Thursday, May 15, 2008
Arbor Ailments, Part One
At the end of April, our summer of "arbor ailments" started. We went outside one day to find that the 40-foot Mulberry in our backyard had deposited a large branch in our neighbor's yard. Luckily there was no damage to either properties but the branch was certainly in an inconvenient spot. After a couple tree service quotes, a check was written from the "emergency/house" account and the branch removed. The rest is to be continued...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
We (finally) move upstairs!
(NOTE: After originally posting a large entry encompassing April-September in September 2008, I went back and post-dated the entries for archival purposes.)
So I guess we fell off the blogging bandwagon, huh?
While quite a bit has happened since April, no "major" house projects - and sadly, not much of our ambitious list - has been started let alone completed. After our big tearout upstairs I think we needed a break (mentally and financially) from all of the house work.
Our bedroom furniture was delivered in early April, and we officially moved upstairs! The bed and nightstand is from the Nolan collection, and the bookshelves part of Sloan (from Crate and Barrel).
After buying (and then returning) some pre-fabbed closet organizers from Lowe's, Nick built some custom shelving and we finally moved our clothes out of the pantry downstairs and into the bedroom closets upstairs! The dresser that was in the kitchen moved into my closet as well.
So I guess we fell off the blogging bandwagon, huh?
While quite a bit has happened since April, no "major" house projects - and sadly, not much of our ambitious list - has been started let alone completed. After our big tearout upstairs I think we needed a break (mentally and financially) from all of the house work.
Our bedroom furniture was delivered in early April, and we officially moved upstairs! The bed and nightstand is from the Nolan collection, and the bookshelves part of Sloan (from Crate and Barrel).
After buying (and then returning) some pre-fabbed closet organizers from Lowe's, Nick built some custom shelving and we finally moved our clothes out of the pantry downstairs and into the bedroom closets upstairs! The dresser that was in the kitchen moved into my closet as well.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Haircut Time
My mom and sister visited in mid-April, and my sister and I cut more than 8 inches of hair to donate to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. We had been growing our hair out for almost two years in honor of our grandmother that passed away from cancer in July 2006. Beautiful Lengths partners with the American Cancer Society and HairUWear to provide real-hair wigs to women with cancer. Below is a couple pictures, or visit my Flickr Album for the whole series of photos from our experience.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Upcoming projects
Here are upcoming house projects in progress or on the docket:
1. Installing a 9-light antique bronze chandelier above our staircase:
This isn't the exact chandelier, but it's close (from Lowe's):
2. An ongoing process we've termed "oil-rubbed bronzing" the bathroom upstairs. The previous owners did a complete remodel of the bathroom less than 5 years ago, so everything is brand new, but the gold/brass fixtures just didn't match our personal style. So far we've replaced the shower trim, shower drain, toilet flush handle, sink faucet and some accessories such as a towel bar and switchplates. Left to complete are the clawfoot tub supply lines, toilet supply line, clawfoot tub faucet, shower door, sink drain, and the installation of an in-wall medicine cabinet we got on special order at Lowe's.
We found a great online vendor of supplies for older clawfoot tubs and other historic-home remodeling finds - clawfootsupply.com. Needless to say we've become one of their better customers...
The box!
New cast-iron register grills that are nearly exact replicas of the rusty, broken ones that are likely original to the house:
Oil-rubbed bronze gooseneck faucet for the clawfoot tub:
3. Painting the windows (white on the inside, beige/cream on the outside) and installing new pulls and sash locks
4. Creating and installing trim in the bedrooms and hall upstairs (white)
5. Painting the upstairs bathroom (green walls and brown trim)
6. Painting the hallway (beige)
7. Replacing the exterior window trim on the North, South and East-facing sides of the house. West-facing trim was replaced by the previous owners, but the remaining trim is rotted and deteriorated in many spots
8. Caulking and painting holes and cracks in the siding
9. Replacing or repainting the shutters on front upstairs windows
10. Repainting/touching up the front porch
11. Installing steel support beams in the basement in order to level out our uneven first floor
12. Installing an attic fan to improve ventilation upstairs
13. Repairing the very rotted, falling-apart, leaky and scary-looking outdoor cellar entrance
WHEW! That's quite an ambitious list... stay tuned...
