Hellooooo Dining Room!

Hello again everyone!!

Consider this your first peek at the next major project.

With items going back into the kitchen, as well as to goodwill and freecycle, things are starting to disappear around here and we are gaining ground in the house.

Rooms are opening up and the first one to do so was the dining room.

So there you have it. The next big room to be tackled will be the dining room.

That being said there are also some other projects that will be worked on as well such at the powder room and attic so expect a lot of non-dinning room posts as well.

Remember this scene from many, many months back?








Trust me, it got a lot worse…a lot LOT worse…before this post.

With Christmas coming we’ve been excited here around the Folly. This will be the first time in three years we can decorate in the manner we’re use to!

In order to do this a lot of cleaning had to be done. So, we’ve been frantically cleaning the main level of the house and this includes the dining room.

For the first time in history I conceded to start decorating for Christmas the week after Thanksgiving. I was raised that you did not decorate until about two, maybe three, weeks before Christmas day. In fact, the phenomena of decorating immediately after Thanksgiving, or even before that in some cases, is less than 50 years old! I digress though…I’ll ramble on about this in another post.

Moving on… It was decided to start decorating ASAP but before this could be done the cleaning must be done. Honestly, the desire to get it done was dashed by reality on the rocks. I really thought I’d be able to get the lower level clean enough to start decorating in two days, three tops.

It took over a week!!!

Anyway, let’s get back on the subject, I’ll rant about this later.

Here’s the dining room after about four days of sorting, removing and cleaning - but before we cleaned the floor.

You might notice some of the furniture has changed, We moved a few items around with Christmas in mind.

For those of you interested, the settee in the middle of the bay is the gift I gave SWMBO for our 1st Anniversary.

The Singer sewing machine, as well as the notions box on the peddle, belonged to SWMBO’s Great Grandmother. Get this, I’m a HUGE WWI buff and SWMBO’s Great Grandmother used this sewing machine to make uniform shirts for the Doughboys!! My mother-n-law has the actual sewing instructions (somewhere) the Government sent SWMBO’s Great Grandmother and I have an original shirt like the ones she made.

The lamp on the sewing machine was a family heirloom belonging to our friend Bill. It appears to have been made in either the late 10s or early 20s. It is missing one stained-glass pane and needs rewiring though.

Just another view.

In this picture though you can start seeing the little ’problems’ that will need to be looked at in order to prep for restoration.

You can see water spots on the ceiling as well as along the joint where the left side of the bay meets the main wall. The stain stops right at about the beginning of the window top.

You know, there are times I really hate digital cameras!! Look close and you can see the built-up dust on the chandelier crystals and the bulbs.

BTW, the door has what we think is the original stain. Not sure why it looks so splotchy, perhaps it’s the way the shellac aged.

The French doors.

Note how the finish on these doors are different than the other one? We know these doors are not original to the house but were installed some time in the 50s (we think). Originally there were pocket doors here and the hardware to hang them are still inside the walls. I’ll deal more on this later as well.

With the light on you can see more stains on the ceiling.

SWMBO has also just finished cleaning the floor and are still wet. She did something funky to clean it and treat it and it took two days to dry!!

Did you notice the white dresser on the wall to the left? That is the dresser we are considering for the lavatory vanity in the upstairs bathroom. We are wanting to put a buffet/sideboard in this spot so we thought this would be a good way to see if we like this size.

More of the wet floor.

The amount of time it took to dry definitely put a crimp in the cleaning and Christmas prep plans.












Here it is - FINALLY - dry!! I think it’s about 1 A.M. when I snapped this shot.

Okay - now we can get down to the nitty-gritty of looking at some of the ‘issues’. Right now they are nothing major but one never knows what lurks beneath.

This is just one of a dozen places where the wallpaper (installed in the 50s?) is trying to escape the clutches of the walls.


Note that the tear is jagged. This could indicate a crack in the wall or it could just have been caused by something snagging it. I know the answer, but you will have to wait.

Another spot where a piece of the wallpaper came loose and popped off.

If you follow along the top of the mopboard and you will eventually come to a section of paper that has puckered/curled. Most of the spots where the paper is pealing away is along a seam and look like this.

Here we have a large piece of wall paper that sloughed off under it’s own weight (with a little help). Currently it is covered by a piece of furniture.

The plaster finish coat is very gritty/sandy and particles the size of sugar crystals come off if you run your hand against it. If there is no major damage to the wall, and the finish coat is still solidly attached to the base plaster, this can be stabilized. All-n-all this will be an interesting project.

