Old House

Ever so slow

2012-01-22T11:19:00.001-06:00

The simile "slow as molasses" has taken on a new meaning for me. My progress on the library is more like the flowing of extremely cold molasses, almost nonexistent. However, I have made some progress. I added some depth to the walls.

The last holdout area amidst the finished rooms

2012-01-22T10:24:00.001-06:00

When we started restoring the downstairs area we started with the kitchen and dining room then into the drawing room and library (we have yet to begin the parlor and main entry). The downstairs bathroom (which use to be the butler's pantry) and the hall area between the kitchen and dining room were left unfinished for several years. A few months ago we worked on restoring the downstairs bathroom (see previous post), thus leaving the small hallway as the only unfinished area in the middle of the finished rooms. So recently we tackled the small hallway. As of today all that is left is the staining of the small hallway floor.

View from dining room Monkey wallpaper and $5 picture (excluding frame)

View from kitchen

Thanks to my beautiful wife (Chris) and our lovely daughter (Camille) for making the hallway a portrait of beauty.

Walk through of the downstairs bathroom

2011-12-06T22:11:00.001-06:00

As is customary, I have a video of the downstairs bathroom. We have not put up a shower curtain and am not sure if we are going to put a shower in but for now the bathroom is complete.

Remember that Maple tree?

2011-12-04T18:37:00.000-06:00

If you go back through my earlier posts (in particular the Sept, Oct, and Nov of 2010) you will see posts on the huge maple tree that we took down because of its proximity to the house. We have pondered on the what to do with the wood. It's a hard maple and we didn't want to see it cut up for firewood. Since it is burled we figured that the wood would make a nice table top or something like that. We found someone who would mill the wood for us but before we sent it to be milled we were contacted by a man who turns wood. So...this is where the story begins. First pictures of the original tree:

The person who contacted us is Lin Sturgeon. Lin and his friend seemed very interested in the tree so I let them take a small stump to work with and see what they could make out of it. Lin told me that he would probably not get to it until the first of the year, but I guess he got excited because he brought two bowls back to us on Friday. I also made a deal with them, they were interested in the stump that is still in the ground so I told them they could have it if they removed two other stumps for me. They started but the saw was not working so they will be back this week. So here is the stump (FYI they are using a 36" bar on the saw):

But I'm sure you want to see the bowls, right?

I am amazed at what nature can do that man cannot. The next four pictures are of the same bowl, just different sides of the bowl:

The second bowl is from the same section of the tree...maybe 12" from the wood of the first bowl. Even the worm holes add character to the finished bowl:

So we have come to the conclusion that the tree should become art. We wanted to have a part of the tree in the house since it would have been here when the Halls (the family that built our house) lived here. Lin estimated that the tree is more than 150 years old which would make it pre-civil war. I will keep you updated on future items from the tree. Glad we waited before we did anything with the tree.

Halloween fun

2011-12-04T17:21:00.000-06:00

We were invited to a Halloween party this year...so Chris decided that it might be nice if we dressed like George and Rachael Hall. Since George was a corporal in the Union army during the Civil War Chris made an Union army officer's jacket for me. She also sewed an old fashion dress for herself. The amazing thing is that she did both in less than two days. I truly have an amazing wife.

Making Do! (from the Mrs.)

2011-11-11T12:42:00.001-06:00

This post is from Mrs. "Am I nuts!"
Sometimes we think we need to make a purchase
and then realize that we already have something that
work will work just fine...with a little creativity!
Here are two examples.

First the door. On the left is the old bathroom door.
It had never been painted and was so unsightly that
I could only find a partial picture of it. We REALLY
thought we would need to replace this door. Then
Richard came up with a great idea of using some of
our left over wallpaper to dress up the panels. I primed
painted and after it completely dried added some
paintable wallpaper using wallpaper paste. Caulked
the edges to give a sealed look and then added
two coats of paint to the wallpaper and caulk.

This is now my favorite door.

Next we have the clock! I searched and searched for a clock to put in our newly finished bathroom downstairs but nothing seemed to fit into the decor and color scheme we had used. Then I realized I could remake one of our old plastic clocks circa 1985. It's been a great clock all of these years but kinda modern looking for an 1892 Victorian.

I found directions online for how to do this. I had never done it before but had always wanted to try.
I removed the battery and carefully lifted off the
hands being sure to keep them in the proper order.
Next came the paint. I chose a copper hammered enamel, that we already had, because I wanted the
finished look to have some texture to it.

This look might be the stopping point for some but I wanted it to compliment the rest of the theme in our bathroom so I added some satin black paint, which I already had from the range cabinet Richard made for the kitchen. I used this black paint sparingly wiping the brush onto newspaper before touching it to the hammered copper.

Below is the clock after lightly brushing on the black satin paint.

Now I needed a face for the clock. I found some I liked online. The bathroom this clock is going into has some Asian Toile fabric draperies that have an elephant in the scheme. I really like the elephant. I was able
to use some photoshop magic to create an elephant to place onto the face of the clock. Printed it on card-stock and cut it out. Of course there was some trial and error with this. I did the first few on draft quality to conserve ink. I also found the yellow face of the clock too bright and wanted to age it a bit. After several experiments found that our grandchildren's watercolors worked the best. I ironed it dry, yes I ironed it. Water going into paper can make it swell and distort. The dry ironing helped to counter act that. I cut it, used some glue, lined up the new face with the old and rubbed it into place for a few minutes. And here it is...before a great 1985 clock and after an aged clock for an older home.

Below is the clock hanging on the bathroom wall.

Progress Journal of downstair bathroom

2011-10-23T16:27:00.002-05:00

It would be nice if all we had to do was wave a wand and poof, everything was nice looking. But since it doesn't happen that way here are the incremental photos of the remodel:

Then - midway through the remodel

Now - 90% complete

I have a few things to take care of such as the plumbing for the tub. I am grateful for Chris and all the work she has done in the bathroom and for her great decorating skills.

The changing direction of wind

2011-08-21T16:32:00.013-05:00

Wind is interesting, it can change direction at a moments notice. I think restoration work is somewhat like the changing of the wind. A change in events prompts a change in priorities or focus. Such was the case this weekend. A sudden turn of events prompted us to focus on the downstairs bathroom, and of course the events have now changed again. But since we have now committed ourselves to working on the bathroom we will continue with the process. What have we accomplished so far? Well, Chris has mud and taped the ceiling and I worked on removing the old bathtub. When it was time to take the tub out of the bathroom, well that was a two person project. The tub is cast iron. I'm sure that cast iron is a great product but I detest cast iron, especially when it comes to moving it. I am glad that I have a hand cart rated at 1000 lbs and a wife who is willing to help with such difficult projects. (Great - more linoleum!)
So now the bathroom looks like this:

And what are we going to replace the old tub with? A claw foot tub that is much older and made of cast iron. I hope it is lighter. Chris worked very hard on removing the rust from the underside of the tub. Then she painted it with an undercoat of black Rustoleum followed by a finish coat of paint. There are some fun details on the feet of the tub.

Here are the results:

(I didn't want anyone standing on their heads to see the foot so I rotated it after I took the picture, thus the objects in the background are upside down).

Postscript

2011-08-07T21:34:00.002-05:00

I forgot to thank my Honey for all the hard work she has put in. She stripped the paint from the doors and trim and does 99% of the mudding, tapping and prep work on the drywall, which means she makes my drywall hanging mistake magically disappear, or in other words she makes me look good. I am grateful to have such a great restoration partner.

And last but not least

2011-08-07T21:09:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I also worked on the greenhouse, until it got to be too hot outside. Everything is ready for the last section to have siding nailed in place. I also added one more section to the roof. The last section of roof will be challenging. Almost ready for the window panels.

