10wet

All wet.

Ok, go.

Wait, I hear something….

STOP! TURN IT BACK OFF!

This weekend was very busy even without the house project. Jessica and I worked a charity event to work to raise money for the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum. It was Totally Awesome 80s Bash part II, tiring, but a great time overall. Jess came home with jewelry, so it must have been a success.

As far as the house goes, on Saturday morning, Ron and I made a journey to the landfill to properly dispose of construction debris. Still several more loads to go, but a little better.

We tried to charge the furnace boiler and baseboard radiators for the first time, the front zone where we found the broken L pipe went first. It held pressure. So we left it overnight to see if there were any leaks.

Sunday morning, the front zone held pressure all night. So we tried for the back zone…

Leak #1

2kitchenleak1

We found a huge leak under the kitchen floor, in the crawlspace, It was too narrow to crawl any farther, so we had to cut the kitchen floor out.

2underkitchenleak1

This pipe had blown the soldered joint right out. Why are these not insulated? We’ll have to do that before we close the hole back up.

Leak #2

1anotherleak1

This pipe was above the kitchen ceiling, found it when dirty water (shown in background) began cascading down the kitchen wall.

Leak #3

1brokenpipe1

This leak was in the floor of the purple room, spraying more water into the kitchen ceiling and that bedroom floor.

At this point I also learned that the old natural gas line framework in the house was electrified. I got a pretty good arc from touching the gas line and the water lines with a screwdriver shaft.

Leak #4

1heaterleak1

This was the heater in the guest room, it was nice enough to break above the floor in this section.

Leak #5

1heaterleak2

Same heater different section of pipe.

Leak #6

4leaklocation1

Here’s another under the floor of the guest room.

Leak #7

4yellowroomfix1

So much for saving the hardwood.

3wetbasement1

Every time we found a leak the system had to be quickly purged of its pressure so it didn’t ruin the house. We had to pull the plugs out of this 1.5 inch pipe in the basement. Ron and I got pretty wet.

5mirandawash1

Not everything was doom and gloom though, here’s Miranda helping to prep these walls for primer, in the master bedroom.

5shadowescape1

Since I have a staggering lack of pictures this week from the busy-ness and the chaos, here’s a picture of shadow escaping from the deck, she figured out how to open the latched gate.

 

9door

Beveled glass and nickel hardware.

Watch the margins.

This week was pretty busy, We got a new front door, a screen door, found the tiles we need for the bathroom, moved more kitchen cabinets, fixed more walls, and threw some more paint.

1newdoor3

I came home from work to start an evening’s project, and noticed this giant hole in the house.

1newdoor4

Ron got started early and picked up the door and tore the old one out

1jasonholding1

We had to widen the hole as the old door was only a 32 inch door, this one is 36 inch to meet code.

1newdoor2

It’s in, but still needs some trim work.

1newdoor5

Here is a little bit of detail on the glass.

2counters1

Ron built a few cabinets out of salvaged ones for this side of the kitchen.

3ellascoob1

Ella and Scooby Doo came to visit today!

3scoob1

“Zoinks Scoob! It’s pretty hot, you should stay on the porch where it’s shady!”

3ellawash1

Ella helped by washing a small section of the side of the house, for like 40 minutes.

3scoob2

Scooby is a very white dog, to be in such a dirty project.

4ladiespaint1

I managed to finish priming the rest of the 3rd floor, so these fine ladies could toss on a layer of ultra white paint.

4sandyroll1

Sandy rolls paint on the ceiling of the third floor.

4thirdpaint1

Hey! The third floor is white now!

4wasp1

A visitor came to check out the paint, but he was a troublemaker and was escorted out by security.

5breaktime1

Time for a break, this is hard work.

5karinpaint1

Karin primed the bathroom today

5jesstrim1

Jessie paints the trim around the door

5jesspaint2

…and the closet door…

5jessiestress1

Who dripped white paint on the yellow wall???

5amytape1

Amy and Sandy removed the masking after they finished the final coat on the purple room.

5sandytapeball1

Sandy collected all the tape so we could reuse it as a fun game.

We are all so tired.

8color

A splash of color.

This week was fairly busy!

I missed a day or so because I was too sick to move. Mom, Dad, and Laura came for a visit on Tuesday to see the project. Then we had dinner with Ron and Sandy.

