: interior doors, wood blinds, transom, slight kitchen remodel, add front porch, bathroom remodel, hardscape backyard. That's all ;)
At Home: DH
DIY or Hire out: A little of both, though I like to think we can DIY everything.

---
Our front door is officially in - though it was such a process. The frame has been completely stained and poly-ed and we put the storm door on yesterday. It was sad to see the storm go up on such a beautiful door, but it's a necessity where we live.

I'm staining the door tomorrow and then starting to poly it and caulking all the edges. I should be DONE this weekend. :eek:

DH just got a job, so his project list has been cut down. We're now pondering getting a new suite of appliances in the kitchen, but I kinda figure while we're at it ;) I could do something with the cabinets, and maybe a new sink. I suppose that's a kitchen remodel, eh?

[chefker]

I'm here! :D


Name: chefker

Year house built: circa 1820 (town records say 1800, but other maps say 1820...so not really sure!)


How long you've owned house: 2 years & 2 months! :eek:

At home: Me (35), DH (37), and 7.5 month old DS

DIY/Pro: Mostly DIY, except for pool resurfacing, and eventual kitchen remodel--I'd like to hire an ID for that!

What remodeling projects: Done: sump pump installed, landscaping (which is always in progress!) To do: paint interior & exterior trim, replace front bay window, replace rotted floorboards in front porch and repaint it. Next year: tile replacement in pool, repair of pool steps, possible resurfacing/repainting of entire pool.

Someday: skim coat walls in guest BR; complete remodel of kitchen, including unearthing of beehive oven that was bricked up.

[CapeCod04]

Name: Kate
Year house built: 1926
How long you've owned house: 1 month
What remodeling projects: paint, refinish floors, install saddles between kitchen floor and dining room & living room, replace lighting fixtures, upgrade electrical service,replace furnace, remove chimney, reglaze windows, reside, expand living room, remodel bathroom, install 2nd bathroom, reside house with shakes
At Home: me & DH
DIY or Hire out: a mix - we did all the painting and the saddles, we'll do the windows, chimney and some of the remodeling, the rest we are hiring out

We move in next week! I can't wait!!

[southerner]

Thought I'd post some progress pics of the bathroom in the new thread.

We ended up replacing all the drywall in there. The layers of wallpaper had left a lot of imperfections when we removed it. The walls are ready to be primed!

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/IMG_0699_2.jpg

The niche is finished:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/niche0004.jpg

The top is finished (minus the piece by the light and the strip of cut tiles on the left):

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/niche0007.jpg

You can see where we switched mortar in the middle of tiling. What a difference that made. The premixed stuff was worth the extra money. I wish we had done that a long time ago :rolleyes:

Next up is the door threshold, then the floors. We have a new idea.....waiting to be sure everything works as it's supposed to before we get a door. I'm still paranoid about the liner we installed. We thought we could use a shower curtain for a while, just in case something isn't right. Since the door would be the most expensive part of this whole remodel, we hate if something happened and we had to take it off! I'd lose it!!!

FWIW, the whole shower is tiled, but I don't want to show our accents until the whole thing is finished. I'm being a dork about it, this I know :o Progress is very slow b/c we have so many things to do and can really only work on the weekends. We've had a lot going on, so unfortunately the bathroom has been neglected lately :(

[southerner]

Name: southerner
Year house built: 1962
How long you've owned house: Two years next week
What remodeling projects: Done: exposed windows in master bedroom, a guest bathroom, a library (2nd bedroom), master bathroom (on round 2 currently :rolleyes: ), two family rooms, hallway, added some mouldings and baseboards
To Do: kitchen is next :eek:, expose hardwoods in front living and dining rooms, landscaping has been started, need other things like gutters, repairs to cracks in driveway, drainage away from the house, okay, I'll stop now...
At Home: me, DH and BIL
DIY or Hire out: DIY all the way!

[southerner]

Hi everyone! Glad to see you here. :cool:

[young lioness]

Name: young lioness (Amy)
Year house built: 1929
How long you've owned house: 2 years + 2 months
What remodeling projects: Complete: added shower to claw-foot tub, added "craftsman inspired" trim to living room, replaced kitchen/dining room floor w/ pergo, removed oil tank from basement, removed ramp from back porch/built steps, replaced panels under front porch, tore out and replaced landscaping, reroofed garage, stainless steel liner installed in chimney Upcoming: repair cracks from chimney leak, continue landscaping, install driveway/replace sidewalks, replace bathroom floor and maybe add subway tile, new front door Maybe someday (if we stay long enough): larger electrical box, kitchen expansion and possibly bathroom addition
At Home: Me, DH (Brian) and Honey the cat
DIY or Hire out: Some of both - so far we've hired out the shrub removal, roof work, and chimney lining - in the future we will probably hire out the driveway work, electrical upgrade, and house expansion/addition

[Old Home Remodelers]

lil_geek, Do you mind updating your stats when you get a minute?

Amorey, Don't forget to post your stats when you find a new place.

Welcome CapeCod04!

[lil_geek]

Name: lil_geek (Tara)
Year house built: Pre 1856
How long you've owned house: Moved in June 3, 2006...... 2.5 months!
What remodeling projects:
Current:

Gutted an upstairs bedroom and closet of lathe and plaster
Gutted main floor office of lathe and plaster
Gutted Kitchen (including removing one wall - new cabinets, etc)
Replace all plumbing
Upgrade electrical service to 200 amp at the pole, 100 amp in the house
Upgrade all exposed in house wiring - new wiring in all gutted areas
Re-arrange the bathroom, including closing a door off

Future:

Gut living room and dining room (currently have panelling over plaster, so it's paintable/livable)
Remove panelling in the halls and drywall
Add upstairs bathroom in current unfinished area (toilett will be added this fall... the rest 'finished' next year some time)
Finish unfinished upstairs section as a master suite with the above bath and walk in closet
Back deck
Put a front porch back on the house

At Home: me, DH
DIY or Hire out: DIY for most.... electrical is done by electrician of an uncle, my parents help A LOT, drywall mudding by a friend, cabinets by the manufacturer


Sorry, that's way to long! Want the short version??\

....

Name: lil_geek (Tara)
Year house built: Pre 1856
How long you've owned house: Moved in June 3, 2006...... 2.5 months!
What remodeling projects:
Gut and re[place just about everything interior!!
At Home: me, DH
DIY or Hire out: DIY for most.... electrical is done by electrician of an uncle, my parents help A LOT, drywall mudding by a friend, cabinets by the manufacturer

[southerner]

seb's kitty, Is your door finished yet?

[chefker]

I reloaded everything onto Photobucket after the Shutterfly debacle, so here's a few pictures of our house, just for reference.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/chefker/House/housefront2.jpg

old pic of house sitting on the main road, circa 1960, before it was moved to the back of the property:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/chefker/House/housethen.jpg

Now that the weather's getting cooler, our next projects to tackle will be replacing the porch floorboards, painting the trim, and replacing the bay window (you can see the bay window in the next photo, to the right of that tree):

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/chefker/House/housefront.jpg

FIL seems to think we can DIY this, but I dunno. DH is NOT handy at all, so he'd be no help either. Basically all the wood surrounding the window itself is dry-rotted, and since the window is all individual panes, not a large single pane, I think this is something I'd rather leave to the pros.

[PrincessButrcup]

Joining...
Name: PrincessButrcup (Colleen)
Year house built: 1942
How long you've owned house: Since March 2006
What remodeling projects: Tearing down wallpaper, repairing walls, pulling up carpets, refinishing hardwoods, repairing ceilings, painting, replacing moldings, adding base moldings and chair rails in some rooms, replacing lighting fixtures, repair shower wall, remove rotted bay window Eventually we will convert half bath to full bath, remodel kitchen and replace aluminum siding
At Home: DH & I
DIY or Hire out: Mostly DIY, but some Hire Out

[Anna]

I'll join. I hope I can keep up with the thread this time around!

Name: Anna
Year house built: 1930
How long you've owned house: 1 year
What remodeling projects: The inside essentially needed gutting. The plaster walls were in bad shape and needed to be torn out in order for the house to receive all new wiring and insulation. Done: We've completely remodeled the kitchen, master bedroom, living room, dining room, and office. Almost all rooms have brand new wiring (we upgraded to 120 amps). We have replaced most of the windows. Some rooms have received new hardwood flooring. Current/Future Work: Gut our master bath and tear out the hallway and guest room. Finish work on the downstairs 1/2 bath. Install new heating system. Install all moldings.
At Home: Me-- My husband, Casey-- Our two dogs, Barney and Maggie.
DIY or Hire out: Mostly DIY.

[Anna]

southerner-- your shower is coming along nicely. I love the niche--beautiful shelves!

Wow chefker--your home is so lovely. I love your red door and entrance columns.

For reference, here is a somewhat recent picture of my home. We lost our screen door in a windstorm, so we have yet to replace that. I have also added in a flower bed to the right of the bulkhead.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/annacribb/home.jpg

[CapeCod04]

After cutting some of the shrubs back and eliminating this really tall tree/shrub thingie by the back door, we've found we need to add rebuilding the back steps to our list! As DH puts it "it looks kind of skelly."

[colz85]

Oh chefker, your house is GORGEOUS and the setting is as well!

My Stuff:
Name: Colleen
Year house built: 1926
How long you've owned house: 8 years
What remodeling projects:
New flooring in kitchen, DR, LR. Paint, new ceilings in LR and DR and Kit. Central air. New Roof. Redid front porch.

At Home: me & very handy husband Steve
DIY or Hire out: Both.

Next up...I'd like to uncover the stairs and hall inside and redo the risers and treads if needed. There's ugly carpet there that I have hated since I bought the house! Our room desperately needs to be redone as well.

Pic of porch:
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i11/cmcondron/porch2/DCP_1991.jpg

[MeTheGirlie]

House:

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/1377/houseaf5.jpg

Name: MTG
Year house built: 1856
How long you've owned house: 1 Month
What remodeling projects: Currently, making it "livable" with our colors and immediate jobs to be able to utilize every room. Home is in great condition however needs updating and drastic decorating changes in the immediate future - decorating coming first, then we will be doing everything OVER in time. We have two kids so it's going to be a process and this is our forever home. Currently: Exterior Pool House needs to be painted and carpeted.
At Home: Me- DH -, DD's 1 & 2 and two dogs.
DIY or Hire out: DIY - as much as we can at least.

[Janey]

Name: Janey
Year house built: 1925/6
How long you've owned house: B has owned it since 1992; I've owned it since I married him.
What remodeling projects:
Phase I (Completed): Complete rewiring & replumbing (incl. stub-out for 1.5 future baths), gutted/expanded kitchen, gutted/expanded main floor bath, moved french doors, new hardwoods throughout first floor.
Phase II (Current): Exterior work: Residing, insulating, new windows. Creating deck on top of garage. New roll-up door & lights on garage; new lights inside garage. Interior work: Finish upstairs -- create new closet in large bedroom, improve closets in Baby's Room, finish Tiny Bathroom, new hardwoods throughout upstairs.
Phase III (Future): Exterior work: Widen driveway, replace driveway with pavers, create fence around back corner of lot for small yard. Interior work: Finish basement, incl. rec room, guest/craft room, full bath, laundry room, storage areas.
At Home: Me (33, SAHW), and B (41, Architect). Baby in utero.
DIY or Hire out: Mostly hire out; we will do the things we can and hire the rest.
Photo Sets: Remodel (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/168325/) (early photoset including 1932 King County survey photo, and kitchen/bath Before pictures), Demolition Begins (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/436212/), Framing, Drywall, Insulation (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/545442/), Cabinets & Flooring (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/784739/), Countertops, Paint, & Floors (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/1236094/), Bathroom After (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/72057594069301965/), Kitchen Mostly After (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/72057594073030550/), Den & Dining Room (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/72057594070759224/), Phase II Interior (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/72157594181508385/), Phase II Exterior (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/72157594236731394/).
Floor Plans: First Floor Demo (http://home.comcast.net/~k.j.hill/Demo-FirstFloor.pdf), First Floor Current (http://home.comcast.net/~k.j.hill/FirstFloor.pdf), Second Floor (http://home.comcast.net/~seahills924/secondfloorarea.pdf), Basement (http://home.comcast.net/~k.j.hill/Basement.pdf).


B took a bunch of photos today after 1 week of siding demolition. They are here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/), but are also in the Exterior Phase II set in Flickr. The siders found some paper wasp nests; one of the guys got stung and his hand swelled up like crazy. I had to call the exterminator who charged me $310 to kill the 3 nests. Little unexpected expenses are part & parcel to Old Home Remodeling.


Antecdotal info: Our siders sure are nice people. They are Russian (Ukranian) immigrants who live in Everett which is 45 mins north of Seattle; there is a large Russian Immigrant population there. Our bathroom tile guys were also Russian and from Everett.

The one guy, Stan, has had his wife Natalia (though she has Americanized this to Natalie - I should tell her I think she should keep Natalia; it's beautiful) with him the last two days. Stan barely speaks English, though I can mostly communicate rudimentary ideas to him ("Bees? Where are the bee houses?"). His wife is a little better with English. I found out today (yes - they were working on a Saturday!) that they have been in the country for 5 months. She said that the politics in the Ukraine are very bad. I sort of shrugged and said, "Yah - they're not that great here either." They are taking ESL classes. Natalie has taken two and is onto Level 3. She was a nurse in the Ukraine, and is going through the series of ESL Classes, and then will get certified as a pediatric nurse. In the meantime, there she is on a Saturday, helping her husband tear siding off my house.

I kept thinking what a brave and marvelous thing it is to immigrate to a new country where you don't speak the language, to make a better life for yourselves and your children.

[nyclaura]

I'm still here too - reading more than posting, but we have just completed a full kitchen renovation and DR remodel so I'm sure I'll post more soon.

Name: Laura
Year house built:1834, with historic plaque
How long you've owned house: Since Jan 2006 - about 8 months
What remodeling projects: Still to do are guest BR, 2 baths, mudroom, garage, and landscaping. Completed - formal LR, kitchen, master BR, family room, electrical upgrade, plumbing upgrade, full interior paint job
At Home: My husband, myself, 2 kitties
DIY or Hire out: Both

[Old Home Remodelers]

MrsHill, thanks so much for doing those links, it saved a lot of time :D

MeTheGirlie, Shutterfly pics don't show up on CC anymore.

Welcome to MeTheGirlie & PrincessButrcup!

Updated to here

[amorey]

Posting my official stats:

Name: Ann
Year house built: 1927
How long you've owned house: 3 years
What remodeling projects:
- refinished the hardwood floors
- painted
- installed wardrobes in the bedroom,
- updated bathroom, including new tub surround, refinished tub, new sink, and some new toilet parts
- total kitchen remodel, including removing a wall
- landscaping
At Home: DH (Sean) and myself
DIY or Hire out: DIY all the way!

Our little bungalow is currently for sale. I suppose this would be a good time to post the once and for all before and afters. The before pics were taken before we closed on the house.

Front yard:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house25.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale1.jpg

Back Yard:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house30.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale9.jpg

http://annandsean.com/wc/house42.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale10.jpg

Continued in next post!

[amorey]

Kitchen:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house9.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale2.jpg

http://annandsean.com/wc/house17.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale3.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale4.jpg

Even more coming!

[amorey]

Sun/dining room:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house18.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale5.jpg

Living room:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house36.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale6.jpg

Bedroom:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house7.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale7.jpg

I've got one more post!

[amorey]

Office:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house6.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale8.jpg

Bathroom:

http://annandsean.com/wc/house19.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/forsale11.jpg

[amorey]

As if I haven't made enough posts in this thread for one day, I have to post that we wrote an offer on a house today! While we would have loved another Craftsman home, the area we're looking in is a post-war suburb. This house is a 1965 Mid-Century Modern ranch. Everyone cross your fingers that they're okay with our contingency!

A few photos:

http://edinaimages.fnistools.com/Images/Listing03/9/Large/3246434_1.jpg

http://edinaimages.fnistools.com/Images/Listing03/9/Large/3246434_3.jpg

http://edinaimages.fnistools.com/Images/Listing03/9/Large/3246434_5.jpg

http://edinaimages.fnistools.com/Images/Listing03/9/Large/3246434_7.jpg

http://edinaimages.fnistools.com/Images/Listing03/9/Large/3246434_8.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/trees.jpg

While it still has the Mid Century charm, it also has Mid Century appliances (including the water heater) and wiring. It also has some water in the basement. So while I love this house, it will give me lots more reasons to be posting in this thread!

[MeTheGirlie]

Shutterfly pics don't show up on CC anymore.

That's odd, how come I see them?

OK, I'll go to flickr or something, does flickr work?

[Hello Kitty]

MTG, they probably show up because you're logged in to your shutterfly acct. Or if you've viewed them online recently they are probably stored in your PCs memory as being able to view them.

The door is getting there, but it's just one thing after another, and I don't know how much we've spent. :o It should be done this week, which I realize I posted it would be done this weekend. It's been SO humid, I haven't been able to go as quickly as I'd like. And now we have to buy new trim because the old trim doesn't fit.

We looked at cabinets @ Menard's this weekend, to see what they had. It seems like they can meet our needs. My brother is a cabinet designer for a small custom shop, though, and he can get us our cabs at cost + 15%. So we're going to have him throw out a design and see what we can get.

I love the idea of doing out kitchen, but this door has sucked the home-improvement life out of me! I think that may be a winter kind of project.

[lil_geek]

That's odd, how come I see them?

OK, I'll go to flickr or something, does flickr work?

I can also seem to see all Shutterfly pics. Nope,not logged on to my account either.

[mobox]

Name: Maureen
Year house built: 1941
How long you've owned house: In the family since '43 and my husband has owned it since 99
What remodeling projects: EVERYTHING! Next up entire re-do of high front yard to include Spanish Patio and xero scape landscaping with new walkways/steps and a foundation redo under the adjacent office/side door. Then comes complete paint job of outside/new awnings (currently there is nothing). Lastly it's a complete redo of the entire backyard.
At Home: Me, David and Baby Boy on the way Dec 06
DIY or Hire out: Combo of both



*****

So, we finally hired someone to do our floors and they are coming on Sept 5th. We have to move all the furniture ourselves, which of course, I can't do in my condition. Not sure how it's all going to be handled, but I'm excited because other than a few "cosmetic" projects inside (paint 3 of the rooms and replace doorknobs and light fixtures), this is the last big inside job and everything else is indoors.

[Janey]

K, I'll go to flickr or something, does flickr work?
Not only does Flickr work, Flickr rocks. ;)

Threadmistresses - My first photoset (titled Remodel) got cut off in the copy/paste. Thanks!

[southerner]

seb'skitty, New cabinets count as a "slight" kitchen remodel?? Nothing ever moves as quickly as we'd like it to, does it?

amorey, Good luck with the offer! Any bites on your current place yet? I hadn't seen the finished tub surround, it looks great! Did y'all end up replacing all the rotted drywall?