Not everything takes place inside the house

2011-08-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

We decided that we needed to do some landscaping this year as well. Nothing major but it does help the yard look a bit better. Not finished yet but here are some of our efforts:

Dilemma

2011-08-07T20:42:00.001-05:00

I have pondered over and over as to how to fix the stairs on the side porch. There is at least a two inch drop from the right side to the left. My first thought was that I would have to remove the bricks. This would require a lot of energy, and the bricks would most like be damaged in the process.

So I started thinking, what if I just poured concrete on each stair in such a way as to level them. Then I realized that that would look tacky and most likely would not work. So my next thought was, just leave it the way it is. Yes, that's a good idea, concluding that if anyone said anything about the stairs not being level I would just tell them that they must have a balance problem. Yes, make it their problem by suggesting that they should have a medical checkup.

Finally I returned back to my first thought, just remove the bricks. I experimented with the bottom step and just as I thought, it was a lot of work and the bricks did get damaged. I then used undamaged bricks to relay the bottom stairs. Not finished yet, but will work on the stairs over the summer.

(I didn't have any yellow police line tape so I am using a curtain rod to let people know that they should not use the stairs - as if someone couldn't already figure that out just by looking at the stairs)

Big Deal!

2011-08-07T20:19:00.002-05:00

I'm sure some of you would say "Big Deal! Drywall is drywall so why are you taking pictures of drywall?" But for those of us who recognize the work that needs to be done before you can put up the drywall it is a "Big Deal"! The middle chamber (which is the largest of the five chambers or bedrooms - measuring approximately 15'x18' - No I did not take the exact measurements) putting up the last sheet of drywall in the closet represents a milestone in the preparation of the chamber for completion. Prior to putting up the last sheet I had to repair and tuck point the bricks to make the wall sound, then frame out the wall in a unique way to avoid changing the dimensions of the closet. Finally the last sheet went up. As a friend once said "Putting up drywall is satisfying because it covers an area quickly."

So what does the room look like now? Here is the picture of the prep work. I'm showing this picture for those who have never renovated a house or room before. Lest you get the wrong impression, renovation is a messy job, but the rewards far outweigh the mess.

We also found a way to strip the old paint off the doors and trim. Someone had put paint over the existing varnish and stain. We tried many different products as well as heat in an attempt to remove the old paint from the doors and the trim. Finally it was suggested to us that we use a product called "Dad's Easy Spray" which we purchased from Girdner Post & Lumber in Mercer. You spray it on (or in our case brush it on) and in 15 minutes just like magic the paint, varnish and stain start to bubble - then just scrape it off. Now we can prep the doors and trim for refinishing.

Before After

(I know, it's not the same door but this door looked like the "before" door)

Things have slowed a little

2011-07-16T22:06:00.001-05:00

It has been some time since my last post. We have not stopped working on the house, things have just slowed a little since my employed as the director of downtown improvement. In addition to activities I now have the TDIA building to take care. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have to do the work but I do need to get the work started. This is a flat iron building that TDIA hopes to restore and put to use. It is part of the downtown restoration and revitalization goal of TDIA. If you don't know what a flat iron building is then here goes:

You can follow the progress of TDIA at: http://tdiatrentonmo.blogspot.com/ or look to "my blog list" on this blog.

The Disappearing Act

2011-06-30T18:17:00.000-05:00

The old barn, shed, whatever you want to call it is doing a disappearing act.

Now you see it

Now you see less of it

I'm using the siding for the greenhouse. Recycling at its best. The question is: Will it collapse when all the siding is removed or will it continue to stand? I'm betting on collapse!!!

Progress on the greenhouse

2011-06-30T18:09:00.000-05:00

Most of the poly-carb panels are up. I have started to put on some of the siding. Above the siding will be some sort of clear material, maybe plexi who knows.

A Nicer Front Door

2011-06-30T18:05:00.001-05:00

Two years ago a neighbor knocked on our door. She told us later that our door was rough. So about a month ago Chris worked on refinishing the door. The end results are beautiful. The neighbor across the street even commented on how nice it looked. So here it is:

It's not a new door, in fact it's 118 years old. I hope I look this good at 118.

Something fun to do when it's hot

2011-06-09T11:05:00.002-05:00

I know that you have been waiting for updates on the progress of the house and I will post pictures soon...but until then here is a fun video to watch. Something to do on a hot day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grnkCPxdTdU&feature=share

The beauty of summer

2011-05-30T18:42:00.001-05:00

Each season of the year has its own splendor and Summer is no exception. I love the beauty that emerges when the trees and flowers wake from their wintry slumber.

Progress on the greenhouse

2011-04-29T22:13:00.003-05:00

Not done but moving along. We did have to take a break for college graduation and a wedding, but we are back at work now. We already have potted strawberry plants for the greenhouse.

The beginning of a greenhouse

2011-04-11T22:14:00.001-05:00

We have this deck on the west side of the house. The railing was not in very good shape so we knew that some work would need to be done. The winds most of the time blow from the north and northwest, thus coming through the kitchen window and laundry room door making it cold in the house during the winter. So we decided to convert the existing deck into a covered greenhouse. The advantages: 1) stops wind infiltration into the kitchen and 2) provides a way for us to grow produce to reduce our food expenses. It is conveniently located off the kitchen which is an added feature. Imagine stepping out of the greenhouse and directly into your kitchen, how much fresher can the produce be? (Here is the beginning of the greenhouse. More pictures to follow.)

I just realized...

2011-04-08T18:39:00.001-05:00

that I haven't posted anything for quite some time. Since I don't have any pictures as of yet I will do a written post only. Let me see...we have been working on trimwork in the library as well as some other minor but necessary projects. The major project is the curved deck on the west side of the house. It was in need of major revamping. Our goal is to enclose it and use it as a greenhouse for produce that can be grown throughout the year. It is right off the kitchen which makes it a great location even though it is on the west side of the house. Oh, and I have been working on taxes---oh joy what fun. I will have more to post soon.

The finished bathroom

2011-02-24T16:04:00.001-06:00

It's been a long and cold winter so work has slowed. This included the bathroom since some of the work had to be done in areas of the house that are not heated, but we have finished it and we are grateful to have a nice shower and beautiful room.
The before pictures:
(left-sink misplaced and not connected; right-tub shower area)

(left-ceiling; right-floor with missing boards and damaged plumbing)

And the after pictures:

We added a seat at the end of the tub so the person waiting for the next shower turn will have a place to sit.

Just for fun

2011-01-27T12:06:00.002-06:00

Who says you can't have fun with bees? I was bored the other day and not feeling well so rather than work on the house I thought I would do something artistic with our beehive in the maple tree, or should I say with the pictures of the beehive. Here's what I came up with:

(My artistic ability is limited to point and click on the computer.)

Little Things

2011-01-22T09:07:00.002-06:00

I titled this "Little Things" because that is what we have been focusing on since the first of the new year. With the temperature dropping our heating bills have gone up so in order to stay within our budget we have redirected some of the home repair money to heating. The plus to this is that now we can focus on the little touches that tend to get neglected from time to time. So the first one is the china cabinet. Image the cabinet without shelves, the top falling in, the back and sides missing and plaster (along with other debris that I will not mention) inside of the cabinet. That is what it looked like several weeks ago but now we can actually use it. Here are the results:

We have been without a shower for 3 years (but don't misunderstand, we have taken baths during that time). It is nice to have a shower now. We needed to do a tub surround but plastic just didn't look right so after some research we decided that wood could be used, it just takes more preparation. Then came the shower rod, we needed a rod that was free standing and circular in shape. We couldn't find one locally and to order it would have cost a fortune, which we don't have, so we made our own. Copper tubing works just great. Finally the curtain. It needed to be much longer than the ones sold in the stores so Chris made one by sewing panels of plastic/vinyl together.

