So things are moving pretty quickly now, and we should be seeing dramatic results every week from here on out. I hope to be able to move in before the New Year things are going so well. The basement is now basically completely done. A little more cement here and there, sealing the floor and attaching the sink to the floor, and it is done.
All of the wood flooring was delivered, all 97 boxes at over 100 lbs a piece. The ceiling fans for every room but the kitchen have arrived, the shower door and bathroom vanity are on the way, the appliances have been ordered and are just waiting to be shipped when we are ready for them. Kitchen cabinets and counter has been ordered and will be delivered when needed.
This week, we spent a lot of time jacking things up in the basement, getting rid of a little droop, and rebuilding the ceiling and reconfiguring the load-bearing in the kitchen and bathroom above it. The idiots before me had cut the floor joists to put plumbing in when they re-did the bathroom instead of being sane normal people and working the fucking plumbing around the structural design of the house, so we had to rebuild that. It was causing a droop in the kitchen and dining room because all the load was on a different joists and several beams, so once we rebuilt the ceiling, we went into the basement and put in more beams and used a bunch of jacks. The structural engineer said it is solid, and we had over-ordered jacks, and I said can we put these in anyway and he said sure. So we have a bunch of these in the basement and the house could basically be supported by them alone, forget the foundation and the existing locust logs.
I am ok with something being overdesigned. I drive a Subaru, after all.
On to the kitchen. Wiring is done, and this is where we stand:
As you can see, we are ready to insulate, put in the walls, have framed up the old door and knocked out the wall to put the new door to the pantry from the dining room. Here’s a gander at the ceiling, which, as I mentioned earlier, we rebuilt structurally and framed it down a foot so it is no only a 10 ft or so ceiling:
Here’s view from the living room wall, showing you just how big these rooms are.
Alrighty, onward and upward to the bathroom. Despite the naysayers and those of you from the Royal Order of the Missing Mustard wishing for disaster, you can see that the shower base was exactly the right fit.
The washer and dryer will be on the second floor rather than the pantry, and are going here opposite the shower, where the corner closet used to be:
Not much else to talk about here until the plumber gets in and finishes his job. On to my office. As you can see, all the wood has been cleaned, sanded, and varnished and we just need to seal it. The electrician is coming next week to put strips on all the walls on different circuits so I never have breakers pop and always have plenty of juice. I picked out a modern ceiling fan for this room, breaking with the feel of the house a bit, since this is all going to be modern electric tech gear anyway.
The pan I have for this room is in the right corner to the right of the middle window, and in the left corner, to the left of the middle window, we are building DIY desks suited to fit what I want. Both will be L shaped and wrap around the corner. This is what we are building:
I can’t decide if I am going to keep the metal the original color or maybe steampunk it up a bit. Not sure. I am also, to the left of the desk that will be in the second picture, wall mounting my current television, and to the right of the desk in the first picture putting my recliner and a light. My logic being that if I am spending this much money on the house, I will be god damned if I am putting in a bachelor pad living room and will down the road spend some money on suitable furniture and a tastefully sized tv. That will look much nicer, and I will not have to deal with the never-ending harping from certain commenters (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE).
Also, I am very seriously considering putting up something like this for Steve in my office:
That way, he can quite literally look down on me all day.
Finally, just because I love her so much:
Best dog ever.
Now on to picking out paint and tiles for the shower. Dad has informed me that we are tentatively in a 48 hour period where I don’t have to write any checks or melt my debit card, so I am going to celebrate with some ice cream for the first time in five days.
Your thoughts on what we have done so far?
Betsy
Omg, that’s exactly the situation in my house.
ETA: except that I am clueless, non-handy, basically kind of lazy, and lack the means do anything about it
Suzanne
Awwww, I got snarked at. I feel loved.
Furniture really will make all the difference. The home is just so lovely.
Sarah
I’m amazed. I wish you were here fixing my house!
SP
Call me a grammar/spelling nazi if you want, but it’s, “joist,” Cole.
Gin & Tonic
You let Lily drive?