[MeTheGirlie]

Fixed the picture.

[Janey]

Well, I have bad news: No deck on top of garage. :mad: :mad: :mad:

B called the Permitting office and asked them about it and they told him no, because we can't tear down the deck and re-build it because it's too close to the property line, and even if it wasn't, because it is in our "back yard" rather than the side yard :rolleyes: we can't do it.

B came home last night looking and feeling sooooo sad and tired. I felt so darn bad for him, especially after all the work he's been putting in for the last few weeks. It was like a kick in the gut, salt in the wound, etc.

He walked down there today with a set of plans to talk to them, because he thought maybe if he could sit down with someone and explain it better, they would give him the go-ahead. Nope -- sorry charlie! The code is in place because they don't want you to build a deck that looks right into your neighbors' bedroom, which I understand... But we had planned on building a privacy wall on that side anyhow. The guy said we could apply for a variance and include the privacy wall, but it would cost us $3,500 and it would take 4 months for approval and it still might not get approved. So, we decided just to let the dream of a deck go.

It's such a bummer. I wish we had a yard.

Owell.


Maybe we can use some of the money we were going to use on the deck to have somebody else install the hardwoods upstairs. :o

[Janey]

So this is sort of fun. We photoshopped our house to imagine what it might look like painted, and if we wanted a band across the middle and/or bottom (Belly Band!). Here's the Before picture, taken on a dreary day two Januarys ago:

http://static.flickr.com/7/6747743_e7978eaf6c.jpg?v=0

Here's the "after."

http://static.flickr.com/86/223454215_55a3b8e35e.jpg?v=0

Please excuse the fact that it looks like a 5 year old painted our house. :o The window sashes & mullions would be painted charcoal, but I did not have the patience to photoshop those in. The porch columns & trim will also be painted white, but they're white(ish) now so I just left them alone.

[alisong]

I need to rejoin! I didn't post much in the old thread because I've been so depressed about the lack of progress on our house. :(

Name: alisong (Alison)
Year house built: 1910
How long you've owned house: Since July 2004
What remodeling projects:
Completed: removed large non-fruiting avocado tree, resodded backyard (backyard actually looks okay at this point!), stripped paint from woodwork in living and dining rooms, refinished hardwood floors throughout the house, repainted inside and out (outside under duress from our insurance agent), gave bathroom and kitchen a "facelift" - new cabinet hardware, light fixtures, etc.
In progress: the blasted upstairs bathroom - it's been non functional for approximately a year and a half. Complete staining of the wood that we stripped in living/dining rooms.
Future: Glup, redo the foundation; the roof; the kitchen; plumbing in the downstairs bathroom; redo electrical for entire house; think about adding on a dormer to the front of the house.
At Home: DH & I, stepson (14), DS (1.5), two cats and a dog
DIY or Hire out: exclusively DIY so far, we'll need to hire out the roof work, but that's probably about all.

[lil_geek]

Quick update... we efinally primed our bathroom! No more bare drywall! Paint is going on tongith.

Electrical is just about done in the house. INCLUDING removing about 95% of the old stuff! I guess because the house was built pre-E... most of the elctrical was assesible from the basement or attic. YEAH!!

Waiting on the change of the hydro pole and and service to 100amp. But with the current changes, I ran the toaster oven and microwave last night (on the same extension cord) and didn't blow a fuse! MAJOR improvement there! (The entire house was on 9 fuses... we now have about 20 breakers!)

We also had a drywaller in. We were planning on hiring out the mudding. Doing the drywall ourselves. Well, for a mere $700 they will hang everything and then $1200 to mudd (aproximatly 1000 square feet) and the best part, they figure they can do it all in about 2 weeks... whereas with our schedule we will likely take more then a month. So, they are booked to start September 9th weekend.

Kitchen cabinets are finalized, deposit down! 10 weeks and counting!

[MeTheGirlie]

I have a question for those of you that are/have/looked into getting your electrical updated. Ours is from the 80's (we have 2 breaker boxes , and while not entirely BAD, it's that OLD wiring in the walls and such (with mesh around the wires as opposed to that rubber stuff), with a process like this:

1.) do they tear down the walls and have to replace the wires or do they snake it through an opening?

2.) price range, if you have one (and square footage of your house, so I can compare to mine!)

3.) anything else you think I should know before I prepare to get monitarily (sp) raped by an electrician.

TIA!

[lil_geek]

Our electrical has been mostly replaced/upgraded as of now.

Our house is aproximatly 2400 square feet. 1856ish farmhouse. Our house was lath and plaster DIRECTLY on the walls (extreior are brick, interior are pine planks)


We had gutted 3 major rooms (upstairs bedroom, main floor office and main floor kitchen) so they were all BRAND NEW wiring/plugs/layout etc. Those rooms were all framed with new 2x3's so we had nice cavities to run wires. Thankfully we also had to build interior walls for these rooms too, so we were able to access areas of say the dining room from the new walls in the office. Make any sense? The rooms we didn't gut were the dining room (butted the office, living room (butted the kitchen) and one upstairs bedroom (butted the other room). we also have aproximatly 400 square feet of unfinshed upstairs.

We also had to install a new panel in a new location... so that ups the time and effort. BUT the new panel is in the kitchen and is very central to all the rooms we gutted, likley it was easier to then if we had to run to the current panel location (we would have had to rip the panneling and frame the walls in the upstairs hall to do that, or a lot more attic work)

To run the new wires to the new panel took about 6 days (not solid... his uncle is our electrician and is a bit of a free spirit!). Anything that was exposed was changed then too. The last week he has been up in the attic putting a new ceiling light in our room, and running anything from the old panel down to the new one. Also had to run new wires to the basement (furnace, hot water, pump).

I figure by the time we are done... we will have about 80 hours of his time in. and likley 90-95% of our electrical is new (granted, we probably quadrupled the number of outlets/lights in the house!)

That was only because we had walls open. If everything was run in the walls I have no idea on time/effort. Because of the structure of our house, any new electrical would likely have had to be in conduits and run on the surface because we had no cavities for the wires to be run.

1980's electricity isn't bad. In fact, we were asked to upgrade our service (60 to 100) but that didn't actually require us to upgrade the wiring. The service upgrade is a whole other ballgame!!

[amorey]

MeTheGirlie, as far as I know, cloth covered wires are safe and you don’t have to replace them. Are they causing you problems? Now if you have paper covered wires, that’s a whole ‘nother deal.

[nyclaura]

Still to do:

Drapery (on order)
Hang shelf above wine fridge (have it on top of fridge)
Wall art
Mirror between candle stick sconce
Table runner and centerpiece

What we did:
Painted
Added chandelier
lofted ceiling
took out old built in cabinets
Added chair rail and 3 piece baseboard molding
Changed odd short door to a window
Uncovered HW floors

I tried to add before shots in the slideshow before the finished ones. I hope that makes sense as you're viewing it. Basically we took out a short odd door and changed it to a window, took out the carpet, painted, and took out some cheap built-in cabinets where the china cabinet now is. It will be easy to spot what we did - anything that looks ugly in a before shot and better in an after shot is something I did, lol!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8DZtXDVw2ajk&notag=1

Enjoy the slide show! More in about a week when the drapery comes in and I decorate a bit more. I think hanging that shelf above the wine fridge will make a big difference.

[Hello Kitty]

seb'skitty, New cabinets count as a "slight" kitchen remodel?? Nothing ever moves as quickly as we'd like it to, does it?

Here's how it went :o
DH - hey, we should get new appliances
Me - yeah, good idea

Me - hmm, if I get new appliances, I'd like to add upper cabinets
DH - yeah, good idea
(go to menards, price stuff out; start photoshopping kitchen)

Brother - Well, you can't just add uppers, especially because I know how picky you are :p and they will NOT match your existing lowers. I can get you everything including countertops for $X
DH - yeah, draw us up a quote

See, it's that easy! So, I dunno. It's going to be kind of expensive, so I'm not terribly anxious to get started. We figured we'd keep our eyes out for appliances, and get those as we could (floor models, or clearances, or whatever) and then do the cabs last. The great thing about going through my brother's shop is that they do extra-fancy-super kitchens, so they can do all the cool hidden accessories and layouts, etc...
---
One more blasted coat of poly, and then we're buying trim this weekend. I'm determined to make a dentil shelf for the outside (actually do it myself as opposed to getting DH to do it) How hard can that be?

MrsHill - I love, love photoshopping our house. That makes yours look really great!
LilGeek - you guys are really moving on your house now.
Laura - did that short door go outside before?

[suzubeane]

The guy said we could apply for a variance and include the privacy wall, but it would cost us $3,500 and it would take 4 months for approval and it still might not get approved. So, we decided just to let the dream of a deck go. What? Why does it cost that much to apply for a variance? Here the application fee amounts to the cost for the city to advertise it to all your abutters. That stinks that you can't even try. :mad:.

I need to rejoin! I didn't post much in the old thread because I've been so depressed about the lack of progress on our house. :( Same here. :o. But I'm glad to see you're still considering that dormer. (And I can't believe your step-son is 14 already!)

... (go to menards, price stuff out; start photoshopping kitchen) ... So do we get to see these photoshop renditions of the kitchen? I vaguely remember your kitchen from a home forum thread (about color was it?) but I keep hoping you'll post photos so we can see what you're planning.

[nyclaura]

Sebskitty - Yes the short door did go outside. The height is barely 5 feet tall so it was a bend over and watch your head type of opening. And it didn't close properly so we got all the lovely wind and rain as a bonus. Not as a surprise when we had it removed and framed in the opening for a window we found that there was no insluation in that whole wall - so we blew some in while we were changing out the window.

We are searching for an antique casement window to go in that space in lieu of the temp. window that's there. We have 2 restoration centers looking for our size. So, eventually the window there will match the ones on the other side of the DR.

[Janey]

What? Why does it cost that much to apply for a variance? Here the application fee amounts to the cost for the city to advertise it to all your abutters. That stinks that you can't even try. :mad:.
Why does it cost that much? Welcome to Seattle. :rolleyes:

The carpenter thinks there's a way to do the deck without getting a permit. I don't know; seems a little iffy to me. I kind of wonder if B would be hurting himself professionally if he tried to skirt permit issues. We'll talk about it. I was disappointed by the lack of a deck but I got over it; I don't think B is over it quite yet.


Our front porch doesn't have any columns any more - it looks soooo bizzare. They seem to be pretty much done with the demo now. Windows come on the 5th, then they insulate, then they put the siding on, then paint. Oh and we might be getting two extra windows into the basement because the window guy accidentally ordered extra windows. He said he'd give us the windows if we wanted to pay to install them -- ummYES! was the answer to that one.

[amorey]

amorey, Good luck with the offer! Any bites on your current place yet? I hadn't seen the finished tub surround, it looks great! Did y'all end up replacing all the rotted drywall?

I just want to update that we got outbid on the Mid Century place. :( So we are back on the hunt for our dream old house. We do have someone interested in our current place. They're currently working on finding financing. My fingers are going to be permanently fused together with all this crossing going on!

We didn't end up replacing drywall. It ended up not being crumbly, so I cleaned off all of the mold with bleach and dried it out with a blow dryer. :o The tub was too big for a standard sized surround, so we went with fiberglass panels.

Here's a before and after:

http://annandsean.com/cc/bath1.jpg

http://annandsean.com/cc/sell7.jpg

MrsHill, I'm so sad about your garage top deck. :( That's one of DH's "wants" for our next house. And I really like the red! Red bungalows are so cute.

[Hello Kitty]

So do we get to see these photoshop renditions of the kitchen? I vaguely remember your kitchen from a home forum thread (about color was it?) but I keep hoping you'll post photos so we can see what you're planning.
Yep, definitely. I just have to finish the door first, before I start goofing around with other projects. I also got your input from Ann's thread - I'll post there, didn't mean to ignore you. I promise, the kitchen has not been touched since that thread!

Not as a surprise when we had it removed and framed in the opening for a window we found that there was no insluation in that whole wall
Ugh. At least you were able to insulate, that's got to help a ton. I asked DH to install a real doorbell at our front entry, and he went up to the attic and found the same exact thing in our walls. Zero insulation. Looks like we're going to get a blower too and get as much down in the walls as possible. No wonder our utility bills are outrageous!

That door thing is really interesting. I think crazy stuff like that is so neat!

[southerner]

MrsHill, Sorry the deck didnt work out, but you're right about being able to use the money elsewhere. Score on the two extra windows. Gotta love when someone else's mistake works out to your benefit ;) I like the red. What are the colors of some of the other houses on your street?

Alisong, Did y'all ever do anything with the wall you wanted to knock out to have matching shelves on the adjacent side?

lil_geek, Y'all are really cooking! Can't wait to see some photos!

nyclaura, Have the rest of your kitchen cabinets arrived yet? I might have missed an LJ about them. We have no insulation in any of our walls :eek:

seb'skitty, I'll race you on the kitchen ;)

[Old Home Remodelers]

keeping up :)

[Janey]

MrsHill, Sorry the deck didnt work out, but you're right about being able to use the money elsewhere. Score on the two extra windows. Gotta love when someone else's mistake works out to your benefit ;) I like the red. What are the colors of some of the other houses on your street?
In our general vicinity, we have:

Light Blue / Tuquoise Trim (next door to us)
Light Blue / White & Black trim (across the street from us)
Light Blue / White & red trim (kitty-corner from us)
Cheery yellow / White trim (across the other street from us)
Horrid pinkish flesh color / white trim (next door on the other side)
Sagey green / Off-white trim (next door to yellow house)
Beige / Green & Brown trim (kitty-corner across the street)
Forest green / White trim (next to Flesh-colored house)
Dark Turquoise / Red trim / Red roof (other side of cheery yellow house - she bought in 1976 for $25k and I don't think has painted since then)


There are some more interesting paint combos on our street a little further down including a green one with purple & white trim that sounds horrible but it is actually coo-ool.

There are other red houses in our neighborhood, but none in our immediate block. There is a house waaaay down the end of our street, across the street, 20 houses down maybe, that is dark red. There is another big house the other way that is red, and a third one way down by the park.

I'm sooooooo sick of light blue, beige, & flesh colored houses.


Amorey - Thanks for the comisseration. And I'm glad you like the red! :)

[nyclaura]

Southerner: Yes, the kitchen is completely done now. We're waiting for window treatments to come in from Smith and Noble and that's it!

I'll try to get in an LJ post with the final pics soon. Thanks for asking about our progress!

Up next - 2 bathrooms and our mudroom/laundry room. We're planning to do these projects this winter after I get started in my PhD program in Sept. It's a little hectic right now!

[lil_geek]

Whoo Hoo! We have insulation in 2 of the 3 rooms! My FIL figures we will be walking around naked all winter because our house will be so hot!

Hydro comes next week to upgrade the service. And after that we can start to close up the walls for good!


Mrs.Hill - I like the red!!!!

[Anna]

lil_geek: Congrats! The insulation really will make a difference. We insulated the majority of our house last fall/winter and realizing how much warmer the rooms with insulation were was an impetus for getting all of the other rooms insulated!

Enjoy closing up the walls. That's such a great feeling. :D
---

We signed the contract today to have a new heating system installed. Yay! We only made it through one winter without 2nd floor heating, so we are looking forward to having a cozy home this winter.

[suzubeane]

Taking the liberty of posting a link to a thread describing southerner's current roof leak emergency (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24377). I figure if there's any group of people familiar with old leaking roofs, it's this one!

[Hello Kitty]

I'm recording our home stuff on Vox (www.ouroldhouse.vox.com) now. I'd like to have a place where I can post photos and ideas, etc, but seperate from my WC/CC alias. That way I can share with family, friends, coworkers, etc...

I took a quick pass at the kitchen (http://ouroldhouse.vox.com/library/post/kitchen-ps1.html)and I'm happy with the general concept. It sure looks dark in there though!

[southerner]

Seb'sKitty, FUN! Let's chat kitchens! Will you cross post that (w/ the pic), so I can comment, pretty please? I am resisting the Vox exodus ;)

MrsHill, Don't you have a special delivery this week?

amorey, any word on the house?

[southerner]

Update: It didn't rain much more on Friday and when it did, it was light enough not to cause any more leaking. So, now we just have to figure out who to call, a roofer or for gutters. Like I said in my thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24377), I'm not convinced it is the roof. I know we need new gutters and I know we've waited too long to get them the attention they need. This is the first time we've had a leak and if it was the roof, wouldn't we have had a leak before now? I think the gutters couldn't keep up with that amount of rain and it backed up in the eave on this eave on the back patio

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/house%20misc/leak0003.jpg

OTOH, I don't want to get new gutters, then next time we have a lot of rain like this, the roof start leaking again :rolleyes: So, we'll go up on the roof and check for flashing and just see what this corner (where the roof lines instersect) feels/looks like next time it rains.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/house%20misc/leak0002.jpg

In the meantime, we tiled the floor of the shower this weekend. The threshold is almost finished. We just have to do the curb before we move on to the floor in the rest of the bathroom. We've run out of bullnose tiles and need about 2 dozen more to use on the curb. We've decided to hold off a bit on getting door for the shower. We figure we can use a curtain for a few months, so we can see if this whole thing has even been put back together correctly :rolleyes: :eek: Then, we'll get a door! I'll post some bathroom photos another day.

[Hello Kitty]

Oh, yeah, I'm not going anywhere! Just wanted a neutral place, so I could share with, say, my boss, and he finds out all he wants to know (and more) about Seb's Kitty :p But, yeah, we can talk kitchens. I'm trying to avoid calling it the R[emodel] word, because it's really, er, a facelift :D

Okay, so heregoes - before and pretend after pics:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b118/wcsebskitty/allk.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b118/wcsebskitty/kitchenPS1.jpg

Here's a 360 (http://w18.photobucket.com/widgets/dynamicflash.php?featuretype=bucketstrip&featurename=strip_01&pa=/b118/wcsebskitty/) view of the whole kitchen.

I realize my photoshopping is pretty rough, but I think you get the concept. I'm basically taking out everything in the 'new' corner and re-doing it. My brother is making me a ridiculous offer on the kitchen cabinets, all finished, custom made, with countertops, so it would be silly not to get exactly what I want. I'm looking to add an over-fridge cab, something decorative over the sink, a corner cab, and an upper. He's making me repace the base cabs as well, but with the same layout, all we're doing is adding a panel over the dishwasher front. :)

I'll be painting the backsplash area green, with a waterproof, washable paint. Sink will be white cast iron, new period faucet, new white appliances. The only thing I'm stuck on are the counters. I don't dislike our current light, neutral counters. Everything on the market seems so trendy, and I don't want to do tile...

[nyclaura]

Is anyone in the midst of any fall/winter projects?

I'd love to share ideas and have a support system to help me/us get through these next couple of items.

