House in Progress Diary

Do it Yourself Archive

Do it Yourself

We've decided to start a new journal category: Do it Yourself! For certain projects we're going to post photos and steps for how we did certain projects. Because if we can do these, anyone could. ;-)

Once we started thinking seriously about buying this specific house, we knew we were going to have to learn a lot. Luckily we've got great dads and some wonderful friends and neighbors who've gone through this themselves. But since we're both career educators, we also started thinking about how we could share what we learn...and in a real way where problems come up that we have to solve. (They never show those parts in those home improvement TV shows!!) So, later on we started this site and realized we had a great way to actually do that...thus a new category for our website!

Projects will probably run the full range of complexity (although we're starting simple) and should eventually cover lots of topics (since this whole house basically needs to be fixed). We're thinking that most entries will focus on:
- How we approached a project.
- Problems we ran in to and how we got around them.
- Tools and materials we needed.
- Books and websites that helped us figure it out.
- Money we saved by doing it ourselves. (Sweat equity!!)

Hopefully you'll have as much fun reading about our projects as we have doing them! Plus, we'll be looking for you all to share your knowledge too. Don't be afraid to suggest even better ways to do things...especially if you see us doing something wrong! We're sure we'll all be learning something along the way!

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Installing Coaxial Cable

Last weekend we installed our own cable. Here's how it went...

The Problem
The previous owners had never had cable (although they did have an antennae, which we removed from the chimney last week) so we were starting from scratch. A couple of weeks ago we actually had the cable company come out twice to do an installation. Long story short, we didn't want cable slapped on the exterior of the house and the bid for custom installation was $300! So, we decided we could do it ourselves...

Our Solution
It turns out cable is about the easiest and safest wiring to install. However, the tools you need are a bit pricey...a coaxial crimping tool was $50 at our local Home Depot! However, in the end we realized that we could skip on the expensive hardware by having the cable company come and do the finishing (they have to come anyway and hook us up to their network) for their standard installation fee. We also avoided any drilling or cutting by using existing access routes (a great idea from A's dad). So, our total cost was $55 ( $17 for cable + $10 for a wire cutter + $28 for the cable company's visit to finish off the installation), a savings of $245 versus the professional quote.

How it Went
We decided to convert an extra (and poorly installed) electrical outlet to a coaxial outlet, rather than cutting a new hole in the wall. We started by running a 3' wire down the hole where the electrical conduit (old BX) had been.

Once the wire was threaded through, we went down in the basement and taped the wire to the coaxial cable we bought.

We went back up stairs and pulled the wire until the coaxial cable came through.

Then we threaded the cable along the center beam to the back of the house. Mid-way we left some slack to add a splitter for a second outlet when we renovate the second floor.

We were able to avoid drilling a new hole by use a pre-existing one from old telephone wiring that's no longer in use.

And the we pulled it out the other side under our back porch, where it was ready for the cable technician to hook us up!

A few days later a technician came from the cable company, finished off both ends of our wiring, and hooked up our service!

Hello Daily Show!!

Tool & Materials We Used
- RG-6 Coaxial cable (RG-59 will also do but is a slightly lower quality)
- Wire Cutter

Other Useful Resources
For education on running wire, we used Stanley's Basic Wiring. It uses clear instructions and photos to explain how to do a variety of electrical projects that anyone can handle. They cover running coaxial cable on p. 110-111.

We also found Advanced Wiring helpful. In addition to detailing more ambitious projects, it addressed plaster and lathe installations (p. 48-49) you'll find in older homes. It was good to know even though we didn't end up doing any cutting in this particular case.

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Fixing a Smelly Basement

We hadn't really left the house in a couple of days. Came back from a long day trip running around and...phew!

The Problem

Walked straight to the basement...odor was worse. Smelled kind of like wet, moldy laundry. We have these drains sunk into the floor connected in a straight line and headed for the main sewer system under the street in front of the house. The drains! The smell was coming from the drains. One drain, specifically.

Now, we had these drains rodded first thing when we took possession of this place. Oh man! It had been awhile since anyone had done that.

The Attempt at Diagnosis: Doing our homework

Now...why the quick increase in the smell quotient? And, by the way, it was SO bad, it hit us when we walked in the front door on the first floor. Here was what had changed in the last few days that offered some clues...

Wednesday. We fired up the old dishwasher after Sears fixed the door latch and also had the steam boiler serviced for the cold weather.

Thursday. We began using dishwasher. Had been using it once a day. Who knows how long since it had been used. It was listed "as is" in the sale and, well, who knows what was put through that poor dishwasher.

Friday. We caught up on the laundry. Weather became cold overnight and for the first time ever, at about 9 pm, we fired up the boiler for more than an hour. Mmmmm. Toasty.

Saturday. We turned down the boiler because now the weather had warmed. (As we say in Chicago...wait a minute...weather'll change.) Rolled out the door pretty early to be on our way. Returned at 5 pm to, um, stinky house.

So...where to look first? Clogged mainline drain? Strange boiler issue I've never had to deal with? Suspicious dishwasher? Overloaded clothes washer?

Is this house going to blow up? We've got the windows open, it's freezing, and the only one sleeping happily, peacefully is the dog (she's got a thick coat, that dog.)

Oh yes, and the cat is accounted for. Dave's up here, hanging out in the linen built-in.

No Dave in the drain for this mystery. Unlike our poor pal on the Fine Homebuilding forum...

Our Solution

We wanted to try to tackle this one ourself. So, I turned to three resources:

1) The book, Renovating Old Houses, By George Nash

Really. If you have an old house...GET THIS BOOK! It is the MOST fantastic resource on the peculiarities of old houses. And most practical.

2) The guys and gals at Fine Homebuilding's Breaktime forum. They are most talented.

