Design – Page 2 – Sista Girl with Skills

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April 3, 2019August 19, 2020

Dead Space to Closet Space

There is one TOTALLY complete area in my house, the master bathroom linen closet. I’ve been psyching myself out. The piles of trim and moulding in my basement has had me overwhelmed, so I’ve been avoiding it until this week. If all the trim reinstall goes this smoothly I’ll be the happiest DIYer on the planet.

For those that have not been following the entire journey or if you need a refresher, the linen closet in my master bath was dead space behind walls that was revealed during demo. Thanks to Pinterest I got the brilliant idea to replace this crawl space closet (I have two others that are even bigger) by inserting a dresser into the wall, see inspiration, in my master bedroom. This meant I was able to relocate the door and moulding and use it to create the linen closet in the bathroom. I had to patch the missing floor and frame out a wall to create the space. Check out the picture slideshow at the bottom of Have I Said Lately How Much I LOVE Restoring This House post.

The moulding and shelve brackets from that closet have been sitting in my master floor, with nails still in them waiting to puncture my foot, since December. I thought it would be quick pull them out, use my tried and true Restor-A-Finish clean-up method, and nail them up in new closet. Unfortunately I learned that the new closet was actually wider by 6.5″, so the shelve and moulding would be too short. What to do?????

I started by hanging the shelve brackets. I didn’t concern myself about the gaps on the end of each center bracket because there was still more than enough support for the shelve.

To clean up the brackets, I just used Murphy Oil Soap and water. The moulding I cleaned with the denatured alcohol in preparation for the Restor-A-Finish, but they didn’t look like they needed it. Instead I wiped them down with Howard’s (same company for the Restor-A-Finish) Feed-N-Wax. This company makes an awesome line of products. The Feed-N-Wax worked GREAT, so much so that I used it on the door too as it was in far better condition than other doors I’ve restored. I will most likely do this process (Oil Soap to remove dust and Feed-N-Wax) on more doors in similar condition.

The closet is wider, so I needed to extend the floor moulding center piece and for that I used a piece of the moulding that was on the opening (door) side. I decided to not trim out the inside of the door, which freed up some extra moulding.

To extend the moulding I cut one end of the long piece to a 45 degree angle and glued the 6.5″ extension, also cut at a 45 degree angle to it. I used a product called Insta-Bond, that my carpenter, Tom Milfeld, told me about. I’m not 100% sold on this product; I’m batting 50/50 on it holding, but it held on this and you can barely tell where the splice meets.

Next up the shelves. Only one of the two were still in the house and unlike the brackets I could not use the original due to the bracket design. Instead I went to Home Depot and bought a 4′ x 8′ sheet of pine ply-wood and had them cut it in half and down to 64″ in length (only way to get it in my car). To make the front edge look finished, I also purchased 1/4″ x 3/4″ pine moulding that I glued and pin nailed to the plywood. I thought I wanted extra wide shelves, given I will only have two, but once I saw the first in the space I decided to rip it down to 18″. Still 2″ wider than original. After a dry fit they were ready for staining. Tip (I did not do and should have): sand the pine moulding after it’s installed. 1) to get rid of any glue residue and 2) that brand seems to have a waxy film on it that does not absorb stain well, which I knew from past projects. I was just eager to get this done and didn’t take the extra time.

I used Zar wood stain in Early American that I bought from Sherwin Williams for the kitchen built-in. This was a great way to see if I had been recommended the right color and I believe it is, so I’m anxious to start working on the built-in again. Britt Sang, door painter/stainer, used Minwax Polyacrylic on the inside of my front door and gave me the leftovers. I decided to use it on the shelves, just to protect them a bit. I had never used this product, but will use it again on the built-in. It was very easy to use and, unlike oil-based polyurethane products I’ve used, did not smell and dried fast. I applied three coats, sanding lightly with 220 grit sandpaper between each coat. It only needed 2 hours of drying time between coats, so this part was done in a day.

They recommend allowing 24 hours before actual use, but I placed in the closet and throw in two sachets of lavender to hopefully nix the faint chemical smell. I did wait before placing my contents. Thrilled with the end results and re-energized to tackle more.