Our main priorities for the fall/winter are:

Add 1-2 steam radiators to our existing system
Change a door off our kitchen (custom ordered and waiting)
Redo main bathroom (complete gut and remodel)
Update guest bath - not nearly as involved
Remodel and update our laundry room/mudroom to be more of an entry room

[Janey]

Southerner - I swear with all of this resisting of new technologies you're going to be one of those crotchety old ladies who shakes her cane and says "Get off my lawn!!" ;)


No windows today. I don't know where they are. B has a call into the guy to see where we stand on schedule. We're supposed to be in the San Juans from Thurs-Tues... I bet we end up coming home Monday in order to have a little house-time. :rolleyes:

I bought the light fixtures for either side of our garage door today. They are the Quoizel Small Wall Lanterns (http://www.quoizel.com/myquoizel/product_details.aspx?OID=2942). I like 'em. :)

I also have some new PDFs of some drawings. Southerner/Suz - these aren't for the front page. They're just so you all will get an idea of what we're working on.
- Basement Windows (http://home.comcast.net/~seahills924/basement-windows.pdf) shows where he's filling in one window (stairs will block it soon), cutting in two windows, and replacing two others.
- Garage Electrical (http://home.comcast.net/~seahills924/garage-electrical.pdf) shows the electrical plan for the garage. Note that he has them put an outlet on top of the roof. He thinks that eventually we'll just build some little stairs up to the roof, put some railings up, and have that small part be a deck. "Screw 'em, right?" he said. Uhhh... okay... :p
- Roof Framing (http://home.comcast.net/~seahills924/roof-framing.pdf) shows the beefed up framing for the small part of the garage that will eventually be turned into a tiny deck.

[mobox]

Southerner--I think a roofing company would be able to help you with the gutters as well. Does your house shift a lot? If it does, and it turns out the leak is where the two roofs meet...then I have some experience with that. Our roof leaks yearly, as it is a flat roof and prone to many problems. The best thing for roof joints is a material that expands and contracts with the elements. I don't know the technical term but a roofer would know. Just some tips from a woman who hates leaks!!!

***********

So we are moved out and they have gotten through the sanding portion of the floors. I think they started laying the sealant today. Three coats (we are going with clear) and then 48 hours and we can move back in!;) I can't wait to see the finished product! I forgot to take before pics, but I'll certainly take some afters. DH went over last night and he says they are much lighter and did we want to go with some color. I don't think so, I still want them to be natural...I think the lighter will be great. I mean, these are floors that haven't been redone since they were put in in 1941!

Also, I bought lights to replace the horrible 70s ceiling fans in two of the bedorooms. I tried to get them as Spanish-y as I could...but the selections are not the greatest. I bought one ceiling fan for the guest room:

http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/792145331018_3.jpg

And for the nursery, just a ceiling light:

http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/725916808099_3.jpg

Except the second light is a darker finish. Hope they look good in there.

[mobox]

MrsHill - I love your new outside fixtures. Those are gorgeous! What style is your house? The lights kind of look craftsman.

[southerner]

Seb'sKitty, That kitchen could definitely use a facelift ;) You're going to gain so much cabinet space by putting upper cabinets in. Also, you could put some on the wall where the pet food bowls are. Or you could put a desk or something there. As for counters, the only thing in our budget is a laminate. Since we have plans to do some construction and are getting all new cabinets, that's where we're going to spend the money. We can always upgrade another time. I didn't know you could do that 360 thing in Photobucket. I tink I may need to go play with that.

mobox, Thanks for the feedback re: the roof. I think our house does shift alot based on the cracks we see around windows and door frames. We've "fixed" a lot of them once and now they're back. Good to know that a roofer can/will do gutters too. Shame on you for not taking before pics of the floor!

MrsHill, I'm going to put that lighting website in our very small (right now) list of links on Page One. That's smart to prep the garage for a someday deck!

nyclaura, I've never seen pics of your bathrooms!

[Thankful1]

oooo, I want to join!

Name:Thankful1
Year house built:1921
How long you've owned house: Don't own it yet, we close 9/15/06
What remodeling projects:Tear down deteriorating garage (insurance co. is giving us 30 days from closing to tear down and clear), pull up carpet, redo hardwood floors, paint all rooms, replace hideous light fixtures, possibly strip paint and stain moulding throughout, paint kitchen cainets (relatively new but I hate the stain), put down pavers in drive way( its dirt right now),tile the front porch and screened porch, landscaping, repair and stain or replace the fencing, replace windows, remodel downstairs half bath (its in the laundry room :rolleyes: ). Eventually we want to either paint the exterior or add siding and replace the roof.
At Home: DH and 2 furbabies (Katherine and Lulu)
DIY or Hire out: DIY as much as we can, the windows will probably be hired out


I'll post pictures as soon as I figure out how.

[Thankful1]

Ok here goes, let's see if it works. Note: These are pictures with all of the Seller's things and paint choices. The whole house is a decorating disaster.

Here is the front of the house.
http://static.flickr.com/83/238513508_353e973f09.jpg


Here is the back.
http://static.flickr.com/96/238513515_9b644b9f99.jpg


These are pictures of the kitchen. I have no idea what they were thinking when they chose these colors. The tile on the floor is terracotta. Why they thought oak and green stained cabinets and yellow trim would match is beyond me. And...... the pantry door which I don't have a picture of is all yellow as well.

http://static.flickr.com/80/238513520_0a2c8ffaf8.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/91/238513530_f3f7d9002b.jpg


To be continued......

[Thankful1]

This is a picture of the dining room with a sampling of the myriad unfortunate light fixtures throughout the house. Oh and for some reason they have these folding doors (they remind me of closet doors) at the entrance of the dining room from the foyer and from the dining room to the kitchen. Clearly we will tear those out.

http://static.flickr.com/91/238513525_06d08e65dc.jpg


And finally here is a picture of the "detached garage", I'm not sure why they call it that, it looks like a shed to me. We have 30 days to tear it down. We were going to do it anyway but not until October. It's horrible, takes up yard space, and there's another shed on the other side of the yard that's actually bigger than this so called "detached garage".

http://static.flickr.com/93/238513535_f96de47587.jpg



This place has lots of potential but alot of work. I look forward to sharing in the journey with all of you! :D

[suzubeane]

Welcome Thankful! I'll put your stats on page one. By the way, if you want your photos to appear full size, just edit your posts to remove the "_M" at the end of the link, before the .jpg extension. Looks like you took flickr's preview rather than the actual photo.

I once had to tear down an old garage. Here's how we did it: We had a 30 yard dumpster delivered and backed into the driveway. We told the diver NOT to avoid the garage. You should have seen the gleeful look on his face when we clarified, that yes ... we WANTED him to back the dumpster right into the garage! And then he did - a few times.

The dumpster finally came to rest a few feet away, and we started pitching our splintered garage into it.

By the way, do you think that your house was added to? It looks like it may have been only as big as the part that the porch covers, and that the part to the left of that might be an addition? I only say that because that part looks different in the rear as well.

[Thankful1]

Thanks Suzubeane. That's much better. I knew there had to be a way to make those bigger.

I wish we could have someone just back over that thing but its too close to the neighbors garage so it will require a more delicate deconstruction. If you can call a sledge hammer delicate.

No, that's not an add on. There are actually a number of houses in the community with the same layout. The only difference is that some have screened porches and some don't.

[southerner]

Welcome thankful1!

Good luck on your closing this week. Do y'all have time before you have to move in to do any work (besides the garage?) or are you moving in right away? You need to post that kitchen the in show off your butt ugly kitchen thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5407) ;)

[Hello Kitty]

Thankful - your cabs are actually really nice - but I can see how you're not digging the color. It's like a Packer theme gone wrong!

Mobox - I like that fan a lot. It will look really nice in your house.

Southerner - I went to Lowe's yday and had a lot of fun looking at stuff to get ideas. I really love quartz, but it's :eek: really expensive, compared to laminate. There are some laminates I like - I brought some home and I think DH and I are on the same page, which is a huge relief ;). We'll probably get some treatment on the edge b/c DH isn't a fan of the straight edge. I can comprimise if it doesn't cost $3k for quartz!

That 'empty' ish wall will have a hoosier (http://www.rd.com/americanwoodworker/articles/199912/main/) cabinet there someday in the near future. DH is going to build a dog food thingy (http://www.theritzyrover.com/storefront/enter.html?target=p_3928.html&lang=en-us) as well. I think that will fill in the space nicely, while still keeping it specious.

I'm really excited to get uppers. I would like to be able to get our cereal and some other food out of the glass cabinet - maybe prettily store my baking supplies, dry beans, spices, in coordinated jars and containers behind the glass instead. I'm not opposed to having food there, but people don't need to see our Shredded Wheat n' Bran and Frosted Flakes boxes, Cake mixes, and stuff like that. :p

The more I think about this, the more excited I get and want to get this stuff in production!

[Thankful1]

Southerner We actually have about a month and a half left on our apartment lease after closing but we want to move in by mid october. So, we have some time. We are hoping to do the garage tear down, pull up the carpet and clean the floors, and paint (atleast down stairs) done before we move in.

[suzubeane]

Seb's Kitty - a Hoosier is a great idea for your kitchen! Are you going to build your own (as in the link?) Because I see them on eBay all the time.

Also, I know you don't want to change any plumbing, but the last house I worked on had a wall faucet installed over the dog's dishes.

Speaking of faucets, did you decide on one yet? Don't forget to look at Chicago Faucets. They have an extending one that really would look sharp in a period kitchen. (I was going to use it, but DH vetoed any two-handled model.)

Thankful - sorry you won't get to wreck your garage with the dumpster. Maybe you could just have them tap it a bit. ;).

[Hello Kitty]

Suz - I dunno. I'm going to keep an eye out at local auctions for one, but the last one I saw @ auction was $1100 and it needed a lot of work. I know I can get one made for much less than that, and in my materials and finish. So, we'll see. It also depends on how enthusiastic my brother (he'd be making it) is about the project.

I'm not really in to it for the antique value, but rather its form and function. It will be a perfect laptop desk where I can work, and then put stuff away at night. Plus it would be perfect for our kitchen and the region/period.

The dog thanks you for your suggestion on the plumbing - I'll have to mull that over. ;)

I'm undecided about the faucet. Most one handle faucets I see are kind of victorian-ish. There are more appropriate ones if I go for the two handle, but I kind of feel like your hubby on this one - so I'm not sure yet.

[nyclaura]

Southerner: I have pics of my bathrooms in my LJ from around last Nov. when we did the tour before buying. Since we haven't been working on them I haven't taken any new pics since then.

We have 2 full baths. The first is the main bath and is done in light yellow with white subway tile. It's actually quite updated and a-ok - I just don't aesthetically care for it. We plan to change the tub, tile, sink, and add some cabinetry for linens. I also think we can push one wall back about 1.5 feet which will really add some space to the room.

The other bathroom was used by the seller's kids. There is a small antique tub, a sink, and toilet. We're going to leave the tub and toilet, but change the sink. I also demo'd the existing cheap cabinets that were in that room when we moved in. In lieu of those we're going to add some antique floor cabinets for linens.

In both rooms we're changing out the lighting and adding outlets.

We're starting on both bathrooms in January when I have my first school break. I think we'll start by doing the 2nd one first so we can use that one while the 1st one gets redone. The 1st bathroom will be a much bigger job.

As far as color schemes go - for the 1st bathroom I'm thinking whites and gray - think carerra marble look, with faint light blue walls and brushed nickle finishes.

And for the second bath I'm more unsure. It will be out guest bath - so I want it to seem tranquil and B&B-like. Maybe 2-3 shades of cream with a semi-gloss white. This room has peaked ceilings too and we're going to add beadboard to the ceilngs for a cottage feel.

As soon as we get these projects started this fall I'll update with some pics and choices. I think we're going to do the mudroom project before the bathrooms though (I'm sure you saw that in my LJ).

[Janey]

MrsHill - I love your new outside fixtures. Those are gorgeous! What style is your house? The lights kind of look craftsman.
Mobox - our house is a 1925/6 Craftsman. Some photos are linked in the front page. :)

Southerner - Light fixtures are really hard. I had a terrible time choosing them, and whenever I could I went recessed just to avoid the problem. :p I have some other light fixture resources I've used in the past. If you want to add these to the list, feel free:
Rejuvenation (http://www.rejuvenation.com/) - lighting & hardware.
Revival Lighting (http://www.revivallighting.com/) - Similar fixtures as Rejuve, but I found that some of the Revival fixtures fit my space better than Rejuve fixtures.
Hubbardton Forge (http://www.hubbardtonforge.com/) - Modern fixtures with an "arts & crafts spirit." My kitchen pendant came from them.

[young lioness]

Thanks for those links Mrs Hill. Eventually I want to replace the light fixtures on our front and back porches, plus the one in the dining room. Those sites will be helpful.

[Janey]

You're welcome! When you said porch fixtures, that reminded me that our porch fixtures came from Lamps Plus (http://www.lampsplus.com). While a lot less "sexy" than the other places I listed earlier, Lamps Plus does have a fairly decent selection of mission/arts & crafts fixtures. An added bonus: They're usually less expensive, and they have sales.

Our porch fixture is this one (http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/Outdoor-Lighting/page_2/78073/); on the other side of the door is our entryway, which has this fixture (http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/Outdoor-Lighting/Usage_Close-to-Ceiling-Light/50192/). They're both square areas, so we went with square fixtures.

[lil_geek]

Ever since I lost the ability to post from snapfish.. I have lost all drive to keep updating!!


Past Weekend My parents came down and we installed a new back door. It was a solid wood (cedar we think) 9 panel glass inset door they got free from a neighbour. Ter isn't in love, (it has 1970's dark yellow patterned glass in 8 of the 9.. and a missing panel. Good thing we live in the country!) But it brings light in the kitchen that is welcome. And we can swap out the glass for plain or frosted as the $$ is available! As with an old house, nothing is 'standard' size. So we had to jig it a bit. Looks good from the inside, but when you open the door, there is a bit of wall/old jamb in there that shouldnt! Oh well!

Hydro
We now have 200amps at our NEW hydro pole! The guys did a good job. Nice an tight wires (they used to sag so much we had troubles getting farm equipment under). New meter (meaning they hydro guy won't drive across our weeping bed to read it!).

Only crappy thing, they hit the line from our milk house (where our water pump is) to the house.... so a) that had to be fixed meaning likely b) they stood around waiting and will cost $$ and c) we had no water for most of the night while we primed the pump and filled the pressure and hot water tanks back up. Blah!

BUT, the difference in electricity is noticable already! We have a shed/garage we have 1 bulb in (a big spotlight maybe?) and it was SO INCREDIBLY BRIGHT! Even the barn is brighter. I never thought you would notice the change in something like the brightness of the bulbs!!


Drywall
Ter and I will have a rough 3 nights. The guys are ready to drywall... came and measured for us last night. We need:
40 - 12x4 sheets drywall
14 - 8x4 sheets drywall
5000 drywall screws
3 - 1500' rolls of tape
12 boxes of mudd
15 corner beads
1 bundle 1x2 angle

YIKES! In my head... we are around $1700!!

But, they are willing to start Friday providing a) we are ready and b) we can get it delivered!

Whew!

[Janey]

In a thread about Garage Doors (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24669), nyclaura made me think maybe I should post my garage door info here for anyone else looking for garage doors. Here it is for posterity...


We're getting a small 8'x7' garage door installed, and it's $1660 installed for the door, opener, keyless entry switch, and 3 wired switches. B's particular about the garage door and wants a craftsmanesque one to match the style of our home. It is a Clopay door (http://www.clopaydoor.com/r-home.asp), and it will look like this:
http://static.flickr.com/83/242549898_36e4499fc8_m.jpg

I think it will look great with the lights I posted earlier (http://www.quoizel.com/myquoizel/product_details.aspx?OID=1360) on either side of it. :)


I had also contacted Costco (they have Amarr (http://www.amarr.com/) doors) about their garage doors as well. The gal they hooked me up with was fairly non-responsive, but they didn't really have the door style we wanted anyway, and were 8 weeks out versus Clopay's 4-5 weeks. We figured for a couple hundred bucks (I assume - I never even got as far as getting a quote from the Costco gal), we wanted the door we wanted, and just went with this other company.

[Hello Kitty]

lil geek - you guys are really making progress - wow!
MrsHill - as previously stated, I love it! Are you going to get any hardware on it?

My front door is still.not.done. And it's my fault - I've been a total bum when it comes to finishing everything. But I have a list and I've broken everything down into little segments, so I can get it done ASAP! New goal - this weekend, no excuses!

We did get sidetracked and install a doorbell (again, by emtek - love their products!) It is all pretty and glowy at night, and we got the best old-school buzzer - I wish I could record the sound it makes. It's truly obnoxious, and sounds like an alarm clock. Love it. :)

I also ordered our entry lights for the front and back. It was important for me to have something that actually wasn't really craftsman (among a host of other particulars) So here's what we decided on (http://www.fortelighting.com/ProductDetail.php?item=1715-01-04):
http://www.fortelighting.com/images/prod_imgs/1715-01-04-thumb.jpg

See - a whole lot of entry side-tracked-ness, but no real work on the door. :o

[young lioness]

I would definitely appreciate any information/links on garage doors.

We are at least a year out from this project, but we need to put in a driveway and replace our garage doors. The ones we have are the original doors that swing out from the center. (Sorry I don't have a more close-up picture online.) I like the character, but they just aren't practical for the daily use of putting cars in and out of the garage...they would fall apart from that much use. Right now we just store all of our lawn/gardening stuff in there.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/young_lioness/DSCF0398.jpg

Also, while I'm thinking about it, do any of you have a ribbon driveway? I think that's what I'd like to do for the driveway section from the street to the back yard, and then have some sort of pad area outside of the garage. Unfortunately, the garage doesn't line up directly with the driveway...it lines up with the house. So I'll have to really plan it well so that the transition between the two works well and doesn't look stupid.

[HeatherFL]

We chose just about all colors and themes. We still have to get the kitchen worked out, but things are coming along. We should be finalizing plans this Tuesday at 2pm. :eek: I can't believe this is going so quickly!

~H.

[lil_geek]

:) Everytone showed up 2 hours early this morning! At 12:12 when DH called me half of an upstairs room was already boarded!!! Whooo hoooo!!

[Thankful1]

Has anyone ever rented a dumpster or bulk trash container, whatever those big green things are called that you see in front of houses that are being remodeled? I'd like an idea of the cost.

We closed on the house today :). We looked at the detached garage that we have to tear down and suddenly it was twice as big as we thought it was :(. I started to freak out about having to tear that thing down. It is evil!

[suzubeane]

Thankful, prices will vary by size. You order them by the cubic yard (15, 20 or 30 yard, for example) and they will charge you to haul it away once it's full. The idea is to try to figure out the right size ahead of time so you don't pay for hauling a partially empty dumpster. If your garage has stuff inside, you should get as large a dumpster as possible.

By the way, if you haven't already, you should find out if your community requires a razing permit for tearing structures down. A dumpster in the yard is a big red flag for building officials - in my city, a dumpster is practically an invitation for them to walk on to your property looking for permits.

[nyclaura]

Thankful1 - We've rented a dumpster 4 times since moving into our house and each time the total cost has been about $400/time.

