battymatty
Well-known member
this place is amazing, such a lovely looking house and i am sure it is going to be breath taking when its finished. More pics please 
Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Mid-Century Moto Mecca Makeover
- Thread starter sakurama
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
Such a cool project, and some downright dedicated craftsmanship. What a great home you are making for your family to grow up in! I was linked here from a Minnesota Mid Century Modern Facebook group if you were curious, and luckily I was already a lurker on here
Thanks for the tip. Found the link and I've been guilted into updating the blog which I will try to do tonight when (if) the kids go to sleep. I don't get feedback on the blog and my wife has lost the link about six times so I just assumed no one was watching. My bad and I've updated it now.
Hopefully next week will be one of great progress.
Gregor
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YoungMedic
Well-known member
Just smashing! You've got a real diamond in the rough there and I admire your tenacity and attn to details throughout.
Oh and I came for the moto's, stayed for the house!
Oh and I came for the moto's, stayed for the house!
Ford52PU
Well-known member
Just found this and enjoyed all 9 pages so far, great job!
I'm glad that the house is of interest and I'll apologize in advance for the fact that when the house is done there will be a lot of garage stuff.
I had hoped to grout today but realized that I needed to seal the tile first and so I did that.
And finally finished the former chimney turned linen closet. Pocket drilled plywood between the studs so shelves can go anywhere.
Then it was time to fix things that weren't broken while I waited on the sealer to dry between coats. I'm a dangerous man with a crowbar and idle time. You might remember this:
Well, that closet and built in were never part of the original house. They were added in with that glass block and the jacuzzi tub. I wasn't about to remove them and replace the outside wall - partly because I'm not completely crazy and partly because the cost of the clear cedar tongue and groove to match would be more than a few thousand. No, we could use the storage but it was the cheap way it was done that bugged me.
When I started to pull the "trim" I discovered that the "trim" was 2x4's and 2x6's with quarter round nailed on. Oh, sigh. One of the closets they did reuse the cedar from the wall to line the interior. So there's that I suppose. I won't deal with right now but in the next month or so I'll work to make this a period looking built in.
Then during the next coat of sealer I thought I'd take some photos and get the opinion of those of you who've owned property for a while and could provide some sage wisdom. When we bought the place we'd researched the permits and found a number of violations/complaints for work done without permits. We'd guessed that meant neighbors that didn't like the owners or couldn't mind their business. We're nice so and filed permits so we didn't expect any problems but a couple weeks ago I got a notice of a "nuisance complaint". Hmm.
Well, the nice thing about Portland is it isn't NYC so I called the number and spoke to an inspector who said he'd received a complaint about overgrown vegetation. Now, I've mowed the lawn but not much else but he explained that it was just a tree that had a few branches coming into the road. Okay, no big deal. He was super nice and actually agreed to come to the house and meet me and tell me about Setbacks. Those are the things that describe the land you don't own between you and the road. Like the grass on the other side of the sidewalk sort of thing. Your responsibility but you don't own it. You can plant it, put flowers on it and for all intents and purposes it's yours.
This is where the trouble comes in. It turns out we have two "front" set backs which are 20' each and one faces the major road. Our house like all the others has let this just become over run with blackberry bushes. My inspector friend was fine with this and when I asked it I could clear the whole thing, plant grass and claim it as a yard he said you bet - the city would like that. I can't put a fence in the setback unless it's 3' tall and 20' back but the loophole is that you can plant shrubs - right up to the road - and they can be as tall as you can grow. Cool. I can actually double the size of the yard, get rid of the ugly fence and have more privacy.
Well a few days after that I see a guy in a neon shirt with a machete cutting down the blackberry bushes. I assumed it was a city worker but no, it was Bart. When I asked what he was doing he said he was "sick and tired of looking at this ****" and that the "city wasn't going to do anything". I was as nice as a new neighbor could be, explained that we were planning on clearing it after we've moved in and it was nice of him to do our yard work. That's his handiwork above.
So, can this dude just decide to go cutting down anything he wants in someone's setback? I realize it's more a question for my city friend but I'm curious how people deal with this nebulous area. I don't want to legally plant a ton of big shrubs to secure a larger lawn (it needs to be very secure with two kids and a future dog) and then have Bart show up with a chainsaw because he thinks it blocks his view at the corner. How do you deal with Bart's?
Gregor
I had hoped to grout today but realized that I needed to seal the tile first and so I did that.
And finally finished the former chimney turned linen closet. Pocket drilled plywood between the studs so shelves can go anywhere.
Then it was time to fix things that weren't broken while I waited on the sealer to dry between coats. I'm a dangerous man with a crowbar and idle time. You might remember this:
Well, that closet and built in were never part of the original house. They were added in with that glass block and the jacuzzi tub. I wasn't about to remove them and replace the outside wall - partly because I'm not completely crazy and partly because the cost of the clear cedar tongue and groove to match would be more than a few thousand. No, we could use the storage but it was the cheap way it was done that bugged me.
When I started to pull the "trim" I discovered that the "trim" was 2x4's and 2x6's with quarter round nailed on. Oh, sigh. One of the closets they did reuse the cedar from the wall to line the interior. So there's that I suppose. I won't deal with right now but in the next month or so I'll work to make this a period looking built in.