January 12, 2019January 13, 2019

All I Wanted For My Birthday Was A New Front Door

When I received an offer on my childhood house and the buyer asked for a three-week close I realized I hadn’t dealt with my front door. Several times over the course of the year it was front of mind, but each time got pushed aside for various reasons. When I finally put in the order I was told it would take 8 weeks to manufacture. Before installing it would need to be stained and painted, another 10 days. I did not want to host an Open House with a boarded up door, so I cancelled my planned Holiday Open House and set my sights on a Birthday Open House.

The original door is wood and 40″ wide. The side lights were built with 12 individual beveled pieces of glass on each side. Only 50% of the panes were in place. Early on I looked at having the side lights rebuilt, but one side was too far gone and the cost for just the glass would have been $1200. Apparently due to their size they would need to be hand cut. I was not stuck on wood for the door, but I was stuck on the 40″ width. As I’ve shared many times, my goal is to restore the house, not just renovate. She was built with a big door, so she needed to maintain her big door in my opinion.

I understand there are all sorts of maintenance issues with wood doors, but to my advantage my entry is covered preventing the door from getting direct exposure to sunlight and other weather elements. I was willing to go with steel or fiberglass, but unfortunately 36″ is their standard width. If I was going to need to go custom my preference was wood, which became my focus. I was also not willing to lose the arched, beveled glass transom above the door. Several local door installers that looked at the door told me everything had to be replaced and I was not buying that.

I found several wood door manufactures on the Internet, but became focused on Simpson Door Company. I was told Simpson was the Chevy of wood doors. Moderate in cost and reliable. I started mocking up various door designs from their website They did not offer the exact 6 panel design of my original door, but they had some close enough options. Recreating the side lights with twelve individual pieces of beveled glass was not an option.Simpson only works with authorize dealers, so upon entering my zip code on their website I got a list of businesses that carries their brand. I contacted several, most never called me back. I had already started doing business with Hyde Park Lumber for my trim and they were on the list, so I ordered the door from them on October 23rd. I selected the door and sidelight mock-up on the upper right. Hyde Park Lumber doesn’t paint or install, but they referred me to Britt Sang of JM Painting. The door will be stained on the inside to match my existing moulding and painted on the outside. Sidelight Incredible White and door Harvester, both Sherwin William colors.

The door color is my only departure from the HGTV 2017 Urban Giveaway color scheme. They had a pink door, which I just could not do. Harvester was not my first choice. I wanted They Call It Mellow, but apparently yellow has fading issues and they do not offer that particular yellow in an exterior paint. A very helpful store clerk helped me select Harvester.

When I purchased the house the right side of the door, where all but two of the 12 panes of glass were gone, just had a flimsy piece of particle board covering it. The left side was not much better, but the all of the remaining glass was exposed. I took some scrap plywood I had and covered both sides. I tested out my exterior paint color, Sea Serpent, and put house numbers on in yellow just to see if I was making the right move by departing from the HGTV design.

The house was more secure, but it was not weatherized. Never could I have imagined that I would be living in the house, during winter, with the original door. After the first week of really cold temps I had to break down and tape plastic over the sidelights in the inside because I could literally feel the cold air climbing up the stairs and reaching me in my master suite. I also purchased a MAXTID double door draft stopper to plug the two-inch gap at the bottom of the door. Tolerable solution for the 8-10 weeks I’d need to endure while waiting on the door.

The door was scheduled to arrive on December 17. Britt was ready to receive. I had delivered the paint and stain to him. He had a family vacation already scheduled for Dec 27-30, but felt he could get at least one side done prior and have the door finished with time for curing by the week of Jan 7. My installer, Doug with Sentry Doors and Windows, was cued up to install that week. My Birthday Open House was going to happen or so I thought.

The door didn’t actually arrive until Dec 19, but due to late arrivals by Hyde Park Lumber delivery the door did not get to Britt until December 26th, a week lost. Even with that Britt said he could have the door completed by January 10th. Needless to say I was PO’d with the delivery debacle, so I went to Britt’s shop on the day it was delivered to see it first hand. To my disappointed the wrong side lights were on the door. There was a single half panel instead of a two window half panel.

Fuming PO’d now, so I go to Hyde Park Lumber to find out what went wrong. Apparently they entered the information right in their system, which was provided to the distributor. The distributor, unfortunately sent the wrong information to Simpson. At this point I had no choice but to live with the door as I was not going to live another 8 weeks without a proper door. GREAT customer service can cure a bad situation. They offered to pay Britt’s fee for painting/staining, which I accepted. I leave and call Doug to schedule a January 11 install. A few hours later I get a call from Tim at Hyde Park Lumber.

