Restoration & Repair Archive

Bungalow Archaeology

Okay, okay. I've been getting requests to show a little bit of our on-going "bungalow archaeology". Here is a quick departure from the regular inventory (just for a little break).

Scenario #1

We walk to the house for the first time and notice that on one side of the wall, well, there's a chimney. Not a well-maintained chimney. But a real chimney.

However, INSIDE OF the house...there is a wall of hickory wood. Where there should be a fireplace, built-in bookcases and windows above the bookcases. We know this because there are 2 other houses on the street of this same design, same builder, from 1914. Same layout. And that is what they have.

Yes, the above is with some of her stuff moved out already. Amazing, isn't it? At this time, this is the most organized room in the house. During the inspection, the organ and the boxes in front of WHERE the fireplace should be are moved aside. And we have our first clue, Nancy Drew! A HEARTH!

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Lou, we love you.

Lou from Critter Detectives was our new best friend there for awhile, so I wanted to pay tribute to him here. Every morning he would promptly pull up at our doorstep with his "dogcatcher-like" van and inspect the "Have a Heart" cages on the roof for raccoons. (Raccoons are captured alive in cages that are large enough to roam around in.)

He is very brave. Raccoons also bite. Hard. And their claws can slash through metal. Whoa. He didn't need to tell me this. I grew up near a stable with a raccoon problem. Yikes.

Here is the scoop on Lou's company:

Continue for more of "Lou, we love you."

Rub-a-dub-dub...what a cool TUB!

Wow. Tim from Aquarius Limited just came to refinish our first floor tub and all I can say is....WOW

The first floor bathroom was a little, um, unusual to begin with.

When we took possession of the house, the original 1" hexagon floor tile had been replaced by 12" mottled white generic tile. There was a new sink, and a new medicine cabinet and lights (neither were set into the wall...they were just hung ON the wall.) Fake tongue and groove paneling of white coated pressed wood covered half of the walls. And then there was THE TUB.

Periwinkle blue tub from 1951. No tile on the walls around the tub. Just the drywall and old glue. Half of the glass block window had been boarded up.

This is the bathroom we will have to live in for a YEAR while the upstairs is being renovated.

So. We need tile. Obviously. But with new tile...we needed to do something about that tub. Originally, we planned for a clawfoot tub, something very cool. But then we got a closer look at OUR tub.

a) It was a cast iron tub, built like a tank.

b) The floor underneath the tub was...gone.

Yep. You can look straight up from the basement and see the bottom of this tub. I'll show you.

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Not even James could save us from....me.

I am a muddle seeker. I can't help it. It's in my blood.

Once I see the damage that has been done to something, I want to undo it, um, right away.

Here, James and A are discussing the ADT system that came with our "casa de stuff". There has been a high pitched whine from an ANCIENT component that was installed by the previous owner (PO) a LONG time ago. I've taken a few thwacks at it with a ruler and A decided to call in the experts.

My husband has his techniques and I have mine.

James was able to pinpoint the trouble right away because he knows his stuff. Besides being very knowledgable about the system, he is a straight up, nice, professional guy. And he is a PK (you all know who you are--it's a good thing :) So if you need an ADT System and you live in Chicago, call James.

James Williams
ADT Security Systems
630-458-7649

p.s. James--congrats!

But James couldn't save us from me last night because..well. Here's the deal.

We have this bathroom cabinet that the PO installed over some fake wood paneling. It is "okay". It isn't set into the wall, it is just hanging there. And it doesn't symmetrically fit with the sink. I noticed that something was amiss when I could pull it away from the wall and kind of see a hole behind there.

Sooo....

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Help - Tile Choices!?

What we do know is that we want to go with "subway tile" (specifically Greenwich Village tile from American Olean). It fits the vintage of the house and is just generally cool looking. However, after that we're kind of torn. Which of these tile border patterns do you think we should we go with? (Disregard the colors...we're not set on green and are considering black or grey.)

Option A--Around the Outside

Option B--Headin' Straight Through

Option C--Looping Around the Window

If you have better ideas, we're open to those too. We'll probably have someone in to do the tile in mid-August...

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Busy, Busy, Busy

Busy day, busy day.

We took the TV antennae off of the house and, in the process, got an upfront and personal look at just how badly the brick was tuckpointed on the chimney. Plus, the "wire mesh" over the chimney has TWO holes in it (?) about the 3 inches around (squirrels?) and is tied onto the chimney with an electrical cord complete with plug circa 1965. (Remember to click on image to make it LARGER)

Lovely. (But how do you like our rafter tails? Cool, huh?)

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The Fishy Men

Okay, a few key things happened today, so I will try to categorize them in order.

(I ASK YOU AN IMPORTANT QUESTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS THAT ONLY YOU CAN ANSWER.)

Remember when I sent away the Cable Guy (on the day of the All Star Game--doh!) because he wanted to turn our new house into Se�or Bungalow?

Okay. Well, read back a couple of posts. We'll wait.

(hums to self)

Right then. So today the two guys from the "fishing cable though walls place" came...

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In praise of craftsmen... (hurray for ADT)

Augh.

My whole body hurts. I think I have a summer flu. Or, A was right and I shouldn't have left that standing water in the pedestal planter and I was bitten by a mosquito and now have maleria.

Not that I am overdramatic or anything. Not at all.

Today, we sing the praises of "craftspeople." Because, when they are good, BOY! Do they make a difference in home renovation.

Like today's vendor of the day, Ray. Ray works for Tyco/ADT, our security system people. (Remember...click on the picture to make it larger.)

Ray is an excellent craftsperson.

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Scrub, scrub scrub Cinderella!

So, we tried the first batch of stucco cleaner. Our stucco is not EIFS...it seems to be the real deal. And it is pretty grimey up under the eaves and under the A/C units.

We didn't want to break out a power sprayer first thing because, well, we were afraid a piece of the house might fall off under the pressure. (No, really! Honest!) So we went the into the "kinder, gentler" direction. The stucco has never been painted or tinted (on purpose anyway). So, we used Borax, Power Scrub Baking Soda, dishwashing liquid and hot water. A recipe we got from DIYNet.

So, here I am, bristle brush from Home Depot in hand, trying to test this out on a place where it won't show if we mess up:

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Feeling hot & grumpy? Take it out on the house.

It was really hot and humid in Chicago today. 90 degrees hot. With almost 100 percent humidity.

Yuck.

We decided to take it out on the house. We were curious about what was behind the drywall in the bathroom. We need to run a few conduits for new electrical wiring up the center of the house and since that wall has to come down anyway...welllllll....we wanted to see if we could run it behind something there.

We had not planned on taking the wall down when we had the bathtub refinished. (Take note of this LESSON LEARNED. Electrical work and plumbing BEFORE tub refinishing.) So, working so fast that I am a BLUR, I swath the tub with old towels that were left behind by the Previous Owner. And then cover the whole thing with an old WWII Army Tent that was used by the local Boy Scout troup in the 40's, 50's and 60's.

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Square Peg. Round Hole. Contest.

**NOTE: This is a contest with prizes! If you are into that, read through to the end.**

We are trying to figure out the puzzle that is our bathroom and we need YOUR help. It will be like playing with doll house furniture...er...kinda.

My lovely draftsman Dad sketched out our current bathroom situation like this (remember to click it to make the picture larger):

This bedroom-turned-bathroom is second in awkwardness only to the kitchen.

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Open Source Bathroom Contest Update

Who's going to win Mr. Peanut? Is it...YOU?

We've been getting some very clever entries for the bathroom! We'll be posting them closer to September 1st to make sure that everybody gets a chance to get anything in they are plotting. (And we've heard of some unusual plotting!)

There has been a collage, a 3-D drawing, a sketch put on the computer, a Powerpoint drawing, a written paragraph...most excellent. This is going to be fun...and hard to decide a winner so far!

We've received entries from: Kitschywoman (americanbungalowmagazine.com), CloudHidden and piffin at Breaktime (FineHomebuilding.com), nycwriters (ZeFrank.com), my MOM...but she has ulterior Mom-type motives. :)

Maybe we would qualify with the guys at TASTYTRONIC as an "open source bathroom project" :)

p.s. What on Earth? comes tonight....more stuff!

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What is our house SUPPOSED to look like?

There comes a time in every homeowner/restoration-type person's life when they are trying to trace back HOW something looked before a previous homeowner "improved" it (usually a la the 1970's) when they THROW their hands in the air and groan:

"How is it SUPPOSED to look? How DID it look? What HAPPENED HERE??!!"

Well, we have some clues from some old sketches. And I found them in our computer files today. But I don't know where they are from and that is sad. They are probably from a late night Internet research stint before we bought the house when I was trying to understand the nuances of bungalow architecture. If you know the source, please email me and I will contact them for permissions.

