Dead cat farm
- Thread starter jb3
- Start date
some more attached garage progress-
almost completely done installing plywood on all exterior frame walls, an idea stolen from someones thread on here that I am enthusiastically in favor of for shelving even though its been a big extra step
some views of the attached garage, 1/3rd of the walls are stone so it wasnt as big a job as it otherwise would have been fortunately
still have this corner to finish-
this is looking towards the new construction part of the renovation-
The added brightness with even just plywood has been noticable, next step is drywall and I will probably paint it off white and hopefully it should end up a really pleasant space
I have some ideas on what to do for cabinetry, the way this was built was interesting to me, for one bay of the garage its a smooth stone wall, and for the further bay becomes a jagged stone pile mixed with concrete. The structure was raised and extended from an open lean to, so the jagged part was added to build out the foundation
my plan is to build out over that jagged wall with some cabinets that prevent you from barking your shins, then do shallow cabinets in the first bay. Ive already done myself harm walking by this section of the wall with plywood in hand and smashing my ankle
The end of the garage foundation is a repurposed stone wall that was about 15 feet out from the building. The garage was just built out to it and built over it. You can see where the wall still is on the outside-
because of this wall I have this large shelf to do something with, which is covering otherwise unusable floor space. Would love to hear anyones ideas for this, I have not decided how to handle it yet
almost completely done installing plywood on all exterior frame walls, an idea stolen from someones thread on here that I am enthusiastically in favor of for shelving even though its been a big extra step
some views of the attached garage, 1/3rd of the walls are stone so it wasnt as big a job as it otherwise would have been fortunately
still have this corner to finish-
this is looking towards the new construction part of the renovation-
The added brightness with even just plywood has been noticable, next step is drywall and I will probably paint it off white and hopefully it should end up a really pleasant space
I have some ideas on what to do for cabinetry, the way this was built was interesting to me, for one bay of the garage its a smooth stone wall, and for the further bay becomes a jagged stone pile mixed with concrete. The structure was raised and extended from an open lean to, so the jagged part was added to build out the foundation
my plan is to build out over that jagged wall with some cabinets that prevent you from barking your shins, then do shallow cabinets in the first bay. Ive already done myself harm walking by this section of the wall with plywood in hand and smashing my ankle
The end of the garage foundation is a repurposed stone wall that was about 15 feet out from the building. The garage was just built out to it and built over it. You can see where the wall still is on the outside-
because of this wall I have this large shelf to do something with, which is covering otherwise unusable floor space. Would love to hear anyones ideas for this, I have not decided how to handle it yet
mdbeck1
Well-known member
because of this wall I have this large shelf to do something with, which is covering otherwise unusable floor space. Would love to hear anyones ideas for this, I have not decided how to handle it yet
You've come a long way.
As far as the shelf on the end... How tall and how deep?
Ole Slewfoot
Well-known member
I just recently got through to 'present time' in this thread. I love what you are doing with the old, and the style of the property. My vision of the seismic inspectors heart attack on seeing something like that here makes me laugh every time.
On the shelf, I think a 3-4" slab of tree with at least partly live edge would be just awesome.
On the shelf, I think a 3-4" slab of tree with at least partly live edge would be just awesome.
mdbeck1
Well-known member
If the height is right I'm thinking long workbench. If not. ....how about making some heavy duty shelving for storage?
code compliance stuff inside has been holding us up with the staircase.
first we had this for the landing-
that was too low. Then the landing was raised and the closet built at the top of it with a raised floor concealed behind where the door will be. This is another reused frame from the original first floor bath
well hell, the inspector didn't like that either, it was still very close to out of code.
now ive notched it-
before/after. this should hopefully work, if 3rd times a charm, then I can insulate and close these walls!
made a plumbing change, we realized this drain pipe would make access into the back of the closet pretty difficult. (jogs out at bottom to clear the beam underneath)
re-routing it under the stair to the wall and down made made the whole closet much more accessible
first we had this for the landing-
that was too low. Then the landing was raised and the closet built at the top of it with a raised floor concealed behind where the door will be. This is another reused frame from the original first floor bath
well hell, the inspector didn't like that either, it was still very close to out of code.
now ive notched it-
before/after. this should hopefully work, if 3rd times a charm, then I can insulate and close these walls!
made a plumbing change, we realized this drain pipe would make access into the back of the closet pretty difficult. (jogs out at bottom to clear the beam underneath)
re-routing it under the stair to the wall and down made made the whole closet much more accessible
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xtremek
Well-known member
I'm very glad you're rebuilding this old beast, but dang, it would have been easier to start clean. Probably not as much fun though. Keep up the good work.
thanks!