Although not complete here is what the rest of the bathroom looks like. Chris made the curtains and hung the wallpaper.

Last, but certainly not least, we wanted to use the speaking tubes. Couldn't find original mouthpieces for the tubes so Chris decided to make her own until we could locate originals. And yes, the tubes do work. She can talk to me from the bathroom when I'm in the kitchen.

Stay tuned for more of episodes of "Life with Chris & Richard"

Now that the holidays are over...

2011-01-10T15:21:00.000-06:00

Last month was a busy time for us. We had two of our daughters (Camille and Marie), one grandson (Kanoa) and Marie's friend (Daniel) here for the Christmas Holiday. So we had to prepare rooms for them. Nothing finished, just drywalled. They were lucky, the major cold spell came after they went back home. Now that the holiday season is over I should get back to working on the house. Maybe after this week is over. But I did want to post some of Winter's Artwork for those of you who follow my blog. In keeping with the adage "A picture is worth a 1000 words" here goes:

Some of our accomplishments

2010-11-21T19:52:00.010-06:00

We tried to get most of the high work done while the lift was here. In addition to fixing the chimneys (mentioned in an earlier post) and taking down two massive trees (also mentioned in an earlier post); we painted the cedar shakes and repaired and painted trim work. So here are the before and after pictures:

Front of house (before).......................(after)

East side (before)..............................(after) (notice that the bay window has been painted as well)

and portions of the east dormer needed to be rebuilt (picture of the rebuilt dormer).

I'm grateful for lifts!

(My sincerest appreciation to my beautiful wife for her insight, talent and help; and my thanks to Dean Machinery for the rental of the lift.)

So how big was that maple tree?

2010-11-07T20:09:00.002-06:00

I'm sure I couldn't tell you, but it was over the top of the house, a good 45' in the air.

Now that it is down I can show you a comparison with my size 12 shoe. Thanks Tad, David and Richard for helping to take down the maple tree. Now, how do I move it out of my driveway?

The Beehive is down

2010-11-07T20:00:00.004-06:00

Remember my situation, how to get the beehive down and move the bees?

The beehive in the tree is down, but the bees are still in it. (Well they did come out when their portion of the tree hit the ground.) I guess they will remain there for the winter and then next spring I will work on getting them out and into a new hive. (Oh yes, we missed hitting the side of the house by about 6 inches.)

We played host to our first unofficial wedding shoot

2010-10-21T18:55:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I don't have any pictures to show. On Saturday, October 2nd, there was a wedding at the church across the street from our house. Prior to the ceremony, the photographers were taking pictures of the bride and groom outside of our house. Chris offered to let them use the drawing room for some of the shots, which they did. So we have unofficially had our first wedding shoot at the house.

The Tower

2010-10-17T19:13:00.003-05:00

Let me start this post with the following statement: "I'm a guy. As with most males our description of colors are simple, such as: black, brown, blue, green, white (oh yes, white is a color), and red. Colors such as: taupe, chartreuse, wine, etc. do not exist in my library of colors. Get the picture?" Now that that has been established let me talk about the tower. We have finished painting the upper part of the tower (well there is a little touch up work to do), and the colors are: dark green for the cedar shakes; beige for the window trim with a thin line of green on the inner trim and maroon for the window sash; light green for the dentil work at the top with maroon on the trim below the dentil work; the outer trims of the tower (top and bottom) are beige with a white underside. (You need to click on the pictures and zoom them in to see the detailed work). It is such a wonderful feeling (not that I'm a feeling type of guy) to see the details of the tower. The color scheme is perfect. All praise must go to my wonderful wife, Chris, for her vision.

Friends in high places

2010-10-17T18:30:00.007-05:00

A friend stopped by the other day and made a comment about "friends in high places". I thought I would let you see what it was like to be a friend in high places.

Those dark marks on the roof are the holes I had to patch because of the 2x4's I screwed to the roof to make a ladder so I could get to the chimney. The lift wouldn't reach this one. Next time I think I will use a safety line; I can tell you that it's a weird feeling to be walking at such a steep pitch without a safety line. Notice that the chimney on the left has not been capped. I believe that this has contributed to the bats getting into the house, however I can't reach the top of the chimney with the lift so capping the chimney will have to wait for another day. I'm grateful for our cat who helps with the bats!

Have you ever wondered how the world looks to a bird? Here's a bird's eye view:

Now riddle me this, Batman. How can a bird in flight at a high altitude manage to hit such a small target? Ah, now that's the million dollar question.

Just like an amusment park ride

2010-10-03T18:01:00.006-05:00

One of the major goals while the lift is here is to repair two chimneys. It is not a good sign when you can see daylight through the bricks, or in other words look through one side of the chimney and out the other because the mortar is missing. The hazard becomes the danger of "falling bricks". It is my goal to repair them before that happens. Saturday between sessions of conference I worked on one of the chimneys. Have you ever used an articulating lift? It is like operating an amusement park ride, one with interesting thrills, especially when there are 10-15 mph wind gusts. It's a weird sensation to feel what you believe to be a stable platform move under you feet. Here are the captured pictures of me, somewhere around 45 feet in the air, repairing bricks. (Photos courtesy of Chris)

Trust me, I'm up there! Anyway, I finshed the chimney that Brother Miller started...

and now I have one left. (Notice the holes, it's worse than it looks).

Oh the joys of restoration!

Into one's life a little sting must come

2010-10-03T13:29:00.007-05:00

It's amazing how when you commit to do something right, how the Lord helps by sending people to lighten your burden. Chris and I decided that we were going to attend the temple during the week which would mean that we would end up paying for the lift to sit idle for a day. It would also mean giving up a day of work but we felt that the Lord would bless for our commitment. Wednesday, out of the blue two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stopped by with an offer of their services to us. Since Brother Miller and I were taking down trees it seemed like a great offer. They could work on the trees and I could continue my work on the front porch. Prior to recommencing on the tree take down Brother Miller took both missionaries (Elder Chidester (left) and Elder Lyon (right)) up in the lift to inspect the beehive in our old maple tree. The bees have been busily building a comb at the entrance of the hive. (Notice how close the missionaries are to the beehive.)

I thought it would be a great update to my September 22nd post to show the comb. I take it that the bees do not like the paparazzi because as we were going up in the lift I was suddenly stung on the right side of my face at the cheek bone, a place with little fatty tissue to absorb the sting. At first it felt like an electrical shock followed by a burning pain. For a couple of days the area was painful and felt like I had been hit in the face with a baseball. (I know that baseball feeling as I was an infielder during my amateur baseball career.) Anyway, having been stung I decided that I was not going down empty handed, or should I say "without my picture" so we proceeded up the lift. Somebody has to hurt in order to get the pictures.

Brother Miller's comforting words to me regarding the sting were "As long as your throat doesn't swell shut and you stop breathing, then you are not allergic to bee stings". I guess I'm not allergic to bee stings since I am still here.

We have honey, but how to harvest it?

2010-09-22T21:42:00.007-05:00

We have this huge maple tree that is being cut down due to the fact that it is in a terrible location, between two houses, and hollow in the core. It has been the home of a busy beehive for who knows how long. Today I went up to take closer pictures and noticed that there appears to be honey on the outside of the tree. The bees may have filled the tree full of honey, which I would like to harvest. Also, how can I get the bees to move from the tree to a beehive that we purchased? Ah, that is the question. Anyway here are the pictures that I took.

The bees were quite active this afternoon. They must be happy that the rain has ended.