Not only were the wrong side lights entered, but they were also the wrong size. It meant the door would be too small for the opening. Now I had no choice, but to wait another 8 weeks. I was told Simpson rushes for no one.

When I agreed to keep the wrong side lights, I explained to Tim the condition of the current door. He listened and with this forced delay offered to order a temporary fiberglass door and pay to have it installed so I’d have a secure and sealed door during the wait. While I accepted that offer initially, after sleeping on it I woke the next morning and called to stop that process. I did not want to risk damage to my transom window with a temporary door. Instead I asked if he could cut proper size pieces of wood, so that I could better seal the sidelights and pay for the install of the actual door. He agreed and went a step further by offering to send a contractor to board them up. Again, GREAT customer service can cure a worsening situation.

The contractor came that day to look at the situation, told me he’d bring insulation in addition to plywood the next day. He called the next day and said he couldn’t make it but would come, Monday, Jan 31. He never returned, but I took his idea, went to Home Depot and had them cut the proper size pieces and I put them up myself. 100% improvement. As for the Open House it will have a spring theme.

January 8, 2019January 8, 2019

We Make a Great Team

Tom returned to help me with more projects in the kitchen. I’m trying to get the floors cleared in the living and dining rooms and a major pile in the way are the boxes with the cabinet crown moulding. Tom will hang that for me, but the backsplash, which will go to up to the ceiling above window needed to be installed first. I am about burnt out on tile projects (still need to finish first floor bathroom and haven’t started the master), so when he offered to install it for me I jumped. At that time I told him I was doing a small subway on mesh tile and he said he could knock that out in a couple of hours. Well, I got the mesh part right.

After going to the Tile Shop, Floor and Decor, and Lowes I found exactly what I had in my mind at Home Depot, MSI Bianco Arabesque mesh tile. It was only $7.89 per sheet in the store (higher price online), but I had to go to 3 different stores to get enough for the project. TIP: unless you go to a place like the Tile Shop, that will get you multiple cases from the same “lot”, always open the boxes and check the coloring of your tile. The first Home Depot had the full quantity I needed, but despite all stating they were Bianco different boxes had different tints forcing me to go to multiple stores in hopes I’d find enough of the one I liked. The tile I selected looked to have a tint of blue around edges, while the other looked brown like this image.

I decided on a charcoal grout due to the dark gray, marble-like, streaks that run through my quartz counters. I got the grout from the Tile Shop. They carry Superior Pro-Grout Excel, which is fast setting, color consistent, stain-resistant, and features excellent crack and shrink resistance. I also thought it would compliment my blue cabinets. The first thing tackled was putting the knobs on the cabinet doors. Tom had the perfect measuring gadget for that. We still need to do the pulls, but mine are longer than standard, so his gadget didn’t work on those. I was much more concerned with the tile.

I left Tom to work on his own, but after a couple of hours saw that my choice of tile was posing more challenges than the subway he thought I was getting. I decided to jump in and basically from the stove right I laid the tile and from the stove left, including working around the window he handled. He has measuring and eye balling and precision cuts down to a science. It took about 6 hours and we actually worked together on the section above the window. I handled all the grouting the next day. The end results are pretty fabulous I think. Exactly what I envisioned.

Tom also connected me with the best painter EVER!!!!! I met Teresa Ferrari last year and she will be running a new coffee shop opening in the Camp (Camp Washington for those not intimate) very close to my house. I had no idea she has a painting business. She came dressed in what I would consider “good jeans”, a nice sweater, and suede boots and when she left you wouldn’t have known she spent 3 hours painting. Not a drop on her, not a drop on the floor. Well not until Milo, my dog, decided to step in the paint and track it around the 1st floor. She didn’t tape down dozens of plastic drop clothes. She got all the closets, the guest bedroom, the hall, touched up all the bad spots left by the other two I paid to paint, and painted the trim in the kitchen. I am so sorry I didn’t know about her sooner.

There is a saying that God my not be there when you want him, but he’s always right on time. After the devastating set back with my floors, Tom and Theresa have been an absolute delight and I feel brought into my life just at the right time. I truly feel our paths were meant to cross in order for us to do something even greater together. I think Theresa and I should apply for the First Time Flippers show. Just throwing that out into the universe to see where it lands.

