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February, 2006

Despite no entries here for the last week or so, things are getting done in a timely way.  All the kitchen cabinets are installed and I started on the filler cabinets on Friday.

In the bath, Marie didn't like the wood trim outlining the tile, nor the dark green color.  Also, she pointed out that she thought the sink and medicine cabinet were still a little closer to the tub than she liked, and that she thought I would have centered it between the toilet and tub.

Fortunately, it was relatively easy for me to remove, and move the cabinet, and the electrical box for the light fixture above it, 1-3/4 inches to the left,  by changing a little of framing behind the wall.  That inch-and-three-quarters makes all the difference in this small bath, because now the shower curtain does not looked crammed between the tub and the sink.

Installing the sink slightly off-center from the plumbing was not a problem for Jim, our plumber.  Of course the one thing we couldn't move was the rough plumbing, but it is hardly noticeable unless you really were looking for it.

It was easy to remove the trim as well.  These pictures are just before I removed the trim.

Marie just wants cap tiles all around  I ordered the cap tiles on Thursday, and picked them up on Friday.  It took me about three hours to install most of them.  Even though I preferred the look of the wood trim, just having white tiles all around makes the room look bigger and cleaner.  I'll repaint the door jamb, and the two cabinets white.  And now, cutting in when I paint will be a lot easier.  I'll finish up and grout on Monday.

Here is an updated punchlist for Maries job.  This does not include the work list for the rest of the house, mainly the living and dining rooms, that I mentioned previously.

Today is Sunday, but I had to go out and do some work today.  My friends, Kelli and Tom, whose really cool Victorian house in Oak Park I've had the privilege to work on before --they are nearing the end of their multi-year restoration.  Upstairs most of the wallpaper is up in the bedrooms, the final stripping of the woodwork is done, everything is painted and shellacked.  So today I went in to do a light sanding and shellac three of the bedroom floors and the hall.  I'll go back next weekend to put on the second coat.

Though it was a little tiring for my back, and especially my knees, I enjoyed the work today.  It's all on hands-and-knees work.  there's really no other way.  You've just got to get down there close to the work.  I'm picked up a nice four-inch, very soft, bristle brush.  It's a kick to apply a good shellac with a high quality brush.  I love using shellac.  I even love the smell of it - it's not bad, actually quite a pleasant smell.  But I didn't really get to enjoy that part of it, because I now I almost always wear a respirator when I'm working with solvents, especially when I'm right down there in it on the floor.  I've got to try to stay as healthy as I can - no more taking my health for granted like I used to.

I didn't get to finish the bathroom today.  Here are some pictures of the changes I made in the tile on Saturday.  It was Marie's idea.  It looks a lot better.

Spent the whole day today on the fill-in cabinets and the back panel of the peninsula cabinets.

There was about 7 inches of space at the end of the window wall, so I put together a wine cabinet, the only thing that would fit in that space and be useful.

And I made a cabinet for some space left over under the stock cabinets on the porch.

Then I took about 2 hours to remove some more of the floor tiles in the living and dining rooms and clean up the whole place.  It'll be nice to come back to the job on Thursday to a clean workplace.  The mess was getting a little out of hand, and I was spending a bit too much time looking for tools.

Got back Wednesday evening about 8 PM.  A few things and then right to bed.  Due to the medication - a potent antihistamine I take for a chronic inner ear disorder - which is a must for me if I want to travel on airplanes, I was plenty drowsy.  Anyhow I had to get up early Thursday Morning because the electricians from Hoeksema were scheduled to arrive at 7:30.  And the guy was also scheduled to come out an measure countertops at 7:15.  So I was at the job at 7.

Yesterday and today (Friday), I removed the dining room sashes.  The top ones were painted in.  i was careful not to damage the aluminum weather stripping , because I want to reuse it.  Stripped paint from the window casings and trim as well as the base on that wall.

Also did some more paint removal on the fireplace.

Had to cut a hole in the side of the microwave cabinet, as well do a few other small jobs to prep things for the electricians to do their trimming out.  They got most of the job done, but had to order a few other items, which they will install Monday morning.

