Painting, Plumbing, and Lighting

From this humble beginning, the reality of a finished bathroom is near
Here is how it looks now.
The trim work was tedious but the result was worth it

Tub is ready to go in the bathroom

Painting begins in the parlor
Not quite ready yet, but we can still have some fun decorating for Halloween
One of the orginal light fixtures which we hung in the upstairs landing area

Julia, Pat, and Judy

Diana and Marissa

FOR THE WEEKS ENDING September 23 and 30, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. We got some encouraging news about the possibility of our neighborhood becoming a designated historic area in San Antonio. The City's Historical and Preservation Committee met recently and approved (by unanimous vote) that the Zoning Commission and City Council designate Tobin Hill as a "Historical" area. The Zoning Commission and City Council process could take another 2 months. Stay tuned.

2. The bathrooms are trimmed, painted, and ready for fixtures to be set. The before and after pictures above show how far the downstairs bathroom has come. Can you tell by the picture of the clawfoot tub sitting on a furniture dolly in the dining room that we're anxious to get those tubs installed. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this week is the week because -------

3. We have had "Contractor Woes" over the past two weeks. The cabinet guy who is working on a plate rack, a stand for an original sink, mud room "lockers", and other things is having health problems related to diabetes medication. Consequently, he has more important priorities than our carpentry work. The plumber was going to try to be here last week but didn't make it. A job in Boerne took him longer than expected. Hence, the bath tub in the middle of the dining room floor. In spite of these delays, we weren't sitting around twiddling our thumbs because ---------

4. Painting became our focus. The Entry Way, Parlor, and Dining Room came under a paint brush and roller attack. All the rooms have two coats of ceiling paint. The Parlor and Dining Room have two coats of paint on the walls. We put the first coat of paint on the baseboards and door/window trim. The one picture above shows the fireplace in the Parlor with the adjacent strip painted. We plan to put at least one more coat of paint on the trim before removing the masking paper. Even with the paper still on the walls, it sure looks better.

5. There are three new light fixtures in boxes sitting on the floor of the Entry Way. One of them is a chandelier that we plan to put in the Entry Way. We hope that is makes an elegant first impression. Additionally, we installed one of the original fixtures in the landing at the top of the stairs. In addition to it being a good looking fixture, it's nice to use as much of the original material as possible.

6. We still keep having a good flow of visitors. Judy has been featured in the blog before when she came to work as a painter's helper. This time she brought her mother, Julia, and her friend, Pat who were graciously enthusiastic and complimentary about what we are doing. Thanks, ladies, we needed that. Sometimes it is easy to forget the "fun" in all of this. Marissa and Diana, our young Sunday dinner guests from last week, seemed to really enjoy the rocking chairs on the balcony porch. Diana suggested we put together a "porch and spa special" when we get the clawfoot tubs installed!

NEXT STEPS:

1. The Plumber is scheduled to be here at 8:30 tomorrow morning. The agenda includes not only the bathrooms where the claw foot tubs go, but also connecting the water supply lines and drain in the Mud Room. It will be nice to not have to clean brushes in the driveway any more.

2. There is still a lot of painting to do. The Entry Way still has some paint preparations before we start. Trim needs scraped, sanded and painted. Caulk needs to do its magic. The Parlor is close to being finished. The Dining Room still has a way to go. But the end for these rooms is in sight.

3. We do need to find additional contractors. There is some finish carpentry that needs to be done. Hopefully, by next report, the bathrooms will be completed and we'll be closer to the floor man will be scheduled.

Flowers Make Everything Better

God planted these














OSHA Babe planted these













These were a gift from Daniel, Minnie, and the girls
Terri relaxing in the rocking chair

















Daniel, Minnie, Darian, and Daniella
Light fixtures, not bare wires, in the Master Closet
Looks better than bare wires, doesn't it?


















More beadboard for OSHA Beadboard Babe















Talk about high class! We no longer have to leave the roll of paper on the back of the toilet.











FOR THE WEEK ENDING September 16, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Not only will we leave the light on for you (see last week's blog entry) but there are flowers on the front porch making this look more and more like home. OSHA Babe is in charge of more than just safety around here. She's trying her hand at horticulture. God did His part as usual with the beautiful red lilies that came up again in the front yard. One of the first blog entries from September, 2006 was red lilies. Yep, that's right, it has been a year.