The folks at Breaktime provided us with a valuable clue, even though they've never seen our system....AIR, not water, is stinky. (I had automatically assumed it was stinky water.) Possibly from a vent stack somehow leaking back into the house.

After church, the DH and I crawled under the room on the back of the house and pulled up the cover on the catch basic. STINKY! Noticed that the water was extremely low and stagnant. Only thing getting into the pipes that drain from back to front of house was air.

Then we checked the drains set in the floor from front to back. Two of the three were sealed with a small amount of standing water in the bottom. Middle one? Stinkiest one? Dry as a bone.

These drains angle from their intake on the basement floor down to the sewer system...(They head down on an angle towards the main line under the house.)

So, the first thing we have tried is this: ran a hose and raised the water level in the catch basin. Poured a few bucketfuls down the dry drain to seal it up again.

We went out for a couple of hours. Left some windows open. If this didn't work, we were going to try something more dramatic.

How it Went

It worked! No more stinky smell in the house! The water in the drain has now sealed the passageway to the vent stack and vented air is not leaking back into the house.

After speaking to a few neighbors later, we realized that this is not a new phenomenon. We have a dehumidifier and a warm steam boiler down there. Whatever happened, that middle drain dried up mighty fast and had to be re-primed. We need to check it once a month (no problem!)

Tool & Materials We Used

- A bucket
- A flashlight
- A hose

Other Useful Resources

-The book, Renovating Old Houses, By George Nash

For example, George's description of an old home plumbing system was critical to solving the mystery:

-Fine Building Magazine's "Breaktime" forum
-Our neighbors

Cost

Nothing but time....

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Installling a Thermostat

Last night we upgraded our thermostat. It was really easy--here's how it went.

The Problem
Our old version was probably twenty years old and didn't have any of the modern timer features designed to reduce energy costs. With cooler nights starting already, we were nervous about high heating costs.

Our Solution
Most modern thermostats claim they can reduce your heating expenses by up to 35%, when used in accordance with their gudelines.

Read on for how it went...

Why we chose what we chose...

Today's models provide a range of options and flexibility based on your needs and what you want to spend. There are systems allowing for different settings for weekdays and weekends (often called '5-2' systems) available for under $40. Others allow differences between weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays ('5-1-1' models) for under $50. Finally, some models allow a different setting every day of the week (7-day models) for $50 to $100. Higher end options include large, backlit screens or even the ability to monitor and change your heating over the Internet. Those options can push costs from $100 to $300. We chose a fairly simple 5-1-1 model to give us some flexibility at a reasonable cost.

This will allow us to program the heat to come on before we rise in the morning and to be off during the day...then it comes on before we come home again. Toasty. Conserves energy. Weekends are different start and stop times...so they can be programmed separately. Of course, you can override everything manually if you need to, as well.

How it Went
Our previous thermostat had a single control for the desired temperature along with an on/off switch.

To replace it, we followed four easy steps:

1. Remove the previous thermostat.
- The faceplace should snap off easily in most cases.
- You'll need a screwdriver to remove the base and/or mounting bracket.

2. Disconnect the wiring from the old unit and label the wiring.
- The wiring you will have will vary by situation.
- You'll find each wire labled on the contact point on the base of the former thermostat. Here are some of the common wire labels:
- RH - Heating Transformer
- RC - Cooling Transformer (in case you have AC...we don't)
- W - Heating Control (this is most critical)
- C - AC power to run the thermostat (uncommon on old houses)

3. Affix the wiring to a pencil or large object.
- This prevents the wiring from falling back in to the wall.
- In our case we used a pen and string.

3. Attach wiring to new thermostat.
- Your instruction manual should provide more specific details here.

4. Affix the faceplate to the wall.
- This should be pretty straight froward.
- You may need a more powerful drill to make new holes. We used a cordless.

Tools & Material We Used
- Thermostat
- Screwdriver
- Cordless Drill (optional)

Other Useful Resources
For more detailed instructions, you can try The Complete Guide to Home Wiring from the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library. (Instructions for replacing a thermostat are on p. 106.)

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Cheating Around a Temporary Fix

We keep telling ourselves that this is a TEMPORARY fix. Because we don't have time to investigate or develop a long term fix for the smell in the basement right now.

An ALERT READER gave us this idea. Actually, his idea was more elegant and involved buying things at Home Depot. This fix is, um, less elegant and involved digging some things out of the Boy Scout Room.

Step 1: Proceed to smelly drain

Step 2: Stack 2 free weights on top of a Tupperware lid and slide over drain.

Step 3: Center carefully over the drain. Go back upstairs to finish working on something else.

Sigh. We just got our monthly issue of Fine Homebuilding today and, with this fix, I just can't help thinking, "We're not worthy...."

(3)

Quieting a Noisy Steam Radiator

So we have this steam heating furnance.

The Problem
Each time the radiator was going on, it sounded like pistol shots in the radiators. Very loud, very SUDDEN noises. You could hear water sloshing in the bottom of the radiators. And then the steam valve on the side of the radiators began to spit rusty water on the wall, floor and anything nearby.

Our Solution
Head to the internet, to find out more information about Steam Heat. Use a combination of boiler maintenance and home remedies to adjust each radiator so that it drained properly.

(Image courtesy of: Old House Web)

Read on for how it went...

Diagnosing the problem...

We have a one-pipe steam heating system...the pipes are original. The furnace is approximately 7 years old. After reading some information about furnace ongoing maintenance, we found out that noise in a steam furnace is called "pounding" (sounds like too quiet a word from our experiences) and may happen when "...steam sent out by the furnace meets water trapped in the system. If this pounding happens in the radiators themselves, this could indicate condensate (condesation of steam=water that is colder than the steam), thus blocking the pipes."

