Putting Things Back

Hello all!

A slight lull in a flurry of project activity is the opportune time to update the blog. I’m doing laundry and letting the paint brush rest as we wait for more trim to be milled. Since our last post much has been accomplished. The dry wall specialists finally arrived in May (a bit late) and after three weeks the walls were hung and mudded and ready for primer. We forgot to take photos of the dry wall. As we indicated, our neighbor Joe sprayed all the walls and ceilings and then did a final coat on the ceilings. That meant all the windows and stairs had to be covered with plastic and the floors covered with resin paper. All the electrical outlets, switches and light boxes had to be stuffed with paper to prevent the paint from obliterating the electricians careful notes. Then Joe went to work—it only took him two days. That saved us a lot of time and provided a smoother finish than we could ever have gotten by rolling. Bob got right to work painting the walls.

The master bedroom with primed walls and finished ceiling.

While the dry wall was being hung and Bob was painting the walls, I was working daily on painting the inside trim that was being made by Mars Lumber. Mars Lumber is doing an amazing job of replicating our existing trim. We couldn’t be happier. As they finish a batch, I start painting it as quickly as possible to keep up with our trim carpenter who started working on June 6. Thankfully all the original trim already painted and reading to go, but there seems to be just as much new trim to prepare—new doors and windows and rooms that didn’t have the original trim add up. 

We prepare the trim with a coat of primer followed by a coat of finish paint. A final coat of paint will be done after the trim is installed. We’re about ready for that as trim carpenter, Dave Collins has been busy trimming out doorways and windows and hanging doors. Dave is doing an amazing job of putting everything back and adding in the new trim as needed.

Trim carpenter, Dave Collins, at work.

The doors have not been refinished yet, but needed to be 

hung so everything fits just right.

We had to have all new plinths made (aren’t they pretty?) as we removed 

about five different profiles from the house. Most were pretty beat up anyway. 

Too many hits with the vacuum cleaners over the years!

Here’s the newly trimmed window in the kitchen nook and first coat of wall paint. 

In order for Dave to frame the doors, we had a lot of hardware to clean up and some to purchase. We were able to find antique hardware for sale online—even designs that match our existing steeple hinges. We discovered that the best way to remove built up paint from our cast iron hardware is to gently boil it in an old pan on the stove. The heat softens and loosens the paint which can then be scraped away. A few visits back in the pan did the trick. We will eventually repaint the cast iron to look like oil rubbed bronze which is pretty close to how they would have looked. Dark hardware was popular in the Victorian era.

Look what all that paint was hiding. 

We’ve also been looking for additional antique doors to match the originals. This has proved to be a challenge. Thankfully Dave is patient and will frame those doorways once we find the needed doors. We have a lead on some doors through Craig’s List and are hoping it will pan out. In the meantime Dave will begin building the railing system on the stairs. We can’t wait to see how that all comes together!

In addition to all of that, we’ve spent quite a few hours in our attic—the little room above the kitchen. We replaced all the bead board that we had taken down in order to insulate the walls and ceiling. Then I spent many hours washing it all down as it got very dirty. The backs of the boards were covered in soot indicating that there must have been a chimney on the end wall and maybe a coal stove in this room. Simply Green worked well at getting off the grime. Then we gave it a good priming. Bob filled in the cracks and gaps with caulk and we are in the process of painting it. It will be the same color as the trim throughout the house. 

Here is all the bead board back in place, but before it got washed down. 

The dark patches are places where it hadn’t been painted (closet walls). 

So not everything got put back just as it was.

We had hoped that our kitchen floor would be installed by now, but that got moved forward to July 3. It will take the tiler about three weeks to install the tile floors and the tile in the tub and shower. As soon as the kitchen, entryway and laundry are tiled, Masterpiece will begin installing the kitchen cabinets. The delay has been a disappointment but it should allow us to get most of the painting finished before we move in. We have to paint the insides of the windows, too. So we have plenty more painting to do (I’m on my second brush). Oh, and the flooring specialist is scheduled to start working on July 22. He’ll be installing new oak in the living room and upper hall and refinishing the rest of the floors—oak downstairs, pine upstairs.

In our last post we indicated that we’d be moving in June. Shortly after that we took a good look at the calendar and realized that that would not be happening. So we were shooting for July 26. Now we are looking at August 16.

We’re getting there. We are most anxious to be in our new home—we’d appreciate your prayers for patience and strength for the weeks ahead. Hope you enjoyed reading about the latest adventures. 

Fondly,

ChrisAnn (and Bob)