Our local trash collection service rents dumpsters (the medium size, although I don't know exactly the specs as suzu mentioned above) for $125/2 weeks and then charges you the dump fee that is weight dependent. So, the fee has been $125 and the dump fee is around $300-350.

We've done interior demo - so your materials might weigh more than our interior carpet, cabients, etc. since it's an outside building.

Good luck!

[justHB]

I'm still reading along ladies, but we haven't done anything on our house to report, until today. We have pocket doors in both rooms off our foyer (into the living room and office) and one of them didn't work. We had a guy come out today to fix it. He said it had been awhile since he'd seen a contraption like ours (circa 1916). We also need a new faceplate or two and he said he'd never seen ones like ours so if we want to replace them, we'll have to get them made or we'll have to buy 8 vintage or vintage-inspired ones for a cohesive look.

We've hired an arborist to tear out the two giant Acacia trees in our backyard and once that is done, we'll figure out what to do about the back deck that needs to come down.

We had a structural engineer come out and he said as far as he's concerned, our foundation is doing just fine considering it's 90 years old. We were worried he was going to recommend bracing the whole house ASAP or replacing the entire foundation, but he said if we were thinking about redoing the basement (it's currently 7 feet and we might want to dig down 1.5 feet and put in a finished basement for extra rooms) anytime in the next 5-7 years, he wouldn't recommend any work to it.

Aside from the tree, our next three projects are:
- painting the kitchen cabinets (we chose an antique white). We're doing a test run today.
- insulating the attic (it's FREEZING here in the morning)
- fixing the flashing on our roof

So far, most of the "work" we've done or looked into hasn't resulted in any progress, just knowledge.

Here's the kitchen as it currently looks:
http://static.flickr.com/67/178840521_bc933c388b.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/68/178840511_828e9f8174.jpg?v=0

I can't wait to get rid of the hideous appliances, but that's very far down on our to-do list.

[Old Home Remodelers]

Thanks for all those links, MrsHill!

JustHB, Can you repost your stats, please? Also, we haven't seen any other pics of you house here yet!

[justHB]

JustHB, Can you repost your stats, please? Also, we haven't seen any other pics of you house here yet!Sure; I thought I had posted in the other thread. Maybe they're just scattered intermittently across the boards.

Name: Becky
Year house built: 1916
How long you've owned house: 2 months
What remodeling projects: backyard (including deck), insulating attic/fixing roof, kitchen (mostly cosmetic)
At Home: Me, DH, 2 cats
DIY or Hire out: DIY for the cosmetic stuff, hire out for the more complicated items

http://static.flickr.com/77/178840494_f843ff6ff7.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/70/178840255_6c3d1ad529.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/57/178840137_1059cdee73.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/48/178840082_2e7d66d52f.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/78/178840687_3c6744f326.jpg?v=0

Most of these pictures (all even?) were taken during escrow. Right now the house is a wasteland of boxes and random things everywhere. We're *almost* finished with the office.

[southerner]

lil_geek, Hope y'all got all your drywall this weekend and that you find a new photo hosting site ;) You're cruising now....

Seb'sKitty, New goal - this weekend, no excuses! That's all :p

Thankful, Congrats on getting posession of the house! We should have rented a dumpster when we gutted the bathroom. I think demo would have taken half the time. We did very bad things instead :o

JustHB, Thanks for reposting your stats. IIRC, you didn't own the house the first time you posted them. Anyway, how did you go about finding a structural engineer? Did it take long for them to come out? Did he just charge you a flat consultation fee since you don't need any work done? I think you're in SF, so the prices won't be as much here, but what did he cost? We might need one to come out for some structural changes we might make to our kitchen. We have a load bearing wall we are thinking of taking down. Hope y'all make faster progress than us on the office and test kitchen cabinet this weekend :rolleyes:

[justHB]

JustHB, Thanks for reposting your stats. IIRC, you didn't own the house the first time you posted them. Anyway, how did you go about finding a structural engineer? Did it take long for them to come out? Did he just charge you a flat consultation fee since you don't need any work done? I think you're in SF, so the prices won't be as much here, but what did he cost? We might need one to come out for some structural changes we might make to our kitchen. We have a load bearing wall we are thinking of taking down. Hope y'all make faster progress than us on the office and test kitchen cabinet this weekend :rolleyes:The engineer was free. When we moved in, we received a TON of offer for free consultations on everything. The guy we had come out teaches courses at a couple of local colleges, so we thought he was legit enough. From the time we contacted him until he came out, it was about two weeks. When he was here he gave us estimates for the work and feedback on what our inspector had told us (turns out our inspector is a bit of a dooms-day preacher). There's *a lot* of home remodeling going on in the area, so I think there's a lot of competition between these guys, hence the no-fee consultation.

We're thinking the kitchen is a four week(end) project from start to finish, if we really put some time and effort into it. Things started off badly yesterday, but we've regrouped and have all of the upper cabinets cleaned with TSP, primed, and ready for their first coat of paint.

[nyclaura]

There is a very very old petite claw foot tub in our guest bathroom. I would like to paint the outside of the tub and the feet. I've seen remodels in magazines where this is done - but was wondering, what kind of paint would be best for this? Also, what kind of top coat?

Does anyone have experience painting metal?

Thanks ladies!

[young lioness]

I painted the outside of our claw-foot tub, but I don't know that I did it the "proper" way.

We bought yellow paint to paint the room. Once we painted it, we realized that it was way too bright of a color for such a small room. So we got a lighter yellow for the walls and I used the brighter color to paint the outside of the tub. I didn't do anything special to it...I just painted it with 2 coats of the wall paint. No sealer or anything on top. (I wouldn't want the finish to be shiny anyway.) I think our tub had already been painted before I painted the yellow, so I think that's why it worked out well without having to do any extra steps.

ETA: I tried to post a photo that I had on Snapfish, but it didn't work. I guess I need to migrate all of that stuff over to Flickr or Photobucket now.

[Hello Kitty]

Nyclaura - I read this article (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/bath/article/0,16417,197046,00.html) on TOH.com when I was considering buying a kitchen sink with a ding in it. It's very in-depth, but IMO, definitely a process you can DIY.

We bought new appliances this weekend, so I guess our kitchen is actually going to take shape. We got a good deal and stuck with our budget. I need to talk to my brother about cabinets b/c I think there is considerable lead time on their work. DH also asked the question I was most afraid of hearing: What are you going to get for the floors? :rolleyes:

I'll officially give in and call it a full-scale kitchen remodel.

[southerner]

justHB, Too bad I don't have that luck here :(

seb'skitty, Did you get *all* new appliances? So much for a facelift ;)

[Janey]

Seb's Kitty - I saw that you got a range in the other thread. Congrats! It looks like a great one. I hope you'll update the thread w/ how you like it once you've been using it a while.

I also have to give a recommendation for our floors. I freaking love them. I know it isn't as "Cool/Hip/Sexy" as some of the other materials out there, but man, I love our floors. We went with Mannington Resilient (http://www.mannington.com/residential/rooms/kitchen.aspx), and they are warm to the touch, soft to stand on, and they clean like a dream. They were also comparitively inexpensive. Everybody thinks our floors are tile until they actually touch them.

[Hello Kitty]

Well for now, just a refrigerator and a range. We need a new DW too, but I have to talk to my brother about which models accept cabinet panels - I don't fully understand how that works. DH is adamant about his hidden DW. At least I can get a scratch and dent model!

In my defense, our fridge is 17 years old and our range is probably the same age. I would feel guilty if we were replacing perfectly good appliances and also if we didn't intend to stay here 6-8 years. And if I :love: my stove, I might take it with me and replace it with a craigslist cheapie.

Southerner - we had a structural engineer come out and it was $350 for about a half hour of inspecting and then him drawing up what we needed done (replacing the main beam running the length of our house). We're in rural IL, FYI.

JustHB - how tall are your ceilings in the dining room? I would love to have that done in ours, but I don't know if it would make it feel too low or not.

ETA - MrsHill - I'm open to anything non-wood and anything non-peel and stick. I guess I was going to do something like ceramic tile, but I hadn't thought about it. How does the cost compare to ceramic tile?

I'll definitely update the thread - hopefully by then the range I bought will actually be available online. DH said he's all for a model that cooks his dinner faster! :D I'm also excited to get it in the fall because it's just a great time to bake.

[nyclaura]

Thank you Seb's Kitty for that article. I think I can do this painting myself. It sounds like you didn't have any trouble either Young Lioness. Thanks again ladies!

[Janey]

Seb's - Since it was rolled into a much larger project, it's hard for me to break out the costs of the flooring specifically. I do remember the Mannington flooring being on the less expensive side of the choices we could have made, however. I'm sure the labor is less money than Tile. Hard to say about the cost of the materials as compared to tile -- there are a lot of differentation in tile costs. Also, if your kitchen floor area is more than 6' wide (ours was), you'd have to go with the 12' wide roll of floor so that you wouldn't have seams.


Southerner & Suzu - I went ahead and changed my username. :)

[justHB]

JustHB - how tall are your ceilings in the dining room? I would love to have that done in ours, but I don't know if it would make it feel too low or not.9 feet. Not the previous owner, but the one before that, put popcorn in! Gag.

[Hello Kitty]

Ack, ours have popcorn too. The worse part is that I didn't even notice until we moved it, LOL. That's the same height as ours - good to know it won't shrink the room down completely.

Janey, our floor is pretty wide. I guess I need to start looking at flooring and will keep that in mind. The good thing is most options come in my color (light, and plain!) so I need to sit down and do the math of product + installation and see how it turns out.

[lil_geek]

Has anyone ever rented a dumpster or bulk trash container, whatever those big green things are called that you see in front of houses that are being remodeled? I'd like an idea of the cost.



We rented a 40 yard dumpster... Pretty much the biggest you can get.

We FILLED it! to the brim. We gutted 2 bedrooms and a kitchen. (As well as various other junk from around the farm, and we haven't made a dent in the junk yet!!) We dumped around 4.5 TONS of crap (including lath and plaster)

It cost us around $600 total. Included one months rental (I think that was $150 of the cost)

Definatly worth it, and we will look into getting a smaller one likley twice next year to continue with the crap!

[Thankful1]

Thanks for all of the replies to my dumpster question. We may be able to get away with putting out sections at a time for bulk trash pick up. That's what the lady from the sanitation dept. said anyway. We shall see.

DH is dead set on us demolishing the garage ourselves. Now more than ever since I just got a demo estimate of $2500.00 for the structure and slab. That price kind of makes me want to do it ourselves too. I guess I'll have to get over my irrational fear of spiders.... or supervise (i.e. watch from the back porch).

This house is going to be much more work than we thought. We pulled up all of the old stinky carpet. The hardwood floors upstairs that were covered in carpet have repair patches with miss matched wood. One room has some pieces that will have to be replaced due to damage and 2 of the 3 rooms have holes where the radiator pipes used to be. So, we will probably patch and recarpet upstairs. Then the living room floor was plywood under the carpet. I guess the hardwoods were damaged or there weren't any. We just knew we were going to have wonderful hardwood floors through out the house that just needed to be cleaned or refinished at the most (YEAH RIGHT!). So, we are going to attempt to put in our own hardwood floors. Ah, and then there's the parquet floors, fake wainscoating, and badly installed chair rail and molding in the dining room. We ripped all of that out. It will be completely redone with flooring to match the rest of the downstairs.

So much work.....but I think it will be fun.

[lil_geek]

Alrighty... drywall update

The drywall guys were there around noon on Friday. By the time we left for the weekend (2pm on Saturday) they had the upstairs bedroom and storage room done and the kitchen. They had 2 sheets on the ceiling in the office.

We got home Monday around 11pm and they hadn't quite finished the first coat of mud (and admittidly we were both dissapointed, everyone has talked about how quick they are, we figured they would have our 700 square feet done... but anyway!)

By the time I got in from work today, it looks like they are done coats 1 and 2... leaving it for a few days before they come back, sand and do coat # 3. They HOPE to be done by the weedkend since it's the one guys brothers wedding... I just hope to have it done say Monday so I can clean before the weekend of the 30th! (Because we are home that weekend and you can't walk!!)

Pictures!!
http://www.stellato.ca/vacation/images/Summer%20001.jpg
Insulated and vapour barriered

http://www.stellato.ca/vacation/images/Summer%20004.jpg
Our 'new' back door (missing a pane of glass... we will need to replace them all since there is no way we can match that glass)

http://www.stellato.ca/vacation/images/Summer%20006.jpg
Friday night, they had done upstairs and 2 boards facing the living room

http://www.stellato.ca/vacation/images/Summer%20020.jpg
Kitchen after!!

http://www.stellato.ca/vacation/images/Summer%20022.jpg
Looking towards our (one and only) bathroom! Thankfully I haven't had to navigate that at night yet!!

[Janey]

lil geek - Doesn't it feel GREAT to have walls again!? :D I remember getting to that point and feeling so fantastic that we were actually putting things together instead of pulling things apart. Like we had crested the top of the mountain. 'Course I know that's not really true, but that's what it felt like. :)


Update on my end -- 15 days after they were supposed to be, The Windows Are Finally Here!. Apparently there were 2 "Hill" jobs, and the guy scheduled the other Hill job when ours was supposed to be, and vice versa. I keep telling B that "I want a CREDIT! $100/day ought to do it. That's my starting negotiation point. If they want to negotiate it down a bit that's fine with me, but I want Liquidated Damages." B just makes this face: :rolleyes: and tells me he's not going to ask the guy for money.

Anyway - they got our bedroom window in, and a couple of windows in the basement (one in the wrong place -- they replaced an existing window that looks into the garage. We just wanted that window filled in, so they'll have to remove that window and cut the hole for where it's supposed to be and put it in the right spot). I took 3 photos which are on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/), but here's a photo of our bedroom window:

Our new bedroom window:
http://static.flickr.com/79/249175577_003a0c66e6.jpg?v=1158863767

[pullbuoy]

How deep are those beams in the ceiling usually? 6 inches? 8? Does anyone know how to find out? We're renovating a 1923 Craftsman that might do well with that sort of thing(the molding looks like there was something like that in it originally), but I'm having trouble coming up with measurements. My DH is 6'5", so is pretty nervous about bringing the ceilings down.

Janey- Great windows! Are those vinyl or did you find someone to do period? Nifty!

[lil_geek]

How deep are those beams in the ceiling usually? 6 inches? 8? Does anyone know how to find out? We're renovating a 1923 Craftsman that might do well with that sort of thing(the molding looks like there was something like that in it originally), but I'm having trouble coming up with measurements. My DH is 6'5", so is pretty nervous about bringing the ceilings down.


Support beams? or ceiling/floor joists?

[Janey]

Pullbuoy - They are Marvin Wood Windows. We ordered them pre-primed, which is why they're white. Marvin will match the mullions to your specifications, but our window design (6-lite Queen Anne) is pretty common. Here's a page on their Replacement/Remodel windows (http://www.marvin.com/default.aspx?page=Remodel_And_Replace).

There is an option to have either aluminum or wood exterior, but we went with wood because we didn't want to be limited by the window color as what color the window would be. One of the nice things about living in the city is that you can paint your house any damn color you want. :p

[Hello Kitty]

I think Pullbuoy means the decorative beams (coffered ceiling), like JustHB has:
Click here for picture (http://static.flickr.com/70/178840255_6c3d1ad529.jpg?v=0)

Correct me if I'm wrong!

[pullbuoy]

No, you're right. I knew when I was posting it didn't make sense, but I was afraid to quote a picture since that is sometimes taboo. Thanks for doing it for me, Seb. That's much clearer, and I should have done it in the first place. I did mean the decorative beams.

Janey- I live in the same city as you, and it is nice you can paint your house any way you want, though the previous owners of my house chose mint green for the vinyl siding they put up(even over the pretty beadboard on the front porch ceiling). Yech. We need some windows replaced, though, so I'll be interested to see what you think of yours.

[Janey]

I think those beams (Suzu can correct me if I'm wrong) are called Box Beams.

Pullbuoy - I'm sorry to hear about your mint green! :p Do you live in the city proper?

As for what we think of the windows -- we have three wood Marvins that we replaced in the last phase of our remodel and we really like them a lot. They're not cheap, but they are great. Our vendor is Windows, Doors & More (http://www.windowshowroom.com/WDM/index.htm). I think they have both a Ballard and a Redmond showroom.

[Hello Kitty]

So you make a coffered ceiling using box beams, then? Nifty. DH will be thrilled ;) but this (http://www.onthehouse.com/wp/19930816) is a pretty cool article that explains how to make 'em.

I took the reposted picture out, because you're right, that IS taboo around here.

[justHB]

How deep are those beams in the ceiling usually? 6 inches? 8? Does anyone know how to find out? We're renovating a 1923 Craftsman that might do well with that sort of thing(the molding looks like there was something like that in it originally), but I'm having trouble coming up with measurements. My DH is 6'5", so is pretty nervous about bringing the ceilings down.

Janey- Great windows! Are those vinyl or did you find someone to do period? Nifty!Are you talking about the box-beam ceiling in our dining room?

http://static.flickr.com/64/178840219_49c5c1aa17.jpg?v=0

[pullbuoy]

Well, see if I'd known the right term I wouldn't have had to coerce people into posting forbidden pictures! Thanks for that. I bet that will make searching easier.

Thanks for the rec, too, Janey. I do live in the city proper (though for some reason a lot of our contractors have come down from Lynnwood/Mountlake terrace). The mint green is an atrocity, but hopefully it will have nicely preserved whatever the heck is under it when we finally get around to restoring the exterior.

x posted with HB- yes, I was. They're really lovely. I have always adored the look of dark wood ceiling beams in craftsman houses, but that wouldn't work in my house, and the coffering (is that using the term correctly) you have looks like it might be a nice compromise for me. Gorgeous house!

[justHB]

x posted with HB- yes, I was. They're really lovely. I have always adored the look of dark wood ceiling beams in craftsman houses, but that wouldn't work in my house, and the coffering (is that using the term correctly) you have looks like it might be a nice compromise for me. Gorgeous house!The box-beams are about 6-9 inches in length from the ceiling and our celing is 9 feet high, so it doesn't really intrude into the room too much. I wish someone hadn't painted them white in the 1930s. :(

[Old Home Remodelers]

updated to here

[nyclaura]

Does anyone have information about gas lights? We would like to install 2-3 outside, but aren't sure how the gas source works. Do you need a gas line to each light or does the light have a tank for the fuel source?

ETA: Just popping back in to add what I found out. Since no one responded others might have the same question. Each light needs a specific gas line run to it. The company that I called also recommended a natural gas tank or propane take of 500+ gallons. Since we don't have a gas source in our home we'll likely just install regular electic lights for now with a special flickering light bulb. Maybe if we add propane this spring we'll change the lights out at that point.

We'll be using the lights on either side of our new garage door. I think the flickering flame will add a really nice touch.

[tenofcups]

Rejoining this thread since we finally have some action in our house again! I'd joined the old one, but mostly just read along since we didn't seem to be doing all that much in our own house...

