Thursday, January 15, 2015

Lest The Silence Become Ominous... Building Update!

Sorry for that long break there, guys! John and I are still hard at work on our big room renovation, but most of it has been stuff like wood rot repair, wiring, and concrete patches - nothing that makes for interesting photos.

I also took a few mental health days, to be honest; just resetting and recharging a bit. I know you guys know how it is.

So. PEEKTURE TIME.

This used to be a door we never opened:
 
 Bye-bye, door! Have fun storming the dump!

Opposite the vanishing door:

Since it gets dark by 5ish, we do a lot of work at night.


The weather has been perfect: a cool mid-60s. Now if it would just stop raining...


Tried out a little Adam Savage-inspired knolling:
 
John loved it; he's always losing track of tools on job sites.

We plasticked off the back room to contain the dust, but more importantly, to keep out pesky feline invaders:

There were NOT pleased. Broke through that plastic 3 times so far. o.0

 
 "YUP."

Now, through the magic of time-lapse photography: NEW WALLS!
 
 Don't freak out; they aren't staying like that.

Also, WOW is brick paneling hard to install when your room isn't remotely level. Making all those lines line up! Arg! So funnily enough, the walls are perfectly level now, but the sloping ceiling and floors make 'em look crooked. Greeeeat. (I told John it adds character.)

Here's a handy tip if you ever put up paneling, though: chalk the faces of your wall outlets. Then press the panel in place, and voila! Your outlet location is marked. MUCH easier than trying to measure each time.

Installing crown molding & chair rail:
 

And then (brace yourself) - the world's most 70's wainscoting:
 


It's times like these that you really have to hold on to your vision, because John and I both agreed, "That's a whole new kind of ugly."

'Sokay, though, my friends. You know how it's always darkest just before the dawn? Well, home renos are always ugliest just before the painting. All of that is just the wall textures; it's going to look drastically different by the end.

So, after a day of spackling, sanding, and caulking, the first step:

 That's a little better. 

And this was taken just an hour ago:

John's waiting on me to start on the faux. YAY FUN PART.

John and I ran our own faux finishing company for almost 10 years, so painting together is always a blast. It's also fast, so - knock on wood - we should be done with the whole room before tomorrow.

More soon!

33 comments:

  1. That is looking so great!! I can't wait to see it finished. I thought the dark walls looked kinda cool untill the 70s paneling lol.but with the lighter color they look really cool! Can't wait to see more. We rent so wicked cool reno's like this arent possible but it is fun to see it done (I also lack any skill required to make something like this possible)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. About every six months or so i get the idea "I am gonna build a freaking bed because I am epic" so i start checking out on line for wicked awesome beds...i start looking at what I need and the materials and after about three days go.. yeaah nope Nance toats not gonna happen girl who can't even make a book shelf right (seriously i tried making a bookshelf and it was pittiful)

      Delete
  2. Is it weird that I like the red brick with the wood? It has kind of an OKGo, mixed-pattern thing going on.

    ReplyDelete
  3. can't wait to see it when it's done

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually, your concrete patches make nice pix when you put graffiti in them :)

    Staying tuned!

    Kimstu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AND OMG DID U KNO that the architect and designer Florence Knoll Bassett after whom the verb "knolling" is named (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoll_(verb)) is nearly 98 years old now and basically invented the ubiquitous "modern" look of "International Style" design?

      OMG MAYBE SHE READS EPBOT

      HELLO MRS BASSETT LOVE UR WORK

      Kimstu

      Delete
    2. And furthermore and finally: It is not possible to say "spackling, sanding and caulking" ten times fast.

      Kimstu

      Delete
    3. LOL - you make the comment section a better place, Kimstu. Never change. Or leave. Basically just stay here forever, mkay? ;)

      Delete
    4. Thanks, I will, I enjoy it here! :) And the new steampunk room looks AWESOME, and very art-friendly as a display space! Can't wait to see the rest of it.

      Kimstu

      Delete
  5. I want to grow up to be like you guys! I have all the enthusiasm but not of the talent or patience. I can't wait to see how your project turns out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the knolling pic--love those!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Did you get the brick paneling at a local home prominent store? We are considering a Harry Potter inspired bedroom redo for my oldest and that would be great for his Kings Cross Station Wall (his bed is going to look like a luggage cart complete with an awesome old trunk my brother gave us).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. should be home improvement store (silly auto correct)

      Delete
    2. They've got the brick paneling over at Lowes, but I feel like I've also seen it at Home Depot in the past. Great stuff, and you can even plaster over it in places to give it that exposed brick look.

      When you're done with your son's room, I SO want pictures! Please?

      Delete
  8. I can't wait to see the finish, cuz I gotta admit... I'm skeered. But I'm honestly the Queen of NoVision and my major was Maybe I Could Do That. But since I've seen what you've done in the past, I know it will be hecka BOSS! (And that even if I spend lots of money buying the same stuff, I'll need to move afterwards.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think it looks great!

    (P.S. I surfed on over to Epbot this morning for a pre-surgery pick-me-up. Thanks for the new post! I feel a bit better!)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Lilly! Hi Tonks! So funny they broke through the plastic -- they *must* be involved and near their humans at *all* times.
    Love the progress shots.
    Just wanted to share: I'm getting married on Sunday, and in our vows we worked in the following references:
    Princess Bride
    Ghostbusters
    Star Trek
    The Bible
    Zombies
    Cats
    Bacon and Eggs
    Maureen S

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's this? A wedding? WHERE IS MY INVITE?!

