It seems that I finally start getting productive at house projects the week before I have to head out of town for work. Then, when I come back, I have to readjust and it seems to take a while to get back into the same routine.

I’ve had a busy week and made lots of progress in little steps.  I’ve been able to get work done right after the boys get to bed, and still be done in time to hang out for a bit before Susanna and I go to bed. Hopefully, when I get back I’ll remember to jump right back into the routine.

This week we had the chimney taken out. The chimney went through the mud room/laundry room on the first floor and Will’s bedroom on the second. That means, until we get this project finished, we will be short two rooms. The project is a couple of big steps (demolition of the chimney, installing drywall, installing the floor) which we will contract out. But, there are lots of the little details that we will do ourselves. While the walls are down (and Will’s ceiling), I’ll take time to insulate better and update electrical and plumbing.

I’ve been working on the electrical this week. I ran a new wire to the  light over the weekend, and tonight ran a new wire to the back porch light, and added a switch next to the back door. Previously the back porch switch was outside on the back porch – what a pain in the ass. I still have to run a new wire to the kitchen light (while I have access to the space from the ), add outlets and more lights in the /laundry room, and switches to Will’s light.

I’ve also taken time to keep moving on other projects. I spent a couple of evenings cleaning the workshop, and one evening fixing the dog pen.  I’m sure I’ll be exhausted by the time I get on an airplane Monday.

Here we go again. More home improvements. Hopefully this one will go quickly – we are paying contractors to do most of the work. But it still requires moving furniture, managing contractors, and some work on our side.

Our fall plans are to have the chimney removed (it is no longer used, and is in the middle of Will’s bedroom). We will have the ceiling replaced in Will’s room, and I will patch the floor. However the big improvement will be to the mud room/laundry room.

We will gut and rebuild the mud room/laundry room. We need to insulate the walls, move laundry services, add a laundry sink, have the walls/ceilings covered with drywall, paint and have the floor done.  No problem.  The plan is to be finished by Christmas. Hopefully sooner.

Now back to Craigslist to look for an interesting antique sink for the laundry room.  No point in making things too easy.

I finished touching up the paint in the front hallway. The hall has been cleaned (though the walls could use another wiping down after the paint fully cures). I think we can call the project finished!

Over the past few years I have been trying to write down what paint color we use when we are painting rooms (or the outside of the house). It finally paid off. When painting the trim around the ceiling in the hallway, I went to the basement to search for the trim paint, “I’m sure I have some of that left over around here somewhere…”

Of course, none could be found. So a reasonably quick Google search of this blog digs up “Classic Ivory” trim paint. Voilà. A quick trip to Sherwin-Williams and we have matching trim paint.

So, I figure I’ll record paint colors (as best as I know them) for the house:

Exterior:

• Walls: Concord Buff (SW 7684)
• Trim: Rookwood Dark Green (SW 2816; satin)
• Accent: Rookwood Dark Brown (SW 2808; satin)

All interior trim is Classic Ivory (SW 0051, semi-gloss) except where noted. Ceilings are white (Sherwin-Williams ceiling paint)

• Living Room: Mulberry Silk (SW 0001; satin)
• Kitchen:  Copper Pot (SW 7709; satin), Empire Gold (SW 0012; satin).
• Hallway: Majolica Green(SW 0013 -maybe )
• Dining Room: Custom paint from Home Depot to match an unknown Sherwin-Williams paint selection (note to self, next time just go to Sherwin-Williams). Anyway, I’m not super happy with the paint colors I picked for the dining room – it would have turned out much better if I had gotten Susanna’s input before choosing a color (but she was in Sweden, and I needed to paint the room).
• Study:   Unknown; Trim: Not repainted
• Will’s Bedroom: Down Pour (SW 6516, satin) and Empire Gold (SW 0012; satin) – we used left over paint from the kitchen.
• Ben’s Bedroom: Paint from Home Depot (Glidden Freshaire Choice): Northern Pear Tree and Roof Top Garden
• Master Bedroom: Lantern Light (SW 6687)

One of the things I love about Sherwin-Williams is that all of their colors are on the Internet. And if I can’t find the colors there – they have a record of my previous paint purchases. I have been very happy with the quality of the paint and the service and will not buy paint from anywhere else.

It is a beautiful day outside. The sun is out and it is 50-degrees out. So, it seems like a perfect day to work inside on the trim. I can at least look outside at the nice weather. I also get to enjoy it in small bits as I go back and forth to the workshop. Of course the beautiful weather means the boys want to play inside.

Okay, that last part isn’t totally true. They are enjoying some time outside. But the warm weather also means mud. And lots of mud. Maybe it would be better to play inside.

I am working on the trim around the ceiling. I decided to skip the traditional crown molding, and use a decorative half-round piece of trim attached on top of a 3/8″x3″ piece of trim. The trim will be painted to match the rest of the trim in the room. I have been milling the 3/8 x 3 piece from random pieces of lumber I have in the garage. I think some of it is cedar, and the rest out of maple. It will all look the same when it is painted.

I’m not quite done yet; I have two more pieces to mill and attach and a long stretch for the half-round molding.

We finally had a break in the snow. Well, at least long enough to run to Home Depot and pick up drywall for the ceiling in the hall. It is not a large space, taking less than two sheet of drywall.

The ceiling is L-shaped, and this morning I started cutting pieces to cover up the old plaster.  Installing drywall over plaster is pretty quick. The drywall screws into the lath which is attached to the joists, so it is pretty quick to attach.

It just sucks to work overhead. Of course the plaster is loose, so I am covered in a fine coat of plaster dust. The drywall isn’t that heavy, but heavy enough to make it tiring to hold up for too long.

So far I have three pieces of the four installed. I’m taking a few minutes to drink some water and eat a snack before tackling the final piece. After that comes using the drywall compound and tape to cover the joints and screws.

Another snow day, which means time for more electrical improvements. The library/study had only one electrical outlet installed. And with an unfinished basement, adding more outlets is a quick morning project.

The first step is to locate the outlets and cut a hole for the new box. I had to be careful to make sure that I didn’t cut over a stud. On this house, the studs aren’t evenly spaced, so it is a guessing game (and starting with a small hole). After cutting away the plaster, I carefully cut the lath boards. I have learned that it is easiest to almost cut all the way through one side and then cut the second side. If you cut one through the lath the entire way, the board moves a lot, making the second cut difficult.

After cutting the hole, I measured the location of the new outlet from the outside wall corner, and then from the basement carefully drilled into the wall cavity. There is no insulation in the old walls, so fishing the wire is easy.

After running the wire to the three new outlet boxes, I wired them into the house circuit and tested to ensure that the wiring is done properly. I then installed the wall plates and vacuumed up the plaster dust. The project was done by early afternoon.

I am still working on finishing the hall ceiling, but am unable to get drywall today because of rain/snow. The new light fixture for the hall has been ordered, but has not arrived yet. I have a couple of other small (non-electrical) projects to finish, and may find time this evening.

Maybe the next snow day I’ll add a light switch and outlets to our bedroom.