Back to the front porch

2010-09-19T17:23:00.000-05:00

Columns are now starting to go up, as if they could do it on their own. It is a slow process but I like the look.

Chris on the job

2010-09-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

After a quick lesson my wife has become a boom operator, actually a very good boom operator.

It's amazing what a little paint will do:

Trees are not always a good thing...

2010-09-19T17:06:00.001-05:00

especially when they are growing close to one or two houses. Oh, and are hollow also. So Brother Miller started to cut down the old Maple tree, I acting as ground crew. I'm glad he has had years of experience with tree cutting because one slip could have been disastrous. So without any further ado here are the action shots:

Afterwards I ventured up the lift to inspect the chimney. Oh great, now I need to tuck point the chimney. 118 years of weather has washed out most of the mortar, so you can see what I mean by "so much to do and so little time". Better to take care of it now before bricks start falling.

By this was really cool. A honey bee hive up close. I'll have to take pictures when they are more active.

So much to do and so little time!

2010-09-19T16:43:00.000-05:00

Anyway that is how I feel sometimes. Winter is fast approaching and we need to take care of several things. For instance, the front porch. It was falling apart, rotten wood and improperly installed causing water to run off the deck and onto the tower bricks which resulted in mortar being washed away and bricks falling off the tower. Those bricks have been repaired but now the deck needs to be repaired. Soooo, we started to take the old decking off.

But we did take time to take a break

The Bay Window

2010-09-03T22:02:00.011-05:00

Brother Miller and I worked on the bay window roof on Friday. I needed to get if fixed properly before winter to prevent water damage to the dining room ceiling and heat loss. The roof area is 3 feet wide at the widest point, 6 inches wide at the two outer edges and 180 inches long against the brick wall of the house. Imagine two adult males pulling up the tin roof while standing on it. (It would have been easier if we would have had a lift or at least scaffolding that would reach 15-20 feet.) On one of my trips onto the roof my foot caught on the window sill and I dove head first through the open window. Fortunately I caught my balance, otherwise I would have done a 20 foot, head first dive off the roof. It's not the fall that I was concerned with, it's the sudden stop at the bottom.

This experience reminded me of my teenage years when I use to jump off the roof of my parents house. Now you may ask yourself why would someone jump off the roof of a single story house, in particular make a 10-15 foot jump onto solid ground? Well, that is a good question. It could be that I was a little like Napoleon Dynamite when he asked Pedro if Pedro dared him to go and talk to a girl who was in the cafeteria. I don't remember being dared to jump, I just did it. Why do boys do such things? It makes no sense to me. I guess it's because we can, not that we should, but we can.

Anyway, we were able to remove the old tin, remove some of the subroofing (which made the area we were standing on even smaller), insulate the dining room ceiling, replace the subroofing and then pitch and install a new roof before Brother Miller had to leave. I am grateful that we got all that completed without any accidents, except for the cut on my finger. Why don't I just wear my gloves?

Now for the action shots!!!

The new roof is sealed and weatherproof enough for now. Eventually we will put metal back on the roof. Thanks Chris for the photos.

Have you ever gone to a bed race?

2010-09-03T18:59:00.003-05:00

Last saturday we attended the bed races. It was a first for me. Each team was responsible for making their own bed for the race. It seems like some of the teams have this down to a science, such as when to brake and reverse direction. There were about eight teams in all. The team on the right won the championship. What will they think of next???

The Griffin has landed

2010-08-30T04:29:00.003-05:00

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Greek: γρύφων, grýphōn, or γρύπων, grýpōn; Latin: gryphus) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure and well valued priceless possession. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. (Wikipedia)

Our Griffin has finally found its home. It has had a rough life after being uprooted from Georgia but now has a nice place to reside. Welcome home my friend!

Rome wasn't built in a day!

2010-08-29T14:57:00.003-05:00

No doubt you have heard the phrase "Rome wasn't build in a day" or something similar. I personally believe that Rome was built one column at a time. At least that is true with what I have experienced. The first column on the front porch is in place but not completely installed. This represents a few days work. Five more columns need to be installed. Maybe they will go up quicker since I have now learned what not to do from putting up the first one.

Maybe, Rome can be built in a week or two.

Work on the front porch

2010-08-22T21:02:00.011-05:00

I've noticed that it has been some time since my last post, in fact almost 2 months. Why you may ask? We have been visiting our children and grandchildren in Utah and Georgia. But we are home now and work has resumed. So what's on the agenda...repair of the front porch for sure. Elder Chidester, Elder Parkinson and I took down the granite caps and bricks that served as the porch railing.

(Men at work photos:)

Who needs the gym when you have 250+ pound granite caps to haul around. As of now everything is taken down ready for the columns to be put up. We also worked on the upstairs bathroom. The ceiling wallpaper is up and we will start on the walls soon.

Video of the dining room

2010-06-23T23:27:00.007-05:00

It has been my practice to do a video of the rooms that we have completed. I have held off on doing a video of the dining room since there are a few things that need to be done. As I thought about it I realized that the rooms that I have done a video of are not 100% complete either...so I decided to do a video of the dining room as it is today. Notice the transition of the floors between the dining room and the drawing room with the wood pattern that we created to fill the void where the old cold air return was located. The ceiling is complete with trim work that follows the walls in the room. The family pictures hanging on the wall are of my Danish grandparents (the square frame) and Chris' Italian great-grandparents (the oval frames).

Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus

2010-05-16T22:00:00.001-05:00

And for Celeste, here is a picture of the souvenir we brought back from Chicago when we went to Tim's rugby match:

Not this, this would be a prehistoric man!

By the way what does this title have to do with any of the pictures?

Real or Illusion? You Decide

2010-05-16T20:37:00.003-05:00

The thing I really like about doing a blog is that I am in control when it comes to deciding what to show. For instance, I get to decide when I want to release pictures and what they will be. I must like power, you know what I mean.

Anyway, we have been working on the dining room and here are some of the before and after shots:

I did not label which were the before and which were the after pictures. I assumed that it should be obvious, but then maybe not. We still have some trim work to complete and then finish the floor. As it stands we have not completely completed any room yet, there is always some little thing that needs to be done, but at least it is nicer than living under drywall, mud and tape.

The Side Porch

2010-05-16T20:01:00.001-05:00

Most of the side porch is complete. I need to finish some of the brickwork and decide what to do with the column bases. Also I need to do some trim work. But here it is:

At least it keeps the rain off the porch, unless the wind is blowing!

A Greek Ruin???

2010-04-16T08:24:00.004-05:00

I like columns and pillars. They add dimension (a measure of spatial extent, especially width, height, or length) to buildings. Some of my favorites are Greek ruins:

The columns at Idaho State University (ISU):

And now my own:

I guess I will have to call them my Danish ruins since I'm Danish:

Rugby anyone?

2010-04-16T08:05:00.004-05:00

Okay, you might ask yourself "what does rugby have to do with the restoration of an old house"? The answer is simple: "nothing". But our son Tim plays rugby for Old Puget Sound Beach Rugby Football Club (OPSB) which is a charter member of the USA Super League. He had a match in Chicago on April 10 so we could not resist the opportunity to see him play and spend a little time with him. Also our daughter and granddaughter made the trip from PA to visit with us as well. It was a great time visiting loved ones. But as for Chicago, you can keep it. It definitely is not on my list of favorite vacation spots. The souvenir we brought back with us was a piece of old furniture that we got at a yard sell. I think everything is Chicago in probably old. So here are some pictures of the rugby match.

I must say the kid has talent. His first hit he took out three players on the other team, stacking them like dominos. Thanks Tim, Larissa and Araya for the good time we had in Chicago!