I finally have pics on my computer; now I have to figure out how to post them since I can't use Shutterfly anymore. Anyway, our stats and then a question...

Year house built:1906
How long you've owned house: DH owned it for about 5 years before I moved in; I've lived here for about 2.5 years now. He did virtually nothing before I moved in and I'm really upset at the slow pace we've been moving at since I moved in.
At Home: DH and me
DIY or Hire out: Almost all DIY, but we just hired a painter to paint the exterior of the house
What remodeling projects:

Done or mostly done:
- Kitchen: All new appliances, painted old 70s style wood/faux wood cabinets, new floor, cleaned up and painted walls on top, tore out and replaced wainscotting throughout, stripped wood doors on original built-in cupboard and polyed, raised ceiling in one part and removed cabinets over island, new countertops, new lighting over counters and new recessed lighting

- Dining room: added chair rail, removed wallpaper and painted, removed old ceiling fan and put in a new tiffany-style light in the center of the room (fan was completely off center)

- Upstairs: painted bedrooms and about to work on hallway; no real renovations, just cosmetics

- Outside: New roof on 2nd floor; mosty new roof on 3rd floor; stained deck on first floor and it looks like new; tore out deck on 2nd floor and replaced the flooring part, still need to add the rails on the sides, house currently being painted (one of the few things we've hired out), several repairs to walls and roofing because of leaks

- General: Added central ac

I'm sure I'm forgetting things and none of them went smoothly, but that's the gist of it.

Today's problem is that we tore down the wallpaper in our downstairs hallway to start painting. Someone had already painted over it once and we figured we might as well tear it off and do it right. Well, off it came, along with a large part of the plaster overcoating. We now have *huge* patches of the original horsehair plaster showing. DH planned to skim coat mud over the areas that are showing, but we've pretty much resolved that he might have to do the entire walls. Any other suggestions that we're missing?

Along those same lines, while the paper came off, the original glue did not so we need to try to get that off as well. I've suggested trying warm water and fabric softener, which I used in a previous house to tear off wallpaper, but am open to any other suggestions.

We're both down and depressed right now at the state of the walls -- we just wanted to paint the damn hallway, not practically redo the entire walls!

[southerner]

tenofcups, I'm not sure what "horsehair plaster" is. From what you're describing, it sounds exactly like the problem we encountered when we took down wallpaper in our guest bathroom. Here's some pics:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/house%20misc/randompicturesbeforeCali009.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/house%20misc/randompicturesbeforeCali017.jpg

I guess in a sense we were lucky that all the walls were messed up b/c we could re-mud the whole thing. I guess I'd be nervous about those spots being obvious since the whole thing doesn't need to be replaced if I were you. Here's ours with new mud on the walls:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/house%20misc/temp056.jpg

Hopefully others will have a simple solution for you. Short of re-mudding the whole thing of just replacing the drywalll, I'm not sure what you can do. :( FWIW, when/if you get around to doing your pics, Photbucket and/or Flickr are the best, IMO.

[lil_geek]

Horse hair plaster... is a plaster compound that they mixed the hair off of horses with to give it more strength. You know how you can see the fibers in a dollar bill? Same theory. It was used mid 1800's to about 1920-30's as far as I remember.

tenofcups... no suggestions on HOW to fix it short of reskim coating. It likley was done as an afterthought to give the walls a smoother texture. And from what I know of plaster, you can periodically scrape off any loose stuff and redo a top coat. (Ours was WAY beyond repair - so it all came out!)

[suzubeane]

southerner, your house is too young for horse hair - your problem might have been due to someone putting wallpaper up w/out priming the drywall, but the result is similar. Basically, the top protective layer comes off.

ten, I had the same problem with horse hair. I don't know about yours, but sometimes they would apply a layer of paper-thin fabric-like material to the wet plaster as a finish (sort of like the paper that is an integral part of dry wall) THATS is what we were getting giant holes in.

We just did several layers of skim coat, and sanded a lot.

One suggestion: don't let a nine year-old help with wallpaper removal; they tend to be a bit overzealous!
http://static.flickr.com/111/253236619_123fa7279d.jpg?v=0

See the green? That's the fabric-like stuff
http://static.flickr.com/81/253225182_2c09ebfe10.jpg?v=0

Not really an "after" shot, but this is primed after the skim coat. The spots you see are actually pretty flat.
http://static.flickr.com/119/253225181_0e38dc2b58.jpg?v=0

lil_geek - I wouldn't say we are right behind you, but in five years when we're between college tuitions, we'll probably re-do our whole bathroom. Until then, we'll be keeping after the falling plaster with intermittent patching.

[lil_geek]

Trust me! I would have loved to have been able to repair it! Ripping that stuff out is GROSS, HOT and DUSTY work! Unfortunatly/fortunatly their had been water damage and it was literally falling off the walls!!

http://images1.snapfish.com/3473647%3B%3A%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D3256%3E345%3E258%3EWS NRCG%3D323383%3A37748%3Bnu0mrj

[suzubeane]

I wish someone hadn't painted them white in the 1930s. :(Bummer ... I couldn't tell if they were painted, or if someone added them and used a Sheetrock surround. I can see them better in the last picture you added.

FWIW, I think of box beams as something else, and I would just call this a "Coffered Ceiling." But I guess it's true that - as Seb's Kitty pointed out - they can be constructed with box beams, or similarly.

I'm used to seeing them with the sides lightly lower, forming a lip, like this one:

http://static.flickr.com/30/59739538_4370f4f9d2.jpg

[Hello Kitty]

See, those years of watching TOH have paid off! ;) JustHB, have you thought about stripping them down, if they're in good condition? I can see how that would be a huge PITA, though, given the fact that it's a ceiling and the angle would be less than desirable to work with.

NYCLaura - very interesting about the gas fixtures. I saw them when looking for exterior lighting and mentioned it to DH (a firefighter) and he was like :eek: I don't think so! I would try the flickering bulbs too (very nice look, btw!), but you can't use them with the dawn to dusk sensors we have, so we're going with regular tipped bulbs.

Today is New Fridge Day! I talked to my brother briefly about the cabinets, and he says his lead time right now is 3 weeks! So I could have cabinets ASAP if I wanted, but I'm a little nervous to commit. I have a dumb question about cabinet pricing :o Is the price per linear foot for uppers and lowers, or do you have to multiply it by two to get the resulting cost? ETA, I know my brother can answer me, but I kind of want to know.right.now, b/c obviously there's quite a price difference.

ETA2 - after just thinking through the math and what's involved with cabinets, it's GOT to be per LF, per cabinet, not for both rows. So for every LF (or LInch in my case) you need, it's measured on the edge of the actual cabinet. And then add countertops. Ouch!

The trim around the front door is done and the threshold is up. We've had some cold weather, and it's AMAZING how much better insulated everything is. I'm doing the last coat of poly today (I promise!) and then have to trim out the paint inside and out. Our new light fixtures are in, so hopefully we'll be done soon.

[justHB]

I recently saw a home remodeling show (I watch so many, I can't recall which) where they put in flickering electric lamps on the side of the porte cocher and it looked so cute. Definitely a great accent!

To any Seb's question, theoretically, I would love to strip them down to the original wood, but I doubt it'll ever happen. I imagine they might not be in the best condition or maybe they used cheap wood. At some point someone decided to paint them white while leaving the rest of the dining room the wood tone, so I can only imagine there might have been a reason.

[tenofcups]

Thanks southerner, lilgeek and suzubean. We expected we'd have to remud the whole thing, but I thought it was worth asking just in case! I think suzubean that it's the same situation as you in that we appear to have that overcoat but literally at least half of it came down so it's just a mess right now. I will see if I can get a pic up of it -- it looks to me like the pics of bombed out houses you see that are falling down (not quite the look we've been going for!).

Did you guys all try to get all the wallpaper glue off the top coat before remudding? (The wallpaper is all down but there's definite glue over a lot of that top coat.) We think we need to do that first, but I'd love an excuse to skip that step!

[suzubeane]

Did you guys all try to get all the wallpaper glue off the top coat before remudding?I use vinegar and water. I put a 1:1 mixture in a garden sprayer and saturate the walls. (The water should be hot) Then I wait 20 minutes, saturate again, and scrape.

It's the same method I use for paper removal, only with the paper, I perforate first.

[nyclaura]

Seb's Kitty - I think the flickering bulbs are probably safer. I would be nervous about the gas lights too - but they're just so darn charming!!

I'll be sure to post pics of our garage progress. We're ordering the door next month and will be installing it in early Nov. with the new lights on either side. I think it will actually be awesome to have a motorized door!

[justHB]

Because we have so much dang work to do on this house, and not an unlimited budget, we've decided to do a makeover on our kitchen rather than a remodel. We've painted the 80s oak cabinets white and installed new hardware. We're looking in to new appliances (we'll get our stove before Thanksgiving and wait on the fridge and dishwasher since we also need a new washer and dryer), which will be stainless steel. Since any and all semblence to a period kitchen was removed long ago, we're just going for a bungalow chic look.

This is the inspiration room (obviously, we don't have an island, but this is the general color scheme we'd like to incorporate).

http://img.timeinc.net/aolhome/i/design/sl/04/04/SL0404116k_1_y.jpg

We plan to paint one wall with magnetic paint, and then add chalkboard paint over that. I'm picturing a cafe-esque type room.

[nyclaura]

Darn! I posted a question here last night and it didn't stick.

I'm having a dilema in our bathroom. The floors in this room are original HWs. They're in fair shape. Around the tub area there is rotting - we'd like to change the tub and vanity this spring and I'm worried about the quality of the floors under those items.

I'm torn because I hate to cover the original HWs - BUT, I wonder if this will become necessary over time because HWs are not so great in a bathroom and the water damage will continue.

What would you do? Would you save the floors or tile over them to prevent a hassle later with rotting, etc. If these floors weren't original to our house I wouldn't hesitate to use tile - but I"m really torn.

Has anyone had this experience?

[southerner]

Has anyone had this experience?
uh, yeah! After the hell we've been through from rotted wood, I'd tile over them.

Here's the floorboard from the crawl space.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/17126367.jpg

It could spread up into the shower eventually b/c wood is so porous.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/1a1db172.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/IMG_0082.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/IMG_0084.jpg

Sorry to be so obnoxious with all my pics, but just trying to make a point ;)

[suzubeane]

Laura - are the floors accessible from below? It would be worth it to see just how far down the rot goes, if you haven't done that already. Plus, if it's just concentrated in the tub area, then you can have the framing replaced/shored up mostly in just that area from below, allowing them to save more of the finish floor. (They'll probably attach the new framing to the nearest good members, which could be several feet away.)

If the finished floor is damaged just around the tub, a new tub that's a bit bigger might cover any piece that's cut out due to rot. If they have to cut back more than a few inches, you could always tile right around the tub, and let that meet the wood floor in some decorative way. (Kind of like a flush fireplace hearth is done.)

Did you check out Janey's tiled tub deck/enclosure?

[southerner]

Laura, Realized how scary my post was and thought I'd come back to add some thoughts. If you don't have a crawl space, then there's no way to tell how extensive the damage is. Once you pull up the tub, you'd be able to get a better idea. It might be that you can replace a floor board or two, but it could be hard to get them to match. However, your new tub may end up covering that area and replacing the floor board would be fine. You'll have to find out the source if the rotted wood. Is it just that water splashes out of the tub a lot or is it deeper (like ours) and coming from a leaky pipe or shower pan.

eta: cross-posted w/ suzu

[suzubeane]

Since any and all semblence to a period kitchen was removed long ago, we're just going for a bungalow chic look.I think your painted cabinets will look more period than the way they look now; just changing the hardware will be a big improvement in that direction! Plus I've seen a lot of period kitchens with SS appliances; it works somehow. Much more "neutral" than I would have thought.

If you guys get really industrious, you could make open wood cubbies for over your cabinets, to fill that space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling. If you paint them the same and make sure the ends are flush, it will give your cabinets a very "built in place" look, which would be more period, too. You could leave some space at the top for a moulding like one used somewhere else in your house.

[suzubeane]

eta: cross-posted w/ suzuNo kidding! We're telling her to attack it from two completely different directions!

[mobox]

I finally uploaded my pictures of the new floors and the paint in the living room.

So this is the floor. It's hard to compare and contrast without a before pic, but basically they were about 3 shades darker with lots of spots from age. Now they look so light and fresh and pretty! I believe it's white oak.
http://static.flickr.com/118/254635072_1db45b8f2d.jpg?v=0

And here they are as contrasted to the kitchen cabinets. This cabinet sits between our kitchen and our dining room...
http://static.flickr.com/110/254635070_9abbf5eb9e.jpg?v=0

Lastly, the new living room paint. Here is a contrast with the old paint on the left and the new on the right. I call the new color "clay" because that is what it reminds me of. Our furniture is all dark walnut colored so this color balances well. Our couches are sage/gold and the area rug is multi colored with lots of gold/green/very dark brown.
http://static.flickr.com/94/254635075_f4c3958c4e.jpg?v=0

[lil_geek]

mobox... you floors are very similar to mine. (Still covered in carpet... so we are hoping they are livable for a few years!)


In other news....WE HAVE PAINTED WALLS!! Just primer right now, but by the end of the weekend we will have colour.. and even the carpet in our spare room! OMG... it feels so good to really SEE some progress!

[nyclaura]

Thank you Suzubean and Southerner about your bathroom advice! I appreciate your thoughts so much.

Southerner - I can't believe all that damage around your bathroom. WOW. I don't blame you for wanting to replace the wood/floor - you really needed to. This is my fear for what our house will turn into with more time - although it's already been 200 years but I worry about the future. I'd just like to do this bathroom one time, you know. In 10 years if we're still in this house I'd like for the bathroom to still be a-ok. I know tile would let that happen - if we leave the wood who knows!

Suzu - I don't think we can get under this floor. But, I need to check that out more. It's possible that part of the room is accessible from our unfinished basement. I need to explore that more.

Right now there is tile around the walls of the tub so I'm not sure what it looks like back there either. I need to get some pics up.

I think adding tile to part of the area like a "hearth" is a great idea. It could let us save the wood floors and yet still make sure any damage is take care of. But then part of me says - oh just tile the whole room. It's not huge, it's an old house bathroom afterall. I think that after we get the tub out and take down the existing tub surround tile we'll have a much better idea how bad the damage is.

Another thing I wonder is if we should take out the existing wide plank original floor boards to save for possible replacement use elsewhere in the house? Would that be a good idea? And then put plywood down as the subfloor rather than using the wide planks as the subfloor. No other floors in the house need replace right now, but it might be nice to have some of the extra planks just in case. I'm not sure if we could even take them out without damage. They're nailed in with old wooden and metal nails.

I'll try to get some pics take soon and share them. The floors that are "good" really are beautiful.

[MeTheGirlie]

Pretty floors.

Ladies, I have a radiator question. My first home had forced hot air and I lived in a home with radiators when I was little, but obviously didn't know how to work them - my father now lives in a home with forced hot air and doesn't remember :confused:

Anyway. I know I have hot water radiators as opposed to steam. All work in the house but 2. One in the Master sitting room and one in the "little" room I'm trying to renovate to a temp. nursery to move my daughter in while I work on her permanent room.

So, both are on the second level. The sitting room one has two pipes that go down through the foyer on the first floor.

OK. First things first.

What does this knob do? Does anyone know?

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4870/img0569cs0.jpg


Second. Here are the pipes BENEATH that radiator in the foyer, on the first floor:

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/2935/img0568cg0.jpg

The radiator below it (right in front of the pipes) works perfectly.

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/9916/img0567os8.jpg

Here is the other one that doesn't work, in the makeshift nursery room I was speaking about.

Not that showing a pic would enable any of you to help, but heck, we all like pics anyway, right?

There are no pipes on the first floor that are apparent to this bedroom radiator:

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/5384/img0570ue3.jpg

Any help would be great.

[chefker]

I *think* (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong!) but that knob you circled looks to me like a shut-off valve.

Last year a couple of our radiators wouldn't throw off any heat at all, even though they worked fine the year before; we learned that we had to bleed the radiators (meaning to let out some of the trapped air). It's worth a try, and should be done annually anyway, I am told.

Make sure your thermostat is off, and get a bucket; there should be a little screw on one of the sides, toward the top of the radiator. Unscrew it, but not all the way--you will probably hear a hissing sound of air escaping. Put your bucket underneath to catch any water that may come out. Once you hear the air flow stop, and water starts to try & escape, tighten up the screw (but do not overtighten). Our radiators are so old, it took a few hours for things to 'regulate' themselves and for the heat to work properly; maybe they have to re-pressurize after being bled, I'm not sure. Good luck!

[nyclaura]

I have steam radiators all throughout my house and the value that you circled for my units would be the shut off valve. Do you have a company that services your boiler? I ask because we do and when we moved in I scheduled a "session" with them for them to show me the ins and outs on having a steam radiator system. I think the bill for it was $90 but it was well worth it!

[MeTheGirlie]

Thanks all. I actually called the previous owner to see if they "worked" before I did anything, and he actually recommended a bleed as chefker mentioned - although, he said you should turn the heat ON before bleeding - not sure if anyone knew that?

nyclaura - Do you have a company that services your boiler? No, would that be just a normal HVAC company? How to choose?

[nyclaura]

The company that services our boiler is a heating oil company. We contract with them to deliver the oil and also check our system twice a year.

How is your system heated? The water is heated by a fuel source - who delivers it? Unless it's electric heated, you should have a vendor that drops off fuel. That's the person I'd call. Our tutorial was awesome. I feel very comfortable with our system now. I could even bleed, prime, and drain the boiler - which I never thought I'd feel comfortable with.

Our radiator system consists of 3 parts - a heating oil storage tank, a boiler to boil the water, the steam lines/radiators. I'm just assuming your system is similar?

Good luck! Our system was really intimidating at first. We moved from NYC where we have a super for everything to a house with a "complicated" radiator system. I was completely freaked out!

[MeTheGirlie]

Forgive me for sounding so stupid in that previous question. LOL. Overtired. We have a zillion projects going on and I haven't posted them in here but I will once finished.

In a nusthell, I posted when this had just happened.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/570/img0574nl3.jpg

:eek: DOH :eek:

That would be a water pipe hit by a nail gun by the way (DH is installing wainscoting)...and we had NO idea where the main shut off valve was for the home - so we had to call the previous owner - the nail shot out of the hole and almost hit DH in the eye, but that's a whole other story. In any event ~ sigh ~.

Yes, of course, the Gas Company - we didn't have to have any servicing on our boiler in hour *new* previous home so I never got the plan (probably stupid anyway). This time we WILL be getting the servicing. We have Natural Gas Fuel - so we won't need the oil, just the maint. presumably on the boiler.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/3112/img0572oq4.jpg

[MeTheGirlie]

nm.

[chefker]

although, he said you should turn the heat ON before bleeding - not sure if anyone knew that?



