I haven't posted for a while but I've been busy. we finished the bathroom floor, walls, and are working on painting and placing a top on the cabinets. The wainscoting looks great, the walls are a nice blue to match the tub, but the tub isn't yet connected to water or drain. This fall/winter for sure.  

We painted the outside of the house during the summer of 2012. Malia did most of the work but Stacy stopped by and helped some too.

Toward the end of the summer I decided to take out the backyard and prepare for permeable pavers that will allow grass to grow through, and allow parking off the two concrete strips. Parking for motorbikes, chairs, and a barbecue.this is me using a rental rototiller to break up the sod. It worked but I ended up renting a skid loader and moving some serious dirt a few weeks later. The end result is a mostly level back yard and a big pile of dirt that will be used for gardening and filling the bricks.

We also worked on the front yard and planted some hydrangea.  I love the puff balls.

Groundfloor Jack and Jill Bathroom

The ground floor bath has two doors to allow entrance from either bedroom. The original clawfoot tub was replaced in the 30s or 40s with a cast iron corner tub. It leaked when we bought the house so we decided to replace it with a cast iron tub.

Step one was to find a tub. Craigslist led me to a tub in great condition with all the hardware and nickel feet that would polish nicely. Thanks to most of the underwriters in the office, we were able to carry the tub into the north bedroom.

Step two was to eliminate the tub, toilet, and floor. That took some work. The original floor was black linoleum. Everything comes back in style eventually.

Step three was to remove the toilet. That happened faster than I wanted. Mark Strand came over one day to help with some plumbing. He watched me take a couple swings at a stuck pipe and just as he started to warn me, the hammer backswing hit the toilet tank (fortunately the old one) and water went cascading everywhere.... just as Jacquie walked in and heard the crash and waterfall.

Step four is to reassemble. That step is still ongoing due to my desire to unstick the windows and strip the paint around the vanity. Nearly done with the repainting of windows and vanity trim.

texture in the living room

We hired an expert plasterer to do the living room walls and ceiling. Worth every penny.

Raising the Ground Floor Ceiling

After 90 years the ground floor ceiling had sagged, cracked, and needed to be replaced. I tore out the old ceiling of lath and plaster knowing that the replacement would be drywall. Ed Grove and I were joined by Mike Ford for a fun-filled day of drywall hanging. I rented a rolling scaffold and a drywall lift. The next day I taped and mudded the ceiling before taking the scaffold back. Final touches had to be handled by step ladder. Before sealing the ceiling, I took the opportunity to add light and wiring for sound.

Eliminating the third window

The house originally had only one story for living, and a basement. The Carson's added a bedroom and bathroom in the attic for Wally Carson Jr. in 1935. They built the stairway next to the windows at the south end of the house. It changed the design of the house and the windows did not look right, and the window on the stair landing created a dangerous situation if someone came down the stairs wrong. I decided to take the opportunity

to eliminate the picture window in the middle and move the left window over to balance the room. It came out fine.

Living Room Ceiling

One of the reasons it took so long to finish the drywall is that I wanted to increase the headroom going up the stairs. That took some engineering, advice, more advice, and some work. Friends came to the rescue with the advice and the labor.

Bill Woods supplied the advice and Ed Grove came through with the helping hands over many days. My first step was to tear out all the lath and plaster for the ceiling. Then I attached the sagging 2x4 ceiling joists to the floor joists so they were all even and true. Ed and I removed a couple of ceiling supports after doing the necessary bracing, then installed a new post to hold the floor near the stairs. It came out just like we knew what we were doing.

Paint selected by Erma

Erma and I decided that she could pick the bathroom color (blue of course) and the bedroom as long as it wasn't blue. Yellow and green with leftover navajo white from our house in San Diego for the closets, oh so many years ago.