December 18, 2018

She’s Going To Be GORGEOUS

Tom is THE MAN! I prefer to write post that show certain projects from start to finish, but in this case I was too excited to wait. The built-in that I saved is going to be absolutely gorgeous when it’s all finished. Tom has made my vision for restoring this piece come to life.

For those that remember my Armed with 2 PB&Js, Vitamin Water and Gatorade post you know my house had a built-in that stood in the way of my open concept kitchen/dining room. I loved the piece; it was one of the many cool elements that made me fall instantly in love with my house, so without question it was going to be saved and relocated.

Kitchen Built-in which was relocated

Rear of Built-in after it was freed

Built-in in its new location

Once freed the cabinet was going to be located next to the refrigerator, which means that the left side of it will be exposed. The sides weren’t meant to be shown (hence the word built-in), so they were not pretty. For months I stewed over what to do until I received an email from the Wooden Nickel, which showed a picture of a pine hutch they had for sale (now sold). I went to see it in person and the idea was born. I decided to take strips of wood and frame the sides, like you see on the hutch.

Now a normal person (I’m not normal) would just nail on four strips of wood. I wanted it to look original, intentional, so I wanted the inside edge to have the same profile as the doors. This is the same profile I put on my kitchen cabinets and master vanity. This built-in was really the inspiration behind many of my design choices, so I had to make her right.

Before I moved I got my former neighbor to help me rip down in thickness and width new pieces of pine I bought from Home Depot. I purchased a router bit that would give me the rounded affected from the doors and he used his router to add the profile. I bought a router last year and it’s still in the box. Now was not the time for a crash course. One thing I learned through my floor restoration is that new wood will not stain the same as old wood. Then I remembered I had a supply of old pine planks given to me by my friend Joan.

Her wood was covered in a thick, shellac like, coating, but Tom, the Man, Milfeld was able to run it through his planer (my next tool investment) and use my router bit to create the same strips, but with old pine. My friend’s building is about 50 years older than my house. He completely understood what I was going for, so while I unpacked more boxes, he got to work attaching the strips to the sides of the cabinet.

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Now it’s up to me to get her across the finish line. I’ve got to get the tile work finished on the first floor bathroom, but I’m biting at the bit to get her finished. I still have a few more surprises to share in the final reveal, so stay tuned.

November 8, 2018December 30, 2019

Fevered Pitch

I truly feel like a dog chasing its tail. Since accepting the close date of November 19 I don’t think I’ve been to bed earlier than 1:30 am; frequently at house til 3:30 am. When my cousin Alex can’t go let my dogs out, I’ll pull two shifts. Arrive about 8 am, work till 4-5 pm, leave to feed and let out dogs, and return around 8 or 9 pm to resume work. I’m exhausted, but progress is being made. Here’s an update:

New Mailbox.

Simple project. I wanted to have a mail slot added to my new front door, but since that is weeks away and would have to be added on site by my installer (manufacturer won’t do it) I decided to search the Internet for a locking mailbox and I found this one on Wayfair.com. It was easy to install and matches my light fixtures. I wish everything could be this simple.

Doors, Painting, and Drywall.

I brought a finish carpenter back to hang the last two door jams. One was straight forward, original door and jam, but the entry foyer door was more challenging. The original door was beyond repair, but it was the same size as the door that led to the upstairs space, which I decided to remove. Same size, but different swing and hinge locations. He worked his magic and I now have a functioning entry foyer closet.

The carpenter also jumped in on painting, which was not a great choice as his painting skills did not match his carpentry skills. He put one coat of paint on the ceiling in the entry foyer, dining room, and office; Sherwin Williams Incredible White and the first coat of Krypton on the dining room walls. My friend Joan helped me put first coat of Passive on the Office walls and the second coat of Krypton in the dining room. It’s nice seeing real colors on the walls. Since the frame around the windows is the same dark color as the molding I can see that the colors will work with them. The HGTV Urban House that used these colors had painted trim throughout, so I was a bit concerned.

Office – Passive

Dining Room – Krypton

I’ve completed all prime paint now too, so hopefully by Friday of next week the whole house will be painted. I move in the next day, so I sure hope so.