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ohmigosh it's August 29th!

Have you sent in your entry for the Open Source Square Peg Round Hole Bathroom Makeover yet???

Over 10-15 creative entries sent in already!

Someone's gonna get these Coasters from 1940's Bermuda!!!!

Might as well be YOU, as Ed "The Man" MacMahon says. :)

Some of the finalists in the "Square Peg" contest...

So, we had this contest. To redesign our really strange upstairs bathroom.

Which has got to be really difficult if you can't actually SEE IT. But everyone was a good sport and we received some EXCELLENT entries. We'll be posting some here over the next few days for you to peruse and comment on. We loved the creativity. Then, we will announce a WINNER who wil choose a PRIZE!

NYC Writers from the ZeFrank message board offered this collage (remember--click on image to make it larger):

Ok, I'll bite. I love playing around with things like this, although take it under advisement I have no plumbing experience.....

Here ya go:(click to make image larger):

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More creative "open source" bathroom solutions!

Luka, from Breaktime, gets into the act. (Remember to click on the picture to make it larger...)

Ok, I took care of the whole problem. You now have maximum space in the bathroom.

: )

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Just a few more entries and WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

This is from our pal Kristen who did the cocktail napkin thing but then really went all out with her Quark program! (Dig that Quark) (Remember to CLICK on the picture to make it larger!)

I'd love to have a free-standing clawfoot as a focal point in my bathroom, but I have the shower enclosure around mine in my tiny bathroom because it's functional. I'd love a more capacious shower for daily use, since I seldom have time enough for a bath and I usually fight with the shower curtains at least once each morning in my pre-caffeine haze. Still, I think it would be nice for you to take a tub after a long day of "deconstruction." You could find a salvage tub or they have some new ones in great colors that could be fun.

I love the look of side-by-side pedestal sinks and because you have so much other room for storage, you could get away with it since you don't need the under-the-counter space. You could do some great things with built-ins. I had drawn one version that created an arch bridging from the shower over the windows, with the tub set under the arch. The other side had a built-in shelves on the side to hold your bath salts, cup of tea, candles etc. Hard to reproduce in a line drawing though. Oh, the fun you could have in a bathroom that size!! My 35-square-foot bathroom and I are envious.

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And we have a WINNAH!

Kristen from the American Bungalow Magazine Forum, COME ON DOWN! Our panel of judges has voted you the winner of the SQUARE PEG ROUND HOLE Bathroom Design Contest!

(This is NOT Kristen. It's actually Karan Sprengle winning the 12th Annual Pillsbury Bake-Off with her main dish called "Polynesian Island Bake...a main dish with an Islands touch."** But I'm sure that she LOOKS as excited as Kristen FEELS right now. :) And we have most of the PBO Cookbooks that began in 1949 so...

While this ISN'T an actual picture of Kristen this IS a picture of her winning entry:

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On Bathroom Fans and EFI Fan/Light Time Delay Switches

That's a mouthful...but it's all we've got while we're waiting for our favorite electrician to arrive.

Needing a contractor during one of the busiest times in home improvement history has left us feeling a little like a wallflower at the prom.

We're here. The music's playing. And....no date. :(

Yet.

BUT! Our ceiling vent fans that we chose for our bathrooms are FINALLY coming! Whoo hoo!

It's amazing what you get excited about when you're in the middle of a home renovation.

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And so! It begins...

Not with a whimper...but a BANG!

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. We've been like wallflowers at the dance, moping around, wondering if any cool contractor will like us.

And then...POW! Electrician! Plumber! 1-2-3!

So today, the electrician and his team began the prep work needed to eventually do some heavy duty wiring. We talked permits. We poured over some drawings. They cut some additional holes in the walls and ceiling (with our blessing) to see what is behind all of this...

Continue for more of "And so! It begins..."

Wheee! Vendors and more vendors!

This morning we had our boiler serviced by A & M
Heating & Cooling Specialists.

When I called them last weekend for a routine check-up appointment, I wasn't expecting a call back until Monday. Their answering service passed along the message and they called me back the same day. The set up an appointment for today.

Bright and early, they came in and went to work on our 6 year old steam boiler.

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Day One: Windows that OPEN!

Yawn! Make a mad dash for the coffee! Because the crew of Just Sashes is arriving to help out with the original wood windows today!!

Yep...these are the windows that were built with the house in 1914...and we're keeping 'em. The storms, the screens, the WHOLE thing. Why?

A) They're gorgeous, practical works of art...the eyes of the house.

B) When restored properly, they will be weathertight as well as beautiful. (They are NOT maintenance free, however. If you are looking for maintenance free, restoration may not be for you.)

C) It will cost us less to restore these windows than to replace them with a vinyl clad wood window. This is based on the number of windows we have (25) and the shape that they are in.

(NOTE: We should have 30 windows and we actually have 40. But we will eventually do some major first floor remodeling that takes off the old "slapped together room" on the back of the first floor...so subtract 4 windows and add a french door. We will also replace the kitchen windows later...they aren't original to the room and are literally glued onto the house. We aren't touching the basement windows. And we still can't decide what to do with the downstairs bathroom glass block window...I think that I will be cleaning windows for the rest of my life.)

We read up on restoring windows in a book by Terence Meany called Working Windows...it's a great book! Many people do work on their own windows, including our Bungalow Pals.

But we knew we needed professional help. For one, we had a few of these:

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Day Two: Window Restoration

Wow. Between yesterday and today, based on what they found when they took out the windows, John and his son, John Jr., replaced the broken glass in the windows that we had.

The windows in our house aren't one pane of glass with wood decoration sitting on top of the glass. They are actually 6 panes of different sized glass squares separated by the wood in what they call "Prairie Style". Very pretty. And classically bungalow.

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Getting the Smell Out

The house still smells less than ideal. We were determined to do a little work on that this past weekend.

Some of it is due to old rugs which we left in place to protect the floors as we moved things around. Some of it was due to the basement drains, which still continue to plague us everyday. (groan) No air circulation was a problem before we could open the windows. And I think some of it is still going to be there until we redo the floors and tear down the wallpaper. And then...there is what the raccoons left behind in the attic over 2 years and 2-3 litters of young-uns'...I don't even want to think about that.

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The Return of....Mr. X!

Well, there are rumors in the air that our mystery electrician-extraordinaire, Mr. X, is returning either tomorrow or the next day to move the electrical box and upgrade us to 200 amps. He has the permit and the inspector lined up.

Currently, the outside electrical meter is attached to the piece of the house we hope to tear down one day. The back room made of cardboard (not original to the house).

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Removing the Backyard Jungle

It was still RAINING today and the electricians are back and K called to see if it was a good time to tear the backyard out by the roots. :)

You see, there are a lot of "weed trees" in the backyard and K (being a crackerjack landscaper...I call him a "landscape artist" ) sent us drawings from Hong Kong that gave us some ideas for re-imagining the backyard of the house.

BEFORE:

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We reveal the identity of our electrician

We love our electrician and his team. Period.

And we have had quite a few people contact us to ask his name. We needed his permission to post his contact information. And there are some other things you should know.

- To keep quality high, he employs a VERY small team. He is often booked in advance.
- He loves old houses and is skillful at fishing cable through plaster walls.
- He is VERY knowledgable about the codes in Chicago and the Northern Suburbs.
- He STRONGLY prefers to take jobs in North/Northwest Chicago & northern suburbs.
- He is creative, punctual and thorough --his team is courteous and cleans up their work area.

He is the rare breed known as the inluminonis..."craftsperson of illuminating light." He has many of the classic characteristics...quiet and calm, soft-spoken, incredibly knowledgable, creative AND practical, very much sought after...

This young Nepalese boy from Global Adrenaline demonstrates the elusiveness of this prized contractor species.

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Hex tile...YEAH! And, aw noooo...

So we've been trying to uncover the bottom layer of original hex tile in our bathroom to see if it could be saved. (Among 100 other things)

Everything was completely hidden under layers of vinyl tile and tar. But we could see hex tile under the bottom drawer of the built-in! (Always remember to click on photos to take a closer look...)

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Electrical Artist

We already explain how Wes, our electrician, is an artist. And he is also a strategist.

We needed to upgrade our 100 Amp Box (which was a nightmare of crossed wires) to a clean, compliant 200 Amp Box for future power needs.

But there was a problem. The room that had been stapled, I mean, BUILT on to the back of the house in the 1950's? 60's? was blocking access to where the wires would need to go. The old meter was attached to this room (which is falling off of the house...no lie! You can roll tennis balls down the floor it is tilting so badly).

The above door swings out INTO the room at the top of the slope. Now you can see why we are nervous about this room. This room will eventually be taken off of the back of the house, but not very soon because of how our budget is allocated.

