Of Wood & Disappointment

Today was another day where progress was made, but one of the projects ended did not live up to expectations.

The whole morning was spent cleaning the wood floor in the powder room and the end result was disappointing.

Remember this picture taken towards the beginning of the project? There was a lot of optimism when this picture was taken. Today, it was dashed on the rocks....

This picture was snapped when I was more than 3/4s of the way done with cleaning, and scraping the floor. On the left side is the section where the linked picture was taken. On the right is the floor with the crap still on it.

Did you notice the whitish stuff on the left hand side(?) - keep this in mind.

Here's more of the surrounding area.

You can really see the whitish stuff on the left side now. Take a look towards the bottom of the picture, where the squirt bottle, blade scrapper and paper towels are. This part of the floor still looks like the part above it, but it has been cleaned.

And here is the floor completely scrubbed.

The whitish spots are all around the areas where water pipes came up through the floor and waste pipes went down through the floor.

This tells me that there had been LOTS of leaks over the years.

The water, since it is filled with chemicals such as chlorine and florid, has left mineral deposit stains behind. Around the toilet area you should probably throw urea into the mix since wax seals can leak.

So, since the damage is over 50% of the floor we have a lot to consider. Do we try to repair the floor as it is (including the holes) or do we rip it all out and replace it? I do have the wood to replace it with, but doing this will just about deplete my stash and we have the foyer floor to consider.

The first thing I'll attempt is denatured alcoholic. We'll see what happens.

Let's drop this depressing subject and go to a better one.

Even though I spent all morning working on the wood floor, the first thing I did was spray a high-gloss seal coat on the light fixture.

About two hours later I added a second coat.

The light is now installed!

However, it will come down again when we paint and I want to put better screw anchors in as well.

It doesn't look too shabby does it? It needs a more appropriate wattage bulb and bulb cover, but you get the gist of it - right?

Okay - time to come clean and tell you all about a couple of my 'numb nut' moments; unfortunately they happened back-to-back.

'Numb-nut' episode #1 - Having removed the light bulb from the old porcelain socket plate, I was holding the plate in one hand. I was about to touch the screwdriver to the screw in order to remove the wiring when it dawned on me - the electricity hasn't been turned off yet.

"D'oh!"

'Numb-nut' episode #2 - with the new wiring attached, and the sconce setting on the ladder, I tested it by turning on the juice. Luckily it came on (I always have a moment of dread before doing this). So, I turn the juice off again and went to finish installing the fixture.

After installing the light I flipped the light switch on the wall - NOTHING!!! I flipped it again, and again...still nothing. So, I'm thinking I will have to take the fixture back down to check the connections. Stepping back onto the ladder, and getting ready to put the screwdriver to the top screw, it hit me - I never turned the juice back on!!

"D'oh!!!!!!"

Anyway...now that you've all had a good laugh...let's move on.

This is a better view.

The wiring was replaced so it's still kind of stiff; that's one reason you can see the wire above the arm. Since taking the picture it has laid down some.









And here is an even better view.

Do you see ANY chips or flaws?!

I think I did a pretty good job matching the faux tortoise shell. Anyone out there have some faux tortoise shell needing to be repaired?

Also, the part the bulb is screwed into looks a little off kilter. This is due to the new wiring as well. It will eventually hang the way it should.

Well, even though the floor turned out to be disappointment the day did end on a bright note! So, I call it a day and relax a bit.

Till next time...

Cheers ~
Larry

The Closet and Tortoise Shell

Have you ever had one of those days where you got a lot done but it doesn't look like it? Well, today is one of those days.

Actually, it has been one of those days where your thrilled one minute and bummed the next.

First off, the foyer closet is as finished as it's going to get until we start work on the foyer. This was one of those 'thrilled moments'.

Then, while making repeated trips to the wood shop, I was noticing just how much needs to be done before Winter gets here. Those were the times that 'bummed' me out.

Oh well...time stands still for no one.

Anyway, like I said, the foyer closet is as done as it's going to get for now.

That's SWMBO's cheetah fur coat, also known as the 'rug'. I threw it up there just too see how much floor clearance there was.

Towards the upper right you can sort'a see the part of the plaster that is not finished. Remember, we're not sure if we are going to remove the original plaster or not. When we start on the foyer is when we'll make that decision. I might have to remove it just to do work on the main stairs anyway (let's not go there yet).

The top shelf edging is finished (have I mentioned how cockeyed the angles are in this house?). And the new, lower, shelf is in.

You can also see that the mop board is missing.

Perhaps I should have left the light on so the floor would show up better.

Did any of you know that a vinegar/water mix will remove dry paint off of a wood floor? Seriously - it did. It removed the primer paint that got slopped on it as well as the mudding compound that glopped on the floor and dried. After spending an hour scrubbing the floor with this mix it looks great.

As pointed out, the mop board is missing. I need to either go buy a replacement pattern that mimics (as close as possible) the original or have the original duplicated. As of now, since this is just a closet, all the nice, original, trim will not be put back in. I want to keep these pieces in case a section of molding, in a more visible area, needs to be replaced/repaired.

