Living Doll House :^)

[Katze]

Good morning Stephen ! 

WOW !!  Looks fantastic ! Two roofs to shingle, I thought you only had one roof to do. And the siding, love the various shades of brown, looks so rustic, very unique. I agree with you on not painting it. Amazing what the power washing did to the siding. The top picture, with the almost black looking siding, kind of looks like charred from a fire ( without fire damage to the house, if that makes any sense ). So that really dark look is just weathered ?

You may have mentioned this before, but I was just looking at the first picture and the last picture, where did you get the siding for the addition to match the rest of the house ?

In the middle picture, to the left is a cool looking bush. Looks like the leaves turn yellow in the fall, but the flowers are a pink/coral color. Do you know what this is called ? The round flowers, from a distance, look like hydrangeas- a smaller version, but the leaves are different.

Hanging drywall, that sounds like fun, lol ! Quite dusty too, if I recall. Any colors picked out yet for the inside room colors ? or do you wallpaper ?

Thanks for the pictures and the updates, hope I didn't ask too many questions? If I didn't ask questions, I wouldn't be me, lol !

[StephenK]

Good Morning Into Blue   :^)

     The siding that I used to blend with the other was actually a side-benefit of my being frugal.   When I removed the siding from the back
of the house on the areas that I dismantled, I did so very carefully, thinking that I could just turn the siding over and use the brand-new looking
backside of the siding to save some money.   It wasn't until I finished the addition and was talking with an neighbor about how to blend the
back to the front when it occurred to me,  "duhhh....  the old siding is already weathered to match, just put it up, pressure wash it, and whalla!"
And sure enough it looks almost seamless!  I've asked several of the neighbors what they thought of it before I sealed it and they each liked
the idea of keeping with that look.  They are all happy that I'm updating the house since for the longest time it served as something of
an eye-sour.   Kids were afraid to come near the house because of the bars in the windows and the the old black weathered look... they
all were thinking that it was a prison or at least haunted and creepy.   :^)

   And the back addition now brings some symmetry to the side of the house... and bumps up the square footage to around 1400 square feet.
Covering the back porch has made a world of difference in improving its usability!  Before when it rained I had to put something in front of
the back door to keep the roof run-off  from splashing both it and from coming inside... now I can sit on the porch and watch the rain as it
does what it does so well in the northwest!   :^)

    As to the plants I haven't a clue.  That's Wendy's department....  She's up on the birds in the area, the plants and trees.... she's been
admonishing me to be ultra careful not to hurt any of the preexisting flora that came with the home and has long been well established... In
my classical construction-guy approach toward bulldozing through everything this hasn't been easy....  but I've been doing so and will certainly
appreciate doing-so once all is done!  I'll have to get back with you later as to the nature of the nature in the yard.   :^)

   We'll most-likely be painting the rooms once each one is ready.    Wendy used to hang wall paper for the homes that I built, back when I
was a homebuilder,  but since then we've both become very avid fans of paint.    With paint you can change the wall colors on a whim... with
wallpaper... not-so-much!    And again with the paint colors I'll be leaving that up to her... I only have an eye for off-whites.... she's far more
daring than I am when it comes to room colors... and yet her choice combinations usually work out surprisingly nicely!  I would originally look
at the paint and think "no-way!"  but once it's up, and the furniture's moved back in, I find myself thinking "yes-way!"   I never would have
guessed it while looking at the swatches. 
 
   And I certainly don't mind your asking questions!  Answering them gives me the chance to more fully share what I'm up to!   I really do
feel like I'm living inside a top to bottom form of living art.  The fact that it starts out as a hundred years old is a bonus!  And answering
questions about how it's going is a most enjoyable treat!    :^) 
   

[Katze]

knock,knock.... anyone home ? you whooooooooooooo Stephen, where are you ? so quiet, I don't hear any remodelling going on ? Can it be you have finished already ? Time for a housewarming party ?

Into Blue without a clue

[StephenK]

Sorry about that Into Blue   :^)

     When I go into hermit mode it usually carries-on for awhile....   I have been posting here and there but very sporadically
and usually on light issues or photo editing related.... 

