Back to the Beginning

Like the game "Sorry", just when you're nearing the end you get sent back to the beginning.

Once upon a time this bedroom was painted pink and lavender.

Not any more...

Above the chair rail the new color is "Rainforest Dew", which looked like key lime pie filling in the can. This is what I was doing the day after Christmas.

And below the chair rail is "Split Pea", which looked like you would expect. And this is what I was doing yesterday...

The new colors are a lot more sophisticated and work better now that this room will double as a guest bedroom on occasion.

Toasty 2

Or too, as the case may be.

Earlier in the week I spent a little time burping the air out of the lines where ever I could. A little came out at each bleed valve, but not much.

Then I started playing with the fancy manifold that's now behind a base cabinet.

First, I reset the flow meters at the bottom to make sure that they were fully open.

Then I adjusted the balance valves at the top of the manifold. As it turns out, what are described as "dust caps" for the valves (blue caps) also adjust the balance valves. A couple of turns and...

The sound of water rushing...

And then...

Heat.

Now all the little piggies are happy!

Toasty

Even though it was -20F over the weekend, this still felt toasty.

Not because I'm always hot, but because the in-floor heat is now working in the master bath.

Woohoo!

It's not quite working as designed in the kitchen yet, but I'm fiddling with it...

Interesting that the room with my crude hand-made manifold is working well when the room with the fancy store-bought one is not...

Ha!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

We always buy the tallest tree on the lot.

This one is still 9 feet tall, but it looks shorter because of the scale of the space...

These two always seem to enjoy the poinsettia forest...

The Twelve Days of Christmas...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Where I might settle down for a mid-winter nap...

Back To Painting

This one's for Rhonda since she lives vicariously through this blog... I know this entry isn't long enough to occupy your entire lunch break, but I'm all talked out this week due to other factors... ;-)

Lot's of what's happening now are little tasks to really finish projects that were started earlier or re-do things that have since gone backwards.

An example of the latter is today's project.

Avid readers will recall the attempt to get the old fridge up to the attic and what ended up happening as a result.

The original attempt to get the fridge up the attic stairs caused some damage to the walls and chipped paint on the moldings.

As I've been mudding other things over the summer and fall, I've hit the necessary areas on the attic stairs as well.

A week or so ago, I did the final sanding and was happy with the results.

Today, in between other things, I painted the walls. Two coats are on and it's nearly dry already.

I still have to touch up the woodwork, though that will wait until I have all the woodwork prepared in the back hall on the second floor.  I'll use oil-based paint and there's no sense in having to clean the brush multiple times.

My Assistant

Even now, there are a lot of projects where I need an assistant.

I have one, but there are times when she's not that helpful regarding getting things done.

She has other strengths, though.

Coming Out Of The Closet

The door to the back hall closet has long ago disappeared.

Being in the "servant area" of the house it didn't really bother me that much.

But it bothered SWMBO.

Naturally, "we" needed to come up with a solution.

We'd talked off-and-on about possibilities over time.

And. lo and behold, this curtain appeared in a recent snail-mail advert.

Yes, amazing as it is, we still get snail-mail adverts.

SWMBO ordered it online and it arrived a couple of days ago.

On one of my daily trips to the Big Orange Box, I purchased the necessary drapery rod and mounting hardware. And I installed it in about 15 minutes last night.

It coordinates nicely with the runner and blinds already in the back hall.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity...

More Kitchen Details

There are some interesting details and features in the cabinets as well.

First are the spice racks that pullout from either side of the range hood. Normally they appear to be columns that support the range hood cabinetry, but the pull out to reveal small shelves that are perfect for herbs and spices.

Also either side of the range, and below the counter-tops, are pullouts for oils and other taller items.

Additionally we have a pullout for trays and other baking pans.

And more adjustable dividers for larger items that are used less frequently.

There is also a silverware drawer with double-decker, pullout, divided trays.

And finally, since I'm weird and abhor lazy susans, an interesting set of pullouts for the corner.

Just In Time

The kitchen was completed just in the nick of time.

The last of the tape and builder paper protecting the floor was removed Friday. I installed the window hardware Saturday morning, so I could spend the afternoon cooking...

The reason we needed to get the kitchen done was a sudden date change in a charity event we agreed to co-host.  It was an "experience" auction item for the Foundation for Cancer Care in Tanzania.

Saturday night we, and our next-door neighbor, gave tours of our homes and served a meal to the group of 8 people that purchased the experience.

The salad and appetizer course (Andrew Zimmern's Bacon and Onion Tart - best served warm, yum!) were at our house. The main course, dessert, and cheese were at the neighbor's.

The new oven was fabulous in its debut!

Kitchen Details

There are a few little details that make the space interesting.

One of which is the Arabesque-patterned tile behind the range. The contrasting grout really accentuates the pattern.

