Video: Paint In Den Stripped

Posted on | January 25, 2010 | 15 Comments

I made my first you tube video over the weekend. I have a lot to learn about shooting, editing, music, intro etc. I can’t wait to share more of the house. It’s so hard to get a real feel for the space with just photos. Click on the video above to learn more about our den.

I’m still unsure what color to paint the molding. Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my post. I read every single one of them. I am leaning towards painting the molding off white. The room is really dark. I’m afraid adding a dark color to the molding will only make the room feel smaller.

Over the weekend we stripped more paint; I painstakingly cleaned each individual fluted molding, all 257 of them. I want the lines to be as crisp as possible. Hopefully, when the paint is applied we won’t loose any of the detail. Greg finished removing the ceiling from the little room off the den. The space is a total mess. Ug, another room to clean. Photos below.

Category: house renovation, video

What Color Do I Paint The Molding?

Posted on | January 21, 2010 | 67 Comments

We are almost done stripping and sanding the den. I should probably get a handle on what color I want to paint the room. I know I lot of you have commented that I should leave the molding as is. I’m not a huge fan of all wood rooms, it’s way too masculine for my taste. The floors will get stripped eventually so we can all get our shiny wood fix.

We have found areas of green stain on the wood which looks like it could have been the original color. I have come across photos green molding in a number of historic homes. Part of me would like to honor the tradition but at the same time I am leaning towards something more modern. Paint the wood green or paint the walls green and paint the molding cream or a combo of both? Below a few photos I am using for inspiration.

I could paint parts of the molding green like the images below from Michael Smith and Farrow & Ball. Oh gosh, I just don’t know. In this case I wish someone would tell me what to do. At least I know I want the room to be green.

p.s. I added more photos of the room and a video (click over for the video, it made my server crash) so everyone could get a better idea of the space. The video was taken at 11 am when the room gets the most morning light. I imagine the room being airy and cozy with a rolled armed sofa, floral accents and stripes.

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Category: house renovation, interiors, paint colors

House Renovation: Sanding Wood

Posted on | January 15, 2010 | 22 Comments

This week Greg has been researching sanding techniques for the wood paneling in our den. He picked up some sanding flaps that can be attached to his hand drill for sanding the molding and fluted trim. He modified the flaps by cutting the sandpaper to make it softer and more pliable. He then holds the drill up to the molding and sands. It’s not working out so great. We still have to get into the grooves. I was using a heat gun to try to scrape out the rest of the paint but it’s laborious. He’s now contemplating trying out a soft wire wheel attachment instead.

He picked up some screened sanding pads and a sanding block that helps control dust while sanding. They both work great on the large flat areas of the paneling. He hooks the block up to a small vacuum that sucks up dust as you sand.

I bought him a Rockwell Sonicrafter for Christmas which has been great for sanding hard to reach spots like corners and door frames. We are still trying out all our new tools. Both of us have been sick this week and haven’t felt like doing too much. If you have ideas on how to sand wood with minimal dust please leave a comment below.

Category: house renovation

Fixing Doorway & Ceiling Conversation

Posted on | January 6, 2010 | 47 Comments

The last few nights we been restless and neither one of us can fall asleep. The conversation eventually turns to the renovation and Greg asks me night after night, “So have you decided what you want to do about the doorway?”. I argue with myself in circles with no interjections from Greg.

“I just don’t know. We should put it back. Let’s keep it wide because I like they way it connects the large and small room. It’s more historically accurate to have it narrow. I don’t want to ruin the house. I just don’t know, what do you think?”

Who ever thought the width of doorway could cause so much uncertainty and angst? Tonight, I’m thinking I want it to be narrow again. The reason the doorway got gutted because the right side of the frame had been cut and wall was crumbling (see photo below). It had to fixed. While we were fixing it I thought I like the doorway wider. The photo above shows it narrow and wider. Thus, the battle begins…

In other news, we have decided to take down all the ceilings on the second floor. It’s a super messy job but I figure while we are at it we might as well do them all. Each one has it’s own trouble spots and will eventually need to be replaced. I figure if I hire someone to come hang new ceilings it’s better to get four rooms done at once rather then one at a time. No, I’m not hanging ceilings myself. From what I have heard it relatively inexpensive and I don’t want my amateur job to be an eye sore for the rest of my life. (greg will read this say to me, “we are totally doing it ourselves”.)

I’m hoping in the now dining that hopefully someday will be a bedroom I can leave the beams exposed. The room feels really squat and doesn’t get much natural light (below). Hopefully this coming weekend we will be able to do some more demo and see what we have to work with.