Steppan
@SP:
I was assuming autocorrect on an iPad or something.
Gin & Tonic
Oh, 200 amp service? I hope?
Anoniminous
Those things are “joists.” Joyce is a character in Stranger Things.
Carrie
So EXCITING!!!!!!
Iowa Old Lady
Great progress, John. Btw, I love that little point at the top of the archway.
Mary G
Copy editor niggle: it’s joists, not joyce, although every time I see it I giggle.
Steve would love that. I am always finding a cat in a high place I would have sworn they could not get to.
You have gotten a lot done, keep it up! Use whatever furniture you want (*sorry, Suzanne*, but it’s his house).
One warning: the last 10% of the job takes as long as the first 90%; it’s just the law of renovation and the difficulty of getting finishing touches just so, especially in old houses where nothing is level or plumb.
Suzanne
@SP: I was feeling the genuine warmth of Internet affection so strongly that I didn’t want to harsh the buzz by being a pedant, but THANK YOU.
I told Cole not to buy any sofas with rolled arms or nail heads. And no seating with a footstool that pops out with a lever. That just says “I GAVE UP ON LIFE” more clearly than anything. If one must have furniture designed for loafing, get a Lovesac.
NJ Maine Coon Slave
So far so good! Especially love the cat steps!
Looking forward to the BJ housewarming party too :)
John Cole
@SP: I knew that. Fixt!
Roger Moore
FYI, the word is “joist”, not Joyce.
Mike J
@Gin & Tonic: Probably safer.
guachi
What appliances are you putting in?
My wife and I are buying a cute 1941 house (1100 sq. ft.) and trying to restore it a bit.
Sanding the wood floors, fixing the transom windows, putting period linoleum in the kitchen (it’s enviro-friendly!!!), adding a period drainboard sink. Maybe you could do linoleum, too?
We are, however, putting in modern appliances, but making sure they are period white. Don’t skimp on the appliances! If you don’t have gas, get an induction cook top as they are amazing and awesome and incredible to cook on. You also might find it worthwhile to get a nice dishwasher – we like Bosch.
TaMara (HFG)
I love it so far. When will my room be ready? Am also thinking I may add cat steps to my office, too.
Taylor
That is a picture of a steel jack post.
A jack post is not, repeat NOT, adequate for long term structural support.
You either need a lally column (steel with concrete interior) or an ICC-approved support post.
I heard someone once describing a floor resting on jack posts failing. The posts went clang-clang-clang as they collapsed one after the other.
I’m going to assume you put in the right footings under the posts (my engineer specified 2’x2′ with rebar elevated above a drain mat).
Sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick, structural is important, despite what plumbers tell us.
Suzanne
@Mary G: I just don’t see the point of having such a beautiful home, with so much effort and attention to detail, and then filling it with Lazyboys and IKEA shit. It’s like getting all dressed up in a tuxedo and then completing the look with your old gym sneakers.
John Cole
@Gin & Tonic: Yes.
John Cole
@Taylor: I posted the wrong picture. Remember who you are dealing with.
amygdala
Wow! I fear you may have jinxed things with that prediction of moving in by the new year, though. If you have enough wall space in the kitchen, I’d suggest a shallow pantry. My aunt has one and it’s great–2-3 cans deep, which makes it easy to find everything, without sacrificing storage space.
Lawrence Sportello
It looks awesome. Congratulations.
TaMara (HFG)
In my ongoing house project – finished painting the purple front door (here) and it will be installed next weekend. Not bad for a $100 salvage find.
Mary G
@Suzanne: Is that a bean bag? Nobody over 40 should buy those. Do you know how hard it is to get out of something like that with bad joints?
Garbo
This is SUCH vicarious fun, thank you for bringing us along for the ride. If you’re putting the washer on the second floor, Mike Holmes suggests a pan and drain underneath. And Jack Posts are the best, over-structured is an oxymoron.
Mary G
@TaMara (HFG): Wow! That was a steal.
