At the top of our stairs, we have this big expanse of wall that crying out for something to be put there.

Any large piece of art work would be uber-expensive to fit this space.  So we came up with a cheaper, alternative. A DIY mirror.

We got a large 3ft x  7ft mirror for free off Craigslist – it was one of those builders-basic frameless mirrors that go above the vanity. All it took was a little mirror adhesive and some painted trim around the edges, and voila! A custom, large scale mirror that costs about 20 bucks.

It does wonders for reflecting the light around the foyer during the daytime, not to mention the pretty chandelier crystals at night.  Gotta love inexpensive solutions to design problems.  What inexpensive ways for art work have you utilized in your home?

Pssst. Did you notice those DVD storage cabinets to the side of the stairs? I’ll be posting about those on Friday.  Stay tuned….

Back in the summer, you may recall that Rick took it upon himself to dismantle the railing and sand the stairs.  You don’t remember?  Ok, here’s a (dusty) pic…

The plan was to remove the orangey pine color we inherited with the house with a richer, darker color.  He even tried a few stains out so I could see (I was in the UK at the time):

Fast forward a few months, it was finally time to try and get something done with our rail-less, spindle-less and stainless stairs. First thing we had to do was fill in the small holes left by the wooden spindles once they were removed:

All we had to do was cut small pieces of 3/4″ dowel rod and put them into the hole with a little wood glue.  We let the glue cure for about 48 hours, then sanded the steps to a smooth finish (sorry, no pics of this part of the process.  I did take some but someone who shall renamed nameless *coughRickcough* accidentally deleted them off my computer).  Anyhoo.

Then the staining begun.  You can see from the decor we did this right before Christmas

In this photo, you can see the filled-in spindle holes on each tread…

It won’t matter that they are a little darker than the rest of the stair tread.  The new wrought-iron spindles will be drilled in close proximity to these holes and each one will be capped off with ones of these thingymebobs…

Whaddya think? I’m loving the new darker stair treads.  They still need a light sanding and a second coat of stain, followed by some polyurethane so make them nice and glossy.  We haven’t 100% decided what to do with the stair risers yet – whether to keep them white, stain them the same walnut color, or even apply a subtle tile to them. What are your favorite treatments for stair risers? Do you have any inspiration pics you can share?

We’ve been making really good progress this week on our library header.  On Monday, I posted this video showing the crucial moment we removed the supporting 2×4 beams, thus revealing our new header.  Where once there was a wall, there is now space glorious space.

What I didn’t mention in detail in the video is the steps we took to make sure that the 20 feet expanse of wall was properly supported.  We installed a double header to fully ensure the attic floor boards above (which in turn support the roof) were being held in check.  Each header was made by sandwiching 2×8′s with wafer board. Both headers were joined together using these 1/2″ x 6″ hex bolts, secured with 1/2″ washers and nuts.

One of our future renovation plans is to convert the attic space into a guest suite (bedroom + bathroom).  So we wanted to be 200% sure that both spaces would be properly supported. When we performed the “stress test”, i.e. Rick and I both vigorously jumping up and down on the attic floor, there was a slight bit of movement on the library header.  After much discussion, we decided it would be better for the long term structural safety of the library and future attic-conversion that the long 20 foot expanse was a bit more supported.  So, we installed a support post… 

Next up was sheetrocking all the wood.  It didn’t take all that long to measure and cut the sheetrock and attach it to the walls with screws (we find screws better than nails as they are less likely to pop back out and damage the sheetrock). The sheetrock was mudded, left to set for a day or so…

and then sanded.  Hehe…

No, Rick doesn’t have a psoriasis problem, nor a cocaine habit.  He is also not trying out for the part of “Ghost of Christmas Past” in the local adaption of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”.  Don’t you just love getting down and dirty.  For the sake of DIY, I mean .

On Friday night, we took the supporting 2×4′s down and revealed our new library header. Check out this short video I took at the crucial moment. I can’t believe how English I sound on camera. Waaaaall….

I’m tellin’ ya. I should be on HGTV.

Not.

The scaffold is back….

Last year, we rented the scaffold to help us install our foyer chandelier, paint the two-storey foyer walls, change out our master  bedroom ceiling fan, and help Rick get onto the roof  (well, almost). 

We’ve rented it again to help us finish removing the wall in our soon-to-be library and install the supporting header.

