Moving Forward with Flooring: Wood & Tile

Day 75 for Gabe and I, Friday, February 1st.

This weekend we all worked to prepare the space for flooring to be installed.  Mom & Dad worked mostly to prepare the wood flooring.  Boy, was it a lot of work!  I didn't know how much extra work it was going to be to reclaim the original, old 1890's heart pine we had in the house to start with.  But in the end, it will be hard to put a price on such an antique!

The interior doors and trim also arrived during the week.  The interior doors were stashed upstairs in the 2nd bedroom for now until they get installed.  The 16' long trim pieces were crowding up the living room (the wood floors were there too, making it total chaos), so they needed to be moved upstairs and out of the way.

Apparently Mom had spent a good 30 hours that week (Dad probably wasn't too far behind) working at the house to clean out the caked-on gunk in the tongue and groove of the reclaimed wood slats....  Through the past century, dirt and debris got wedged into the crevices of the groove and got "cemented" there with the smoke from the wood stove.  It had a hard, brittle composition, resembling black carbon.  Mom went through many flat head screwdriver tips (her tool of choice) to remove it.

Here is the diligent one in action:

Oh and more good news!  The electrical system works again so we now have a newly working HVAC unit!!!  That was exceedingly exciting to me.

We arrived on the scene late Friday afternoon after a trip to Home Depot (this is becoming a pattern) to see new rails on the front porch.  Our framing subcontractor had been at the house during the week working on it.

Exhibit A:

I got busy painting a new set of paint samples on the walls:

This time around went much better.  I honed in on one color for the main areas downstairs which turned out to be a lighter version of Raffia Cream and have the porch ceiling color picked out:

They say, if you paint your porch ceiling light blue, the insects and wasps will get confused and think it is the sky and look for a different, more solid and permanent spot to build their nests :)  I don't know about that, but I do know that I love me some turquoise blue!!!

To be exact, it is:

I'm going for a light gray blue for the two bathrooms and am still testing this one.  Here are some contestants:

A lighter version of this one

At this point, I have ruled out Dolphin Fin, as it looks too much like putty.

After moving trim upstairs through the large master bedroom window, Gabe and I tackled the floors of the downstairs bath and foyer while Mom & Dad continued to prepare the wood flooring slats.  Gabe showed me how to use a belt sander to smooth down the seams of the plywood subfloor in preparation for adding cement board (Durock) as an underlayment for the slate tile to go down there.

Along with other unglamorous things such as sweeping and locating and opening up a buried electrical box, these two spaces were ready for Durock:

Downstairs full bath

Foyer

The next day, the wood flooring was nearly ready.  Dad had hired a local guy to assist us in laying the wood floors the next Monday, so we needed to have it ready by then.  Dad used the sander to remove caked on "carbon" from the groove side of the slats and Mom worked to inspect and sort each piece into piles of size, as per the flooring specialist's instructions.

Gabe and I sorted through some discarded piles of slats to establish which ones could be used in more tucked away spots where it wouldn't matter if the tongue had broken off or there was a larger nail hole in the middle.  These boards would be face nailed into spots like the storage space under the stairs and possibly the utility room.  Any boards we just couldn't use I plan to do make an art project, or create a mirror frame.  So many projects!

We also used the belt sander to level out a seam in front of the French doors that had already seen a bit of water, causing it to ripple.  We were able to smooth it down rather easily.

Then, we moved on to installing another cabinet in the kitchen.

Lookin' good! 

Next, we fastened the cabinet doors back on to keep them off the ground and away from damage as well as keep dust out from inside.  This cabinet was the last we could do on the right side before we figure out what to do about the over-the-refrigerator cabinet bump-out and how that relates to the soffit, that doesn't bump out to the same depth yet.

Additionally, we needed to have the subfloor reasonably cleared so the work could begin.  This proved to be an awkward task.  Cabinets belonging downstairs were temporarily moved to the upstairs, so we did a little cabinet dance.  This is where being organized and remembering where you put something comes in handy.

