Before & After Photos - "L" Room

Here are the finished photos for the "L" Room, which show the room as it looked when I bought the house in 2010, and now, after a ton of work rebuilding the closet walls, repairing the window mouldings, replacing the missing mouldings for the doors, fixing electrical outlets, fixing the duct work, repairing/patching and repainting the original tongue and groove pine floor, fixing the absolutely terrible ceiling (which had been textured with drywall compound and a broom), etc.

The photos rotate counter-clockwise from the left-hand corner as you walk into the room.



The bookcase was removed because this is the only usable wall without any obstructions (windows or doors). This would be the idea spot to have the headboard of a bed. When the house was originally built this was actually a window, but now there's an attached building on this side.



Note: the interior of the closet is still unfinished drywall at the moment.



Here you can see where I rebuilt the new wall to land even with this stupid corner that they had (this doorway was not here originally).



The only drastic change to this corner was the lowering of the outlet, and repairing the sloppily installed baseboards (with 1 missing corner stake).







The floor here needed a lot of repairs. A lot of the pine boards are new, and had to be custom made to fit.



The original closets were only 16" deep, and they had been modified twice in the past. Originally they separated the two east rooms upstairs. At some time in the 40s or 50s they were opened up into a curved archway to make an upstairs kitchen and dining room, with a small broom closet at each end. After this, they were again turned back into one single long closet. I tore everything out and made this back into two closets and a built-in linen closet for the hallway. One closet is larger (the one for this large L shaped room), and the other one (only partially built) will serve the small back room in the north-east corner.



A few additional photos.

This shows the main doorway, the linen closet in the hallway, and the new closet for the "L" Room. The doorway to the right of the hallway built-in leads to the small north-east bedroom mentioned above.



Here is the newly refurbished and rewired (antique) light fixture, with antique glass shades. This fixture was bought in rough shape on eBay over a year ago, and the shades were purchased separately (also on eBay). The fixture (along with all the other ones in the house) was rewired using antique reproduction Rayon covered wire. The painted finish on the fixture also had to be redone from scratch.



Lit:



Note: for those who are curious, the wall paint is Behr's "Olivine" and the floor is "Florence Brown".

Finishing-Up The "L" Room

The upstairs "L" Room is finally done, and I'm posting 2 entries of the finished results. This first part shows some of the last touches before painting the walls and cleaning-up the floor.

This was the last section of baseboard that I had to install, along with the little corner stake (which were removed when the entire closet walls were rebuilt). I reused an old piece of baseboard (from the pieces I had removed for repairs in several rooms), installed it, caulked it, primed it, painted it, and I had to wait a day or so to dry thoroughly until I could tape it to paint the walls.



The ceiling (after all that messy and horrible drywall work) got seal-coated with some of my scrap paint (which turned out to be mostly a transparent base), followed by 2 thick coats (or was it 3?) of my flat white ceiling paint. Considering I was going to hire someone to do the drywall joints on the ceiling, I'm extremely pleased with how nice and flat it turned out.





Next was the taping of all the mouldings. I've mentioned it before, but I'm not a fan of "cutting-in" around mouldings. I do it at the ceiling edge (and it never looks that great), but I prefer the nice clean lines that I end up getting with tape. You *DO* end up needing some touch-ups from bleed-through or missed corners, but with a small brush these are quick and easy to do.





This was after the first coat of green (Behr's "Olivine"), and this is the first time that I don't get great coverage on my first coat, using the Behr Premium Plus paint and primer in one. I always do 2 coats anyways, and it looked fantastic after the second coat, but I wasn't thrilled with the first coat (as far as the coverage).





Check out the next post to see the final before and after photos!

"L" Room Update

I just did the first coat of ceiling paint, and I also primed the new wall section. A few days ago I also installed, caulked, and primed the last section of baseboard.

I will need one more coat of ceiling paint, a few coats of white on the baseboard, then the walls can be painted.

"L" Room Drywall Update

I figured that a boring update would be better than no update, but at least this one will include a bunch of photos! :D

If you've read my last post, you know that I'm finally pushing to have the "L" Room upstairs DONE and start using it. The last steps are the ceiling and painting (and if you want to get picky, there's still no doors, and I'll work on the closet interior later).