We decided to try two things..."shimming the radiators" and performing a task of routine maintenance the previous owner showed to us that we hadn't done in the last 4 weeks or so. Shimming consisted of sawing down thin layers of board to fit under the feet of the radiator furthest from the pipe that carries water back into the system. We shimmed five of our loudest culprits.

The routine maintenance was emptying some water out of the furnace from a special valve until it ran clear. Not a pretty job, because the initial water out is thick with rust. I don't know why--because I'm told that it is normal--but rusty water makes me UNhappy. I pulled out the bucket normally devoted to this task (the one coated with rust stains) and got to work pulling two buckets out.

Down the drain in the basement floor it went .

I checked the pressure gauge and the water level gauge.

The water level gauge is thick with rusty water deposits so it is difficult to tell where the water level is. It should be halfway full. The pressure gauge was the big surprise. Instead of being above (what we read was) the "required" 5 to 7 psi, it was below...too far below? I don't know what "too far below" is. It was registering "0". This wasn't mentioned in our research and doesn't feel right.

How it Went

The knocking in the radiators was DEFINITELY less tonight. No cannons going off. No rusty water spitting out of the steam valve. No sloshing. But there was still noise NEAR the furnace. I hadn't investigated any noises near the furnace last night, I was preoccupied with the radiators. The noise near the furnace was so loud and violent, one good "pound" dislodged a piece of plaster from the ceiling.

I backed away very quickly.

This has to have happened before from the looks of the ceiling.

I am definitely pleased with the work at radiator level. Not so pleased with some furnace elements. We should have that visual water gauge cleaned and the pressure valve checked. We should have pipes from the furnace to the first floor checked for "rise". The pipes are supposed to rise at an angle that measures 1" from start to stop. (The house settling over the years has taken away from this necessary "rise"...I'm betting on it.)

Tools & Materials We Used

- Internet website, Old House Web
- Bucket
- Saw
- Piece of wood cut into 5 pieces
- A's brute strength to lift one end of 5 radiators
- Drain in basement

Yup, sounds like the cannons are in our basement now. At least they are no longer in the bedroom. Hmmm....

(16)

VENTILATE your workspace!

Lesson learned today.

When the home improvement books and magazines CASUALLY mention ventilating an area under construction....

TAKE THEM EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY! Or you and your things will look like everything has been splattered with flour. And it will be around for months and months.

When we moved in, we inherited (ha ha!) THIS fan. This fan was so covered in grease and grime and dust that turning it on made everything around it filthier. I spent a lot of time with rags and ammonia and water and Fantastik on this fan.

And I am glad I did.

This fan has come in EXTREMELY handy. Well. Now that it isn't spewing disgusting bits (as our friends across the pond would say).

And when the room is full of plaster dust? That window just slides right up with TWO fingers (thanks John!) and we point it out right over the roof. Sorry world. Sorry squirrels. But you've been digging in our flowerpots as well as trying to break into the roof again, so....(shrugs). War is hell.

Boiling Paint from Window Hardware

Yesterday, I did many things (it was my "day off"...bwah ha!) but one of the most interesting was trying out a suggestion that I read long ago to boil old paint off of some window hardware.

You see, we need some curtains. We took the greasy miniblinds off of the windows so we could work on OPENING the windows and didn't have the heart to put them back up. They are so hard to clean. So I've been picturing period curtains, hung halfway down the window to provide privacy and let in the sunlight. My timetable sped up when the dog began barking at our neighbor...a lot. She was in our dining room and he was in his. He is a excellent neighbor and she's not the brightest bulb, but...these houses are CLOSE.

I dug around in the basement and came up with some old curtain rod hardware...not nearly as old as the house, but old enough to be interesting.

The most interesting type, to me, is on the end in the above photo. A barrel shape with some deep groves cut into it. And under the paint, the patina is a bronze-ish color. (My dad tells me that these are still available at some hardware stores...I'll check that out when I have used up what we've found.)

So, I deposited the ones that needed the treatment most in a pot with water, set it to boil, and buried myself in a media project.

It worked relatively well. I'm sure there is something that I skipped because I didn't search around for the original recommendation. Some paint boiled off immediately and some had to be chipped off with my thumbnail, but it all came off.

So it's CURTAINS soon. Temporary--until I actually free up some time to make ones that I like better--the ones left over in the house of course. :) No more barking dog.

Why do we reuse? Because we would love to afford to buy old/new and just can't swing it right now. "Working bathrooms" come before "pretty." Bummer, eh? And it's always good to recycle old parts when they are working and when you can.

(To wrap up this entry, I wanted to call out a delighted "hello!" to some old friends at Table Talk via Salon.com. This group, besides being one of the wittiest, smartest, most fun, fast moving on the web today --you may preen now, I think Micki Sue would say ;) --is a group that I miss terribly. For those who are into Houses, you'll find the groups at American Bungalow and Fine Homebuilding's Breaktime Forum to contain some kindred spirits...)

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making "do" until...

Well, we are sketching out lots of big plans, doing research and...in the meantime...patching things to see us through until the work is done.

The hardest part is putting off the REAL decorating until AFTER the construction is finished. That is the most fun for the both of us to think about and it is what will come last. After the bones of the house have been reset. But it is hard not to sigh over pictures of curtains or wallpaper or shelves. We just know that whatever is being used now will probably be cleaned and recleaned and possibly covered in inches of dust and dirt for awhile.

Sigh.

So, these curtains don't fit my master plan AT ALL. They were left in the house and we needed something to preserve our dignity and keep the dog from barking. But we don't care if they get yucky either. They are polyester and they were...well...here.