Then during the next coat of sealer I thought I'd take some photos and get the opinion of those of you who've owned property for a while and could provide some sage wisdom. When we bought the place we'd researched the permits and found a number of violations/complaints for work done without permits. We'd guessed that meant neighbors that didn't like the owners or couldn't mind their business. We're nice so and filed permits so we didn't expect any problems but a couple weeks ago I got a notice of a "nuisance complaint". Hmm.
Well, the nice thing about Portland is it isn't NYC so I called the number and spoke to an inspector who said he'd received a complaint about overgrown vegetation. Now, I've mowed the lawn but not much else but he explained that it was just a tree that had a few branches coming into the road. Okay, no big deal. He was super nice and actually agreed to come to the house and meet me and tell me about Setbacks. Those are the things that describe the land you don't own between you and the road. Like the grass on the other side of the sidewalk sort of thing. Your responsibility but you don't own it. You can plant it, put flowers on it and for all intents and purposes it's yours.
This is where the trouble comes in. It turns out we have two "front" set backs which are 20' each and one faces the major road. Our house like all the others has let this just become over run with blackberry bushes. My inspector friend was fine with this and when I asked it I could clear the whole thing, plant grass and claim it as a yard he said you bet - the city would like that. I can't put a fence in the setback unless it's 3' tall and 20' back but the loophole is that you can plant shrubs - right up to the road - and they can be as tall as you can grow. Cool. I can actually double the size of the yard, get rid of the ugly fence and have more privacy.
Well a few days after that I see a guy in a neon shirt with a machete cutting down the blackberry bushes. I assumed it was a city worker but no, it was Bart. When I asked what he was doing he said he was "sick and tired of looking at this ****" and that the "city wasn't going to do anything". I was as nice as a new neighbor could be, explained that we were planning on clearing it after we've moved in and it was nice of him to do our yard work. That's his handiwork above.
So, can this dude just decide to go cutting down anything he wants in someone's setback? I realize it's more a question for my city friend but I'm curious how people deal with this nebulous area. I don't want to legally plant a ton of big shrubs to secure a larger lawn (it needs to be very secure with two kids and a future dog) and then have Bart show up with a chainsaw because he thinks it blocks his view at the corner. How do you deal with Bart's?
Gregor
Stop him now or you will have trouble forever. If he seems reasonable, I would continue the conversation you started by thanking him for doing your yard work, and explain your plans, emphasizing that you intend to take care of it and if he sees anything he doesn't like to give you a call and you will take care of it, not him. Firm but nice. Give someone who doesn't respect property rights an inch, and...
YoungMedic
Well-known member
I can tell you that if Bart came over and started hacking up anything i planted here there would be a police matter to follow, from one reason or another, it would be up to Bart to decide how he wants to play it
polexican23
Banned
-----Really?
"Boy"?
C'mon, I know it was likely unintentional but how about you show the MAN some respect? He's busted *** on this job.-----
I meant it as in pal, buddy, guy, chum, homie.
You know people like you make life miserable, always assuming someone is being racist or derogatory. Depending on what day it is, people like you assume someone is being offensive by just saying "good morning".
"Boy"?
C'mon, I know it was likely unintentional but how about you show the MAN some respect? He's busted *** on this job.-----
I meant it as in pal, buddy, guy, chum, homie.
You know people like you make life miserable, always assuming someone is being racist or derogatory. Depending on what day it is, people like you assume someone is being offensive by just saying "good morning".
Even "Forced Trimming" by electrical company contractors (ie Asplundh is common vendor), have to give written notice on front door BEFORE they start trimming the setback area (ie easement) under aerial electric lines. Had to deal with it last year, and went almost as planned but they still OVER-trimmed my giant Ash tree . . . I'd say they cut off 10 to 15 years growth that will never even have potential of growing back to highline wires. The main guy promised me he wouldn't hack it up, but he still did!! Basically, they treat hardwoods like Ash just they do quick growers like Maple, Cottonwood, etc. so I feel I got screwed.
I'd say shut down "Bart" both orally as well as in writing that you consider any further action by him on YOUR property as Trespassing. As other GJ poster says, can't give them an inch, as they'll take a mile.
I'd say shut down "Bart" both orally as well as in writing that you consider any further action by him on YOUR property as Trespassing. As other GJ poster says, can't give them an inch, as they'll take a mile.
Knockdown, Then Grout.
One thing about remodeling is that unless you replace absolutely everything you're going to have to end up matching some of the stuff that is already there. This was the case with the textured walls. I was never a fan of texture as I knew it was done to cover up less than perfect sheet rock. Now that I've had to sheet rock over less than perfect walls I've become a real fan. Of course first I had to learn about it. Cue the internet.
So there's a few different textures that are typically done but in midcentury stuff the one that was popular and that was done in our house was the one called "knockdown". Here's how it's done:
The texture is simply sprayed drywall compound that you thin out with water to a pancake batter/cake batter consistency and then put into your gun.
The gun is available at your average home center but they're pretty cheap so spring for the better metal one - this one was like $50. The cheap ones can't spray diluted compound and require you to buy their "special" texture compound - expensive and the stuff goes fast and so does your savings. You really don't need much of a compressor I was surprised to find out. Probably helps but my little Rolair did just fine.
The gun comes with three tips. The small does the "orange peel" texture and requires more dilution, the medium does the "knockdown" and the third large one does the really rough stuff like a popcorn ceiling - I think, didn't investigate that far.