1ideabulb1

This was the best we could do for a painting light for Sandy to work as the flood lamp was on another floor.

2cabinetsout1

Ron and I started to remodel the kitchen this weekend. We started by tearing out the cabinets.

2cabinetsin1

We’re re-using the cabinets, just redesigning the layout. The stove will go here, and a cabinet needs to be built for above the hood.

3texture1

I learned how to texture walls this weekend.

So bumpy.

3jessicaella1

Ella came to help Jessica paint.

3jessicaella2

The third floor walls are almost completely primed now. Jess, Ella, and Aunt Karin painted like crazy up there.

3jessicaella3

Jess paints up high, Ella paints down low…

Don’t go in that hole. Ella, there be dragons.

3karin1

…and Karin paints the details.

4bedroomwall1

The bedroom is now ready to be mudded and sanded, finally progress in this room. It’s been a staging area for the second floor’s projects.

4purpleroom1

Jessie’s Dressing room will have white shelving/rack units built on the walls, this rich purple is the background color.

4ronsandypurple1

It needs several coats because its so thick!

4purpleroom2

I like the contrast of the white trim and ceiling with the crazy purple. We ran out of this color and it needs another coat, off to home depot on Monday!

4yellowroom1

The girls coated the guest room in this sunny yellow, it looks so bright and cheery in there, much better than the dingy brownish yellow that it was.

5springflowers1

Even those lonely flowers thought it was time for some color.

 

7rongary

A hole of a whole different sort.

I bet it was loud.

Today’s work was minimal, Jess and I stopped at the house today to pick up the camera, and to paint the ceilings in 2 rooms before coming back to get some dinner.

Saturday, however, we got a ton of stuff done! Jessie’s aunt, uncle, and cousins came for the holiday and brought their work clothes!

The biggest discovery happened on Friday when Ron and I were preparing for a vacuum test of the heating system…

1elbow1

We had a wet spot on the foyer ceiling, after removing a few floorboards in the master bedroom we located this…

1elbow2

This is schedule 80 black iron pipe. This elbow was blown apart upstairs, most likely at the same time as the iron radiator in the dining room exploded. Ice is a powerful thing.

1wherebroke1

We replaced the elbow and broken pipe with L copper.

2rongary1

Uncle Gary and Ron put up blueboard (which is purple) which is a water/mold/mildew resistant drywall.

2garydrill1

Here, Gary demonstrates the proper way to screw up drywall. (pun)

2tubwall2

The tub surround is installed and walls are up around it. Also a linen closet has been built to the right.

3tub1

LOOK! A tub has appeared!

4kimceiling1

Aunt Kim, Sandy, Matt and Ben tackled the primer in the guest room and the dressing room.

4kimpaint2

The awful yellow filth is gone, now covered with a nice clean chalky white. Hooray!

4mattben1

Matt and Ben are a serious force when it comes to painting closets and the lower halves of walls.

 

6lights

Drywall and downlights.

Put it back together.

This weekend was busy as usual. Finally we’ve reached a stage that things are going back together instead of being destroyed.

1nichewire1

Remember those niches? The glass is gone… and wires are now poking through the top archway.

1downlight2

I installed 3 inch Xenon gimbal downlights into the top of the archway, Now when we put artwork in the niches we can control the lighting more accurately.

1nichewall1

Mike and I framed this window in and cut drywall to match

1nichewall3

After some fiberglass mesh and some drywall tape and mud, these are really starting to shape up.

1downlights1

Here are the lights with them angled at 90 degrees (straight down) they can swivel to 30 degrees and stay recessed. The right one is out for patching around the trim.

2livingwall1

Ron and Mike patched the hole where the soil pipe was removed.

2fireplace1

The fireplace was opened and cleaned out this week, it seems solid and safe, just needs some love. Also, if anyone has an extra gas burner, we need that too!

3dressing1

The dressing room is getting smoother and less cracked!

4tub1

The new tub is in the guest room, this week it goes to its home in the new wall.

4tublight1

Ron gets ready to put in the housing for the recessed shower light.

4tublight2

The destruction on today’s episode of This Old House were brought to you by Milwaukee SawZall. It cuts through anything.

 

4vanitywall1

Here is where the mirror and sink will sit, 2 wall lights go where these boxes are.