The brownish stuff you see is the old wall paper glue and looks like mold in real life. The finish coat was something along the lines of a fresco. At this point the glue appears to have obliterated whatever wall color, or design, that was originally there. It would be nice to know what the original color in this room was.

The thing hanging above the spot is the bottom edge of one of SWMBO’s tapestries.

Okay now, keep in mind that ALL this work was being done so that we could start decorating for Christmas.

That being said; as you can see…

…we have decorated and are ready for the fat man’s visit!!







Till next time…

Cheers!
Larry ~

Getting Plastered

Prompted by Jason's comment left on the previous post I thought I'd share the method used in fixing all the cracks in the walls.

All of the pictures I'm using are from the How 2 Plaster web site - THANKS GUYS!!

Okay - with that said - buckle up and get ready to get plastered.

This first pic is a schematic of the process - fairly straight forward.







However, whenever possible I would underscore the plaster in order to create a better key.

He is what a typical spot looks like - but then again I'm preaching to the choir aren't I?!?!






To be honest, there were maybe one or two spots like this on the kitchen walls. Most of the cracks were just the typical type ones.

This shows the hardest, and messiest part, at least to me.

You need to scrape the old plaster back and get it down to the lath. It is also important at this time to make sure all the loose pieces are gone. Think about the crack, and any loose plaster, as a cancer. It needs to be cut back till you find good, strong plaster. Usually though, this cancer step applies to larger areas with loose plaster. However, when I scrapped the cracks I did find loose pieces I did not know where there to begin with.

Note: on the right tail-end of the crack you can see the typical type ones we had.

When finished, this is how it should look. Here you can see the lath, but notice the 'V' that has been formed.

Not sure why but every book and site says to make this 'V'. I guess it helps provide a better surface for adhesion.

The next step is a two parter.

First, use an old paint brush and get all the dust and small pieces out.



THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT!!

Second, you are suppose to wet the old plaster to insure a good bond. I go one step further and use a plaster/concrete bonding adhesive.


This is what it should look like. If it is - then your ready to start plastering.






Fill the crack with your patching mix. Don't worry too much how it looks right now, just don't get too wild.



Now, with the crack filled, go over it again to scrape off the excess. You will need to hold the scraper hard against the plaster to make sure you get a nice, even, scrape.

This is about how it should look once you are done with the first scrapping. Again, don't worry how it looks. In fact, while it dries there will be some cracking and shrinking depending on the size of the repair.

After your first patch has dried it is time for your second patch.

At this point is where some controversy pops up. Some people say you need to put mesh on top of the patch before your second coat. Some say you only need to do this if the crack is more than 1/4" or more than 1/2" wide. There will also be those who tell you NOT to use the mesh (due to bulk) but use the standard mudding tape. It is really up to you. I have tried all the mesh, the paper and nothing. It just depends on the size and your preference. On small ones I usually go with the mudding tape and the larger ones I use the mesh. Mesh, nor paper, were used in this patch.

Also, this is the time to try and make your patch as smooth as you can when you scrape the excess off. Even though it is not your final coat, this one will help your final coat look as good as it can.

Here is what it should look like when you are done and the second coat has dried.

Your next step will be your finish/top coat. after this, especially if I have a lot of cracks to fill, or as was the case with our kitchen walls, I will finish it all out with a skim coat. This will give it a nicer, smoother, flatter look.

One thing I will point out - be sure to prime your finished plaster with the correct primer!! You can not just use your typical interior house primer. You MUST you a PVA drywall primer.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

A few steps forward and a big one backwards...

Hello Everyone!!

Yes, we're still alive and kicking. Sorry about not keeping up with the blog as much, but things have been very busy and hectic of late. I have been working on some 'little' projects around the house and the yard, so it's not like I've been sitting on my lazy butt all day.

Anyway, I can finally say that all the plaster work is done in the kitchen!!

It has been a slow, and painful, ordeal that has taken a lot longer than imagined - but it's done!! I guess a big part of the problem with it taking so much time is that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. A perfectionist SHOULD NOT do plaster work in an old house - it will drive you nuts!!!

Well, here are the pics! Sorry about the quality, but for some reason some of them seem a bit fuzzy.

The divider wall.

You might notice a few 'splotches'. Those are not divots, or imperfections. I used a new batch of mud to do the fill in work and for some reason it is a different shade of white.

These two wall are virtually laser straight!





