Kingswood Redux

kitchen [counters + running water]

2012-01-18T18:35:00.000-05:00

Backtracking a few weeks...

The week between Christmas and New Year's proved to be very productive, as we had our counters installed and welcomed back running water to the kitchen.

We hired out the finish plumbing. Again, not because I couldn't do it, but mainly because I certainly couldn't have done it as well as this:

I almost hate to put doors on the sink cab and cover this beautiful set up!

Finishing work continues on the kitchen; although we've had a bit of a diversion in dealing with the removal of our tile floor in the lower living room. More details to come...when we have a moment to jump on here again!

kitchen [we've got gas]

2011-12-22T12:10:00.003-05:00

Propane to be exact...

Hello new tank.

Thanks for stoping by, LG double oven and microwave.

And welcome...you beautiful, blue flame!

kitchen [cab install]

2011-12-21T14:48:00.000-05:00

I may be back at some point to highlight some of the custom work we did, but in the meantime, here is a pictorial account of the install...

day one

day two

day three

test to ensure 30" sink cab holds the weight of a 15-month old -- it does

kitchen [demo and rebuilding]

2011-12-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

Demo is complete.
And the rebuilding has begun.

There are, however, no photos that document the demo process. Just so happened that the day I picked to demo, a freak, pre-Halloween snow event of sorts knocked out our power for about 12 hours. So I was literally ripping drywall off the wall in the near dark, save for a small utility lamp plugged into my neighbor's generator. I also had the fridge plugged in, but that is beside the point.

Electrical was the next logical step; and took way longer than expected. It occurs to me that everything DIY always takes longer than expected...so why don't we all just realign our expectations -- then everything would be finished on time. Here are some of the highlights:

In-wall low voltage lines for LED undercabs
Had to re-route a bunch of lines to account for a new microwave placement, new gas stove (goodbye 220v), new recessed lighting and a new pendant light. Amazingly enough, all of the receptacles ended up being in good locations, so we just switched out the boxes so everything would be consistent.
Ran wire for new switches and recessed lighting

Relocated our heating thermostat from the upstairs hallway to the main floor, in hopes of keeping the house more comfrontable during the winter.

Next step was adding a bit of new insulation to supplement the blown-in (from the previous homeowner's 90s remodel), the majority of which I was able to save, even through the drywall demo and new wiring.

Followed by the old floor removal and new luan underlayment for the Forbo Marmoleum. I ended up hiring this job out in order to save time -- the weekends are just too short, especially once I pulled out the plumbing.

In that same vein, I also hired out the new drywall install. Maybe a DIY sin in some people's eyes, but I believe its well worth the time-saved and a wise investment for the money. My installer is at the house doing his first sanding and recoat as I write. He expects to finish up by the end of the week. So it looks like painting is on tap for this weekend.

Cabinet install is scheduled to take place next weekend, as I was able to pull in my dad and brother for two straight days of IKEA kitchen fun. The counter templating is scheduled for the Monday after, so the pressure will be on. Looking at the extended forecast...it appears we might just have counters and running water by New Year's Eve.

i only had to show him once

2011-12-07T21:09:00.009-05:00

now anytime he gets that wrench in his hand, he heads for the sink cab!

kitchen [countertop decision]

2011-11-23T09:40:00.000-05:00

Cambria's White Cliff (image via Cambria's website)

We started talking kitchen renovation some two years ago. At the time, we were going to use IKEA's black brown cabinets. After deciding on cabs, we went out and looked at a number of countertop options. Two contenders emerged -- Corian and Quartz. Before I could even do any true research on either, my wife fell in love with Caesarstone's Blizzard. And that was it...our decision was made! And the decision was made that easy for the very reason that my wife never has strong preferences in any of the decisions we make for the house renovations. The fact that it was the perfect white for the dark cabs didn't hurt either. So we got a couple quotes and put them in our pocket for when we'd be ready for counters.

Let's just say those quotes stayed in our pockets through many washes! As I've mentioned before, our first child came along and put the brakes on a major kitchen renovation -- kinda hard to fiddle around in your house when you have a small little human who needs all of your attention, which was happily given, I'll add.

So when we finally got the little man somewhat figured out and started to focus on the renovation again, a few things changed -- namely the cabinets, as we decided to go with IKEA's high-gloss gray and white (ABSTRAKT). When the time came to consider counters again, I simply sent out a few requests on the Caesarstone Blizzard, in order to get some updated numbers. As a side, I was amazed by the differences in the quotes I got back, as there was a $2,300 margin between the highest and lowest quotes, with the rest falling somewhere in between. Even more puzzling was that the two lowest quotes were actually given by the companies who I knew would produce the highest quality install, which is just as important as the counter material chosen.

After choosing a company to work with, I started to review their proposal and it occured to me that we should probably visit the showroom again (duh!), with our new doors and backsplash intact, and take a look at the Blizzard against them. Well...let's just say Blizzard was the first color we eliminated. In sum, it wasn't the perfect white for the high-gloss whites and grays. We went through all of the quartz samples (from the various companies) and had a hard time deciding between Caesarstone's Pure White and Cambria's White Cliff, which was the whitest of the two. So I asked for prices on both. Turns out the Cambria product is all but a $1,000 less than the Caesarstone Pure White. And Cambria is manufactured in the United States (maybe the overseas shipping accounts for the price difference between the two?), so it has that added "green" value to it.

So the decison was made -- White Cliff.

kitchen [starting to feel real]

2011-10-20T20:35:00.001-04:00

The kitchen has been a mess ever since I removed the old railing almost two years ago. We delayed the kitchen renovation last year this time to focus on the birth of our first child. At some point after everyone put up the new 2011 calenders, I got the redux bug again. Sometime in early-Spring, I worked up a design board and presented our initial design here. That design went through a number of changes and we finally got the kitchen ordered in late-Summer and delivered in early-Fall. About half of them are built and waiting patiently in our garage for the big install -- but that's still a few weeks off.

Even with all of that activity, it wasn't until this past Saturday, when my dad and I removed one of the existing wall cabinets (for the new window install) and then started to rework a bunch of the electric, that this feeling came over me that this whole kitchen redux is actually going to happen. At some point this week, Angie and I both said: "Wow...this feels real!"

And that feeling was only intensified today when I arrived home from work to this:

That's a newly installed Pella 350 Series casement window, for those following along at home.

We hope to finish the new electrical this weekend, begin some drywall demo and then take a serious look at the remainder of the DIY work schedule to put in place a plan that will keep us in a somewhat working kitchen until all the little pieces can fall into place so that we're ready for the new cabinet install. My plan is to blog as many of the little steps along the way as I have time to. Stay tuned...

kitchen [final design]

2011-09-28T11:32:00.000-04:00

We finalized our kitchen design in August thanks to some helpful comments on our initial design from some of our readers here, as well as "personalshopper" over at IKEAFANS. We're very pleased with the modifications to our initial plan. The most significant change, remodeling-wise, was the decision to move the only window in the kitchen. In order to keep the sink centered on the window, we'll also have to move the plumbing for the sink and the dishwasher. These moves created a domino effect of minor changes that, when combined, give us a more useful layout:

We switched out the 36" sink cab for the 30" sink cab -- we had originally planned for a 32" sink, but when I actully pulled out the tape measure while standing over our current sink, it just seemed a bit large for what we need, especially considering the size of our kitchen and its lack of counter space. We can certainly get a 28" sink in the smaller cab and, depending on what the countertop guys say, may be able to squeeze in a 30" sink.
Smaller sink leads directly to increased counter space. In addition, the new placement of the sink increases the countertop area of the critical work zone between the sink and the stove.
Smaller sink cab allowed us to use the 37" corner cab, which we plan to modify using a kidney-shaped, shelf-based lazy susan, instead of IKEA's center-pole susan.
Using the 37" corner cab opened up a space to the right of the stove that is perfect for a 5" pullout shelf.
The 37" corner cab also opened up space to the left of the stove, allowing us to go with a wider drawer cab and counter area next to the fridge.

After a lot of thought and careful measurements and re-measurements (by my engineer/father), trying to account for every quarter-inch from ceiling to floor, I decided to go with the 39" wall cabinets. Our final measurements show 16.5" between the bottom of the wall cabs and the top of the counters -- not ideal, but I believe it will prove workable.

I should also mention that we were able to finalize the plans during the last week of the IKEA kitchen sale. I didn't want to visit the store on the final weekend of the sale (can't even imagine the chaos), so I took a day off work and ventured down on a weekday. I worked with a kitchen associate who knew his stuff and spent about an hour going over the order with him. Delivery is scheduled for next week -- I keep telling my wife its like Christmas in October! The plan is to store it all in the garage and build it (and they will come) whenever the little guy lets us.

More to come...

[modern] cornhole

2011-09-01T09:28:00.001-04:00

So the kid is turning one and we needed another yard game for his party. Wanted to go with a classic -- cornhole. Located a detailed set of DIY instructions and went to work! Everything except the hardware was sourced from my garage -- leftover birch plywood from a nursery project and 2x4s that were actually left behind by the previous owner.

