Social DIYers

Fitting in work on the house is just such a drag when there are just so many fun social events to attend (and recover from) instead.

On Friday night, Ryan, Tela, and I ventured to Sean’s house for a killer Beer Pong Tournament. We were out in two games, but definitely won the prize for team spirit. Sadly, I failed to capture on film our coordinated red-and-white ensembles involving knee socks and sweatbands (Tela also rocked the sweatbands). You will just have to imagine.

Saturday, Ryan had a BAC meeting in Boston and then an RMc meeting over on Marblehead Neck. Ask him about the project… it’s very cool!

By the time we got home, we hardly had time to turn around and head out to Southboro for a joint 30th birthday party. We stuck around for birthday cake and to sing Matt and Brad Happy Birthday, and then scooted home at a reasonable hour and woke up Sunday ready to move some mountains.

As frequent readers know, Ryan is well on his way to becoming a master electrician these days. While he’s been pulling new wires, he’s also been trying to make sense of the absolute rat nest of wiring in our basement. There were at least two phone lines, two bundled internet/cable lines, old wires that go nowhere, and yards and yards of speaker wire (huh?). So to help guide new work and future work, Ryan mapped all the wires out by hand and then drew it up on Auto CAD.

While he did this, I resuscitated the stove so that I can make Buckeyes, a Smith Family Thanksgiving tradition, for McShera Thanksgiving. (I’m also going to bring some over to our kind neighbors who’ve kept us fed through the renovation.)

Stove cleaned and covered, I turned my attention back to the breakfast nook walls. I had already sanded once, but I tried out a wet sanding sponge which minimizes dust, then brushed the walls free of lingering joint compound dust, and vacuumed the space. For the fill coat, I used a ten-inch taping knife and very carefully went over all the seams, corners, and screw heads with the same joint compound, trying to be as even-handed as possible. As you can see, it is very serious business.

It took me about two hours to complete this layer. I find that two hours is a good cap for detail-oriented things like this. I start getting sloppy after much longer (please see: the paint job in our Salem apartment bathroom). My hope is if I continue to be very patient and apply the compound in thin layers, and sand in between, it won’t look like total sh%t, but I’m still not completely convinced. There are a couple blisters under the tape, which seem to have become more prominent with the additional layers. I’m not sure how much can be done about them. I tried piercing one with a utility knife, but it didn’t seem to do much to help it. Any thoughts, readers?

So, the jury is still out on this project. After we complete the nook, we will take an honest look at it and decide what we want to do. I’m thinking of even painting it so we get the full effect. If the nook isn’t perfect, it’s no big deal – it’s dimly-lit, tucked away, the accent wall will draw attention away from slight imperfections, and the table and built-in bench will also dominate much of the space. But I’m not sure if the same finish can pass in our kitchen, the first room you enter in our house with a vaulted ceiling, which I’m sure will draw our guests attention upward. So, until we see the nook complete, we are not ruling out using a portion of our first time home buyer’s tax credit (praise be!) to have a professional come in and finish the walls.

Here’s the nook after fill coat number one – it’s definitely looking better!

After creating his amazing electrical plan, Ryan and I ran the telephone cable from the basement, through the crawl space, and up the nook wall (we are going to tuck it around the corner in the nook) so that I could seal up the space with another piece of drywall.

Besides this section, the wall above the counter tops remain open for wiring. We aren’t bringing the drywall down to the floor yet because we still need to pull up the linoleum and possibly install a new subfloor, which our lower pieces of drywall will sit on. So this run of drywall was the final frontier. And it was bugging the heck out of me. With Ryan busy wiring, I decided I would cut the drywall on my own. It was my first time and besides cutting a corner, it was surprisingly easy. All you do is score the paper on both sides and the drywall snaps right where it should.

I then had to locate a beam and the two-gang switch, and cut holes for them. I did okay.

We’re going to have to do a *little* patch job around the switch, unfortunately, but after spending a good hour measuring the wall and cutting the drywall, that piece was going up. I’m thinking a combo of spray foam and joint compound will do the trick...

While keeping one eye on my slow progress with the drywall, Ryan hooked up outlets...

This will be a switch to under cabinet lighting and a plug for occasional use. He’s such a pro.

We finished up at the house and headed over to the The Farm in Essex to watch the Pats beat Peyton… I mean the Colts. Half-priced apps for the game… yes, please!