And, the other current survival trick? Using DUCT TAPE! We have a seriously funky second floor bathroom...the vent from the tub was hooked into the main stack in the 50's...not very well. So the threads from the vent pipe have deteriorated. Yep, rusted through. Meaning. The sewer gases that need to travel up the stack and OUT above the roofline occasionally wander into our second floor bath. The one we are using right now. Which has contributed to some funny looks between us until we figured out what it was. I mean, you would have thought that was strange also! Not knowing where that smell was coming from. So...until we overhaul the plumbing in this bathroom...DUCT TAPE! We love duct tape.

Last list of survival ingrediants for living in a house under construction?

1) A sense of humor, preferably dark humor.
2) Denial alternating with motivation.
3) Some nice classical CD's...like the new Joshua Bell
CD or a Norah Jones CD. So soothing.
4) Some lemonade. And something to put into that lemonade.
5) A fabulous grill and a freezer full of grill potential.
6) Some careful negotiating skills for spouses...plus, one spouse who is amazingly level-headed and says helpful soothing things like, "I know. It feels important now. But what is the worst that will happen here? Will someone die?"
7) REALLY nice neighbors.
8) Great wet/dry vac and wicked awesome cleaning supplies.
9) Strong family and friends support

and #10 is....

10) An escape plan for when you need to get away...still working on this one. Or renting the video, The Money Pit

Then you may not feel QUITE so badly.

(2)

Removing a Load Bearing Wall

This weekend we finished opening up a "nook" corner of the master bedroom.

The Problem
Our aspirations for the second floor include a master bedroom that's a warm and cozy retreat. (A necessary luxury as we go the slow "live-in-it--as-you-restore" route.) To get more space, we wanted to convert an ajoining closet into a reading nook by removing this wall:

Unfortunately, this is a load-bearing wall. Assuming we don't want the roof to cave in on us as we sleep, removing it would take some extra effort.

Our Solution
With some extra effort and planning, we could still cut out the load-bearing wall. We just needed to replace the support provided by the wall studs we removed.

How it Went
Prior to this project, we'd already removed a closet that had been added by the previous owner within the room. This opened up the space a little, but we still wanted more. The duct tape in this photo outlines the edges of the nook we wanted to create:

The angle is due to the roof line. This will give the room lots of character, but poses a few additional challenges to the project.

First, we used a sawzall and a crowbar to remove the plaster and expose the wall studs. Even though we'll eventually have an angled wall above the nook (necessary to match the roofline), we had to remove the plaster and lathe all the way to the ceiling in order to brace the wall properly.

Then we removed the baseboard trim. We did this carefully, so that we can re-use the trim when finishing the room later on.

We were ready to remove the studs. For each one, we cut them near the base, dislodged the bottom with a sledge hammer, then twisted each one until the top came free.

Because the studs help to hold up the roof above, we didn't fully remove them. After cutting one free, we replaced it again to bear the load once we had removed the final stud. The weight was then transfered to this single stud.

Next, we installed the first of two 2x8s that will act as the new support system. Because we rotated the last stud 90 degrees, we were able to slide the new 2x8 in beside it.

We then re-used the old studs as support for the new brace. We cut them to the right length with the cordless trim saw and then forced them in place under each end using a sledge hammer.

With the basic support structure in place, we removed the temporary stud, slid a second 2x8 in beside the first, and nailed everything into place.

Basically, that did it! After a little framing work in preparation for finishing off the angled wall, we wrapped up for the night.

One interesting thing about the project was that the old 2x4 studs are actually slightly larger than modern 2x4s. Reusing the studs was handy because boards of the same dimension will make it easier down the road to create a smooth finished surface. We're hoping we'll get to that by late winter. For now, removing the ceiling will be the next major step for the room...

Tool & Materials We Used
- Milwaukee Sawzall
- Cordless Trim Saw
- Crowbar
- Sledge hammer
- Three hammers (For a funny story click here.)

Other Useful Resources
- How to Identify a Load Bearing Wall
- Renovating Old Houses (A fantastic book in general, which also addresses load bearing walls.)

(7)

Installing an Exterior Vent in Stucco

Wes, the electrician, installed a bathroom fan for us a while back. Here's how we installed the exterior vent for the fan.

The Problem
The electrician did a great job installing our special fan and light switch to operate it. And we were going to handle the exterior work to install the air vent.

Luckily, my dad had a few specialty drill bits to get the job done...

The Solution
We got started late in the day, but fortunately, this was a quick project. The challenge was determining the right place to punch through the house and actually cutting through the stucco. It requires using a special drill bit designed for masonry.

How it Went
Starting inside of the house, we measured from the top edge of the glass-block window to the edge of the ceiling. Going outside, we measured the same distance up and over. This was the point to begin our cut.

Publications that I checked recommended making numerous holes with a drill, then knocking out the stucco with a chistle. Modifying this a bit, we used an extra large 1" bit to make the initial hole.

That hole gave us enough of an opening to begin using the sawzall. Since we drilled at the lower left-most corner of the target, we made two cuts--one upwards and one to the left.

About half way up, we started angling to the upper-right corner. Ultimately we were able to carve out a section roughly the shape of a football.

After a few more cuts to round out the opening, we fished out the tubing that had been installed between the floor joists. We then affixed the tubing to the exterior vent and sealed it with duct tape. As it started to get dark, we finished up by sealing the opening with 'Great Stuff', a foam sealant that would prevent heat loss and seal out humidity.

After that, we drilled in a few holes for screws to brace the vent and sealed the edges with sillicone caulk. By the morning everything had set and the fan worked like a charm! (And it is so QUIET!)

Tools & Materials We Used
- Cordless drill
- Masonry drill bit
- the Sawzall!
- Tungsten Carbide Sawzall Blades (3-Pack)
- Exterior vent cover
- "Great Stuff" foam insulation
- Silicone caulk
- Caulk Gun
- 4 long screws

(1)

Removing a Plaster Wall

The Problem
As a next step in the first floor bathroom, we needed to prepare to lay new tile. First, that required removing the plaster so new backer board can be installed as a new even surface.