Taylor
@John Cole: Yeah, I was surprised that an engineer would allow you to make that mistake. Wanted to point it out so readers of the post don’t make that mistake.
Bearcalypse
It’s called a lally column. Some of them need to be cranked up over time as the house settles… Or the plaster or wallboard joints start cracking.
Ruckus
If he wants joyces in his house, leave him alone.
Of course joyces usually require feeding and don’t always like to be painted but still it is his house.
TaMara (HFG)
@Mary G: Well, actually, it’s steel. :-D And yes, it was. There is a long ding on the indoor side that I toyed with filling in, but it’s so shallow and hardly noticeable, especially after I painted it (white) I decided not to fill it. I’ve never done that bondo type of fill, so I thought I’d make it look worse.
I figure if it bugs my brother enough, he’ll fill it for me over Thanksgiving and I’ll just touch up the paint. But the rest of the door, especially the glass were perfect.
maya
Maybe I missed it somewhere but what do you intend to use for heating? That’s a big house and you can never have too much insulation in your exterior walls and ceiling(s). Interior walls also, acts as good sound proofing. When I built my house I packed all walls everywhere with insulation and have never regretted it. Looks like only 2×4 exterior wall stud work?
les
You have been all over stuff, but having had (and loved) a 2nd floor laundry, don’t forget a drain pan under the washer. Some people, uh, have, ya know, forgotten stuff like that.
laura
Definitely steam punk the desk! Steve will love the cat steps/fortress of solitude. . .
For furniture check out used quality stuff that may need just a slip covering/reapolstering -way better than today’s flimsy crap.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
You say gym sneakers like it’s a bad thing.
BTW this comes from someone who once owned his own tux. And yes I had the proper shoes.
Suzanne
@Mary G: They’re sort of bean bag-ish, but they’re memory foam, and they come in gigantic sizes so climbing out isn’t so difficult.
John Cole
@Taylor: I replaced the picture so no one makes a [email protected]Suzanne:
Suzanne
@Mary G: They are very casual-looking, for sure, but they are better-looking and are more comfortable than those God-forsaken recliners with the dumb footstools.
Mary G
@Suzanne: You can get very stylish reclining chairs that don’t have levers. I lust over this one.
Jim
Wow. Just wow. Good work, John (and all the people working with you).
The structure, wiring, and plumbing are what make or break a house. The rest is just window dressing, which you can change as you like.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Gin & Tonic: It’s West(by God) Virginia, Of course the dog drives.
khead
My wife really, really, really wants to do the cat shelf thing in a room or two in our house. Please give it a test run for us. If Steve ends up just causing holes in the wall or goes all Jimmy Snuka on you at some point we will know it’s a bad idea.
MazeDancer
Definitely do a Steve playground thing. Many of us have some envy of this place a man turned into kitty paradise.
Of course, your carpenters already know this. But wood flooring has to sit in the house for a while before installing.
Every bundle has to be opened and spread out so that air gets to each piece. The wood needs to adjust to the environment. There is a specific percentage of humidity to measure in the wood that has to do with the environment. Don’t know what that is for WV. Point is wood expands and contracts so don’t nail it down until it’s adjusted to its new home.
HRA
Some years back we had the same work done to the cellar. Your office fan is the same one I bought for our parlor.
Right now I am sitting in my woman cave/bedroom where the construction is finished, walls painted, wood stained, rug installed and the furniture is all in except for the chest of drawers expected in 8 weeks (grrrr!) and the mattress expected in 4 days for the bed. All the furniture is cherry wood. The bed is all burnished metal. We began this project in June.
We began with the outside 3 years ago with new windows, doors, siding and a deck wrapping around 3/4s of the house. Three more rooms need to be destroyed and get done.
I like seeing your progress and reports, John. I especially will be interested in the kitchen since mine is a 1965 model.
