THE END IS IN SIGHT

   Over on Warren Road we have been readying the house for market some time now.  Once the majority of our possessions were moved from one locale to the next, the house we enjoyed for so many years looked dingy and worn.  In  order to maximize our potential profit, many things needed to be done.

1. WINDOWS

We've known for some time that a few windows required replacing, but once all the curtains were removed the situation was more grave.  Seventeen windows needed upgrading.  UGH!  Because of the scarcity of dollars, we did it ourselves.

   One full day + 3 hard workers (Wallace, Donnie and myself) = 17 new windows installed

4 new windows in the living room bay

2.  PORCHES & DECK

Years ago I took down the railing on the front porch.  The original builder put a ranch style railing on our Victorian style house and it looked so wrong.  In order to sell the house a new rail must be installed to pass an inspection.  Fortunately, I got much experience building and installing rails and balusters on Hawthorne Avenue just a year ago.

front porch

                     

side stoop

                 
    

Michael levels and installs pickets on the back deck railing

...any excuse to use the reciprocating saw

3. FLOORS

A lot of living has gone on in our Warren Rd. home for nearly 26 years.  Thankfully hardwood floors can take a beating and survive.  All they needed was light sanding and a couple coats of new poly.

Wallace sands

   

and scrapes

                                    

Poly is applied and results are outstanding

What we discovered while completing this project ....

    ~The old windows had no insulation what-so-ever (consequently big heat and AC bills)

    ~It was not so difficult or pricey to upgrade windows as we had thought for so many years

    ~The house looks and functions much better than it did when we first bought it years ago
    ~Many hands make light work

    ~We have skills!

Had I known these past years how capable we are of tackling and accomplishing all this I would have done it long before now.


         

BEFORE & AFTER: MUSIC ROOM

BEFORE: Music room, west wall
February 2011

Before: Music Room , south wall
February 2011

AFTER: Music room, west wall
December 2012

What used to be a radiator on the west wall of this room is now the location of a new door which opens onto a 14 x 17 2nd floor deck atop the new addition on the back of the house.  Wallace designed and Roy Hoffert fabricated the sturdy industrial shelving.

Deck off of the music room

AFTER: Music room, south wall
December 2012

No lack of auditory stimulation in this house.  You name a music  genre, he probably has at least a "taste" of it.  I hear tell there is a form of cataloging to the collection but I have not figured it out yet.

ANOTHER VINTAGE FIXTURE HUNG

That was then....

and 

THIS IS NOW.

Hanging outside its new home on the 2nd story deck

Admittedly, the fixture requires a more decorative bulb but this one did in a pinch in attempts to pass

the electrical inspection.

ABOVE AND BELOW

Our deck is looking great!  

As seen from below

As seen from above

Billye certainly approves.

A HANDRAIL IN THE MAKING

    As we've come to find out, to no surprise, nothing original to this house is available in your local hardware store or even the specialty lumber mills in the area.  What this means is we find the closest product available (such as the crown molding in the roof repair which has the same basic profile but is slightly less thick),

Missing crown from roof

Newly primed close match to original crown

 change to an entirely different product (such as deck railing pickets since the deck is a new feature),

New deck, new pickets

beg, borrow or 'steal' from areas of this house or another local house (thank you Garland house),

Old floorboards from our kitchen and Garland Street house sistered in to the  back room

 pay an arm and a leg to have a product duplicated (the stair spindles are so unique),

60 duplicated spindles .....  Ka-ching!

OR

we make it ourselves (because, I've been told so many times and I am now beginning to believe it,  "Carlie, there's nothing we can't do." - DLS).

    So, make it we did.  We purchased an outdoor handrail that was close in size to the existing original rail at the top of the back stairs. 

Original handrail atop the bead board (2nd floor)

We milled the rail to be close to the original.

Purchased fir rail with a portion of the right side bead cut off

Using the table saw to remove the bead on each side of the rail

The router will give us a curved side

Clamping the rail before routing

After installing the rail it was time to sand the peak off the top side of the rail (originally milled to be an exterior rail it required a peak to shed water).

A palm sander comes in handy for this task (Thanks Lucius for such an awesome gift years ago)

*We are far from finished.  Check the following posts for the magic of Bondo and the completed wall.

  

EXIT

     Exiting this door will lead you to a second floor deck over the family room addition.  It is my suspicion that, once it is completed, it will be another favorite spot for Miss Magnolia.  Until this day she had not been out the door to experience the view.

The deck is right off what we have been calling "the music room."  Being on the west side of the house, it will definitely be toasty hot come summer weather.  For now, it is a cozy spot on a sunny spring afternoon and a perfect sunset spot whatever the temperature.

The posts, though approximately 12 inches taller to meet current building codes, are modeled after a single remaining balustrade post from the front of the house which we found in the basement with dozens of balusters and a 5 foot section of railing.  A stretch of turned balusters will run between each new post and the new deck will be complete.  I anticipate the completion by this coming week.