Sorry, I probably mistyped in my previous post--the heat should be on, but turn the thermostat down. Or so I was told, so you don't scald yourself with hot water when bleeding the radiators!

MeTheGirlie - how scary about the nail gun incident! :eek:

[southerner]

MeTheGirlie, Oh no!! Did water get everywhere? Hope it wasn't too messy.

[Sonicstef]

Love this thread!

About to jump from frying pan (a crappy old house that we are just about finished renovating) to fire (a great old house that has lots of original details but needs a complete redo..completely unliveable in current condition)

Name: Stefanie
Year house built: approxi 1920
How long you've owned house: -3 months, closing winter 2006
What remodeling projects: EVERYTHING - list way too long to type out here but everything in this home needs to be restored or replaced.
At Home: Hubby and I
DIY or Hire out: A pro for whatever we can afford and then me for the rest.


I won't bother everyone with my long list of before photos b/c they are too depressing and the after is too far away to make worth posting but here she is on the outside:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/47b6d705b3127cce8d75d83fd4490000002.jpg

[southerner]

cross-posting this aritcle I read on www.consumerreports.org. Will link it to the posts on page 1.

Flooring: Fake beats real

More and more genuine hardwood flooring is hitting stores with a hand-scraped, worn finish that looks as if it spent years in a rustic country kitchen. But for real-world kitchen scrapes, scuffs, and dents, the fake stuff wins.

We accelerated the effects of foot traffic, dragged-in pebbles, dropped plates, splattered juice, and sunlight to see how well more than 30 varieties of flooring stood up to daily abuse. The best vinyl, linoleum, and laminates typically lasted twice as long as solid-wood flooring before their surface began showing wear.

Plastic laminates like those from market leaders Pergo and Shaw are the fastest-growing alternatives to wood. Essentially dense fiberboard with a photo of the real material beneath a clear protective layer, it can mimic nearly anything from oak to marble. Easy click-and-lay-it installation, called floating, is also a plus for those who want to sidestep the strip-by-strip nailing needed for solid wood.

A downside to plastic laminate: Some can have a repetitive pattern. Worn flooring can’t be sanded and refinished like solid wood, and replacing a damaged section is hard since it can’t be nailed to the subfloor. But as with wood, choosing a matte finish for laminates can help hide minor damage.

We also tested engineered-wood flooring, a growing solid-wood alternative that uses a wood veneer over plywood and can often float like plastic laminate. Many exotic woods come only in this type. But you’re likely to prefer the solid stuff if you insist on real wood. Months of testing also show that some premium vinyl isn’t premium in performance, and some “greener” flooring options can change color prematurely.

Engineered wood wore quickly. Engineered wood began showing wear far sooner than solid wood in our abrasion test. While you can sand and refinish a solid-wood floor several times, engineered wood can often be refinished just once before its wood veneer is gone. What’s more, small spills can damage it.

Bamboo can change on you. Bamboo reaches harvesting age faster than wood and is considered more renewable. But it could be a problem with lots of natural light. Two, the Mannington Statements and Anderson Pacific Hemispheres, quickly darkened in our UV tests. Experts say color change can be a problem with other exotics, plus walnut and cherry.

Linoleum varied widely. Often confused with vinyl, which is plastic, linoleum is mostly linseed oil and wood products. Two brands we tested were best at handling dents and sunlight. But one was vulnerable to scratches, the other to wear.

Some premium vinyl can’t take it. Premium vinyl is designed to more closely match stone, tile and grout, and even oak. The best also resisted wear and scratches better than standard vinyl, though two high-priced models scored among the lowest for scratches and stains.


HOW TO CHOOSE

More than half of home buyers consider hardwood floors important. But you may not care if you aren’t selling and you value toughness and easy installation.

See Types to decide which flooring works best for you. Then see our Ratings and CR Quick Recommendations for top performers in each category. Here are some other tips:

For solid wood, consider the finish. More and more is factory-finished like the kind we tested. Unfinished wood costs roughly 40 percent less, according to RSMeans, a leading construction-data firm. But installation can offset that savings, since the floor must be sanded and finished over several days to seal it from moisture. Prefinished floors should hold up better than site-finished floors in wear resistance, and their warranty comes from the manufacturer, not the installer. On the downside, the beveled board edges on many examples may not be for everyone.

For vinyl, look for easy installation. Most vinyl flooring comes in sheets. Vinyl tiles, such as the top-scoring Congoleum DuraStone and NAFCO Better Living flooring, and planks like those from Mannington Adura, are easier to handle but can take longer to install.

Consider spills. Vinyl proved tops in our moisture tests, with linoleum, plastic laminate, and solid wood nearly as good. But engineered-wood products we tested from Lauzon, Bruce, Armstrong, and Tarkett buckled, warped, or separated after 24 hours, even with little moisture.

Look for safety. Nearly all flooring was judged good or better in *slip-resistance both dry and wet. Two exceptions were the solid-wood Anderson Pacific Cumberland and plastic-laminate TrafficMaster by Shaw (a Home Depot exclusive), which scored only fair.

Sonistef, Welcome! Good luck closing this winter. Has it been inspected yet? What stage are you at in the process?

[Old Home Remodelers]

updated to here

[Sonicstef]

southerner: Yes, inspected and contract signed. We are in NY so the closing takes about 90 days ... so we think late Dec/early January closing. Only problem is that it needs a new roof asap so we might have that done before the closing is finalized.

[justHB]

What a beauty!

[Janey]

Sonicstef - Shutterfly no longer allows hotlinking. Try Photobucket or Flickr.


B and a friend did some demo on the upstairs bedroom this weekend. Before & During shots are in the Phase II Interior (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/sets/72157594181508385/with/264645128/) set in Flickr. The pink room (the nursery) still looks pretty much like it did when i took the photos. I have finished painting the shelves and those aren't in there any more, but there's all sorts of other crap in there now. :p


Oh, and Pullbuoy - I take back my recommendation of Windows, Doors & More. It's been one thing after another with that company. Marvin makes a great product but I think I'd look elsewhere for a vendor.

[mobox]

Sonic~It's GORGEOUS! I love the house.

[MeTheGirlie]

Southerner, you have no idea. I have to say I'm thankful that the pipe, when it received it's FIFTH nail, finally started going EVERYWHERE. I'm thankful it wasn't a slow leak - that would've been worse. It was fixed within a few hours.

The nail gun, well, that wasn't the scary part, the scary part is that the nail that was below that one in the pic shot out JUST as DH was looking at it, the nail projected about 15 feet from the pressure and DH got a shot of water in the eye! Pretty serious, he wasn't able to see for a bit, but he's better now.

[MeTheGirlie]

Sonic! CONGRATULATIONS! AND WOWZA!

[MeTheGirlie]

Sonicstef, is that in Bay Ridge? My grandmother has what appears to be *almost* an identical house!

ETA: But it's not a remodel, it's in great shape. But if it has the same detail that her house has, MAN, you lucked out! High ceilings right? Thick trim?

[MeTheGirlie]

RE: Wood laminate flooring - I'm researching for my mud room. CANT WAIT, there are so many options out there that look like antique flooring! I can't see putting hardwood in the mud room, am I right?

[Sonicstef]

No, its in Windsor Terrace...which is a small more residential area off Park Slope.

It has some great original detail. Unfortunetely, how much can be saved is in question. And of course restoring the old costs about 3x as much as ripping it out and installing new...so its a budget battle too. We'll see what our estimates come back with but we are saving all we can.

Laminate in a mudroom is a great alternative. I laid down laminate in my basement and I think it turned out great. (I posted photos way back when but Im sure they are all gone now. Im going to have to figure out this photo thing). I bought this flooring from this website and have been very happy:
http://www.laminatesfloorscheap.com/_Balta-Michigan-Pine.html

[southerner]

tenofcups, You can't hide now that you've posted your first house pic on CC and have a Flickr account ;)

[Sonicstef]

Guess what came in with my birthday gifts?

http://www.lahardware.com/store/image.php?src=SRknb_l.jpg&x=lg

Its a doorknob that was originally from the St. Regis hotel but bears my initials. Im super excited about (eventually) installing it on my office door!

And yes, Ive turned into a vintage hardware monster.

[Hello Kitty]

Sonicstef - I love vintage hardware too. That's a cool gift!

TOH did a segment where this company would cast new knobs for you based on an original, like the one you have. It was only $130 for each knob. I was explaining it to DH, and he says 'well, really, that's not bad when you think about it' Thank goodness we don't have any original doorknobs to copy because I'd be tempted ;)

I'm deliberately avoiding not posting about my front door because every time I say it will be done, I jinx myself. I'm skipping the dentil shelf for now. There are two other woodworking projects I need to get done first, and lord knows when I'll have time for those. Yeah, yeah, when I finish the door!

[mobox]

Sonic-That really is a cool gift! I am really into doorknobs right now. Only a few of the original glass knobs remain in our house and I'd love to replace all the crap metal ones with glass ones. They are hard to find though...right size and shape and all.

[tenofcups]

tenofcups, You can't hide now that you've posted your first house pic on CC and have a Flickr account ;)

:) I'm *really* hoping to get some pics up this weekend. I have some of the afters ready to go but still need to scan in some of the befores.

[southerner]

I'm deliberately avoiding not posting about my front door because every time I say it will be done, I jinx myself.
Notice I haven't posted about my bathroom either :o What's the word on your kitchen "facelift?"

tenofcups, We've waited for over a year, what's a few more weeks? :p

Sonicstef, I'm going to link that hardware place on Page One. Yay! Our list is growing!

[justHB]

What a great bit of history for your "new" house Sonic.

Our kitchen "update" is moving along. We've finished painting the cabinets and re-installed them.

Before
http://static.flickr.com/67/178840521_bc933c388b.jpg?v=0

After
http://static.flickr.com/110/268927258_1b6f89aef6.jpg?v=0

Today we're going shopping for appliances. Originally a stove and dishwasher (and maybe fridge if I begged loud enough), but since our washer and dryer have crapped out, just a stove, washer, and dryer.

[young lioness]

HB, your cabinets turned out great!

*************************

I'm currently a full-time student, so we are pretty much done with "real" house projects funtil I graduate in the spring. But we keep talking about all the stuff we're going to do when I'm working again...new driveway, new garage doors, fence for the backyard, new fridge, replace a bunch of light fixtures I don't like, redo the bathroom...the list keeps getting longer.

The only thing we will be doing soon (but not really a "project") is painting our two upstairs bedrooms, since we are ordering new bedroom furniture, and painting those two rooms will have us finished with all of the painting for the interior of the house. No more "contractor beige", except for the upstairs hallway/stairway, which has a vaulted ceiling over the landing so it would be a PITA to do anything with that.

[MeTheGirlie]

HB - the Kitchen looks AWESOME.

Sonic - what a cool gift! What a classy doorknob!

[Hello Kitty]

Notice I haven't posted about my bathroom either :o What's the word on your kitchen "facelift?"

The new stove and fridge are in, and I've picked out some finishes and ideas in my VOX journal. I'm going to do a tin ceiling backsplash, which I think will look awesome and add a bit of interest without being a PITA like tile, or not cleaning well like paint.

My brother is coming over tomorrow AM to talk about my kitchen and take measurements. I'm not really sure what that means, though. I assume we'll talk about the stuff I want and then he'll draw up some plans? He does awesome work, but I haven't seen anything of his that's period reprodcution (he designs primarily for monster new-construction, custom homes), so I'm excited to see what the two of us come up with.

I've got a whole list of questions to ask him, but he already told me that he'd refuse to work with me if I acted like one of those customers. ;) And yet, I'm already obsessing about hinges.

[Janey]

The window installers are more-or-less done with their portion of the work. There are still a few things we're unhappy with and they'll have to fix them. The siders started their work last week. The south side of the house looks like this now:

http://static.flickr.com/112/270887841_bcd646bf11.jpg?v=0

And the north side looks like this (B took this photo through the weeping pine at the front corner of our porch):

http://static.flickr.com/93/270888927_bfe276ec6b.jpg?v=0

[MeTheGirlie]

Wow! Nice!

My DH/I tried to bleed our radiators tonight. We had many working in our home and approximately 3 that aren't working correctly.

We tried to bleed them, little to no air came out. We read that we should "fill the boiler" to create pressure in the system, we went down into the basement without really knowing what we're doing and ended up opening a drain valve on the boiler, and being unable to close it.

We have the valve closed, but now quite a bit of water is drained. Does anyone know how to fill the boiler up enough to create pressure (enabling us to bleed the radiators)?

TIA!

[suzubeane]

MetTheGirlie, I answered at your thread in the home section. You need to get enough water in your boiler so it doesn't get damaged or cause other problems, and then worry about bleeding!

[lil_geek]

I have a PILE of pics posted min my journal.... I will try a condensed version here!!!

Hmmmm... I THINK the last time I posted pics was when we put the new back door in? With the yellow panes?

So, here are a few 'fresh drywall' pics..

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p4a8a2ba5a33d4e4d3778be5e623df0c4/ec7ccb26.jpg
The PILE of drywall in the living room!


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p0f0a62e61f173529d1b62e77f2a34fe2/ec7ccb17.jpg
Whoo Hooo! We have walls!!


The Spare room - we rushed to get done for Thanksgiving

The $24 Giant Tiger duvet that inspired the green.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p9ab09988e12600561def193df4e930c4/ec7ccacf.jpg

We have carpeting for this room waiting in the dining room. HOPEFULLY we can get it installed in the next week or 2. And then trim. My aunt has an old brass footboard that I may try to get and spray black for an iron effect for the headboard? (And according to Terry, WHITE or LIGHT GREEN sheets :rolleyes:


THEN, we get to the fun stuff!! The seizure orange office

The current state (with the futon for spare bed on the weekend).
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p3382ac6f90ba6de32e78f3f1ea9448f4/ec7ccaae.jpg
The floor is painted the dark brown. We are hoping to get a coat on the floor tonight, then another tomorrow and on the weekend we will hopefully get trim and furniture in!!!

[Hello Kitty]

I've got a bunch of thoughts in my LJ (public post) about the kitchen, after my brother stopped by. I don't want to post them all here, but if anyone has any feedback, please let me know.

[tgal]

I've been meaning to rejoin the new group. I'll have to come back with all my stats a little later.

Taking advantage of 06 tax deductions!

I am just curious if anyone has had a high velocity system installed in their older home? If you don't mind me being nosey, how do you like it now that you have been using it and also do you mind me asking how much you shelled out for the system? TIA.

Now that I think of it, another question. Has anyone completely switched out their older windows in a more historic home? If so, did you feel guilty for doing it? Would you mind sharing what type of windows you selected?

ETA: While my mind is rolling, anyone do spray on siding or have any info you can pass along re pros and cons?

[nyclaura]

Hi ladies,

I hope someone here is an expert on adding insullation! We have added insullation to our kichen and DR because we re-drywalled those rooms. However, I would like to add it to the garage ceiling (that = the DR floor) and the garage right and left walls (right wall = mudroom wall).

So, has anyone used (or do you know about) any of the spray foam insullations? Any brands to try? General costs? Is it something that can be DIY?

Thanks!

[Janey]

We just had this done to our entire house. It was quite inexpensive compared to everything else we've been having done. I can't remember how much it was, but I want to say that it was less than $1,000. If you can do it from the outside, it's better (cheaper) than doing it from the inside. Part of the cost is plugging all of the holes, and it's easier to plug outside holes than inside holes, esp. with crumbly plaster walls. You will have little plug-holes in between every stud. I don't think it's something you'd want to DIY, though you could probably DIY repainting where they put in the plug-holes to save you some money. Since we didn't have any siding, they just put little wood plugs into the holes and left it at that. The paper and now the siding are going over the wood plugs. If you were to DIY it, it would seem like a hugely messy project. You'd have cellulose everywhere. They came over with a huge truck and big hoses and blew the stuff in. It only took a day to do it to the whole house.

Between the new windows and the insulation, I am already recognizing a HUGE difference in how drafty/cold the house feels.

[justHB]

So, has anyone used (or do you know about) any of the spray foam insullations? Any brands to try? General costs? Is it something that can be DIY?We haven't done it yet, but we're researching it. By researching, I mean "thinking about researching it." We know we need to do it, and we've looked into it from a very general view, but haven't thought about it beyond that. I think our initial reaction was to forego the spray foam and go with rolls because of the ease of installation.

[suzubeane]

Laura, is the ceiling in the garage closed or open joists? I think the spray in kind is for closed cavities only, and I tend to think of garages as open.

I have seen a spray-on used on open structural members, but they've only been steel. (If you've ever seen exposed steel beams or columns in parking garages that look sort of "furry," that's spray on insulation.)

If your ceiling is open, maybe consider rigid insulation instead?

[nyclaura]

Suzu - I'm not sure if the joists in the garage ceiling/DR floor are open or closed but I don't know exactly what a joist is so I might not know where to look. There is drywall covering the garage ceiling. Is there a way to tell with a covered ceiling?

I'm wondering now if we should just take down the drywall in the garage currently and use the rolls of insulation. We're planning to install a mechanical garage door before the new year anyway - and add lighting in the garage. It might be the perfect time.

I don't think most of the house in insulated - but most of our chilly problems stem from walls that are shared by the garage. So, maybe using the rolls is the best way to go.

The garage has drywall on 1 wall and the ceiling. The other 2 exposed walls are part of the stone foundation of the house. I'm not sure there is any way to cover/insulate them. I think the new garage door will help too because the ones on the garage now are not insulated at all.

[suzubeane]

Suzu - I'm not sure if the joists in the garage ceiling/DR floor are open or closed but I don't know exactly what a joist is so I might not know where to look. There is drywall covering the garage ceiling. Is there a way to tell with a covered ceiling? Oops - I should have said "exposed" - not "open." But you just answered THAT question!

(BTW, a joist is what holds up the floor or ceiling, unless it's a sloped ceiling in which case its a "rafter.")

FWIW, to enclose the stone wall, they would probably build a stud wall in front of it, and then put some sort of sheathing over that. (Drywall is not always the best choice for garages or other areas that are exposed to elements, but you do have other choices - for the ceiling, too.) With concrete or concrete block wall, they screw the wood studs (or ferring strips) right to the wall, but in home the age of yours, I can see where they might just want to build a slim wall right in front of the stone. They leave a gap for moisture protection, and I *think* to enhance the insulative qualities of whatever you put in there to insulate. (It's the same principle as a down comforter - if there is space between the down for air to circulate, it's warmer then when it's all squished together.)

[Hello Kitty]

Laura - I would go with the batts, personally. It might be a little work to re-drywall, but it's easily DIYed.

DH insulated our garage with fiberglass batts, and he didn't complain about it, so it must've not been terribly hard ;). The only thing I would caution you if you DIY is to make sure that your garage is vented properly. Ours isn't, and during spring/fall, when there are big temperature swings, moisture collects on the backing of the insulation (our garage roof is NOT DW-ed, just the walls are, but everything is insulated). I can't imagine that situation is good over the long term.

