Entry for April 23, 2006

It was a good weekend.

Friday night I started hanging the plastic sheets in the dining room and removing all cabinets and other items in the room.

I nailed all the loose bead boards on that ceiling which as expected resultied in some foul language.Over all the ceiling is in good shape, a few split boards here and there along with some warped places. The thing is over 75 years old, andplus it was hiding under sheet rock for who knows how many years.

Saturday morning I started caulking all the joints to prevent the fine dirt particles from falling in the dining room. I was able to get 2-1/2 coates of primer on as well. There were several stains on the ceiling, apparently from some old roof leaks. Gin painted all the trim work for the crown molding in the two rooms.

Sunday came sore and tired, but our spirit was good. I was determined to make the first light fixture box no matter what, I had enough painting for one weekend. I helped Gin move some of the cabinets to the porch for staining.

I took my time and figured out a way to hang a box with a window attached to it with drawer slides. I completed the box and was able to get it attached to the ceiling with Gin's help. I added support boards in the attic to secure the box.

During the afternoon break, Gin was sitting on the porch swing with Stetson, Caris' cokatiel bird. I walked out with a peanutbutter and honey sandwich and decided to sit on a bag chair. As I was opening the bag chair Stetson decided to take a flight in the front yard. He flew off the porch and up into one of our big oak trees.

I ran out in the yard during his flight to find his destination. He was sitting on one of the lower branches but well out of reach. I ran to the garage to get the extension ladder while Gin kept an eye on him.

The 25' ladder would not reach the branch by about 15 feet. So I placed against the tree and proceeded to climb up after him. The tree was in need of some trimming, so I worked on some of that during my climb, there was no need for me to get scratched up by a tree during the rescue.

I finally got close enough to him and used an old stick to force him toward my foot. When he was on my foot I reached down and grabbed him and stuffed him down my shirt. As I started down the tree he decided he did not like it under there so he tried to escape via my arm pit and out the sleeve. His little plan was halted and I forced him to the naval academy. We finally made it down and to the safety of the cage.

OK back to work. Gin did some painting in the dining room as I worked on removing the glaze and window panes from the window for the second light. I went back to the light fixture box that we installed, wired the fixtures, installed the bulbs and replaced the switch. I cut some plastic filter glass to fit in window frames.

We finally started cleaning up and bringing in the cabinets around 7:00.Time for some rest before I start a busy work week.

Two weeks left until Patrick and Jessica's weddding.

P@

Entry for April 17, 2006

My intentions were to continue working on the kitchen ceiling, but a little change in plans worked out for the better.

A few weeks ago we glued some hard wood flooring together to make one of three new kitchen counter tops. Friday night I finished the first counter top with the front edge and end pices. I had some frustrating moments at first but finally manged to pull it all together and complete it.

Saturday I started on the counter top that goes in the corner. I decided to do a herring bone patern in the corner versus 45 degree mitred ends. I had totrim about 5 inches of tungue bead off of one end of each piece as it fit in the corner. I would then cut biscuit slots in two side of the corner ends of each board. I made all the cuts and first, made a dry assembly to ensure it was what I wanted. The gluing went pretty fast. All the biscuit ends fit snug and had very few warped boards. I only had to clamp the assembly twice to hold a tight fit.

I used the orbital sander to take out the high spots and prepare for stain. I moved the two counter tops upstairs in the back bedroom for Gin to stain. Both pices have different shades of the stain on the individual boards to give them great character. I would say this is was a sucsessfull weekend for the renovation.

More pictures are in my photo album.
Next weekend it's back to the ceiling.
P@

Entry for April 9, 2006

Kitchen work is dirty work!

Time for the kitchen ceiling to come down. Last weekend I removed the insulation and cleared most of the debris from above the kitchen and dining room ceiling. Saturday I hung plastic along the kitchen walls to cover the cabinets, stove and fridge. I removed the ceiling fan and pendant light over the sink. Then I removed the gypsum board attached to the ceiling revealing the original bead board ceiling.

The mess was pretty substantial after it was all down. I removed the heavy debris and swept up the dust. Then it was upstairs for more precise cleaning of the top side of the ceiling.

After cleaning I nailed the loose boards and created a second sprinkling of debris that was left in the nooks and crannies. I managed to scrape up enough enrgy to remove the plastic and mop the floor twice. Then it was off to dinner with Gin, Caris and Thomas. BBQ was the fare for the evening with an ice cream sunday to finish.

Sunday brought a trip to the hardware store for more dust masks, and wood for trim molding. I then proceded to hang more plastic and remove the old brick from the original stove pipe. The brick was supported at the ceiling with a metal banded hanger system. The chimney part was 8 bricks high. That is where it was removed to when the new roof was installed. Below the ceiling the stove apparently had a round pipe that went to the chimney brick. The brick was used as protection from the heat of the pipe near the wood framing. It was a big mess to say the least.

Next task was applying the first coat of primer to the original ceiling. Then I installed three new 36" flourecent lights. The lights will be housed in a box that will be enclosed at the bottom with one of the old double hung windows. I will support the window with a drawer slide for access to the light bulbs. The window will slide away from the box for access. When it is done I will post pictures.

P@

Entry for April 03, 2006

Last week was a little more productive in the house. We purchased some unfinished oak floor bundles for making new counter tops. It's a lot cheeper than anything else anywhere. We assembled the first counter top for the long wall next to the stairs. It took two evenings to glue and clamp a few rows at a time. Everything went together fairly tight with only two minor gaps due to a little bow in the boards. Over all we are both pleased with the results. Gin will stain them Golden Oak and then apply a few coats of a poly satin finish. We will provide several cutting boards in specific locations for protection once in place.

I also patched the section of wall where the old divider wall was between the kitchen and dining room. The short section of wall on the kitchen side was out about 1/2 inch from the dining room side. It was an easy fix by cutting the nails at the top and bottom of the first stud and hammering it flush with the dining room studs. A few 3 inch screws later the wall was secure and the patch was applied.

I crawled under the house again Saturday morning and set up three concrete cinder block pillars to support a new 2" x 8" beam. This took out the majority of the 1" sag in the middle of the kitchen floor. I used a car jack under the new beam to raise the floor. After a few shims and some minor adjusting of supports, everything worked well. Now I feel better about having the fridge in that part of the kitchen. We celebrated the succesfull day by endulging in a Denny's breakfast for dinner. It's been a while since I ate that much breakfast.

I spent Sunday morning removing the old insulation from a bove the kitchen and dining room ceiling (in the attic). Once I removed all the fiberglass rolls, I bagged all the blown in loose insulation. I still need to sweep up all the debris that was left behind by the roofers when that work was done for the previous owner. All the gritty debris makes its way down through the gaps in the old bead board ceiling. I will probably get the rest up one evening this week.

We spent the rest of Sunday afternoon with Patrick, Jessica and friends for their wedding couples shower. Couples shower? Yes, now the trend is to have a couples shower instead of a bridal shower. The groom gets some gifts in the new era. The shower was held at a large church in Greer, where Patrick and I managed to slip away for a little father vs. son basketball in the gym. I did pretty well for an old man. It would have been worse if I was still lugging around that spare tire.

This week and next weekend will be geared toward more kitchen work with the goal to have the cabinets leveled and set. I may even get started on making the new sink cabinet. You'll have to wait for next week's blog for the results.
P@