Saturday, October 19, 2013

Kitchen and Porch Progress 10.19.13


You all surprised me with your love for black and brass.  I do like it too
but as some of you pointed out, it might be a little heavy.  But I love both
the white and black so no decisions have been made.  I'm still looking actually.

Some good progress has been made; in fact, I think the plumbing is done.


All the new outlets and switches have been roughed in.


The ceiling is furred out and ceiling fixtures have been wired.

I think there's just the ductwork for heating to go and we can insulate
and get the walls closed up so the fun can begin.


But it's a busy, busy weekend of getting as much outside painting
done as I can.  It's supposed to turn much colder next week so I'm not sure
how much more time I'll have before it gets too cold to paint.

I decided to tackle the hardest thing first.  Thirty panes on the French doors.


When I was painting the inside of my new windows are few years ago,
you may recall I discovered that Scotch makes blue tape corners for windows
and hinges.  I've never seen them in a store but I found them online.  These
rolls of 60 are $7 on Amazon and I'd need two rolls of them just for the doors.
Kind of expensive just to tape the corners.



So I went back to my little trick for taping the corners and refined it even more.



I was initially cutting very sharp, almost 45 degree angles in the tape but
I've discovered that cutting a much more oblique angle is actually much easier.


Overlapping the two pieces with the point in the corner makes a perfect fit.

Then just fill in the sides.



I got all the goobers scraped off last weekend and one side primed in dark gray.



I got the other side taped up and primed today and a final coat of
black on the first side so I'll be able to finish them up tomorrow.


Image from Houzz.com
I was thinking of going with dark colors on the back porch deck and
ceiling and this was inspiration for that idea.  I was concerned it
might read Craftsman or Bungalow and some of you pointed out
that the dark colors would really absorb heat from the sun.

Image:  Christie's Real Estate
So it seems like a better idea to keep things light not only to keep it cooler
but I'd like the porch to be an extension of the kitchen and these are more
like the colors I'll have in the house.



I chose a semi-transparent stain by Behr called Cape Cod Gray
and it seems to cover the orange tones of the fir decking while
still allowing some the grain to show.  I can always go more opaque
later but thought this would be a good place to start.


The outer edges of the decking that have gotten wet in the rain seem to
have mildewed so I was little concerned this might show through the stain.



So I tried a little wood bleach on the edge of the deck that will be
trimmed off and it very quickly removed all the mildew stains so Ill
give the whole deck a quick coat of wood bleach, and then wipe it down
with a solution of baking soda to neutralize it before I do the staining.

I'm not happy to extra steps but it's nice to know there's a way to fix the problem.



In the meantime, I'm gluing up some white oak samples so I can experiment with
stains and finishes for the kitchen floor.  I'll show you those next time.

44 comments:

  1. It's all going to be so handsome when it's all finished!
    Are you doing any kind of heated flooring?

    That would be my indulgence if I were to continue to live in a climate that got winter-but then again, I am a well-known winter wimp, LOL.

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    Replies
    1. I didn't look in to floor heat for the kitchen. Even without insulation, the kitchen was always very warm so I'm hoping with all the insulation and new windows and doors, the kitchen will still be the warmest room in the house.

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  2. so exciting to see your progress. we just put new stairs on the front porch and i can't decide whether to stain or paint them. so hurry up and do yours so i can make up my mind. :)

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    Replies
    1. Janet,
      You can get stain in any color so you could get it to match the paint on your porch. They say stain doesn't peel like paint can but I've used some opaque stains that peel. That's why I thought I'd try a semi-transparent stain on the back porch. I actually wanted to do a pattern but I don't think I'm going to get to it this fall.

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  3. Larry,
    I just accidentally deleted your comment. The back porches face south so in the summertime, there's direct sun almost all day. It's sometimes brutal. I'm trying to think of way I can get some shade on at least a portion of them with some kind of plantings. Climbing hydrandrea, a carefully placed small tree, etc.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry. My fault. I think I posted twice. The coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

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    2. You did comment twice and apparently my coffee hadn't kicked in because I deleted both.

      Delete
    3. Be careful with climbing hydrangea. It leaves marks like ivy does. I pulled some off a cement block wall that had been painted and was very sad to all that was left marking where it had been. It wasn't so easy to pull off, either. It might be fine for what you want to do, but you might want to investigate it before planting it.

      Barbara H.

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  4. I am enjoying following along to SEE the progress . . . plus receive the wealth of tricks, turns, ideas . . .

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    Replies
    1. Lynne,
      I just calculated I've painted the mullions around 130 panes of glass so far so I've gotten pretty good at. 40 more coming on new windows in the next week or so.

      Delete
  5. Plumbing and electric rough-ins definitely aren't the sexiest part of a renovation, but it's great to see that part of the project in the proverbial rear-view mirror.

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    Replies
    1. I guess sexy is in the eyes of the beholder. My old kitchen had two outlets and one overhead light so all this looks pretty sexy to me. But I know what you mean.

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  6. That was such a great painting/taping trick for the corners of windows. You door looks fantastic and that's only the primer. Do you know how that deck stain holds up to snow and salt remnants?

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    Replies
    1. I can't speak for salt but the stain says it provides complete protection from sun, rain, snow and ice with enhanced UV protection and has a six-year money-back guarantee on decks, eight-year for siding and fences. Time will tell.