So randomly splatter the wall with diluted drywall mud and then let it set up a bit. I found that you wanted the smaller bumps to look dry and the bigger ones to still have a sheen. At that point lightly drag a mud knife at a very shallow angle and smear the higher lumps down into a random pattern. There's a huge range of possibilities so just experiment or work to match. I like to go for a relief-map-of-the-Canary-Islands look.
This is knocked down and not painted - it looks pretty crisp.
And then painted. Paint really softens the texture - in this case this is primer which is pretty thick stuff and the we'll go over that with paint. The texture just gets softer but it does a great job of hiding imperfections. Not that there are any, there aren't, I'm just saying it could...
As proof of our mad drywall skills we're not texturing the big wall in the living room. Well, it's also not matching anything. Also, we're not doing texture in the kitchen which you could imagine would be a nightmare to clean. Here's primer going over a yellow wall! Oh glory days!
Oh right. I finally grouted the bathroom floor. The tile was sealed with three coats of sealer and then grouted. This is after the last clean up.
Gregor
One thing about remodeling is that unless you replace absolutely everything you're going to have to end up matching some of the stuff that is already there. This was the case with the textured walls. I was never a fan of texture as I knew it was done to cover up less than perfect sheet rock. Now that I've had to sheet rock over less than perfect walls I've become a real fan. Of course first I had to learn about it. Cue the internet.
So there's a few different textures that are typically done but in midcentury stuff the one that was popular and that was done in our house was the one called "knockdown". Here's how it's done:
The texture is simply sprayed drywall compound that you thin out with water to a pancake batter/cake batter consistency and then put into your gun.
The gun is available at your average home center but they're pretty cheap so spring for the better metal one - this one was like $50. The cheap ones can't spray diluted compound and require you to buy their "special" texture compound - expensive and the stuff goes fast and so does your savings. You really don't need much of a compressor I was surprised to find out. Probably helps but my little Rolair did just fine.
The gun comes with three tips. The small does the "orange peel" texture and requires more dilution, the medium does the "knockdown" and the third large one does the really rough stuff like a popcorn ceiling - I think, didn't investigate that far.
So randomly splatter the wall with diluted drywall mud and then let it set up a bit. I found that you wanted the smaller bumps to look dry and the bigger ones to still have a sheen. At that point lightly drag a mud knife at a very shallow angle and smear the higher lumps down into a random pattern. There's a huge range of possibilities so just experiment or work to match. I like to go for a relief-map-of-the-Canary-Islands look.
This is knocked down and not painted - it looks pretty crisp.
And then painted. Paint really softens the texture - in this case this is primer which is pretty thick stuff and the we'll go over that with paint. The texture just gets softer but it does a great job of hiding imperfections. Not that there are any, there aren't, I'm just saying it could...
As proof of our mad drywall skills we're not texturing the big wall in the living room. Well, it's also not matching anything. Also, we're not doing texture in the kitchen which you could imagine would be a nightmare to clean. Here's primer going over a yellow wall! Oh glory days!
Oh right. I finally grouted the bathroom floor. The tile was sealed with three coats of sealer and then grouted. This is after the last clean up.
Gregor
With regards to setbacks / easements, I would plan on the idea that anything you plant there can be taken out at any time.
Working for a utility, it was silly how many people would plant fancy gardens and fancy fences ON utility right of ways and then appear shocked when restoration work required access.
As stated, it isn't your property, so be mindful of that. Might be a good idea to run your plans by the easement holder and see what they think. You would be way a head in 10 years when things are grown in and they need access again.
Just don't plant dang tress under power lines then complain that they are ugly when they are trimmed down. I know you are smarter then that, but people don't think what things are going to look like 10 - 20 years down the road.
Sorry for the babble, your house is awesome, and the work you (and your homeboy) are doing is fantastic. Good luck to you on the rest of the house and maybe the garage? lol
Working for a utility, it was silly how many people would plant fancy gardens and fancy fences ON utility right of ways and then appear shocked when restoration work required access.
As stated, it isn't your property, so be mindful of that. Might be a good idea to run your plans by the easement holder and see what they think. You would be way a head in 10 years when things are grown in and they need access again.
Just don't plant dang tress under power lines then complain that they are ugly when they are trimmed down. I know you are smarter then that, but people don't think what things are going to look like 10 - 20 years down the road.
Sorry for the babble, your house is awesome, and the work you (and your homeboy) are doing is fantastic. Good luck to you on the rest of the house and maybe the garage? lol
speedminded
Well-known member
This food is incredible chef, what pots and pans are you using? ;-)
I'm jealous of your mid-century house Gregor...and your Hasselblad...and your bike lol! Subscribed!
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It's taken weeks to get around to it but I finally tackled the tile. Now that I've done tile I sorta wish I'd put it off longer. Tile *****.
I think if I'd ever done it before or if I'd just spent an hour with a pro it would have helped tremendously but I didn't know anyone. So I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of articles on Family Handyman and FineHomebuilding - both fantastic sites with great information.
Armed with my online degree in tile hanging I set about getting it done. First up, mix the thinset.
I never knew why you had to slake the thinset but that time allows any unmixed clumps to absorb the water and then you remix. And again it's to a nice thick cake batter consistency.