I wanted to go with a classic, modern look for the board -- using walnut stain on the birch (finished with a water-based, semi-gloss poly) and high-gloss white paint on the frame and legs. I considered making it primary red or blue for the kids, but something inside me yearned for a more modern and timeless cornhole board!

I was planning on making two boards, as the instructions call for, but decided that we really had no need for two -- we'll simply have a foul line marked by a stick (or some other item laying around the backporch), make the tosses, retrieve the cornhole bags and then make the long (27 foot) walk back to the foul line. [Cornhole purists around the world shudder.] Official rules here.

My wife was tasked with making the cornhole bags...but life took over, the party date was nearing and we decided just to order them. We're very impressed with the color and quality of the ones we purchased.

And the best part...

The newly-minted one-year-old approves! Good times.

Modern Stairs

2011-08-11T09:50:00.001-04:00

Modern stairs come in a wide array of shapes, materials and designs. And I've seen some amazing ones out there on the interwebs -- too many to even think about listing. The photos below happen to be our inspiration shots for stairs that we believe look beautiful, are designed well and work within our modest modern renovation scheme.

Unfortunately, I don't have credits or sources for either of these photos. We're leaning toward the bottom design and I have requests for estimates out now -- one using walnut, another using oak (that would be stained a walnut or ebony color).

Before I go, I should also mention the finish of the wall around the stairs, as seen above. It brings the wall flush (or almost flush) with the stair casing. Here's a better detail shot of that, and another great set of stairs, from the guys over at BUILD Blog:

This look is achieved using a shadow bead or "Z" reveal mold on the edge of your drywall. I'm planning to use this molding throughout the kitchen redux and hope to provide more detail -- from a DIY perspective, of course -- once the project gets underway.

Modern Guardrails

2011-06-30T12:27:00.000-04:00

The latest on the kitchen redux is that we are still in the planning stages. The good news is that I received an email from IKEA yesterday announcing a new kitchen sale that runs through August 21, 2011 -- so I'm confident we'll make that deadline.

The backstory on our lack of progress is that after posting our initial design on the IKEAFANS site, I only received one response. However, it proved to be a very important one. A kind FAN suggested that we move a window to achieve a more beneficial layout. I agreed and went to work to see how realistic it would be to complete. Moving a window is something that I have no time or desire to complete myself, so I need to call in a few contractors for quotes. We're also thinking about having a short run of stairs up to the kitchen rebuilt, so I'd like the contractor to include that in the quote as well. Finally, we need to come up with a modern guardrail solution for the kitchen, and I'd like to float those ideas past the contractors as well.

So that required us to sit down and come up with an idea of the look we're hoping to achieve with the new guardrail. Although I've been collecting inspiration shots over the past couple of years, there are pros and cons to all of them, especially when you throw in an extremely mobile 10 month old (who will only grow older and more mobile).

Here's our current space:
For those looking to get your bearings, you're standing in our "lower living room" looking up to the kitchen. The short run of three stairs is to your left and the lower living room's drop ceiling is visible at the top of the picture. The wood paneling will be replaced with drywall during the kitchen remodel. At some point, I hope to build a floating desk on that short wall.

Here are some inspiration shots that we're considering, along with our thoughts on each:

Glass w/ Stainless or Aluminum Hardware
Pros: Will create sense of openness between kitchen and living room, making the small kitchen feel larger; love the look of the exposed hardware
Cons: Glass + Toddler(s) = Never Clean; although I haven't priced this out yet, I get the sense that this is one of the more expensive routes to take

Plexiglass or 3form
Pros: Creates sense of openness; still a big fan of the exposed hardware; depending on finish, easier to keep clean than glass; suspect plexi is cheaper than glass
Cons: Although not fully researched, I suspect these materials are more susceptible to scratching, 3form is expensive and not easily sourced

Cable w/ Stainless or Aluminum Hardware
Pros: Nice, clean, modern look; creates sense of openness; easy to clean, may be more economical than glass
Cons: Horizontal Rails + Toddler(s) = Climbing Hazard (although I have some ideas for temporary covers/guards to thwart any climbing)

Aluminum Fence-like Divider
Pros: Modern look; safe; probably the most economical choice
Cons: Not as clean looking as other options; creates a more closed-in feeling

Aluminum, Steel or either material combined with wood

Pros: Vertical balusters are possible, which eliminates the climbing hazard; clean, simple look that creates openness between the rooms

Cons: I suspect custom fabrication would be required here -- run for the hills (unless you know someone or are willing to learn to weld yourself!)

I'll be back at some point with some inspiration shots for the stairs. In the meantime, drop a comment with your thoughts, ideas, resources and links on modern guardrail solutions.

nursery

2011-05-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

You may recall the peek inside the nursery from a while back. We finished the room shortly thereafter and the little guy arrived in September; but the first-time parent thing kicked in and it's taken us a while to finally capture some pictures of the room and get this post together.

We didn't stray too far from our design board, just the typical subsitutions when you can't source a certain product, find something better or simply don't want to spend the money on another one (I'm talking to you, Eicho Crib).

Although my wife made a lot of the design calls, let's face it, the true foreman on the job was our cat. Big thanks to Chance for your excellent leadership throughout this facelift of a project!

Let's talk paint first. This room had a short-lived stint as an office, whose walls were painted using Behr's Ultra Pure White so we would have a blank slate to work with later. So all of the white you see in the nursery remained the same. The major splash of color came in a deep blue feature wall, which would anchor the white crib. We choose PPG's pure performance -- its a zero VOC paint that received excellent feedback on various online professional painter forums. I echo these reviews -- excellent coverage, true color and no noticable odor. Cobalt Stone is the proper name of the blue, and Leap Frog the green, which you'll see in later pictures.

We'll start the tour of this small room at the aforementioned crib. Regular readers of Apartment Therapy's ohdeedoh should recognize this at the ever-popular, low-budget/high-quality BabyMod Parklane. We loved the clean, simple, modern-look. And the drawer on the bottom added valuable storage in the small space. Speaking of that drawer, it's a hack of sorts, although the only thing I did was slap on a few coats of the Ultra Pure White High-Gloss to cover the original honey-stained drawer front. The rug, curtains, rod and blackout shade are all IKEA grabs. My wife made a skirt for the crib (needed when raised to the highest mattress position) using the excess fabric from the curtins. Oh...and the perfectly modern mobile is the Big Dipper Baby Mobile (small) from The Wonderland Studio.

We thought about painting a tree on the wall, but decided that we liked the clean lines of a vinyl wall decal from Leen the Graphics Queen. Leen was great in working with us on a custom size and sent out tons of color samples before we placed the order.

A simple turn of the head takes us to the next stop on our tour. I could make up a catchy name for this corner like "the reading nook" or the "chill corner," but let's face it, when the boy was little (0-6 months), we rocked him to sleep and did a few feedings on the IKEA rocker -- the IKEA bookcase just looked cool. Now that he's bigger (8 months), he pulls himself up and stands here by himself, tortures the cats when they lay on the rocker and pulls most of the books off the shelves and toys out of the baskets; and that's only when he's not trying to get into the trash can next to the dresser (which you haven't seen yet).

The rocker, which I suspect has been discontinued because I can't find it on the website, is fairly comfrontable for putting the kid to sleep, but not so much when you need to get up while holding said kid -- its a bit low to the ground and deep in the seat. We're looking forward to the book readings that are sure to happen in the future. You know, the ones where the kid can jump on and off your lap without you having to pick them up and put them back down!

Also note the bear on the bottom shelf -- mine from when I was a kid. His name is Bandit, after the dog on Jonny Quest (one of my childhood cartoon favs)!

A closer inspection of the featured art in this corner reveals more vinyl, this time Birds On A Wire Squares from Byrdie Graphics. In their truest sense, they are meant to be adhered directly to a painted wall, but we wanted to add a bit of visual interest to the wall. So we purchased a sheet of birch plywood from the Home Depot and had them cut it down into squares. After a bit of sanding, we slapped on the Leap Frog paint, installed the hanging hardware and went about hanging them as level as possible. No magic or special tricks to speak of, just a Hang & Level, a touch of math and a little patience!

Let's see...modern piggy bank from Amazon.com (I believe) and the beautiful wooden stacking toy from Little Sapling Toys. Paired with some plastic greenery and one of our favorite reads, no matter your age!

Our final stop on this short tour does require one to turn in place. Hopefully you're not exhausted, yet? IKEA MANDAL -- this dresser not only looks great, but it's a pretty solid piece, as far as IKEA furniture goes -- solid birch casing with solid birch drawer sides and backs. A pretty nice piece that should take us well into the teenage years. But make no mistake about it, the star here is the BabySmart Cooshee Changer (Lime). We absolutely, 100% love it, recommend it and can't imagine diaper changes without it.

We leave you with an unstagged shot of what the nursery looks like on a pretty average day, just imagine a few more books and toys strewn around the floor these days!

And that's it that's all that's all there is...

kitchen [initial design]

2011-04-20T08:24:00.001-04:00

Our initial design in IKEA's Kitchen Planner (must have the Kitchen Planner software installed to view and modify our plan) is complete; and awaits your feedback!