Lizzy L
Wow. Just wow. I love the cat steps, yeah. I was also wondering about the insulation; I assume you have it in hand. I was also curious about the heating, how are you doing it? Where is the furnace, and where is the ductwork going?
geg6
Amazing. Just amazing. Having done a similar overhaul of and even more older but just as large (maybe even larger) place with my ex, I know exactly how much work this is and how expensive and how amazingly fast you’re moving along. But, unlike my ex, you are smart enough to hire out the work. It took us three years to get our place done. Three. Long. Years. The ex is a welding instructor at the local vo-tech and very handy. He used his relationships with the other teachers–owed favors, friendly help and actual sitting in on their night classes–to get all the work done. He now knows carpentry, plumbing, electrical, hvac, masonry, landscaping well enough to do it all himself. But it took three damn long years.
Either way, you’re going to be so happy with it when you’re done. We were and I still mourn that gorgeous old place. He’s still there.
eclare
Great work, I am so impressed!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Suzanne:
Ah, what’s the problem with that?
piratedan
@Gin & Tonic: she’s less likely to be profiled….
Big Ole Hound
@guachi: Put in a Bosch dishwasher and it even has a service help number on the door which I used twice and a REAL person answered and told me how to reset the command module which I screwed up. Care though the racks and slots are made for European size dishes and glasses, not the huge American ones.
joel hanes
Love pipe legs on a computer desk.
Modems, USB hubs, etc. often have keyhole cutouts to hang on a mounting screw.
You can put short round-head machine screws through metal band-clamps, nut inside,
put the band clamp around the leg, and hang those little boxes on any leg that pleases you.
One thing Ikea does that I’ve grown to love: a mesh panel snaps onto knobs
on the underside of the tabletop. Push all your excess cable into the space between
the mesh and the tabletop.
Ceci n'est pas mon nym
I’ve put up those floating shelves that have no apparent means of support (they’re extra thick and the support is buried inside the shelf). As shelves, I wasn’t too happy. They looked better in the picture, they take up room, and they can’t support a lot of weight.
But as a cat toy, they’d probably be great. Make sure you design for Steve’s weight and the extra forces of leaping from shelf to shelf.
geg6
Okay, the bad grammar above was bad typing. Sorry.
Eric NNY
Looks great, John. I don’t miss renovating my own house, but I enjoy seeing others doing their’s.
Matt Smith
That desk is great, I like everything you’re planning… and I’m an over-builder too.
Anoniminous
I put steel drawers in our kitchen base cabinets. Yes the price is sufficient to gag a goat but it increases the usable space by 25% AND it eliminates those “archeological expeditions” looking for the Lost Casserole Dish of Lasagna AND it means never having to squat down to get anything.
And they are easy to self-install.
Well worth the money.
RoonieRoo
Another vote for the Steve playground so you can be a guinea pig for us fellow cat owners.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
Outstanding. I don’t know how you do this shit by yourself. If I had bought a house and if I didn’t have my wife to tell me what we needed to do and when and how, it would have ended up falling down around me, and I’d be living in a heap of warped wood and tattered shingles.
Scratch that. If I didn’t have my wife, I wouldn’t have ever bought a house, or even found somewhere to rent, and I’d be living under a bridge, roasting a sparrow on a stick.
MzRAD
Well done, Hillary supporter! Way to keep things moving forward on the house. Love the ceiling fans. : )
JPL
John, You are doing a great job, and the house is going to be beautiful.
Poopyman
I got a few things to say:
First off, THANK YOU for the detailed description, and the (quite good) pictures. It’s fun playing along at home.
Second, what Taylor said, although that looks like your engineer is on the right page anyhow.
Don’t sweat “period” appliances. Just go for whatever look you like for the kitchen. We have stainless in our old house.
Lastly, I don’t know what you’re getting your dad for Christmas, but it’d better be big and expensive. I suggest a pickup truck. Sure he’s having a blast spending your money, but you do realize this project is moving at light speed compared to most, yes?