2. We hung light fixtures in the Master Closet and the Friedrich Memorial Mud Room. I can't tell you how much of an improvement that is compared to the electrical wire and "pig-tailed" single light bulbs that had been there. In addition to the fixtures that were hung, we got out the two original fixtures that we found. We do plan to use both of the original fixtures - one in the landing at the top of the stairs and the other at a location TBD. We are fortunate to still have some of the original fixtures to use throughout the house.

3. The end is in sight for the two largest bathrooms. We bought, cut, primed, and painted moulding for the top edge of the beadboard wainscoating. It was really a challenge trying to match up new moulding to existing moulding in the Master Bath. If you come visit, don't look too close. I made 3" wide base boards out of original material that we still had around. It's still good wood after 102 years.

I talked to the plumber to get on his schedule for installing the clawfoot tubs, toilets, and lavatories. Hopefully, that will happen by the end of this week. Also, the cabinet maker is building a vanity stand to hold a lavatory in the Master Bath. The lavatory is an original fixture as well. The vanity stand may be here this week.

4. The "Big 3" rooms are starting to get some attention. The wood trim around doors and windows in the Entry, Parlor, and Dining Room needs to be scraped, sanded, painted. Ceilings and walls need to be painted. Then the floors need to be refinished. It's good to be working on those rooms to convert them from being warehouses to neat living spaces. In the Dining Room, the cabinet maker is also working on an enclosure to conceal the HVAC unit that is unsightly. It's difficult to explain what he's doing. So rather than attempting a word picture, I'll wait until we have a digital one. Stay tuned.

5. We had 2 sets of visitors this past week. Terri, an AT&T friend from Mexico City days, stopped by for a visit. That's her pictured sitting in the rocking chair. The chair came from Pat's family in Tennessee and was built a lot lower to the ground than contemporary furniture. Terri said that it fit her just fine. Terri and husband Steve have relocated to San Antonio and are having a house built in a very nice neighborhood. Terri loved the finished floors in our house and has made arrangements for Frank the Floor Guy to finish some flooring details in their new house.

Sunday, we had Daniel, Minnie, Darian, and Daniella come for lunch after church. They are a wonderful young family who have started back attending church on a regular basis. It was fun to have Daniella laughing and playing in the house and her older sister, Darian, sitting in a rocking chair out on the balcony talking on her cell phone. Sunday's sermon was about raising godly children. It's refreshing to see young parents like Daniel and Minnie making a difference. You guys hang in there.

NEXT STEPS:

1. We need to schedule plumber for installing claw foot tubs. Hopefully, all the moulding will be up, nail holes caulked, and touch up paint done so the installation can happen late this week.

2. Paint preparation will continue in the Entry, Parlor, and Dining Room. After the door and window trim gets "Metabo-ed", everything needs to be sanded. And then it is paint the ceilings (2 coats), paint the trim (2 - 3 coats), paint the walls (2 coats), hang the light fixtures, and get on Frank the Floor Guy's schedule. I can't quite hear the fire crackling in the fireplace but OSHA Babe is imagining the 9 1/2 foot Christmas tree she bought last season adorning the Entry Way.

3. The Cabinet Guy needs to continue working on OSHA Babe's plate rack, the bathroom vanity, shelving for the small bathroom upstairs, a seating area in the Mud room, and the HVAC corner downstairs. It's a little expensive but worth it to put those details into the house.

We'll Leave the Light on for You

Loyd and Wilma - Leaders of the "Work For Ribs" Program
Jan and Dave came over for Sunday dinner
New fan and light fixtures in the kitchen
Loyd and Bo working to satisfy OSHA Babe's fever for more beadboard
Master Bath - Before and ...

Master Bath - on the way to being finished
Downstairs Bath has come a long way - from this...
....to this

We'll leave the light on for you!