Update on the Drawing Room

2010-03-31T04:54:00.009-05:00

On Sept of 2008 I posted a picture of me standing on the rubble in the drawing room:

Well as of today this is where we stand (no pun intended). The floor has been stained;

The furniture has been placed back in the room, wallpaper hung on the lower half of the wall, pictures hung;

And Chris painted the cabinet.........now for the walk through.

Some minor finish work needs to be completed but for the most part the drawing room is 98% complete.

Look! A place to hang the clothes

2010-03-07T20:27:00.001-06:00

We finished the rest of the closet shelves and poles. Now our clothes have a new home to reside in.

The downside of all of this is that I now realize that I have too many shirts.
Oh what will I do?

Finally a place for some of our clothes

2010-02-28T09:31:00.001-06:00

For nearly two years we have been living out of two portable closets loaned to us by some friends. We have finally started to put together one closet so our clothes will have a permanent place to reside. Chris designed the simple but functional system with a simple rack to hang our pants on and shelves for those items that we can place on shelves. I need to finish the remaining shelves with poles for hanging shirts, dresses and other items. So here is the pant rack and current shelves:

It is amazing how much delight little accomplishments can bring, but they do!

What do you do with a hole in the middle of the room?

2010-02-25T22:18:00.004-06:00

When we had the new heating/cooling system put in last summer Botts and Tye (the company that did the work) also cut a new cold air return in the floor. The old return was then removed leaving a 24" x 25.5" hole in the middle of the floor between the drawing room and the dinning room (I don't have any pictures of the hole). The question then was what to do with an opening into the basement. We came up with several ideas such as:
1- use it as a trap door
2- put in a dumb waiter
3- cover it with plexiglass and then claim that it was where the money in the house was hidden (which by the way there was no money hidden in the house)
4- build a large fish aquarium in the basement underneath the hole, fill the aquarium with water and fish of course, and then cover the hole with plexiglass so that we could watch the fish from upstairs. (My favorite choice)
But logic prevailed so we decided to plug the hole by replacing it with some sort of floor design. We also wanted to use the old ceiling grate somehow.
(This is a picture of the opening with a new subfloor in place.)

This is the design that Chris came up with and so now the hole is no more.

Now we need to finish the floors in the two rooms.

Progress on the bookcase

2010-02-23T20:14:00.001-06:00

I thought that I would post a new set of pictures regarding the progress on the bookcase. We are getting there but not done yet. There is some trimwork that needs to take place, namely the crown molding and some other trimwork. I like lions so Chris made a lion's head for the center header of the bookcase. Around the Lion are olive branches. I'm glad that Chris is so talented, you can't find this stuff at Lowes or Home Depot. So for Camille and the others here are the pictures:

(PS: You need to look past the stuff piled on the floor and the computer hutch.)

Update on the Library

2010-02-18T18:44:00.002-06:00

Our daughter Camille called today and asked why I haven't posted any pictures lately. So I promised that I would post some pictures of the bookcase even though it isn't finished yet. So here they are:

Left Right

Center of the bookcases

We have 11 foot ceilings just for perspective!

Update

2010-02-07T13:47:00.006-06:00

It has been some time since I last posted to my blog. We are still moving forward in the house, but with minor delays such as getting the car repaired from the accident with the deer; snow with temperatures in the subzero range followed by other inclement weather conditions; removing cast iron pipes in the upstairs bathroom due to a leak in the pipes (Tip for the day: before opening the main water supply-line valve in the house you should make sure that the disconnected supply-line shutoff valve to the upstairs toilet is closed otherwise you get to repair portions of the upstairs bathroom floor and the first floor ceiling); traveling to Georgia to rent out our house there; etc. All of these have slowed down the restoration process but I should have pictures of our progress in a few weeks, barring any other problems. As for today, it is snowing again. I am sure grateful for "Global Warming", without it we would be experiencing the "Ice Age" again.

The first post of a new year...2010

2010-01-03T14:44:00.030-06:00

A new year found use sleeping in yet our fourth room. If you can remember way back when, we moved from the servant's chamber to the tower chamber (Sept. 28, 2008 post). The tower chamber had an alcove attached to it, kind of a sitting room. We decided to transform the alcove into a sleeping area and the tower chamber into living area attached to the sleeping area because: (see Oct. 25, 2009 post).

Here is what the alcove looked like when we first arrived and as of October 25, 2009:

(March of 2008) (October of 2009)

We spent our first night in the alcove on January 1, 2010. It was our goal to start out the new year in a nice room without unfinished sheetrock hanging over our heads. So ten weeks later...

And no this is not a rug it is the ceiling; and in keeping with tradition, the walk through:

By the way if sleeping in a cool room (temperature wise) is good for your health, then we should be the healthiest people around. Our room is a balmy 30 degrees which is better than the 15 below temperture outside. I'm grateful for the electric blanket and Sun heater.

2010

2010-01-01T00:06:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!!!
Watch for updates on the progress.

Holiday Blessings

2009-12-11T14:11:00.000-06:00

We were able to spend Thanksgiving with four of our children, three grandchildren, my mother-in-law and some friends. We had a wonderful time, especially playing with the grandchildren. Later as a group we went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to view the Christmas lights. I'm not sure why we are attracted to the lights, maybe we are all part moths. Regardless of the reason for the attraction I do love seeing the lights. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

If I had one Christmas wish for everyone it would be "Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward men." My we all say like the reformed Ebenezer Scrooge of Charles Dickens novel (A Christmas Carol), “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” May we remember the true meaning of Christmas this year and throughout our lives. Merry Christmas.

Deer Season is upon us

2009-12-11T13:30:00.003-06:00

This time of year many hunters brave the cold to enjoy the challenge of deer hunting. With rifle in hand and all bundled up for protection against the cold bitterness of winter, they trudge through the brown fields of weeds and tall grass (sometimes snow covered) in search of their prized trophey. Well for those of you who find this annual event a relaxing sport I have a suggestion, one that allows you to remain in total warmth without walking or trudging through mud, snow and weeds. I perfected this technique on November 20th. Although I do not have pictures of the prized trophey, I do have pictures of the results of my technique and here they are:

Our grandson Kanoa refers to this as "Grandpa Richard's smashed black car", and so it is. This event reminds me of some of the lyrics of "I Fought The Law" which go as follows: "I fought the law and the ... law won". In this case the deer definitely won. I'm not sure what became of the deer, since we did not see any sign of it the following day. Chris (my wife) said that she noticed that the deer was sitting up and moving its head right after the accident. As for me, the person who even hates to run over those small frogs in Georgia who hop suicidally on the roads after a heavy rainfall, I hope that the doe survived. The real blessing is that neither one of us were injured. Typically a collision with a large deer results in injury or death. As Chris so appropriately put it while we were eating dinner at a local restaurant following the accident, "It is nice to be able to see my husband and reach out and touch his hand." I am grateful that we were protected and that I can see my wife and touch her hand.

As for the car, it is in the repair shop right now.

A suggestion of a friend

2009-12-11T12:43:00.002-06:00

A friend asked what it would take to complete the upstairs bathroom. That was about two months ago. Well out of necessity we needed to get the upstairs bathroom up and running before our trip out west for Thanksgiving. so here it is:

Thank you Russ for the suggestion; and Russ, Richard and Chris for the help.

Changes in weather

2009-12-11T08:49:00.005-06:00

It's amazing what a change twenty-three days can bring in regards to the weather. As of the time of my post on November 15 the sun was shinning and work could be done outside. No coats were required, in fact, one could wear a short sleeve shirt like Elders Johnson and Whitworth. But now....today it is 7 degrees with a wind chill factor of 6 degrees. It looks like a winter wonderland.