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Opening a New Front in the Battle

Today we began a new chapter in our assault on the house...the master bedroom!

Up until now, our work on the second floor has been limited to cleaning (the previous owner left a lot of stuff up there!), repair work (the replacement windows) and a lot of dreaming (the infamous 'open source bathroom' contest). In recent weeks, that space has been mostly left empty and we've only gone up there for showers and for occasional dreaming about a future without all this chaos. But that all changed today, when we started work on the master bedroom!

Since moving in, our goal has been to make the master bedroom the heart of our upstairs "retreat" from the ongoing mess of home improvement. This weekend it felt good to finally start work and move this dream from concept to reality...

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Still Working on our Hex (Tile)

We're still working on the first floor bathroom. Today J did great work on the first floor bathroom tile.

Continue for more of "Still Working on our Hex (Tile)"

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Cheating!

Okay, I'm kind of cheating because today wasn't really about the house. It was about work before vacation. And because A and I are musing over whether to just tear down the ceiling in the upstairs bedroom or sketch out a comprehensive plan first. Just tearing down would just FEEL so good...so future focused. But a plan would take into consideration all of the elements of rebuilding that ceiling, as well as how and when to dispose of the attic debris.

After so much WAITING for contractors and decisions, it would just be nice to just DECONSTRUCT. But....I don't know. Too impatient? So...votes on what we SHOULD do...including stories of your own experiences...are welcome.

Okay. So more cheating. Who KNEW I would find THIS where I did?

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The Little Nail That Could (Not Be Removed)

My dad came over to help work on the master bedroom. If we've ever worried about the endurance of our 90 year old house, we're worrying less tonight.

When trying to remove a bent nail, we found out that these old timbers are at least stronger than the average hammer:

Oh well...good thing the previous owner actually left us two identical hammers. We'd still get that nail out. We just went ahead and used the other one...

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Walls, floors, fans...what a weekend

I woke up this morning....(sounds like a Blues song, doesn't it?)....and everything ACHED!

Lots of things going on this weekend.

A and his dad bravely cut through the outside of the stucco exterior to install the nifty, quiet bathroom fan for the first floor. Whoo hoo! I'll let him explain the details later.

Coco wishes she had opposable thumbs so she could help. And then get a treat for helping. Actually, it's all about the treat.

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First floor bathroom

For once, we aren't grumbling about living here while the restoration is going on. Because we've decided to go in a different direction with the first floor bathroom now that we've lived with it.

Better to decide that now than later, eh?

We're changing out the vertical plumbing runs in this bathroom and the one above to update them. (Also the horizontal runs in the basement.) I want them tight and long lasting. I don't want to burrow through a wall in 10 years or even 20 years from now. Plus, there was very little plaster left in the bath...the PO's had made a mess of the walls from patching things together. We decided to gut and start over.

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Hex tile disappears under grief

Bad news.

The tile which we so carefully uncovered in the first floor bathroom won't work out. There are too many repairs, too many problems behind the fixtures where the PO's tightened them down and cracked the floor.

So it will have to come up and we will prepare a "bed" for new floor tile.

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If the radiator's a-knockin'...we call the experts

We shall sleep sweetly tonight.

Al & Jose from A&M stopped by. They are teaching us about our steam boiler. As I told Al, "I am beginning to understand that this system is like a violin...she likes to be kept in tune."

A & M had stopped by to help us learn the boilerwhen we had called them before the season started. And then we began using the system every day and had knocking and a few sleepless nights. Like some of YOU have had. We know this because "knocking, noisy radiators" has been the most popular search term on the site since winter began.

So Al was very kind and patient and tried to help us out with a few extra questions on the phone. We tried some things that definitely helped. But it seemed our problems were beyond the usual. So he came to check things out. He also helped us to remove the radiator in the first floor bathroom (prepping for a new bath there!) and plot our strategy to move the radiator in the second floor bath.

First, using a wrench, they removed our bathroom radiator. I'm glad THEY did it because:

a) it is the middle of winter and our system is on...steam burns are NO FUN if you don't know what you are doing, and
b) our built-in is right up against the radiator pipe. If it needed to be capped, someone REALLY creative and knowledgable was needed.

(Click to make the photo larger)

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New bathroom window...no glass block!

Originally, the first floor bath came equipped with a window pretty common in updated bungalows 'round here. Except with the special added feature of having been boarded up on the inside.

Glass block had replaced an original double-hung window years ago.

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Lesson Learned...Get Pressure Balancing Valves

So remember how we were really excited about our bathroom fixtures from Chicago Faucets?

Well, our contractor came over to discuss the bathroom plumbing and tile work. Everything was going very well and it looks like he's ready to start next week. (!!!) We showed him the tearout work we'd done, told him the tile patterns we want, and discussed replacing the supply lines with new copper pipe.

Then he asked if we wanted to go with the old or new fixtures. I said we'd be keeping the tub, sink and toilet but that we'd chosen new plumbing fixtures. Remembering how some folks on Fine Homebuilding's "Breaktime" discussion boards spoke highly of Chicago Faucets, I walked over with pride to show him what we'd gotten.

"Yeah, Chicago Faucets makes a really solid fixture," he said. "But the bad news is that shower faucet isn't up to the new Chicago code changes." I was crushed.

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Sistering the Joists for Floor #2

The joists that support the second floor of our house are already more shallow than we'd like.

They are 6 inches deep and set on "16 and a half inch" centers (meaning, if you measure from the center of each joist...the joists are 16 1/2 inches apart.)

The size of your joists, the material they are made of, their span (or their length before they are supported by another vertical wall or post) all are part of the equation that helps you to determine how much weight they will support. (You can click at my poor illustration attempt to enlarge this picture of joists, a beam and floor. Many apologies to "This Old House".)

You want to avoid cutting into joists if you can. Any material that you cut out of a joist (and there are better ways to do this than others) can weaken the support the joist . You CAN cut up to a third out of a joist to run a pipe or BMX without compromising it too much and depending upon the span...but it's best to avoid testing this out too thoroughly. The beam looks like the backbone of the house, but the joists look like the ribs of its back. And you aren't going to want to break the back of your house!

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Of joists and pipes

Argh.

I know for a fact a lot of the funds we had saved up for the house are going to things that no one will ever see...because they are behind the walls and under the floors. Many days that is frustrating.

Without this work, though, it would be like slapping cosmetics on a face with no bone structure. We want the house to work well, stand straight, be strong. We don't want to have to go back into the walls for a very, very long time.

So, the joists above the first floor bathroom have been reinforced ("sistered") to help support the bathroom above. (You can see how it used to look here.)

Continue for more of "Of joists and pipes"

Old Dip Tube, New Water Heater (Ugh)

In the course of working on the plumbing for the first floor bathroom, Paul (our plumbing & tile guy) discovered we have a bad dip tube in our water heater. Quite a bit of small white material had settled at the bottom of the tank and came out when he drained the tank down to install a new hot water return line.

Now all our hot water valves are clogged up and little white plastic pieces are visible in the upstairs shower head.

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Say Hello to Our New Sears Kenmore Water Heater

There's a new member in our household today. A new 195 lbs., 50 gallon, natural gas water heater!

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Evolution of a bathroom

This is not quite to the "after stage."

Instead, there has been an evolution going on in here. And bathrooms in general have a LOT of history. Ours is no different.

Tonight, I'm seeing walls going up instead of coming down for the first time.

And that is a thing filled with HOPE. It really is. There is a reason that hope rhymes with soap. Everyone deserves a clean place. Everyone in the world.

Here's where we were back in June 2003.

Continue for more of "Evolution of a bathroom"

(3)

Tile Subfloor Won't Crack Under Pressure

We're getting ever closer to actual tile being laid down for an actual bathroom. It seems hard to believe! As a last step for the floor, the subfloor was laid down yesterday and was set by this morning.

This material is really cool!

Continue for more of "Tile Subfloor Won't Crack Under Pressure"

(2)

The Bathroom Medicine Cabinet: An Epic Saga

A few months ago we purchased a vintage medicine cabinet on eBay. It was notable because it had a distinct design and was surprisingly consistent with the existing built-in furniture original to our bungalow. So we decided to buy it. The box arrived via UPS.

Ack! The box was torn to shreds and, from looking at the exterior, it was pretty clear that the medicine cabinet took a beating as well.

Continue for more of "The Bathroom Medicine Cabinet: An Epic Saga"

(2)

A Bathroom Teaser

OK, so Heather requested a better look at our progress on the bathroom. Yes indeed, we have been hard at work and Paul has accomplished quite a bit with the tile.

Continue for more of "A Bathroom Teaser"

(2)

Lesson Learned #...um...we're up there

Lesson learned for today.

When restoring an old bathroom, have the ceramic refinished on tubs, sinks and toilets LAST. Not first.

