My Boomtown Revival

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018

Mastering the Router

I mastered the router!

Well, maybe “master” isn’t the correct description. How about “conquered”? In any event, I got it figured out and created a decent-enough rounded edge for my window stool! (Stool is the actual name for what most people, including me, call a window sill. The sill is the name for the similar part on the outside of the window).

Anyway, yay me!

The reason I’m proud is that I bought the router over a month ago and it has sat since then waiting to be magically figured out or for someone to come and show me how to use it. Neither of those things happened.

I was intimidated by the router because the assembly instructions were written by a non-linear thinker, and certainly it did not come with instructions on how to use it. So it sat in its brand new fancy bag. But today I got at it and viola! It is not beyond me!

On the sofa with a cup of coffee is a great place to try and navigate crappy instructions.

I’ve got a coat of shellac on this practice stool and once a few coats are dried I’ll attempt to fasten it to the window jamb, to see how it fits.

Here’s a squared off kind of edge. I’m going to just do a bullnose for the actual stool.

That’s also going to be tricky, because ass-hat builder built the jambs and they suck. The bottom jamb has a 30′ angle, so there’s no flat part for me to mount the stool. If I were a true carpenter, I would build a 30′ matching wedge for under the stool, but that is not within the realm of my abilities. So, some other ‘fix’ has to be worked out, I’m just not sure what it will be yet.

Not only is the jamb at a 30′ or so angle, I had to hack off glued-on trim so that the window will open and close. Ass-hat put the trim on so tight that the window doesn’t work.

As with everything in this addition, the window stool is far from perfect, so it fits right in. Yay!

The actual stools are going to be from original fir from my grandma’s house. I’m so happy to be able to use it.

July 7, 2018

New front patio

One thing done that I wasn’t entirely planning on doing this year, but which seemed “do-able” at reasonable cost and would make me feel good: A new front patio.

It’s compact, but exactly what I wanted for sitting out with a beverage on an early morning or late afternoon. It’s dappled shade and north side, so no searing sunshine during the summer. Just perfect.

My brother did the patio. It’s got its imperfections, but in that way it matches the house entirely.

There’s obviously still the landscaping to do – I’ll bring in topsoil and do some bulbs in the fall.

Now I just need two perfect chairs and a perfect small table and we’re good to go.

Picture a few blooms, gravel driveway, and nice patio furniture.

July 7, 2018

Bedroom paint

I finally got myself started on painting the bedroom. I chose Ben Moore Woodlawn Blue.

While this is only the first coat, I’m liking the colour.

June 26, 2018

I finally did it

I finally fired the Builder. What an asshat.

After firing him I started looking up ‘contractor from hell’ stories on the internet. Found a story that is shockingly similar to mine. Although the renovation details themselves are different, the behavior of the contractor is spot on.

http://www.contractorsfromhell.com/my-horror-story/

Over 21 months of constant nagging on my part and empty promises on his part to get what should have been a 4 month project done. During that same time houses in my booming neighbourhood were torn down, new basements dug, two new houses built on each lot, complete with landscaping, driveways, and new tenants, all before my asshat Builder could finish an addition. He did, however, take several hot vacations with his family of 5, and had all winter to ‘sit on his butt’ (his words).

I wish I’d read the ‘contractor from hell’ story last year at this time, and maybe I’d have had the courage to cut him loose then.

June 26, 2018

Powder room door

I’m using doors, windows, trim, and flooring from my grandmother’s house (which is now abandoned). This is the door for the powder room, which is a pocket door.

Since the doors are shellacked, I merely wiped down the door and added a couple of new coats of shellack and it looks wonderful.

Then I installed it (definitely a two person job) and discovered that the effing builder had used drywall screws too long for the pocket space, such that when the door slid into the pocket it was scratched by the screws.

This is a 100 year old door, in mint condition. It survived 100 years of use in a family of 5 and my builder scars it with his effing malicious idiocy.

So, I had to dig out the screws from the already taped/mudded drywall and replace them with shorter screws.

What an effing idiot.

