the Entry

After returning from Arizona we quickly realized that with a little bean ball - our free time is consumed with wanting to spend every minute with her - especially since we both work full time! SO... we decided to finish the entry and enlisted help. The walls needed to be painted and the trim work needed to be touched up (it was gross & grimy and needed sanding smooth and restaining/ sealing). We did it a bit backwards as we thought we would refinish the trimwork at a later date - so we painted first, did the trim, and then had to touch up the paint... oops!

Our exterior house painter came and did the paint job for us and we found a restoration person to give the trimwork the TLC it needed (this again, was another wild goose chase)... All in all, I couldn't be happier or more thankful to have this work done, done well, and complete.

the Before - The trim is dark, so you can't see how bad it looks in person...
and the walls needed a lot of plaster repair (also not visible)

the Before - A better view of the trim.
You could scratch the black grime off with your fingernail (GROSS!!!)

the After - nice and crisp. All trim and walls are crisp and smooth. 

Details: The trim guys went above and beyond our expectations of sanding to bare wood all the trim work in this area, including the stair landing window. My biggest concern was dust from the sanding but their equipment kept it contained and each night we came home, we couldn't tell that they had been there (other than the progress, of course). We used Michael Light of ML Restoration. Great guy, lives in the neighborhood. We also stained the risers on the stairs, as it was evident that they had previously been stained. We used Miller Paint... and I'd have to look up the color.

shut the Front Door

Hello Friends! Right around Easter we had the front door and side lites removed to be restored. It was a wild goose chase to find someone to restore the door (vs. replace) - and so glad we did. Eric, of Willow Classic Woodworking, and his team did a great job and we couldn't be more pleased.

It's amazing to have a front door that shuts tight, is smooth and sealed, and has hardware in working order. No more loose glass, old cat claw marks from the previous owners or years of black grime! I don't have to worry about whoever comes to the door and knocks on the glass, for fear that before it would come loose and shatter on the floor!

Please pardon the iphone photos - that's the only way you'll see pictures these days!

front door before, with new hardware
(notice all the holes from over the years)

front door, before - mismatched trim

front door after - all touched up
all the holes are gone!

front door after - you can barely see the round patch from the old dead bolt

front door after - working lockset, sanded smooth, weather tight

Details - I took the front door handle to a machine shop to have it repaired as parts had broken off over the years and thus, it stopped working. The front door and side lites were sealed with many coats of a marine grade (boat) finish, so it's protected for years from the sun/ UV. All the glass was caulked into place with a clear silicone to prevent air leakage and weather stripping was installed around the door frame for a better seal.

The Front Bedroom

As an attempt to provide updates more frequently, here goes!

The Front Bedroom was our master bedroom for the first two years we were in the house... as-is. It was selected as it was the most set-up to be a bedroom. Why? because it had a working power outlet. Yes, ONE outlet. So a power strip and extension cord later and we were rocking!

Since we finished the true Master Bedroom and moved into that, we've started to work on the front bedroom and bring it up to speed. So after this weekend we will be ready to paint! Which means the electrical has all be updated (hooray for multiple outlets, on multiple walls!), the aluminum windows were replaced with Marvin Tilt-Pacs, the trim is repaired and the cracking plaster has been patched.
Progress photos...

the sink plumbing is still in the closet, oh well.

the closet floors will get refinished someday, but not now

overall view of the space
a few test colors around the window frame

similar to the closet, these floors will eventually get refinished

but we need to muster up the energy to do the whole upstairs all at the same time.

this photo also grosses me out on how dingy and dirty the walls are. bleah!

secret family recipe for patching trim
(mix these two evenly, you'll love it)

2011 Catch-Up

How did it become the middle of March already??

February seemed to slip by as Swanky and I were both traveling 3/4 weeks for work. Separate cities, different states. What a life it has turned into lately! My travel was a little more glamourous than Swanky's... one trip included 2 weeks in Israel!

Needless to say... not much work on the house - but the hubby is a rockstar and has managed to finish the electrical work and trimwork in our old bedroom. which means, next step... prep and paint!

This was his first pass at doing trimwork on his own, and i would say it turned out grand! what would you say?



In case you are wondering... we took the baseboard off when we first moved into the house to run new electrical wiring behind. The baseboard was in bad shape to begin with, and the room had only one working outlet, so it was the best of both worlds to get more electrical outlets/ updated wiring and good looking trim. Sometime before us, the headers to all the doors and windows were also removed (I've heard that was the 'in' thing in the 70s)... so those have now been replaced as well.

Last thing to eventually do is refinish the hardwoods... but we'll do it for the whole 2nd floor when we do, so that won't be until next year at the earliest.

And then, there was light

Don't worry, this light is only a placeholder

It's a big day. The circuits have been landed and all systems are a go - the Master Suite has working power and lights. This is the first time ever, for that part of the house since we've moved in! Our alarm clock will no longer be powered by extension cord...

Master Bath Progress

David is kicking B-U-T-T when it comes to the carpentry and trimwork. We help were we can. Next will be installing the flooring and waterproofing/ tiling the shower. The waterproofing kit we ordered came with some missing pieces... so we're trying to make progress while we wait for the loose ends.

Other weekend updates

We made a lot of progress this weekend ... other highlights

1.) HM went to a charity auction and bid on an exterior house painting job and WON! Our house painting bids were in the $12-$15k range (yes, $12k for JUST PAINT)... so she's pretty stoked to get it for $3k. It's for the kids! Although... paying now and not painting until next summer... hmmm...

2.) Mike is back and helping us with our woodwork more

3.) Did we mention the Powder Room just needs accessories now? The sink is in and works

4.) Front door refinishing starts this week!

5.) HM's pet project is scraping the paint off of the banister. It literally flakes off with a razor blade.

6.) Pocket Door opening is framed in and ready to sanding/ stain

It feels like we're hemmoraging money again... it definitely goes in waves. Time to scale back down and keep funding our siding project for next summer.