It's drilled into your head over and over that the first tile you set determines the whole wall.
Whatever.
Just kidding. I measured up one row with my story poll (stick that you mark your tile height with and then use to measure and plan your courses) and, having previously measured and marked the center, screwed a ledger board in level for the first course to sit on, centered my first tile and started learning. While it looks like I raked the backer with thinset I ended up mostly just backbuttering the tiles and then setting them. That was the technique of the most competent video I found on Youtube. Funnily enough I was not nearly as neat.
I did like the way the guy continually checked the level and I did as well. It's not nearly as easy as it seems. The fact that I went with 100mm x 400mm subway tiles meant that I had to do a lot more cutting so the process was slow. I now wish I'd gone with a smaller tile but this was the compromise with the ms. sakurama. Next time I'll suggest she help set the tile.
It's funny how almost any layout you decide on or try will have a compromise. I could have split the top and bottom so as to not have the small strip at the top but then the faucets would have been in joints. I'm fine with it as I like a full tile at the bottom to start. One of the nice things is that I'm the client so there's only me to please.
So onto wall number two. Move the ledger over and then drill the tile. I bought a small water cup and diamond bit that worked great.
Getting there. I used a diamond wheel and a grease pencil to mark and cut the shower valve tiles. While I don't see it in this photo it was about at this course that I noticed that my right wall had mysteriously grown almost 1/8" to the point that the tiles weren't lining up. For a very short while I thought about just trying to squeeze them a bit and keep going. Then I thought how every time I'd sit in that tub I'd see it and it would make me crazy. I pulled them down, scraped the thinset off, cleaned the tiles in order, mixed another batch of thinset and did it over right. Being a perfectionist can be a real hassle.
I honestly thought I could finish it today but it was not to be. I'm 2/3's done and I'll finish Monday and that makes me happy. It looks like a hot mess but I cleaned all the grout out of the joints and didn't want to clean the tiles down and risk knocking out the spacer and having a tile settle and harden crooked. It will clean up though. By the end of the day I realized that to make tile look good required accuracy to the millimeter and a lot of patience.
On the garage front I finally took some time to move my toolboxes into spots and unload some of the boxes of tools. It's not organized but it's starting to come out of boxes which, if I can keep at it, will start to open floor space so that I can stage and build the cabinets in the garage.
Gregor
I think if I'd ever done it before or if I'd just spent an hour with a pro it would have helped tremendously but I didn't know anyone. So I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of articles on Family Handyman and FineHomebuilding - both fantastic sites with great information.
Armed with my online degree in tile hanging I set about getting it done. First up, mix the thinset.
I never knew why you had to slake the thinset but that time allows any unmixed clumps to absorb the water and then you remix. And again it's to a nice thick cake batter consistency.
It's drilled into your head over and over that the first tile you set determines the whole wall.
Whatever.
Just kidding. I measured up one row with my story poll (stick that you mark your tile height with and then use to measure and plan your courses) and, having previously measured and marked the center, screwed a ledger board in level for the first course to sit on, centered my first tile and started learning. While it looks like I raked the backer with thinset I ended up mostly just backbuttering the tiles and then setting them. That was the technique of the most competent video I found on Youtube. Funnily enough I was not nearly as neat.
I did like the way the guy continually checked the level and I did as well. It's not nearly as easy as it seems. The fact that I went with 100mm x 400mm subway tiles meant that I had to do a lot more cutting so the process was slow. I now wish I'd gone with a smaller tile but this was the compromise with the ms. sakurama. Next time I'll suggest she help set the tile.
It's funny how almost any layout you decide on or try will have a compromise. I could have split the top and bottom so as to not have the small strip at the top but then the faucets would have been in joints. I'm fine with it as I like a full tile at the bottom to start. One of the nice things is that I'm the client so there's only me to please.
So onto wall number two. Move the ledger over and then drill the tile. I bought a small water cup and diamond bit that worked great.
Getting there. I used a diamond wheel and a grease pencil to mark and cut the shower valve tiles. While I don't see it in this photo it was about at this course that I noticed that my right wall had mysteriously grown almost 1/8" to the point that the tiles weren't lining up. For a very short while I thought about just trying to squeeze them a bit and keep going. Then I thought how every time I'd sit in that tub I'd see it and it would make me crazy. I pulled them down, scraped the thinset off, cleaned the tiles in order, mixed another batch of thinset and did it over right. Being a perfectionist can be a real hassle.
I honestly thought I could finish it today but it was not to be. I'm 2/3's done and I'll finish Monday and that makes me happy. It looks like a hot mess but I cleaned all the grout out of the joints and didn't want to clean the tiles down and risk knocking out the spacer and having a tile settle and harden crooked. It will clean up though. By the end of the day I realized that to make tile look good required accuracy to the millimeter and a lot of patience.
On the garage front I finally took some time to move my toolboxes into spots and unload some of the boxes of tools. It's not organized but it's starting to come out of boxes which, if I can keep at it, will start to open floor space so that I can stage and build the cabinets in the garage.
Gregor
westpilton
New member
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2009
- Messages
- 4
The confusion may be in the fact that the expression is "the dog's ********". As in "Pneumatic nailers are the dog's ********." Without "the" it doesn't sound right.
House is looking outstanding, by the way. Fully subscribed.