After while, Mom & Dad had to leave for their evening plans, so we stayed and finished what we could of the wood floors.  I worked to remove carbon from the remaining dozen or so boards, while Gabe did Dad's task of sanding down the groove side of the slat from all the caked on dirt.  We had to leave for dinner with friends around 5, but we had cleaned off all but a few scraps, so the wood flooring installer, Rene, and Mom could get to it on Monday.

Kitchen area all cleaned up for the install:

Boards all sorted into piles of varying lengths:

Yes, my mom is an expert organizer

After a good sweep, we were outta there!

On Monday and Tuesday evening, Mom and Dad met with Rene, who would be installing our floors.  Mom laid the boards out and Rene tacked them down with his special tools.

These are the photos we saw of the progress during the week:

Very exciting!!  The dark spots in different places are low spots where the original varnish was not completely removed.  We plan to sand down the whole floor plane to get a more even finish as soon as it's done.  This will remove the dark patches.

On Wednesday, it was established that there was not going to be enough flooring to complete the first floor.  There was about 6 1/2 feet that were left along the south wall in the living room.  In the original upstairs arrangement, there was a partition wall made up of thicker and wider heart pine slats that we were going to use as stair treads, but we decided to have these planed down to match the thickness of the floor boards.  We will buy additional stair treads in heart pine later, which will not be immediately adjacent to the floor.  Whew, dodged a bullet on that one!!!  It would have been sad if we could not have the same heart pine flowing through the downstairs...even though they say it will look exactly the same as newer, reclaimed heart pine, I had my doubts.

The next weekend, we got to the house on Friday eager to see the flooring.  It looked fantastic!!  The planed down heart pine to be used for the rest was even delivered already!  The only hitch we needed to address with was the width of the heart pine.  It is wider, and will be noticeable.  The only way we could have made that work was to "feather" the pieces in over a greater space, but it was too late for that.  Here are some more shots of what is completed so far:

Along the far wall the unfinished section can be seen

looking into the Dining Room

View into the Kitchen:

Coat Closet

Transition into the Utility Closet

Speaking of the Utility Closet, here is our brand new HVAC!!!

I honestly never thought I would get this excited about an air handling unit.  But when it's your first one, anything goes!!  :D

Also, we couldn't get a hold of the local lumber supply company that day, to return the pine to have it additionally milled down to the right width.  These are the problems we seek to resolve in this process!!!  It will have to be done next week.

The project first on Gabe's mind for Friday was to retrofit a line for cable in the upstairs which we managed to forget to do before the drywall went up.  Boo.  But, he bought the cable line, ran it from the 2nd bedroom closet (where he would eventually tie it in downstairs to the cable box) to the master bedroom, all around the room to the only location a T.V. would work in the space.  Here it is, to the right of the large windows:

He's running the line around the baseboard, eventually to be behind the trim.  In the dark.  Yeah, we don't have electrical hooked up yet...

The next day, Saturday, Gabe worked to finish running the line for cable pretty much all morning.  I was there to be a gopher.  Yay.  Dad was working to get the master bedroom organized to suit the contractor coming next week to work on trim.  The miter saw needed to be arranged just so to accommodate the long lengths of trim he would be dealing with.  Then he started on the skirt board for the stairs.

Here is Gabe wiring the study for cable:

Running the cable around the 2nd Bedroom:

And then he ran it down to the first floor to tie in with the cable box.

Dad worked on the skirt board running up the stairs, shown here to the left of the makeshift treads, running up the side:

Our next project was to install Durock on the floor of the foyer and downstairs bath.  We bought eight 3' X 5' sheets that were 1/4" thick.  The plan was to cut the pieces for a dry fit before we mix the Thin-set.  We wanted to get the substrate down before we install the wood flooring, so they don't get damaged in the process.  

The strategy is to offset the seams, and leave patching and small piece for low traffic areas.

This is what the entryway will look like when it's done:

Moving into the downstairs bath:

Mixed Thin-set:

And we are ready to lay it down!  But we have to be quick...  Gabe spread the Thin-set with a grooved trowel:

And then I came behind him and screwed the boards down at 5" intervals.