Today I sanded all the ceiling and corners (at the top of the walls). What a mess. Just when I thought I had done a pretty good job, and that there'd be minimal sanding, I end up being totally wrong, and making a huge mess.

Overall, though, the ceiling did turn out nicely, and I had only one spot that needed touch-ups.

Here was the third (touch-up) coat from yesterday (drying):





I mentioned that I got some new drywall trowels and I thought I would show them. Pictured are the two new trowels (the corner trowel and the 10 inch trowel) along with my trusty 6" trowel which I've been using for years. You can see that the blade is spotty (from accidentally leaving it damp which caused rust spots to form).



This was a photo (a "selfie" if you will) of me from this afternoon right after I had finished sanding everything. There was dust EVERYWHERE, including some that was caked-onto my sweaty t-shirt, and it billowed all the way through the hallway upstairs.

Shortly after this, I cleaned up all the dust (shop vac), dusted myself off, and took a shower.

And the reason my mouth is open is because my nose was a bit plugged-up.



Sanded ceiling shots:





I'm really glad that I decided to protect the floor with this cardboard stuff. It's a construction-grade cardboard used both as a floor protector, and as a layer under hardwood (to prevent squeaking). I'll be using some when I redo the hallway on the main floor, but it comes in a huge roll for something like 15$.

One of the main reason for laying that down was for the paint drops (from primer, ceiling and wall paint), but I ended up also dropping several blobs of drywall compound everywhere (which would have been a nightmare to clean out of the gaps in the old floor).



As a last minute decision, I decided to go ahead and install the last panel in the corner (see photo below). If you remember a long time ago, I had loosely fitted this piece, but I didn't attach it because I wanted to be able to have easy access around both sides of the chimney for when I knock it down. Well, I figured I'd have enough room from the other side, and that it would be so much easier to just finish this room completely -all at the same time, and be DONE with it. Otherwise I would have needed to go back later and mud/paint this section maybe a year from now when the chimney is gone.

So this just made more sense. I cut the hole for the outlet, screwed-in the panel, mudded it (first coat only), and once it's good, I'll install that last corner block and length of baseboard, paint those, and then paint the whole room in one shot.



I figure that if things dry fairly quick, I could be done with this room by next weekend.

"L" Room Update

I don't have much of an update, and I didn't think to take any pictures yet, but rather than pay someone, I've finally caved and decided to mud the ceiling in the "L" Room myself. I did 3/4 of the scratch coat a week or so ago, and then ran out of mud. I bought more mud about a week ago, and I finished the scratch coat a few days ago. That brings us to today, where I did the first topcoat on the seams and corners.

It actually went really well, and I attribute that success to some new tools. I watched a few drywall videos on YouTube several weeks back, and they always make it look SO Fast and EASY. I mean, it's not HARD by any means, but there's a lot of technique involved.

What blew my mind though, was the corner trowel.

Some of the best DIY videos I've found (including the detailed ones I used as a reference to install the new vinyl siding on the garage) are from Shannon at House Improvements (one of his videos is below).

In this drywall video, you see him use the corner trowel at around the 3:10 mark.



I don't know how I went so long without even knowing that this tool existed. For YEARS now, I've been tediously doing my corners mostly (or partly) one side at a time, because a regular trowel always leaves an odd edge in the corner. I've also been doing most of all my drywall with only a 6" trowel (which isn't really wide enough for finishing coats).

So after having watched a few of his videos, I decided to invest in both a wider trowel, and a corner trowel. These range in prices, and I went with an inexpensive set at around 10$ each trowel.

Today was my first time using both, and wow! What a difference! The job went faster, the joints are smoother, and the corners and joints look wonderful!

I think I can probably get away with just another light pass, some light sanding, and then I'll be ready to paint! I've already had the wall paint bought for months now, and I still have leftover ceiling paint, so I have pretty much everything already on hand.

Garage Wall Progress

Although I haven't posted much about it yet, the rebuilding of the garage wall is progressing nicely. So far I have:

- Jacked-up the roof for temporary support.
- Jacked-up the wall.
- Cut away the bottom of the wall.
- Cleaned-out about 200 lbs of rotted wood and dirt at the base of the wall.
- Made custom concrete forms for the new footings.
- Hand-mixed and filled the forms (26 1/2 bags of concrete, which was pure hell).
- Installed the bottom plate (pressure treated wood).
- Temporarily re-supported the wall at each 2x4 to remove the braces.
- Cut away the top of the wall.
- Installed the top plates (2 layers of 2x4s).