It would have been cheaper to build a smaller simper structure for sure, but I love the history of older structures and the character. One of the things that has been fascinating about this renovation has been uncovering the hundreds of little mistakes they made and fixed when they built it.
gives a human quality to these unknown workmen. Instead of just nameless people you can see someone working with an adze and chisels, and launching into a tirade when they discovered they cut that mortise in the wrong place. "hell and death! I can fix this"
update-
Passed framing rough finally! working on insulating everything, one more insulation inspection and then we can finish and get the final
Orangestang
Well-known member
Looking good, glad the inspector passed you, but where's the real inspectors AKA the kitty cats.
we passed electrical but failed the romex flavor inspection. Here the inspector samples for quality. Fortunately the wiring wasn't live, as hes so intent on his work he failed to make sure things were safe.
also the changing of the landing to meet human code has upset cat code. The black cat discovered when the landing was in its original form it could claw the hell out of the top of my head as I ascended or descended the staircase. Little SOB surprised me a bunch of times lying in wait, especially at night when its dark and he vanishes in the shadows.
the change has eliminated the risk to my head fortunately.
difference between dogs and cats. Dogs you are the master and they wish to serve. Cats you are especially large prey that can't be taken down so must be lived with.
madoc1
Well-known member
funny. we have two small dogs that are mainly obidient. then there are 8-9 feral cats that will not listen to anybody. a couple are semi house cats, i guess like yours, but the others are outside and just want to be fed. lucky tho, all but one are fixed. we are trying t0 catch her.
jim
jim
OCD
Well-known member
some progress-
insulated and drywall-
getting some progress on plastering-
plastering should be done this week and then its painting, doors, and floor time. I am super pleased with the plasterer, guy is an artist. I wont have to do any sanding apart from the inner original walls I work on. Need to get this project complete soon so ramping up the focus
insulated and drywall-
getting some progress on plastering-
plastering should be done this week and then its painting, doors, and floor time. I am super pleased with the plasterer, guy is an artist. I wont have to do any sanding apart from the inner original walls I work on. Need to get this project complete soon so ramping up the focus
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Big Dad
Well-known member
More cat pics please, place looks nice
Orangestang
Well-known member
Starting to come together looking good.
xtremek
Well-known member
I missed your last post. 
But now I get to see your progress. Very nice, I really like what I see.
But now I get to see your progress. Very nice, I really like what I see.sporty_drew
Well-known member
You are making great progress! It has been awesome watching this come together.
Firebrand
Well-known member
Awesome progress on all fronts! Keep up the momentum and photos, please!
Thanks everyone! progress has been slow, but now we are close to the painting stage and it really feels like this might get done this century!
One of the primary things the wife and I wanted was to not lose the character of the house with this renovation and ive been excited to see this actually happening. Now that walls are up and the contractor and I are doing finish stuff a lot of improvements are starting to disappear and meld with the structure. People who have never been here prior ask "what did you change here" in a room that is brand new. I have enjoyed that.
some pics I like that I did not post earlier unrelated-
last winter I was out shoveling and there was a 5 minute break in the clouds that I thought looked pretty neat over the trees-
I have been trying to keep this old silver maple alive and it seems like the 5 different pruning sessions and endless fussing about are having a semi positive impact on it. The stump to the left is its brother which earlier fell and was almost totally rotten. about 30% of the remaining tree was dead branches which are all cut out, but its filling in making new dead branches.
I don't know why ive become so obsessed with this particular tree, but now its like a family member. Here is a portrait of it I liked. Of course now I am worried about it being lopsided. I spend more time fussing about this tree than I do my kid. At least the pecking order is fully established here.
a shot of the drywall delivery process I thought I had uploaded, we had to order a boom truck to get anything upstairs. this guy had some decent skill, operating the boom looking into direct sunlight and with a pretty gusty wind, he maneuvered 30+ sheets of 4x12 drywall around the chimney without knocking that down or dropping everything through the roof into the kitchen.
One of the primary things the wife and I wanted was to not lose the character of the house with this renovation and ive been excited to see this actually happening. Now that walls are up and the contractor and I are doing finish stuff a lot of improvements are starting to disappear and meld with the structure. People who have never been here prior ask "what did you change here" in a room that is brand new. I have enjoyed that.
some pics I like that I did not post earlier unrelated-
last winter I was out shoveling and there was a 5 minute break in the clouds that I thought looked pretty neat over the trees-
I have been trying to keep this old silver maple alive and it seems like the 5 different pruning sessions and endless fussing about are having a semi positive impact on it. The stump to the left is its brother which earlier fell and was almost totally rotten. about 30% of the remaining tree was dead branches which are all cut out, but its filling in making new dead branches.