Then, I had to leave so I could keep a commitment for that evening volunteering at our church so Dad took over my post.  And, wouldn't you know it, there are no more pictures!

My school semester has been underway for about a month now with two afternoon classes a week, which is a lot more manageable than last semester, which was really, really busy!!  Our goal is to have the house finished enough for an occupancy permit sometime in April.  

We are going gang-busters until then to get it finished!

'Til next time....

Stairs, Doors & Windows, oh my!

We had our 2nd anniversary, my 30th birthday, I launched my website update, and started school since I last wrote.  Whew!  AND, we have now past Day 50 working on this job and are still going strong!

The weekend of August 17th & 18th, I was there to help on Friday, but Saturday, Mom & I went to meet a friend out at the Lucketts fair to look for inspiration for the house.  Friday, Gabe and I worked on the stairs while Dad went to Winchester to pick up a French door we got for the back porch.  It was a floor model that Dad negotiated for.  We got a really good deal!

Here is Gabe working on cutting out the third riser:

When Dad got back, they worked to install the three risers:

And here is the door!

The next day, I stayed until after lunch.  Rough stairs were completed and some framing below the stairs was also done today.

Here are pictures of the stairs in progress:

And done!

Here we are installing the wall under the stairs that will house the toilet.

The stairs will later be clad in heart pine--the existing wall separating the two bedrooms in the upstairs will be planed down for it.

Mom brought us lunch, how cute are they?

Right before we left for the fair, they needed a third person to help install the french doors.  Mom took a nice video of the first try.

We did get it in that first time, but it was too tight, so they took it out, removed a shim, and tried yet again.  That time it worked.

Then, Mom & I left for the fair and Gabe & Dad set to work on the unglamorous task of blocking.

While at the fair, Mom & I got some chairs that will match nicely with the antique table Mom & Dad have had for years that we are going to use to stage the house when it is finished.  I will probably end up re-finishing the chairs somehow.  They were a good price.  Here is one of the chairs:

The next day we left for a short second anniversary vacation.  It was sort-of a rainy week, but still lovely, and great to relax!!

The next weekend, August 24th & 25th, they continued working on finishing up framing and blocking.  This was necessary to move forward and get the framing inspection completed.  I did not take very many pictures of this step.  I didn't help much either, since it was mostly a two man job, and had other things to do to get my website launched.  Btw, I'll just plug that now:

www.unearthedpottery.com

It is an art/design gallery website to display the artwork that I have had up my sleeve for the past couple of years.  I have work on there to sell as well as use as a portfolio for potential design jobs.

Anyways, back to framing and blocking.  Here is a picture of the framed-out storage cabinet under the stairs:

isn't it cute?

Also, here is the old dimensional lumber that we pulled out of the dumpster to reclaim for later use.  People pay money for this stuff!

We got our dumpster picked up this weekend too.  It was full and we have no need for another for quite a while.  Maybe we won't even be getting another one this size.  All we have left to demo is the porch, and it won't need to be as substantial.

The heart pine was picked up by the milling company to be planed and cleaned for later installation.  Man, am I excited to see that when it's done--over hundred year old heart pine reclaimed floors!!

Oh, and here is the french door installed:

!

A taste of all the blocking work they did:

Blocking (we aren't sure why the framers didn't finish that part) is creating a surface structure in all the corners of all the rooms to nail drywall into when the time comes.  So, in the picture above, Gabe is installing structure for the upstairs hallway.



The next weekend, the first of September, we continued the story of blocking.  It seems to never end--the unglamorous stuff never does.  :D  They continued blocking, and I worked to sweep up the upstairs existing walls of dirt and debris (hundred year old dirt smells gross) so we could spray Bora-care solution on them.   We saw a trail of carpenter ants invading the upstairs last Friday.

Here is a good example of blocking:

And Gabe doing the installing of the blocks in the MBR:

Great facial expressions Gabe!

Dad cutting the blocks and onlooking (supervising):

Some acrobatics:

And Dad did more spraying downstairs in the kitchen area:

Saturday (September 1st) the blocking finally got finished!  A great hurdle in my book...it's so boring!