I spent the better part of the afternoon driving across the breadth of Southern MD just to get a piece of wood for a rotted window sill. Of course, the sill being replaced is over 150 years old and is 4X8, so that complicates things, but I should have done this months ago. Can I borrow your dad?
david richey
@amygdala:
Speaking as a damn fool who flew outta Sitka in the autumn of 2014 with the vainglorious idea of prepping a commercial sailboat/troller in two mos. for passage from San Francisco Bay back up to Sitka and then finally made er (not without incident!) in June of 2016, think it only fair to observe that Cole didn’t say which year.
(Absolutely love these threads. Tx.)
MomSense
Congratulations on all your progress, John. It’s a beautiful house and I wish you every happiness there.
jenn
Woot, woot. One more vote in the bag against the forces of fascism. Now I can spend the day working on getting out other peoples’ votes!
trollhattan
@les:
My other caveat on the 2nd floor washer is to be cautious about the house picking up a resonance from the spin cycle. IDK how one checks such a thing ahead of time (reinforce the crap out of the floor?) but I’ve been in homes where it’s really noticeable.
All in all, leagues ahead of where I’d have though possible. You own dad Cole a lifetime supply of (something dad really likes).
guachi
@Big Ole Hound: We put a Bosch in our rental unit (military and didn’t want to sell house) and my wife is grumpy she uses a terrible dishwasher in our apartment so she insists on a good dishwasher.
I’d have thought that, since the Bosch dishwashers solid in the USA are made here in the USA (NC) that maybe they’d have a US model with wider tines or whatever. But what you are saying aligns with the common complaint that the spaces are a bit narrow. As long as it’s quiet, though, I’ll be happy.
Poopyman
@joel hanes:
Also too, a couple of screws into the bottom of the table top and you can hang them upside down so …
ZOMG! I love this idea so much I independently invented it for Mrs. P’s desk. Wish I had known that I could have gotten a stock version.
Gin & Tonic
@david richey: Oh yes, a boat. A hole in the water that you throw money into.
trollhattan
@guachi:
We just replaced our 18YO Miele with another Miele and while I was always impressed by how quiet the old one was the new one is astonishing. Only thing I usually hear is water being discharged between cycles. Amazing box.
JJ
Love the cat deck/steps idea. And also the upstairs w/d. Nice progress!
jl
Thanks for the pet pic, Cole. And I am relieved, since probably safer to let Lily drive you around.
Jado
@Taylor:
What he said. Jack posts are good for about 18,000 lbs, which happens faster than you think, and the bottom of an overloaded jack post can punch through a basement floor if it doesn’t snap its jack stem and collapse. Be careful how you support your living room, where all of your parties will be.
Poopyman
@Anoniminous: Another source for hardware for kitchen, bath, and office is Lee Valley. I use ’em all te tme
HelloRochester
@John Cole if those are Minka Air fans, you will be very pleased. We had those at our old house and they run silent, move tons of air, and don’t look like shit which is nearly impossible to pull off for a ceiling fan.
Anne Laurie
Looking good, John!
Protip: If you go with the Steve wall-stairs (and they are a great idea), make sure at least the top couple are wide enough for Himself to feel comfortable falling asleep on them. Also, the lowest one should be higher than Thurston can possibly jump, because the little bastid may decide to start climbing them just to show that he can… and then he’ll get stuck facing the wrong way on a higher ‘step’, and bark like a maniac until someone comes to lift him down.
JanieM
Talk about being snarked at.
I love me my shitty La-Z-Boy with the lever and the prop-up footrest. I fncking *slept* in it for five years when I was having serious vertigo problems, because it allowed me to sleep half sitting up, but still stretched out. I also have back and hip problems that seem to mean that there are only three chairs on the planet in which I can sit comfortably, and that chair is one of them, so I’m not getting rid of it any time soon.
I went to the overnight outdoor music fest at Trinity College Dublin 400th anniversary in 1992, I believe it was, in a tuxedo — with sneakers. Granted, the sneakers were black, I made that much of a concession to propriety. Walking home through the city at four in the morning, my girlfriend and I were accosted by a semi-coherent street girl who looked at us and said, “Pure feckin’ gorgeous.”
She had bad taste too, obviously.