Remember how bad the ceiling was where the this light attached? Turned out better than I thought it would (I hate mudding - especially ceilings!!).

When I went to prep the spot I had chunks of the old plaster board ceiling fall out. The original plaster ceiling could be seen about three inches up.

Unfortunately you can see the spots from the original work that was done sometime in the 50s (?).

Just a view of the other light and back corner.











The chimney chase.

Hopefully, the next time I show a picture of this area it will be highlighting a new cabinet!





The big nasty spot on the ceiling.

No matter what I do I know it is going to crack again.









For some reason the support the old drywall is attached to seems not to be very effective in this spot.

I guess I wont worry too much about it though since we plan to install a tin ceiling at some point.

The spot above the door leading into the dinning room.

It's a shame you guys can't see how flat and smooth these walls are now. Maybe I'll get a laser level on it and get a picture!

I did forget to get a couple of other pictures though, so I'll have to remember them for next time. I got the top cap (the part the trim and finish top will be attached to) on that half wall by the sink. Don't even get me started on that wall! I had to do it over more times than I care to remember. It seems that each time I got a coat of plaster mud up a cat would jump on top of it. When they would jump down they put their front paws on the wall surface and leave prints and scratches!!!

I finally had to rig up some tin foil to keep them away.

The other pic would have been the two new electrical outlets by the cabinets. I'll tell THAT story when I show a pic or two. Let's just say it wasn't fun.

Now for the bad part.

I had a nice amount of mud left over and didn't want to waste it, so, in my infinite wisdom I decided to patch those two spots in the upstairs landing.

Remember these?

Before Pics

Well, up the ladder I went to clean the edges and get them ready for the plaster mud.

Have you ever had those times when you knew what was about to happen, but there was nothing you could do about it. Well, this was one of those times.

For some reason I could tell a big chunk of the plaster was about to go - WOOOSH - down it came, on top of me.

I guess I should have gotten a 'before' pic, but I was so filthy I decided to just go ahead and cut the plaster back to the solid areas. Think of it like dead skin...you have to cut it back to live skin to get the graph to work.

Anyway, here is a pic of the ceiling now.

Nice ain't it?













I'm glad I was thinking on my feet though. Below is a pic of what was under part of that ceiling.

Like I said, I just knew it was going to give, so I threw myself across the ladder to protect the secretary.

The plaster was so fragile that it harmlessly deflected off my back and head; it just covered me in a heavy coat of plaster dust, dust and grime. At least the 100+ year old secretary was unharmed!!

Well, so now I need to make a trip to the big city to get some 1/4" drywall. I have a piece but it just isn't big enough. So tomorrow I will patch the new 'hole' and start finishing it.

I guess Percy just didn't like me messing in his area!

While at the lumberyard I will be picking up the wood for the new plumbing chase in the kitchen - WOOWHO!!!

Next week I will trim out the chase and get started on the floor. Wish me luck.

I will leave you with the following picture.

I've been trying to find this picture for quite a while now and came across it last night.



Wouldn't something like this be cool in the attic!!!

Till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

Two Down - One to Go

Hello again everyone!

Well, two down - one to go!

I've now applied two skim coats of plaster and have sanded them down. If all goes well, tomorrow I will be applying the last coat (keep your fingers crossed).

There really isn't much to show in the way of pics, but here are a few non the less.

I'm not sure why the pics are a little fuzzy. The only thing I can think of is the plaster dust still in the air.

As some of you know, it can take 2 to 3 skim coats to get a final finish. The first two are fillers and the third is the top coat (from what I've read).

If you look real hard you can see some spots on the wall. These are the last of the 'high' spots.

So, the last coat should take care of them. There are still waves in the wall, just like there were in the beginning, but they are smoothing out.

This wall has the worse 'bump'. It is not as noticeable if the back door is open, but if you run your hand across it it's very noticeable.

I will be doing some touch up on this spot later tonight.








Oh yeah, for those of you who have noticed that the ceiling hasn't been touched, that is the next thing on the list. I hate plastering/mudding ceilings - I just can't seem to get them right. Hopefully this skim coat method will take care of it.

I'm throwing this pic in just for the fun of it.

I was on top of the ladder and never got a shot from this angle.


For those of you who relish in my trials and tribulations, nothing much happened except one thing.

The shop vac I use when sanding the plaster fell over and popped open! Dust went everywhere!! It took me longer to clean up the mess (if that's what you want to call it) than it took to do what I did today!