Brick Sealing

During demo I revealed brick in the master bath and closet, kitchen, and 1st floor hall. It’s a soft, Chicago brick that was constantly dropping dust and crumbling; I knew it would need to be sealed if left exposed. During the drywall install I made the decision to cover the brick in the master closet and master bath. Prepping the brick for sealing was a task I didn’t have the time or desire to do and in the bath area it recessed about 1/2 inch from the drywall, which would have posed a challenge when installing the vanity.

I should have made the same decision about the wall in the kitchen. I scrubbed the whole wall and it seemed the more I scrubbed the more it’d crumble. I looked at several brick sealers and decided to go with Radonseal’s Lastiseal Penetrating Brick and Concrete Sealer. I bought a gallon jug, which should cover 150-225 sq. ft. The wall was 27 sq. ft. Easy application process. I bought a pump sprayer with a fan spray, put down plastic to protect floor and sprayed from bottom up.

The instructions said a second application may be needed and it certainly was with this wall. A brush of my hand revealed more dust and crumbling mortar. A second coat reduced it some, but not entirely. I ended up applying the entire gallon bottle. I contacted the company and they were very surprised such a small area needed so much. I shared this picture and they said I should have tuckpointed the bricks first. The wall looked and felt solid after the full gallon, so I believe their product worked, eventually, but his comment did give me concern looking ahead. My stove would sit in front of this and I wondered if cleaning food splatter would be an issue.

The vast majority of the wall would be covered by cabinets, microwave and stove, so I decided to cover the wall. Bold decision given my posing deadline and past experience with drywall crews. Fortunately my friend Joan came to the rescue with a great referral and a young man, Ryan Fabel, joined the journey.

I hung the drywall, but Ryan did the finish work. Once before I mentioned that someone told me his drywall man could finish an entire house and you’d have only a handful of dust. When Ryan was done you couldn’t fill a thimble with dust and the wall was as smooth as silk. I found the man to help me hang the last sheet of drywall in the guest bedroom. Given that is taking place after my floors have been refinished I am elated by his skills.

The only exposed brick will be in the hall and it was the most sound of all locations. I scrubbed it to remove most of flakes/crumbles and it only took two applications of the LastiSeal. I almost wish the brick stayed dark as when the product is applied (right side of first pic), but it returns to its normal color when dry.

Master Bathroom Floor Tile

My soaker tub has been sitting in its box in the master bedroom area for months. It had to placed in its proper home before the floor refinishers started. I hoped to have it actually hooked up so Ryan could do the drywall, but I needed to get the tile laid first. I found the tile on Pinterest and fell in love. It’s an Italian porcelain tile made by Isla Fascino Italiano and is their King Wood collection. I got excited when I found it at JP Flooring locally, but man was it expensive. Not to be deterred I surfed the net and found it at Mission Stone & Tile at half the cost of JP Flooring and FREE shipping. SOLD!!!!

The pressure to not mess up this tile was immense. I started with finding my center lines in width and depth with my trusty laser followed by a dry run with 1/16″ spacers. I bought that size for the first floor bath and it turned out the tile for that has built-in spacers. They were not a good size for this tile, so I pulled the plug about 1 am.

I returned the next day with 3/16″ spacers (blue vs. green) and went to town. I selected Desert Sand grout from the Tile Shop in Oakley with the help of a great sales person, Cari Branden. The walls surrounding this tile and in the shower will be a basic bone (color) subway tile. It looks fabulous and I can’t wait to see it next to my restored hardwood floors and with the tub resting on top. Unfortunately my plumber’s truck broke down and this didn’t happen prior to Bob and Trish Roland of Roland Hardwoods starting the floor restoration.

Their work is projected to last five days, Monday – Friday. I was able to do some work, but now they are staining and coating the first floor, which means I can’t be there until for the floors are dry. I’ll use that time to pack up Inner Circle and REST!

August 30, 2018

Today was a good day for a GREAT day!

Road trip!!!! Today my bestie Joan and I made a trip to Mount Hope, Ohio to pick up my master bathroom vanity and what an AWESOME day it was. Great conversation, beautiful weather (going, rained coming home, but nothing severe), we had so much fun as we always do on our road trips. This makes the 3rd time we’ve hit the road together, but first day trip. We did long weekends to Memphis/Nashville where we ate and museumed our way through Tennessee in route to a wedding she was invited to and San Diego to celebrate my 45th birthday where we were the only two people to fall off our Segways at the San Diego Zoo/Safari. This was after we both talked smack about who we thought in the group would fall based on our tutorial before entering the park.