     I did finish a large portion of the upstairs (pictures below :^) and am now getting started on the downstairs kitchen, pantry,
laundry room and half bath.  This home building thing takes a very long time when you're doing it alone.. and is much more complex
when the projects a remodel... but it's getting there..!   :^)

   Did have a little drama with the sump pump in the crawlspace not working, with almost waist deep water collecting as a result!
Happily we didn't have anything of value stored down below and the fix was easy enough (took a stick and poked around under water
till I finally found the float for the pump and tapped it till pump jumped to life.   Took hours to drain... about as much water as one would
have in a swimming pool!

  It's nice to be living finally in a different place!  17+ years in Spokane was enough!  I actually like the rain we're getting here
in favor of the snow that will soon envelope the eastern side of the state!  I just have to keep a close eye on the sump pump... spontaneous
swimming pools under ones house are disquieting!   :^)



 

   

[Katze]

hi Stephen, welcome back ! 

Awesome work ! Looking great, thanks for sharing the pictures with us. I am so impressed with your talents and I can certainly understand how much time it takes when doing everything you are doing, by yourself. I was just noticing texture on the ceiling and walls, is this an addition to the paint or do you have to use a special technique to get this effect? I remember years ago, when my father was painting the walls, he used a paint that had a sand mixture in it and then he stippled the paint on the wall - very time consuming !

back in a min - I am multitasking and baking. 
ok, I am back. Time for morning break, I have Rice Krispie peanut butter with chocolate bars and hot chocolate. Kind of a midmorning energy snack. Enjoy ! 

oh my on the sump pump drama ! WOW !! water almost waist deep ? that is quite a bit of water, very lucky to get the pump working and good to hear you didn't lose anything due to water damage. A few years ago there was flooding in our area, and lots of people had water in their basements, where of course, they were storing things in cardboard boxes.  I think a good idea, if anyone stores items in the basement is to put them in the plastic storage containers, just in case.

Just think, if it had been colder, you could have had your own indoor ice skating rink !

Have a wonderful day ! 
Into Blue

[StephenK]

Thank You Into Blue!   :^)

     This has been, and still is, quite the undertaking... but I love it in a way that very-much surprises me...
I was thinking that I was finished with anything construction related... I've been doing it for so long... but this
is the first that I've taken-on something this personal and complex... and it fits me like a glove... who-da-thunk-it....  :^)

  The texture thing is sprayed-on with a hand-held texture gun attached, by hose, to an air compressor.  The ceiling is
sprayed on directly, and left to dry... the walls are sprayed on, allowed to dry for about 10 minutes, and then passed over with
a wide blade for that purpose.  It's called the "knocked down" effect.... it's also great for hiding many defects in my taping
work!  :^)

     The funny thing about the flooding was that, till recently, the hot water heater was down below.. situated on top of
several cement blocks.... about the time I was changing the plumbing the older one quit working... so when buying the new one
I installed it inside, on the first floor.  If I left it were it was it would have been fried!  That would have been a sad waste of 300+ dollars!

      Starting next on the kitchen.... a neighbor is loaning me a really nice planer so I'm able to use much of the old lumber
for the house to do some nice customized cabinets.... It looks like I'll have only about $500 invested in all the cabinets when
I'm done.... and these should be rather nice ones at that... it's hard to beat the price of self developed improvements!

    Thanks for checking back in Into Blue!   and for sharing the nice imagery of "Rice Krispie peanut butter with chocolate bars
and hot chocolate" .... Yummy....!  :^)

    

[Katze]

Thank YOU, for checking back Stephen.  I do enjoy reading about your works in progress, whether they are about your remodeling or your photography artwork ! I am happy you enjoyed your cyber-snack. 

I can totally understand the rewarding feeling of your remodeling project. A personal work of art, so naturally it would be something you can enjoy working on and fully appreciate the beauty of, the finished piece of art.

Times change, your version of the texturizing sounds so much easier. And funny you should mention, it hiding flaws ... similar to what my father said when he decided to texture the walls. It does give it a nice look either way, but I think it makes it more difficult for repainting ( which you shouldn't have to worry about for years to come ! )

Interesting how that all worked out with the water heater & the flooding, like it was a premonition of sorts - not exactly the word I am looking for - perhaps somehow Divine timing ?  And all worked out just fine, well ... except for the mess of the flooding !

And a cabinet maker too ? Very nice about the neighbor loaning you the planer. So is this kitchen larger or smaller than your other one ?