I will probably not post any more pics of the kitchen walls until they are ready for priming, so it might be a while.

Also, I will not be able to complete all the wall sections, or ceiling for that matter, until after the new floor to ceiling hutch is in place. I know I'm going to screw something up either taking it out or putting it in so I just don't see the sense in finishing those parts till later.

I also thought I'd throw in a few pics of the yard now that the grass, or should I say weeds, are greening up and the trees and bushes are leafing out.

Remember this pic from the fall?

At this time of the year it's easy to see the house.




Take a look at it now.....

Within about two more weeks it will be hard to see the house from any angle except from the very front.



The rest are just some general pics from around the yard.

This is the only spot in the yard that we can not get any grass, and that includes weeds, to grow.




We are still trying to come up with a plan for it.

Here's a view of the woodshop and burn pit area.









Everyone who comes over loves to congregate here. Just don't look too close, I haven't finished mowing yet.

This last view of the yard is perhaps my favorite. It is the main view that's seen when doing anything in the kitchen.



It is very lush and filled with about a dozen different varieties of trees and shrubs.

Last but not least I will leave you with this final pic.

I think it sums my day up quite nicely.











Well, I'll leave you all alone now. I need to go batten down the hatches. There have been reports all day about the potential for a massive, tornado producing storm for our area tonight.

After what happened to Greensburg, this time last year, the weather people just aren't going to take any chances. One of the stations is even going to have a special on tonight about how to survive durring a tornado The promo reminded me of the old nuclear bomb warning commercials from the 50s.

Till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

"Good Bye" for now & a Teaser

Well, this is it...the end of the road...at least for a few days.

Today it took 6 hours for my PC to boot-up and come on. It came on for a little bit this morning (about an hour) but then shut it's self off. Around 2ish I turned the poor thing on and left it alone. As I said, 6 hours later he finally came to life. So I took the opportunity to contact Hewlett-Packard and have them run an on-line diagnostic. I also decided to use this time to make this last post.

Anyway, the HP tech determined that there was a hardware problem and was most likely the motherboard. Before contacting HP directly I talked to the local, authorized repair company and they said it would cost $60 to have a diagnostic ran. I then found a brand new motherboard (just in case) for under $175 - normally around $300.

Get this...the HP tech has arranged for my PC to be shipped, priority, to the factory for a rebuild - ALL FOR FREE!!!

Yes...you heard that right....they will provide a shipping container, the shipping cost to them and back AND all the parts and labor for FREE!!!

I always knew I liked HP for a reason.

So, within 1 to 2 days I will receive the shipping container and send it off. They will then have it back to me within 7 business days after they receive it.

Thanks Ethan for helping out on this!

The only thing I have to do is prep it to go - back-up all files and remove anything, like pics and documents, I don't want erased. I'm a little leery of this because I know you can not completely remove info off of a PC unless you use certain software. So I'm skittish of them digging up my personnel and financial stuff. But then again, if someone wanted it that bad they would find a way to get it.

So, in about two weeks I will have a completely rebuilt PC as if it’s brand new.

I was really shocked when I started downloading files, pics, &c. I had no idea I had that much on it! So far I have filled two large zip drives with photos and still have a third more to go.

I will have access to the blog and e-mail via SWMBO's company laptop but they frown on it being used for personal stuff. So I will probably not post anything else until my PC comes home - so be watching for lots of pics and such!

Speaking of which, here are some 'teasers' of how things are moving along in the kitchen.



Remember those nasty green walls?

GONE!

The skim coat system I'm going with is working well. The only screw-ups are due to me.

If you look real close you can see some lines on the walls. Those are the spots where I screwed up. They will be easy to fix and once the second coat is on the imperfections of the wall should be less noticeable.

Love the newspaper?

The plaster gets messy so I put the paper up to help protect the woodwork. What you are seeing here is the tattered remains after a psychotic cat had its way with it.

Here's the main wall, the one with all the patches. It isn't completely dry so you can still see some of the patches. Again, there are some screw-ups.

If you are going to be doing any skim coating you really need to get the Magic Trowel.

The first time SWMBO saw the results she said “WOW!” and I know she was skeptical of the tool.

Like I said before - it's messy.

All of those little white spots are splats of mud as I applied it.

If you look really hard you will see some of the bigger splats on the paper.

Thought I would throw in a couple shots of the 'prep work' involved.

The paper is primarily there to protect the wood from the plaster adhesive applied before the mud is put on. I’ll write more on that later.