Originally, we were not planning on doing as much to the first floor bath as we did. But plumbing problems, insulation issues, window issues...everything kept adding up to an extensive gut and rebuild.

Now, when we look back at these original pictures, we have only one question.

WHAT were we THINKING?

Continue for more of "Lesson Learned #...um...we're up there"

(8)

Vintage Clawfoot Tub, Check!

Our plans for the master bathroom have always included a clawfoot tub. In fact, we'd found a pretty good deal on newly manufactured 5' tubs from Midwest Chemicals south of Chicago.

But last week we came across a better local deal and as of yesterday morning we've got our vintage tub!

Continue for more of "Vintage Clawfoot Tub, Check!"

(7)

Bath time...then and now

Yes, I know. We still have not finished the details for the bath on the first floor to be able to show you a finished product. But we have a good excuse. We are still trying to help someone else pull the pieces of their life back together...something that is not very easy to do in these troubled times. So, all the time we haven't been spending at work, we've spent on that. And we are glad to have made that choice.

Which is why--tense and tired--I was really craving a bath tonight.

For those of you who might not have been with us in those early days, here is what bath time USED to look like in the first weeks of the house.

Continue for more of "Bath time...then and now"

(4)

A Labor of Love

We spent almost the entire weekend on just one thing: stripping bathroom woodwork and trim. J worked upstairs on the bathroom built-in.

At the same time I was downstairs working on the cabinet drawers and bathroom door.

Our conclusion? This is tedious work! But this morning we did have one gratifying feeling of closure...

Continue for more of "A Labor of Love"

(4)

More Labor, More Love

Even after last weekend, to get things done we both had to take off from work today to focus on the final touches for the bathroom...

...sanding the woodwork...

Continue for more of "More Labor, More Love"

Jeannie Gets a Gold Star

Well actually, Jeannie got the "hero" award and a gold star for hardest worker, all in one day...

After getting started last week, Saturday we finished off packing up all of the rolled pink insulation and most of the original sawdust and tarpaper beneath that.

Why does Jeannie get both the gold star and the hero award? Well...

Continue for more of "Jeannie Gets a Gold Star"

(5)

One Person's Trash...

While much of our focus in this first year is getting miscellaneous old stuff out of this house, today we made an exception and reversed the trend.

Continue for more of "One Person's Trash..."

(2)

Scraping Off Mastic

Yesterday we spent the afternoon scraping off residue from the 9x9 tile in the first floor bedroom...you know, the one with the nutty, fun map wall.

Continue for more of "Scraping Off Mastic"

(7)

Weekends

Generally, weekends are an all out tag team frenzy to make a dent in our "to do" list. These things fall into two categories...maintenance and restoration.

Spring mornings have not been starting with the sweet chirping of the little finches that make Dave the Cat so crazy to be outside. No, they have been starting with the asthmatic wheezing of a pigeon couple who have taken up residence under one of our eaves.

Continue for more of "Weekends"

(2)

Progress on the Bedroom Ceiling

Tonight we finished off the bedroom ceiling. Removing the original (badly damaged) ceiling will allow us to reinforce the joists under the master bathroom.

This ceiling ended up coming down pretty quick...

Continue for more of "Progress on the Bedroom Ceiling"

(6)

Plans for the Second Floor

This weekend we're getting a real start in on the second floor. We've gotten a few things started before (like this and this) but our real focus on getting the whole floor done starts today.

So, it makes some sense to clarify exactly what we're intending to do...

Current	Planned

Continue for more of "Plans for the Second Floor"

(4)

Yesterday's Progress on the Master Bathroom

As promised, we dove in on the master bathroom work today. We definitely had mixed emotions about seeing the plaster go, but the combination of the cracking, the years of unventilated moisture and the hodge-podge of work done on the room over time meant it was definitely in the worst condition of any room in the house.

The great news was that some great friends helped us out so things went quickly. J (who has worked on old houses like ours countless times) took the lead on the tearout work.

Continue for more of "Yesterday's Progress on the Master Bathroom"

Ummm, What's That?

More progress on the second floor today. Specifically, we took out walls in both the bedroom closets and one wall in the master bedroom. That let us see the dead spaces hidden behind the walls where the roofline meets the floor.

This was great...except for what we saw when we found the chimney behind one of the walls...

Continue for more of "Ummm, What's That?"

(5)

The Attic Experts are Attic Experts

Quick entry tonight...we were rescued today by Steve from "The Attic Experts", who arrived and dealt with the remaining insulation and raccoon "stuff."

Continue for more of "The Attic Experts are Attic Experts"

Chimney Repair Advice

After discovering last weekend that the interior chimney on the second floor had deteriorated horribly, we quickly got a contractor in today for advice. His advice was largely consistent with the comments people posted on our site. (Thanks Gary, POPS"30", Kristen, Stuart and Marty!)

At first he was thinking we could get away with a aluminum liner (cheaper) but when he saw that our chimney was originally lined with tile he recommended a stainless steel liner. Aluminum liners are cheaper, but not as ridged or durable as stainless steel.

Continue for more of "Chimney Repair Advice"

Balsam-Wool Insulation

Back when we were trying to get all the attic insulation out ourselves, we ran in to this strange stuff. It seemed to be a loose, disintegrated organic matter...dusty beige and the consistency of baby powder.

Eventually we called in the experts, who took care of it with more industrial quality tools. They did recognize the stuff and called it "balsamite." However, a search on Google didn't turn up any insulation with that name.

Since the we've been working more upstairs and have run in to more of the stuff, and today we found further proof on just what that stuff is...

Continue for more of "Balsam-Wool Insulation"

(4)

A Rolling Black Fog

Well that was interesting! Yesterday we looked a bit closer at the chimney. During the recent visit of the chimney guy, he wanted to check out the condition of the fireplace to see how it would play into the job of tuckpointing and relining the chimney. Unfortunately, he couldn't check it out because it is paneled over.

So of course, being self-starters we took it upon ourselves to check it out on our own. This was a decision we would come to regret.

Continue for more of "A Rolling Black Fog"

(5)

More of the Same

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming: the longest continuous sequence of tearout photos ever. Here Jeanne removing the trim from below the master bedroom window.

Later the same day we'd removed most of the plaster and lathe from the ceilings and the walls...

Continue for more of "More of the Same"

(4)

What's In Your Gutter?

Rainy weekend...new homeowners. What to do? What to do?

Clean the gutters. Especially since the maple tree down the way has let loose its little "helicopters of Spring." Which I thought were really cool when I was about 8 years old.

Now?

Not so much.

Continue for more of "What's In Your Gutter?"

(1)

A Miracle in Silica and Water

Yesterday we met a sage of vintage masonry. After an extensive parade of contractors came by with contradictory advice on how to repair our chimney and front porch, Andy settled the debate. Within five minutes of arriving, we were up on the roof. Five minutes later his grinder was out and he'd removed the mortar one inch deep over a two square foot area. What did we discover?

• The chimney had actually already been rebuilt, just with the wrong type of mortar.
  
• The existing job was done using a cement mortar with little to no lime, which is much too hard for use with old bricks from 1914.
  
• The existing chimney cap isn't keeping water out. This, combined with the hard mortar and soft bricks, is forcing moisture out through the bricks and causing the white efflorescence to form on the brick face. (This can create spalling and eventually ruin the bricks beyond repair.)
  
• The chimney cap covers over the decommissioned chimney vent. We'll need a new cap and two stainless steel liners (one for each flue) to install the gas stove we've had our eye on.
  

Sounds bad. Don't worry, it gets better....

Continue for more of "A Miracle in Silica and Water"

(4)

Laundry Chute Question

We're trying to figure out if and how we could fit a laundry chute into our first and second floor bathrooms. We think it could work, although the space and placement of the access holes would be tight.

Does anyone out there have experience with this? Information online seems to be sparse. Specifically:

- How wide should the chute be, minimally?
- Is it typically round (like PVC) or square (like metal duct-work)?

Any ideas are welcome.

(10)

Yuck!

Homeownership is not always pretty.

This spring, we had Gary (from Cellar Master) take a look into the sewer system underneath the house when he came to service our Celler Master unit. (Which was installed by his dad. How COOL is THAT?) Things hadn't been smelling quite so, um, "fresh" lately.

Continue for more of "Yuck!"

(3)

We can handle the truth...give it to us.

Sorry. A pet peeve of mine lately has been books and resources directed to homeowners that are too simple or too complex. The selections in the home section of the book store are either written for the "in one weekend DIY person"..."Three tricks to brighten up any room!" Or are aimed at contractors, "the HVAC Project Manager Planning's Guide".

Why? Why?