May 26, 2018

Main Floor Powder Room

I have been working on the main floor powder room for some time. The powder room is quite small. I wanted it so.

I’m not a carpenter, as I’m sure is clear by now, and I take lots time to figure out how to do something and then make many mistakes, so I take lots of breaks to psych myself up to keep going. Sometimes those breaks can be for weeks or more.

Here are some photos of work I’ve done to date:

Wallpaper and vanity light. Light is LED from Lowes.

Wainscoting is painted Storm Cloud Grey, from Benjamin Moore.

Wainscoting – Storm Cloud Grey – and wallpaper.

This is where the toilet will go. Floor is dark grey luxury vinyl. It extends out of the powder room, into the back door area.

I’d like to say the room is almost done, but aside from the obvious of installing toilet and sink, I have other finishing tasks to do:
– the window frame – is inset, so I have to build an ‘extension’ frame of some kind, and then put on header and casings.
– “crown” moulding – I haven’t caulked this in yet because I probably have to remove the piece that sits where the window header will go.
– vanity – this is going to be a dresser I had when I was a child, so I have to drill holes into it and modify the back to accept the plumbing etc. I find this intimidating and I have stress about otherwise destroying a perfectly good antique dresser.
– pocket door – for the life of me I cannot hang it by myself. It will not go onto the sliders. I’ll have to round up someone to help.
– door trim – can’t be completed until the pocket door is in. Then I have to shellack it.
– after the fixtures are in I can install soap dish, toilet paper holder, towel rack etc. I purchased those from Rejuvination, so they’re ready to go on.
– switch plates – I bought some fancy white ceramic and chrome ones, but noticed only after I’d bought them that I will also have to change the actual switches to white, in order to match. Right now they’re builder’s beige. I can do it myself, but not prior to ‘inspection’ of the electrical and I don’t want to pay the electrician to change them.
– blinds or curtains – I might try and install plantation shutters (as I call them in the frigid north).
– hang a fern
– hang something art-like; pictures or posters etc.

An example of the blinds I’d like (and similar to what was on the original part of the house when I bought it):

I’m also looking for a toilet like this – square with detail, but not elongated. I can only find elongated ones, which is why there is no toilet installed yet.

May 24, 2018May 25, 2018

Upstairs Bathroom Wainscoting

In February I began working on my new upstairs bathroom. It was supposed to be ready for toilet/sink/tub installation in May, and I work quite slowly with lots of thoughtful breaks.

I painted the ceiling – White Blush ceiling paint by Benjamin Moore. And I painted the walls the same colour.

I installed baseboard and beadboard and will paint them Jamestown Blue.

The beadboard came as a kit, with baseboard, shoe moulding, beadboard, and top rail.

The baseboard was slightly complicated to install, as the floor tiles were a little uneven and I’m not a carpenter. Also, despite it being a brand new space, the corners are not 90 degrees and some carpentry was required to get the corners as tight as possible. I didn’t do the best job and lots of filler was required. But once that baseboard was in, the beadboard and the rest went in quickly and the overall look is nice.

For this job I purchased a pneumatic nailer and a mitre saw. Sounds like expensive beadboard, but those are tools that I will use often in the next year.

Anyway, I think the beadboard application is good enough and hopefully no one will notice or care about the imperfections and the bathroom is a little closer to completion.

I haven’t painted yet, so will post photos after that.

February 22, 2018

The Decimated Bathroom

In order to bring my existing bathroom ‘up to code,’ the plumber had to tear apart my bathroom and install drain traps on the sink, toilet, and tub.

Wall where pedestal sink and toilet were.
The exposed wall shows no insulation on the exterior wall. Original woodchip insulation must have settled.

While I appreciated his sentiment on the tub, the plumber replaced a worn/cracked polished brass drain outlet with a shiny polished chrome one. I’m happy to have the new drain outlet because the old one did not seal, so baths were had by plugging the hole with washcloths. I had tried removing the old one several times, but it was beyond my skill and strength.
Anyway, the plumber also replaced the tub overflow, which had no issues as far as I was aware. So now I have polished brass tap and shower hanger, and chrome drain and overflow. Who on earth would think that’s acceptable?