      Er, I mean, congratulations! Those vows are gonna be EPIC.

      Delete
  11. I don't even like cats, but I like YOUR cats. Also, where did you find the brick paneling? I have never seen anything like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lowe's has it! Check in the back where the other wood paneling is located.

      Delete
  12. I can't wait to see it finished! LOL'd at the whole new kind of ugly comment too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. They are not "pesky felines". They are the "Home Improvement Decorators" who decide if the improvements pass inspection. Clearly they did not, hence the clandestine inspections. Good to know both Tonks and Lily are hard at work! And yes, right before you start to paint, you wonder "was this a good idea or not?"

    ReplyDelete
  14. You two are amazing! Come and fix my house, lol! I am really looking foward to what the finished look is going to be....

    ReplyDelete
  15. Whew! I was starting to worry! I am very intrigued to see how this room will turn out. I know it's going to be amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I can't wait for the finished room. It's unclear to me why you are putting paneling over paneling but I'm sure there's a final vision that's going to be spectacular. I just can't figure out what it is yet. PLEASE post more pictures soon. The suspense is killing me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have a question that I hope won't get me kicked off. I know it's a painful question, but I also know it can be done because I've had to do it.

    What about semi dropping the ceiling? The lower ceiling would be flush with the lowest point in your existing ceiling and dropped at the highest point. The way I ended up doing it was by making a large grid in my floor (after I leveled the floor--I swear the person who built that house was drunk when they did it as NOTHING was level or straight!) and measuring from the floor to the ceiling. I then made a framework that fit all the odd contours of the existing ceiling and screwed it into the walls where I needed it and used heavy gauge wire out in the middle. The central light fixture was lowered and affixed (I swear I was able to hang from that portion of the grid!), and I installed a new ceiling. In fact, I used your idea of installing shaped styrofoam ceiling panels for a better look!

    It took me about a week to do, but it made the striped walls look correct rather than something of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party or the Heffalump and Woozle portion of the Winnie the Pooh ride in the Magic Kingdom. It could do the same for your brick...

    ReplyDelete
  18. ACK!! I've read that this happens to other people, but it has never happened to me before: my comment just totally got eaten! Lemme try again...

    Thanks for the room update, Jen! I was starting to suffer from Epbot DTs since you hadn't posted in SOOOOO long, but "SOOOOO long" for me is anything over a day. Might as well face it, I'm addicted to you. And love. But mostly you. And, I'd totally dance behind you with dead eyes and bright red lips any day.

    Glad you're taking mental health days when you need them, and glad you know that you have the full support of your readers.

    You introduced me to a new word. Didn't know there was a name for "knolling." I've been doing that my whole life with everything. Thought I was a freak; turns out I'm cool like Adam Savage and Jen Yates.

    You also introduced me to brick paneling. Had no idea such a thing existed, but I'd totally love to cover all the horribly-textured plaster walls in my home with that stuff and then paint over it. I doubt I can just glue paneling to plaster though. I should probably, instead, try to smooth my walls out with drywall mud or something else spackle-like, but I'm sure the results would be way-less-than-perfect since I'm no pro, and that would also be extremely labor-intensive and messy. The mudding and the sanding and the mudding and the sanding...

    Anyway, I'm itching to see how your room turns out. It's going to be awesome like everything you and John do! Can't wait! Eeeeeeeee!! Dancing in anticipation over here. Or maybe I just need to pee.

    KW

    ReplyDelete
  19. Jason, your post cracked me up. Now I want a Mad Hatter's Tea Party room! My house is old & crooked - now I can 'work with it.' I just need the Epbotians to come & help!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Can you give more detail on the disappearing door trick? We have a totally superfluous door between our nursery and the kids bathroom that we never ever want to open, and I would love for you to tell me that removing a door and door jams and putting up a new section of wall with baseboards is a reasonable project for two non-carpenters to tackle. I really, really would. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  21. uhmmm, yeah, that's a real Brady's-basement-rec-room look you've got going there. If I weren't a long-time reader I'd be filing this one under "Some Projects Just Don't Need Doing". But you never fail to wow me, so I'll wait for the reveal.

    Our house was built in the 20's and there's not a plumb wall or square corner in the place. I dropped a marble the day we moved in and can still occasionally spot it rolling along the baseboards.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oooh, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the brick paneling. I have some (or something like it) in a few rooms in my house and I could use some inspiration for whenever we get to painting the walls something other than white.

    ReplyDelete
  23. You make me want to tear down all my walls and do something crazy awesome. Except I can't. This is a rental. My landlord would flip out. ):

    ReplyDelete
  24. I can't see my previous comment, so I'm not sure if it's been eaten by the interwebs or us in moderations. Because I'm too excited not to share this link, here it is again:
    steampunk light switches!
    I just found this shop from viralnova and had to share with others that would oooh and ahh with me! :-D the gears spin and the arrows change where they are pointed when the switch is used, for no reason except because it is awesome! (Promise I'm not shilling for them, or anything to do with them, BTW!) I so want some of the jewellery and I haven't even looked at the ornaments yet!

    ReplyDelete

Please be respectful when commenting; dissenting opinions are great, but personal attacks or hateful remarks will be removed. Also, including a link? Then here's your html cheat sheet: <a href="LINK ADDRESS">YOUR TEXT</a>