5firstplants1

It must be springtime, the trampled, poorly maintained flower-bed in the back of the house shows signs of life.

Well, this week we get measured for carpet, and the plumber comes to finish the pipes and water lines. The wiring should be just about done, and the dressing room and guest room should be ready to be primed!

Moving along at a great pace.

Steady as she goes.

5holes

Holes.

The weekend of holes.

We did wiring and plumbing. There are several areas with giant holes in the floors and walls. The plumber came and started to add new drains and supply lines for the bathroom on the 2nd floor.

1dininghole

This hole is directly below the bathroom. A leaky box trap caused the ceiling to be wet and basically destroyed it.

1fromdining

Looking up from the dining room, you’re seeing where the toilet will be. Protect your eyes.

1nicheripped

The fake stained glass windows have been removed, soon this will be framed in and drywalled.

1livinghole

The soil pipe from the bathroom was crumbly. That had to be replaced. The plumber tapped the old pipe with his hammer and most of the pipe crumbled into the living room.

Super. Gross.

2kitchenwall

The kitchen wall is down and the drywall is up! Soon all of the mud will be dry and sandable.

3bannister

Jess began the tedious process of stripping the 5+ layers of paint from the original woodwork.

3stairway

The stairs will be carpet but the railings will be stripped and re-finished

3fan

Finally after 3 weeks we have real electricity! The former occupants did not pay the electric bill for several months, which caused the service to be disconnected. They decided to use jumper cables to bypass the box. We spent weeks trying to convince the power company that we were in fact new owners. Oy.

4brokentub

The cast iron tub was nearly impossible to move so I had to break it with a big sledge. Holy moly it was loud.

4holes1

We cut up the floor for new pipes in the bathroom.

4holes2

The new tub, the upstairs sink, the new toilet and vanity will all drain in these new lines.

5framebedroom

The new wall is framed in and almost ready for drywall, the new tub has to go in first.

The plumber comes back tomorrow and we’ll hopefully have running water and be ready for fixtures. Drywall should be hung in the bathroom tomorrow.

 

4destroy

DEMOLITION!

The weekend of destruction is over.

On Saturday, Phil came over and we tore out the plaster and lath in the kitchen, and the wall between the bathroom and master bedroom. Also, the sink, cabinets, lights, trim, and vanity from the bathroom were removed.

On Sunday, we started with a full crew. Jessica, Ron, Sandy, and I began the day. Soon Aunt Amy arrived, then Aunt Lynne and Michaela arrived to help too.

Saturday:

Kitchen

1kitchensticks

Here’s the wall in the kitchen after Phil and I removed the lath and plaster.

1kitchensticks2

Here’s the wall in the kitchen from the front door side.

1kitchencut2

Ron had a big Sawzall which made quick work of the nails and wall studs.

1kitchendown

The kitchen almost doubles in size with the wall removed.

1kitchendown2

We’ll have a nice 12 light door when this construction is done, and it will go in the angled doorway from the foyer to the new larger kitchen.

Master Bedroom/Bathroom

2bedroomside1

From the bedroom to the bathroom. This wall has to get out of the way so the bathroom can expand.

2intobedroom

From the bathroom to the bedroom.

2tub

The old tub, I think we’re going to have to smash the thing to get it out. Too bad.

2dayonedebris

This is how much plaster and lath we tore down and cleaned up at the end of Saturday’s work.

Sunday:

2jessielath

Jess uses her trusty hammer to destroy the wall above the old tub.

2amydestroy

Amy swings her hammer like the wall called her a name she didn’t like.

2sandydestroy

Sandy found the best dirt above the ceiling, also, probably the most danger!

2backofbox

This is the back of the junction box in the hall, we’re going to move it over to this side and install breakers when we pull the new wiring.

2backwall

The last of the bathroom lath.

2dirtybathroom

Wow someone should clean this bathroom.

2floormess

Watch your step!

2nestcan

We found a massive bird’s nest up in the rafters. Yes, you could see daylight.

5tubmess
The bath tub is full of plaster, lath and nails. Maybe we can get it cleaned tomorrow night.

5wires

Here are a few of the old wires in the wall that need to be re-done.

Plumbing

3oldvalve

Some of the old valves for the water pipes were broken, so we had to install new ones.