I would love to see more books for DIY folk who need to work on the STRUCTURE of their house. Not just windows or trim. How do you assess whether your mortar / footings / appliances installation / stair runs / ductwork or boiler pipes / etc. etc. are RIGHT or WRONG? (With clear illustrations.) And how do you fix these things if they are not? What are the advantages and problems of different fixes? How do contractors try to fix problems and which methods are better?

The home improvement book that I use to cram before any contractor interview or plan any systemic change has a simple name. But it can't be found on any store bookshelf.

Continue for more of "We can handle the truth...give it to us."

(1)

Mission Accomplished!

We've finally finished the tearout work on the second floor!

This was something we'd wanted to finish by the start of Summer, and since close definitely does count in tearout work (just like in horse shoes and hand grenades) we declare the mission accomplished!

Continue for more of "Mission Accomplished!"

(5)

A Very Long Day

Saturday A's dad came over and we all worked on the second floor. By the end we'd outlasted the sun and only had the light from a few halogen worklamps to go by.

Needless to say we're too tired to write a whole lot. :-)

(1)

Managing the Projects...Regrouting

Well, we kind of "backed into" a project and, last week, I was wondering how we got there. Let's debrief together.

Our chimney and cheek walls were a mess. Someone had "tuckpointed" them with pure cement...no lime. We needed a liner for the boiler flue and cap for the chimney to prevent the brick from spalling (we were already seeing efflorescence).

Continue for more of "Managing the Projects...Regrouting"

(6)

Leaky roof...drip, drip, drip

While we have been working on the second floor, a few thunderstorms have blown through the neighborhood.

While we are tearing down the old ceiling, we found a roof leak that still hadn't been repaired. The hard way. Drip, drip, drip. On us.

I got a bucket.

Continue for more of "Leaky roof...drip, drip, drip"

(1)

Sistered joists, sure...but sistered walls?

We spent much of this weekend doing more grunt work upstairs...today it was reinforcing an existing wall with new 2x4s.

Why did we have to do this at all? The original builder made a rather strange decision when building the original hallway...

Continue for more of "Sistered joists, sure...but sistered walls?"

(5)

2..4...6...8...Ventilate!

I'm being pulled to look at patterns in the house, but...before I do...I've got to figure out the business of this ventilation meets insulation situation.

Dig?

Two things to know about ventilation in the attic...intake and outflow. All of this has to happen above the warm part of the house. Folks with other houses would have a soffit that runs down the length of their house for the intake part...like this:

(Courtesy of Royal Homes)

Instead of soffits, we have eaves and raftertails, like this:

Continue for more of "2..4...6...8...Ventilate!"

(4)

Lesson Learned - Insulating a Vaulted Ceiling

So our goal has been to install beadboard on the vaulted dormer ceiling in the master bedroom. My father and I have been working on the room for the past few weekends and had made quite a bit of progress. As an important first step, we identified an Owens Corning product specially designed for insulating vaulted or "close" ceilings:

Bottom line? We picked the right insulating solution but should have read the fine print a bit more closely once work on the master bedroom had begun.

Continue for more of "Lesson Learned - Insulating a Vaulted Ceiling"

(3)

Patterns in the House

Sorry about the uneven posting schedule. I've been waking up sitting on the couch with the laptop on my knees and the lights in the room blazing. Such is insomnia...one minute you're awake and the next minute you're wondering "Wah? Wah is this rice cake still doing in my mouth?" Especially when you have pets. Hungry pets.

Anyway. It was during another insomnia-fueled episode that I took these photos while looking for the patterns in the house.

Some of the clues are: the role of uneven numbers, especially threes; borders; and "x = y". Intuitively, this house appealed to us before we even figured out that these patterns existed here. In our old bedroom, we had a dresser that illustrated the basic principles in this house:

Continue for more of "Patterns in the House"

(2)

A unique solution to cooling off: Part 1

Four weeks ago, Coco and Dave the Cat were complaining that there wasn't enough space for us to ALL huddle in front of the window A/C unit. I guess Aaron and I WERE taking up a lot of space.

So we researched and talked and researched and talked, and then we called:

This Guy

Tony, from Unique Indoor Comfort in Elmhurst

Continue for more of "A unique solution to cooling off: Part 1"

(1)

Vent! Vent!

After I recovered from the blues & greys on Saturday, I moved it into gear on the second floor. (It's hard to stay down when you hear your dedicated spouse really working it up there. Just the guilt alone propels you out of your funk...)

So I borrowed this handy tool from our awesome neighbors, Krystina & Jay.

Continue for more of "Vent! Vent!"

(3)

Old Plaster Ceiling Finish...

We thought the Dining Room ceiling was JUST drywall. With a bad tape job.

And a strange, out of place chandelier.

Continue for more of "Old Plaster Ceiling Finish..."

(5)

Back to the Boiler

Chicago weather. Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold.

So, in preparation for the upcoming winter, we had the boiler serviced. If you recall, last winter, we were having some funky problems with the boiler. We needed to shim the radiators to stop some knocking. We were properly maintaining it by draining off the sediment in the boiler on a very regular basis (once or twice a month). But...water was being added back to the boiler until it backed up into the pipes and out of a couple of steam vents in the basement.

Our steam boiler :)

Continue for more of "Back to the Boiler"

(1)

Raindrops are falling on my head

Remember the ceiling leak? Way back when?

Well, yesterday we did get around to finding that. I had been such an Eeyore about it . Poor Aaron was overwhelmed with my visions of the snow and ice and rain and everything else that would cover us this winter if we did not find and fix it imMEDiately.

I was being pretty grouchy.

Continue for more of "Raindrops are falling on my head"

(3)

Skylight Installation

As I said yesterday, here are photos of the two new skylights Jay installed in our master bedroom. Jay, our neighbor, worked evenings during the week and finished up this morning (which explains the varied lighting in the photos we took).

Jay's a former carpenter, so we were thrilled to get his help....

Continue for more of "Skylight Installation"

(4)

Contest: Worst renovation project EVER!!

Really...we shouldn't feel better when someone shares our pain.

Being human, this strange coincindence DOES make me feel better. It is yucky and twisted. So, Derek of Human Improvement Hell in Massachusetts sent us a picture to, um, make us feel better.

He found the Mother of All Mouse Nests. In his house.

(If you click on any photo, it should enlarge it. For those of you who have never seen it, this is original KNOB and TUBE wiring.)

I think that this needs to BE A CONTEST!!! Send us a digital photo of your worst renovation nightmare. Get it as detailed as possible. Include the story. We'll have folks VOTE on them and we'll be giving out FABULOUS prizes that we find somewhere in the house.

Photos need to be in by October 1st at 12:00 midnight and sent to owners@ houseinprogress. net in order to qualify.

Continue for more of "Contest: Worst renovation project EVER!!"

(8)

Design Quirk #238: Interior Windows

You may recall a good while back, our architect friend Dave came by with his daughter Addie. We took them upstairs to check out our progress--at that point we'd just finished tearing the walls down to the studs.

Observing that our second floor hallway (the photo above) was a bit bland and isolated, Dave came up with a fantastic suggestion: open up the hallway with interior windows!

Installed high to the ceiling on both sides, they could provide natural light, create a more open feel, and tie together the whole second floor. It was just the type of design idea we love--a bit of the unexpected when you reach the top of the stairs that can make that space feel special.

I had no idea then just how much work that simple idea would require...

Continue for more of "Design Quirk #238: Interior Windows"

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Master Bathroom Redesign

(Psst! You. With the computer. You have two more days to vote in our "worst house project" contest! The votes are streaming in, so make sure your vote is counted!!!)

Some of you may remember our past contest. And you also might remember the winning entry of that contest. Kristen's winning design ultimately directed us to the bathroom design we're now working towards today. But even with these decisions made, our detailed designs for the bathroom have remained on the drawing board for a while. Since that drawing is nearby, here you are...

Continue for more of "Master Bathroom Redesign"

(2)

What NOT to do

Have you ever had one of those restoration weeks? The kind where nothing goes right?

Fixing the wood trim last week with a cycle of carving out, water-resistant Bondo, sanding and priming went pretty well. I was feeling good...we were cruising!

But this week? Not so much.

Continue for more of "What NOT to do"

(4)

Gearing Up for Winter

Winter. Cold. Water. Snow. Ice.

Protect. Protect. Seal. Protect. Protect.

Get cover for external air conditioner unit so it doesn't get full of water and snow.

Wrestle it on.

Update: After lots of consistent feedback (thanks readers!) we've decided against the AC cover. Our HVAC installer also confirmed it--they can cause more harm than they prevent by holding in moisture that can damage the equipment. The better alternative? A plywood board across the top to simply protect from falling ice.

(5)

Let there be...

I asked my husband to design some light into our soon-to-be-sanctuary and...voila!

Let there be light!

Continue for more of "Let there be..."