Our Solution
We've already removed plaster and lathe while working on the master bedroom. This project just took more care because we wanted to leave the plaster in place that wouldn't be covered with new tile.

So, we took a slightly different approach...

How It Went
After marking out cut lines with a pen, I took a utility knife and cut out the edges we wanted to create. This helped to make sure that lines would end up relatively straight and would avoid the crumbling typical of plaster removal.

Then, exercising a lot of care I used a chisel and hammer to break up the plaster I intended to remove.

After that the plaster could be pulled away easily by hand, leaving the rest of the plaster safe and sound.

After that we just cut away the lathe and cleaned up with the ShopVac!

Tools & Material We Used
- Chistle
- Graphite Hammer
- Utility Knife

FINALLY! No smelly basement

I have been fighting with the drains in our basement all season.

The drains need water in the pipes at all times so that sewer gases do not travel back up into the house creating smelly problems. For some reason, two of our drains have problems holding water now that the furnace is on. I suspect evaporation. Within 48 hours, I am to be found lugging buckets from the sink to the drains to refill them. Even trying to cap them only hides the problem for a little while. (Our cap is the poor man's version of products on the market.)

And then I found this...baby oil

Baby oil is mineral oil with a little fragrance added in.

I filled the drains with water, poured half a bottle (7 ounces) of baby oil into each one, covered them back up, and....yes. Less lugging of buckets. I can only imagine the the oil sits on top of the water and slows evaporation? However it works, let's hope that it buys me 5-7 days of time (or more maybe? Please?) before it's back to the bucket brigade.

(1)

Protecting a Wooden Shower Window...Nautical Solution

With the bathroom starting to come together, this weekend we tackled finding a suitable way to protect the bathroom window above the shower...

The Problem
When we first bought the house, our first floor bathroom had a glass block window. Unfortunately, several of the glass blocks were cracked and were very dangerous. After a lot of thought, we eventually decided on a "two light" frosted window of safety glass. We had the window made and installed by Just Sashes to fit the existing sill (which was a non-standard size).

While the window is a safer and attractive solution as a window, its frame introduces another long-term possibility: wood rot.

We wanted a wood exterior frame so we could stain it to match the existing wood windows. Wood exterior frame meant wood interior frame. Not the best choice for a shower. Our tiling friend, Paul, suggested tiling OVER the sill of the window and as close to the glass as we can get. Sounds good. But there is still some wood to protect.

Our Solution

While any paint (like an exterior weather-resistant latex) would provide some measure of protection, we would like to have something even MORE resistant to mildew, water or steam. Our bathroom fan pulls a ton of air out of the room quickly, quietly and efficiently (it will also stay on up to 60 minutes after someone turns out the light in the bath). So, a lot of moisture will be pulled out by the fan.

But there is still a chance of moisture on the wood....even if the window has a sheer, waterproof curtain to draw across it during showers. So, we decided to turn to the boating industry (specifically ideas for wooden sailboats) for a solution to protect the wood of the window. (In the summer, our family sails on an Ensign Class sailboat originally purchased by Keith, my grandfather. It has a classic hardwood interior and he made its latest set of sails.)

How it Went

We chose some products from West Marine that are suitable for protecting wooden boats ABOVE the waterline. This is an important distinguishing characteristic. We couldn't use paint from BELOW the waterline because it includes chemicals that deal with algae that you wouldn't want in your house.

The primer we chose was Interlux Brightside Primer to help prepare for the wood for the paint and to seal it against moisture.

This white Interlux Brightside One Part Polyurethane paint has some of the benefits of a hard enamel. It also works to seal the wood against moisture and resists mildew as well.

So far, we've put on a coat of the primer and still need to put at least two coats of Polyurethane paint finish on the wood that will be exposed when it is complete (the paint comes in a variety of colors...we chose white). Charlie from West Marine recommended a light sanding between each coat (which you clean up with a tack cloth before going on). This helps even out the paint (which is thick and can only be cleaned up with mineral spirits) and makes the bond stronger.

Tools & Materials We Used

- Blue painter's tape for lining the area to be painted and a straight edge
- Tack cloth
- Paintbrush (thin with a slanted edge)
- Interlux Brightside Primer in white
- Interlux Brightside One Part Polyurethane
- Mineral spirits and a tin for clean up

Other Useful Resources

- Staff at West Marine

ReMOOving Milk Paint

Milk paint...we love it and hate it.

We love it because it is this lovely, non-toxic incredibly hardy paint made from milk protein, lime and other things. It is especially good for children's things and for people who are allergic to chemicals. On antique furniture, it can be the coolest thing...especially since you can move furniture from room to room.

("Udderly Sunflowers" by by Jodi Mendlinger via Art Select)

When it shows up as a complete surprise under many layers of cracked and chipping latex and/or lead paint on something immobile, like a built-in, life becomes no fun. No fun at all.

How do you know it is milk paint? If you have ever tried to get bubble gum out of your hair, you have known what it is like to mess with milk paint.

When heated with the Silent Paint Remover, it does very little. Scraping or sanding was working S-L-O-W-L-Y, and the thought of scraping and sanding all of the surfaces in this house that may have milk paint sent me off to bed with a bottle of aspirin and visions of finishing this house when I hit 60.

Milk paint seems to be untouchable.

