Three Trips to the Hardware Store and They Were Done!

Mudroom Cabinets and Floor

It was back to Edenton this weekend, with Nancy and Gary in tow. While I’m excited to see the progress made by Scott and his team, the drive back and forth is getting tiresome. Larry announced September 8th will be his last day at work so we’re planning on moving in late-September. That means we only have one or two more trips to make before we move.

Coming through the kitchen door we saw the windows in the mudroom and rear exterior door had been replaced, and the cabinets and slate floor had been installed. Once again there was a miscommunication between us and Scott and the cabinets were not exactly as we expected. Scott offered to make whatever changes we wanted and with some minor modifications we settled on a plan I am happy with.


Thomas Helps Us Paint


With the installation of the new windows and door, we had a lot of priming to do so we hired Thomas to help us. Ironically, Thomas grew up in the "Big Yellow House". He’s part of the Cumby family and is currently living next door while he awaits entrance into the Coast Guard. He was happy to have the work, and we were happy to have his help. While Thomas primed the exterior walls, Nancy and I primed the exterior door.

Knowing we needed to paint the exterior doors with their new color soon, Nancy and I took a walk around the neighborhood to look at the colors others have painted their doors, windows and trim. While we plan to leave the house pale yellow, the metal roof "Edenton Green", and the window sashes white, eventually we’d like to paint the window trim (currently white), doors (white or Edenton Green), and porch railing (white) new colors. I definitely want to add some pops of color, especially since we are also planning eventually to remove the remaining Edenton Green wood shutters from the windows. While I love the shutters and hate to take them down, more than half are missing and many of those remaining need significant repair. Being in the historical district, any replacement would have to be wood and that’s a reoccurring cost I just don’t want to take on.


After much discussion, and looking at lots of color swatches, I’ve decided to use “Classic French Gray” on the window trim and porch railing and “Teal Stencil” on all four exterior doors. Since we also have a screen door on the front porch door, it will be painted Teal Stencil too. Before we make the changes everywhere, I am going to try out the new combination outside of the mudroom where the new windows and exterior door were just installed. Since this area is hidden at the back of the house, if it looks horrible nobody will know but us and our neighbors Kenny and Mistie. I’ll show you what it ends up looking like in a future post.


The floor in the mud and laundry rooms has also been installed. I love how the colors in the slate harmonize with the old brick in the nearby fireplace chimney while toning-down the orange on the walls. We purchased some similar slate that looks like a stacked stone wall and Gary installed it as a backsplash behind the utility sink. I forgot to take pictures before we left so I’ll have to do so the next time we are down.



Our Tiny But Efficient Laundry Room


Speaking of the laundry room, Alan the plumber made a lot of progress in there. All of those canisters on the floor represent the equipment needed for our new water softener and water purifier. Outside, hanging on the exterior wall, is the tankless water heater. This all looks kind of ugly, so I’ll have to come up with a plan to camouflage it. The metal box housing the tankless water heater on the outside wall is particularly ugly. I’ll post a picture soon and you can offer your suggestions for hiding it.



Master Bathroom Floor



Most of the guys work this weekend focused on the master bath. When we arrived, we were happy to see the new porcelain tile floor and the black subway tile around the shower door had been installed. That meant it was time for Larry and Gary to install the vanity. Purchased at Home Goods for $599 this was one great find.

I Think They Got High on that Glue

Not only is the frame made of real wood, it came with two under mount ceramic wash basins and a black granite countertop. These materials, however, make it extremely heavy. Once the guys muscled it into place, they went to work modifying the existing plumbing. After just three trips to hardware store, we had water! Unfortunately, the pipes had to be run from the left wall through the cabinet to both sinks and so we lost some storage space under the counter. While one of the draws still needs to be shortened and the granite backsplash needs to be cut, Gary and Larry did a wonderful job making this great find priceless. I just love it!



A Bargain at $599 from Home Goods

While Gary and Larry worked on the vanity, Nancy and I primed the walls in the new tub area. We also painted the bead board paneling that is going to be applied to the bottom portion of the walls around the tub area. We used a gray color called “Fawn Brindle”, the same gray that is going to go on the accent wall in the master bedroom.


Nancy Paints the Alcove for the New Tub



Over the next two weeks we expect a lot of the final details in the kitchen, mud room and master bath to be finished. Dave Sampson from Mastercraft Floors will also be in to begin refinishing the wood floors and stairs. That work doesn’t include shortening the center island in the kitchen. After talking with Nancy and Gary about my dilemma, I decided not to have the counter height shortened. The height has started growing on me the way it is, and I just don’t want to take the chance of breaking the granite.