(1)

Wall Insulation Question

As Jeannie mentioned, I've been insulating the second floor (with some valued help from my dad) the past few days. A bit later than I'd hoped but at least we're beating the start of the true cold season by a bit.

For the walls I've been using standard kraft-faced R-13 fiberglass batts. (More of a write up on that coming soon...) Anyway, I've run in to a question and figured I'd throw it out to visitors of the site...

Continue for more of "Wall Insulation Question"

(9)

The House the Internet Built

(Image courtesy of CNN.com)

Having a blog like this one is the gift that keeps on giving--twice in the last two weeks, we've gotten great advice from readers that has changed our thinking.

First, several folks (including our HVAC installer!) discouraged us from using an air conditioner cover for the outdoor condenser during the winter. Their advice--a plywood board resting on the top--will still protect it from the harshest elements but won't trap moisture inside like the cover could have.

Second, after posting a question about using kraft-faced insulation, readers consistently pointed us to 4 mil plastic instead for a tighter seal (i.e., a combined air/vapor barrier).

So, thanks everyone and keep the advice coming...our house wouldn't be the same (or as interesting to work on) without you!

(2)

Survival. A Renovation Reality.

We're hunkering down here at HouseinProgress for a long, cold, dark winter. Very Little House on the Prairie.

This is partly due to the fact that short days work against us; can't work much in the evening. And partly due to the fact that I am, once again, going through a wicked, messy med change that makes a hospital bed sound very, very good.

So, we aren't advancing in leaps and bounds. Poor Paul (hi Paul!) pulled his back recently and so the second floor bath...? Not going anywhere fast. Backs are important and they get priority.

We need to seal up the house against the elements and quickly! Aaron is working on the insulation...I'm trying to do my part as well.

Continue for more of "Survival. A Renovation Reality."

(6)

Stripping the Woodwork

If the house is cold, put on a sweater and break out the Silent Paint Remover.

(Click on the photo to enlarge it. Admire the nice stain on the wood!)

You'll be warm and have nice woodwork in no time. Later on, I'll use it to heat up leftovers.

Sadly, it is more trustworthy than my oven.

(5)

Front Porch Evolution...the year in review

Wow! We are so close to having the welcoming front porch we would love to have. We're just a door, a mailbox, house numbers and new exterior paint job away from PERFECTION! (Or, at least, very nice and better than before.)

Continue for more of "Front Porch Evolution...the year in review"

(7)

Still camping with a mortgage?

Last night, I was searching for some information about the house that I couldn't remember. And I stumbled across old notes and photos from our very first tour inside.

It's hard not to want to "grade" your progress at this time of year. Time still seems to move very slowly. And, because we are still working inside of the walls, progress looks like chaos.

It really was a bit more chaotic back then, although it is difficult for me to see that sometimes. Does it still feel like we are camping with a mortgage, as I wrote to our pals on the Bungalow forum in June, 2003?

Well. Maybe not AS much. I used to come home to this...

Continue for more of "Still camping with a mortgage?"

(9)

I Married the Maytag Repairman Woman

So you may recall that Jeannie had previously fixed our dryer. We were all understandably impressed.

But when the washer broke, I'll admit that I was skeptical. You see, a dryer seems relatively simple to me--it spins and clothes rotate until they're dry. But a washer is a whole different ballgame--there's water involved!

Anyway, I shouldn't have underestimated my wife...

Continue for more of "I Married the Maytag Repairman Woman"

(18)

When is a 2x4 not a 2x4?

Actually, I've known it for awhile--modern 2x4s are smaller than they used to be. As lumber mills became more sophisticated over the past century, the industry settled on the modern dimensions to maximize the number of boards they could get per tree.

That's all fine and good, but I didn't expect this difference to cause so many problems as we worked on our second floor.

More tomorrow...

(3)

Survivor Bungalow: Temporary Kitchen Makeover

OK, here's the scoop.

Our budget will carry us through most of creating a "clean space" to live in on the second floor. We'll still have a lot of work up there...but this will finally be a clean space for us. No open walls, no open ceilings, no open floors. Whoo hoo!

But we need a survival plan for the kitchen.

(Kitchen before we purchased the house.)

Continue for more of "Survivor Bungalow: Temporary Kitchen Makeover"

(23)

Too Much Going

This seems to have become the guilt and handwringing blog, of late. I guess one can only take so much dust, reduced living space and general chaos before it starts to wear you down. ;-)

The real kicker for me? Unfinished projects. It just seems like we've maybe started too many things.

I'm hoping a recap here will bring some sort of moment of clarity in which I can priortize some of this all and figure out what we could actually get some closure on...

Continue for more of "Too Much Going"

(8)

Present Kitchen, Future Kitchen

I'm actually getting a little less depressed about our current kitchen with all of these great ideas coming in. w00t!

Here is the layout of the current kitchen:

(Courtesy of IKEA's Kitchen Planner and Paintbrush...you can click on it to enlarge it)

Continue for more of "Present Kitchen, Future Kitchen"

(12)

Entryway Light 1, Super Bowl 0

I spent most of the Super Bowl last night finally installing a new light to replace one that wasn't a good match for our place.

Did I mention the entry way is right next to the TV? ;-)

My favorite commercial? The one with NFL players singing showtunes.

(7)

Spring Cleaning, Out of Season

So today was the first Saturday in awhile where we got up and actually spent most of the day (all day and evening hours) working on the house. This was even more amazing to us given the fact that by 'working on the house' we don't mean writing for this website or (even more frequent these days) reading websites about other houses.

It didn't hurt that it was almost 50 degrees in Chicago today. (A heatwave, people!) As a recap, here's what we did on this beautiful not-Spring day in February...

Continue for more of "Spring Cleaning, Out of Season"

(3)

Back to Work!

OK, down to business. After a fair amount of downtime and time spent on other things, we began the next phase started upstairs--with reinforcements to help!

Yep, our friend Paul and his team will be helping us with the master bathroom. You remember the upstairs bathroom, right?

Yeah, that one.

Continue for more of "Back to Work!"

(4)

Things are Taking Shape

It's so pleasing to admire professional work with Paul's team onsite. Especially when things have been in disarray for a while. Even small things like the well-built frame of a future medicine cabinet can bring a lot of hope.

Continue for more of "Things are Taking Shape"

(4)

Cool Portable Table Saw!

Apart from the craftsmanship, it's also neat to have Paul's crew around for the cool tools they bring to the site. Like this portable table saw.

(And no, we're still not getting one ourselves any time soon. )

Paul has been pretty productive with it, so soon we'll have some more photos to share of the framed out sink area and even the new shower enclosure.

Stay tuned!

(5)

Custom Shower Framing Complete

As promised, here is the framing for the shower.

Paul's guys have done a great job, packing alot in a space that will be compact but very efficient...

Continue for more of "Custom Shower Framing Complete"

(8)

Working for Your Contractor

This has got to be one of those experiences that do-it-yourself'ers can bond over...those times when you feel like you work more for your contractor than they work for you.

I took a morning to insulated the bathroom. Paul's team finished up the framing for the new shower, so insulation the outer wall is the last thing that needs to be done before they install the durock and the drywall starts going in.

Continue for more of "Working for Your Contractor"

(2)

The Durock is in the House!

Paul's team has made a lot more progress in the master bathroom. The Durock backing for the shower walls and the tile floor are in place. What is Durock? Good question that the folks at US Gypsum answer here.

The next thing up will be the walls. Not just the bathroom--the entire second floor!

Continue for more of "The Durock is in the House!"

(4)

Home Improvement Projects at a Glance

We've added a new overview of our active projects to our home page, down just a bit on the right hand side. For each project, it displays a percentage completion. It's a rather subjective measurement, but it does help show others what we're (supposedly) working on and keeps us motivated too.

If you maintain your own houseblog, you can add your own version pretty easily: instructions are available here.

(5)

Restoring a Clawfoot Tub

We were really excited to find an old clawfoot tub through a friend for the upstairs bath. It had a few layers of chipping paint on the outside, and the inside had been "flower decal-ed" (a la the 60's)...but, all in all, it was in great shape. Solid iron.

So, how do we bring this tub back from the brink...?

Continue for more of "Restoring a Clawfoot Tub"

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Ouch.

For a while we'd been posting about our intentions for the second floor walls.

Specifically, when we had to tear out the original walls (extensive water damage to the wood lathe as well as years of the raccoons using the ceilings as their litter box), we did so on the condition that we'd re-do the room with plaster as well.

The plan had been to use a technique called plaster skimcoat--a sort of hybrid approach using a sheetrock-like material called blueboard as a base, then covering the entire surface with a single pass covering of plaster. Faster and cheaper than original plaster, it offers many of the same benefits regarding durability, look, and integrity with the original period our home was built.

That was the plan. Unfortunately, life didn't work out quite that way...