Now I'm at the point where I can install the vertical 2x4s (the easy part). I need to go pick up some more nails, and mark all the crowns in my 2x4s (the crowns are the cupped or curved edges).

I've been working at the "wall project" several hours a day, and I'm quite happy with the pace I've been managing to keep. The garage will be so nice and solid once this job is done. It will also mean that I can finally have the roof (safely) replaced. The roof should have been redone right after I bought the house, but after I discovered the condition of the wall I was afraid to have any workers up there.

I also plan to add electrical (probably with a small sub-panel) new lights, and drywall + paint.

I only plan to show a recap (photos) once the whole project is done (the wall - not the entire garage).

***

I've been keeping quite busy here. Aside from the "wall project" I've also redone the framing for the sloped ceiling in the back stairwell (which was quite tricky to figure out). That's now pretty much ready for insulation and wall covering (either drywall or beadboard).

I also started to do the taping and mudding in the "L" Room upstairs. I've been procrastinating about doing it for almost a year, and I was going to hire someone else to do it, but in the end, I'll do it myself. My imperfections (I'm only so-so at drywall) will just match the rest of the house.

L Room Floor Done! + Vanity + Other

I wanted to post photos of the finished floor, but I'm actually a bit more excited to show-off a piece of furniture that I've had for years.

This is the "Vanity" dresser that is part of the solid walnut Gibbard set that I have. I've had the piece for years but I've actually NEVER in my life seen it with the mirror installed on it! My parents had the original mirror in the basement for all the time I lived at home, and the original mirror bracket was "broken" (one section had come unglued). I just repaired it about a month ago.

Since I'll more than likely have the piece in this room, I decided to put it together to see how it was meant to look. In the past, I've used this dresser as a TV stand (in my old bedroom), then as a computer desk for a while (at the apartment), and since I moved to the house, it's just been sitting around until this room got done (soon!)

I have just quickly dusted it, but I plan to go over it with some stain to touch up a few scuffs and worn edges. I also need to properly clean the mirror. Both large mirrors in the set are the originals, and even though they're not bevelled, they are both 1/4" thick glass, and weigh a TON. I estimate that this smaller mirror weighs at least 20 lbs.



I have to say, it looks pretty much exactly how I thought it would, but it's just so odd to see it put together after so many years without the mirror attached.

The other two matching dressers can be seen in this post:
http://my1923foursquare.blogspot.ca/2012/06/bedroom-furniture.html

Here's the finished floor. It looks great, but sadly, as I had suspected, the colour is off. This shade (which is supposed to be an identical match to the previous can) is more brown while the other shade on the master bedroom floor and hallway is more orange. I'm kind of pissed about it, but I'll find a way to blend the two together because I'm not repainting.







Also, just for fun, here's the same floor a few years ago. You can see the PO's lovely fake laminate oak floor on the far left, then foam, then peel and stick Marboleum tiles over 1/4" plywood, and finally the original pine tongue and groove under this.



Another "before/during" photo:



I haven't specifically chosen that spot for the vanity, it's just there for now. There's actually 4 places in this room where it could fit.

The "Other" part of this post is that over the weekend, I restored, repainted, and rewired the 4-socket chandelier for the main staircase. I don't have photos of the finished product since it's hanging in the garage (with atrocious lighting and an even uglier background) but I'm hoping that I can install it soon-ish. To jog your memory, it's this larger one on the right in this old photo:

"L Room" Floors Painted! (First Coat)

Yes you read the title correctly! I actually got to work, and managed to get the floors all puttied last night, sanded this morning, vacuumed & washed this afternoon, shellacked (over the raw pine repairs), and the first coat of paint done, all before 6pm.

It was a lot of work, but not too bad. After this room, there will only be the guest bedroom left, which is only about 9x9. That room won't be ready to work in for quite a while, still.

These are some of the tools I used to prep the floors (along with a screwdriver, vacuum, and a rag and pail).



I actually didn't end up using the belt sander, but in case I would need it, I didn't want to go back to get it, so I had brought it upstairs. I used the hand plane to shave-down the edges and uneven boards where my repairs had been put in. The sander was used to smooth out the planer marks, and the scraper(s) were used to remove all the putty (see video).

