Den Almost Done

My favorite part of a restoration is seeing the room come together

Paint, Restoration Diary, Woodwork,

Well, the den is 95% finished. There is some touch up work here and there and we need to hang the light fixtures once they arrive.

My favorite part of a restoration is seeing the room come together, especially after it used to look so bad!

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Comments { 1 } February 12, 2004

Den & Dogs

Walls painted Great Barrington Green from the Benjamin Moore Historic Colors Collection

Paint, Restoration Diary, , ,


Simon

Yesterday we got a male corgi puppy. We are calling him Simon. At first Lulu, our 4.5 years old slightly spoiled female corgi, seemed to accept Simon. They even briefly played together.


Lulu and Simon

Once she realized that he was staying she changed her mind. She is showing her teeth at Simon any time he comes near what she considers her territory – which is almost everything. Of course, the cats are less than thrilled and we are getting the cold shoulder.

What does that have to do with our den? Not a whole lot except that all the above is highly distracting. The woodwork in the den has been bleached, stained and varnished. Paint is on the walls. I picked the color on my first try this time! Real progress. The color is Great Barrington Green from the Benjamin Moore Historic Colors Collection.

The walls above the picture rail and the ceiling still need to be painted.

Comments { 4 } February 11, 2004

House Update

Wonder what’s been going on at our house?

Restoration Diary, ,

The walls of the den are being plastered.

So much better than before!

This wall and the ceiling will be drywalled with a skim coat of plaster over it.

Comments { 2 } February 4, 2004

The Den’s Ceiling Removed

Restoration Diary,

The plaster ceiling in our den has been torn down. We now have open access to easily update the electrical work, plus add some wall sockets. I guess there is always a silver lining?

Later today the plumber is coming to remove an old gas line that is coming out of the baseboard. It is capped but still live. The gas line was leaking when we first moved into the house so I am relieved to see it go. We are having the open walls and ceiling cavity sprayed with borate to prevent future termite infestations.

Comments { 1 } January 28, 2004

Den Disaster

Too many things wrong to mention...

Restoration Diary, , ,

Sometimes, I’d rather not know. Really, really rather not know. Really. The plaster walls are in horrific shape.


Ceiling

Wallpaper is the only thing holding the ceiling up. The plaster has completely disconnected from the lath. The plaster ceiling cannot be saved and will need to be replaced with drywall due to cost restrictions.


Sad plaster walls

The wall between the kitchen and den had already been replaced with drywall by the previous owner. Once the drywall came off we found that 3 of the wall studs, which support the second story, are damaged by dry rot.


Dry rot

That corner of the room sits underneath the upstairs bath. That must have been one hell of a water leak!


Dry rot

The bottom of the studs are completely eaten through by dry rot in places. It makes me wonder why the second story hasn’t started to sink into the den?


Ugh!

We also discovered an old termite infestation. There were no live termites but they had been there and eaten away some of our window frame and the lath.


Sad little den!

It was another bang up day in home ownership! Tequila. I need lots and lots of tequila.

Comments { 3 } January 27, 2004

Den’s Paint Stripped

All the paint has been stripped off our Douglas fir woodwork

Removing Paint, Restoration Diary,

Juan’s team has made fast progress in the den. Most of the paint has been stripped off the woodwork. They will start removing wallpaper from the walls next. Hopefully, the walls in that room will be in better shape. Fingers crossed!

:: Learn more about how to strip paint and refinish woodwork ::

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Comments { 8 } January 25, 2004

Bungalow Den

Before photos

Restoration Diary,


One of my favorite features about the den is the bay window. Paint stripping has already started around the windows and the wood trim.

This room is located directly off the kitchen. I think it was originally intended as a music room. In the past this room was used as a bedroom, although it has no closet. The previous home owner used the room as an office, which is what we have been using it for. Going forward it will become our tv room/den.


Pocket doors have been stripped of paint. Looking into the living room from the den.


Doorway into the kitchen.


Very damaged wooden baseboard. Not quite sure what is happening there?


Piano window. I can imagine a piano sitting underneath this window, can’t you?

Comments { 0 } January 23, 2004