Here are the things gathered on various boards and conversations that are supposed to remove Milk Paint:

-A product from a company called Behlen, called the P.D.E. Milk Paint Remover
-Powdered Milk Paint Remover (found somone on Old House board who used it on a dresser)
-Ammonia (Yikes! The fumes! And it might darken wood...another Old House forum recommendation)
-Peel Away Paint Stripper from Dumond Chemicals (via the American Bungalow Magazine Forum)

I decided to try Peel Away first. Why? Because I didn't have to order it through the mail. And ammonia...well, let's say I've worked with ammonia before. The screens aren't on the windows yet. 'Nuff said.

I called Dumond before heading out to a nearby distributor because I was unsure of WHICH Peel Away product to use. Dumond Chemicals is in New York. The town of my birth. The gentleman who answered the phone couldn't believe I found milk paint in a Chicago house. It was as if Chicago sprang up from the prairie 50 years ago! Hel-LO, history lesson. After I described it to him, he agreed, "Yeah, sounds like milk paint. Peel Away One, right?"

(I can't spell a real New York accent. But I do love it and miss it, right?)

So, I head to Sherwin-Williams...they carry Peel Away and they are close by. I compare the labels of the Peel Away 1 with Peel Away 7 and, heeeyyyy. Wait a minute! Peel Away 1 cautions that it can darken hardwoods. Says nothing about Milk Paint. And is definitely the more caustic of the two.

Begin cautious, I pay a sum for Peel Away 7 that makes me want to hug my Silent Paint Remover and take home a little sample pint.

I apply it with a brush on a small test area. The consistency is like pudding. There is no strong smell.

Hmmm. The sample size comes with no "Peel Away" paper. Something they don't tell you on the label. So I grab some old Cling Wrap, cover it up, and leave it for 20-24 hours.

I come back, take off the wrap and scrape away the Milk Paint...for the most part. I then rub the wood down with some denatured alcohol to neutralize it.

If I wasn't in a hurry to finish the bathroom built-in, I would definitely give some of the mail-order options a try. The milk paint + Peel Away 7 has the consistency of gooey taffy...no fun to clean off your scraper every few minutes. And this is still going to require a lot of sanding to boot.

The expense of using this throughout the house makes me plenty squeamish. 10 seconds with the Silent Paint Remover takes off 7-8 layers of paint across a 12-14 inch area in one scrape. It is harder to manuever in crevices but we have a lot of flat trim. Comparing the SPR with the Peel Away 7, the SPR has paid for itself after two rooms.

Hmmm. I may be experimenting with the mail order products after all. After the bathroom is finished that is.

Right now, I have a lot of scraping and sanding to do.

Sleep? What's that?

(2)

Creating a House Wiring Plan

So, as we wrap up the first floor bathroom, we're starting to think about the second floor again. Not that this is new...we started work on the second floor back around Thanksgiving of last year. Wow... Thanksgiving of last year...

Anyway! I just got an email from Smarthome with this week's "Solution of the Week"...home wiring. Pretty good timing...this is something I've known we should do as we prepare to tear out the second floor. I just haven't done it. So here's the progress we've made so far...

The Problem
The second floor will be the largest project we've undertaken so far. We've decided that we're going to need to gut everything (even the plaster...sniff, sniff) and start fresh. The upside to the approach is that it will allow us to lay down the electricity, phonelines, coaxial cable, and even the ethernet that homes increasingly have today. The challenge is in the planning...no re-work allowed! ;-)

The Solution
The most important step we've done so far is was to prepare for wiring the house at the time we tore out the first floor bathroom. While those walls were exposed we installed three 1/2" pipes to run cable all the way from the basement to the attic. This "home run" piping runs along side the main stack and should allow us the flexibility to get all the different types of wiring upstairs in their own shielded piping.

Second, we've also sketched out the current and future floorplans with electrical service, including where we want all the outlets. Our electrician, Wes, helped out by specifying the symbols that will clarify for him what we want where.

Existing Wiring

Future Wiring Plan

So, the article I found at Smarthome got me interested in doing some more research. The main think it introduced me to was the concept of structured wiring--a new approach to bundling wiring from a central location rather than the traditional approach to daisy-chaining wiring in a more ad-hoc fashion. While I'm still researching the pros and cons of each approach, structured wiring does seem more planful.

What Comes Next
Overall my research has basically just uncovered that we need to get more precise about what we want where. It also raises an important issue that my drawings didn't: where each cable should begin and end. Again, the timing of this is actually pretty good because we're just starting to get to the next level of detail about the whole second floor.

I guess we're just proving the home improvement rule that things are always more complicated and take twice as long as we expected!

Other Resources
- "Getting Connected: the High Speed House" at bobvila.com
- The Complete Guide to Home Wiring
- Structured Wiring How-To <-- a very comprehensive site!

(2)

Removing the Attic Insulation

This was the most trying weekend ever at the house.

The Problem

Our big project was to tear out the "Raccoon Family Nests" and attic insulation, disinfect the crawl space, open up the front bedroom ceiling and put in new insulation. The raccoons left a lot of, um, "unpleasantness" from years of attic living. Plus the insulation was in four layers and had gotten wet from roof leaks.

We begin by...acting silly for the camera.

More problems? The space we were working in was 3.5 feet high at the peak. (We are 6'7" and 5'7") With evil looking roofing nails poking through and SPIDERS. Unbearably hot in the outfits we had to wear to reduce the risk of contact with "raccoon matter."

We wanted to prevent insulation and contaminents settling on the second floor as well.

Our Solution
Layers of heavy plastic across doorways to isolate the hallway from the rest of the house. And closing the door at the bottom of the stairs.

Suiting up, "haz-mat" style. (See list of materials used below). Sending the shorter of the two of us (me, of course) to do the harvesting and stuffing. A was responsible for the bleaching of the first bag and the double bagging.

Light was a key element. We used halogen lights to increase visibility.

We used boards and plywood to spread our weight across many joists.