To recite the lyrics of a popular Christmas song:

"Oh the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful, (well we don't have a fire)

And since we've no place to go,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

And so it is this December 11th of 2009.

Super Heros

2009-11-15T22:09:00.002-06:00

In life there are many kinds of super heros, you know the person who arrives in the nick of time to save the day. Super Heros like
Superman and.....................................Dudley Do-Right

Well, friday I had two super heros arrive to save the day. If you think restoration is all fun and games, then I have a bridge in NY I am willing to sell you. Just when I felt overwhelmed two missionaries (Elders Johnson and Whitworth) arrived to offer some help. I put them to work on laying core bricks for the front porch.

Thank you Elders, your service was greatly appreciated.

A Special Gift

2009-11-15T21:46:00.001-06:00

I am sure you are familar with the adage: "It's the early bird who catches the worm". Well sometimes you need to get up early to enjoy the beauty of the dawning of a new day. Chris did just that, and then she shared the picture with me. I am grateful for her love.

Ah, we've found gold!!!

2009-10-25T19:41:00.003-05:00

By the way this is post number 4 of 4 that I have posted today, so if you don't scroll through the other posts you will miss alot.

After living in Washington State (the Evergreen State where everything remains green all year long-including the rooftops of houses because of the moss); New Mexico (the Enchanged State where we were enchanted by the fact that trees are an endangered species); and Georgia (the well I don't know what it is state-but it is green all year long) it is nice to find gold in the fall.

The downside, leaves are all over the ground. Well you have to take the bad with the good.

Close, but not completed

2009-10-25T19:11:00.006-05:00

Have you ever felt like you were part of a Neverending Story? I have. Everyday it seems the same, get up; eat; work; eat; go to bed; and then start all over again the next day. Okay, maybe my life is the restoration version of Groundhog Day! I'm grateful to friends who when they visit comment on how much we have accomplished. To us it seems like baby steps, yet they think that we have made giant strides.

So lately we have spent some time on trying to finish the drawing room. Oh what will we do if we actually finish one room, 100% complete! I would be shocked and amazed (pronounced shock-ed and amaz-ed). Here is what we have completed so far:

Some minor trimwork is left on the panels and then I need to put a second coat of paint on the beams of the coffered ceiling. Chris also made window drapes for the drawing room. They are made out of "warm windows". That is a type of fabric, not windows that we found that are warm.

I am grateful for my talented wife.

Oh where oh where has my sheetrock gone?

2009-10-25T18:23:00.007-05:00

Is there ever an end to sheetrock work? Someone asked me how many sheets I think I have used so far. That would have been a great tally to maintain, but I didn't. Sooooo, I have tried to figure out how many sheets. I had two loads of 100 sheets per load delivered and have transported by truck around 63 sheets that I can remember, so at least the tally would be 260 eight foot sheets and 3 ten foot sheets. I'm sure the count is higher, but the more important question is where did it all go? We still have sheetrock to purchase and hang. It seems that it disappears in a blackhole of some sort. There's a Hollywood theme for a "B" rated movie, The Invasion of the Blackhole that eats sheetrock.

Anyway, we have started to do some of the work in the parlor. Ah yes the parlor, the last room on the first floor that had no work done in it. The ceiling is hung and two of the walls have sheetrock. I will have to do some work on the interior bricks before we can hang sheetrock on the remaining two wall. Argh, more brick work!

We have also started to work on the alcove off the tower chamber. Remember the tower chamber? It was our second bedroom. (You can look through past posts for the tower chamber.) The alcove, which I referred to as a small sitting room will soon be the location of a queen size sleigh bed. Why use the alcove instead of the tower chamber for the location of the bed? Because of $$$'s. Okay, I'm sure that answer made absolutely no sense, so I will explain. It is a smaller room, easier to heat and cool. Today everthing is about $$$'s, and the more we spend on heating/cooling the less we have for other things. So as winter sets in this will more than likely become the winter bedroom, with the tower chamber being a nice place to site and relax.

No we have not gone on vacation

2009-10-25T17:00:00.010-05:00

I'm sure some of you have asked "R U There?" or "R U Three?" (from Muppets from Space). If you haven't seen the movie then you probably don't know what I am talking about. But We R Here, and we have been working on the house. As the temperatures have cooled off we have concentrated more on the inside. However, some outside work has taken place such as more brickwork on the side and front porch.

This is what the side porch looked like when we got here. (I have been working on the side porch.)
And now it looks like this:

And as for the front porch, Brother Miller started to repair some of the bricks, which required some of the bricks to be taken down and put back up.

Thanks

2009-09-25T21:11:00.002-05:00

We would like to thank the Rotary Club and the Lions Club for inviting us to talk about the restoration of the "Hall" house. Your kindness, generosity and support has been greatly appreciated. Thanks for welcoming us into the community.

Star Date 09062009

2009-09-06T20:07:00.009-05:00

Well I had to think of some catchy title for all of the Trekkie fans who may be following my blog. Okay so I took the Trekkie test and this was my result:

Test Score:

trekkiness: 107
The Trekkie Testranks me as a(n) Commander
What does it mean?
You know Trek, and you love it. You may not dress up in uniform every day, but you're dedicated to your series, or two, and happy with being entertained by it.

For your test taking skills, here is a graphic to share:

Well, maybe I'm a trekkie at heart. Anyway, here is an update of our adventure in restoration. The side porch which needed some major help is looking a bit better nowadays. (I do need to clean those bricks.)

Just notice how straight the bricks appear. However, remember looks can be deceiving. As soon as I get the bricks back on I can start on putting up the columns for the porch cover.

We also have our two year old granddaughter (Araya) staying with us so we needed to get the drywall up in the servant's stairwell.

And as with all projects there are last minute changes that we have made. In particular the bookshelves in the library have gone through many design phases but we have now settled on the look that we wanted.

Columns!!! The house in Georgia had four 18' columns outside and four 9' columns inside so when I found these solid wood columns out in a covered area in our backyard I couldn't resist in refinishing them and incorporating them into the library design. It's a slow process but worth the effort.

And yes, we have a ceiling fan to cool off the room and provide light.

Just so you know, the ceiling medallion is not lighted but the flash from the camera makes it look that way. Remember, I told you looks can be deceiving.

Brickwork on the side porch

2009-08-23T19:18:00.002-05:00

We had some help with the brickwork on the side porch. Elders Pehrson and Howard and our daughter Camille helped to clean the bricks so that I could use them.

(Pictured: Elder Howard and Camille cleaning bricks.)

The cleaning technique for soft mortar is simple: rub two bricks together to get the mortar off.

(Pictured: Camille demonstrating the cleaning technique.)

The technique for stubborn mortar requires more force, usually a chisel and hammer.

(Pictured: Elder Pehrson with hammer and chisel.)

I of course did the tuck point on one of the bases for the columns that will support the upper part of the porch.

Cleopatra ("Cleo" for short)

2009-08-02T19:22:00.005-05:00

Last night I discovered a bat flying around the parlor, so of course I dealt with it denying Akuto the opportunity to take care of it. I should mention that he was watching it fly around the parlor. This morning we discovered another bat on the kitchen floor. I'm not sure which one of the cats caught the bat, but I would assume that it was Akuto training Cleo on how to protect the home from intruders.

You have met Akuto (the bat cat):

Now meet Cleo (the bat cat in training):

The Library

2009-08-02T19:16:00.003-05:00

I have also started the bookshelves in the library, or at least one section. They are floor to ceiling. This looks rough, but should look great when finished.

Some of the porch has been repaired

2009-08-02T19:09:00.003-05:00

I cleaned off the side porch and replaced some of the bricks that fell off. We are hoping to get the side porch put back together so people can use it instead of the front porch since the vehicle parking is along the side of the house.

