A New Coat of Paint: The 2nd Floor Bathroom

I'm someone who usually takes a while to make a decision, especially when I know if I rush into it, I could end up having made the wrong decision.  Meaning, I'm not that impulsive.  Except in this case.

The bathroom on the 2nd floor of our house is designed and decorated in a classic turn-of-the-century style: contrasting colors, pedestal sink, basket-weave mosaic tile floor, and square tile on the walls.  The tile doesn't go all the way up to the 10-foot ceiling, but rather stops at the 6-foot mark. According to my math, this leaves four feet of wall that needs to be painted.

The previous owner took the black and white theme of the bathroom and went on a straight-out-of-the 1980s rag painting rampage. As such, we decided that painting over the splotchy black paint was going to be one of our first painting projects.

Yikes.

We had a paint sample booklet that featured historic paint colors, and we were between a blue and a green. This is where my impulse kicked in. We decided to get Buxton Blue. It matches a teeny, tiny stripe on our bath towels. Good enough for me!

After the painting was completed.

We got our paint for the kitchen, my sewing room, and this bathroom at Parker Paint in Green Bay.  The guy behind the counter was very helpful, and it didn't hurt that I had a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE COUPON. We ended up getting six gallons of paint for the cost of three.  (If you know me, then you know how much I love a good deal.)

Making an impulsive decision on choosing this paint color could have been disastrous, but it ended up working... this time!

Laundry Room - Part II: Pipes and Wires

If you read our last post "Laundry Room - Part I: The Wall Comes Tumblin' Down", you know that we have been focusing our efforts on finally having the ability to use our washer and dryer in our own house.  For this task, we need to convert the former maid's staircase into a useable room with all the hookups for modern appliances.

The small hole I cut into the drywall revealed water supply pipes and a drain pipe for the bathroom sink opposite this side of the wall.  I was hopeful that the experienced plumbers at Sinclair Plumbing would be able add the washer hookups and drain with relative ease.

While the supply pipes were easily cut and accessed, it was the drain that created more of a challenge.  The drain pipe I originally spied through the small hole was not large enough to handle the flow from a washer and was too high in the wall to drain properly.  Luckily there was a larger sewer drain just to the left that services the third floor bathroom.

Plumbing for the washer.

Cutting through this cast iron pipe was no easy task for the plumber, plus there were some electrical wires hiding behind the drain pipe.  Fortunately, our plumber was experienced with working in older homes and knew to look for these wires before he began cutting the pipe.

Now that a potential electrical problem was avoided, it was time to add the new electrical connections that we would need for both the washer and dryer.  We again enlisted Harv's Electric to complete their third project in our house.  The electrician from Harv's made short work of adding the new outlets around the plumbing.  He even moved a light fixture and added a switch and outlet combo in our future laundry room.

The new electrical outlets

Now that the pipes and wires have been completed, the next steps will be attending to the floors and walls.

Laundry Room - Part I: The Wall Comes Tumblin' Down

Since we moved into our old home at the end of August we have been living without the use of two modern amenities that seem much more like necessities -- a washer and dryer.  Add an infant in cloth diapers into the mix and now you are asking for a disaster.  Fortunately, we have lots of family that live in the area that have been generous to allow us to pop in and do a few loads when we need to.

The house did originally have hookups for a washer and gas dryer in the basement.  However, this basement isn't exactly the most inviting space, and we own and prefer an electric dryer.  Furthermore, we had the line for the gas dryer removed -- and the other nest of twisted gas pipe -- when our new water heater was installed.

After some research and deliberation, we decided to add a laundry room off the landing between the first and second floors.  Aside from kitchen towels and washcloths, the bulk of our laundry will be generated on the second floor anyway.  Plus we had these two little rooms located off the stairs that were inexplicably useless.

Looking down on the little rooms from the 2nd floor

We learned that these two little rooms were the remains of a second staircase that the maids used decades ago.  With the staircase long gone and no sign of maids anywhere around our house, these odd little rooms were a good fit.

The first step in creating our new laundry room was to remove the little wall between the rooms and create one larger room -- but still rather small.  Not only would this give us a usable space, but it would allow more natural light into the hallway on the second floor.

The drywall removed from the wall revealing the lathe.

Where the wall once was.

Same view as the first picture without the wall

With a bathroom on the opposite wall, we were certain that we could get the hookups and drain line we needed for the washer.  Just to be certain we cut a hole in the wall to peek at the plumbing inside.

Hole to check on the plumbing.

Confident that we could then proceed with our project we called Sinclair Plumbing and Harv's Electric to begin work on getting the hookups we would need for our soon-to-be-laundry room.

Sorry about your tree, Alice!

While cutting the lawn one day, I was stopped by a nice man named Ron who has lived in the neighborhood for decades.  He gave us the warmest of welcomes and said that he knew the couple that most recently lived in this house.  He mentioned that as they grew older, they had not been able to give the house the attention that it needed.  He was excited to see a young family with the energy it would take.

Ron also mentioned that they passed away a few years ago and that the wife, Alice, had gone a bit before her husband.  In her memory, a tree was planted at the house.  Here is a picture of the tree from last week:

Alice's tree

The size of the tree led me to believe that Ron might have a slightly different perception of how long ago Alice passed away.  The tree might have been 25 feet tall when it was planted and I could be completely wrong.