We double bagged the material after spraying the first bag with bleach (to kill germs). Tied it up. Then lowered each bag through a front window so it could be disposed of properly.

How it Went
Not bad, I guess, in that we did get quite a bit done. We didn't expect so much sawdust and wish we had a way to easily vaccum particles out of the attic. By pulling on the sawdust and tar paper layer, I could roll up each piece between the rafters. Many times, though, the insulation was too fragile or had electrical cable laying across it.

The raccoon souvenirs were as nasty as could be imagined. Thank goodness for thick rubber gloves. And thick rubber (washable!) garden shoes from Target...$18.99.

We still have about halfway to go , so next weekend will be another tough one. Especially since we--make the "I"-- will have to get into the smaller part of the attic on my stomach and move far away from the opening. No quick escape. *Shiver*

Let's just say we wouldn't wish this on anyone, but it will be good when it's done.

We had to get the haz-mat stuff off and into a bag while we were still on the second floor so that it could travel to the basement for a special disinfectant wash.

Tools & Materials We Used

- 2 halogen lights
- two extension cords
- 1.3 mil "contractor quality" garbage bags
- Clorox spray starch
- A razor cutting knife
- two respirator masks
- two full-body painter suits
- heavy duty rubber gloves
- head socks
- arthritis strength Tylenol...ow. My back. My legs.
- chutzpah or desperation, we don't know which

Next time we'll wear baseball caps (one more layer of protection against scratchy roofing nails) and tie the cutting knife around a wrist or waist. We lost one in a roll of insulation that got stuffed. Ah, well.

(4)

Living in it while working on it

I've been dragging around for a few days, my bottom lip quivering and hanging all the way down to the floor (pushing around dust balls...WAY yucky). I finally decided, "Stop! Enough!" That's when I turned to the experts.

Image via SatireWire (but it LOOKS like it could have been taken in our basement. Unfortunately.)

ToolBeltBabe and the Kilted One are on their THIRD...(yes, that's right people, THIRD! 3! Trois! ) house renovation and I find their story downright inspirational.

Because, isn't that what this is all about? Passing the torch? Providing support for the next poor fools enlightened people who love old houses and decide they want to do this?

Ahem. Where was I?

So, TBB (ToolBeltBabe) was kind enough to share some "Do It Yourself IF YOU DARE" tips for living IN the house that you are also tearing APART. Because, honestly, her photos look durn good for a house that's being lived in AND renovated. (Go look at the pics at the bottom of March's entries. Yes. Go now.)

Here is what she wrote to me (she is SO incredibly wise):
__________________________________________________________

Living in it? Suuuuuuuuucks...

So we have JoeyWithaCousinintheNailBusiness, and you have UncleCarlwhoDiscoveredLiquidNails**?

Our sympathies, truly, but misery loves company!
__________________________________________________________

Yes, yes it does! And TBB's note gave me a good laugh, some great ideas and kicked my bottom lip off of the floor and right back onto my face where it belongs.

Actually, Misery Loves Company and Do It Yourself IF YOU DARE will be new situation comedies about renovating old houses coming out this Fall. Check your local cable channel for show times.

** Uncle Carl wanted to make sure that HIS re-muddles around the house stayed PUT! We've had to tear out a few Uncle Carl creations. He LOVED the LONGEST NAILS HE COULD FIND. PLUS liquid nails. Fasteners were his thing. Quality materials? Not so much. The back porch is made of cardboard (no lie). We can still see the items printed on the subfloor. Thank you, Uncle Carl.

(2)

What not to do...

Since we want to tell as much as we can here on the site, you might as well know now. jm has put her back out!

Was she manuevering a big ceiling beam into place? Well, no.

Or scaling the chimney? Or hoisting buckets of plaster up the steps? Um, no.

She mowed the front and back lawn, the neighbor's front lawn as a surprise, and then carried 5 loads of laundry up and down the stairs. On the fifth one, BANG! Lower back was in tremendous pain that she has never experienced before.

The glazed look in her eyes would be a WHOLE lot of Tylenol and muscle relaxants. The sweater is hiding a grimace of frustration and impatience. She doesn't like the down time.

Ah well. So! For the rest of you...DON'T pick up things using the following technique:

And remember! According to these little "lightening bolt" graphics thingies, lower back pain is contagious. (You know I'm kidding, right?)

So practice "safe friend lifting," okay? Keep your back straight, bend your knees and lift from the muscles in your legs.

Friendly tip from someone (ouch!) who now knows better. If you are going to do your own home renovation, stay in good shape. Better shape than I am, at least!

(7)

Transforming Your Apartment

Ever since I discovered ApartmentTherapy this week, I've been daydreaming about my old apartment.

I loved it very much.

It was at the top of a 4 story walk-up, which was actually 4.5 stories because of the front steps. It was tiny. The bathroom wasn't a shared one but it WAS in the hallway. Meaning, yes...I had to LEAVE my apartment to take a shower.

(I was at the very, very top. If you were to keep following the blue arrow, you'd be there.)

I used to assure my friends that leaving the apartment to take a shower was very very French...very chic. This was before I had actually traveled TO France.

And being on the 4th floor meant that my legs were in AWESOME shape. All the time. I called this the Urban Stairmaster. This is no longer the case, sadly.

Anyway...there are advantages to owning a house and advantages to having an apartment. I'm sure house-owning readers will be able to clarify those in the comments section below. Give it up for our apartment dwelling brothas and sistahs!

Most of all, apartments are TERRIFIC practice for preparing to live in a house. If you can fiddle with the things in your apartment successfully, you'll start to gain the skills and confidence needed to tackle the big stuff later on...if you want to! (Sometimes, it's awfully nice to be able to call the janitor.)

Here were the things that I remember about furnishing and changing my apartment to make it my own.