The kitchen is fairly small and somewhat height-challenged due to the previous owner's addition of an attic above it -- the storage space is something we're not willing to give up, but a short ceiling is the trade-off. As is a set of fold-down stairs from attic space that eliminates the ability to place cabinets on one entire length of a long wall. That is the wall with the long "window" -- which is actually the opening that looks down into the lower living room (the split-level feature of our home). Not shown on the plan or stills is the set of 3 steps, which sit in the corner behind the small table and chairs.

As far as our design, we are open to any and all improvements, suggestions and redesigns. I’ve configured the initial redesign much as the kitchen currently exists, save the microwave above the range. Our microwave currently sits in the corner to the left of the sink, taking up valuable counter space. So I was definitely looking to get it off the counter. I also recognize that the wall cabs (at 39”) only leave approx. 16” between the bottom of the wall cabs and the countertop. But I just can’t imagine using 30” wall cabs instead, due to the loss of storage space. 36” cabs would be ideal, but IKEA doesn’t offer them. Any specific suggestions on that issue would be a great help.

Other items to note:
-We’re not opposed to moving plumbing
-We are replacing the lone window with a slightly smaller casement window, which will open up the space to the right of the window a bit.
-We‘re not opposed to consider moving the window either, but it must stay on that wall (as it is the only exterior wall).
-We have a separate pantry under the stairs, so dry goods storage is not a concern in the kitchen.
-There is no trim around the door (which leads to open dining and living room floorplan), so there are no clearance problems with our counter-depth fridge.

Feel free to drop any suggestions or comments here,
or over at the IKEAFANS.com thread.

kitchen [the design board]

2011-04-16T21:48:00.002-04:00

So if I state that this is a very crude design board, does that make it any less crude? This is what we're thinking for the [long-awaited] kitchen redux. You feelin' it? I have the design worked up in the IKEA Planner and hope to get some feedback from those ikeafans.com folks and you guys as well. I'll post a link here to the ikeafans.com site when I get that up. As most of you probably know, IKEA has the 10% kitchen sale running through May 1, 2011 -- so we're really hoping to get in there before then to take advantage of that. But I'm certainly not going to rush anything if we're not 100% by then.

As always, stay tuned for more.

Base + Case

2011-03-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

So I've become THAT guy. You know, the one who still has a Christmas post up in early-March. Not much going on around here redux-wise, hence the lack of posts. IKEA kitchen planning is underway, but no where near the time to begin sharing that. I do have some older redux highlights(?) that have yet to be posted, so journey back in time with us.

All of the baseboard and door casement in the house was the standard that was available in 1958. Surprisingly, its still the same design that you see in many houses built today. I'm not sure if that's a testament to its staying power, or pure apathy on the part of home builders and consumers. You can debate that in the comments!

As you can see, it was all pretty beat-up (from when the carpet was laid) and had multiple layers of paint. So when we ripped out the carpet, the base and case went with it -- those were the first two projects we actually completed in the house. We lived for quite some time with no trim in the majority of the house, even after the floors had been refinished and the walls painted.

It wasn't until Spring of 2010 when I finally got around to the task. My dad, who knows his way around a miter cut, came up for a few days and we were able to knock out many, many linear feet of base and door case. I went with a squared-off poplar 1"x4" base and 1"x3" case. These particular dimensions don't come pre-primed, so I spent the week before install priming and double-coating every single piece of trim. It was a lot easier prepping these pieces on sawhorses in the garage than on my hands-and-knees after installation, so I would highly recommend this approach. There's no doubt you have to go back and touch up a few areas, but you do this when you go back and fill the nail holes anyway, so it worked out. I borrowed a nail gun from a friend, which proved invaluable. In fact, I would suggest either purchasing your own, or renting one to complete a job like this, especially for a DIY'er. Trust me, you'll be running in and out of the house measuring and cutting multiple times for each piece of trim and the time the nail gun saves is just phenomonal. Not to mention the lack of any hammer mis-hits, either on your finger or the piece of trim itself.

And here's a shot that gives a good sense of the depth of the trim.

I used the same base trim for the stairs. The "go to" piece of trim here would be a piece of quarter round, but I wanted a more modern, chunky look. I should also note that I used a 1"x1" square piece of poplar for the transistion from the floor to the step riser.

The final piece of the puzzle was the trim for the three-steps that lead from the ground floor to the middle floor of our split level. Again, the typical "go to" is a piece of quarter round, which I was looking to avoid. But the base I used for the other steps wasn't going to work here, as it was too deep. So I ended up going with a 1/2"x4" piece of poplar.

It was a big job, but well worth it in the end.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T15:05:00.000-05:00

May the Lord bless you and keep you at this special time of year and throughout 2011!

nap

2010-09-23T19:39:00.009-04:00

nap, originally uploaded by defythegray.

We've been taking a nap of sorts here at Kingswood Redux over the past couple of months.

You might recall that I dreaded getting some quotes on having custom kitchen cabinet doors built to use with our existing cabinet frames. I thought it would be a good way to make use of what are solidly-constructed frame units (even though they do not have the versalitility of modern cabinents). Well, I finally got around to calling a few guys -- some weren't even interested, but I did get two guys to come out and take a look. They both seemed excited and had good experience and I was excited about getting some ballparks from them...but the quotes never came back. I followed up with them for a little over a month, but nothing. I guess they're busy...or something.

By the time I finally gave up on the follow-ups, I realized the kitchen remodel was not going to happen before our first child was born. So I switched gears to focus on the nursery and getting myself and my wife prepared for the birth of our little guy.

That all went down really well and our son was born on September 3. I suspect the next post will be a feature on the nursery and might even feature an appearence or two from the little man. Meanwhile, the haze of the first two weeks of his life is beginning to lift and we're thinking about going the Ikea kitchen route, maybe sometime this winter -- whenever we feel like we have a handle on our new life with him!

nursery [peek inside]

2010-07-18T20:01:00.003-04:00

nursery [peek inside]

First glimpse inside the nursery...

[i'm in your] crawl space

2010-06-23T14:36:00.001-04:00

In the greater scheme of architectural vocabulary, I don't think there is a feature(?) more aptly named than a crawl space. If you look up the term online or in a dictionary (ah! the horror!), you'll find a fancy-schmancy grouping of terms for what is essentially "a place in your house where you don't wanna go, but when you get there, all you can do is crawl around." Usually just a dirt floor (ours was upgraded to rough concrete), there is very little down there except plumbing/electric, spider webs, dust/dirt and the "residue" your friendly neighborhood critters may have left behind from their winter sleepover.

I can still remember our home inspector going into the crawl space during our inspection to look at the structure of the house and to conduct a termite test. I thought to myself, "Man...I'm glad I'm not a home inspector." And I will certainly never forget him coming out covered in dust and telling me the good and the bad -- no termites, but you need to go under there and clean up the wood scraps so as not to attract such. Based on the picture above, and the good word from our home inspector, it was necessary to take the plunge. So what is a guy to do but ask his future brother-in-law to join him in the fun? I mean, a friend could say "no," but a future brother-in-law is pretty much obligated to say "yes."

And in we went, but not before dawning the proper protective gear...

This may seem like overkill, but really, when you're talking about the health of your own lungs, there is little to think about. Plus, these respirators are way more comfortable and effective than those white paper dust masks. As you can see, there was a lot of insulation we had to clean up and replace, so the dust was just nasty.

The pile of junk our efforts produced. Excluded from the junk category is this military foot locker circa 1949.

Its in great shape and will serve as a perfect tool box for the garage. The locker belonged to an "Andrew N. Gerhart," which is painted on the locker along with some random numbers (serial number?). I did a quick Google search on the name, but it didn't turn up anything. I'll have to ask the neighbors if he was the original owner of the house, or whether it was merely something left behind by a former owner.

Oh yeah...and the crawl space is now much cleaner and the insulation in tact and hopefully doing its silent (but important) job. Still not a place you wanna hang out or anything, but no longer a lure for termites and pests. HUGE shout-out to Josh for all of his help -- you definitely earned my respect, bro!

As an aside, I never thought I'd write an entire post about our crawl space. But the demands of my publisher (kidding, of course) have pushed me over the edge.
Hopefully more kitchen and nursery-related posts in the future.

(plus) 2

2010-05-19T20:33:00.000-04:00

the newest additon to the half bath

cut and sandblasted wine bottle

by plastolux [etsy]

It's been a long time...

2010-04-27T08:52:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time

I shouldn't a left you

Without a dope beat to step to

I feel like I've been here before: Checking in after a long winter that was short on daylight and remodeling progress. When we last left you, we had just completed the half bathroom and the kitchen was next on our list. Well...it still is, but our regularly scheduled remodeling plans have been pleasantly interrupted in order to convert the office into a nursery. That's right -- exciting times ahead (on so many different levels).

Here's a look at the preliminary design board that I threw together about two months ago in order to surprise my parents with the news. Quite a bit has changed since then, but this gives a peek into the general direction we are going:

We put the board together before we knew we were having a boy, but we were generally going for a fun, modern and gender-neutral nursery.