The next day when I got home from work, the wall was re-drywalled and the toilet installed. Presumably sink will be done today.

The floor is my own disaster. When I first saw the sink and toilet out, I thought it would be very easy to pull up the 1980s green tile and get it down to the fir, which I would later restore.

I did that because if they were re-installing toilet and sink I wanted it to be at the floor level that it is meant to be at. But, it was only after I started pulling out the tiles that I noticed that part of the original fir floor had been removed a long time ago and replaced with a sheet of plywood. Then, a second sheet of plywood somewhere along the line, maybe when the green tile went down.

So, now I just have a big mess and I’ll have to pull out everything, lay down a new plywood, and then tile. At least that gives me a chance to do in-floor heat for this bathroom as well and bring it into the 21st Century.

Threshold to bathroom – looked easy enough to remove the tile.

February 22, 2018

Bringing the Existing Plumbing “Up to Code”

I’ve heard it said many times that whenever work is done on an old house, whatever is touched by renovation has to be ‘brought up to code’. Of course that code changes yearly and is designed to keep manufacturers and industry folks busy and rich, and I’ve never questioned whether it’s true, because the Canada Building Code and its Provincial subsets are not public documents and must be purchased at great expense (every year). So, I have no idea whether it’s true. But on the basis that it is, the plumber noted that my existing bathroom plumbing, which was upgraded in 1999, did not have ‘p’ traps. Or ‘y’ traps. One of the alphabet traps.
The result is that my only bathroom has been torn apart. As has my dining room ceiling. And my living room ceiling. And living room wall. That’s additional work and cost I wasn’t anticipating, and mental stress as we struggle to manage around the living situation. The only non-disaster/untouched room in my house is my bedroom. And it’s a disaster anyway, because it is crammed full of things from every other room in the house.
I wouldn’t ordinarily gripe about this situation, especially since as far as I know this is the only unexpected thing to happen and the only unexpected cost, but I’ve been living in shambles and half-done work since July 2016 – 18 months at this moment. I’ve moved the same things around in my house, from space to space and room to room, trying to make room to live in for 18 months. I am DONE. Actually, I was DONE in December. And that’s when my friend Craig stepped in to take responsibility.

Anyway. I’m sure you’re not here to read about how angry I am. So, photos!

Here’s my living room ceiling after the plumber caused a freezing pipe at Christmas – the ceiling stain is from sewage.

Holes in the ceiling, cut to see whether my existing plumbing meets money-making code.

What was noticed by the builder at this point was that the previous plumbing company (Go Gregs!) cut through the joists to install pipes. So, my cast iron tub was not properly supported. Scary. The builder fixed that.

2x4s supporting joists until they can be sistered.

New plumbing in living room wall. What was interesting to see from this cut, was that plumbing was always installed in the houes – that is, there are no plaster keys in this area and it was always walled at an angle across the corner. Cool.

Long view of ceiling and wall cut outs in living room.

This shows the original fir floor in the bathroom (from below), but it also shows that the fir was cut away and replaced with plywood. Two layers of plywood now. So, in restoring that bathroom I will have to re-tile it.

Next post to display lovely photos of inside the destructed bathroom. Stay tuned.

February 22, 2018

Bathroom Floor

Tiling of the bathroom floor is done. It is marble hexagon tile, with in-floor heat. It looks very nice.

The bathroom is 6×10.

Clawfoot tub along back of wall, under window. Toilet, vanity, and sink along the left wall. Wiring on right wall is for in-floor heat and convection wall heater. There is no forced air heat in the bathroom.

In-floor heat is installed. That is real luxury and will be much appreciated.

The plumbing can’t be done until the mudding and taping is done. Then, I’m planning for beadboard or panelling. And then the tub, sink, and toilet can be installed. Since the plumber tore apart my only existing bathroom on Tuesday and as of Thursday it is still torn apart (see the next post), I’m feeling the need to get moving on getting at least one of these bathrooms done. I find it very difficult to make decisions on fixtures. That’s what slows me down.