House is looking outstanding, by the way. Fully subscribed.
e-tek
Well-known member
I used the same style water cutter for our tile - works great eh?!
Place is looking awesome.
Place is looking awesome.
Weekend_warrior
Well-known member
Nice work. I did pretty much my whole house ceilings using a orange peel texture. The small tip with the higher pressure works well. After the second room I had it down. Write down the amount of water you use as well as mud so you can duplicate it if you need. Make fine adjustments if necessary. I did a lot of patching to match existing walls as well.
All done with the 25 dollar Harbor Freight model. Looks just like the one you have pictured. They are very simple and the HF one works well.
All done with the 25 dollar Harbor Freight model. Looks just like the one you have pictured. They are very simple and the HF one works well.
Four Tons of Tacky
So far the running total is 4 tons of tacky. That is how much **** has been hauled out of the house as of todays trip to the dump.
It was time to return the scaffold and the the drywall lift we'd borrowed (Thanks Jacob!) and pick up some more quarter round tile to finish up the tub. We've been working so hard that the place has just become a giant mess and I just couldn't take it any more. I needed some clutter clearing, some open floor and something, anything, not covered in drywall dust.
Despite being present and participating in the transformation I find seeing the primered walls to be a ray of hope and completely unexpected. They're straight, clean, crisp and bright. I'm impressed mostly because I know what it was like underneath it all.
I won't bore you with another photo of the tub - but the tile is done and ready for grout. I'll bore you with a grouted shot when that's done.
I've actually spoken to the architect but I can't really afford to hire him as a consultant right now (the only way he's willing to give me any advice or assistance) so I'm doing my own research. Sunset magazine - nothing. Removing more sheetrock - yup, there's a story. It seems in our house the windows trim was dark gray and the space between the beams was cedar - not like other houses he's done. That's what that shot above shows me as this was the last part of the wall before the bump out in the 90's.
So as Jorgé sands and primes sheet rock I'm working on trimming out the beams like what I've discovered. Except I'm doing black instead of dark gray. I think it's the right move and I'm excited to see it complete.
So in the next week or so I'll start to transition to the garage as I'm going to need a clean space to do the cabinet work and so the only way to get that will be to build cabinets for the garage and then put stuff away. It's a win, win as my shop will come together a bit and I'll be getting some much needed practice building euro style 32mm faceless cabinets.
It will also bring this thread full circle and I'll be the first to admit this was a long walk to get back to the garage.
Gregor
So far the running total is 4 tons of tacky. That is how much **** has been hauled out of the house as of todays trip to the dump.
It was time to return the scaffold and the the drywall lift we'd borrowed (Thanks Jacob!) and pick up some more quarter round tile to finish up the tub. We've been working so hard that the place has just become a giant mess and I just couldn't take it any more. I needed some clutter clearing, some open floor and something, anything, not covered in drywall dust.
Despite being present and participating in the transformation I find seeing the primered walls to be a ray of hope and completely unexpected. They're straight, clean, crisp and bright. I'm impressed mostly because I know what it was like underneath it all.
I won't bore you with another photo of the tub - but the tile is done and ready for grout. I'll bore you with a grouted shot when that's done.
I've actually spoken to the architect but I can't really afford to hire him as a consultant right now (the only way he's willing to give me any advice or assistance) so I'm doing my own research. Sunset magazine - nothing. Removing more sheetrock - yup, there's a story. It seems in our house the windows trim was dark gray and the space between the beams was cedar - not like other houses he's done. That's what that shot above shows me as this was the last part of the wall before the bump out in the 90's.
So as Jorgé sands and primes sheet rock I'm working on trimming out the beams like what I've discovered. Except I'm doing black instead of dark gray. I think it's the right move and I'm excited to see it complete.
So in the next week or so I'll start to transition to the garage as I'm going to need a clean space to do the cabinet work and so the only way to get that will be to build cabinets for the garage and then put stuff away. It's a win, win as my shop will come together a bit and I'll be getting some much needed practice building euro style 32mm faceless cabinets.
It will also bring this thread full circle and I'll be the first to admit this was a long walk to get back to the garage.
Gregor
Omphaloskeptic
Well-known member
Gregor, I wonder if the county tax records might reveal the name of the original owner? There may be family still in the area; who knows, they might still have photo albums of the house just after it was completed. It might be a worthwhile piece of photo detective work. Just as an aside, I was able to get a copy of a 8"x10" B&W glossy of my Seattle house shortly after it was built due to the fact that the county had an extensive photo survey done for property tax purposes. I just had to request the copy and pay $15.00 for the service. Good hunting! Another source to check out is any architectural school library that the architect may have donated his early work; his alma mater or the local university. 
I actually have the name on the blueprints but I haven't had any luck finding them. I agree that they would probably be the best source and I know they were friends of the architect. Yes, any photos would be great to see. Despite that I plow forward.
So today about all I got done was grouting the tile but that was quite the job. Epoxy grout is not so easy to work with as it's a bit slippery and we had barely enough grout to get the whole thing done.
Silly self portrait of me wiping it down. I couldn't take any during because the clock was ticking on the epoxy.
But the good news is that grout covered any of my small mistakes and it looks better than I have any right to expect. Man, is that a relief and satisfying.
House is cleaned but I had to get different lumber to for the trim. Tomorrow I'll get that done and Monday is cabinet bases and floor. Man I'm excited.