As mentioned above, the kitchen is still technically the next project, its just been rough getting motivated to actually start it. Most of the material selections have been made, its just making the calls to get some quotes on new cabinet doors that seem to be holding me up -- just don't want to deal with it. Its one of those things where once I make the first call, I suspect everything will fall into place. With our first child on the way, at least we I have a (somewhat) solid deadline!

Stay tuned (and thanks for visiting)...

Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-11T13:33:00.002-05:00

Half Bath [Redux]

2010-01-05T18:10:00.002-05:00

We honestly didn't mean to keep you waiting so long for the reveal. We actually finished at some point in early-December, but have struggled to find time to pull this post together in the weeks that followed. It feels great to have completed this project! As we've said before, it took a lot longer than we expected, but thus is the story of any DIY remodeling effort. Of opening up what another created in order to make it your own. A transformation. A redux.

Before you begin, take a second to remind yourself what we started with (i.e. the before shots).

Here's a quick rundown of the elements that make up the new half bath...if we forgot to address something, please drop us an email or a comment.

Toto Aquia II from National Builder Supply
Not only do we think it's the best looking toilet around, it has a great water-saving feature with the dual flush design. We found that most online retailers claim free shipping; but exclude freight items (such as toilets). National Builder Supply actually ships this toilet for free, making it $50-70 cheaper than other online retailers. This is the first toilet that I ever installed, so the process was slow, but completely manageable, as long as you follow the instructions carefully. For instance, when they tell you to turn each tank bolt equally, they actually mean equally -- as in a full turn on the left, followed by a full turn on the right...and repeat. As for the function and performance of the toilet -- we love it, especially the soft-close seat.

The sink and sink cabinet are both from Ikea's LILLÅNGEN bathroom system.

The faucet is the Ikea DALSKÄR.

Since the faucet is chrome, we wanted to go with chrome accessories. Picked up the towel ring (not yet installed) and TP holder from Smedbo.

The lights are the ET2 Flash from All Modern. The medicine cabinet is also from Ikea's LILLÅNGEN bathroom system. During demo we framed out the cabinet and countersunk it to keep the profile as clean as possible.

Finally, you'll notice we used drywall around the majority of the window frame, instead of using wood to trim it out. Since it is such a small space, we wanted to keep the lines as simple and clean as possible. The large window provides great light to the space and keeps it from feeling claustrophobic. At the same time, privacy is of utmost concern. Again, not wanting to add additional materials (such as blinds/shades/curtains), we opted for the Gila Privacy Frosted film. We think it adds a finished, modern look to the room.

Also, don't be afraid to use spray paint on your existing metal window frames and hardware that feature that oh-so-late-80s factory bronze finish. For legal reasons I must point out here that the use of paint on a window frame may cause you to void your warranty. So if that's something that concerns you, take head!

The Forbo Marmoleum Click flooring was covered in a previous post; as was the wall tile.

So...our first major renovation project is behind us! We learned so much and hope to carry a lot of that into our next project...the kitchen.

Stay tuned...

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T20:14:00.000-05:00

May the Lord bless you and keep you at this special time of year and throughout 2010!

So close...

2009-10-27T09:17:00.013-04:00

Forbo Marmoleum Click has been installed. We purchased it locally at M&Z Carpets. If you're local, we highly recommend M&Z. The subfloor is concrete, so we used a trial-on leveling compound to even out some spots here and there. I should add here that we neglected to order any Marmoleum trim when we placed our floor order, and the freight charges made it cost-prohibitive to order our needed T-Mold as a stand-alone from M& Z. So...we found this great online store, CoolGreenStuf, that carried the exact T-Mold we needed at a reasonable price. We went with Floor Muffler as the underlay/vapor barrier -- found a great deal on it on ebay where a guy was selling a complete roll and some left-over from his project, which was just enough to cover our kitchen and this bathroom.

The Marmoleum install went fairly well, although it was some tight quarters in there as you can see. There are only nine full-size squares in the floor (out of approx. 20) -- so cutting and fitting was essentially all we did. Like any project, it will go a lot smoother the next time.

Just need my plumber-uncle to attach the cast-iron flange to the drain pipe (pouring molten lead into a half-inch gap is not exactly a DIY project) and we're ready for the toilet and sink install.

The long-awaited reveal will follow.

six fourteen

2009-10-18T16:15:00.002-04:00

six fourteen, originally uploaded by defythegray

Half Bath Update v3

2009-09-23T13:11:00.016-04:00

FYI: Pic taken after the bottom half of the wall was grouted. I never got a pic of the finished wall before covering it with plastic to protect it from painting and an unexpected plumbing project (which is currently in progress).

Our first venture into tiling is complete and was, in our humble opinion, a success. Prep work is extremely important when it comes to tiling -- use the wrong adhesive for your tile and substrate, or the wrong sealer, or the wrong procedure (especially as to timing of steps) and your entire project could be jeopardized. We're not big into thoughtlessly throwing money around, so I did a bunch of reading, and searching, and more reading over at the John Bridge Forums. I can't thank all the pros and experienced DIYers over there enough. Their archives are so extensive that I didn't even have to start my own thread -- all of my questions had been previously asked and answered. And I learned a ton along the way about general techniques, procedures and various products.

We chose a tumbled marble stone that had a stacked-stone look to it. The long and narrow stones came pre-glued onto 12"x12" mesh sheets. We first found the tile online at the Natural Stone Outlet and were literally shocked to walk into our local tile store a few days later and find that they had just recently started selling it. The local price was about $3 per sheet higher than the Internet price (even with shipping), but given the economy and this paradigm shift in my mind that I don't have to absolutely get the lowest price on every single item I purchase and that service really does matter to me, I was happy to give the guys at Gipe Flooring & Wall Covering our business. And they were great in answering my questions, letting me test some things and generally helping me out with some miscellaneous materials along the way.

Unless you drop a comment asking about something specific, I won't bore you with the step-by-step on hanging, grouting and sealing our stone. I wouldn't even know where to begin. I will say that it takes a ton of time and patience. I'm short on the latter, so much gratitude goes to my extremely patient wife for helping and putting up with my little rants during the process.

One recommendation I will share is that you consider purchasing your own tile saw for a job like this. I actually got a great deal on a mid-level clearance model at Home Depot, and would highly recommend the Husky THD 750L to a DIYer -- they are practically giving them away right now!! It's just that the job will take more time than you expect, and you can't rent a saw very much longer than a day or two before the costs start to equal out. And the last thing you want to be doing is rushing around making cuts with a tile saw. Plus, we plan on using tile in our kitchen and main bathroom renovations, so at that point, the costs of buying outweigh that of multiple rentals.

We're on to an unexpected plumbing job -- replacing the toilet flange -- and then need to finish up the electrical, install the flooring, get the new fixtures in there and then finish up all the little details. I'd love to say that the next time we check in, we'll have the reveal, but I thought that when I posted a month ago -- so we'll make no promises. Hopefully sooner than later.

Half Bath Update v2

2009-08-22T20:02:00.006-04:00

Sorry for neglecting you, but we've been busy. It's amazing how much time a small half-bath can take when you only get a few hours of work done one or two nights during the week. I've been putting in some major weekend hours (between mowing and other household chores), but it's still a slow process.

As you can see, we finally closed up the hole between the half-bath and the mudroom. We're excited! Our cats, not so much. I should be able to finish the drywall this week. Our tile has been ordered and should be here in about two weeks. Need to order the flooring this week, as well as some accessories. Stay tuned...

Half Bath Update

2009-07-29T09:08:00.004-04:00

It goes without saying that the half bath is not yet complete.

Material choices, however, are complete. Next on the list is framing out the medicine cabinet, doing a bit of re-wiring and venturing into the realm of minor plumbing work -- moving the water line for the new toilet and tapping into the existing water lines and drain for a utility sink to be placed in the mudroom.

BTW: For those "keeping score" -- this picture is taken from the mudroom looking into the half-bath.

Half Bath Demo

2009-07-13T08:38:00.006-04:00

After completing most of the outside projects, its time to turn our attention back to the interior of the house. Half Bath demo is underway. Always good to remember where you started:

The wall "treatment" you see here is not wallpaper; it's a thin wood paneling. Now you would think that after having cleared the space of its existing lavatory contents, I'd simply be able to set a few nails and pop the paneling right off. Of course you'd be wrong. The paneling was actually glued (i.e. liquid nailed) to the studs and furring strips set midway between each stud. And not just spot glued here and there -- we're talking full length thick beads. Needless to say, it turned what should have been an hour job into more.

Most of the final material decisions will be made here in the next week or so -- still trying to decide between glass, ceramic or a stacked natural stone tile for that back wall and waiting for some samples. That decision will effect the floor color choice, so its a bit of a waiting game. In the meantime, we'll do as much drywall as we can and we'll be opening up the wall on the other side of the bathroom in order to put in a drain for a utility sink to be installed in the mudroom.

Special thanks to my Uncle Bruce, a plumber by trade, who stopped by the house yesterday and got us set with some great insight on all of the plumbing and A/C in the house. His expert advice will go a long way in making our mid-century house as efficient as it can be without replacing every major component in the house. A few tweeks here and there, installing an electric water heater to save the oil furnace from running year-round, and moving a thermostat for improved heating performance, among others.

fake

2009-06-19T08:41:00.001-04:00

fake, originally uploaded by defythegray.