Category: house renovation

House Renovation: Ceiling & Frozen Pipes

Posted on | December 23, 2009 | 20 Comments

Before the holiday I thought I would share our latest home renovation drama. First the good part. Greg removed the rest of the ceiling from the den. On the other side of the room we found a little water damage. The beams are sagging a bit. When your in our office above the room Greg’s aeron chair rolls down a slope if you don’t keep both feet on the floor. We are brainstorming fixes. We also found more treasures in the ceiling; an old shoe and a piece of striped fabric.

Marblehead had a very large shoe industry back in the day. I think we had a cobbler living in our house. If you look here you’ll see a photo of a set of tools we found last week.

Now the gross part. I battled sharing this story for the last week. After many discussions with friends and family I’ve decided even the embarrassing stories of our renovation need to shared. We’ll look back at this adventure and laugh, right?

Last week it was really cold. I think temperatures dipped to about 5 degrees. Last winter we had problems with our pipes freezing but where learned some tricks. We did the standard checks Thursday night; made sure heat was on downstairs (we live on second and third floors) and let the faucets drip. Unfortunately, Greg choose to let the cold water drip. For the record, I had the hot dripping when I went to bed. But somebody came along and decided he knew better.

The next morning the water turned on just fine. We both breathed a sigh of relief and laughed about how bad it was when the pipes froze last winter. We went about our normal business. Coffee, breakfast, and then upstairs to work. We both work from home. Greg had a busy day of back to back conference calls. He went downstairs around 10 am to use the bathroom and came back and quietly mumbled, “The toilet is clogged and it backed up into the tub”. His voice seemed non-urgent so I didn’t really give it much thought. Maybe it would unclog itself?

Around noon after his conference call ended he stomped back downstairs. From the upstairs office I heard lots of yelling, banging, and drill noises. I guess the drain didn’t unclog itself? I went downstairs asked if he needed help. I got a short answer back. Something about just getting out of his way. At this point poop was all over the bathroom. The tub was full and he was using a drill to snake the pipes.

After this I heard more banging, cursing, stomping downstairs, and our truck squealing out of the driveway. Guess he went to the hardware store? (I took the below photo while he was gone…I cropped out the poop tub.) He was back in about 10 minutes, fiddled in the bathroom for a few minutes, and then came back upstairs with a comment of, “useless” and then back on another 2 hour conference call.

I tried not to ask questions. He seemed pretty mad and didn’t really feel like I could offer any advice. I went to Foodie’s for lunch and used their bathroom.

By 5 pm I was still working, he made it back down to the bathroom and yelled to me it was fixed. Really, great? He was calmer but particles of poop where still in the tub. I saw some flinging into the toilet and my hand towels soaked on the floor. I literally puked in my mouth. An hour later after all the major poop was gone I offered to bleach down the entire bathroom and clean up. I felt bad. I told him he was the best poop declogger ever. I got a “Thanks, baby” and we went upstairs and watched a Friday night movie.

He told me later the pipe had frozen at the point where the indoor line turns to the sewer line. He assumed this happened because the cold water he dripped froze up. He remedied the situation by pouring boiling water down the drain.

p.s. this post was from my point of view. Greg had no input but I am sure he’ll add in his own comments once he gets home. I’m sure I’ll hear from him that’s not how it happened at all.

Related Post:
Working On Removing Ceiling

Category: house renovation

Working On Removing Ceiling

Posted on | December 14, 2009 | 17 Comments

On Saturday, Greg and I worked on removing the ceiling from the den. We first removed the dry wall that was added sometime around the 1920’s (I found a date on a small piece with 1921 as a marking) when we assume they added electricity. Below the dry wall was a series of laths covered with portions of plaster.

Lath and plaster was a common construction technique that was used up until the 1950’s. The lath is the narrow strips of wood nailed horizontally across the ceiling. We are removing the lath so we can install a new ceiling that properly matches up with the decorative crown molding. Previously, it was hung too low and sagging which covered up parts of the beautiful woodwork. After the the lath is removed from the entire ceiling we will install blueboard with a skim coat of plaster—a technique that mimics the look of old lath and plaster.

Above some objects we found in the ceiling between the lath and beams. To the left a hand-stitched cotton bag, a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, leather, and then some objects we have yet to identify. Maybe shoe templates and tools?

p.s. greg picked me up this great book of Martha Stewart renovating her Turkey Hill home in Westport, Connecticut. She includes every detail including decorating and landscaping. The books is inspiring but also makes me insanely jealous that I can’t afford a crew to renovate my home.