1. Installing a 9-light antique bronze chandelier above our staircase:
This isn't the exact chandelier, but it's close (from Lowe's):
2. An ongoing process we've termed "oil-rubbed bronzing" the bathroom upstairs. The previous owners did a complete remodel of the bathroom less than 5 years ago, so everything is brand new, but the gold/brass fixtures just didn't match our personal style. So far we've replaced the shower trim, shower drain, toilet flush handle, sink faucet and some accessories such as a towel bar and switchplates. Left to complete are the clawfoot tub supply lines, toilet supply line, clawfoot tub faucet, shower door, sink drain, and the installation of an in-wall medicine cabinet we got on special order at Lowe's.
We found a great online vendor of supplies for older clawfoot tubs and other historic-home remodeling finds - clawfootsupply.com. Needless to say we've become one of their better customers...
The box!
New cast-iron register grills that are nearly exact replicas of the rusty, broken ones that are likely original to the house:
Oil-rubbed bronze gooseneck faucet for the clawfoot tub:
3. Painting the windows (white on the inside, beige/cream on the outside) and installing new pulls and sash locks
4. Creating and installing trim in the bedrooms and hall upstairs (white)
5. Painting the upstairs bathroom (green walls and brown trim)
6. Painting the hallway (beige)
7. Replacing the exterior window trim on the North, South and East-facing sides of the house. West-facing trim was replaced by the previous owners, but the remaining trim is rotted and deteriorated in many spots
8. Caulking and painting holes and cracks in the siding
9. Replacing or repainting the shutters on front upstairs windows
10. Repainting/touching up the front porch
11. Installing steel support beams in the basement in order to level out our uneven first floor
12. Installing an attic fan to improve ventilation upstairs
13. Repairing the very rotted, falling-apart, leaky and scary-looking outdoor cellar entrance
WHEW! That's quite an ambitious list... stay tuned...
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Almost one year later...
We've been bad with the updating again, but I guess that just adds to the suspense, eh? Here's a short list of activities that have occurred upstairs since the last time we updated:
Doorway at top of staircase removed
Window restoration completed (no paint yet)
Drywall - hung, taped/mudded, sanded and finished
Ceiling fans removed and thoroughly cleaned
Primer applied to walls/ceilings
Paint applied to walls/celings
Ceiling fans installed
Carpet installed
The biggest stressor (for me, anyway) was choosing paint colors, blinds, and a new fan. I've enjoyed making the upstairs "our own" but there are just too many choices out there, and I am indecisive by nature.
We're probably going to live for the next year without any trim, jambs or doors - we received a quote from a contractor to complete all the finish trim (crown molding, baseboards, trim around windows and doors...) for nearly $11,000. After running some numbers, we realized that we could buy all the proper tools and materials for about half this. The concession is that it will take much longer for us to do it :)
The biggest news of all? We'll finally "live" upstairs almost exactly a year after we bought our house!!
Below: Removal of doorway at top of staircase (once we had all the plaster removed, we realized that the doorway/jamb was not original - it was likely added at some point in the 40's when our house was split into apartments.)
The hallway and bedrooms with drywall in place and finished:
A closer shot of the (primed and dirty, but refinished!) window:
Spare bedroom with paint (no carpet yet - enjoy the blue floor while you can):
Master bedroom with paint (again, no carpet yet):
And the grand finale - paint AND carpet!
Doorway at top of staircase removed
Window restoration completed (no paint yet)
Drywall - hung, taped/mudded, sanded and finished
Ceiling fans removed and thoroughly cleaned
Primer applied to walls/ceilings
Paint applied to walls/celings
Ceiling fans installed
Carpet installed
The biggest stressor (for me, anyway) was choosing paint colors, blinds, and a new fan. I've enjoyed making the upstairs "our own" but there are just too many choices out there, and I am indecisive by nature.
We're probably going to live for the next year without any trim, jambs or doors - we received a quote from a contractor to complete all the finish trim (crown molding, baseboards, trim around windows and doors...) for nearly $11,000. After running some numbers, we realized that we could buy all the proper tools and materials for about half this. The concession is that it will take much longer for us to do it :)
The biggest news of all? We'll finally "live" upstairs almost exactly a year after we bought our house!!
Below: Removal of doorway at top of staircase (once we had all the plaster removed, we realized that the doorway/jamb was not original - it was likely added at some point in the 40's when our house was split into apartments.)
The hallway and bedrooms with drywall in place and finished:
A closer shot of the (primed and dirty, but refinished!) window:
Spare bedroom with paint (no carpet yet - enjoy the blue floor while you can):
Master bedroom with paint (again, no carpet yet):
And the grand finale - paint AND carpet!