Mom & I just came for the lunch hour to do a few things, since I had started school the week previous and had some reading to do.  After lunch, Mom worked to clean the mold off of the Jacuzzi pipes (since it had sat in M & D's garage for a couple of years); other than that, it was as good as new!

While, she did that, I worked to sweep up a lot of the sawdust mess that had accumulated since I had cleaned it last.  Those boys don't take a mind to the organizing and keeping it clean like I do!

Also, the president of the local town association stopped by and asked me if I wanted to be a docent at a historical school being restored at the upcoming town fair!  I was very flattered and honored.



The next weekend after that, we were only able to make it out on Saturday, since the next day would be my birthday!  We relaxed and went out to dinner on Friday afternoon and evening.

Saturday, Mom & I had taken the morning to check out a few barn/antique sales and found some great primitive props that will do splendidly to stage the house when we are ready.  We stopped by the house at lunchtime to deposit some lunch and they were working on the fascia trim that needed to be finished before the roofing could be installed.  A couple weeks previous, we had picked out the metal roofing for the house, which I think is going to look great!  It will fit in beautifully with the other historical buildings in the town.  We selected "Matte Black" finish, which isn't actually completely black, but with a more dark charcoal gray appearance.  So, as I am told, he and Dad were "part chimpanzee" that morning and afternoon, working to get the roof trim accomplished.  Aside from a fantastic storm that hit in the mid-afternoon, they made great progress.  They didn't finish, but made good headway.

Here is a "before" pic:

An "after" pic (or shall we say "during"?):

They worked all the way around the house, finishing up the east fascia by the end of the day.  I got pictures the following weekend:

Quite an accomplishment, if you ask me.

So the following Saturday (last weekend--the 14th & 15th), we made it out so Gabe could work with Dad to finish the fascia.  I had been sick since Thursday, but was on the mend, so we went together and I hung out in the RV for the day doing some projects and reading for school.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day: mid-70's with a slight breeze.  It was the first day of the town fair, and since I was still somewhat sick, I wasn't going to be able to be the docent at the restored school that day.  Too bad....  But, we were able to share in some of the hustle and bustle of the fair, with the sights of the all the cars going by (our house is right on the main drag into town) and sounds of the far away bands playing.  Mom went to the fair and brought us back some food.  I was sad to miss out on that!

Gabe and Dad worked (well, mostly Gabe since Dad was a little more timid about climbing around on the roof) diligently throughout the day, finishing up the fascia by around 6 that evening.  We also had received all the windows a couple days previous, so they were able to go about and place them around the house near where they belonged.  There wasn't enough time this weekend to install them.  There were a few other odds and ends that needed to be finished before the HVAC installer could come in and do his job, so they worked for a little while on that before we left.  They had to consider the plumbing venting duct too, with the roof and and wall placement.

Here are some pictures of Gabe being his chimpanzee self:

Doing something up there

And a video of Gabe removing the old trim to install new trim:

Did I mention it was a beautiful day??!?

And don't forget about the supervisor!!

Then, it became a two man job to install the trim.  Dad did great!

Notice Dad is holding on for dear life

Stretch!

You are getting the play by play.

Next piece

Negotiating the long piece 

Success!

Fascia trim done!!  Now the roof installation can commence.

And the windows, can't forget about the windows!!!

These are getting replaced...

...by these.  This one is the kitchen window

We got 13 windows total, as they are all being replaced.  The old windows were in horrible condition.  This way we will have an energy efficient space!  We will have to enlarge several of the window holes to comply with code requirements for egress.  Egress simply means "the right to leave or go out" & "the direct means of access, going or departure".  For every square foot of floor space there needs to be a required square footage of window/egress space.  So, all that to say that the windows on the facade will be enlarged.

Well, that's all for now.  Next week, we will anticipate some work done on the roof, but not finished just yet.  The HVAC installer couldn't come this week anyways, so we have a little bit more time to prepare for that.  I am on the mend this week, and doing my best to come up with a sufficient design plan and budget for the space, starting with the flooring, cabinetry and tile for the kitchen and bathrooms.  Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me!!

'Til next time, adieu!