Raised Flower Bed

2009-06-01T07:29:00.011-04:00

How great is it when you actually finish a project on time? With a little help from my dad (and a gas-powered auger), we were able to finish the raised flower bed this past weekend.

Angie and I had previously cleared the sod where the flower bed was to be placed. The bed itself is 48'L x 2'D -- so it was a good bit of work on every level.

We got the structure itself completed on Saturday. We used 2x4 Trex Brasilia Cayenne (special order from local lumber yard) and 4"x4" cedar posts. I went with the Trex because of its duribility to the elements (without the chemicals of pressure treated lumber). It's a good bit heavier (and flexible) than wood; but it cuts and is fastened pretty much the same. Here's a nice close-up shot of the product.

On Sunday we prepared the bed for planting. After replacing the sod, upside down, we added a layer of compost (shown below) and topsoil. We'll allow that mixture to settle for about a week before planting.

More pics and details on the process over at Kingswood Redux's Flickr

Props: Inspiration for the project from redneckmodern
and Drummond-Revere Home "Restovation"

Sowed

2009-05-24T15:39:00.004-04:00

The results of about 3 weekends of work -- the garden is planted. Not much more needs to be said -- unless of course you drop me questions in the comments. We changed things around since last year. One of the major changes is in the weed control department. If you don't have hands on experience, just trust me when I say that your major battle in any garden is weeds.

Our "boy" Ed Smith recommended a layer of newspaper on top of a freshly weeded bed covered by grass clippings (free) or straw (not free). We went with a mixture. Grass clippings covering the majority and we used straw on the main walkways for greater durability.

I guess the other major change is that this year we went with landscaping fabric around the plants instead of the black plastic. Although the plastic does a great job on the weeds, it doesn't allow water to pass through -- so that will help with watering and such. And the newspaper/grass clippings/hay will also help hold mositure in the soil.

The next project will be to finish the raised flower bed. The materials are being delivered this week and I hope to have a good portion of it completed by next weekend. I'm excited to try out the Trex -- its a composite product made of a unique combination of wood and plastic fibers. Super durable and a bit easier on the earth than pressure treated wood.

Garden Fence

2009-05-17T20:14:00.005-04:00

[Insert lame excuse for not posting more frequently]

Despite a "recent" post about the half-bath and kitchen being next, we've temporarily moved outside in order to prepare the garden for planting. We have this pretty cool stainless-steel fence that the previous owner of our home left us. It was less than sturdy, so we needed to replace the wooden border around the garden that helped hold the fence in place -- railroad ties were originally used, but had pretty much rotted and allowed the rebar holding the fence to sag. We opted for fence post instead of the RR ties.

Fence post (repurposed) is leveled and holes have been drilled where the rebar will sit.

Finished project. Fencing is connected to the rebar with rebar ties. We'll eventually replace the other 3 sides, but I think that will happen gradually over the next 3 years.

BTW: The reason you see the ground all torn up there in front of the fence is because we're putting in a raised flower bed. When the flowers are fully grown, they will help to create a natural cover to the otherwise unsightly fence. As you can imagine, more info on that project to follow.

[Problem::Solution] Light Switch

2009-04-19T12:13:00.008-04:00

Problem: Existing light switch is too close to the door frame; thus making it impossible to install the door trim without cutting an unsightly notch out of the trim.

Solution: Move the light switch to create more room for the trim.

1. Install the new switch according to building and electrical codes in your area.

2. Next you'll have to cover the hole left from the original junction box. Depending on your wall material, there are a number of ways to do this. I'll address the drywall method I like best -- it makes use of scrap peices of drywall you have laying around and doesn't require any taping. Measure the opening you need to close and add about an inch to each side. Transfer the measurements and cut out a piece of drywall accordingly.

3. Using the back side of the piece you just cut, transfer the measurements of the opening itself to the center of the larger piece. Score the lines with a knife a number of times but don't cut through the paper front . Break away the edges carefully, leaving the paper, and use your knife blade to scrape away the remnents of the drywall substance, leaving only the paper front. Your end goal is pitured above. Note that I only have three sides to work with because the fourth side will sit against the new box.

4. Apply drywall mud to the flaps of your drywall and carefully sit into place. Cover the enire piece with mud. Remember that most of the area to the right will be covered by the door trim and the area to the left will be covered by the switch plate.

5. Sand the patch and apply a thin second coat if necessary (and sand accordingly).

6. Prime + 2 coats of wall paint + door trim + switch plate = finished project.

State of the Remodel

2009-03-28T15:05:00.004-04:00

Alright...

So I'm dubbing this post as our State of the Remodel address. It's not gonna be as formal as a speech, but it will bring you up to date on what's going on around our place.

As you've probably already noticed, I added the ReduxList to the sidebar. That kinda gives you an idea of where we've been and where we're going. You should know up-front that the last three items on the list fall into the long-term catagory -- so don't be checking back here every week hoping to catch pics of me putting up Hardie panels or anything!

The winter (and its accompanying darkness) put a major hamper on the remodeling efforts and our motivation. That and the fact that we made the big push over the summer to get the major grunt work completed -- just kinda felt like we needed to take a break of sorts.

But as the Pennsylvania weather begins to accept the rites of Spring and the light of the day continues to push back the bully of Winter, our spirits are feeling refreshed, renewed and ready to (continue the) remodel.

We're in the middle of replacing the majority of the base and door trim in the house. The kitchen and half-bath await on the horizon. We've got tons of ideas for both and really just need to sit down, consider them all, make some initial decisions and start getting some quotes on various materials.

We did pull the trigger the other week at IKEA (we need less violence-related figures of speech, don't we?). As I've mentioned before, it's not exactly right down the street, so when we go, we go prepared. We picked up a small table and two chairs for the kitchen. I had combed the website and discovered the new LILLÅNGEN bathroom system (after getting the heads-up from Creede over at GrassrootsModern). Luckily I had written down the names and prices of everything we wanted, b/c they didn't even have it displayed in the store yet; but I was able to find a knowledgable associate at the self-order computer desk who located everything we needed (after another associate told us they didn't have the new stuff yet!!).

Here's kinda what we're thinking for the half-bath:

We really like the tile shown with the sink for the small wall that is directly behind the sink and toilet. The other walls will simply be painted, so we'd like to do something creative, material-wise, on that wall. I've considered a mid-gloss floor or floor tile from IKEA, a sheet of Formica, rubber tile, poly-coated OSB panels and corrugated sheet metal (maybe sprayed w/ a high-gloss automotive paint)...just to name a few.

Any thoughts? Ideas?

More on all of this as it happens...

Remodeler of the Week

2009-03-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

And the award goes to...

Baz at Atomic Indy, who is doing a nice renovation of his mid-century modern home in Indianapolis. He has almost completed his kitchen and recently turned to his readers for input concerning finish options for the back-panel of his kitchen island.

He had originally used birch ply to finish the back-panel, but later questioned his decision. So he worked up two alternative options in Photoshop and put it to a reader vote. It's a great idea that I hope to use at some point; and please know that your comments are always welcomed here at Kingswood Redux. I voted for the orange treatment, as did the majority of others, and Baz wasted no time in bringing it to fruition. The finished result is featured below.

Be sure and check out the rest of the progress over at Atomic Indy.

Solar Shades

2009-02-23T18:09:00.001-05:00

The installation of our window shades is one of those projects we finished a few months ago, but had failed to blog about...until now.

Much like everything else, we considered a lot of different options and materials for our window shades. In the end, we decided we liked the look, function and benefits of solar shades. We ordered color samples from a number of online stores, finally deciding on roller shades from The Shade Store. The two main reasons that pushed us to buy from The Shade Store were the fact that their shades were available in different densities (which allow for more or less light to enter through the shade), and because all of their shades come with a silver metal ball-chain pull (as opposed to the plastic ball-chain pulls that are more widely available).

We decided on the 5% fabric for the front windows, due to privacy (those windows face the street) and the fact that they get the afternoon sun. For the dining room windows we chose the 10% fabric, as there are less privacy concerns (windows face the backyard) and they get the less-intense, morning sun. Additionally, both maintain our view of the outside when closed. The Shade Store has a neat feature on their website that shows the difference between all of the fabric densities, but here, for instance, is the view out our front windows:

Are you thinking about solar shades and have questions?
Drop us a comment.

Morning Star Redesign - Part Two

2009-02-20T07:25:00.026-05:00

Picking back up from Part One...

We decided to tackle the work itself on two different weekends -- we installed the laminate wood flooring one Saturday and then completed the remaining work on the following Friday evening (6-10pm) and all-day Saturday (9am-10pm). A rotating cast of volunteers (and their tools) provided all of the labor needed. I'll walk you through the changes below.

Click-n-lock laminate went down the first Saturday -- and it dramatically improved the look of the waiting room by itself.

Fast forward to the next Saturday. After prepping the space the evening before, we dove head-first into the major remodeling tasks. First coat of trim and wall paint are up! Also note that, after removing the ceiling tiles, the drop-ceiling grids were spray-painted white (they were originally brown).