Once the header is in place, we’ll also use the scaffolding to install sheetrock, prime and paint, then finally install crown molding in the two-storey entry way.  While we’re at it, we’ll probably paint the ceiling, and dust off the foyer chandelier.  Check back next week for an update on our progress.  Have a great weekend!

Rick is making fantastic progress sanding the stairs, gradually removing the old pine color from the treads and railing (eventually we’ll be replacing it with a darker stain).  It’s been a huge job to tackle on his own.  But given the amount of dust that this project has generated, maybe it is best that I have been away for this part (we don’t want a replay of the asthma attack following the carpet removal when we first moved in).

Here are a few pics taken by Rick to document the progress he is making.  The one dark stair tread was a test run on a replacement stain color. Check out those doggy footprints in the dust!

In this pic, Rick has totally removed the stair railing and all the spindles in order to finish the sanding.  It looks so open and airy without stair railing – it’s a shame it’s such a death trap!

I love that there is so much dust in the air that even the camera has little specks of dust in the lens.

You can really see the difference between the sanded stair treads and the original orangey color of the floor.  I think that using a rich chocolate brown on the stairs will add depth and sophistication, and hopefully the “wow-factor”, to the entryway.

The next decision we have to make is what to do with the stair risers.  Keep them white as a nice contrast to the darker stain on the treads?  Or stain them for a cohesive look?  Or do something daring such as paint them a different color, add wallpaper, or even tiles?  What do you think?

I love my husband.  Insert gratuitous picture here:

Wishy woo. I married him because of his body mind DIY abilities.  My grandmother constantly reminds me how lucky I am because he saves me so much money.  You know, in gigolo fees.  Oh yeah, and not having to hire a plumber, electrician, or general contactor during our house makeover. What can I say? He is multi-talented.

When I left to visit my family in the UK for 9 weeks, I left him a to-do list, written on some old whiteboard we had hanging around from my PhD days:

Ok, I didn’t expect him to do ALL of this stuff.  Just most some of it.  I thought of the list as a good way to focus his attention on specific projects around the house.  You see, I know my husband.  Over the past 10 years of being together, I think we both have a pretty good handle on each other’s great and not-so-great characteristics.  Rick tends to have a little bit of “need-a-bit-of-get-up-and-go-itis” (aka “my-get-up-and-go-has-got-up-and-gone”), coupled with a smidge of DIY Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.).  I wasn’t too concerned about the former – Rick usually likes to keep really busy while I’m away as it makes the time go faster. I was a little worried about the DIY A.D.D.  In the past, he has had a tendency to start new projects… and there are many around our house … rather than finishing old ones.  Seeing as we outlined our renovation goals for 2010, I thought it would be useful to focus his more-than-capable DIY skills on these projects, rather than starting a new one.

It was a great idea. In theory. 

Two days after arriving in the UK, he informed me that he was working on a surprise project.  I need to mention for anyone that doesn’t know us as a couple, typically I am the pragmatist and Rick is the creative dreamer.  So a new project can range anywhere from “surprise, I installed a new faucet!”  to  ”surprise, I ripped down the garage and am building a new 3 story extension!”.

So, needless to say the surprise project was  not on the previously mentioned to-do list.  After a few days of working on said project, he finally let me in on the secret.

Yep, he’s sanding and restaining our stairs! The orangey pine-ish (that’s a word, right?) color is being replaced with a lovely deep chocolate walnut-ish color.  And eventually those white wooden spindles will be replaced with wrought iron ones.

So far, he’s done most of the sanding and has stained the rails…

I think it’s going to look fantastic! When it is finished. So, I guess we’ve just added another project to our 2010 to-do list

Back at the turn of twenty-ten, I set out our  renovation goals for the coming year.  Three months later, let’s take a look at how we’re progressing.  We have seven spaces on the to-do list this year: foyer, downstairs bathroom, dining room, office, garage, yard and library.  Some projects are smaller whilst others are more time (and budget) consuming. Let’s break it down one by one.

Goal 1: Foyer

• Finish drywall on headers – put up sheetrock, then mud, sand, dust, mud, sand, dust [ad infinitum]
• Prime and paint drywall
• Paint other walls 2^nd coat
• Install narrow shelving units in wall cavity

Progress: PARTIAL

We have started putting up sheetrock and mudding in some areas, like the header in the left-side living room.  We’ve still got to finish putting up the sheetrock on the right-side header, then mud+sand til our hearts’ discontent.