Yard Work, Joint Compound, and Artistic Inspiration (and one, well two, minor roadside incidents)

Saturday was a gorgeous day, so we occupied ourselves outside doing homeowner-y things like raking the yard, pulling down old vines, running the yard waste to the town dump…. Fascinating stuff, really.  Ryan wielded a weed-wacker and I, a rake.  We also got all but one of our storm windows up.

After a financially crippling trip to Home Depot on Sunday, Ryan worked on some wiring (and also consulted Wiring 1-2-3).

After consulting my own DIY reference, we turned our attention to the breakfast nook.

These guys are the bomb diggity.  I’m seriously advocating for Ryan and I to get Mario Brothers/monotone sweat suits to plaster in.

The trick, I’m told by both the Mario Brothers and also my contractor friend who rides the commuter rail with Tela and I, is to add thin layers of joint compound as you can always add more.  I’m not sure we entirely stuck to that approach, but it was exciting to see the breakfast nook take a little more finish shape.  Here it is after the first layer of taping and joint compound.  It took us about 4 hours together to do our little nook.  THIS… is going to take a while.

You might notice the ghetto-fab duct taped flooring also in the picture.  As Ryan put it, our flooring fell off the back of a truck, but not in the fun we-didn’t-have-to-pay-for-it kinda way.  On my day off last week, I ventured to Lumber Liquidators to pick up our (second choice) Ty Pennington (I cringe) flooring.  Not once, but twice, in awfully inopportune locations (Rte. 1, off ramp of 95), the truck cap window popped open and out flew the flooring.  Think this – strewn all over the 95 off ramp.

I’m not gonna lie, there were tears.  Not the first instance, but a gal can only take so much.  I was so tempted to just high-tail it out of there, but dodging 4 lanes of traffic (off ramp goes onto 133), I picked up every single piece of that damn flooring.  

As you will see it is Rather Dark, and though we like it quite a lot, we have received some mixed reviews.  We picked it so that it will go with the dark wood of the exposed beams both in the kitchen and front rooms, and our walls are staying quite light to ensure we haven’t created our very own DIY cave.  It will be very Pottery Barn, I assure you.  But I digress…

Ryan and I were just so gosh-darn excited about the wall, specifically this one in the nook, we at the exact same time floated to each other the idea of an accent wall.

More interior design talk, folks!  Very exciting stuff.  We had intended on painting this wall with magnetic primer and chalkboard paint, but I think we’ve come up with a much cooler idea.  We are going to do a large painted graphic of Cape Ann (where Ipswich and our neck of the North Shore is), incorporating the colors of the kitchen and front rooms -- the marine green from the kitchen cabinets’ interior (the ones Eric and T painted so very long ago) and the pale grey we plan on painting the front room walls.  I love yellow with grey, so we might use some touches of it (yellow will also be in the mudroom and maybe the bathroom).  Anyway – it will be a very simplified outline of the coast, maybe with a compass.  Ryan used Illustrator to do a quick “look and feel” of the wall.  

That’s not quite how it will look, but you get the idea.  The other walls in the nook will probably stay off-white like the kitchen walls, or pale grey.  (Mom, I know you are very worried about the cave potential.)

So back to the nook as it is today.  After discussing my POA with Ryan and then my contractor train friend, I came home ready to sand these walls down to perfection.  My train buddy mentioned something about wearing a face mask, which I of course ignored.  He did mention having a shop vac handy and even said that lately he’s been using a palm sander that hooks right up to the vac.  Things to consider, as I've now found that sanding joint compound is a rather messy undertaking.

Here’s the nook after sanding, round one.

And here I am after sanding, round one.

Yikes!  I have a feeling we will be doing more than the standard three coats of joint compound to get these walls flat (as possible), but we will just have to see…

Warm Home, Warm Heart (and Warm Dog, and Warm Toes, and life just got a whole lot better)

As of about 3 PM Saturday, we have heat at 84 High Street. Just in time… last week’s Indian Summer was a welcome warm-up, but I think we’ve seen the last of 65-degree days for a while.  Besides HEAT, we had a very exciting weekend at the house.