My wife and I installing track lighting. And don't overlook the ceiling itself -- the white grids not only lightened and modernized the space, but they actually gave new life to the ceiling tiles themselves. We had originally planned to either buy new ceiling tiles or paint the old ones, but in the end, it wasn't even necessary (and we were thankful for the time and money savings we realized).

And now we come to this...the "after" photos!

Custom-built brochure rack pulled all the brochures together in one, neat space. The cabinet did the same for the free items.

The stereo was moved from the wall to the curio and the speakers mounted on small corner shelves near the top of the walls (not shown). The upper doors got new hardware and were covered with Gila privacy film to hide the stereo and other items stored inside. The bottom doors were removed to make room for a dedicated space for books and toys for kids.

The removal of the stereo and cork board opened up room to bring in a mirror and original photography donated by a member of the design team. Oh...and how could I forget the new chairs from Just Cabinets.

Finally, the new sheers and curtains (handmade by another design team member) finished off the redesign perfectly by softening the row of oddly-shaped windows.

Morning Star Redesign - Part One

2009-02-13T09:11:00.009-05:00

I recently had the privilege of serving on a design team tasked with the responsibility to redesign the waiting room at Morning Star Pregnancy Services. It's a local non-profit that reaches out to many young women facing unplanned pregnancies. Thus, our task was more about bringing life and inspiration to the space, rather than just a decorative or cosmetic make-over.

The design team met in the space a number of times to discuss ways to make the space more functional (brochure rack, free item baskets, a kids play area, seating) and to develop a general design scheme. We also choose paint colors, fabrics, lighting, flooring, art and other materials. This is the rather blank canvas we had to work with...

We then presented our ideas to the Executive Director of Morning Star. She was excited by our general design scheme and provided some great feedback as to further needs for the functionality of the space. So we tweaked a few things here and there and then spent the next two weeks purchasing everything from paint to new handles for the curio cabinets to the flooring.

Check back in a few days for a follow-up post in which I’ll highlight the transformation of the waiting room. You love the suspense, right?

Wall Blank

2009-02-06T08:18:00.006-05:00

Nest . Zach Bulick

Wall Blank is one of the sites on my daily blogroll. It's a site that features one limited edition piece of artwork every weekday that is available for one week or until it's sold out. And the prices are always reasonable. It's a super unique idea that's packaged in an ultra-simple site. I've been following along for about six months now and they definitely carry a wide array of styles and artists.

I think this particular print would look great in our lower living room (a room I've probably not mentioned on this blog before), but I'm just not sure we have the room for it as there is limited wall space down there.

Ikea Hack

2009-01-17T10:56:00.003-05:00

I'm the type of person who would go 3 years without a necessary piece of furniture solely based on the fact that I could never commit to a piece that will essentially become a permanent fixture in the house. My wife, on the other hand, is not.

So when we moved into the house back in March08 and found ourselves in need of a TV unit, I was perfectly content to use a sturdy box and begin the long search for the perfect, affordable piece. My wife, on the other hand, was not.

Scene shift. So we find ourselves in the middle of IKEA wandering around looking for a solution, a middle-ground if you will. We settled on the BONDE TV Unit, but only if I could change out the hardware and paint the two front drawers a glossy white. Both parties agreed.

And here's one for the "Don't Try This At Home File"

When we bought the TV Unit, I purchased a few packs of the BESTÅ casters. My plan was to install one on each corner and another in the middle for support. The idea was to get the unit off the floor a bit, add a little character and otherwise compliment our Blu Dot Chicago cocktail table.

From the moment I opened the box and saw the bottom of the unit, I had this gut feeling that it wasn't gonna work. It's not like I was expecting the bottom piece to be solid wood or anything, but it wasn't even solid particle board. (!!!) Rather, it was a thin piece of "sturdy" cardboard with that "waffle" cardboard filler.

But the lure of the finished look that existed in my mind was too much -- so I dived in with a drill bit and some Gorilla glue. I let the casters dry upside down for 24 hours and flipped it over to see if it would stand. Surprisingly, it did. But not for long.

I'll spare you the messy details, but it involved my wife and I tying to save a 165 lb. 32" TV from crashing into the ground when the less-than-soundly-attached casters gave way under the weight of the TV as we were rolling the unit. Somehow we managed to save the TV, but the hack was a bust.

Nonetheless, I was determined to make the casters work. So I purchased up some nuts and washers from the local hardware store and a wide, hollow drill bit. I drilled the holes and fastened the nuts/washers to the casters, hoping to get enough surface area to adequately secure the casters to the unit. Had the bottom been at least a strong particleboard, it might have worked, but the thin piece of "sturdy" cardboard just wasn't strong enough and I had to scrap the idea.

Here's the close-up:

Related: Plastolux's TRÄBY Hack

Where It's At...

2009-01-16T21:04:00.005-05:00

Finally starting to get some of our artwork up! It's exciting. And we're pretty sure that our walls are happy to have some company.

First Christmas

2008-12-20T08:50:00.018-05:00

First Christmas for Angie and I as a married couple!Which means we get to read the Gospel of Luke account of Christ's birth together, and from the King James, no less!

First Christmas in our home on Kingswood Drive!Which means we get to decorate the house and exchange gifts at the foot of our very own Christmas tree!

First Christmas at Kingswood Redux!
Which means we get to post pictures for you to enjoy!

May the Lord bless you and keep you at this special time of year and throughout 2009!

Window Trim

2008-11-16T08:17:00.015-05:00

Just when we thought our painting woes were behind us, it came time to paint the knotty pine window trim in the living room and dining room. I can't even tell you how long I put off the task. Give me a roller and I'll paint any room, any time. I'll even trim out the corners and ceilings. But painting multi-layered trim around our four windows in the living room and two in the dining room is not my idea of remodeling fun.

Backtracking for a second...we decided to highlight the archtichtual aspect of the sloped ceiling by painting a geometric shape on the walls that lined-up with our windows using Behr's Dark Ash, the same color we had used to paint the beam that divides the two rooms. Here's the best "before" shot I have of that:

Our plan was to paint the window trim surrounding the windows that same color. I spent one Saturday morning prepping the job, which included taping, removal of the window hardware and filling the holes that are natural to knotty pine. I spent the next Saturday painting. I started off with an oil-based primer, much like I did with the stair risers.

I put on one coat of the Dark Ash and just wasn't feeling it...

Much like the steps, it was just too dark and all blended together. I consulted with Angie and it was quickly decided that we needed to go a few shades lighter, but yet not as light as the wall color. We also needed to step up the sheen. We decided on Gray Area in a Satin Enamel sheen.

Here's what it looked like at the halfway point:

And now we come to this:

Lessons Learned:

Painting the frame around the window itself can seem like a daunting task. For one, you have to be careful not to fill up the channel where the window travels up and down, so that the window will still work properly once you've finished. And then you have to mess with the hardware, which may or may not be easy to remove. Hopefully you don't have to mess with multiple layers of age-old paint and stripping them off. And then, on top of all of that, you have the window glass itself to worry about. Do you tape it? Will the paint come off my window if I accendiently get some on it?

Problem solved with this great tip I found over at 1951 Ranch Redo. When it came time to paint my window frames, I was just about to tape the glass when I remembered reading this at one point. I was sick of taping anyway...so I just jumped right in and painted the frames without worrying about any paint that got on the glass. Using an exacto knife and a razor-blade scraper, the paint easily scrapes off the window. The key to the process is scoring the glass right along the edge of the window before scraping.

Up : Down

2008-09-15T15:18:00.009-04:00

To add a more modern feel to house, we decided that we would paint the stair risers, instead of having them refinished along with our floors and stair treads.

I started off with an oil-based primer. I went the oil-based route based on some research on properly painting over wood that had originally been stained and sealed with poly. This stuff was recommended to ensure proper adhesion of the water-based top coat of paint.

Two coats of Dark Ash to the risers and trim beside the stairs. And the results:

We lived with it for about a month and decided we just didn't like it -- the dark paint color didn't allow for any seperation in the shape of the stairs -- depending on the time of day, the stair treads appeared to float, but not in a good way.

The fix was fairly easy -- since our baseboard and trim around the rest of the stairs would eventually be painted white, we decided to just paint the trim around the steps white, and leave the risers in the Dark Ash. The final results, after two coats of white:

UPDATE: Apparently West Elm liked our stairs so much they borrowed them for a photo shoot!

Remodeler of the Week

2008-09-08T09:01:00.002-04:00

And the award goes to...

My wife, Angie, for being a master IKEA carpenter and putting together the majority of our Malm bedroom suit by herself, and for single-handedly replacing most of the electrical switches and outlets in the house.

Saved by a gentle rain

2008-08-23T18:04:00.014-04:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we bought our paint from Home Depot during one of their big sales. Thus, I certainly didn't buy too little (and ended up buying way too much). As for the colors in the major area of our house -- the living room and dining room (both of which have sloped ceilings) -- we selected Manhattan Mist (main color) and Distant Thunder (accent color). We had actually chosen two different colors at the store, but when we brought the sample strips home, we decided they were too dark for the space and not exactly the look we were going for. When all was said and done, we purchased 7 gallons of the Manhattan Mist.