3ronsoldering

Ron solders caps on the lines we had to cut off that went nowhere.

Wallpaper is the devil.

4amylynnepaper

Amy has a wallpaper steamer thing, that can remove those stupid wallpaper borders really easily!

5michaela

Michaela came over with Lynne so she could help by hanging with Jess and coloring pictures.

 

Hopefully I’ll have more pictures as things progress. Tomorrow night is more wiring, probably no pictures. We should finally have electricity on Monday or Tuesday.

HOORAY!

Insulation Day

What a MESS!

This weekend of March 15th and 16th 2009 was insulation day. The age of the house (and some probing) indicated that there was no insulation inside the walls. Being that many of the walls needed to be patched and re-painted, we decided on blowing recycled fiber insulation into the walls.

How in the world do people do this with carpet/furniture in their houses?

SATURDAY MARCH 15TH

1mikefeeds

Here is Uncle Mike feeding the green beast that was the blower/hoppper for the dustiest and messiest thing ever: Recycled “green” insulation.

2dustydining1

This is what the entire floor of the house looked like as we fed the walls with this dust.

2dustydining2

Holes were drilled at the top of the outside walls at 1.175 inches in diameter between studs. Then a small air-escape hole was drilled nearby.

3coveredamy

Here, Nick seeks cover in the living room as Aunt Amy covers her mouth and nose to keep from breathing the dust.

4lightattheend

In all of the pictures and documentation of this machine, nowhere does it say how often the nozzles will clog and blow dust all over the room.

5kitchendust

Jessica was at work today, she has NO idea what she’ll walk into when she gets home to see her kitchen.

6footprint

One small step for man, one giant leap towards the completion of this project.

6tubedust

A large mechanical chopper breaks up the loose insulation before a smaller blower chopper forces it into this long tube.

7breathingdust

It took about 10 hours of work to get to this final room. Lights were needed. The house still has no power, so the generator that ran the blower was also running this light tree.

7dustyron1

I was completely covered in this dust as I crawled along the floor and scooped up the wasted insulation, and carried it in a 35 gallon can back to the blower. But, Ron had the worst job.

7dustyron2

The blower nozzle would constantly clog, probably once every 30 seconds. Probably one whole bail of insulation was wasted because of this.

8jessiescraping

While the boys played in the dirt upstairs, The girls worked to remove the horrible linoleum from the kitchen floor. Unfortunately it seemed it was several layers deep in some spots.

SUNDAY MARCH 16th

Not as many pictures for Sunday. Mainly today was Clean-UP from yesterday. But, Ron and I hooked up the plumbing.

8ontheroof

I climbed up on the roof to remove the old satellite dish from the house and noticed exactly how much of yesterday’s insulation had blown out the windows and landed on the roof.

9runningwater

Still no heat or light, but today, Ron and I officially activated the water and plumbing! Here’s some proof!

Monday is a busy day so there won’t be any work done. Tuesday its time to get ready for wiring inspection.

Drywall patching will begin because its warm this week.

 

Day One: Project Start

Closing time, get to work!

We signed papers yesterday (Monday March 9th 2009), and began renovations on the house shortly after.

It was pretty tough work, so when we ran out of light it was time to quit.

1cabinets1

On the previous post, I forgot to take pictures of the kitchen! Here is a view looking over the fridge.

1cabinets2

These are on the opposite wall in the kitchen, I think we’re going to move the stove onto this wall.

1kitchen1

Here is the gas range, we have to move some things around because our new refrigerator is wider than the current one.

1kitchenpantry

There is a pantry through this door, the basement stairway is on the left, and a built in cabinet is on the right, I don’t have any decent images of this room except one area of damage (shown next)

1moldfaucets

Someone had put a washing machine in this pantry, it really was too small of a room for such a machine, but these faucets are very damaged. They will probably be removed anyhow, and the plaster will need to be replaced. It would appear they tried to torch solder these connections right against the plaster, it’s amazing the house didn’t burn.

2dining2kitchen

Now we’re in the dining room, you see the built in china cabinet from the previous post.  This doorway leads back into the kitchen.

2diningwindow

This is the outside wall of the dining room with the triple window. If you notice the radiator is damaged, it looks like it was frozen and exploded out the side at some point. This will need replaced.