Anoniminous
@Poopyman:
They’ve got some nice stuff but I’m not in the market. I’ve got more than enough remodeling “remains” to last for the rest of my life.
Aleta
Stunned at how fast you are getting so much done. I can’t seem to organize or figure out how to do a fraction of what you’ve done, even though it’s needed. Whenever I try to figure what kitchen or bathroom layout would minimize labor cost + be comfortable + not block doors or windows, the decisions come screeching to a halt.
If you don’t mind, I wonder what you’re using for the new wood flooring? The pre-finished real wood kind that comes ready to fit together ? If so, can you recommend a type?
NotMax
Hint:
Wherever the walls have been opened, sprinkle a generous amount of boric acid across the floor base stud and also any other horizontal members as a final task prior to closing up the walls, especially in the kitchen and pantry even if nowhere else.
Pogonip
Yes, get the shelves. A perching cat is a happy cat.
So if Trump wins, are you taking the house to Canada with you? Glad to see Lily’s learning the escape route so she can share the driving. Canada’s a long haul for a single driver.
SoupCatcher
An exit-sized window right next to the shower. What could go wrong?
debbie
Light from the windows won’t mess with being able to see what’s on monitors?
WaterGirl
Cole, I love the cat stairway on the walls! I have always wanted to do that, so I can hardly wait for the photos of Steve. Wait, make that videos.
I can barely believe the progress you’ve made in such a short time. Truly amazing. Oh, and i like your choice of fan.
P.S. I love Lily.
NotMax
Hint the second:
When setting up the office and its necessary nest of cables, label each one for the times later on when you are rooting around among them (and that time WILL come).
Those plastic tab-like things used for bread bags and a Sharpie pen are ideal for doing this.
Mnemosyne
My tip for the Steve steps would be to make sure they have a small lip around the edge for naptime. You don’t want him rolling over in his sleep and crashing onto your desk.
The cat place where our cats get their nails cut installed empty drawers on their walls as shelves so it’s basically a series of cat beds, and it looks really cool to boot.
John Weiss
@Gin & Tonic: Gin, 200 amps for a modern house ain’t diddly. When I rebuilt the house I owned in Dallas, we dropped 650! Electrical stuff is one of the least expensive items in a remodel, why not ‘over-amp’ it?
bobbo
Just a humble request to do some antiquing when it’s time to furnish the place. I’m sure there’s a ton of old treasures in your neck of the woods, waiting to be restored to their former glory (like the house).
amygdala
@david richey: *snort* Excellent point.
Suzanne
@bobbo: I second that. I go to antique and architectural salvage places when I travel, and there are always beautiful, well-made pieces in a variety of styles. I like contemporary and modern decor for the most part, but I also have a mix of things I’ve found from all time periods and places, and I love that my home tells my story. We have a solid oak icebox circa 1905 in our downstairs hallway. I just got some ornamental ironwork from New Orleans last month. So awesome.
?BillinGlendaleCA
While you’re doing the electrical, make sure you know which sockets, lights, appliances go to which breaker. Label the stuff, make a map, do both.
BGinCHI
It’s coming along great, John. Damn.
Coraggio!
John Weiss
John,
The color you picked for your office is lovely, one of my favorites of the ‘mauves’. You might not be much good with da tools, but your color choices are usually pretty good.
I spent sixteen years in the film bid’ness as an art director, for what that’s worth.
debit
Really impressed by the progress you’ve made, John. I can’t wait to see the final results.
redshirt
How many people are working at the house? Seems like an army.
Aleta
@NotMax: Is that for mildew? Ants?
NotMax
@John Weiss
Tastes and perceptions differ widely of course (and make it a more wonderful world) but personally, sitting in a room painted that shade would make it feel as if I were inside someone’s throat.