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  7. really looking forward to your kitchen decisions, especially the floor! donna

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    Replies
    1. Me too, actually. So far, a lot of my floor test samples have been disappointing. I'm so glad I've taken the time to do these experiments.

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  8. The tape trick is new to me and my brain is racing just thinking of everything I need to paint that I can use the corners on.

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  9. You have an unbelievable amount of patience. Send some here please.

    It's windy but sunny here today and would be a beautiful day to do your kind of work. Or maybe some fall clean up in the garden....but it's more fun to see your progress and marvel at your attention to detail.

    Yes, come late to the party if you can. Guess you're a little busy this weekend.

    xo J,

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    Replies
    1. Windy here too. I got a lot of sand and leaves in my paint. I guess it adds texture.

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  10. Honestly, I know what you're dealing with as I recently painted the grille in each of our windows...too many to even count. What really helped me was using a small foam roller (my hubbie modified to fit the inside of the grille) since I painted the inside antique copper and the tops satin black and had hardly any "over paint" other than the needed "seal." It saved SO much time. BEST wishes! franki

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    Replies
    1. Send me pictures. I want to see these copper-black delights. It sounds really interesting.

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  11. Oh my goodness the dreaded taping of of multiple paned doors!! I always get stuck with that job since my husband is the better painter. Anxious to see what you end up doing with your kitchen floor...that is another major decision I know!

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    Replies
    1. Cindy,
      This is the only place I use tape. It's just too much work to depend on my steady hand to get the job done.

      Delete
  12. Looking great Steve! So nice to see forward progress - you must be thrilled!

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    Replies
    1. Linda,
      I'm getting more excited as things are moving along. I saw you were in my hood this afternoon.

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  13. My old front door had many panes and even though I taped it off the paint seeped under it and I had to use a razor blade to etch it off. That caused me to cut into the wood a few times.
    Truly, I thought I'd lose my mind.
    Hopefully your tape has a better seal. I ended up using a heavy wt. paper held up by hand against the glass and then painted it with one of my angular shader brushes. Yeah. a little tiny brush but it actually went fairly fast. (compared to the other.)
    Good luck with your outside painting! I had planned to get some done too but apparently I've missed my window of opportunity and it's supposed to drop below freezing tonight and here on out.
    Oh well, guess I'll do it in the spring.
    I'm looking forward to future posts and to see what all you decide on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've had that same problem with the tape. I think they're making it better than they used to. I actually had only one place where the paint bled under the tape. But, there's no perfect way. I had one place where the tape overlapped onto the wood where there's now no paint so I'm going to have to touch it up with a small brush. I've also used that heavy paper trick which works okay too.

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  14. I have never heard of "wood bleach". I assume it's different from the bleach I use for my husband's tighty-whiteys?

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    Replies
    1. Haha! Yes, it's totally different. It's a powder and I think it's actually an acid. I'll talk more about it when I do the next post.

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  15. Phyllis,
    I might have made it sound like I did the plumbing and electrical but that's not the case. Anything that needs a license, I don't do. But I like to do what I can.

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  16. What a bunch of work! I've said it before...a labor of love. And it shows.

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  17. So much is going on. So happy to hear everything is coming together.

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  18. Ooo, I love seeing what the stain did to subdue the orange. That's fantastic. And I'm looking forward to seeing your samples for the kitchen. Love the way that charcoal french door is looking too.

    Wanted to pass along a little tip. After painting three thousand mirrors for the business, I discovered a new trick. I'll never tape anything again. Just keep a package of baby wipes on hand. Paint as you want, get the paint on the glass, wipe away with a baby wipe. It will leave smears, but they come off when dry with another wipe or microfiber cloth. Anything that doesn't come off can be easily scraped away with a razor. I find it to be so much easier than the precision and patience it takes to tape off a window/mirror. Including those dreaded corners!

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    Replies
    1. Interesting. I'll try the baby wipes. It certainly does take a lot of time to tape.

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  19. Lots of work, but it will all be worth it in the end. Thanks for keeping us updated!
    Claudia

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  20. On one of the re-habs we did, we experienced mildew on a newly installed wood deck and concrete patio that couldn't get sealed before heavy rains. We called in a company specializing in cleaning up after flooding/torrential rains. They cleaned both surfaces with a mildewcide and suggested putting a mildewcide additive in the paint and stain we were planning to use. Don't know if it helps but thought I'd put the info out there. Love the French doors and excellent taping job!

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    1. Thanks for mentioning that. I've seen the mildewcide that you can add to paint but I'll look into something to clean the deck as well and test that out.

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  21. You are so patient with that tape!! Looking gorgeous, as usual. I love love those doors :-)

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  22. Glad to see that you have your thumb on the pulse of this renovation!! (see illustration #7). It is looking great!!!

    All the best!!

    Rob

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  23. I like your painters tape tips. I love to paint, and have rooms that need painting but am not a patient painter. One more thing to work on...It's been a week since you posted this--I've been on vacation and am just getting caught up. Hope it's been a good week for you.

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  24. Dear Steve, you are accomplishing so much! Thanks for the tip for taping the corners. I love how the doors turned out!

    xoxo
    Karena
    2013 Designer Series

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  25. God I hate painting windows.....when I put our new ones in I had to splurge and hire it out. Or it would never get done and I know that.

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