Our route took us through Newark, OH where from the highway I saw the giant basket that was once the headquarter for Longenberger basket, which sadly closed it’s doors just this past May. I had seen pictures of this headquarter, but never in person, so we jumped off the highway to get a picture. You know I’m having a good time when I pop a selfie.

My vanity was made by Homestead Furniture, an Amish owned store referred to me by Diane Sphar, owner of Ohio Travel Treasures, who host many great tours of Ohio’s Amish country. We arrived around noon and before loading the vanity was given a tour of the plant by Ben Hershberger. First stop was what I told Joan was the secret room. It’s not a secret, but an awesome way for Homestead to dispel people’s image of Amish furniture. The hall leading to the rooms is lined in hand applied gold leaf (they can do silver too). Once inside there are 4-6 rooms of some of the most stunning and beautifully crafted pieces you can imagine. Ben said if you can think of it, they can build it. They create cutsom wood and metal pieces.

From there Ben walked us across the street to tour their actual factory. In route you walk past a beautifully landscaped property and small lake. I got great ideas for my future landscaping.

In the full loop of the factory, which included a cat walk where we can overlook men at work we got to see many pieces in all phases of production. I was able to ask questions and got some great tips I will use when I create my dining room table, office desk, and master bed headboard (I have lofty goals).

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The tour ended at my vanity and it was just as I had sketched out. I wanted a floating vanity 55″ long. It seemed stores stocked 48 or 60, but not 55. I decided to use the same shade of blue that will be on my kitchen cabinets. Ben took us in the color matching room where he said they have over 2,000 colors. They can match anything and all I provided to him was the Naval paint chip card from Sherwin Williams, which is what Shiloh Cabinetry, manufacturer of my cabinets, uses.

After two of their staff loaded the vanity in my rental van, we went for lunch (no roadtrip is complete for us without food) to Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen. No pics, but we had the buffet and the best darn fried chicken, meat loaf, bread, and home-grown vegetables you can imagine.

The trip did not end there. We left Mt. Hope and headed east to I’m not even sure where to look at mini bulldog puppies. Joan and her husband Rick lost their beloved bulldog Chloe this year. Joan found the breeder and we went to take a look. Who could walk away from this face, so Poppy (current name, but not final – I’m pulling for Millicent, Millie for short) made the road trip home.

Apparently she’s already feeling right at home as Joan shared this quick video of her getting aclaimated to her new toy.

Now I’m super anxious to get the paint finished in the master bathroom. It’s going to look marvelous!!!!

December 10, 2017December 11, 2017

To Keep the Door or Leave the Stairway Exposed, that is the question????

20171119_143938 Today, while my framing tutorial from my dad was still fresh on my mind, I set out to build the frame for the new door I purchased to increase the opening leading up to the master suite. As I mentioned in the Doors, Doors, Doors post, I’ve hit my head several times coming down the stairs, so I was excited when I found this 30″ wide door at Building Valu that would give me additional head room.

However, after I removed the lathe and existing frame from above the current door opening I am having serious second thoughts about having a door at all. By losing the door I gain about 20″ in additional height. I will also gain about 3″ in additional width if I remove the existing frame sides.

Since starting my blog I have had over 2,000 hits and I have 27 followers, so I’m going to ask for opinions. Should I have a door to close off the master suite or should I leave it open. Sorry, I never took a picture to show the opening with the door. The best picture to see the opening with the lathe is the Open Concept post (look on the left side of pic). Without the door those steps, once refinished, would be worth showing off and the natural light from the window at the top of the stairs would cascade down. Plus I gain wall space. I’d probably never have the door closed. One thought to have it is to filter out noise from house guest. At my age any house guest I’d have wouldn’t make excessive noise. Privacy isn’t an issue because you can’t see into the master suite from the bottom of the steps. Sooooo, unless I can be given some serious arguments for keeping it, I think the answer is………leave the stairway exposed.