After having consulted with an electrician who is going to help with some challenging circuitry earlier in the week, Ryan pulled more wires (for the stove vent, under cabinet lighting, and a plug at counter height for occasional appliances).  And if Ryan was pulling wires, there’s only one thing I could be doing… insulating walls. For those Weekend Warriors out there -- we used R-15 faced insulation this time instead of R-13 and besides it being a higher R value, I found it a lot easier to work with because it is so dense. It is the same thickness as R-13 (3 ½”), so no problems there. I also had fun with Great Stuff. For those uninitiated, Great Stuff is a delightful, spray-able, expanding foam, the spraying of which may be more addictive than popping bubble wrap. It’s that good.

The big project Saturday was framing new steps into the stairwell as part of the Zen Corner of Happiness Project. As frequent readers may recall, the Distressing Corner had a whole bunch of things all coming together, including steps that sent you into an oversized (in my opinion) bottom counter and then threaded you diagonally through a narrow pass between the counter, radiator, and an upper cabinet. Since we are replacing the rather cute (I think) teal linoleum with silver stars on it (Ryan thinks not-so-cute), we’ve been using the flooring as our own personal cutting board and have started to take a Sharpie to it to determine layout.

After much measuring and discussion, we settled on the perfect angle for two triangular steps into the stairwell that also direct traffic into the center of the kitchen instead of the side of the kitchen counter. Rick made this savvy suggestion to us awhile back and he was spot on. Here I am demonstrating what a wonderful perch the new steps make. Perfect for tying you shoes, I think.

An unexpected outcome of the new steps is that I no longer feel compelled to cut down the lower cabinet (Ryan is both relieved and smug). It actually all works really nicely together, even with the radiator back in.  To boot, the upper cabinet we are relocating over the counter (where the window was previously) is exactly the same width as the lower cabinet. What’s not to like about that?

Sunday, we turned our attention back to the kitchen walls and framed out the wall behind the stove, which will bump out ever-so-slightly to accommodate the vent for the kitchen sink drain and the stove vent. This will be sheathed in blue board and eventually white subway tiles. Ooh la la. (DIY learning moment: when installing a wall that will be tiled, you need to use blue board instead of run-of-the-mill sheetrock because it is stronger and can take the added moisture from the mastic and grout.)

After working on the “accent wall” (how exciting, I’m starting to be able to use interior design phrases!), we worked on hanging more sheetrock. A mid-day visit from my mom and dad took me off the sheetrock project and onto another project very dear to my heart – upgrading the rather sorry mailbox (which still had the previous owner’s name on it).

My dad and I really bonded over this one – brought me back to days of “helping” on home improvement projects at 11 Turnpike Road. On Dad’s suggestion, we relocated the mailbox from the corner of the driveway to the front of the house so that we can walk out the front door to get the mail. After installing the “no-dig pole” twice (too close to the sidewalk on our first try), we assembled the new mailbox, which is “bronze” with brass accents to match the other brass details on the house. It wasn’t rocket science, but it was a rather involved process. Here we are, at last triumphant:

While Mom checked out a few local antique dealers, Ryan hung more sheetrock in the kitchen. It’s exciting to see solid walls, but just like when the ceiling went up, it will be an adjustment to see some of the spaces closed up.

Before Mom and Dad left, we had lunch at Shea’s in Essex. It’s just across the street from Woodman’s and looks onto the Essex River through large glass windows. They have binoculars at every table for wildlife sighting. Last time mom and I were there, we saw a Great Blue Heron, this time we saw an Osprey gliding along the riverbed.

Nice little weekend!

Drum roll, please...

Ryan found some time to draft up our Phase I reno.  For those of you who have struggling to figure out what the heck our long term plan is, here is the end goal.

Looks comfy, doesn't it? 

Distressing Corner (and Heat) Update

Saturday found us down in Wareham to winterize the McShera Fleet, a trusty (and slightly rusty) Grady White and new addition this year, a sailboat Ryan acquired in exchange for architectural services.  We look forward to enjoying both these fine water crafts next summer, as this summer we were up to our eyeballs in demo.  (I don’t want to jinx us, but our HOPE is to have the downstairs, excluding the bathroom, complete by next summer so that we can enjoy a little more downtime and tackle the yard as our summer project… might as well be OUTSIDE.)