(Okay, so I'm not a professional. I'm sure I'll get lots of practice before we are through here!)

Surprising flowers

2009-08-02T19:01:00.003-05:00

We have some flowers that are blooming and add color to our property, they are called Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, or Naked Lady (Latin: Lycoris squamigera). Here's what they look like:

A poor man's coffered ceiling

2009-08-02T18:40:00.008-05:00

We have done some work on the house in between trips. Since the drawing room ceiling was wavy (not due to my drywall hanging abilities, but because the floor joists had settled) we decided to solve the problem by painting panels and making a coffered ceiling. This is the poor man's coffered ceiling in three steps. First, start with hardboard ($5-$6 per 4'x8' sheet) cut in half (4'x4' panels) and have a talented person (like Chris) paint on each sheet. Second, hang the panels and coffer the ceiling with inexpensive 1"x3" boards ($1.58 per board). Third, caulk the gaps, add the trim and paint the boards (we have not done step three yet, nor have we finished with all of steps one and two. How can that be? you may ask, easy, this is a work as you go project.) You should get a look similar to this:

(without flash)
(with flash)
Stay tuned, more to come in the future.

Hisashiburi desu ne?

2009-08-02T17:47:00.006-05:00

It has been some time since I last posted to my blog. "Why has it been so long you may ask?" "Why not" is the answer. Okay, so that was lame but I do have my reasons. The main reason is that we needed to make a trip to Georgia for personal matters and to work on painting our house in Brunswick that we are trying to sell. Having established that we had great reasons for not working on the house here, lets now do a recap of the trip to Brunswick, Georgia.

We got up early one morning to go to St. Simons Island to watch the sunrise from the beach. We missed the sunrise, but it was still a lot of fun to be back on the beach. Our house is approximately 20 minutes from the beach.

This picture is of the marshes taken from our car as we drove over the Sidney Lanier Bridge in Brunswick. Love those marshes. It's great fun to kayak down the marshes too.

And how about driving down lanes covered with live oak trees? What a great experience.

St. Simons Island has a pier that is used by the locals and others for fishing and crabbing.

A view of the Sidney Lanier bridge from the beach on St. Simons Island. The cool thing about the bridge is that we no longer had to wait for the old drawbridge when ships were passing through, now they can go under the Sidney Lanier without stopping vehicle traffic.

Now on to the beach. The building in the background is the King and Prince Resort. I have never stayed there, but I have eaten there and it was a great place to eat while enjoying a breathtaking view of the ocean.

And as for that ocean, well, here is a little taste of it. (Or should I say, a visual and audio sample since you can't really taste the salt water on a blog.) (PS-it was windy that day so it's hard to hear the ocean because of the wind.) (PSS-the building is the King and Prince Resort.)

(PSSS-If you want to see the house then go to my link: Stately Home in Somersby Pointe.)

Our presentation

2009-07-05T21:04:00.005-05:00

Chris and I were invited to speak to the community of Trenton on June 30. We spoke at the Grundy County Jewett Norris Library. The architect of the library is the same person who designed our house.
You can see our presentation by going to: http://www.grundycountylibrary.org/
or: http://www.archive.org/details/HallHouseOfTrentonMo (this one contains thumbnails so you can select the segments you want).

It is an hour and ten minutes long so you may want to skip through parts of it.

I would like to thank the community of Trenton for their support and kindness. We have truely enjoyed living here. I also would like to thank Robert, Laura Sue and others who helped with our presentation.

2009-06-28T19:38:00.007-05:00

My talented wife has started to paint the rest of the ceiling panels for the drawing room. Here are the designs that are on the panels.

And this is what the finished panels will look like.

Since the weather is warmer I have tried my artistic talents outside. The brick on the lower part of the porch fell apart so I have tried my hand at laying bricks. I have three layers to deal with. I'm glad that the middle layer does not show.

But this layer does so I spent more time on trying to make it look good.

I also have started to repair some of the cracks in the wall by doing tuckpointing.

Well, there you have it. Life at Lake Wobegon.

Sconces anyone?

2009-06-28T19:26:00.002-05:00

We have found some interesting sconces that we plan on using. As you can see we used one in the drawing room.

We found two in a drawer of the sideboard. However, we will need to get some shades, the condition they are in right now could be a shocking experience.
(The fingers are optional)

We also cleaned the sideboard and started to put some of our stemware in it.

It doesn't matter how slow you go, only the end result counts

2009-06-28T18:42:00.005-05:00

That is my new motto for now. It appears that things move slowly at times, of course small interruptions do not help. However we did finish the cooktop.

And my very talented wife made the brackets for the spice racks using the scroll saw and the dremel. These are two separate racks put together, painted, hung and "tahdah" one larger rack. We have adopted the slogan "fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without out." (Well at least that is what we are trying to do. However, there are times when that does not work.)

Then we tackled the need for more storage. Yes a bookshelf on a table made from scrap lumber works fine for the storage of our canned tomatoes.

And another shelf for storage of other ingredients.

Last but certainly not least is the counter. I made the shelving that is above the counter. The end shelves are covered with oak and ready to be stained. Just a few more touches and my work in the kitchen is finished and my talented wife will complete the final touches.

Progress on the Drawing Room

2009-06-08T21:35:00.003-05:00

Work on the house slowed for a while. We were out of town picking up our daughter and grandson for a visit. Then we had to take them home a few weeks later. Soooo, here is where we are now:

We decided to put fabric on the upper part of the drawing room walls. Chris and Marie (our daughter) did the work, and this is what it looks like.

We also decided to make individual panels for the ceiling. We only have one up so far. Chris and Marie painted the panels. (The design was developed by Marie and Chris painted it). I installed the ceiling fan, yeah for me, I actually did some work.

"It is useful occasionally to look at the past to gain a perspective on the present" (Fabian Linden)

2009-05-10T16:28:00.016-05:00

Last night we looked at the first pictures that we took of the house. It helps to look at where you were to appreciate where you're at. We now have a room at the Inn. Our first bedroom was the servant's chamber. It had all the plaster removed, but the lathe was still on the walls and bats were flying over our heads during the night. Anyway, as of today the room is roughly 99% complete and no bats. So here are the pictures of then and now:

North Wall: Then..............................Now

East Wall: Then...............................Now

South Wall: Then..........................Now

West Wall: Then..........................................Now

If you were entering the room this is what you would see first:

There are some fun touches such as:

The stool

The bedspread (which we purchased in Branson, MO where we celebrated my birthday):

The curtains Chris made.....and the clothes holders in the closet

And since you can't be here this is how it would feel and sound if you were in the room looking around:

Yes, we have a guest room now!

Summer is coming and we need a room at the Inn

2009-04-26T21:40:00.004-05:00

Summer is coming and several of our children have talked about coming for a visit so we decided that we needed to concentrate on completing a room for guests. We decided that the servant's chamber would be the easiest one to complete since the walls were already painted, but the floor needed to be stained.
(Akuto sunbathing in the room)
(Now he is watching an Asian beetle on the floor)

We stained the floor and moved furniture in, installed a new ceiling fan and fixed the door lock.

Okay, so there are some finishing touches that need to be made, but we now have a room at the Inn for guests.

PS: This is the headboard of the bed that we had in New Mexico and Georgia. When Chris painted the leaves and vine on the wall the bed was in storage and we had forgotten that it had leaves carved into the wood. Coincidence?

Yard work

2009-04-26T21:21:00.009-05:00

We took a break to do some work in the yard. We hope to plant a small garden this year, but it all depends on the weather and our time. Sooo...to prepare a spot we had to remove a tree and
some debris. Brother Miller (a church member) helped with the tree removal. He has experience in cutting down trees. I was amazed with his ability to drop the tree where he wanted it to land.
(However the cleanup after was quite a chore.)