December 5, 2017December 8, 2017

I’ve Been Framed

From Saturday, November 25 – Thursday, November 30 my dad and I set out to get all the framing done at my house. People ask me all the time how did I learn to do the DIY stuff I do? Well most of it I learned from watching my dad. Working with my dad is usually not a fun experience. He lacks patience, does not always give concise and clear direction/instructions, and a question is almost always viewed as “questioning”, which is a cardinal sin. However, years ago I heard God gave us two eyes, two ears, and one mouth for a reason. Although it is difficult to always keep my mouth shut I watch and listen to what he does and from that I’ve developed some pretty great DIY skills. As with my deck project from several years ago, my Dad’s skills and knowledge saved me $1000’s in contractor fees and for that I’m grateful. I will still need to finish the back wall of the linen closet (floor must be laid first) and I laid the sub floor in the first floor bath the day after he left, but credit for my ability to do so clearly lies with him.

1st Floor Bath Sub Floor installed

My old house gave my dad fits. Current wall studs are spaced inconsistently, floor joist aren’t level or sag, but he was bound and determined that his walls and floors would be plum and straight and by golly they are. Thankfully everyday we were joined by at least one member of my demolition crew (Cameron, John, Jermaine, Greg and/or newcomer Anthony). Hopefully they learned a few things during their time with him. Unfortunately I don’t have any pics showing Cameron, Jermaine, and Anthony sistering the floor joist in the basement, but thank you Jonathon Scott and @PropertyBrothers. Originally we were going to remove all the compromised joist (which were true 2 bys) and replace them with double, modern, 2x10s, but Drew had similar problems at his Honeymoon house and Jonathan sistered his. My dad said that was a much easier fix. The original joists were seriously bowed, but the sistered beams are perfectly leveled to each other thanks to his diligence.

While they were struggling to jack the joist in place (we channeled our inner @ChipGaines using a car jack) I worked upstairs in my master suite removing the pine floor from the “wet area” of the bathroom and laying sub floor. I’ll be able to use that pine flooring to patch other areas in the house (also like Chip Gaines from the shotgun house), including completing the flooring in the new linen closet.

The most fun for me was getting to use my new framing nailer and Jobmax tool. I don’t know if it was because I tensed up preparing for the kick back after pulling the trigger, but I am more sore in the shoulders from working on framing than I was doing the demo swinging a crowbar. Here are more pics of the latest milestone.

Master Closet

Master Laundry Room

Master Closet

Cameron Working on Master Closet

My dad cutting wood

Cameron and my Dad

Greg and my Dad

New Pantry. I’ll be able to reuse the original pantry door.

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November 22, 2017December 6, 2017

Open Concept Achieved

My dad (and my General Contractor) is in town for Thanksgiving, so I have two weeks to get things over my skill set done at the house before he leaves for his annual trip to Asia. The goal is to get all the framing done, replace the bad floor joist in the basement, reinstall the floor in the 1st floor bath, so the tub can be returned and install the LVL beam, so the load barring wall separating the kitchen and dining room could be removed.

With the help of Cameron (my Demo King cousin) we were able to get the load barring wall removed. We had a bit of a rough start. My dad miss measured the first LVL beam and cut it 2′ too short. That mistake cost me $100 as I had to buy a new one, but fortunately I discovered a great lumber yard located within 3 miles of the house, Forge Lumber. They stocked the right size and since the distance was short (original LVL and all my lumber needs was delivered by McCabe Lumber located near Kings Island), I pulled a Macguyver and somehow got the beam in my PT Cruiser in a safe enough fashion that allowed me to drive it back to the house. That saved me another $100 bucks by avoiding renting a truck or paying another delivery fee and even more valuable, time, since a delivery would mean waiting another day. I wish I had more pictures (can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of my PT with a 16′ x 14″ beam sticking out the back), but this was a three person job, so all I can present is the finished product.

November 11, 2017November 11, 2017

Logs Gone Bye Bye

As promised Randy Wipert of Woodwright’s Portable Saw Mill and White Dove Originals Hardwood Furniture and Artistic Designs, came out to my house and picked up the walnut tree logs that were left at my request. It will be about 8 weeks before he will have them cut into slabs and another 3 months before they are dried enough to turn into something. Perhaps by spring I’ll have some wood to create my dining room table, which I’m hopeful Randy will help me make.

Several months ago I lucked up on these cast iron table legs. I had just started my home search and thought immediately how cool it would be to make my own table. The curves on the legs scream for a round or curved table top. Making a table from the wood that came from my yard would be so cool. I really hope this one vision for this project comes to fruition.