I don't know why ive become so obsessed with this particular tree, but now its like a family member. Here is a portrait of it I liked. Of course now I am worried about it being lopsided. I spend more time fussing about this tree than I do my kid. At least the pecking order is fully established here.
a shot of the drywall delivery process I thought I had uploaded, we had to order a boom truck to get anything upstairs. this guy had some decent skill, operating the boom looking into direct sunlight and with a pretty gusty wind, he maneuvered 30+ sheets of 4x12 drywall around the chimney without knocking that down or dropping everything through the roof into the kitchen.
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finish work progress-
Plaster around the exposed beams worked out decently, I do have a lot of cleaning work on the beams I could have avoided by 2 hours of taping prior, but I could not find the time that week. Oh well, the next rooms I do I won't make that mistake again
next the flooring we saved is going back in closets and stair landings. This pic shows the original flooring in the bedroom, and the new floor in the closet and it looks like its always been there. I have to figure out what to do with thresholds to make it vanish. That is one thing we could not really save so I have to buy new thresholds or find old ones somewhere
These two pics show what they did for the front staircase. They used a hardwood, we think maple for the actual stairs, and the yellow pine for the flooring so there are two different colors and a distinct separation.
the same problem had to be resolved on the new staircase. the pine is too soft and too thin really for stair treads. I got a deal on some oak treads at lumber liquidator, so all the treads will be oak, and then for continuity the contractor cut the oak treads in front of the landings to match the same border dimensions as the front maple steps. The old pine will be padded to match the depth at the top of the stair, and I will stain the oak to match the front steps. Theoretically it will look almost exactly the same.
the stairs are getting close to done. once again lots of swearing. the top flight was square, but despite everything the contractor did, the bottom flight was a single degree off square. Every step had to be cut 1 degree off which ruined his day.
Meanwhile ive been doing something I hate, steaming wallpaper.
starting to install vanities and power is finally starting to happen
almost overcooked it with the upstairs vanity. its 4 feet long, and is nearly too big for the room, but I think we will come to appreciate this huge vanity since this is the bath for all 3 bedrooms
next is doors, painting, and tile.
Plaster around the exposed beams worked out decently, I do have a lot of cleaning work on the beams I could have avoided by 2 hours of taping prior, but I could not find the time that week. Oh well, the next rooms I do I won't make that mistake again
next the flooring we saved is going back in closets and stair landings. This pic shows the original flooring in the bedroom, and the new floor in the closet and it looks like its always been there. I have to figure out what to do with thresholds to make it vanish. That is one thing we could not really save so I have to buy new thresholds or find old ones somewhere
These two pics show what they did for the front staircase. They used a hardwood, we think maple for the actual stairs, and the yellow pine for the flooring so there are two different colors and a distinct separation.
the same problem had to be resolved on the new staircase. the pine is too soft and too thin really for stair treads. I got a deal on some oak treads at lumber liquidator, so all the treads will be oak, and then for continuity the contractor cut the oak treads in front of the landings to match the same border dimensions as the front maple steps. The old pine will be padded to match the depth at the top of the stair, and I will stain the oak to match the front steps. Theoretically it will look almost exactly the same.
the stairs are getting close to done. once again lots of swearing. the top flight was square, but despite everything the contractor did, the bottom flight was a single degree off square. Every step had to be cut 1 degree off which ruined his day.
Meanwhile ive been doing something I hate, steaming wallpaper.
starting to install vanities and power is finally starting to happen
almost overcooked it with the upstairs vanity. its 4 feet long, and is nearly too big for the room, but I think we will come to appreciate this huge vanity since this is the bath for all 3 bedrooms
next is doors, painting, and tile.
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jbmatth
Well-known member
Man you are rocking it along now! I like the Silver Maple, you just can't let old trees like that fade away without trying to save them, you couldn't grow a tree that big in your lifetime so it is worth saving.
JB
JB
minor update, 100amp service replaced with a 200amp service! now I have power I can run out to the detached garage
also, while ive been investing time and energy in the house and attached garage, the detached 2 car has been returning to nature faster than planned
The roof needs replacement and is starting to leak-
and the wooden garage door on one side rotted out on the bottom and blew apart with surprising violence. I actually went to pull it down and the bottom piece broke off, which was attached to the lowest wheels and weights for the door, so those pieces with some chunks of rotting wood went flying off to break something in the back of the garage like a slingshot. Then the door fell complely down and wedged in, so it will be some work undoing it.