I wonder how many people think we have put curtains up? The paper looks like cafe curtains from the road.


Anyway, I'll leave you all for now. I got this message out without the PC crashing on me so I'd better quit while I'm ahead.

Till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

Today's Progress

Today was a good day - kind of.

I have the second coat of the joint compound finished and it should be dried by tomorrow morning.

Also, my new toy arrived today!! Can't wait to try out the new Multimaster!!

If you remember from my previous post, I had forgotten to add the metal corner bead to the chimney chase.


As you can see, it made a big difference. See how sharp those edges are?!

All I need to do is fill in some low spots to the under side.

For you sick puppies out there, you will notice that the 'Boo Boo' Meter has gone up. First thing this morning I sliced open my pinky of the left hand while cutting the corner bead. I should have gotten a pic of the blood smear dang it!

About an hour after that I whacked my index finger on the same hand with the hammer while installing the corner bead. It was bad enough I thought I broke it. My mother, a nurse, took a look and said it wasn't broken but very bruised. All I know is it feels like a hot needle being shoved in it each time something touches it.

Note to self - STOP NAILING/HAMMERING THINGS UPSIDE DOWN!!!


Here’s where the hole was. Doesn't that look a lot better?! I know you can't tell from the pic, but it is very smooth.


This last pic is for Jennifer over at the Tiny Old House.

She had asked me about the “Dustdog” vacuum sander from HYDE Tools. She is getting ready to do a big drywall project at her house and I promised to post info about the joint compound I use. Here ya go Jennifer!




Here is handy little Family Handyman article you might want to read through also. Good luck with your project and I'll drop by for a visit.

Well, till next time....

Cheers!
Larry ~

Delays - Delays - Delays

Delays - Delays - Delays!! It always seems like I run into to delays.

As I posted yesterday I was hoping to start the skim coat process on Wednesday, but it might be delayed until Thursday. The big patch that covers the hole where the vent was isn't completely dry. On top of that I forgot to add corner bead to a section of the wall. MAN - I must be loosing my mind or something to forget something as basic as that.

So, I spent the day doing some touch ups on the mud patches from yesterday and to sand what has already dried.

If you EVER have to do drywall, or plaster work, and need to sand it (what am I thinking - of course you will have to sand), I can't recomend this little gizmo enough.

It is the “Dustdog” vacuum sander from HYDE Tools. I got mine at the local ACE Hardware store.

I noticed a marked reduction in the dust, at least 90%. Get one before your next mudding job.

Once I was done with that I sat down with one of the best Drywall DIY books you can have.
Drywall: Professional Techniques for Walls & Ceilings is a must for any DIYer’s bookshelf.

Myron Ferguson has another book out, Drywall: Professional Techniques for Great Results . I’ll probably purchase this one at a later date.


Along with this source of info I've been going over Edwin Brown's awesome site plaster-wall-ceiling-solutions.com. This is by far one of THE best web site around for plaster work.

The part I will be using is the section on Skim Coating.

I'm sure I will continue reading these two sources well into the night.

One last thing I thought I'd bring up. As you know, we have been getting things together to decorate the new kitchen with. In one of the comments on the blog I mentioned the purchase of a Tagine. A friend asked me about it and I noticed I spelt it wrong.

Anyway, for those of you who might not know what a Tagine is - this is it.






Basically it's a conical cooking pot popular in Morocco.

Go here for a good, basic description.

While we are on the subject - SWMBO & I like old and unusual kitchen gadgets. The weirder the better. My particular interest is in clay cooking pots, like the Tagine, among other items.

I have a rather modest collection at the moment and am planning on a way to display them in the kitchen that will look nice.

One of my favorite pieces is this one. Isn't it ugly?!?!

It is a pre-war cooking pot I bought from a guy in Germany.

He and his wife had been given this Boar shaped pot as a wedding gift. It had never been used and they were downsizing so they put it on German eBay.

It was an ordeal to get it. My German isn't the best but he couldn't speak any English. Once we got down to the nitty-gritty of the sale I had a friend, who lives in Germany and speaks fluent German, handle the money for me. Turns out he lived a few miles from the couple and banked at the same location! So I wired my friend the cash and he gave it to the guy for me.

Anyway - thought I would just share that with you.

BTW - for those who enjoy my pains and sufferings you will notice that the 'Boo Boo' meter count has gone up. I developed a hangnail the other day and dropped a rather large power tool on it today.

Until next time -

Cheers!
Larry ~