Gregor
Omphaloskeptic
Well-known member
Congrats on the tile job! It is one of those tedious, technical tasks that look 'Oh so good' when they are done properly. Now, you can soak in the tub and smile as you admire your handiwork. lol
As we get closer to done there seems to be many things that become tediously slow in the finishing process. It's also slowed by the constant decisions that need to be made since there wasn't some sort of over arching plan in place.
One that took a while was how to trim out the 4x4 beams. In the end I opted to match the way the house was trimmed between the windows since that was the closest analog.
It's cedar inset about 1/4" between two poplar or fir 1 x 6's - which were rather hard to source as the house was made with when 1x6's were actually 3/4" instead of 11/16's or whatever they are that's not 3/4". Some day a 2x4 will be a toothpick.
That cedar is poly'd like the ceiling and wall and then the outer boards are painted black as the beams are.
Trimming out the walls that were left and weren't straight was a challenge but nailing from the top down helped a lot. We're also starting to paint the window trim as well.
Also picked up the 3/16" cable rail for the balcony which I'm going to swage myself. I also need to weld some steel for that so it's forced me to do some cleaning in the garage. Since it's hard to clean without a place to put things I've also begun planning garage cabinets which I hope to make this week as a test for the house. I have a couple of big shoots coming up so the house progress will slow down a bit but Jorgé can keep going on paint and trim. Of course the move in date gets pushed back. Thankfully Judiaann has begun hoping we'll just be moved in by Christmas which I think I can pull off. I think...
Gregor
One that took a while was how to trim out the 4x4 beams. In the end I opted to match the way the house was trimmed between the windows since that was the closest analog.
It's cedar inset about 1/4" between two poplar or fir 1 x 6's - which were rather hard to source as the house was made with when 1x6's were actually 3/4" instead of 11/16's or whatever they are that's not 3/4". Some day a 2x4 will be a toothpick.
That cedar is poly'd like the ceiling and wall and then the outer boards are painted black as the beams are.
Trimming out the walls that were left and weren't straight was a challenge but nailing from the top down helped a lot. We're also starting to paint the window trim as well.
Also picked up the 3/16" cable rail for the balcony which I'm going to swage myself. I also need to weld some steel for that so it's forced me to do some cleaning in the garage. Since it's hard to clean without a place to put things I've also begun planning garage cabinets which I hope to make this week as a test for the house. I have a couple of big shoots coming up so the house progress will slow down a bit but Jorgé can keep going on paint and trim. Of course the move in date gets pushed back. Thankfully Judiaann has begun hoping we'll just be moved in by Christmas which I think I can pull off. I think...
Gregor
phartman
Well-known member
Excellent, just excellent.
So, remarkably, I did some garage work. More by accident but I'll take what I can get. In order to clean the floor of the wood working tools in the house I needed to create space in the garage. To make space I have to build cabinets so I can put the stuff away. To build the cabinets I needed to finish the walls first. Oh what a crooked path of logic I follow.
So that's what we did today. Finished patching the drywall and then primed the walls. Tomorrow is paint.
Since Jorgé was working on the drywall I went to pick up cable swagers and some stiffer steel for the mid spans of the rail.
I went for 6' of this tube. I found it in the surplus section but it was only $5 and they have a $25 minimum...
So I picked up a stick ("stick" = 20' - this is an ironic term if there ever was one) of this 4x4" 3/16 wall tube for the legs of my welding table. Sorta overshot the $25 minimum but now I have it when I'm ready to finally make that new base.
Gregor
So that's what we did today. Finished patching the drywall and then primed the walls. Tomorrow is paint.
Since Jorgé was working on the drywall I went to pick up cable swagers and some stiffer steel for the mid spans of the rail.
I went for 6' of this tube. I found it in the surplus section but it was only $5 and they have a $25 minimum...
So I picked up a stick ("stick" = 20' - this is an ironic term if there ever was one) of this 4x4" 3/16 wall tube for the legs of my welding table. Sorta overshot the $25 minimum but now I have it when I'm ready to finally make that new base.
Gregor
Not much progress but I'm trying to keep things happening before I have to go to NYC for my shoot.
We got all the walls in the garage primed and painted. Drywall looks good.
Tomorrow we're going to try the power sprayer for the ceiling so we'll have to cover everything. It should help to brighten the place to have the ceiling be white.
This is a very unremarkable thing - it's just a door. But! But to me it's both a first and a milestone. It's the first piece of trim I've done and it's the first trim to go up in the house. Trim is fun. I'm looking forward to doing more. Hanging doors is also fun. I've now hung four and it's very rewarding to finish the door and see the perfectly even gap and ease with which it closes. It's pleasing in the same way that closing a door on a nice German car is pleasing.
And since I'm a glutton for punishment...
I thought I'd try doing all the cabinet drawers with dovetails. I love dovetails and bought this jig like four years ago but never used it. Finally I pulled it out and gave it a try. It's deceptively easy to get close and quite hard to get perfect. I'll keep toying with it and see where I'm at when it comes time to build the drawers. If I've got it down I'll go for it but I won't hold up the progress. Judiaann doubts we'll be in by Christmas so I'm aiming for Halloween. I hope she's not right but who knows anymore...
Gregor
We got all the walls in the garage primed and painted. Drywall looks good.