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Wall It Up

Well, we survived the delivery of the 5/8" drywall through the front windows of the second floor. Barely. My nerves are still recovering.

Walls are up. This is pre-taping and pre-mudding.

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The real bathroom :)

Sorry for the little April Fools joke. We couldn't resist. The tile is in upstairs.

Just to remind you...here is what the upstairs bath looked like before we moved in...

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Taped, Mudded, Ready to Paint

First up, lesson learned. PUT LOTS OF TARPS OR PLASTIC ON THE FLOOR WHILE IT IS BEING MUDDED. Around the edges isn't enough. Obviously.

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The new front door has arrived!

Whoo hooo! The new front door has finally arrived! We have to stain it and install the hardware before we put it in, but it will look so nice eventually.

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Thanks a Mullion

I have been stripping the windows and I need a better technique for taking paint off of the windows mullions.

This is a mullion.

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Mullions and Mullions

Whew. Seven windows. Seven large, painted windows in our sunroom. And I'm seeing mullions in my sleep.

But the work has been paying off.

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This is My Window to the World

Aaron was working on the laundry chute this weekend, and I was on windows duty. Restoring windows duty.

I won't get into the restore vs. replace debate here. We're restoring. For us, it's less expensive because the current windows are in good shape. After we tighten them up, and get all of the storms repaired and put back, they will be extremely weather tight.

Upstairs, that meant repainting and weatherstripping the bathroom windows with spring bronze. We used primer on the outside for our future exterior paint job (to protect the wood) and used primer and white enamel on the inside to protect the wood against condensation and humidity.

(We're going to try to restore the stain and shellac of the other windows in the house.)

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We Have a Bathroom Door!

As part of our work this weekend trimming out the master bathroom, we also re-hung our bathroom door. When we realized that we were going to be forced to tear out the plaster and lathe walls upstairs, we took some small consolation in the fact that we could still retain the original solid core Prairie-style doors (and all of the trim, which we carefully removed). In the bathroom, the same door is going back in.

Unfortunately, like all projects, reinstalling the door turned out to be more complicated than we'd expected...

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The Shower (Cue Majestic Music Here)

I'm really going to have to get it in gear and work out harder. Just to be worthy of the shower that Aaron has designed.

Some of the glass came in already and it is easier to imagine what it will look like now. I'm impressed! Just to recap, here is what everything looked like before:

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The Dash to the (first) Finish Line

Sorry, sorry everyone. I have been dry and boring and punky lately as I'm hauling myself to the finish of the second floor.

Not that the second floor will be finished in days or even a week, but it is closer than ever. Somehow I feel like a high school senior who is one month away from graduation...I know I have only weeks to go, but GAH! I've been working for so long, and I'm so tired...can't I just quit here? Of course, the answer is "no". I officially have "senioritis." What would that be called for old house people? "Renovation-itis?"

Aaron tried to "re-spark" my energy by stripping one of the basement windows so we could paint it in the colors we are thinking of...

This is the old paint job...

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Master Bathroom Progress Eye Candy

OK, after a great visit from Paul's team during the past few days, we have some fun new photos to share. The fixtures and the remaining shower glass have now been installed. While there's still some grout and woodwork that need to be finished off, it certainly feels much closer than it has before!

Here's the view as you first enter the room from the upstairs hallway...

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Best Color to Paint the Radiator?

So, last Thursday we posted some new photos of the master bathroom--not completely done, but very close! After living with it for all of two days I've got a nagging question so J suggested I just post it for advice.

We had the radiator sandblasted down to the iron to clean it up. I then spray painted it a silver-ish grey.

Now I'm wondering--would the radiator look better painted white?

I'm nervous that the grey, while perhaps traditional, breaks up the continuity of the white beadboard wainscoating.

Your thoughts are welcome...

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Finally, Paint!

OK now! As I wrote last night, we've made good progress last night and today. I've been working on finishing the trim in the bathroom. Jeannie, on the other hand, had the more glamorous project: painting the upstairs master bedroom and office/second bedroom.

That's right, after more than a year we're finally to the painting phase!

After determining how much paint we needed (here's a handy paint estimator, by the way) Jeannie went off to Sherwin Williams to pick it up.

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Rube Goldberg's Guide to Home Improvement

As I've been mentioning recently, the remaining tasks in the master bath are now just some cabinetry and trim. Well, today I put in the very last pieces of the beadboard wainscoat.

Let me be the first to say that Rube Goldberg would be extremely proud of my methods...

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Using Salvaged Oak Flooring?

Tomorrow we have a contractor dropping by to look at our hardwood floors upstairs. Most of the job is pretty straightforward: we need someone to sand, stain, and seal the oak flooring in the two bedrooms and the upstairs hallway. However, we do have some patchwork in one area where the wall was modified slightly and about half of the master closet will need new flooring as it is currently just exposed subfloor.

The interesting wrinkle is that our great friend/bathroom contractor Paul has given us a bunch of old floorboards from his own house. He had some extras from some work he did and graciously offered the boards to us before disposing of them. We took him up on the offer, but will these be usable for re-doing the closet?

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Hardwood Flooring FAQ (or, "What I Learned About Floors Today")

Adam, the contractor we'll likely use to refinish our floors upstairs, came by today. He seemed like a good guy and his quote (which he did on the spot, to my surprise) was pretty competitive. We're confident in their work because they also did my parent's place a few years back.

The neat thing is that I learned quite a few things about our flooring (and hardwood floors in general) while walking through the job with him.

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This Weekend? All About Trim

Getting things done at the end of a major project like our second floor seems to eventually devolve into a thousand tiny things that have to get done. Painting touch-ups, installing pieces skipped here and there. Hanging doors. It's hard to feel things are moving fast enough, because each new thing is switching gears entirely.

That said, there is one big thing remaining on our plate: refinishing the original trim. The biggest part of it is actually stripping off the layers of paint and gunk. There's so much to get done, I'm even taking the next few days off from work to keep rolling on this. Not sure if we'll write much about it--not the most glamorous work.

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(Extended) Weekend Recap

After taking a few extra days off from work, man am I'm tired. Ten hours of stripping trim today and I made my goal...stripping all the second floor trim (with the Silent Paint Remover, of course). Here's the proof, with the pile on the left being the 'work pile' and the right side being the finished work... :-)

Saturday	Today

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Before Refinished Floor

Ah, the next stage in the second floor saga begins. The refinishing of the floor and stairway. Which we are outsourcing because, in Chicago, it is relatively inexpensive to do that compared to the cost of renting all of the equipment ourselves.

But first! A long last look at the old carpeting. Decades old carpeting. In a pattern that just makes me want to cry out, "WHHHYYYYYY??????" in despair.

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Repairing the Wood Floor

Mind the gap(s)!!!

We had a few outstanding repairs needed for the wood floors on the second floor. One LARGE gap in the closet...

...and a few smaller gaps where things were moved around.

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Refinished Floors

OK, now we're talking! I can say that refinished floors are definitely right up there with painted walls in the satisfaction department.

The before and after payoff is just so gratifying....

What a difference a day (or four) makes!

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Nothing Much to Look At

This last weekend we continued work upstairs, mainly painting. Most of that was actually painting the ceilings. A few thoughts...

First, while painting ceilings after you paint walls certainly isn't recommended it's actually worked out OK. The key, I think, is using a good quality paint that keeps splattering down.

Second, painting primed ceilings white doesn't make for very dramatic before and after photos... :-)

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Master Closet in Progress

We haven't posted anything in several days, but work has been happening. Specifically, we're working feverishly on finishing our master closet.

After last week's Ikea run, yesterday I finished off the base trim installation before any of the cabinetry could go in.

We then got started on assembling the Pax wardrobes yesterday afternoon.

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Ikea Pax Wardrobes Installed

We did indeed finish the installation of our new master closet wardrobes last night. Late last night, actually. The delay came because while moving one of the units in to the closet I accidently broke off the light fixture mounted on top.

Since there wasn't enough clearance to install the lighting after the cabinets were placed, I took a two hour trip out to the Ikea again just to pick up a $12 light fixture.

Anyway, even with the delay getting the cabinets done was certainly satisifying...

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Halogen Lights and Dimmer Switches?

So, we haven't posed a question to our readers in a while. While I've researched this issue myself I'm not yet sure so I thought I'd throw it out here to see if any arm chair electricians could give me some thoughts...

Specifically, is it safe to use a dimmer switch with a halogen lamp? While I've used Lutron's dimmer switches elsewhere in the house (they're great!), I've only used them with incandescent bulbs so far. Now I want to use them with the cool Ikea lamps we got to go with our PAX wardrobes...

So far, the only "expertise" I find is in discussion forums like
this one, but they never write again later to confirm that their house didn't burn down.