The main body of the tile is dark green with a mottled, verdigris tone to it. This, plus the subtle green tone that appears here-and-there in the stone counter-top, is why we picked "Mountain Moss" green for the walls.

There's also a bit of terra cotta or red undertone that is visible on the beveled edges. It coordinates nicely with the red and brown flecks that are in the stone counter-top.

We also paid homage to the historical tradition of subway tile for a back-splash, but picked a tile with a few twists.

These have an unusual aspect ratio; they are considerably wider than is traditional for the same height.

Also, they have a crackle finish, are cream rather than white, and vary a bit in thickness which provides extra depth and visual interest (the irregular shadow lines in particular).

The ell-shaped counter-top required two pieces of stone.  The fabricators used adjacent slabs from the quarry so they could "book-match" the joint. That is, the two sides of the joint are mirror images of one another.

Kitchen - Week Done (22)

We're declaring victory.

There are a few little niggly things to get touched up or re-worked a bit, but for all practical purposes it's done.

These photos will take you on a visual tour around the room.

The Disposal

This weekend while my mom was washing dishes, I was checking for plumbing leaks.

And found one.

The disposal.

Not at the waste outlet, which is the usual spot, but the body itself was leaking.

Who knows, it may have been during the removal or installation process. When the plumber went to re-install it, some of the parts were missing.

[flashback to earlier in the remodel process]

The plumber seemed disappointed when he asked if we were going to install a new disposal and we replied that we'd be re-using the old one. It was a new-ish one that I installed a few years ago when the one that came with the house stopped working.

[flash forward - well, the plumber got his wish, though I did the work...]

So Saturday night I ran to the Big Orange Box and got a new one.

And installed it in about 15 minutes.

No leaks.

It's the third one I've installed in this house, plus the one in the carriage house, plus the ones at my in-laws', plus...

Practice makes perfect...

Kitchen - Week 21

The kitchen is not done, but at least it's getting close enough that we can start to re-occupy it.

It's a good thing, because we're hosting a charity event Saturday and we need the kitchen stuff out of the rest of the house...

The stools for the island arrived Friday. We've not yet brought them into the room while we let the poly cure on the floor.  When we ordered them, SWMBO wondered if we'd waited too long. I thought not and said we could always eat in the dining room if push came to shove. I half joked that they'd probably ship before the kitchen was done. I was right...

Our parents helped clean and helped everything find its new home over the weekend. Though you can't tell by this photo (taken mid-way through the weekend), most everything is put away now.

And the dog helped too...

The range is working well enough that we were able to make our first meal in the new kitchen; Sunday breakfast.

I also spent some time getting the back hall closet cleaned up. The walls and ceiling needed to have holes patched and some skim-coating. The ceiling is now painted, along with the woodwork that was missed by the painters.  All that's left is to sand the last of the mud and paint the walls. Then everything can go back in, assuming we can find the closet rod and associated hardware that seems to have gone missing...

There's still more to be done, but we're getting close enough that the punch list might fit on a single page...

The Study Bell

Tonight I fixed this.

The wire had always hung loose in the back hall closet. Last night I re-ran it inside the wall to clean things up a bit. Tonight I connected each of the ends.

When I tested it the help failed to bring my glass of port and a cigar.

Slackers.

Kitchen - Week 20

The guys are here trying to fit the panels to the fridge as I write this (Saturday morning).  I'm eavesdropping and it sounds like a little rework is necessary before they will fit properly.

They installed the handles on the panels, but the panels can't be installed until the necessary modifications are made.

Progress was made this week, though.

What you can't see is that the fridge is making noise.

The good kind.

The kind that means it's working... :-)

The panel was installed on the dishwasher. Along with its handle.

And the doors have been fitted below the sink. They'll need to be adjusted and will get handles eventually, too.

The range and microwave are in place. Though the microwave has a trim kit that will get installed eventually.

Wainscot and cap were installed almost everywhere, so it can be painted next week.  It will be "Ivory Tusk" to match the window trim.

They created and installed a new base molding on the curved wall. They have access to all the right tools and materials to bend, laminate, and route the edge of the piece (not necessarily in that order), so it looks a lot prettier than what I did in the attic.

Hydronic Heat

While the guys have been working in the kitchen, I've been working on other projects.

The control panel for the in-floor radiant heat had to be special-ordered and it finally arrived.

I spent a good part of the weekend installing it and laying out all the tubing.

The tubing coming into the upper right corner of the panel supplies hot water from the existing boiler. With radiators we've removed we will have plenty of capacity.

The tubing leaving the upper left of the panel sends the hot water to the two zones: the kitchen and the master bath. Each zone has a separate zone valve (in white) that is controlled by a thermostat in the respective rooms.  Each thermostat also has a floor sensor to keep the floor from overheating.

The tubing entering the lower left of the panel is the return from the loops in each of the rooms.

And the tubing leaving the lower right of the panel is the return to the boiler.

