New Columns

It might be too soon for before and after photos, but the new columns Joe built for the gable over the front steps does finish the last of the construction on the outside of the house and so it feels like a turning point worth highlighting. The first photo is the house nearly a year ago when we were first considering the project, and the
second and third photos show
the house with the new
tapered columns--
that's right, no more 2" x 6"s
propping up the smallest gable.

Inside the house has come
very far. All the walls are painted, some of the switch plates installed, floor finished, kitchen mostly installed, and all of the new windows installed. The plumbing is finished and electric will be finished early in the week. This weekend we are focusing on all of the trim work-scraping what we have decided to salvage, and building what is missing. We will start with cased openings, then plinths and baseboard, then windows and doorways.

We've not been active with the blog for a while, but lots of things are happening as we wearily enter the last stage of this renovation. I keep trying to remind myself how lucky we are to have this opportunity, when the truth is that many days I want to bang my head against a wall. I think I'm just really tired. But no matter--we're almost there.

Stained Floors

We have stained the floors! We went with Sherwin Williams stain (Ranch Oak) cut with the same brand of mineral spirits. We went dark to help blend in the burn marks that could not be sanded out of the dining room floor. The first photo shows the heart pine in the kitchen and the 2nd photo shows the entryway which has very
narrow white oak--this is the
flooring in the majority of the
house. Last night I applied Pro
Finish gloss Poly (Home
Depot)--no photos of that yet.
The next step is to sand lightly with some worn down screens using a buffing machine, vacuum dust and wipe down all the floors with mineral spirits, then apply a coat of satin Poly, sand again, clean again, and a third coat of satin Poly. We're getting there . . . Thanks to Chris Finley for getting us this far. He is the local hardwood
refinishing guru and we find
ourselves often asking: "WWCD?"
(or, What would Chris do?).