Putty before scraping.





Here's a quick video that I shot for you guys! Scraping and sanding all the putty took around 1 1/2 hours.



Floor vacuumed, washed, and raw pine shellacked.



First coat going on:





First coat done!





I was afraid that the brown/orange tint hadn't been matched perfectly since this is my second can, but it actually looks just fine. It looks slightly yellower in this photo, but it's still wet, and also needs a second coat, but I can tell that the colour is fine.



Hopefully I have the energy to do the second coat tomorrow (if it's dry enough) or Wed evening.

"L Room" Progress

I finished painting the "L Room" mouldings the other day. They turned out pretty well, except that I'm kind of pissed off at Rona.

Paint Rant:

As some of you might know, all my house paint is the pricey "Behr Premium Plus Ultra (Paint and Primer in One)" and I absolutely love it. It's as thick as pudding (not exaggerating here, you literally can't pour it), and it's worth every penny, HOWEVER, for all my trim paint, I wound up using Rona's "Natural White Semi-Gloss" paint. This was mainly only because back when I started, they were having a big paint sale, and I also wound up getting a few gift cards from there. The Rona paint isn't cheap at over $35 + tax, but the quality just isn't there. I literally have to slather it on pretty thick to get good coverage.

But that's not why I'm upset with them. They changed their paint labels (which already had me worried at the store). I was told that it's only a new label, and the paint is still exactly the same. Well, it isn't. It's the same shade of white (which I suppose is the only really important part), but it's not the same gloss. It's much shinier than the last 3-4 cans I've gone through. This really annoys me, but there's not much I can do about it.

Luckily, I still have a small 1/5 of a can of my original stuff left, so I can use that to finish a few spots that aren't done yet, like the Office built-in (the bottom moulding), etc. But it means that all my unfinished trim on the main floor isn't going to be a perfect match. In the rooms with the hardwood floors, all the bottom mouldings are currently removed, so when I paint those to blend into the door casings, it won't be a 100% match.

Ugh.

But at least it's still the same shade. I really regret going with them for the trim paint. I also had NO IDEA how much paint I'd be going through. To give you an idea, just the "L Room" casings (2 window casings, 2 door casings minus both jambs, and 90% of the baseboards), I went through about 1/5 to 1/4 of the can (4L/1gal). I've actually lost track of how many cans I've gone through, but I've kept ALL the receipts for the house renos since the start, so some day I'll add them all up.

End of Paint Rant

The real reason you're here! Photos!



The jamb on the main door was already painted when I did the hallway trim, but the closet jamb is pine, and I'll need to do some shellac on it before I paint it, or it'll bleed through, so I'm saving that for later.







I also got a paint sample. Quick story about this: I knew I wanted a light green. I wanted something a bit "drab" and greyed-down to match the neutral colour scheme and overall paint theme I'm going with, and I knew it might be tough to find just the right shade of light green. I have a notoriously hard time picking paint colours. So one day, a week or so ago, I was wandering around in Wal-Mart, and I saw this light green bath towel that I thought might be a good candidate. It was a band "matches with everything" kind of colour, and I could easily see it on my walls. I took one of the small face cloths with me to their paint chips, and I did an eyeballed colour match to the closest two colours. I brought those home and I tacked them to the wall in the "L Room". I had them up for several days, and I knew I always have a tendency to go too dark with a paint colour (because the big white area around the chip always makes it look lighter than it actually is), so I picked the one shade lighter from the colour I wanted, and got a sample of it yesterday. This is how it turned out.

I had also started a "Help Me Pick A Light Green" type thread on OHW (that's Old House Web for those who aren't in the loop), and I got mixed responses there (several in hard to find paint chips for my area).

So yeah, this is my first and only green sample so far, and I quite like it. It's a tad on the bright/cheery side compared to some of my other colours, but I think it could work well in here. Thoughts?







Please realize that I'm not 100% decided on this colour yet. If you don't quite like it, PLEASE SAY SO. I might want to get something a bit less pastel/nursery room looking.

I don't want too much of a minty ice cream colour, nothing too trendy, and I want it to blend-in with the other colours near it (in this case, the sand brown hallway and the light beige bathroom).

I have to say, though, it's VERY VERY close to some of my inspiration photos, though some of these have a bit more yellow in them:





This one is a bit too minty, but in the same range.