We do have a custom mill shop on the outskirts of town, I might see if they can duplicate the molding. I need to go talk to them anyway about a counter top for the built in.

The restoration of the light for the powder room continues.

Today I did the best I could to replicate the faux tortoise shell that got chipped off. I don't think I did that bad of a job. If you look close you can see the 'patched' areas.

I really should have used colored glazes to do this (that's what your suppose to use anyway). For such a small patch, however, I couldn't justify $40 for the glaze for such a small project. I really do like faux tortoise shell so I might have to invest in the glazes just to play with at some time.

I will be applying a high-gloss coat to the fixture parts tomorrow so that should help disguise the lack of glaze.

This picture is a lot better - it's harder to see the patches.

Can you see how many there are? There's more than one.

BTW - those little fruit/flower things also needed to be restored. I think I did a decent job blending the new paint with the old.

Well, this is enough for tonight. I'm tired and still have a lot to do.

So...till next time...

Cheers~
Larry

A quick update

Okay, here is a quick update.

I had hoped to be further along this week than I am but I got hit, bad, by allergies this past weekend and nothing seems to help. So, I'm dragging my butt around in zombie mode yet, some stuff did get done!

The foyer closet and powder room are fully primed and ready for painting. YEAH!!

Here's a look at the main wall in the powder room.

There is a flaw on this wall that sticks out like a sore thumb in person. I'm surprised the digital camera didn't pick it up! I might have to go back and fix it - we'll see how it looks after we paint.







The back corner - nothing special.
















Do you remember the light fixture we're planning to use in the powder room? If not, go here and here.

Anyway, I've started the restoration of the this light.

DANG!! Another blurry picture!!

You get the idea though; it's been dismantled and cleaned.


The finish is flaking off of the rim so I'm going to try and fix it.








Here you can see where the golden bronze area is in a rough way on the circular part part as well.





Hopefully this thing will turn out like we want it to.

Sadly, some of the faux tortoise shell on the main part has been chipped off as well. This is going to be a bugger to fix. I'll tackle it tomorrow.

Sorry, but I didn't get a picture of the inside of the foyer closet, however, I got a couple of weird ones for you!

For some reason, the previous owner stuck several name tabs on the inside part of the closet door. It was as if, while taking off his coat/jacket, he would just slap it up hear like a trophy. There were dozens of them!

Over the years we have picked a few off, but haven't gotten them all.

Today, I decided to get the rest.

It turned out to be a royal mess and not all of 'em came off.








Tomorrow I will try something else...a blow torch comes to mind.

I will leave you with this final picture.

It is another project I've started.

You'll just have to wait and see what it will be used for.

Well, that's enough for tonight. I think I'll go take some allergy drugs and go to bed.

Till next time...

Cheers ~
Larry

Kitchen Details

Following are several shoots of various details in the kitchen.

This is part of the 'egg-n-dart' crown molding that can be found above every-single-window-and-door of the house.

At first we thought that the kitchen only had this above the door leading into the foyer. However, once we started striping the wood work we found the evidence that shows it was above all the doors and windows in the kitchen as well. Unfortunately we have not found the extra pieces.

The pic here is the paint in the process of bubbling up from the chemical stripper.

Progress is being made with the stripper.

Now all we need to do is finish it off with a dental pick and it will be ready for staining.

What is frustrating is that we can not find this exact pattern. We find molding that is close, but not quite. So now we need to decide on whether or not to replace the molding with something similar or just not put any of it up except for the piece we have.

This is one of the pair of brass wall sconces. We have no idea when they were installed, but they match all the chandeliers in the rest of the house. From what we have been told, they were installed in the 50s.

We are kind of torn between these a original lighting. Everyone loves these lights and the matching chandeliers; and for most these are the only lights they remember in the house. You should see them at night from the street!!

On the other hand we would like to replace the light fixtures with the type we know where in the house when it was built - the dual gas / electric kind.

What to do, what to do......

They are stunning when turned on at night.

This is one of a pair of blown glass lights from the 20s, or 30s, we got for $25 dollars at a yard sale.

They don't go with the house either but are better than what WAS up there. The light in the eating area had been a lantern type light that looked like it came off a covered wagon (the kind that was popular in the 50s). The one that was in the prep area was the typical, ceiling hugging 'cake' type fixture. What was most bizarre about the two were not only their dissimilarities but the fact that they were only about 10' from each other.

Again, we are not sure what we will do with them; everyone seems to love them.

Another view.

Here is the right hand end cap of one of the original cupboards that had been in the kitchen when it was built.

The shear size indicates that it might have been located along the wall that the sconces are on now.

Close up of the top.

One of the first things people ask when they visit is "where is all the stuff that was in the kitchen?".

Well, the simple answer is "just about everywhere"!

So here are a couple pics that are rather embarrassing. Both are of all the junk from the kitchen that we have tossed in the dinning room.

Another wonderful view of our 'junk'.

They wife will probably kill me for posting these!! LOL