When we removed the the foyer walls and replaced them with headers to open up the space, we were left with two small partial walls either side of the entryway.  These are helpful in visually delineating the two living spaces without taking up too much room.  But we’re going to be adding more functionality to these puppies in the form of shelving.  In each cavity, we’re installing tall, narrow bookshelves for a built-in cabinetry look.  The shelves are built and have been placed in the space:

Now we have to sheetrock them in, then eventually trim around the outside for the custom built-in look. Once all the sheetrock has been mudded and sanded, we can prime and paint … well, everything. 

Goal 2: Downstairs bathroom

• Finish grouting, molding and decorating

Progress: COMPLETE!

Another one down (ok, the first one down), the first one bites the dust! Sing it, Freddie!  Tiling, grouting and molding have all been finished.  The decor has been … well … decorated.  This transformation is so jaw dropping that it needs a separate post.  Ok, maybe its more like I took way too many pictures to post here. So, watch this space, the big reveal is coming soon! But for now, here is a teaser photo…

Goal 3: Dining room

• Install trim boxes and chair rail
• Paint walls 2^nd coat, paint ceiling

Progress: PARTIAL

Twenty three boxes have been measured, cut and nailed to the wall. That’s 167 feet of trim, and approximately 980 brads nailed in and filled with putty.

Next up?  We’ll caulk around the boxes and paint the trim to make them seamlessly blend in with the wall.  We’ll paint another coat of the charcoal grey on the upper walls and then finally remove all the painter’s tape (as long as it has been up, it feels like a design feature).  The last step will be to put up the chair rail running around the room.  Add a few finishing touches (artwork, decorative knick-knacks … oh yeah, floors and replacement windows) and this room will be finished!

Goal 4: Office

• Finish painting walls
• Get  new office furniture to make office space more efficient (and less ugly)
• Move living room furniture to front living spaces

Progress: ALMOST COMPLETE!

This room has had a total makeover.  The walls have been painted (thanks Alyssa!), gone is the makeshift desk, the book cases have been replaced, and all the junk necessary office items seen in the picture above have been organized and housed in more efficient and appealing furniture.  The big reveal is coming soon, but for now here’s a teaser pic…

Goal 5: Garage

• Replace door, rails and opener on remaining two garage doors
• Tidy up and organize garage

Progress: NOT STARTED

This is one of two projects we haven’t made a start on yet.  With all the renovation projects going on in the house, the garage serves mainly as our storage space/work area and unfortunately will probably be one the last spaces to receive attention.

Goal 6: Yard

• Clear brush from back section
• Fence in rest of yard

Progress: PARTIAL

Rick has made some progress clearing out that dense brush area at the back of the yard.  He has cut down several small trees and piled the wood into neat piles:

We still need to work on clearing some of the bigger trees before we can clear out the smaller greenery and brush.  But we’re getting there!

Goal 7: Bedroom-turned-library

• Finish header – install last supports, remove studs
• Finish drywall – put up sheetrock, then mud, sand, dust, mud, sand, dust [ad infinitum]
• Prime and paint drywall
• Paint other walls 2^nd coat
• Remove existing railing – replace with new wrought iron railing

Progress: NOT STARTED

This is the second project that we are yet to start working on. We really need to finish the sheetrocking of the foyer walls below before we can install the new railing.  With our pack of dogs running around, we need to have some kind of partial boundary in place (whether it is the current stud wall or the new railing) to prevent them from going ker-splat over the edge.  So, for now, this project is on the back burner whilst we finish downstairs.

All in all, I think we are making good progress with our renovation goals for 2010.  Two projects are complete – the bathroom and office reveals will be posted soon.  Three projects are in the works – the foyer, dining room and yard will hopefully be finished shortly.  Only two out of the original seven projects are yet to be started, which I think is normal given that our priorities are elsewhere in the house for now.  How are you coming along with your resolutions?  Are you making good progress or have the goals bit the dust?

This past weekend, we had a paint party at our house. Paint.  Partay.  Can I get a woop-woop? 

Meet Pawel and Alyssa:

These are our two very good friends who have helped us many times during our house renovations (like building a fence, and moving large furniture).  This weekend, they came over to help us transform our two front living rooms from brown trimmed, bland white walled-ness, to crisp white trim and yummy mocha-ness. 

On the right of the entry way, the living room started out looking like this:

To the left of the entryway, the newly-dubbed “TV room” looked like this:

The mismatched front door looked like this (thanks to our puppy, Arriba):

and the stairway looked like this – check out that funky striped wall paper!