The tree blocking the house

Regardless, the tree needed to go.  It was far too large for our city lot and it blocked the view of much of our house.  Furthermore, it was a pine.  Pines are messy.  Pines leave sap, cones, and needles.

The crew from Economy Tree Service made short work of the tree.  Armed with a chipper and a fearless man with a chainsaw on an extension ladder, all but the stump was gone within 30 minutes.

Sorry Alice, the tree is down.

Hopefully Alice's family has other means of keeping her memory alive.

The grinding of the stump.

The house without the tree.

Kitchen Appliances "Steel" the Show!

Refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, and microwaves! Who knew that shopping for new appliances would be so overwhelming?

About two months ago now, we walked out of Classic Maytag on Military Avenue with a feeling of accomplishment.  We had finally decided on what we wanted to have for kitchen appliances. We needed to get a fridge, an electric range, a microwave, and a dishwasher. 

Looking at store ads for Fourth-of-July appliance sales was pretty time-consuming, but we narrowed our search down to three stores; we decided to go to Sears, the Home Depot, and Classic Maytag. 

Sears left us with more questions than answers, because after a while, all of the appliances started to look alike.  It wasn't a wasted trip, however, because by that point we had decided that we definitely wanted to get stainless steel finish on all four pieces.

Home Depot wasn't any help.  Not only were we constantly bombarded by sales associates (Do they work on commission? It sure seemed like it!), but they didn't have as many appliances to look at as their ad led us to believe they had. Not the first time this has happened at this store, but that's another story.

Finally, we walk into the Classic Maytag store located on Military Avenue, and we immediately see the range we want. We decided to go electric, as we no longer had a gas line going to the kitchen. Plus, I get nervous about open flame around towels, wash cloths, oil... I have been known to accidentally start things on fire.

In no time, we had our dishwasher, our microwave, and our fridge picked out.  We placed the order, and in just a few weeks, our appliances were all installed.  I am so happy with the service provided by Bill Schumacher at Classic Maytag.

The Maytag truck is here!

Bill rolling the fridge up the steps.

The refrigerator in its (temporary) home.

The microwave and the range.

The new dishwasher!

In-venting a Solution

It wasn't until after we closed on our house that we discovered what was behind a mysterious piece of wood in the kitchen.  Based on the vent outside the house we knew it was for microwave venting, but the condition of what we'd find was the question.

Wood covering the microwave vent hole

Our curiosity was satisfied as we peered in on a jagged hole stuffed with a very old beach towel (which we promptly discarded).  We also had a chance to see what the house had for insulation in the outside walls.  To  our surprise we found absolutely no insulation in the walls.    

The microwave venting in the wall

Since the exterior vent will not be removed until we get the house repainted down the road, I thought it best to stuff at least a little insulation in the hole.

Insulation in the vent hole

Then I cut a piece of drywall from a wall I intend to remove for our soon-to-be laundry room and fit it in the hole as best I could.

Drywall covering the vent hole

Some joint compound, light sanding and a couple of coats of paint made the hole disappear.  

The filled hole painted over

Although my craftsmanship is now covered by the new microwave, at least I know there is insulation in one place in this house!

The microwave in its new home

This Blog Post Will 'Floor' You!

Hardwood floors say a lot about the quality of a house. Original hardwood floors in a 110-year-old house scream it.

Walking into the house for the first time was a moment I'll never forget. As we ascended the six steps that led us from the driveway entrance into the foyer, my heart did a flip-flop... Hardwood floors! And maple... My favorite type!

Sure, there was wear, and in just the right light scratches from decades of moving furniture around was visible. But seriously - I was floored. ;-)

After we went up to the second floor, my heart sank - the hallway had been sanded down to the bare wood. And people had been walking on it. For a long time. Stains from people's shoes were ground into the wood, especially in the high-traffic areas of the bathroom doorway, the top of the stairs, and in the threshold of one of the five bedrooms.

And not only had the floor been sanded - it had been done very poorly. There were circular marks from the sander etched into the floor, and some of them were pretty deep. Thankfully the bedrooms were untouched, though the person who had done it had partially sanded into each of the other rooms. I cringe now just thinking about it!

We knew we had to do something about the floor before we could move in any of our bedroom furniture, as our bedroom would end up being in the turret. (I've always wanted to have my bedroom in a turret!)

We knew which company we wanted to hire, because I have seen their work firsthand and I was impressed. I called Paul from Ralph's Hardwood, of Black Creek, WI. He was able to come out and give us an estimate, after which we scheduled a two-day job for our second floor hallway to be sanded and refinished. They were also going to fix the transitions in the doorways. Our appointment was almost two months away from when we made it.

In the meantime, there was plenty of other work to be done. Cleaning, dusting, and ripping out carpeting! One of the rooms on the second floor had carpeting, and we were able to see that there was hardwood under it. At the time I was puzzled as to why anyone would ever want to cover it up with carpeting... More on that topic in a future blog post.

We had Ralph's Hardwood come up and sand and refinish our hallway, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. It turned out beautiful, as you can tell by the pictures.

Before: bathroom threshold

After: bathroom threshold

Before: landing at the top of the stairs

After: landing at the top of the stairs