Might go with a very deep hunter green if painting (stunning paired with the dark stained wood) although preference would run to a modestly patterned wallpaper, something to exercise the eyes when looking up from hours spent staring at a monitor
NotMax
@Aleta
Roaches, mice, ants, vermin in general.
lkharring
We moved our laundry center from the basement to the second floor when we converted a small bedroom to a 2nd bathroom/laundry center. You’re going to love the convenience and might find yourself doing laundry just because it’s fun now.
max
Alrighty, onward and upward to the bathroom. Despite the naysayers and those of you from the Royal Order of the Missing Mustard wishing for disaster, you can see that the shower base was exactly the right fit.
Ahem. I did not wish disaster upon thee, Cole. This is real money we’re talking about here and a house to boot.
It would be funny though if you tore open another wall and found an antique jar of mustard.
That way, he can quite literally look down on me all day.
1) I expect he does that anyways. 2) Now that sounds like a total disaster. Has a cat climb a set of bookcases in a corner – she fell down in the hole between them. And stayed there for a good day. Ungood. There’s also taking into consideration flying cats and damage to your house, and also your head.
Bad juju, dude.
max
[‘Looks very nice all around, dude. Congrats.’]
david richey
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
This. A thousand times this.
Ain’t nothing more valuable when you gotta troubleshoot a prob than a schematic in conjunc with clearly labeled components. I speak, of course, as a prodigal wrong-doer who is (sorta, gotta leave room for backsliding) learnt his lesson, as Proust once observed, thru pain. My long sojourn in San Francisco Bay (notta bad place to be trapped, really, take it all around) was punctuated initially by unstepping and stripping the two masts/booms (it’sa ketch-rigged commercial fishboat) to replace the rigging without paying the slightest attention to how HumptyDumpty might could be pieced back together. Now, that wouldn’t a been such a pickle if I’da known the first thing about sailing, which, you may have guessed, I didn’t. (Apparently I was traveling light n brains is heavy.) In some ways, it was a valuable lesson in learning how to assemble things from scratch atta granular level, but in every other way, it was an unnecessary time-wasting pain in the ass.
From that point on, every project going forward (restepping masts, new belts, hoses, plumbing, sails, boom gallows, hayrack, gurdies, lifelines n netting (for my 14-year-old little jasper), trolling poles n rigging, haulout, zincs, repairing blisters, XDRs, electronics wiring etc.), took a lotta pics, made notes, drew diagrams n proceeded each day with a sharpie holstered in me pocket.
(Boat sat for more’n a decade after history of tuna fishing outta Morro Bay n then SF, and, like Michelle Obama exemplifies, we must all tend our garden lest we go to seed.)
daverave
I’ve got that fan in my kitchen also too.
hitchhiker
Beautimous! We’ll all be right over for a nice long visit.
Suzanne
@NotMax: The silvery shades of green are very on trend right now. Lurve.
I am personally very over the beige wall trend. Greige is where it’s at. Revere Pewter is very popular right now. I did a slightly darker shade in my bedroom called Anew Gray, and I adore it.
Roger Moore
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Also, too, don’t skimp on the number of circuits. If you have space in your main panel, you could even go for a separate circuit for each room rather than the minimum standard of one for each 600 square feet. It might also be good to have a separate circuit for the lights from the one for the receptacles, so you can use a lamp if you ever need to work on the lights. It would also be better to get GFCI (kitchen, bath, and outdoors) and AFCI (all other rooms) breakers rather than getting the outlets with downstream protection.
NotMax
@Suzanne
Sounds pretty – and neutral enough to work with most any bed fabric/linens treatment.
Nat Lewis
Love it! Definitely do the cat walk!!!
Honus
@Taylor: dear Taylor: as a 40 year construction professional, you are full of shit. Those red steel things are commonly known as Lally columns, and are perfectly adequate and commonly used for long term support.
CZanne
Looks great, John! You’re blazing through this. If your Dad ever wants a working vacation in rural Indiana, I have a lump that could use an honest project manager. (Since my mother, the professional project manager, is of the dishonest variety, as are all of her friends, I’m kinda stuck unless I wanna go spend a couple months in rural Indiana. Which I have done and am loath to do again.)