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For the week ending September 9, 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:

1. Although it has been a while since we reported construction progress, you loyal blogsters have noticed that we have been active. After last week's birthday party (see the blog entry from the previous week) with a whole housefull, we had a slow visitors week. Loyd and Wilma came from Houston this past Wednesday and worked on tile floors, painted, and played cards at night. Loyd had some tile work to do back home so he took the "Master Tiler" saw back with him. Wilma and OSHA Babe painted their hearts out in the Butler's Pantry, Master Bathroom, and Friedrich Memorial Mud Room. On Thursday night, OB cooked excellent ribs in the "magic pan" and upheld her end of the "Will Work For Ribs" program. We appreciated their help working with us and value greatly their friendship of more than 25 years.

Newer friends, Dave and Jan, came over after church for Sunday dinner. That seems to be a custom that has fallen by the wayside. Dave is retired from the Army and he, Jan, and their family have lived in many different locations. We look forward to getting to know them better.

2. We got some electrical work done since last report. By the title of this week's blog, you can see that we are particulary happy to have a new light on the porch. There is now an outlet in the wall for the washing machine. I'm really going to miss the extension cord that had been running across the floor. The kitchen now has a light fixture over the sink rather than a dangling electrical wire and a new ceiling fan with the smallest blades I've ever seen.

3. Bathroom floors have taken shape. Both the master bathroom upstairs and the downstairs bathroom now have tiled floors. Loyd was a big help in getting the downstairs one done much quicker than I could have done by myself. The floors look nice and will really add that "old time" feel when the claw foot tubs and fixtures get set in place.

4. Four additional rooms have been added to the "Painted" list. The Master Closet, Butler's Pantry, Mud Room, and Downstairs Bathroom all look better with the walls painted. There is still beadboard to be painted but we're getting there.

NEXT STEPS:

1. We're closing in on completing the bathrooms. The list of "to do's" is down from 20 items to a handfull - beadboard wainscoating, baseboards placed, tubs and fixtures set in place, doors refinished. It will be nice to have more than one functioning bathroom in the house for your next visit.

2. We have talked to the cabinet guy about some additional work that includes a plate rack in the kitchen, locker type seating and a utility sink in the Mud Room, a vanity stand for the Master Bath (that will hold one of the original sinks), and a nice enclosure to cover the ugly opening where the AC unit downstairs. This could be a slow process.

3. We've had no luck finding someone who can/will work on doors. There are several that need to be hung along with some that need to be adjusted. Also, we want to get the pocket doors worked on. This one doesn't look like it's going to be easy to wrangle up the help. But we'll keep after it.

4. We're down to doing some serious paint preparation on the three main rooms that are left. The Entry, Parlor, and Dining Room are large in size but don't have a lot of intricate work to do. After we get the trim sanded and painted as well as the walls and ceilings painted, we'll get on the floor folks' schedule. Stay tuned.

A little more playtime

Happy Birthday, Sean!

















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Party in the pantry-one step closer to a dining room



This is what a kitchen sink is for!

Bo worked while Steven gave us a tour of the San Antonio missions








HIGHLIGHTS OF LABOR DAY WEEKEND

1. Bo's sister Shanna shared her children and grandchildren with us and we celebrated Sean's third birthday with a Thomas the Train party. Though the blinds weren't hung or a second bathroom finished, the guest room was ready to set up the porta crib and the rocking chairs on the porch were waiting to be filled. Maddie marked a milestone crawling for the first time across the area rug in our den to share Sean's birthday toys and got a bath in the kitchen sink. Those are the memories with which we are thrilled to be filling this old house. Aunt Stacey came over from Austin for the party and Buck and Katy joined us as well. Other guests included Steven's high school friend David and his family. Though most kids would prefer hot dogs or a happy meal, Sean chose fajitas for his birthday lunch.

2. OSHA Babe's tour guide agenda was expanded by history teacher Steven's suggestion to visit the San Antonio missions. There are four in a national park area just south of downtown. The grounds are beautiful. Request that they be added to your itinerary when you visit.

3. Bo worked on the bathroom floors in preparation for installing the lavatory next week when our cabinet builder returns for his second phase projects. This coming weekend's blog will include pictures of all the rooms he has been working on so hard-mudroom, downstairs bath, upstairs master bath, and master bedroom closet area (the old back porch upstairs). We also have new lighting fixtures and a fan that have been installed in the kitchen and a light above the front porch. We're making progress and are grateful for the family, fun, and friends along the way.