Bathroom Boogaloo: Day 11

Tiling began yesterday.  Now the bathroom proper and the shower stall (not pictured, but it has 2"x2" gray tile on its floor) both have a floor.  I couldn't walk on it last night, so pictures are limited.  These tiles are a medium gray and have a slightly rough surface texture, so they won't be slick or slippery.

We've also got a new, small window (that opens!) and the beginnings of proper, non-makeshift venting for our clothes dryer and future exhaust fan.

Tiling is continuing today. Rumor has it that that bathroom will be complete by the end of the week.  Time will tell!

From a Basement on the Hill: More on the Floor

 We celebrated the 4th of July by declaring our independence from vinyl tile...at least in the basement.

There were two layers of vinyl tile on the floor in the back half of the basement: one self-stick (visible in the garbage bag below), one old VCT (same stuff we had installed in our kitchen, but much less beautiful, shown in the second photo).

Because we did not know the age of this flooring, we knew we needed to remove it with care because of the possibility of asbestos.  After some research, we determined that if we kept the tiles intact, did not sand, and worked in a damp environment with ventilation, we would be okay.

So, we filled our utility sink with hot water, soaked some old towels in it, and laid those out on the floor as we worked with putty knives and a flooring shovel to lift the tiles.  The heat and moisture from the wet towels was very, very effective at loosening the vinyl adhesive (which perhaps had loosened from age and wear as well).  Less than five hours later, we had a bare floor and 6 garbage bags full of trash.

The next day, I thoroughly vacuumed, wet mopped, and vacuumed the bare concrete.  Then I painted. (Behr Porch & Floor Paint in silver gray, low sheen finish.)

Here you can see the results of two coats of floor paint (minus a few spots where big furniture was in the way -- those will get touched up later), plus scraping the paint of the windows.  

I painted the stairwell between the basement and kitchen as well.  I used leftover yellow paint from our kitchen bead board.

Now for some electrical work...the professionals are scheduled to be here in a couple of days.  The end is drawing nigh! 

Kitchen Conundrum: End of Day 3

Things are coming together. The floor is laid, and the cabinets on the sink side are in. Check it out:





The Professionals created a tiny little threshold strip where the new VCT abuts the hardwood floor. So much nicer than the big metal toe catcher we used to have.


The Professionals say they'll be done on Friday at the latest. There will still be some things for us to finish up (painting, backsplash, shelf paper, clean up), but it sounds like we'll be able to eat food not prepared in our microwave soon. Another pretty exciting development today was our donation of about 75% of our old kitchen to Community Forklift, a nearby building salvage nonprofit. We shop there often, so it feels good to put some items back into the pool. They took our old gas range, all the cabinets, the sink, and the countertop. Feels good to bid all of those adieu!

Kitchen Conundrum: Day 3, Floor Sneak Peek!

Wow, love.

Kitchen Conundrum: Lunchtime, Day 2

The professionals take a lunch break about 1 pm. Here's what it looked like today when they stopped:



Look at that beautiful floor! I almost want to just keep the plywood. Instead, we're going with a green & cream checkboard, per the original plan (decided not to refinish the wood -- added too much time, trouble, and $ to the project):



Also, all the appliances have arrived. Not much room left in the hold pen, er, living room.

Kitchen Conundrum: More Floor

I got a lot more of the old ceramic floor tile taken up today:



The only tiles left are those under the stove and refrigerator. Moving those ought to be fun.

Here's some other stuff we've procured:

A super beautiful faucet


A salvaged cast iron sink, barely used, from Craig's List (only $25!)

Kitchen Conundrum: From the Ground Up

We've been hacking away at the green ceramic tile on the floor: an hour here, an afternoon there. Slowly and steadily we are getting it pulled up.



I also decided to try to get up a bit of the plywood underlayment to take a peek underneath (there was a small square section next to the dining room, so I thought that would be an easy place to start.

I pulled out a variety of very long nails and screws (really wish they hadn't used screws. this would be so much easier!).



Then I worked around the perimeter with my two pry bars.



And low and behold.....




What the...? Wood floor! Hmm, now what? Our plan was to do a colorful checkboard pattern with vinyl composition tile. May have to rethink that...

And no, the comedy gold is not lost on me that dark green faux-marble-pattern vinyl stick-on tiles were covered with dark green faux-marble-pattern ceramic tiles. Brilliant work all 'round.

Porch Projects: Behold the Splendor of my Self-Stick Tile

I finally got a new floor installed in the upstairs sleeping porches. Sorry, Mom, but I went with the self-stick tile. It's funny...vinyl flooring seems to only come in patterns that look fake, and then others that look even more fake. After countless hours of researching about and obsessing over my choice, I am happy with these faux-parquet tiles. Of all of the options that I encountered, they seemed to be the best combination of looking nice (decent color, pattern that easily disguises flaws) and being honest about what they are (not really wood!). To install, I needed a straight edge, tape measure, and a utility knife. An easy-peasy, two-afternoon job.

Porch Projects: Creamy White in the Sunshine

I've been working on the upstairs sleeping porches on and off over the past couple of weeks. As of yesterday, these funny little spaces are cleaned up and have a fresh coat of paint. I used Behr's Linen White again, because it's easy to come by and feels lovely to be in.



Next, I've got to deal with this floor situation. Oh well.

Porch Projects: Upstairs Sleeping Porches

Off of our back bedrooms are two little lean-to rooms. In the days before air conditioning, these were screened sleeping porches where former residents of the Sow's Ear took refuge on hot summer nights.



Now, these spaces are neglected little add-ons. They have been enclosed over time (you can see what used to be an exterior wall below, since it still has vinyl siding. Some brick is also visible on another wall.), but seemingly without purpose.



The former owners used the spaces for additional closet and storage spaces. We are hoping to turn them into some sort of art space.



To that end, I've been removing some wallpaper, old curtain and closet rods, and patching the walls. At some point I'll have to learn how to lay some new vinyl tiles, since the old stick-on flooring is starting to peel up. I'll also have to find an electrician to add a light and an outlet (fingers crossed that this is possible).

Tranquil Pond

We decided to paint the guest room Tranquil Pond, a pale blue-green by Freshaire Choice, same as the front bedroom paint.



We were contemplating Naturalist Gray by the same maker. Even though it appeared to be a light, neutral gray, on the bedroom wall it turned into a washed out sickly violet (probably looks better in cool northern light rather than the warm afternoon sun that side of the house gets). Not exactly the atmosphere we'd like to create for any future lodgers we may have. I hope that Tranquil Pond will promote a, well, tranquil feeling.

Once I finished up the paint, I decided to wash the floor and wood trim. After some online research and consultation with experts (my mom), I decided to go with a slightly damp towel and a drop of Ivory dishwashing soap. There is so much controversy out there about wood floor care!! Pro water, anti water, must use this, must use that..... it all depends on what kind of finish you've got. If you have a new floor or a recently refinished floor, then you most likely have a urethane finish. Urethane is water resistant, so if you just use a bit a wipe it up right away, you're good. An old fashioned wax finish is a whole other animal though.

I've also been doing a little bit of research about the architecture/style of our house. I learned via the Capitol Hill Restoration Society website that we live in a daylighter house, a style that started to become common around 1920. This floorplan was built to be only two rooms deep, instead of the usual three, so more light would enter the house and there wouldn't be a couple of dark rooms in the middle. It was meant to appeal to middle class people who might have otherwise been looking for a many-windowed bungalow out in the suburbs.