I think I will replace it with some swing out doors in the interim. the right side roll up door is not far behind, though it has some repair panels also rotting. The wood is all way too close to the ground on this building. I will need to make some lower wall changes here
also, while ive been investing time and energy in the house and attached garage, the detached 2 car has been returning to nature faster than planned
The roof needs replacement and is starting to leak-
and the wooden garage door on one side rotted out on the bottom and blew apart with surprising violence. I actually went to pull it down and the bottom piece broke off, which was attached to the lowest wheels and weights for the door, so those pieces with some chunks of rotting wood went flying off to break something in the back of the garage like a slingshot. Then the door fell complely down and wedged in, so it will be some work undoing it.
I think I will replace it with some swing out doors in the interim. the right side roll up door is not far behind, though it has some repair panels also rotting. The wood is all way too close to the ground on this building. I will need to make some lower wall changes here
xtremek
Well-known member
The fun never stops with old buildings.
Farmall450
Well-known member
Re: Repurposing several farm buildings
I agree. One nice pole barn will do everything you need a lot better.
I agree. One nice pole barn will do everything you need a lot better.
Re: Repurposing several farm buildings
A larger single building would be more efficient, but not cheaper from some quotes ive had done. Id like to put one up in the wooded are of my lot eventually however. In the meantime red building rots, and white and brown can be fixed with some elbow grease
A larger single building would be more efficient, but not cheaper from some quotes ive had done. Id like to put one up in the wooded are of my lot eventually however. In the meantime red building rots, and white and brown can be fixed with some elbow grease
thetastelingers
Well-known member
Trying to live up to the thread name huh? lol
sean Buick 76
Well-known member
Nice progress!
jon_beer
Well-known member
As someone who is renovating old houses I REALLY loved this thread! Just sat and binged in one sitting. I have a Romex flavor inspector also! He is also unsatisfied with dead romex circuits. Great work - subscribed!
Terrick down Under
Well-known member
Mate, your getting a heap done. We only see when you post and it looks like a lot, and, looks good.
One major pending project was the appalling state of the exterior paint. Bad enough my home insurance company was giving me trouble about it, so it was time to do something about it.
Peeling back paint on the outside we discovered the original color was a colonial navy blue, so proceeded with that at first-
However, on the back of the garage the painter randomly created a warm green blue color by mixing all the primers in his truck, and we loved it, so had him match that color and complete the house in that color instead
final version, before and after. The color helps to offset the lack of shutters, which Im not putting back up after clearing numerous wasp nests.
Inside using the last of the original floor boards we made a bench top for the 1st story bathroom window bench thing that had to be built but is turning out very useful
now we are finally able to tile these bathrooms. We chose to go traditional black and white, as neither the wife and I are planning on any other remodel of this size in our lifetimes, and black and white never really goes out of style. Subway tile walls and shower with a black trim line we both liked-
upstairs will be the same without the black trim line, but with a different black and white pattern floor
Peeling back paint on the outside we discovered the original color was a colonial navy blue, so proceeded with that at first-
However, on the back of the garage the painter randomly created a warm green blue color by mixing all the primers in his truck, and we loved it, so had him match that color and complete the house in that color instead
final version, before and after. The color helps to offset the lack of shutters, which Im not putting back up after clearing numerous wasp nests.
Inside using the last of the original floor boards we made a bench top for the 1st story bathroom window bench thing that had to be built but is turning out very useful
now we are finally able to tile these bathrooms. We chose to go traditional black and white, as neither the wife and I are planning on any other remodel of this size in our lifetimes, and black and white never really goes out of style. Subway tile walls and shower with a black trim line we both liked-
upstairs will be the same without the black trim line, but with a different black and white pattern floor
here are a few finished pics of the bath area without grout yet and the floor in-
we had a big dimension problem on the right side of this door frame where the linen closet door interfered with any tile on the wall, so had to cut down the baseboard tile to clear the bottom of the frame and not complete the wall tiling in that area. I will experiment with painting the color division instead, or just doing wall color down to the baseboard, which may be a sort of green not yet decided.
we had a big dimension problem on the right side of this door frame where the linen closet door interfered with any tile on the wall, so had to cut down the baseboard tile to clear the bottom of the frame and not complete the wall tiling in that area. I will experiment with painting the color division instead, or just doing wall color down to the baseboard, which may be a sort of green not yet decided.
LB-1911
ALLIANCE MEMBER
^ 
All the cats accounted for?
All the cats accounted for?
madoc1
Well-known member
great job on the painting. love the color. also loved the shutters. 
jim
jim
great job on the painting. love the color. also loved the shutters.
jim
i loved them too, but dont worry! I have a plan for them, I have about 115 of them and want to try and use them for cabinet doors in the garage. there are about 2 and a half sets for this house, and about 30 are junk, but would be good parts for another 20 or so that are repairable.
I never realized what a massive maintenance item wooden shutters on hinges actually are on the outside of a house, which was a secondary reason to removing them aside from all the wasps nests behind them.
one of my shutter stashes-