The most dramatic installation this week was the pendant light fixture over the counter.  I've used this design element before and I kind of like it, so I did it again here.  Rooms are so boring with just "can" lighting.

I'll be working Saturday and Sunday again.  I enjoyed the two day hiatus, but now have to make up for the lost time.

I started today by removing all the living room sashes.  The top ones were all painted in and it took a little time to get them out without damaging them.  Not a big deal - I've done it once or twice, or a hundred times, before.  That was the fun part.  The next part sucked, i.e. stripping paint from the wood, I was thinking that I loathed nothing more than removing paint.

The bathroom light fixture came in from Restoration Hardware and I installed that temporarily in the bathroom to see what it would look like.  Marie really liked it.  Me too.

Woke up this morning stiff as a board, but still had to work today.  Went over to Kelli's and Tom's place in Oak Park to apply the second coat of shellac on the second floor.  Beautiful.

While there, I took some photos of the staircase in their house which I repaired, and had restored the shellac finish.  Look at all those detailed spindles!  It was very tedious stripping off the old finish!  I think the job took a couple of weeks, start to finish.  I did that work a couple of years ago, but never got any decent photos then.  Since that time, Kelli got the wallpaper hung and the old lincrustra on the walls restored and repainted.

Phew, what a week!

I had finally scheduled Peter, my floor-sanding subcontractor for Thursday this week.  That gave me three days to get all the wood stripped,

the rest of the fireplace stripped,

the bad part of one wall in the bedroom demolished,

and the rest of the glued down vinyl tile removed.

Then we had to get all the furniture out and cram it all onto the porch and in the already crowded basement.   The fireplace brick had to be neutralized.  (The remover is a caustic, so I used several gallons of white vinegar, which is a mild acid, and applied in several applications with a 2 gallon pump sprayer - making the house, and me, smell like a salad for a couple of hours.)

All the doors had to be taken off, and all our junk removed from all the rooms - living room, dining room, two bedrooms and hall - and the floors scraped and swept clean.

So I worked a long day on Monday by myself.  Fortunately my son Tristan was available Tuesday and Wednesday and we both put in a couple of long hard days together.

Yesterday, Peter and one helper arrived at 8 A, and finished the sanding job by about 6:30 P.

Peter in motion:

The floor looked so great "in the white".

It's too bad wood can't be left that way.  Wood looks so beautiful when it is finely finished in its natural state.  Unfortunately, it doesn't last that way long, because it is so prone to oxidation, and absorbs accumulated dirt and oils easily without finish.

This morning, I vacuumed thoroughly and then applied the first coat of shellac.

After the misery of stripping earlier in the week, shellacking was heaven!  God, I love that finish.  Just like a Stadivarius.

The electricians dropped by this AM to finish the electric.  All the under-counter lights are in

and all the outlets are live.  We're now ready for that final inspection.  Another milestone.

Second coat of shellac tomorrow, but I will not work Sunday.  No way.  This Sunday will be all day on the fiddle again.  Oh yeah.

Second coat of shellac today. 

I picked up a new 4-inch soft bristle "Shipmate" brush for the job.  It was about 19 bucks, but a good brush really makes the job.  And a little skill and experience on my part.  I don't like to brag...yes I do ---notice, no lap marks.  (That's why most flooring and finishing contractors will not even talk about shellac.)  I had just the right technique yesterday and was cookin' with gas!  Sweet.

Now we just have to be careful to protect the floors while we finish up the rest of the job.

Yesterday at Marie's house, Tristan and I got a good day's work done.  We stained and installed the head casing in the dining room.

It still needs a moulding detail on the top, which I'll mill next week, hopefully.  We also put up some drywall in the bedroom where we removed the plaster last week.  Then we moved all of the heavy furniture back, and set up a couple of beds.  Marie has house guests this week, and wanted to make the construction zone at least a little bit comfortable (and kid-safe) while they're here.  Her Daughter, Denise, and granddaughter, Kate flew in from Little Rock this morning.