So fast forward a number of weeks. My parents were cool enough to take a couple days off work to come up and help us paint. We prepped all Friday morning and began painting just before Noon. My dad and I were trimming out and I thought the Manhattan Mist was going on good. It was about an hour before my dad picked up a roller and started on the major portions of the walls. About a half-hour later, I remember looking back at the wall where he started and thinking that the color looked a bit on the purplish-side of gray, which was not the look we were going for either. The more and more paint that went on, the more and more purple came out. It took the rest of the afternoon to finish the second coats of trim and rolling.

I expressed my concern a number of times, but always managed to talk myself out of the expense and work that would come along with changing the main color. I mean, it wasn't looking like Barney purple or anything, there was just a slight purple hue to the gray. It wasn't until later that evening, when the sun went down and the lights came on inside the house that my worst fears were realized. The entire area looked like something an 8-year old girl would choose for her bedroom; albeit a very sophisticated 8-year old. Not that I have anything against 8-year olds, it just wasn't right for the main living area of our house.

Saturday morning rolls around and as we all gather to begin the day, I finally make the call that Angie and I need to take some time to think about and discuss our options for changing the color. So we pulled out all of our samples and dialed up Behr.com. We narrowed it down to two colors and walked around the house looking at them under different light conditions. Finally, after seeing it all, we both decided on Gentle Rain (main color) and Dark Ash (accent color). And it proved to be one of the best decisions we've made yet!

We jetted off to Home Depot and bought a gallon of each. Came home and rolled it on a wall and waited for it to dry (paint always dries darker). It dried just as we hoped and Angie returned to purchase 3 more gallons. Although we lost a day of painting, we gained a color we love!

Capturing accurate representations of paint hues in a digital photo is nearly impossible, but I'll give it a shot anyway. Walls are Gentle Rain. Beam is Dark Ash. Ceilings are Ultra Pure White.

And now we come to this -- our lessons learned:

1) Sample strips are NOT enough, especially for the main areas of your house. Buy a sample container or quart of your desired color, slap it up on a good-sized area of your wall, wait for it to dry and then observe it during the day time (natural light) AND the night time (artificial light). We almost could have lived with the Manhattan Mist during the day, but the night brought out the true nature of the beast!

2) Make the call. As I mentioned, if you're feeling a bit worried about the look of the color when it first dries, chances are it's not going to get better with time. Conduct a "team meeting" and decide before you waste more time slapping up a second coat while hoping for a miracle. And don't just take my word for it. Note: This may not be true of some colors because sometimes its hard to see the true color without a second (or third) coat.

3) Don't get caught up in the hub-bub of a big sale. Although we did take our time in originally selecting a color, we bought way too much and didn't have time to test paint our rooms.

4) Your turn -- please share any similar lessons you've learned in the choosing paint colors and/or painting areas of your home.

White Oak (Redux)

2008-08-10T18:36:00.020-04:00

As we relayed in a previous post, the discovery of hardwood floors in our home pretty much changed all of our plans. It meant we needed to complete all of the messy jobs like baseboard removal and drywall repair before we could get the floors refinished. For the most part, this meant living with just the bare essentials in the house for the better part of 3 1/2 months. I'd like to thank my wife for putting up with that situation with very little grumbling (although there was some grumbling, or, more accurately, an occassional expressed desire to actually be able to live in the house).

With the walls and ceilings in good shape, it was time to turn our attention to the floors. We first checked into Mr. Sandless. They use a quick and cost-effective, chemical "sanding" process of some sort to restore wood floors. However, they are limited in what they can remove from your floors given the very fact that they don't sand off a layer of wood from the floors. Joe at Mr. Sandless in Harrisburg was very upfront in what they could and could not do after seeing pics of our floors. They wouldn't touch the steps because of the stains (mainly from carpet cleaning), but thought that their process would work in the rest of the house. I was a little concerned because I saw some of the same staining on other parts of the floors and the stairs would need to be sanded anyway, so we decided against the sandless process.

Our realtor asked around and got us a list of wood floor refinishers that were recommended by other realtors she knew. We got estimates from 3 different outfits and chose Nissley Professional Hardwood Flooring. They quoted us a competitive price and used a dust control system, which the other two did not. And since we'd be living in the house as the work was being done, that was very important to us. Notice I did not say dust-free because that is just unrealistic when you're talking about millions of extra-fine particles of wood floating through your house.

Freshly sanded, raw, natural white oak hardwood floors...

Gratuitous pic of floor with toes in pic

It took them three days -- one to sand, one to apply a sealer and a coat of Street Shoe and another to apply the final coat. Early on we had talked about having the floors stained a darker walnut color, but decided against that in the end. And we're extremely glad we did because the natural look of the white oak in its different shades just adds this originality and uniqueness to the floor that I fear might have been lost with a darker stain. Oh...and we went with a satin/matte finish as opposed to a high-gloss finish.

The finished product....

Remodeler of the Week

2008-08-03T09:09:00.004-04:00

And the award goes to...

My dad, Rick Mouer, for crawling into this hole (i.e. our crawl space) in order to drill holes in the framing of our house and run cable lines out through the living room wall, instead of through a large hole in our hardwood floors (thanks alot DirectTV guy).

Textured Ceiling [No More]

2008-07-28T16:18:00.006-04:00

You may remember us mentioning the textured ceiling in the office in a previous post. Not sure if you can tell by the picture (you may have to click it to enlarge it), but it was not a sprayed acoustical ceiling (i.e. popcorn ceiling) -- it was a very thick plaster-type textured effect that had been applied to the ceiling at some point in the house's history. Luckily this was the only room it had been applied in. And further, this was the smallest of the major rooms in the house. But don't be fooled, removing any type of a textured ceiling is one of the toughest and dirtiest "light" remodeling jobs there is.

From the day we first saw the house, we knew it was something that would have to be addressed at some point. The question of when to do it became obvious when we discovered the wood floors. It just made sense to do it before having the floors refinished. However, the question of what to do with it wasn't so obvious. We considered scraping it off, skim-coating the ceiling to level out the valleys, covering it with drywall, covering it with ceiling panels, or covering it with birch plywood. There were pros and cons to each potential solution.

Finally, it came time to begin and we decided, almost by default, to scrape it off in hopes of leveling out the ceiling. We thought that if we could scrape it, do a bit of sanding to level it off enough and then use a good flat ceiling paint, it might hide the craters enough that we could live with it. So...the scraping began. Using hats, leather gloves, eye protection, dust masks and a paint scraper, we took short shifts scraping. In the picture below you can see a row where we managed to scrape away the major texture -- what was left was a crater-looking surface, much like that of the moon.

I can't even begin to describe the mess. There are no other pictures of the process because, frankly, after taking these two pics, it was the very last thing on our minds! And here's the kicker...after we had finished scraping more than half of the ceiling, I removed the light and vent you see in the first picture, and what do you know, the texture started to peel away from the original drywall like it had in the guest bedroom. Time to make another decision -- stick to our original plan, or try and remove all of the texture down to the original drywall?

We went with option #2 and the long and tedious process of chipping away began. Much like our experience in the guest bedroom, there were some spots that peeled away with ease, but this was definitely the minority. In a number of spots we had to resort to water and sponging to loosen the plaster texture in order to scrape it down with the putty knife. The final step was drywall patching and finishing. Did I mention the mess?? A number of evenings and some very sore necks and arms later, it was another memory to be tucked away (and quickly forgotten) in this greater remodeling scheme!

Looking Up

2008-07-24T20:50:00.000-04:00

Although our living room wall (at 13') and sloped ceiling add a unique architectural element to our house's interior, they pose quite a challenge when it comes to painting. So when it came time to paint the living room ceiling, I looked into the possibility of renting a small section of scaffolding. Turns out that with a little planning and the right vehicle (umm...a truck) you can rent a set for about $25 per day. In our case, it was well worth it.

My dad managed to roll the bottom-half of the ceiling with his 8'-16' extension pole, but it would have been a real struggle to get clean coats on the upper-half without the scaffolding. Not to mention the ease of trimming out the corners and edges while standing on a flat surface (instead of having to balance on a ladder and then going up and down it a million times). I almost stepped off of the catwalk a few times (I guess I was REALLY getting into the painting), but luckily managed to avert any major disasters! We easily got two coats on in one day and were able to return the scaffolding later that evening.

We didn't finish all the ceilings as we had originally hoped. As we were removing the old flush-mounted light fixture in the guest bedroom, a piece of the textured ceiling came loose. In fact, it just peeled away with very little effort. We debated about what to do -- patch it or remove it -- and finally decided to try and remove all of the texture down to the original drywall. We used putty knives and I would say that 90% of it peeled off with little effort; BUT the other 10% was about as tedious as it gets.

And I don't even want to think about the heavy "starlight" texture on the ceiling in the office. We still haven't figured out what to do with it; but that's for another post.