When researching what to do in our attic (woefully underinsulated), I came across this article (http://www.naima.org/pages/resources/library/pdf/BI475.PDF) which I thought was like the Dairy Board endorsing cow milk over soy milk (as it obviously leans one way very strongly), but as it's produced by the North American Insulation Manufacturer's Assn, I can't imagine that they would have any adgenda with one particular product. From other articles I've read on their site, they really don't like cellulose insulation for a whole host of reasons.

Does anyone have steamy windows in the AM? DH said it's from us not having the heat on and the temp difference inside to outside, but our windows are really bad today. Ugh.

[lil_geek]

Does anyone have steamy windows in the AM? DH said it's from us not having the heat on and the temp difference inside to outside, but our windows are really bad today. Ugh.

We do! But we DO have our heat on (fairly low)... the only thing I can think is that the improvements we've done (new insulation, vapour barrier and drywall in 1/2 the house and 2 new windows) has 'tightened up' the house enough to cause the condensation. All this work getting rid of drafts and such, and we now need to ADD a vent to the attic!

[southerner]

Hope this is worth the wait :o For those of you who have listened to me since Day One (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showpost.php?p=300382&postcount=54), you'll appreciate them even more. This is the one year mark of the Great Bathroom Debacle and it's not finished yet. It's a little embarassinng, but we've only been able to work on the weekends. DH and I both work PT jobs on the weekends too. The hardest thing for us has been effectively factoring in setup and cleanup time. Most of the time it took for these two pieces made the actual "making progress" part not worth it. KWIM? The first half of the project we were mixing our own mortar and the money we were saving wasn't worth the time we were spending. The detailed tile cuts were the most time consuming part of all the tile work. We still have a few odd corners to finish before we grout.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/niche0004.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/IMG_0770.jpg

From November 2, 2005

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/3a88a6f7.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/1a1db172.jpg

Pulling this quote from that entry I hope he can fix this so we don't have to pay someone and take away from our kitchen funds. I'm happy to say that we met both of these conditions. By far.

[southerner]

lil_geek, Looking great! You're lucky to have that big living room space to work. When are y'all getting the work done?

Janey, It's starting to come together. Did they finish anything this week?

MTG, Hope you figured out the radiator. We don't have that type of heat.

Laura, Can you access the ceiling in the garage from an attic or you can cut out and replace one piece of drywall to get up there? If so, get some gloves, rolls of insulation, and replacement drywall. It's easy DIY and one of the best investments you can make in your house. If we weren't taking down drywall anyway on the exterior of the house, I'd rather have had it blown in.

SK, I'll swing by your Vox and check out your kitchen posts next week.

[Hello Kitty]

We do! But we DO have our heat on (fairly low)... the only thing I can think is that the improvements we've done (new insulation, vapour barrier and drywall in 1/2 the house and 2 new windows) has 'tightened up' the house enough to cause the condensation. All this work getting rid of drafts and such, and we now need to ADD a vent to the attic!
Well, I was thinking about what you said last night, and realized that the venting we have is through the heater. So I turned on the whole house fan (which made the house colder :() and within a half an hour, the moisture was gone. I turned it off and the moisture came back, not surprisingly. So do I want to pay for the electric to keep us dry or just wipe down windowsills periodically? Maybe get a dehumidifier? Bah!

Southerner - nice niche :cool:
Janey - I can't believe it was only $1k to blow it into the walls? Really! That's definitely worth looking into - what kind of company did you call for that?

[lil_geek]

Seb's - Thanks for doing some 'experimenting'!! Like I said, we have the furnace on... but don't let the fan run all the time. AND we let it get fairly cold during the night (our ductwork is crap and we get no heat in the bedrooms anyway... why heat the main floor for the dog!?!?). I think I may try running the fan.

Dehumidifier woud help. In the room we HAVEN'T upgraded... it is noticably damp and icky smelling.

Southerner- Looking GOOD!!!! I am very jealous of the 'fancy' bathroom remodle! Maybe some day for us!

Our timeline is as follows for the 'remainder' of the project.

Oct 21 - some priming and painting of windowsills. CLEANUP and empty the living room so we can rip up the carpet

Oct 28 - Hopefully nothing, but 'budgeted' in case we need to do work on the hardwood under the carpets! Redo the plumbing (drain) lines.

Beginning of November the kitchen cabinets go in. After that will be all trim.

I WAS hoping to have a meet the baby shower/open house the last weekend in November. BUT, we have 2 weddings and an anniversary party.... so I don't think I can get the house in 'show shape' that quickly!

[Janey]

Southerner - That is looking GREAT, girlfriend! So professional. :D

Janey - I can't believe it was only $1k to blow it into the walls? Really! That's definitely worth looking into - what kind of company did you call for that?
Our contractor hooked us up with a company they'd worked with in the past. I'd imagine if you looked up "Insulation" in your local phonebook, you'd find companies who do that kind of work.

Our neighbors did the same insulating to their house just before they moved in. They did theirs from the inside rather than the outside. They said they were charged per SF of the wall. It came out to more than ours did even though they had less space, since there was a lot more labor involved in patching the walls. She had a two-year-old and another on the way and I'm sure did not ask how much $ she could save by patching the walls herself. ;)

[mobox]

Was wondering if anyone had any good recs on websites to purchase crystal or iron door knobs. I'd like to find a reputable seller that someone on here has used. Thanks!

[Sonicstef]

mobox - here are the ones Ive found. www.lahardware.com and www.houseofantiquehardware.com

That said, some of the items these companys sell at a big markup can be found on ebay for a lot less. Ive seen whole lots of great doorknobs sold on ebay for $10! You might have to polish them yourself but not bad for a fraction of the price.

[Hello Kitty]

Mobox,
For manufacturers, check out Emtek (http://productselector.emtekdoorlocks.com/home.asp?parent=1) and Baldwin (http://www.baldwinhardware.com/). As far as retailers, I would look at Lockhouse (http://www.lockhouse.com/). I purchased from Designer House Jewelry, and would not use them as a vendor, even though their prices were a bit lower than other retailers. Their product got to me after considerable delay, and I was given multiple deadlines from their customer service dept.

When we switch out our doors and knobs we're going to use Emtek's Old Town knob, but the 'Astoria' is very common in the Midwest. When we do that, I will probably go with Lockhouse, or a local locksmith that sells them.

Looking up 'insulation' in the phone book - who'dve thunk? ;)

So I feel a bit more grounded about this kitchen thing. My brother has to come back for a measurement, so nothing is really in the works yet.

I pretty much blew my budget out of the water, before even ordering anything! I was figuring for countertops, it would be $15/lf * 21 lf. Ummm, no, try 3 times as much when you add DH's wood edge, and get it fabricated to shape and size :o. As far as floors, we found some sheet vinyl we really liked - some by Armstrong and some by Congoleum.

We can't really pick the floors until we pick a countertop. I can't pick a countertop without thinking about which color of tin backsplash to use. So I think I'll be in good shape when I get my backsplash samples, and my bro gives me a string of countertops. I had picked out Wilsonart Alaskan Slate to coordinate with the verdigris copper backsplash, and we used that to look @ floors, and after awhile, we were like, wow, that's really green. Not sure if we want a markedly green kitchen...

[colz85]

RE: Doorknobs.....also check in your area for an architectural salvage shop. We have one, and they have EVERYTHING....tubs and door and windows, and literally BOXES of doorknobs. I think we paid 2 bucks for the lock mechanism for one of our doors.

[MeTheGirlie]

There is a HUGE architectural Salvage Yard in South NJ, for those in the area...went there a few weeks ago called Recycling the Past (http://www.recyclingthepast.com) They make a lot of their money refinishing stuff, so most of it is in NEED of refinishing but the place is absolutely AMAZING. A must see for the old home enthusiast within driving distance.

Radiator Update:

Broken valve. We had a hell of a time this last week. First things first, when DH and I attempted to bleed the radiators, we were getting air, then nothing. This led us (via a very good website, Heating Help (http://www.heatinghelp.com)) to learn we had to add water to our boiler to increase pressure. Well, of course DH/I didn't know what the heck we were doing and hit the "Relief Valve" and that certain "Relief Valve" on the boiler should NEVER BE TOUCHED. FYI, in case you didn't know, it is that valve that pops open when the pressure on the boiler reaches 30.

OK, so the Relief Valve is controlled by a spring, and apparently, that spring had been sprung and wouldn't close. SO, we had water leaking everywhere, it wasn't closing.

Had to hire a plumber - guy came the next day (thank god for the French Drain in the basement) and showed me the ins and outs of the system. I learned that we have a baseboard loop that was added later, etc.

OK, so the problem was, that the water regulator (I'll post pics when I take them) was broken and not allowing water to get into the system. Replaced that, the guy had to drain the whole system, refill it, then bleed about 15 radiators we have throughout the house. ONE (the one that I showed you guys that I really NEEDED to be working) wasn't working - so that one needed to be REMOVED and the valve was broken, so he replaced it the next day.

Of course, when he came back the next morning, we went to the basement and there was a leak in another pipe (hot water pipe) - which looked fishy but what could I do.

All in cost: about 1200.00 - for the full system maint. and repair of pipe, radiator valve, etc.

Sigh.

I should note of course the buddy that fixed those other pipes that DH put nails through with the nail gun was of course unavailable. AND what I didn't like about this plumbing company was that when I was following the guy around, he was like "Don't ever do this, don't ever do that". I had to really grill him, saying to him, "What if I ever needed to replace a radiator, to paint behind it or if I got a new one? Show me how to drain the whole system dammit". I mean, come on...he looked at me and he was like, "No way" but I don't think he really understood how handy we are. I mean, what the hell, people do their own plumbing all of the time, no?

ETA: Southerner, the shower looks AMAZING!

[lil_geek]

Cabinets Are Going In!!! :)

[MeTheGirlie]

Exciting!!

[nyclaura]

I've missed so much!

First, a huge thank you for all of the advice about insulating our garage. I'm leaning towards going with pulling down the existing drywall and adding the rolls of insulation and then replacing the drywall. We're planning to change our the garage door in Dec. for a mechanical model and that would be a good time to do the insulation work.

Unfortunately, without taking down the drywall we don't have an access point as the garage ceiling is the DR floor. Nothing is exposed or open right now either since the whole ceiling had been drywalled. I do think the rolls are something we can DIY. The garage door (which will also help with insulation) has the installation included in the price so we'll let the pros do that.

Southerner - great tiling!!! It's all looking so great.

Lil-geek - I can't wait to see your cabinets!

Mobox - re: door knobs - our local hardware store has many vintage styles that are reproductions. Even brands like Baldwin carry vintage-esque knobs. Our local store has glass knobs, egg shapes knobs, knobs that have the plaque, etc. Good luck!

[lil_geek]

KITCHEN CABS look amazing!!!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p0317d3765354d77bd77f180107efb235/ec5b6db5.jpg
All the boxes are in!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p0727546a818c6f7e0952344f7afa4b67/ec5b6d97.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/pa4004ec738c34e25809a2bffce54ddf3/ec5b6566.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p84ddd66eeeaa639a873b519dcfd20cc8/ec5b6d5e.jpg


Of course, it wouldn't be a major renovation without some issues! We have 1 pot light that is in the way of the crown . Because our corner upper is a 45 degree cabinet... and we placed it too far in. So we worked on that last night and this morning so they could get the crown in today.

The counters came in wrong. We ordered without the 4" backsplash. But the edge (we went squared off... to give a solid surface feel) looks awesome! As does the combination of the red walls, maple cabinets and black textured counters. Event the white floor! Nice contrast without overwhelming anything!

The electrical wire for the range hood had to be moved... and it looks like it got drilled through and shorted (we had no power in some areas of the house). So we need to put a small junction box in and run the cable behind the hood. It will all be hidden so do I care??

Lastly... we have 1 outlet... that is somehow going to be JUST behind the range. Weird... but we must have been JUST off on the estimated depth of the walls. Eh... if it's hidden COMPLETELY I don't care. Can't figure out how we did it. But it's done, right? Short of popping through the stud, patching holes, repainting all in the space between the cabinets .... I just don't know if I want to get onto that. Maybe it will be a good plug to run under counter lights from?

Lastly... because the uneveness of an old house... the cabinets on the fridge end... had to be shimmed.... with a 2x3!!! So the finished height is pretty high. I'm short. Crap! Told DH I need platform slippers! They said they can't shorten the bases because the dishwasher is (of course) on the high end.

[lil_geek]

I made a template of the 2 faucets.... (remember there will be no backsplash there.. just the window sill above the counter)


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p48e1e8cb8c3000eb5c514faf5064d738/ec5b6d4a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p281453509f7f24aa56c7749c3e96d8d0/ec5b6c9a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid217/p0fd9024aeddec97c663ab106ab7dc73f/ec5b6c82.jpg



Opinions?

[Hello Kitty]

I think I like the second one. The first one looks like it could be pretty splashy, unless you have a super deep sink.

So they are going to remove the backsplash alltogether, and you'll just have counter butted up against the wall? Assume you'll just caulk against it for your seam? I ask because I'm using a different backsplash alltogether, but I don't believe I want the counter backsplash as well. Just curious on how the logistics work :cool:

What D/W did you get by the way? My brother is recommending a bosch that has the fully integrated controls (approx $600 but I would go the next one up) so he can do a fully concelaed panel, but I'm not sure - with the counter cost tripling and the flooring cost doubling, I'm a little SOL on the budget, so I don't know if I want to double the cost of the DW as well.

[lil_geek]

Sebs - yes, we are leaning towards the second too. While I LOVE the tall ones, it may be too much in front of the window.... and the splash factor (our sink is deep - but I don't know how deep it would need to be to prevent the splasing. ALSO - the second has character!!

Backspalsh.... comes from the facotry without the integrated roll at the back. They just butt it up (same way a granite would be) and a little bead of black/grey caulk. My parents did a small line of decorative molding on theirs. We want the option of adding a tile backsplash at a MUCH later date.

Our DW is a GE I beleive. We got it at HD for less then $400. I wanted a good stove and fridge... and our appliance budget was only $2500 (we spent $2800 because hubby let me upgrade the stove)

[southerner]

Thank you for the compliments on the shower, everyone. I bet that thing isn't done until after the new year :rolleyes:

Seb'skitty, No!!! Don't tell me that about your budget. So much for a facelift, eh?

MTG, We've done all of our plumbing and electrical work around here, except replacing a broken toilet flange. I think a lot of tradespeople aren't used to/don't like when the homeowner wants to learn about this stuff in a hands on manner. They'd much rather you pay them to come out and do it, instead of learn it and troubleshoot yourselves next time. With all that said, seems like $1200 isn't THAT bad when you think of everything you had done and learned along the way. Little consolation, I know.

lil_geek, Looking good! I vote for faucet #2, the other one takes away from the window too much, IMO. I agree with you. If you have enough other outlets in the kitchen, then don't fuss with that one behind the range. Maybe you'll be able to host that shower after all ;)

[Old Home Remodelers]

updated to here :)

[suzubeane]

I made a template of the 2 faucets.... Now where did you ever get that crazy idea? [wide-eyed innocent look.]

[Hello Kitty]

Thanks LilGeek - since we're putting something up behind the counter that's not really waterproof, DH says we should get a countertop backsplash. I would rather the counter butt up against the tin, but, well, I'm a disaster in the kitchen, and it's probably for the best :o

Southerner - to be fair my budget didn't really stand a chance. I priced things out at their retail cost, without any installation or fabrication ($70 to cut a sink hole in my laminate :eek: Bast'ds!) which I didn't really know about. I still think the floor may come in under - it depends on what we get and if we're saucy enough to DIY. The countertops - I just didn't get all the other costs involved.

[lil_geek]

Suze... as odd as DH thought you were when I showed your templates... he TOTALLY agreed with the template idea when we had to buy TWO faucets at HD. And while we aren't in the 'expensive' faucet range by most standards.... when there is the $35 HD special sitting there and ours was more then that... he wanted to make sure I love it!

Sebs... ouch! $70 to do your sink hole?!?!?!?! Our kitchen place is doing ours, even though they aren't installing or providing our sink!

[suzubeane]

Geek: I like the second one better, too. Is it the Marielle? That's the one I ended up with.

I agree that the tall one looks a bit too large in front of the window - I think the only times those really work is when the the kitchen sink window is a good 10" or so above the counter. I like the way your counter is just going to flow right into your window sill, and I think the tall faucet would diminish that.

eta: what do you mean "odd?" ;)

[Hello Kitty]

That would be hysterical if we all ended up with the same faucet. Southerner, you in for the Marielle, too? :D

ouch! $70 to do your sink hole?!?!?!?! Our kitchen place is doing ours, even though they aren't installing or providing our sink!
Actually, I don't have an itemized sheet in front of me. But that was how my brother calculated it - a rate of $1.88/inch, and then adding a flat fee to cut the sink hole and a fee to make each angle. My brother's guesstimate for him to do one part of the kitchen in laminate was ~$500 without an applied wood edge. Menard's 'print-a-quote' with the wood edge was a little less than that, so I figure both prices are fair.

I don't begrudge the sink hole, I just didn't understand that none of these base 'per/X' costs aren't loaded with the options you would see in practice. Like the cabinets, are $x/inch, but that doesn't include any sort of frills or features.

[elladee]

Finally semi-delurking! I love old houses, and you all have some really neat ones. DH and I are in the process of buying an 1880's house. I'm so excited. I don't want to officially join until we close - scheduled for Dec 22- but I have lots of learning to do in the mean time.

The house unfortunately has been modified so much over time that there aren't many original details left. It's in need of some major cosmetic work (the old owners had a thing for wood panel and fake brick walls - ick!), so when we do that, we want to try to bring back some of the oldness. I'm sure I'll get some great ideas and advice from this thread. :)

Here's our new house (hopefully):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/lisaanne14/Houses/259696_000.jpg

[MeTheGirlie]

Welcome elladee - beautiful home! Fingers crossed for you on the closing - I hope all goes well!

PROJECT DINING ROOM:

OK, progress photos on the dining room. I realized that if I waited for EVERY project to be completed, updating this journal would take forever!

BEFORE:

Unfortunately I don't have every view for the before pic.

http://tinyurl.com/h3v3l

http://tinyurl.com/fmhe7

PROGRESS 1: - Wallpaper removal.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7580/img0525lo7.jpg



PROGRESS 2: - First level of wainscoting goes on. We chose beadboard panel for the base level.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/9332/img0546lj7.jpg

PROGRESS 3: Pine frame building process.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/5343/img0547hr8.jpg

PROGRESS 4:

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/2771/img0579wq1.jpg

[MeTheGirlie]

PROGRESS 5

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8649/img0651lm1.jpg

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8896/img0649bf0.jpg


More pics in my journal, didn't want to bog it down in here any more than I already did.

[MeTheGirlie]

Pool/Guest House (used to be the old barn, they installed plumbing, electric and heat, so the basics are there) before/afters (we just painted and carpeted for now, eventually this will need to be gutted.)