Tomorrow we're going to try the power sprayer for the ceiling so we'll have to cover everything. It should help to brighten the place to have the ceiling be white.
This is a very unremarkable thing - it's just a door. But! But to me it's both a first and a milestone. It's the first piece of trim I've done and it's the first trim to go up in the house. Trim is fun. I'm looking forward to doing more. Hanging doors is also fun. I've now hung four and it's very rewarding to finish the door and see the perfectly even gap and ease with which it closes. It's pleasing in the same way that closing a door on a nice German car is pleasing.
And since I'm a glutton for punishment...
I thought I'd try doing all the cabinet drawers with dovetails. I love dovetails and bought this jig like four years ago but never used it. Finally I pulled it out and gave it a try. It's deceptively easy to get close and quite hard to get perfect. I'll keep toying with it and see where I'm at when it comes time to build the drawers. If I've got it down I'll go for it but I won't hold up the progress. Judiaann doubts we'll be in by Christmas so I'm aiming for Halloween. I hope she's not right but who knows anymore...
Gregor
Jacko
Well-known member
Your house/garage remodel is fantastic.
damn I love this thread.
Shows all that can be achieved with hard work and some research.
damn I love this thread.
Shows all that can be achieved with hard work and some research.
GRS DESIGN
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2013
- Messages
- 46
Hi Gregor....I have ony been on GJ for a week or so and I am really enjoying this thread with the house as well a the garage.It seems to be a huge amount of work but I think the result you get will be worth it. Also love the BMW it reminds me of the old Getti BMW's of the 70s I seem to remember Reg Pridmore racing these back then as well in BOTT if my memory is correct (I saw him race here in Australia in 75 I think, on the Vetter Kawasaki) Anyway keep the updates coming I am really looking forward to the end result
Regards Glenn (GRS Design) NSW Australia
Regards Glenn (GRS Design) NSW Australia
madoc1
Well-known member
doin great work. love it!
Jig? I see no flamin' jig. Please show & tell.
All I see is another impressive result of a do it yourself craftsmen's work. I followed you over here from ADV. I can't show the wife this thread, she thinks it's impressive that I assembled a set of Ikea cupboards on the weekend.
And since I'm a glutton for punishment...
I thought I'd try doing all the cabinet drawers with dovetails. I love dovetails and bought this jig like four years ago but never used it. Finally I pulled it out and gave it a try. It's deceptively easy to get close and quite hard to get perfect. I'll keep toying with it and see where I'm at when it comes time to build the drawers. If I've got it down I'll go for it but I won't hold up the progress. Judiaann doubts we'll be in by Christmas so I'm aiming for Halloween. I hope she's not right but who knows anymore...
Gregor[/QUOTE]
All I see is another impressive result of a do it yourself craftsmen's work. I followed you over here from ADV. I can't show the wife this thread, she thinks it's impressive that I assembled a set of Ikea cupboards on the weekend.
And since I'm a glutton for punishment...
I thought I'd try doing all the cabinet drawers with dovetails. I love dovetails and bought this jig like four years ago but never used it. Finally I pulled it out and gave it a try. It's deceptively easy to get close and quite hard to get perfect. I'll keep toying with it and see where I'm at when it comes time to build the drawers. If I've got it down I'll go for it but I won't hold up the progress. Judiaann doubts we'll be in by Christmas so I'm aiming for Halloween. I hope she's not right but who knows anymore...
Gregor[/QUOTE]
So today I started building my first garage cabinet. Yeah! Progress on the garage! We also finally tackled the ceiling of the garage. At some point I'm sure I'll regret the decision if I ever decide to turn the garage into, say, a yoga studio, but I'm just taking that chance.
Jorgé wanted to roll the ceiling but I bought that stupid power sprayer and we hadn't used it yet so it was time. He was very happy after using it. The 60 year old lumber that comprised the ceiling soaked up the primer like a dry sponge and I'm hoping that two coats will be enough of a barrier that we can hit it with paint tomorrow.
Gregor
Jorgé wanted to roll the ceiling but I bought that stupid power sprayer and we hadn't used it yet so it was time. He was very happy after using it. The 60 year old lumber that comprised the ceiling soaked up the primer like a dry sponge and I'm hoping that two coats will be enough of a barrier that we can hit it with paint tomorrow.
Gregor
fritztownford
New member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2011
- Messages
- 1
Subscribed. I'm a photographer/designer and a serial remodeler myself. I have always lived in old houses and I'm looking for my first mid-century house now.
Love the volume of the rooms and the amazing wood. Keep going. BTW, NEVER put off reworking an area because you "will come back to that later". It's like a bike, once you ride it a few times, it's hard to go "back in".
Love the volume of the rooms and the amazing wood. Keep going. BTW, NEVER put off reworking an area because you "will come back to that later". It's like a bike, once you ride it a few times, it's hard to go "back in".
Thanks. I know that you're right so I'm trying very hard to just keep my nose to the grindstone and do it right until it's livable and then keep on keepin' on once we're in. Seeing progress gives me hope.
So today Jorgé got two coats of paint on the garage ceiling. Just as you mentioned it looked okay with one but I thought to myself that it needed two and I'd never ever paint it again so we did two today.