2tilething

I ripped up the carpet and found this tile patch. It appears to have had a wood stove or gas heater here at some point. (update, I found a second chimney in the attic that has been abandoned. There was definitely a small fireplace here at some point.)

3foyerfloor

The floor section starts now, We had hoped to be able to save the original hardwood floors, but it doesn’t look like they’re in great shape. This is the front foyer. We will probably lay ceramic or slate in this area.

3hardwood

This is a close up of the wood, its pretty dry, and there are some splintery gaps, so its probably beyond cleaning and painting. Carpet will probably have to cover the dining room and living room.

3proof

This is photographic proof that I was working. Attention: this was not a faked photo, on a timer, with a tripod, when I was working by myself. (ok, it probably was fake)

4back

This is the back yard, today Ron helped the image by cleaning up all the trash. The neighbors already thanked him. This picture is taken from the parking area.

4chimney

There’s the top of the chimney, and a piece of the flashing is missing. That satellite dish has to go, it’s is on the top of the front porch.

4deck

The deck could use some paint. We may replace it sometime with a brick patio and maybe a brick pizza oven or something. I think it’ll do for the summer.

4frontsteps

These are the front steps, they have a crack in the middle, but seem very sturdy. Perhaps some day when we re-do the front porch we will match the railings.

4side

This is the side of the house, the siding needs some love. We’re going to see which is more economical, painting the siding or recycling it and replacing it with vinyl.

4vines

These vines grow up the side of the house, they might look nice in the summer but I’ll bet its bad for the side of the house.

 

initial1

Intro: Project Fairview

No water, power, or heat. Just potential.

This post provides some images from the initial walkthrough we performed on February 19th 2009. The house was very cold as there was no power/water/heat. Initial visit was to gain an idea for the estimated repairs.

Heather and AJ give their approval of the niches in the dining room. These plastic simulated stained glass windows will be removed and plastered solid, so that accent lighting and artwork may be displayed here.

Heather and AJ give their approval of the niches in the dining room. These plastic simulated stained glass windows will be removed and plastered solid, so that accent lighting and artwork may be displayed here.

dining2

This built in china cupboard appears to be in fantastic structural shape, but needs a major cleaning and cosmetic overhaul.

dressing1

This is the 3rd bedroom on the second floor. It is the smallest of the bedrooms, and will be converted into a dressing room for Jessica to store and organize her vast wardrobe.

dungeon1

This is the unfinished basement, On our first entry to this house there was so much trash down here we thought the basement would never be saved. Now, after a few nights of sweeping and wiring lighting, this should be a usable laundry facility.

foyer1

Seen here is the view from the front door. The stairs on the right are hardwood underneath and should refinish nicely. The gross brown carpet is going to go away and hardwood will extend from this room straight into the kitchen that you see in the distance.

guest1

This is the second largest bedroom on the second floor, and will become a house-guest storage area.

laundry1

This is the first room inside the back door. It appears to be a mudroom, but without any storage options. This will become either a half-bath or a storage area. Just outside the door is a small weird deck, it should be a patio instead.

living1

This is the front window of the living room, it faces onto the front porch. Being that the porch doesn’t have many years left, this window will become a bay window with a porch that curves around it.

mantle1

This is the mantelpiece in the living room. This will be restyled and bookshelves and cabinets will extend from either side. Unsure of the status of the chimney to make the decision whether to do wood or gas fire. Plans for an LCD TV mounted above the mantle depend on heat issues from the fireplace.

masterbr1

This is the master bedroom. The pointless nook in the image will be removed when the bathroom is enlarged. Bathroom is completely destroyed so it will be totally re-done as one of the first projects.

pocketdoors

BONUS! The original pocket doors work nice and smooth, and really only need minor cosmetic repair.

steam1

These contraptions appear to have something to do with the structure’s H20 temperature amplifier and recirculation system.

studio1

The third floor is our favorite area in the house. The natural light from the windows is fantastic. This will become an art studio. Plans include adding a sink for cleaning paintbrushes and a built in storage system in the walls.

studio2

Another view of the studio from the stairs.

studio3

This area may be closed in for a large closet, so that we will upgrade the value of the house by making this convertible into a 4th bedroom

studio4

The acoustics in this room are also great so we can finally start a family band! Just kidding! (maybe)

studio5

This project is going to be a ton of work, and hopefully will be fun.