The Brick Wall Building pt 2

I am certain that some have given up on me – my infrequent posts must indicate my slow demise. Yes, it is true that in a few days I will have existed on this planet for seven decades, but I’m not quite finished with this old house quite yet. Now where were we….on, yes – the brick wall. As a refresher, I decided to build a brick walled courtyard Japanese garden. So first up is finishing the brick…

View On WordPress

Brick by Brick - Building the Garden Wall

More bricks - all in a row.

We continue the adventure of building the brick wall for the Japanese Garden. We’ll start with the stuff I need – 2 tons of mason sand, wheelbarrow, mixer and now I wait for the weekend mason to show up. This is Jason – he’s one heck of a brick and stone guy. He was the guy I used to help get the limestone on the house. He does these ‘side jobs’ on the weekends. I kept him busy all summer. The…

View On WordPress

Well, Hello - I'm Still Here

I'm back renovating again,

I thought perhaps I could just start this blog post and pretend nothing has happened. But being absent for more than a year might need some explanation – but I have none. As I approach 70, it would seem that maybe the old body had just given out – and it seemed that way for a while. But after a trip to the doctor and some diagnostics and treatments, I’m a peppy as ever. So let’s get this…

View On WordPress

This Place Called Earth

Wood engraving from 1911 atlas. It has been awhile since I’ve updated this newsletter. But with the new year I have promised my wife, Francia, that I will be more organized and write much more in the future. I hope that you will enjoy these diversions. Years ago, many in fact, I used to write these newsletters from the gallery quite often. Back in the late 1980’s I would sit down and compose…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #21 Attic Windows

Working on the Old House #21 Attic Windows

Now that our retail gallery has made it through another holiday season, I can get back to the old house renovations. First we tidy up the rear stairs – we left off here. The raw red oak treads were cut and fitted. The air grill was installed. We turn our attention to the trim areas at the top of the steps. We cut in the stair skirting to allow the base to slip into place. A little fitting and…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #20 The Floors

Working on the Old House #20 The Floors

We’re getting this old house back into shape. I just can’t seem to cut corners and just get it done. I suppose I’ve had enough experiences with old houses that needed some love and no one gave it to them, so this one is getting a little floor love today. We start by finishing any door casing trim that needs details or resurfacing – like this kitchen doorway to the dining room. I back-banded to…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #19 Exterior Spruce Up

Working on the Old House #19 Exterior Spruce Up

Well, we continue to get this place ready for the next owners. I hope they’re paying attention, whomever they are. We’ll do a little repair and painting and make the outside a little more presentable. We’ll start with a little power washing. You haven’t seen the back before. Several years ago I decided to have zero grass in the back yard. So I had a concrete patio poured and then had one of the…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #18 Bathroom Final - for now

Working on the Old House #18 Bathroom Final – for now

Well, I have to get busy on the blog to catch up – I’m nearing a deadline ordered by my wife. Quit playing around with this house so it can be sold. So we’ll speed up these posts, as the potential buyer needs to know what’s behind the paint and carpet. We’ll paint the bathroom with some really nice paint – Benjamin Moore Aura bathroom paint in Italian Ice Green. I had this picked out for our…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #16 Bathroom Break

Working on the Old House #16 Bathroom Break

I know that some of these posts may seem tedious, but this is what’s necessary before I can get to the pretty stuff. This will be someone’s new starter home – I want them to enjoy this little place as much as I and my brother before me – we have a family connection to this old home since 1975. As we leave the kitchen renovation for a while, we head back to the only bathroom in the house – Let’s…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #15 Final Kitchen (for now)

Working on the Old House #15 Final Kitchen (for now)

Well, the time race is on – I plan to have this place for sale in a couple of months. I’m a little farther ahead than the blog indicates, so I’ll try to post a little more frequently to catch up. Back to trimming out the sink area. I want to preserve the wallpaper wall and because there were originally upper cabinets the wall paper was absent. I did a mock design up by using some of the same T&G…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #14 Still in the Kitchen

Working on the Old House #14 Still in the Kitchen

Well my fellow renovators, time is slipping by and I have much to do. So let’s get with it. We left off with the butcher block counters installed. Now we start to make a hole for the new drop in sink. With a couple of cuts with the jigsaw, we have the opening – and test fit the sink to make sure. Sink fits and now we’re ready to work on the two side counters that are on either side of the…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #13 Countertop Start

Working on the Old House #13 Countertop Start

Well, the heat is on – outside for certain – and on me to get things done. So let’s get back at it. We’ll start by getting the sink and faucet in house, so we can make sure we get the measurements right. I have Kraus sinks at home and really like them. This kit comes with the sink and faucet together. I opted for a single bowl deep sink – I have this style at the Misadventures house and find it…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #12 Color Fail - More Cabinets

Working on the Old House #12 Color Fail – More Cabinets

We’ll kick this weekend’s post off with a faux-pas. As I cleverly decided to add a little two-tone drama in the kitchen. So I painted up a pair of stock cabinets to go with the new uppers – and put them in place along with the old retro stove – and it went terribly wrong. Well, it looked OK on the little paint swatch, but it just didn’t work out. It’s not you, it’s me. So out comes the…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #11 More Cabinets

Working on the Old House #11 More Cabinets

It seems I get diverted and neglect updating the shenanigans going on at this Old House – not that This Old House – mine’s much more modest, not scripted and not near as interesting. Here’s were we left off. I’ll start by backing up and talking about finishing the cabinets. I’ve used the same technique for years and it seems to work fine. I use a brush and flat latex paint and give them a good…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #10 Cabinet Start

Working on the Old House #10 Cabinet Start

We’ll pick up on the work in the kitchen, using some off the shelf cabinets from Home Depot, and then add a couple from the workshop. Let’s see if we can make some sawdust, shall we? We start with a finish for the three upper cabinets. This is a 36″ and two 21″ cabinets. I gave them a couple coats of BM flat latex in the color of Dove Wing. After sanding, three clear coats of Varathane…

View On WordPress

Working on the Old House #8

Working on the Old House #8

Happy Valentine’s Day to all! We continue on the old house renovation. Having hopes that the old subfloors could rejuvenated and finished – structural issues and my typical ‘do it right’ voice won over. So down goes a new plywood overlay to stiffen us these bouncy floors. The plywood is pl glues and screwed in place. Covering the kitchen and dining room. The sheathing will help reduce the…

View On WordPress

New Beginnings

New Beginnings We all know the past year has certainly been challenging. From the despair and loss of so many loved ones, to the fear of the unknown as we look forward to 2021. It is a difficult time not only for our country, but for societies around the world. And for us, here in the Ohio Valley, the darker, cloudy days of winter only add to the atmosphere of apprehension. Sounds dismal,…

View On WordPress