While he worked I built my very first cabinet. Months of reading threads, watching videos and accumulating tools all coalesced into this moment where I went from doing carpentry to cabinetry. While I can see my mistakes I learned an absolute ton. Where to be careful, what order to do what in and also how I'd like to have my wood side of the shop organized to make building the rest of them easier.
So I'm absolutely committed to building Euro style 32mm frameless cabinets. I just like the style. To build them it was time to switch completely over to metric. Not like you couldn't do them in english but it would be a massive hassle. So, what you see there is several weeks of thinking and planning realized in a square box of 768mm. 768mm (just over 30") because it's a multiple of 32mm and square because squares rock. It's 384mm (just over 15") deep because it's a multiple of 32mm (and half the height!) and because it was the best size to get a full cabinet, two doors and three shelves out of one sheet of plywood with enough left over to make a french cleat to hang it with. Sweet!
I picked the nicest grain for the doors and pseudo book matched it.
Euro hinges allow three dimension adjustments to give perfect reveal. Edge banding really finishes them.
The inside is drilled every 32mm with 5mm holes to hold the euro shelf brackets so the shelves are adjustable. Three is overkill but that's how the cuts worked out. I'm sure I'll find ways to use it.
Just like Ikea! Except it's made from super strong shop grade Birch plywood, won't fall apart, sag or make me regret the purchase down the road.
I gotta say, I'm happy with my first cabinet. it turned out better than I expected and while it's not at the level I want the kitchen to be at by the time the garage is done I'll be ready for the kitchen. Anyway, I'll finish it in poly tomorrow so it won't get greasy paw prints ground in and then I'll hang it up, have a beer and go to NYC happy.
Gregor
whatuusay1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2009
- Messages
- 106
this is one of those threads where i read all 10 pages.. and then its not done.. the anticipation of looking forward to more posts/pics. Fantastic work, true craftsmanship!
Omphaloskeptic
Well-known member
Great update (as usual)!
On your 32mm cabinet build; what would you say was your best learning resource for the project? Did you buy/build any special jigs for building them; or will you do so for the kitchen cabinet build?
On your 32mm cabinet build; what would you say was your best learning resource for the project? Did you buy/build any special jigs for building them; or will you do so for the kitchen cabinet build?
Thanks guys.
Since I'm deep in the Festool system and they make a jig specifically for doing the 32mm cabinets I found the user videos and threads from the FOG forum to be very helpful. Here's some links:
Euro Cabinets - beginners guide
Festool LR32 Howto
LR32 Video series
The 32mm System
And the best of the 5 or 6 books I've read was: The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker
The thing about 32mm is that if you adopt a system (there are a few), stick to the rules and use a decent jig it's quite easy. It's just a bit of a chore to get there so I can see why most people would just stick to making regular face frame cabinets. I tend to focus very intensely on what I want to achieve and completely disregard how much work is involved or the cost/benefit aspect. This is both why I've had a lot of success in a difficult career and why I'm not living in my house right now.
More importantly, I'm okay with that.
Last Friday I wanted to finish the cabinet but since I was heading out of town that night my day was spent preparing, packing and making a list of things to be done while I was gone.
Still, we did manage to finish painting the garage walls and ceiling.
It was noticeably brighter after the ceiling was done and that was the point. We didn't tape out the big beams because they're going to get painted black while I'm gone. I also spent some of the day trying to find VCT for the garage floor thinking that would be easy and I could put down some around the walls and move the machines back. It wasn't and I never found any locally so that's also on my list. A nice tile floor will go a long way towards making the space feel more like a shop and less like a garage. It will be easier to keep clean too.
If I could add about 10 hours to each day I'd be in good shape. Sadly, (and happily as well) I have two big projects right now in NYC so I'm going to be very busy with real work for a few weeks but after that I think I can buckle down and make some progress.
Gregor
Since I'm deep in the Festool system and they make a jig specifically for doing the 32mm cabinets I found the user videos and threads from the FOG forum to be very helpful. Here's some links:
Euro Cabinets - beginners guide
Festool LR32 Howto
LR32 Video series
The 32mm System
And the best of the 5 or 6 books I've read was: The Complete Kitchen Cabinetmaker
The thing about 32mm is that if you adopt a system (there are a few), stick to the rules and use a decent jig it's quite easy. It's just a bit of a chore to get there so I can see why most people would just stick to making regular face frame cabinets. I tend to focus very intensely on what I want to achieve and completely disregard how much work is involved or the cost/benefit aspect. This is both why I've had a lot of success in a difficult career and why I'm not living in my house right now.
More importantly, I'm okay with that.
Last Friday I wanted to finish the cabinet but since I was heading out of town that night my day was spent preparing, packing and making a list of things to be done while I was gone.
Still, we did manage to finish painting the garage walls and ceiling.
It was noticeably brighter after the ceiling was done and that was the point. We didn't tape out the big beams because they're going to get painted black while I'm gone. I also spent some of the day trying to find VCT for the garage floor thinking that would be easy and I could put down some around the walls and move the machines back. It wasn't and I never found any locally so that's also on my list. A nice tile floor will go a long way towards making the space feel more like a shop and less like a garage. It will be easier to keep clean too.
If I could add about 10 hours to each day I'd be in good shape. Sadly, (and happily as well) I have two big projects right now in NYC so I'm going to be very busy with real work for a few weeks but after that I think I can buckle down and make some progress.
Gregor