Today, I did a lot of little chores to help get the house in order, including finishing a little tile work and grouting, and getting the towel bars hung in the bath.

Unfortunately the countertops are not yet ready to be installed.  But we're scheduled for installation on Friday - yippee!.  But then I don't think if we'll be able to get the plumbers out until Monday.  Oh well.

Today I stained the kitchen window and jambs, and then installed the casing.  We decided to go with a casing of narrow width and to miter all the corners.  It took a little extra time, but gives it a much cleaner look.  I think it turned out well.

I also stained the kitchen side of the two-way door between the kitchen and dining room.

Finally, I put a new casing on the little niche cabinet I made, to match the window casing.

The wood staining is tricky on this job, because there are so many different wood species to deal with.  The old doors are birch, the cabinets are cherry, the new back door is pine, the extension jambs and casings are poplar, and the windows are pine. Even though I'm using the same stain, it will be impossible to get everything to match exactly with the deep color we've chosen.  Hopefully, things will even out more when the varnish is applied.  I haven't decided yet whether I'll go with a water based acrylic varnish, which will stay clear but tends to look a little washed out, or use an oil varnish which will bring out richer colors and has a finer sheen, but will also darken over time.

I had to put a piece of plywood on top of the cabinets to climb up on, so that I could do the staining of the window.  It was important to get it done today before the countertops are installed tomorrow afternoon - I didn't want to be climbing on those!

Marie and I are both full of anticipation.  The granite countertops are easily the most expensive single installation of this whole project.  She spent a lot of time choosing the material, and the color.  Then we even drove an hour each way to the warehouse to pick out our granite slabs before the countertops were fabricated.

Today's story can be told mostly in pictures.  Ludek, the granite fabricator and installer for Corna Tile came at about 12:30.  Here is Ludek (on the right), with his able assistant.

Marie is happy with the countertops (gross understatement).

Now we have to choose tile for the backsplash.  And then paint colors.  After that all the design choices are complete.  Well actually there are window coverings to choose as well.  I know what I like, but it's up to Marie.

We've already pretty much agreed on the art glass that I designed.  I'll show that when it's done - way at the end of the job.

Well a kitchen ain't a kitchen without water.  So this afternoon, it officially became a kitchen.  Jim came in this morning at about 8A and finished plumbing in the sink, dishwasher and water supply to the refrigerator (filtered water and ice-maker) by about 4P.

While Jim was at that, I covered all our new floors in the living, dining room, hall and bedroom with resin paper.  That will protect the new finish while I complete the work.

After covering the floors, I cut through the wall in the hall that backs the front bedroom closet.

Not being able to find a way to build in any kind of linen closet cabinet into the bath, Marie and I had given up on the idea.  Until I had a little brainstorm a couple of weeks ago and realized that there was a just perfect place for it in the hall, just near the bath.  We lose a little space inside the closet behind - but this new linen cabinet will be extremely convenient, able to hold plenty of towels, toilet rolls and other bathroom stuff.

I felt real dumb as to not have thought of it during the design phase of the project.  Live and learn!

Since Jim finished at 4 o'clock, I decided to finish early too.

Only worked a couple of hours today, after chasing around the city doing errands and things.

The ceiling light fixture which is supposed to be over the table in the little dinette/porch is not centered.  When the electricians were roughing in, we kind of missed our mark, and it's just not in the right place.  So I had to make a hole in the new ceiling, pull the wires from the box, then cut the conduit and add an extension to lengthen it to the place where we want to be.  I'll finish that tomorrow after Marie gives me the final OK as to where she wants it exactly.

Today at Marie's I bought a router bit, borrowed a router table from my friend Roger Keys and got the moulding milled to go over the head casings in the living and dining rooms.  Then I finiished the installation of the casings and had time to et the moulding up as well.  Sorry, I forget to take pictures today.

Marie wanted me to be done by 4PM today.  But that was okay, because it gave me more time to come home and do a little extra practicing on my fiddle.  I need it because I have to play a concert next week and haven't had much time to look at the music yet.

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