Thoughts?

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Staining the Trim (Twice)

Our posts of late probably make it look like we haven't been doing anything. The truth is we actually had a pretty productive weekend. With no obligations on our calendars and beautiful weather in Chicago, we were outside staining the trim we'd salvaged from upstairs.

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A Little Shellac Goes a Long Little Way

After fixing up a batch of fresh shellac, today we set about applying it to the second floor trim. The best part? My sister Kjerstin was in town from Anchorage this weekend and volunteered to help!

This actually wasn't the first time Kj spent some of her vacation time helping us on the house, but it is the first time she didn't get a chance to break something. Turns out she's good at both.

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30 Minutes Hard Labor

So the plan was to take Friday off so I could get a jump on a solid long weekend of house work. Maybe, we figured, if we could just put some solid effort in on finishing the trim we could actually do this "moving in to a clean, finished space" we've heard so much about. Unfortunately, my day job interupted this fantasy and I ended up having to work until about 4pm yesterday. Sigh.

Undeterred, I figured I could still press on. If I could at least just get done with filling the old nail holes and putting down a coat of stain I'd still be pretty close to schedule! So, I pulled out the stripped boards from the garage and got out the tools. A quick run to the local Sherwin-Williams and I was ready to go!

I made quick work of the wood filler, and after about 30 minutes I'd plugged all the holes. As I was putting the cap back on the bottle, that's when the problem hit...

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12 Hours Hard Labor, 1 Lesson Learned

Well, after only getting in 30 minutes of meaningful work on Friday we certainly made up for it Saturday. We were able to work on things pretty much non-stop from 8am until sundown. I woke up this morning and my right shoulder definitely feels the workout.

In that time we got through all the staining and most of the shellac. Our back yard looked like a trim factory!

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The Trim is In! (Sorta)

We did indeed complete the trim finishing this weekend and got it upstairs. However...like Jocelyn accurately commented last Saturday, installing the stuff was more time consuming than we'd anticipated.

So, at this point it just rests upstairs set roughly in place. Here are the photos of where we stand as of tonight...

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Toolfest!

Working on the final trim installation was doubly satisfying because we are doing some of the things necessary before we (finally!) move in upstairs AND we also used just about every tool in our arsenal…and a few rentals, too!

First, we had to pull out the trusty Bosch electric planer.

The problem was that the jambs were originally installed to fit plaster and lathe walls. Even though we used the thicker 5/8” type of drywall, the total thickness of each wall still wasn’t equal to the original walls. I know from some research that some people compensate for this by shimming out each wall stud before the drywall is installed, but that was a little beyond our skills (or planning abilities!) at the time.

Luckily, the electric plane accomplished the same outcome pretty easily. That was especially helpful because the walls didn’t end up being consistently straight. (Or, the original walls were less straight than the new walls.) Again, the plane helped forgive lots of errors.

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Second Floor Trim Installed (Mostly)

We finished our trim installation rather late at night, so we had to wait until the next morning to get good photos of the stuff installed. Anyway, here they are…

As you can see, we still haven’t gotten everything in. There are a few areas like the pocket door where we still need to pick up some new pieces that fit.

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The Return of Normal

We reached another milestone this weekend: we brought our rugs out for the first time since we moved out of our condo. Having kept them rolled up in the attic storage, they were in pretty severe need of cleaning...

Small thing, I know, but just another small touch that is making our life feel more normal.

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Second Floor Punchlist

For every construction job, after "occupancy" occurs, there are always things that need to be finished. Thus, the final "punchlist." Our own project is no exception...we still have things to finish upstairs even after we've moved in.

The difference here is the incentive system...while a general contractor works hard on the punchlist so that they can get that final check, we already scored our payoff when we moved into our new bedroom. People who visit us definitely notice that things aren't necessarily done. ("Uh, shouldn't there be a door here?") However, for us, the space is so much better than where we've been living for the last two years that the risk is that we'll now sluff off and ignore the little final things that need to be done.

So, to keep ourselves motivated to actually finish the job, we've created the formal "Second Floor Punchlist" to itemize and name the things we still need to complete.

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Advice on Finishing an Exterior Door?

Even though we haven't finished everything that needs to be completed upstairs, we're going to spend a fair amount of time on some other projects that really need to move along. Among them: installing our new front door.

We ordered and received the replacement early this summer and it's been waiting patiently for us in the basement ever since. Now the onset of cold weather is reinvigorating our sense of urgency to get it done.

Before we start applying the finish, we figured we should take advantage of the wisdom of the visitors to this site and make sure we do things right...

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Punchlist Progress: Bathroom Medicine Cabinet

Slowly but surely, we'll be taking care of everything on our second floor punchlist. Last night we took care of the first item: installing the master bathroom's medicine cabinet.

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Exterior Door Stained

After getting solid advice from several readers and other houseblogs, we took the plunge Sunday and stained our new exterior front door.

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Wishing for a Do Over

We've been restoring this house for over two years. That's more than half the time I spent in college when getting my undergraduate degree. Yet for some reason, I still always surprise myself when it comes to the things I don't think through quite right.

As part of our recent efforts to prepare and install our front exterior door, I've been working to apply the stain...not a complicated task, but also not something imprevious impervious (thanks POPS) to my poor planning.

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A Quick Fix Detour on the Road to Renovation

Someone over at Blogging Baby recently confirmed that we're not the only ones who are worried about having young kids around during construction. The difference is that we don't currently have the budget or time to pull off the full gut kitchen renovation that she's doing.

And so, instead, we offer up the latest twist in our bungalow renovation oddessy.......Kitchen Makeover, Trading Spaces style!

That's right, in the spirit of the seminal quick fix DIY show we're doing a superficial facelift of our kitchen to clean up the grime before the baby arrives.

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The Quick Fix Kitchen Makeover, Day One

Day one of our three day Trading Spaces style kitchen makeover is over, and we didn't do half bad...

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The Quick Fix Kitchen Makeover, Day Two

The second day of our Trading Spaces-style kitchen makeover was a rewarding one, although not very flashy. Basically a lot of priming and painting but not a lot of finish work that would make for good eye candy yet. Just a lot of painting action shots...

What we do have is more fun gadgets we've found helpful (or at least neat!)...

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Quick Fix Kitchen Makeover, Day Three (The Wrap Up?)

And so ends the last day of our planned Trading Spaces-style kitchen makeover. Our goal was to make over our kitchen and have it 'baby-ready" in just three days (with much appreciated help from Jeannie's parents!).

Did we make it? Here's the before and after based on what we were able to get done in three days...

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Quick Fix Kitchen Makeover, Redux

So, after lots of good input we made our choice to address our messed up kitchen floor...

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical about solving the problem with a large rug, given that it's a work area with lots of food, liquids and all. Now that it's there, though, I'll admit it works better than I expected...so, I guess this serves as my public apology to J for dragging my feet on the issue. :-)

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So, How's the Nursery Coming Along?

OK, Thanksgiving has officially come and gone--the holiday onslaught begins.  And in our household, that means another thing...the baby is coming!  Only two months to go, in fact.  Hard to believe.  Equally hard to believe that we're ready for all this.

Especially when you notice that the nursery just off of our master bedroom still looks like this...

If you don't want to read anything about baby rooms, baby toys, baby cribs or babies in general you'll want to skip this post and probably scale back your reading of this blog in general over the next month or so.  We've got lots of work to do...

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A Bedroom Only a Mother (in Law) Could Love

In a little over a month, Jeanne's mom will arrive to stay with us through the weeks just before and just after the baby is born.  I say in all ernestness: this is a very good thing.  In spite of the eight hour baby class we attended at the hospital yesterday, we don't have a clue as to what we're doing.

I'm clarifying up front that we really do want her here because the rest of this post might make you think otherwise.  Why?  Well, with the current state of things in the house we only have one place she can stay: the bedroom with the crazy wall!

The bad news is it gets worse...

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Window in the Shower Recap...FINALLY!

We have gotten a LOT of mail over the last year or so asking us to show pictures of the window in the shower.  I always mean to get around to it but forget, or can't find the camera, or something.  I got my act together this weekend (well, about this anyway) and finally have those photos.

For those of you who may not remember, we had to deal with a window in the shower of the first floor bath which had been boarded up.  It was framed in with crumbling glass block and was in terrible shape.

Why, yes, the tile was already OFF of the wall when we bought the house.  Nice eh? 

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Nursery in Progress

So, with Grace surprising us with her early arrival, we weren't completely prepared.  In particular, we hadn't quite gotten to that whole "nursery" thing...

Admittedly, Grace won't be spending a whole lot of time in a nursery for awhile but there's something about the room that just seemed to say "DCFS*"...so, we spent a bit of time this past weekend finally getting things up to snuff.

* Department of Children and Family Services.

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