The panel came pre-assembled with all the electronics to control multiple zones (4 total, though I'm using only 2), a mixing valve, and a pump.

When I get time this week I still have run an outlet for the electrical supply and fix a small leak where I tapped into the existing hot water supply.  The leak is a slow drip that appeared after I crimped the last pex connection to the main boiler supply.

Argh!

Kitchen - Week 19

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

A little electrical.

The chandeliers and sconce have been installed and are mostly working, though there's an issue with the the 3-way switches (I think one of them isn't...). The outlets, switches, and cover plates are now the correct color (though one of them is different than the others - glossy vs matte). The electrical hookup finally got figured out for the range, but we've yet to test it out. and the other appliances are in a similar state.

A little plumbing.

Supply, waste, and vent lines are hooked up in the basement, but not under the sink. The water line to the fridge is hooked up (but untested). The gas line to the range is hooked up as well (again, untested).

A little of the range hood.

There was a bit of head-scratching to remove to cabinet panels that wrap the hood; they need to be off for installation of the hood. There's a big hole in the exterior brick, but the hood liner is prominently on the island, uninstalled. Sounds like some modifications are necessary on various pieces before it will fit right. And ... the reason we got the cabinetry and the liner from the same vendor was to avoid this situation... [shakes head]

If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all...

Hidden Spaces

While the guys have been chipping away at the kitchen, I've been chipping away at other projects.

The second floor back hall had a number of things that needed to be corrected. The work for the mater bath and dressing room relocated some doors. There were also some drawers and a glass linen hutch that moved from the back hall into the dressing room.

There was no floor where the drawers had been, which was repaired by the guys and refinished earlier in the summer.

There also was not base molding where the drawers had been and where the doors had been moved.

I also needed a place to install an air bleed vent for the master bath's in-floor hydronic heat. There was really no elegant place to locate it in the bathroom, so I created the access to it from the back side of the wall in the hall.  If you look closely at the picture, you can wee that there's not a lot of clearance below the drain for the sinks.

There was just enough base molding salvaged from the kitchen to fix the back hall. It's a four piece molding. This picture shows the first piece after installation.

The right side show a piece cut to fit around the radiator screen at the top of the back stairs.

In the center you can see the salvaged flooring that was used to patch the hole where the drawers used to be.

This photo shows the second piece after installation.

Again the pieces wrap around the corner to meet up with the radiator screen.

I've also left a gap that's beveled so that I have a removable panel to access the bleed valve.

In this photo, you can see the installed cap along with the completed removable panel.

We had the base shoe made to match the old profile. It still has to be primed and installed.

Lastly, you can see what it looks like after the panel has been removed.

It just slides in and out along the wall.

All that remains is paint!

Kitchen - Week 18

The last cabinet finally arrived Monday morning.

And caused a collision between subs.

Nate, the tile guy, arrived to install the backsplash and the area behind the range. Of course, the last cabinet needed to be installed before the backsplash could be installed on that wall.

Not everyone played nice until everyone was reminded that it is a 16x20 room. I know it may seem hard to believe, but a cabinet can be installed in this corner while tile gets installed in the far corner of the room (25.6124 feet away for those of you who've forgotten your high school math...).

It's a big sandbox and you have to be nice to the other kids.

As far as I can tell, no blood was spilled in the tussle and a bunch of stuff got done. Except that there's not enough crown molding for the cabinets.

So again we wait on these d*mn things.

Sorry, I'm back in my happy place now...

Most of the knobs and pulls got installed.

They are an antique pewter color that coordinates with the exposed parts of the appliances. It took a bit to find what we were looking for, but they look fantastic!

And the faucet got half-installed.

Again, it's an antique pewter that will coordinate with the knobs and exposed appliance parts. It's not hooked up to the water supply, yet.

And the tile backsplash got installed, sealed and grouted.

We chose to pay homage to the subway tile of the period.  This has a couple of little twists though. It is not pure white, has a crackle finish, and is an unusual aspect ratio.

As well as the area behind the range.

Similarly, we wanted a bit of a visual statement here so went with an arabesque pattern with contrasting grout. There is sort of a "terra cotta" undertone that shows near the bevel, but the face of each tile is a mottled green.

And, as you can tell by all the light in the photos, today the electrician was on-site getting started.

Those with a good eye will note that the switches, outlets, and cover plates are the wrong color.  They need to be light almond rather than white...

Kitchen - Week 17

A little more cabinetry got delivered and installed last week.

The painter had some extra time and put a little color on the walls.  The photos don't do justice to the color.  Once we have finish electrical done and the final coat on, the color will become more apparent.

You can also see that the door casing has finally been installed.  What you can't see is that the missing bit of casing on the fourth window has also been installed.

And they started on the crown molding that hides the gap to the ceiling. It's at least 3 pieces, so takes a bit of time to install.

We're still missing a cabinet though. And that's holding up a bunch of other stuff.

There's going to be a collision soon...