Saturday night, we had a great time with Denise, Mo, and Jim, which included a tasty dinner at the Fosters followed by a visit to the Grafton Inn to see Jim and Rick’s high school buddy’s band.  After partying down with Westborough High School Class of 1970, we stayed over in Southborough and enjoyed the comforts of home – central heat and tasty breakfast prepared by Denise in the morning!   

Sunday, we turned our attention back to the Distressing Corner.  The house was really very, very awfully cold, but that is neither here nor there.  After layering up, we began to go to work on removing that terribly low threshold to the stairwell.  As we opened up the wall, it quickly became apparent that the corner post also had to be addressed.  

In general, our posts and beams have been in very good shape, but we have uncovered a few instances of The Dreaded Powder Post.  From what we’ve read, a house of our antique is likely to have some instances of this and though the very term strikes horror into the hearts of historic homeowners everywhere, it is Not The End of the World (Dad, are you reading this?).  The “upside” is that when the wood was originally used, it already had the beetles in it.  That means it’s taken over 150 years for the damage to be done.  Other good news – if the wood is dry, the beetles won’t survive.  Over the next few years, we’ll be likely opening up every wall and ceiling in the house, so we will find any problem areas and address them as needed.  So, the best we can do (and did) is to pull out any junky wood, replace structural framing, control future moisture, and hit any pieces we can’t pull out with healthy treatment an insecticide (so not green, but we do our best here, folks). 

But back to the threshold.  After discovering and addressing the corner board, Ryan removed the old beam, added a new, higher header (using some more of our salvaged Salem church lumber), and framed everything back up.

In addition to being one less thing I can injure myself on, it also allows much more light into the stairwell.  Demo crept around the corner and into the well, and as we peeled back layers of ugly wall paper, linoleum (who puts linoleum on walls?), sheetrock, unnecessary and odd framing, and more plaster and lathe, we gained ourselves a little more room in that little stairwell.  

It’s amazing the wasted space that eventually builds up over years of just adding small layers.  We still want to pop a window in at the bottom of the stairs, but that will most likely not happen until next spring (but you never know…).  This open wall means another opportunity for insulation, and you can bet we’ll be doing that!

The first two steps into the stairwell were casualties of the day – we tried to put them back in place temporarily, but they were tippy and since we plan to reconfigure the steps, we didn’t want to put the time into rebuilding them.  For now we are doing high-knees into the stairwell.  Tela can manage it just fine and so can we.  In addition to turning the stairs into the kitchen, we might add a triangular step once in the well for a little “architectural flair.”

As we were wrapping up our work on the stairway threshold, our neighbor Bob came by.  Kathy, of Guinness Beef Stew in a Pumpkin fame, had sent Bob over with a full turkey dinner for two.  Turkey, stuffing, gravy, all the sides you can imagine – amazing!  Bob said since they knew we didn’t have a kitchen, they thought we might enjoy their leftovers.  What wonderful neighbors.  We are so lucky.  And in case you were wondering… it was delicious.  I need her stuffing recipe – walnuts, celery, and I think maybe pear???  I would have taken a picture, but quite honestly, we ate it all up too fast for that.  The house was so cold, I can only I imagine Bob going back to their place saying, “Kathy, those kids don’t have heat over there!”  Once this kitchen is up and running, we owe those two big time.

The presently balmy weather (gosh, I wish it has been so when we were working on Sunday) had made the heat "issue" not quite as pressing, though work has been steadily plugging along, albeit slower than promised.  Here's a shot of our new 82% Efficient Natural Gas boiler. Isn't she a looker?

You can see another project of ours that didn't make the blog, the addition of a couple new lolly columns under the center beam.  The pipe fitter cranked them a bit for us and out popped this wooden column which had seen better days.  The lollies are nice and sturdy and the floor above (the front rooms) also feels more solid.

All that's left is electrical hook up to the boiler and thermostat, connecting all the radiators and taking out the old oil drum.  Our basement will never be a welcoming space, but a lot of old, rusty junk will be coming out of it and we will have additional room if we are ever able to fully deem it water tight and suitable for storage (jury is most definitely still out on that one).

Which brings us up to present day... with the radiators being hooked up "very soon," tonight Ryan and I went to work on hanging the drywall that will be behind the radiator in the kitchen.  As part of it, we also sheathed in the stairwell threshold and we are just so pleased with how it looks.  Here's a few process shots and the "final" product.