Exterior:
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3484/img0331pn1.jpg

Downstairs Before:
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/4436/img0344fw0.jpg

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/1752/img0349qd2.jpg

Downstairs After:

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/8492/img0549bl3.jpg

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/9133/img0552pd3.jpg

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/9519/img0551iu7.jpg

[MeTheGirlie]

Upstairs Before:

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/5326/img0355as7.jpg

Upstairs After:

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/1672/img0564yv3.jpg

(Yup, that would be DH's Texas Hold 'em room right now)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2181/img0567tu5.jpg


http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6458/img0569su9.jpg

Still have to finish painting the railing and stuff.

[Old Home Remodelers]

MeTheGirlie, Three photos of yours aren't showing up: exterior, downstairs before, and upstairs before.

[nyclaura]

Methegirlie: I love your wainscotting! We're in the process of adding beadboard wainscotting in one of our hallways and up on stairwell. I love all the detail work in yours!!! I think that's fantastic. We've opted to just use plain beadboard, and then have a wider cap at the top for ease of installation, but I really love the different sections that you have put in. It really pops!

[Sonicstef]

For all you old home owners, do any of you have picture molding and sconce lighting? I'd love to see some photos as I make plans to renovate my house.

[BeakersTrio]

At the suggestion of MeTheGirlie I decided to join too!

Name: Erin, 27 years old
Year house built: 1923
How long you've owned house: 4 years
What remodeling projects: It's easier to answer what we are not remodeling! So far we have done our three season porch, refinished the hardwood floors in our living room, and now we are renovating our kitchen, refinishing the hardwood floor in there, gutting our bathroom, and changing out all the door hardware, interior & exterior doors, and adding crown moulding and tin ceilings to the part of the kitchen and bathroom.
At home: Just DH and I!
DIY or Hire out: Mostly DIY. The only thing we've hired out for so far were our kitchen countertops.

My mom and I are actually going to go look at some new furniture for my LR today, so I will post some pictures later on. I also started a journal today so I will be posting pictures in there as well.

[BeakersTrio]

Cross-post from my journal

Here are some pictures of our three season porch that we finished earlier this year. When we moved in it had a berber carpet, some horrible wall board on the walls, and a dropped ceiling. I was out to lunch with my girlfriends one morning and when I came home I found DH had gutted the porch. We had original beadboard on the ceiling and on some of the walls. On the other walls was original 3" cedar siding and we also had the original porch floor.

http://static.flickr.com/114/282454712_ef54124096.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/82/282454715_e8c104642a.jpg?v=0

The porch floor color is purple. It actually is really nice because it hides a lot of dirt.

This is by far one of my favorite rooms. We spend a lot of time out here from Spring-Fall.

[keska]

Wow. That's such a lovely room!

[justHB]

methegirlie - what a wonderful transformation! What did you guys end up doing with the fireplace?

BeakersTrio - I love your porch! We have about 100 projects to do to our house before it's finished, but a porch like that is one of the things we'd like to have built.

We're* currently in the process of stripping the doors to the bathroom (from the hallway and our bedroom). They're gorgeous, solid hardwood doors but have about 10 layers of paint of them. We have one side of one door done. DH is currently downstairs trying to do the other side. There was so much paint around the frame and on the door that they wouldn't close properly. A bathroom door that won't close is a bad idea. Depending on how these go, we'll likely do the door in the master bedroom as well.

Our appliances have been delayed. They were supposed to come in today but the guy at the appliance shop called yesterday to tell us that our fridge was holding up the process. That's great and all except we didn't order a fridge. :rolleyes: Supposedly they're supposed to come next Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Oh, we also had the two acacia trees in our back yard pulled out. DH took a bunch of action shots so I'll have before and after as soon as we pull them off the camera. Our backyard looks entirely different. I'm busy thinking about how to landscape it now.

*We = Alan. I just supervise and say, "you need more Jasco here."

[MeTheGirlie]

Old Home Remodelers - Fixed the images on the previous page. Sorry about that, the "Before" photos of the pool/guest house are now working. (That's the most important part! :) )

methegirlie - what a wonderful transformation! What did you guys end up doing with the fireplace?

justHB, we haven't done anything with it yet. We're not even finished painting. What I'm *planning* on doing is building a formal mantal with a built-in next to it. My best friend's hubby is an extremely talented craftsman and does stuff like that for a living. He'll be building the built-in (since I do also want electricity in it). That's not going to be for a while, so I'm going to have to live with the fireplace right now, ugh.

nyclaura - I just love beadboard by itself. I'm planning on doing that in one of our bathrooms! Can't wait to see yours.


BeakersTrio - Welcome, what an amazing room! I just recently saw a magazine article that featured a room like yours! Gorgeous! I really love the purple hanging lanterns (candleholders?) - may I ask where you purchased them?

ETA: BeakersTrio, the room I saw that reminded me of yours was actually in a Pottery Barn book, "Bedrooms". Surprisingly enough! I'll see if I can't find the time this week to scan it.

[BeakersTrio]

MeTheGirlie please do scan that if you have a chance! I'd love to see it! The purple hanging lanterns are actually from Menards, a hardware store by my house. They were fairly inexpensive if I remember, around $6 I believe. DH spotted them and thought they would look great and they do work really well in the room!

[Old Home Remodelers]

MeTheGirlie, Thanks for fixing your pics. Definitely the most important part ;)

Welcome BeakersTrio & Elladee!

[mobox]

Welcome new remodelers! I love looking at all your pics.

MTG - The wainscotting is fabulous! I love it.
Beakers - What an amazing porch...I'm truly jealous.

So, we finished our nursery painting. I will post pics. It's not "period" so to speak but it's lovely and the chair rail and white trim looks great against the dark paint.

Also...GREAT NEWS! We finally have a contractor coming over to give us a bid on our back stairs demolition, foundation repair, and Spanish Patio! I'm so excited, I'm beside myself. I took another picture of a Spanish Patio and at this point I have about 10 to show him. I can't wait!!!

[nyclaura]

Beakers Trio - that porch is so lovely and inviting! I bet you spend a lot of time out there! Is it off the front of your house or the back?

I feel like we're knee deep in planning over here - can anyone relate? It's fun, but also really exhausting. We're doing a lot of work this winter/spring.

Dec - order cabinets and appliances for the mudroom/laundry room reno
Secondary Dec issue - order new garage door - will be installed professionally when it comes in.
Jan - install above materials and paint mudroom/laundry room
March - order main bathroom materials - it's a complete gut so we'll be choosing everything from tile to a toilet
May - install new bathroom

Our contractor will be doing most of the work - however, I'm our painter/designer. In fact, he's coming tomorrow to do the beadboard wainscotting in our lower level stairwell and hallway, install a new interior door, and change out all our non-original door knobs. We've decided on a brushed nickle egg shaped door knob for approximately 7 doors. The other doors in the house have original glass knobs.'

He's also going to take a look at our main bathroom to see if we can move a wall to make it bigger. The left bathroom wall could potentially go back farther (there are steps behind it, the under part that is open) - and if it can, then we would like to do a subway tiled steam shower. I am crossing my fingers because I have my heart set on a claw foot tub with a small chandelier above it and that will only be possible if we can relocate the shower out of the bathtub.

That's all for now - it was nice to get out some of these thoughts. Let's just hope in a couple of months there will be great pictures to show for all of them!

[chefker]

Welcome elladee & BeakersTrio!

Not much going on in the way of REAL remodeling--I'm collecting ideas now for our kitchen remodel, which we're hoping to do in maybe 3 years or so. I have a few ideas posted over in my CC journal. The basic premise is a 1920's style kitchen with classic black & white checkerboard flooring. The BIG challenge will be working around a doorway, that basically cuts two major work areas of the kitchen in half. I have some pics that illustrate this obstacle, but I didn't upload them yet to photobucket.

Mostly we have been painting exterior trim, trying to get ready before Old Man Winter hits. Last weekend we scraped and painted the garage doors, and now we have finished up scraping & painting all of our exterior trim. NOW I have to work on some interior trim work, hopefully I will get that done soon--seeing as I bought the paint for that back in MAY! :)

I also have to remove some plastic caulking from our downstairs tub, and recaulk the whole frigging thing over. Whoever did this job made a mess--looks like they just squirted caulk willy nilly, didn't make a straight line or scrape up any excess, they just let it dry as is. There's giant dots of randomly dropped caulking in the middle of the bathroom floor. What fun THAT will be.

Ideally I'd like to replace our DS bathroom floor, which is currently some crappy old vinyl flooring with holes in it. I'm wondering if I could DIY some tiling, or maybe I should get something else professionally installed. Hmm...

[southerner]

I feel like we're knee deep in planning over here - can anyone relate? It's fun, but also really exhausting.
uh, yeah.

chefker, I've heard that moving a door is a minimal expense. Well, relatively speaking. If there's no duct work, wiring, etc. in that area, then it's supposedly a simple/affordable change. This is one of the structural changes we're planning to make in the kitchen.
justHB, Y'all have as many projects going on at once as we do.
MTG, Y'all have done a fabulous job on the dining room.
mobox, Good luck with the contractor.

Welcome elladee & BeakersTrio!

[chefker]

chefker, I've heard that moving a door is a minimal expense. Well, relatively speaking. If there's no duct work, wiring, etc. in that area, then it's supposedly a simple/affordable change. This is one of the structural changes we're planning to make in the kitchen.


Yeah...if we moved the door to where I THINK it should be, we'd have to remove a wall heating unit. And it might interfere with the plumbing leading to our dishwasher. I envision a huge disaster if we do move it, so maybe it'd be best to work around that.

Actually I'm fine with two work areas, so long as everything I need is near each area. I'd like the dishwasher, sink & stove near each other, and maybe stick the fridge in the other area of the kitchen. Right now I have the stove all by itself, and the sink is stuck on the opposite side of the kitchen. Makes it hard to dump boiling pasta water into the sink, stuff like that. :)

[Hello Kitty]

Chefker - our apartment was like that - our sink was probably 15 feet from our stove and it was ridiculous! I know just how awkward it is.

My brother came over to do some re-measuring and he's working on my plans this week. I gave him the go ahead on his crazy corner sink scheme, so we'll see how it turns out. I can't quite envision it, and I feel like it might be kind of crowded :( but I'm just putting faith in him as a design professional and hopefully it will turn out.

I'm also back researching insulation. I'm sick of being cold and I can't take it anymore. I'm really contemplating DIY fiberglass in the attic, and having someone blow in the walls. Of course that's the most expensive route :rolleyes:

Last, I'm going to start stripping some of our painted woodwork, just to see what's under there. DH the Fireman nixed my use of an infrared heat stripper, so it's caustic chemicals for me. Yay!

[jennylou]

I'm here for ideas. :)

We have a 1940's ranch. We've done some work over the years, but I envision doing some major work by the time Christmas rolls around this year. I think we are finally going to finish our kitchen remodel (we have a small kitchen with awkward cut ups as well) and I *think* my DH is planning on redoing the bathroom while N and I are out of town for 10 days this month. I know he's planning something big - he's enlisted the help of his two brothers, his dad, his cousin and another guy. So, I'm researching color ideas for the kitchen (we'll keep the same basic layout) and complete ideas for the bathroom.

Breaker'sTrio - I love your three season porch. I wish we had one!

MeTheGirlie - The beadboard looks great. :)

[BeakersTrio]

Thank you to everyone for your compliments! I truly appreciate them! The porch is on the front of the house. It faces south so it gets a ton of sun. We are able to open our front door sometimes in winter and turn off the heat for a little bit because the porch warms up the entire house.

[BeakersTrio]

I didn't think I had any uploaded, but here are some of my "in process" porch pictures. This was after DH had ripped down the false wall covering up the siding, and also after he took down the dropped ceiling. The last picture is of the carpet that was covering the porch floor. My dog got into some paint and got it on the floor too! Please ignore the black spots in the pictures...the lens cap was in the way. :rolleyes:

http://static.flickr.com/115/288221657_95a86fce8f.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/105/288221658_aa7cd2ca02.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/101/288224049_1e5e8a2f65.jpg?v=0

[Pineknot]

Beakers,

With that face looking at you, you couldn't have gotten mad at him!!:p

He's so cute..

[BeakersTrio]

I know, Pineknot! It's impossible to get mad at that little booger! And any way, I'm sure he thought he was "helping!"

[mobox]

We had our first contractor meeting and it went well. He suggested that we have an engineer look at our foundation problem and sign off on what needs to be done before going forward with a contractor. Good idea...the city has to sign off on any plans as well. We should be hearing from a second contractor this week.

I'm so thankful for the referrel service I finally used. they have been amazing and it's FREE!

[justHB]

Before

http://static.flickr.com/115/284362929_e2a49de683.jpg?v=0

During

http://static.flickr.com/113/284363067_8da20061d0.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/121/284363326_9a198ee4ce.jpg?v=0

http://static.flickr.com/118/284362790_b87766546e.jpg?v=0

After

http://static.flickr.com/99/284363122_c3efced42f.jpg?v=0

As you can see, we have A LOT of work to make it nice. But at least now it'll get some sun. In fact, since the tree has been removed, my figs are starting to turn purple (yes, I realize fig season ended weeks ago, but my figs don't so I'm encouraged by their can-do attitude.).

[BeakersTrio]

HB, wow! That was one massive tree, but your yard is going to look great! I'll keep my fingers crossed for your figs!

[justHB]

We had our first contractor meeting and it went well. He suggested that we have an engineer look at our foundation problem and sign off on what needs to be done before going forward with a contractor. Good idea...the city has to sign off on any plans as well. We should be hearing from a second contractor this week.

I'm so thankful for the referrel service I finally used. they have been amazing and it's FREE!From this point on, no matter what house I buy, I'm having a structural engineer come look at it. Our inspector told us that he thought our foundation needed to be fixed RIGHT AWAY and that it was in dire shape. We brought in a structural engineer who admitted it was "tired" but that we had years before it would require action. That made me feel much better. Of course, he basically estimated himself right out of a job for the next 5-10 years, but at least he gave me peace of mind.

We're looking toward the future and thinking about additional improvements we'd like to make to the kitchen. One thing that I'm longing for is an apron front (farmhouse) sink (http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/buyguide/kitchen_sinks1.jsp). Do any of you have these and if so, did you install it yourself or did you have to hire someone since there are issues with removing cabinetry to accommodate it?

[southerner]

I need help!

I don't like the way our old light switch plate looks on the tile. We carried the tile to a wall on the outside of the shower. Anyone have any suggestions as to what would look better or know of places where I could find some to choose from?

Here it is now:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a131/wcsoutherner/bathroom/IMG_0780.jpg


Do y'all think it looks bad? I do :(

[suzubeane]

I've seen a lot worse, southerner. I think it just sticks out for you because its new. And it doesn't help that the screws are a contrasting color.

I've painted switch plates before with spray paint. I can't remember what you decided about your hardware and fixtures (get new or reuse the old) but you might paint it to match. Depending on what you choose, you might get Hubby to change the toggle with a darker one.

[BeakersTrio]

Hi Southerner! I don't think it looks bad at all. I agree with Suzubeane--it just is sticking out for you because it is new.

On a somewhat related note, your shower looks beautiful!

[Old Home Remodelers]

Will everyone do me a favor, please? Will you check the links under your stats on page 1 of the thread? Let me know if anyone of them aren't working. Also, there may be some photos that are no longer showing up that you may want to go edit.

Thank you :)

[suzubeane]

Paging Janey: Can you please tell me what you decided was the best primer and paint for wood? I may be painting my kitchen island today, and I'm too lazy to look for the countless places you've written about this before. :o

Thx.

[Hello Kitty]

Southerner - I agree about matching the switchplate to your other fixtures. I think it will really add a nice finishing touch.

Well, we're at a standstill WRT some of the details in our kitchen. It's really, really frustrating, to say the least. It's times like this I wish we had a designer to mediate stuff like this. Argh. Any advice on comprimising?

[southerner]

mobox, what are your foundation problems?

Seb's Kitty, I've seen some nice pics of the corner sink idea recently in all my research. If you do it at the right angle and creatively use the space around it, it can work. I like the idea of getting the extended counter behind the sink. DIY fiberglass insulation in the attic will make a noticeable difference in the house temp. We did that last winter and it made a HUGE difference. Our heating bill went down by half. We also insulated the outside storage room that was against the house.

JustHB, What a fun yard you have now! Have you noticed a big difference in the temperature of the house since they've removed it? Do y'all know how old(-ish) it was?

Suzu, BeakersTrio, and Seb's Kitty Thanks for weighing in on the light switch. One idea I have is to use the same piece of marble we are using for the threshold. It's probably going to be too thick to cut though. Spray painitng it is a good idea, I just don't know what color to bring in there. I don't want to take attention away from the accent tiles. I could try to find an ivory color and I do like the idea of matching the finishes. I wonder what it would look like if we used another tile. Thinking out loud, sorry. Too many options :rolleyes: Haven't really discussed it w/ DH yet. He may have some ideas too.

[southerner]

kitchen update:

I have a structural engineer coming over to my house tomorrow morning to assess moving the wall in the kitchen. Since it's load bearing, it's necessary that there's several extra steps and people involved in the process. I feel so important and like this is an "official" job having an engineer come over :o However, we're not so lucky to get a free visit like some of you. Since we've done everything ourselves thus far, it's been weird (and stressful) to talk to so many people, do so much leg work, and consider so many different options of how everything could/should be done with this remodel.

So, Seb'sKitty, I'm right there with you on the kitchen stress. I guess we are the mediators. Since I already started tackling the kitchen a year ago, I'm just forcing myself to keep making phone calls, running errands, etc. I'm sick and tired of looking at this. (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1037295&postcount=306) That is my daily reminder to deal with the BS and know that it will all be worth it. Must not stand still. This will not take as long as the bathroom. Must not stand still.

[nyclaura]

Hi Southerner,

I think this plate would look nice - from RH.

http://image.restorationhardware.com/is/image/rhis/prod1049023?$mn_lr$

It comes in white and cream. Cream would closely match your tile and IMO would look better than the white.

We used these plate covers (and the matching outlet covers) all over our house. I think we've changed out about 75% of the house for them. I have no complaints (other than they're a little $$).

The tile looks great!

[Janey]

Paging Janey: Can you please tell me what you decided was the best primer and paint for wood? I may be painting my kitchen island today, and I'm too lazy to look for the countless places you've written about this before. :o

I used Kilz 2 primer, and Sherwin Williams ProClassic® Waterborne Interior Latex Enamel in a Satin finish. I'm happy with how it turned out. The enamel is a self-leveling paint which means that if you get too much on at once, it will slough. You'll want to touch up the sloughs, and trust me when I tell you that'll just make it worse. If you're doing it right, you'll see brush-strokes at first but most of that will go away upon drying. It was really important when working with that paint to remember two things: 1) Multiple thin coats; 2) Trust The Paint.

I also used it on my desks, where I am less happy with how it turned out. I mean it's okay but where my hands lean on my desk is worn away. I'm sure I should've used some oil-based something or other, but I didn't really want to do that.