(Now all we have left to do is to remove the small branches and till the spot for planting.)

The signs of progress

2009-04-12T18:22:00.009-05:00

Just in case anyone is wondering, we are still working on the house, we have not left for a world cruise. However, progress is slower when you get to some of the detail work like doing electrical work for the garbage disposal and dishwasher, as well as sanding and painting. Soooo, here is some of the progress:

The wall at the top of the main staircase now has sheet rock. The good thing about that, is that it looks great (no more falling plaster and ugly lath) and we don't need to worry about bats hiding in the wall.

The middle chamber (bedroom) is nearly completed with sheetrock. (No pictures, the batteries in my camera are spent).

The servants chamber has been sanded and painted. We painted the ceiling and a portion of the walls with a off-white paint, "nude" is the color. Chris then mixed paint we used in other rooms and created her own color. When it dried it looked like a color we used in the home in Georgia, called "calm air" which is a light yellowish color, very calming.

She is now doing some detail work where the two colors meet. The color is a light green.

She is doing the detail by hand and without a pattern. It looks great. (Sorry about the blury pictures, and the pictures don't do the color of the painted walls justice.)

Some semblance of a real home

2009-03-29T16:20:00.002-05:00

I'm grateful to have couches to sit on and a piano to play music.

(ahh, home sweet home, where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.) The end; la fin; Owari.

Kitchen update

2009-03-29T16:13:00.002-05:00

1. Running water in the sink;
2. Gas line for cooktop partially installed;
3. Counter for dishwasher partially completed;

We have a dishwasher, not installed yet.

And an old shelf, not refinished yet.

Sheetrock for the second floor hallway.

2009-03-29T15:59:00.004-05:00

We have hung sheetrock in the second floor hallway. There was some prep work that needed to be done before it could be hung, mainly cleaning bits of plaster off the lath.

(Who are those masked men, Elders Hurst and Ti'i of course. They have been a great help.)

I love the look of sheetrock, it makes everything look better.

Every job needs a foreman. I have been replaced by Akuto. Notice how closely he is inspecting my work.

Dining Room Table

2009-03-29T15:37:00.005-05:00

We found this table at a consignment store. It had stains and scratches.

We started to remove the stains and scratches by using very fine sandpaper.

The finished table.

We also cleaned the table legs and the chair upholstery.

(Great legs, eh)

Help with moving the old sink out

2009-03-29T15:14:00.008-05:00

The new sink is up and running. What a joy it is to be able to wash the dishes in the kitchen.

(Yes, the plumbing for the drain is complete.)

Elder Hurst and Elder Ti'i came over to help so I had them remove the old sink.

Thanks for the help elders.

Fourteen and counting!

2009-03-16T09:19:00.006-05:00

Today is fourteen years with my best friend, my wife, my eternal companion, my love. Thank you for sticking with me through all the good and difficult times. I am looking forward to many, many, more years together.

Almost only counts in a game of horseshoe.

2009-03-15T21:58:00.004-05:00

After nine months we almost have a kitchen sink. All that is left to do is hookup the water supply and drain lines. We are only days from having a kitchen sink so we can wash the dishes in the kitchen. The cooktop is almost complete, just need to do the counter top and run the gas line.

(The top is hammered copper. We want the copper to discolor to create a more rustic look.)
More to come!

Progress continues on the second floor

2009-03-13T09:17:00.004-05:00

Do you ever feel like you are running from place to place putting out different fires? Well sometimes I feel like one project gets placed on hold to begin a new project. However, I needed to utilize the volunteers efficiently. Elders Hurst and Ti'i have helped us with different projects such as sanding and painting, etc. Tuesday they helped with putting up a portion of the second floor ceiling. I am grateful for their assistance, it made the job go much quicker.

(Elder Hurst is on the ladder, Elder Ti'i manned the drywall lift and helped to push the drywall in place.)

(Yes, I helped. I was on the other ladder.)

Thanks Elders for a job well done!

Thankful for little conveniences

2009-03-08T19:29:00.012-05:00

Sometimes we fail to appreciate the little conveniences that we have until we have to do without, then when faced with that situation your only choice is to rejoice or pout.

You might ask yourself what has this to do with house restoration? I lived in Japan for two years and I did not know how much I would appreciate flushing toilets until I lived without one. The same is true about living without a kitchen. We have been living without a functioning kitchen for nine months, which means washing dishes in the bathroom sink/tub and cooking in a makeshift kitchen in the drawing room.

We are getting closer to having a normal kitchen, but it has taken some time. Chris wanted a certain look but we could not find the counters that she wanted so we have resorted to making them. It has been fun, and it's great to see it coming together.

(Yes, I know the doors are not attached, we need to finish the paint/stain job. I will leave you in suspense as to what the countertop will be.)

(Yes, we have finishing touches to do, but it's getting closer to being completed. As for the angles, they are not simple 45 and 90 degree angles. Ahhh, more suspense, what will it look like when finished with its countertop?)

But check out the door that Chris finished, and the shelf that has changed colors at least three times.

But...progress is greatly appreciated and we have placed some of our furniture in the library.

2009-02-23T09:44:00.004-06:00

I started to make the kitchen sink counter, but got sick so progress stopped for a time. However, here is what it looks like.

(Finish work to follow)

We couldn't find what we wanted so we will be making the counters. We decided that we wanted a wood countertop...which means glueing eight boards together to make the top. Here are the first two boards.

I will have to plane and sand the boards after all are glued together.

Library ceiling and walls

2009-02-23T09:09:00.011-06:00

Chris finished the ceiling and we like the look. So here is the faux leather ceiling.

And as for the walls...those that will not have wood we painted old gold with a gold glaze.

Kudos to Chris for her artistic ability.

Trim work in the Kitchen

2009-02-15T17:01:00.005-06:00

Who would of thought that trim work would take so long? Well at least for someone like me who is not a professional it took a long time. I have done the floor and wall trim work (you can see the trim on the wall behind the red pie safe). The floor is now covered with builder's paper to keep it clean.

There are some final things that I need to do, but it is mostly complete and now I can concentrate on the counters that we are going to make. I have started on the counter for the sink. Sorry I don't have more pictures but the batteries in my camera are dead and I have no replacements right now. (This should help increase the suspense. I love suspense.)

Leather?

2009-02-08T19:33:00.007-06:00

We continue our work on various rooms, but mainly the kitchen and the library. Chris and I have discussed several options and designs for the library. With the help of sketch-up 7 from Google, we have developed a design that we like and will work. So...then came the task of deciding what to do with the ceiling? paint, wallpaper, or leather. You might ask yourself why leather? We attended a wedding reception at a an old house in Utah and I noticed that some of the walls had tooled leather on them, placed there in the 1800's by the original builder of the house. I was impressed with the leather, but leather is quite an expense. (We were inspired by the library at the Biltmore Hotel in Asheville, NC)

Of course our house is not the Biltmore Estates (Vanderbilt Residence (1895) - Asheville, NC) nor am I a member of the Vanderbilt family so we needed to come up with a different solution. Chris did some research on the internet to find a site that provided instruction on how to do faux leather or paper plique, and found the following site: http://www.trompe-l-oeil-art.com/faux-leather.html and tips: http://www.trompe-l-oeil-art.com/printableinstructions.html. We could not find a "how to video" so we created our own.

Once the paper is up the stain will go on and tah dah!

(Chris the artist disclaimer: The video is not enough, so if you really want to try this then go to the site for detailed instructions and then practice on a board before proceeding. When you are satisfied with your practice results, then you may proceed).

More to follow as the ceiling and library progresses.