Between the four of us, we prepped, primed and painted.  The wallpaper was scraped off.  Five window frames, two door trims, a fireplace, a closet door  and the front door transoms were primed twice. The walls and stairways received a coat of paint.  And although there is more painting to do – glossing the primed surfaces and a second coat for the walls – it really is amazing to see the transformation.

The living room now looks like this:

You’ll notice we didn’t paint all the way to the ceiling and floor - these points will eventually be covered by white crown moulding / base boards. We also didn’t paint the brown window frames seeing as the windows will *hopefully* be replaced soon (to avoid more water leaks).

I love how the mocha color makes the fireplace pop – before it just faded into the background.

In order to prep for our office makeover (details coming soon), we’ve moved our living room furniture into the  “TV room”. Although it is in a state of transition, the creamy cappuccino walls really make this space feel so much more inviting:

One of the best transformations was painting the brown-trimmed fireplace white to match the fireplace in the living room.  Once all the electronics are moved, and the newly-mudded cracks are sanded and painted, this will be a great focal point in the room.

Removing the wallpaper from the entryway and stairs also made such a big difference (all your hard work was worth it, Alyssa!)

But perhaps my favorite transformation of the day was painting the front door transom windows white to match the door.  Well, it’s been primed twice, in need of a coat of gloss paint and the painter’s tape removing, but who cares?  Just like with the fireplace, changing the brown trim to white makes the space look so much more inviting.

So, there you have it.  It’s amazing what four friends, a gallon of primer and a couple gallons of paint can do in just a day.  What amazing transformations have you done in your house?  Maybe it was some new paint, some new curtains or a great light fixture that radically rejuvenated your home?  Do tell.

… it pours. Literally.  Inside our house.

In the middle of the night last night, I woke up to the storm raging outside. But beyond the howling wind and the rain lashing against the windows, there was an odd noise.  It sounded like someone peeing in the toilet, but from a great height.  You know, instead of a great flood, it was more of a continuous tinkling.  This might not have been odd had it been for the fact that Rick was sleeping soundly beside me.  That left two options.  1 – we had an intruder who had to stop midway through burglarizing the house to use the facilities.  Or 2, we had a leak.   In case it was option 1, I prodded Rick awake to see if he could hear the noise.  The trickle of water had turned to a continuous drip.  When there was no flush of the toilet, we ruled out the intruder option.  So Rick went on a scavenger hunt to find the source of our early morning disruption.  He didn’t have to go far. 

On the walkway that connects the master bedroom to the library we found this….

Water was dripping down from the attic above. My immediate thought was that we had another issue with the air handler – a water leak that caused damage to three floors in our house.  However, the air handler was on the other side of the house, not to mention hadn’t been on recently and so could not feasibly be the cause of the leak here.  Rick investigated in the attic and found that water was coming through the window sills, running down the wall and into the ceiling below.  To soak up the water we laid down a bunch of towels whilst we diagnosed the problem further and formulated a solution.

The culprit appears to be the rotten window sills on the attic windows.   The previous owner had puttied over rotten areas of the window sills and now the putty has begun to crack, allowing water to seep through.  The permanent solution to this problem would be to replace the windows. We’ve looked into getting our windows professionally replaced, but at the moment upgrading 37 windows is not really in our budget. So, we needed to come up with a temporary solution to keep the water at bay…

A quick trip to the DIY store yielded these repair tools: a 50ft roll of 10″ aluminum flashing, a pair of tin snips, some clear caulking and some self-pierceing sheeter tan screws with rubber washers.  The caulking gun and drill were tools we already had on-hand.

Rick measured the width of the window sill and cut the aluminum flashing to that length.  Using the tin snips, he also trimmed the flashing to fit all the angles of the window sill. He used the self-piercing sheeter tan screws to secure the flashing in place.  Self-piercing screws are handy because they create the holes, so you don’t have to use a drill bit first. Rubber washers are necessary for sealing the holes in order to keep water from penetrating the flashing under the screw head.

Once the flashing was securely attached to the top pane of the window sill, Rick bent the flashing over the edge of the sill and attached with the same sheeter screws.

Once the flashing was all in place, clear caulk was applied all around the edges.  This will keep water from running in under the edge of the flashing and seeping into the wood. 

So, here’s our temporary solution to sealing and preventing further water damage on the window sills.

This fix should hold up during the Spring time showers that are coming our way in the next few months.  Well, and the snow that is forecast for this weekend.  So that’s two water leaks in the house that have been fixed.  Hopefully, these things don’t come in threes…