I want to praise the brilliance of modern plumbing improvements. I finished the demolition on the bathroom today, playing whack-a-mole on the vanity. I DID NOT break the mirror!! It took me a couple hours to pull off the old, corroded and badly installed compression multi-turn valves. The copper stubs had nasty burrs and dents, so that’s what caused the leaks. I am going to continue cursing at the builders of this place. The house had the water off from 10 to 6, and I followed Bob Vila’s advice and put push connect quarter-turn valves on the copper stubs instead of sweat-connect or just replaced with new compression valves. Those push connect worked perfectly — no leaks and installed easily. And the tankless water heater did not have an error because the water was off. (There was a less than 1% chance of this happening – it’s a known software bug – but I have apparently sacrificed enough blood and patience to the plumbing goddess in the past that she smiled today.) Now off to paint the subfloor in prep to laying new subfloor.
Roger Moore
@Honus:
Actually, he was right at the time he posted; Cole had the wrong picture up and changed it to the one that’s there now.
raven
@Honus:How bout them Cubbies????
AndoChronic
Make sure those structural supports are footed correctly. They WILL bust through even a concrete floor when things settle otherwise.
J R in WV
John,
As a builder and remodeler, your job is looking great. I know you are having the work done by pros for the most part – strongly recommended. But the choices are being made by you, and that’s the hardest part, picking out what will work over the long haul.
As others have said, do make sure the wall steps have enough room for a big cat to torn around on, or nap on at length. I don’t think most cats need a lip to keep them from falling off.
Long ago I was looking out the windows, and saw a young cat of ours going up a tree, past the 20 foot mark. Now, cats can creep down a tree backwards – if they have figured it out. This cat stopped at the first little staub to rest and ponder how to get down. He figured it out and shimmied backwards all the way down. Wish I had the wits to video that. Cats in the big deep woods can be really funny.
Take care, and enjoy what had been accomplished …
JR
Mothra
Thanks for the update. I’m really enjoying this saga.
lahke
Looking good, John. Since I’m late to the party, as usual, it’s probably not going to be useful to suggest that you expand that shower to 4 foot by 4 foot from what looks like a 3×3 size. That gives you room to turn around, flex and bend, and also install a bench: I got this one: http://www.signaturehardware.com/bathroom/bathroom-accessories/shower-seats-and-stools/36-folding-teak-shower-seat.html
If you’re not getting any younger or thinner, this is the way to go. (and also, get the detachable shower head on a hose–I’ve never figured out otherwise how to rinse my nether parts without standing on my head).
Singing Truth to Power
John, take a look at the Double Wave Cat Shelf here: http://www.hauspanther.com/2014/12/30/double-wave-cat-shelf-from-cloud-nine-cat-trees/ . It comes in walnut or carpeted – your choice of carpet color. Beautiful piece.
WaterGirl
@Singing Truth to Power: I want that! Gorgeous!
laura
@John Cole:
Your home will fit like a glove after your dad concludes the orchestra of working stiff building trades and laborers. Your home is going to be so beautiful and sheltering and sanctuary. So much great, good karma has been generated what with Walter and our glimpse of your amaze balls dad! And how lovely your home is going to be. You will be so deleriously happy so soon, you won’t believe your great good fortune, and your neighbors must be heartened.
You’ve earned it.
Robin
John,
what are the desk tops made of? I build a custom desk myself and while ago and had to use OBS or some other particle board because I couldn’t find solid wood in the dimensions I wanted.
Duane
@John Cole:
Duane
You work your ass off to fix an old house and get criticized for spelling. I love this joynt.
redshirt
@laura: This sounds like a fortune cookie.
Taylor
@Honus: Dear full of shit Honus: Cole changed the picture after I pointed out his mistake. I linked to the proper type of steel support, which he now has a picture of.
Given my own experience with contractors, I’m not impressed by your 40 years of experience.
Couldn't Stand the Weather
@khead:
LULz.
Patricia
Love reading this and seeing your progress, it will be great and you’ll love it. In process on a renovating an old house myself, though not nearly as much work as your house and can relate.