Wall Work

2008-07-21T08:20:00.006-04:00

Man...the walls in this place are really working us over! If the wall-o-wood wasn't enough, we found "buried" wallpaper on 3 different walls -- buried in the sense that the original wallpaper had been painted over numerous times. Our first discovery came when a corner of the wallpaper started to pull away in the dining room. We didn't just want to cut away the peel, repair it and add another coat of paint. Since the discovery of our wood floors, and their impending need to be refinished, we decided now was the time to fix the walls correctly.

Using putty knives and water soaked sponges, we were able to wet the wallpaper and scrape it off of the dining room wall. Interestingly enough, as you can see in the picture above, the wallpaper only covered a portion of the wall -- we're thinking it was a mural of some sort. Anyway, it revealed a ton of nail holes to be repaired, two cracks and the two large seams, all of which you can see above. We did our best to skim-coat it with drywall compound in trying to blend the cracks and seams into the existing painted walls. The results, after a coat of Kilz:

Time for an easy one -- the master bedroom. While removing the baseboard I discovered this lovely wallpaper.

Sweet, huh?!?! As you can see, this wallpaper had also been painted over. My first thought was "Oh no, not again." However, after further inspection, I discovered that the wallpaper glue had completly "dried-up" and, no lie, I was able to gently pull each individual section off the wall in a complete strip, paint and all. Below is a pic of the wall with about two strips left to go. You can even still see the pencil lines drawn by whoever was hanging the wallpaper!

Oh, and much like the dining room wall, the original owners had only put the wallpaper on one wall, so that was definitely a positive. After it was all removed I used a plastic putty knife to chip away all the loose glue particles, re-set the old drywall nails, patched the holes and two coats of Kilz to cover the greenish color left behind by the glue residue.

Finally, we turned our attention to a wall in the office. This wall had also originally been wallpapered, but then painted over. Do you see a theme here?!?! This job mirrored the dining room removal process -- water and scrapers to remove the paper (and paint) and then the messy job of patching holes, repairing minor cracks and two coats of Kilz.

White Oak

2008-07-18T14:12:00.002-04:00

One of the items on our "pros" list when we were looking at houses to buy was hardwood floors. In fact, it was one of the major "cons" we had to overcome when deciding whether to purchase our house, as it didn't have them.

Or so we thought.

Houses with hardwood floors usually demand more money due to the fact that almost everyone wants them. As you'll come to discover when house hunting, the listing info for a house will usually include a blurb about hardwood as a selling point, even when they're under carpet, knowing that carpet is one of the first things people usually replace. The listing for our house didn't mention it, so we assumed they were not there. Plus, we didn't see any clue of them during our multiple visits to the house before we decided to make an offer. Our plan was to rip up the carpet in the master and put in a dark wood floor from IKEA and live with the carpet in the rest of the house for the time-being.

So imagine our surprise and delight when the Verizon guy pulled back the carpet in a bedroom closet to run a cable and announced his discovery of hardwood floors! And this was literally like 2 hours after we closed on the place! That night we pulled up carpet in the corners of every room and discovered hardwood throughout.

As we extracted the carpet, padding, staples and tack strips over the next few weeks, we quickly discovered that the floors will certainly need to be refinished. As you can see from the assortment of pics below, the finish has completely worn off in certain places, there are a few stains, there are plenty of paint splatters here and there and the chemical process of cleaning the carpet over the years has left a greenish residue over the majority of the wood floor.

I did a bit of internet research to determine whether this was a job for the pros or something we could do ourselves. Although it can successfully be done as a DIY project, the consenses seems to be that this is a job better left to the pros -- both time and money-wise. So...the plan is to get a number of quotes and go from there; but we will actually hold off on getting the floors refinished until we get the ceilings painted. We'll paint the walls after the floors are done, obviously covering them very well to prevent any accidents.

Out Back

2008-07-15T16:59:00.000-04:00

Before we were married in March, we had seen a patio set at Ikea that we liked and hoped to buy later that Spring. However, given the fact that the closest Ikea is 2 hours away, the rising cost of gas and busy schedules, we weren't able to make the return trip until mid-June. Much to our surprise (and my wife's extreme dismay), they had sold out of our set and wouldn't be getting any others in until next Spring. We did pick up two of the lounge chairs we wanted at amazing savings of $50 each!! So the trip wasn't a total loss.

I was content to wait it out until next year, but Angie was really excited to get outside and make use of the back porch. So...the search began for a unique, modern-looking and moderately-priced patio set. She scanned the far reaches of the Internet and came up with a bunch of ideas. We were looking for a mix of teak (or other hardwood) and aluminium. However, most of everything we found and liked was considerably out of our price range. We talked about settling on something we didn't totally like, and we almost caved...

But we held out...and a day later she found the Stack Chair Depot. They had a chair that we liked better than any we had previously seen. And although the tables were small and all wood, they matched nicely and were priced right. So we picked up two of the tables and six chairs. Upon delivery we found that the table legs were actually painted with a faux wood grain effect -- so before we put them together a quick trip to ACE Hardware to pick up some aluminum-colored spray paint. We sprayed them later that evening and had them together the next morning. We are extremely pleased with the finished result.

My mum -- using her mad sewing skills -- hooked us up with these custom-made covers for the boring black-and-white striped coushions we bought at Ikea to add a bit of comfort to the lounge chairs. We also picked up a Lack side table -- I mean seriously, for $12 you can't go wrong!

Gallons + Gallons

2008-07-03T13:50:00.002-04:00

Behr paint has come highly recommended (from others besides Home Depot), so when I stumbled upon a huge July 4th sale at HD, we had to jump on it!

We had been discussing colors since we moved in (March 08), but hadn't done so much as snagged a color strip from a single store. Angie managed to grab some early in the week that were in our desired color ranges. Then we spent a good 2 hours at the store fine-tuning those colors. We decided on most of what we wanted for the living room, dining room and the bedrooms and took the sample strips home to "see them in action" there. This turned out to be a super-important step b/c we decided that the wall color we loved for our living room and dining room (Porpoise), was a bit too dark for our space. After some more fine tuning, we headed back to the store and placed our order -- the results of which you can see in the pic above.

We'll be doing all of the ceilings in the aforementioned rooms this weekend. Walls and trim to follow. More info on colors and pics after we get it on the walls!

Wall-O-Wood

2008-06-30T18:20:00.003-04:00

BEFORE

I would venture to say that this wall, combined with the sloping ceiling, is the main feature element of our house's interior. So one of the first things on our list was to remove the rustic wood paneling and put drywall in its place. But this was not the thin, laun paneling you're most familiar with. This was solid, heavy plywood-type sheets. We spent the better part of two weeks working to remove it. A pleasant surprise occurred when I removed the first piece of corner trim and discovered that the original drywall was still in place and that the previous owner had used 1"x2" furring strips in order to attach the paneling. Thus, my job went from demo and complete drywalling to demo and patching. Definitely a good thing. We did end up hanging some new drywall on the stairwell to build out the depth of those walls.

Even though we tried to be careful, we made a mess of the wall removing the heavy panels. And the furring strips didn't exactly come off with ease either. In a sense, I became one with the two ladders and my drywall mud as I went up and down patching nail holes all over the 13' x 10' wall.

AFTER (one coat of Kilz)

Even with just a double coat of Kilz primer, it's looking a lot better. Can't wait to get the finish paint on there!

Real Estate Services

2008-06-28T10:03:00.004-04:00

Real Estate Agent
Sherry Enterline with RE/MAX in Harrisburg (PA) – If you happen to be local and looking to buy or sell, we couldn’t recommend Sherry more highly!

Home Inspection
John Rogers at Pillar To Post — John provided a through and adept inspection of our house prior to us making a final decision on the home. He was professional, friendly and patient in explaining everything he was doing. He provides a paper copy and .pdf of his lengthy report and a binder full of maintenance tips for all parts of your new home.

Mortgage Company
Nancy Patt at First Horizon (now with MetLife) — Again, if you’re local and looking for a mortgage loan or to refinance an existing mortgage loan, contact Nancy. She’s good with all your tough questions about a very tough subject — picking the right mortgage for you.

Disclaimer: We haven't been paid to say any of this, just in case you were wondering. We just had great experiences with all of these professionals and wanted to put the word out there.

For Starters...

2008-06-20T13:46:00.000-04:00

Kingswood is the street where we live.

Redux (from the Latin, meaning brought back) is what we're doing to our 1958 split-level house. In a sense, it's our new interpretation of the design elements in both the interior and exterior of the house in a style that we call modest modern. Modern in the sense of strong, sophisticated, clean and simple lines that draw inspiration from mid-century modern design, but yet appreciating where we've come in the 50 years since. Modest in the sense that we both believe our money is not our own and thus, we consciously choose to make economically-sound and practical decisions concerning the use of those resources.

Kingswood Redux is the blog where we share that process with you. It is our intention to share pics (before and after), stories, links, resources, methods, what we learned, frustrations, etc., when we're not otherwise working on the house, at our jobs, serving others, or enjoying time with family and friends! And just for the record, this blog is not about keeping up with the Jones' or even other remodeling bloggers who we draw inspiration from. It's simply an expression of the creative passions that have been seeded deep within us by our Creator.

We are Troy & Angie. And we are blessed to have you along for the journey!