Our new pet
While we were working out in the yard this weekend, I found a snail that Nick subsequently became fascinated with. The snail's eyes telescoped in and out of his body and rolled around on the end of the tentacles... video and pictures below!
You might want to turn your sound down... I didn't realize there was music in the background and some funny noise due to the transitions... thanks, iMovie!
Untitled from Justine Jordan on Vimeo.
You might want to turn your sound down... I didn't realize there was music in the background and some funny noise due to the transitions... thanks, iMovie!
Untitled from Justine Jordan on Vimeo.
Sunshine brings outdoor projects...
I've always said I have a love/hate relationship with our house - there are some things I love about it (the character!) and some things I hate (little/no/poor insulation means HIGH gas bills!). One of the things that I love/hate is our sump pump. I adore the former owner who waterproofed and installed the pump pump in our basement, but I have always wished that it didn't drain into the middle of the backyard, creating a mud puddle when it rains, an ankle-twisting hazard when mowing the lawn, and a general eye sore at all other times.
This weekend we enjoyed some beautiful weather - about sixty degrees and sunny - so outdoors we went! Nick bought some extra PVC pipes and a trenching shovel and we set to work diverting the sump pump drain to a more appropriate spot.
The digging up of the original drain and the aforementioned hole:
A view of the new ditch that heads to the side of the yard:
The new drain in place:
Ditches, both old and new, filled in with dirt:
The hole filled in!
The new discharge spout in the sideyard:
After we dug up the yard, it was our intention to put down some grass seed in areas where the backyard was a little bare. After Nick hand-tilled nearly half the backyard, we now have a mudpit instead:
Keep your fingers crossed the the grass seed we put down turns into beautiful, thick green grass!
This weekend we enjoyed some beautiful weather - about sixty degrees and sunny - so outdoors we went! Nick bought some extra PVC pipes and a trenching shovel and we set to work diverting the sump pump drain to a more appropriate spot.
The digging up of the original drain and the aforementioned hole:
A view of the new ditch that heads to the side of the yard:
The new drain in place:
Ditches, both old and new, filled in with dirt:
The hole filled in!
The new discharge spout in the sideyard:
After we dug up the yard, it was our intention to put down some grass seed in areas where the backyard was a little bare. After Nick hand-tilled nearly half the backyard, we now have a mudpit instead:
Keep your fingers crossed the the grass seed we put down turns into beautiful, thick green grass!
Saturday, February 09, 2008
It's been 3 months!?
Much has happened since we last updated on November 24th. I created 6 new entries that chronicle the last several weeks below - they are post-dated in the order that they would have occurred had we blogged regularly. Hope you enjoy!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Treasures in the walls
It always seems that we find objects of interest in the walls when we start tearing them down. Along with the requisite 40's-era newspaper, we also found several pieces of old cloth and what looks to be lace, more knob-and tube wiring, and a section of wall with several very old layers of wallpaper.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Windows: Restore or Replace?
More decision-making came when we asked ourselves what to do with our windows. We knew they weren't in great shape - all had several coats of paint on the sashes, ropes and hardware that allow the window to function, one was painted shut, some had rotten parts, most of the ropes had been cut, etc. Finding people with the skills and patience to restore the windows proved difficult, and after researching replacement windows, we were torn between just tearing the old ones out and preserving the historical integrity of our home. Aside from that, since we reside in a historic district, there is an approval process to making any modifications to the outer facade of our home.
We ended up hiring Robb Ryan to restore the windows. Here are a few shots of his handywork thus far. He hopes to be done with the work by Feb. 11th.
A before/after of the pulley (and surrounding wood) that holds the rope that allows the window to open and close:
The old, iron counterweights in the space between the window frame and the studs:
While we were only slightly optimistic that Robb would be able to restore the windows to the point where we could re-stain the wood, it looks like they were damaged beyond this point. We plan to paint the windows a nice, neutral shade of white and will post pictures when they are finally complete!
We ended up hiring Robb Ryan to restore the windows. Here are a few shots of his handywork thus far. He hopes to be done with the work by Feb. 11th.
A before/after of the pulley (and surrounding wood) that holds the rope that allows the window to open and close:
The old, iron counterweights in the space between the window frame and the studs:
While we were only slightly optimistic that Robb would be able to restore the windows to the point where we could re-stain the wood, it looks like they were damaged beyond this point. We plan to paint the windows a nice, neutral shade of white and will post pictures when they are finally complete!
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