1. (My husband is never going to believe this but) I actually had less clutter then. Less clutter, less knicknacks. I would even keep anything extra in my big side table/trunk and rotate them.

2. Obviously, I couldn't change much of the architectural things. Which is why I began collecting old windows. Yep. A long, beveled glass window. Multi-pane wood windows. I hung them up instead of posters a LOT. Mine actually came from alley scavenging. eBay is a great place to find this stuff.

3. Very large grates make gorgeous wall hangings and cool old doors make great headboards.

4. Try to save up for those few gorgeous pieces of furniture that you will have for a long time. So you're living in an apartment...so what? You deserve nice things too!

I made myself a window seat that I always wanted out of two deep and tall bookshelves and a padded bench from Room & Board. I LOVED that thing. Used it all the time. It gave a depth to my room that it naturally didn't have. All the pleasures of a built-in and I took it with me when I left.

If you don't want the bookcases, put this in front of your window for your perch to read and dream.

This is furniture that you will have for the rest of your life and probably pass along. It is constructed well and has timeless design. So...know yourself and take your time saving up for it and choosing it.

5. If they're ugly, ditch the doors on the upper kitchen cabinets. (Save them in your storage unit for when you move.) This will open everything up...provided you keep the dishes and glasses neat!

If you own your place, swap out some of your interior doors for doors with glass panes between rooms. (Measure carefully before purchasing and installing. Try not to waste REAL wood doors...they are better than anything made today. Hollow fake wood doors? Eh...no problem. I wouldn't think twice about replacing them and letting more light into the center of my apartment.)

6. Swap out lighting fixtures. Bellacor has hundreds of styles...many under $100 dollars. Keep and store the old ones if you want to take the new ones with you when you go. Changing light fixtures is VERY easy and can make a WORLD of difference to the look of an apartment.

7. Finally, and this is really the simplest trick of all, SWAP OUT those light switch plates. You know the ones. The yellowing, ugly plastic ones. Ditch 'em. (Or save 'em to take your good ones with you.) And get ones that will be pleasing to the eye.

(Images courtesy of Restoration Hardware)

This sounds almost TOO simple, but better cabinet hardware and chain pulls and light switch covers and so on can make your "eh" apartment, furniture and cabinets look like fabulous jewels.

For example, we took an old brown veneer dresser of Aaron's (you know the type...70's colonial, veneer and plywood, good lines, bad look. Little fake brass handles.) We ditched the brass handles for brushed aluminum handles and we painted the whole thing flat black. Painted 4 garage sale chairs flat black while we were at it. We had to do this in the parking lot below the condo because we had no room upstairs. Before we were done, THREE (3!) people approached us and asked how much we wanted for the furniture. A can of spray paint! 6 brushed nickel handles! And it made a HUGE difference.

(Before & After...kinda. We don't have the original photos. The real brown dresser didn't look as nice as this one.)

From bleh to fantastic in a few hours. Just make sure that you're not painting over an antique or vintage piece that will lose its value with a coat of paint!

Rules of thumb...

...change the space, don't fill it up.
...Buy the nicest quality pieces and just have a few things in there.
...Don't keep college furniture around (plastic milk crates and so forth...buh-bye.)
...Put a small tool kit together with: a multi-bit screwdriver, a small drill, flashlight, super glue , screws & anchors, measuring tape, small hammer, small wrench, small prybar.

Then enjoy the fruits of your labor from feathering your nest :)

(8)

Preparing the Structured Wiring Home Run

OK, so after a lot of research and planning I've finally started the structured wiring installation. Actually, by 'getting started' I really just mean the prep work. I've found even that takes quite a bit of work...

The Challenge
My goal for the weekend was to get everything in place for pulling the bundled cable throughout the house. This meant creating a path for the major cable runs--combination of cable trays in the basement and a PVC raceway from the basement to the attic. I also had to install the media center panel where all the networking hardware will reside:

The good news was that this ended up being a reasonable weekend project...

The Work

I started with the distribution panel. It's pretty simple, actually, consisting of the box itself and a cover. I'd also bought an AC power source designed to afix to the bottom of the box.

The panel can be installed either surface or flush mounted (i.e., set between studs in a wall). Our basement isn't finished, so surface mounting was the only option. Much of what I've read suggests anyway, though, because of the easy future access it allows to cables and such. It won't be real attractive but it's located in the shop so that wasn't a concern.

Next I prepared the horizontal cable trays where the cable coming out of the panel will lie. I'd located the panel close to the center beam of the house. This will make for a practical and fairly concealed location for all the cable--it runs the full length of the center beam and allows cable to "exit" to outlets by running out between the floor joists. This also happens to be where our heating pipes run, so the cable trays will serve to keep the cable a safe distance from the heat source.

Next I installed the vertical raceway to get cable up to the attic. I did this with 3" PVC. This required making some circular cuts through the first and second floor. These were made with a 3 1/4" bi-metal holesaw, which I picked up at Lowes:

It goes up through the back of a closet we're modifying to house our laundry chute. As you can see in the photos below, I needed a few PVC elbow joints to handle corners and to accomodate the slope of the roof up to the attic. Hopefully these corners won't be too severe when pulling the cable through.

I'll admit that a 3" raceway is a bit of overkill. In fact, I had to add 1" strips to the rafters upstairs so that the drywall will clear the pipe. My rationale was that it just seemed to provide more flexibility to go large. That and the wiring is pretty huge (3/4") and it seemed the extra space should make pulling the cable easier.

What's Next
So now everything is ready to pull the actual cable! Which is great because it just arrived in the mail...all 500 feet of it!

Stay tuned!

Materials Used
- Cordless drill
- Lenox 3 1/4" hole saw (w/ pilot drill)
- 3" PVC (including coupling and elbow joints)
- Cable trays (