Driving home reflecting on the work that’s been done by the professionals, I regret I wasn’t around more when they were actually working. While we’ve done our best to communicate what we envisioned and they’ve done their best to give us what we asked for, there’s nothing like seeing something to know whether what you had in mind is what you really want. Next time (will there be a next time?), I hope not to be renovating from 250 miles away.

A Costly Miscommunication

Admiring an Antique Clock

Larry and I made a quick trip to the house this weekend. Since the water heater had been removed, we stayed at the Pack House Inn. This time, we stayed in the main house—once known as the Proprietor’s Inn. Michael and Giuliano run a great B&B and I was happy each evening to go back to a hot bath and a real bed. Ironically, while I was wondering around the main building I came across an antique clock that could be a cousin to a clock I bought at auction in Colonial Beach about a month ago.  I’d show you a picture of my clock, but it’s at the clock shop in Vienna being cleaned and repaired. When I get it back, I'll post a picture of the two together. I can’t wait to get it back and sit it on our living room mantle.

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

When we arrived at the house, I couldn’t help but sing the lyrics of Signs, a well-known song of the 1960s by the Five Man Electrical Band. “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign. Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. Do this, don’t do that. Can’t you read the sign?” It seems like everyone was getting into the act advertising their business by placing a sign on our front lawn.

The Color on the Roof is Called "Edenton Green"

The signs told us R&D Construction had been to the house, giving us a newly repaired and painted roof. With a 5 year warranty, we are hoping this investment will ward off all future ceiling leaks. The second sign, from HomeStyle, announced our appliances had been installed. I couldn’t wait to get out of the car and into the kitchen—but not before thinking maybe we should get our own sign that says, “Almost Out of Money”.

The Counter Tops Look Awesome

As we entered the kitchen we were welcomed by our new granite counter tops. They looked fantastic and really showed off the cherry cabinets. I immediately loved them. As I walked around the room, however, it seemed something wasn’t right. The center island was too high. I pulled up one of the counter stools from our Stone Vale house and it was immediately obvious the center island had been set at bar height vs. just above counter height as I had envisioned. Crap. How did that happen? And what could be done about it? I’m paying five times what my annual salary was in my first job for this kitchen and it’s not what I wanted!!!!

The next day Scott came by the house and told me (after a big sigh) it was possible to take the granite counter top off, cut down the counter and re-install the granite. Taking a big breath and letting out an even bigger sigh, I asked him to make the change. I may be smiling in the picture, but inside I was crying. My dear patient husband didn’t say much, but inside I’m pretty sure he was screaming.

Reinforcements Arrive

Kate Arrives

It was Tuesday morning, and Larry needed to get back to work. I waved goodbye to him, Nancy and Gary and waited for reinforcements to arrive. My waiting ended about 4:00pm when my daughter, Kaitlin, pulled into the driveway. Since this was her first visit to our big yellow house, I gave her a detailed tour. It was almost dark when we walked to Kristie’s in town to have dinner.

Upon arriving home, there was one more thing I needed to do.  Back in May when we started demoing the kitchen, we were greeted by a unexpected present behind one of the cabinets. A time capsule of sorts, the former owner had placed some pictures and a brief summary of how they came to own the big yellow house in a zip lock back and dropped it behind the cabinets.  We were delighted by this find and thought it was such a good idea we decided to continue the tradition.  In addition to asking Jeanne to update their story--in addition to being the former owner she is also my next door neighbor--I wrote a brief summary of Larry and my story and put both updates into the bag with the original letter.  All 3 stories are now lost behind the cabinets waiting to be "discovered" the next time the kitchen undergoes a major renovation.



Priming the Primer


Wednesday morning, Kate and I headed to the family room to continue the work started over the weekend. First, we washed the remaining wallpaper glue off the upper portion of the walls. Next, we put a second coat of white paint on the chair rail. Then we covered the pink wallpaper primer with a layer of white paint primer. We ended the afternoon by giving the textured wallpaper its first coat of paint. I chose a neutral color by Sherwin Williams called “Dromedary Camel” that makes the wallpaper look like parchment paper. By now it was getting difficult to see, so we cleaned up and called it a day.




Please Use the Front Door


We took some drinks out to the front porch and sat down to enjoy the cooling temperature. Before long, there was a nice breeze and rain had begun to fall. A few minutes later we were grabbing the wicker chairs and running for the front door. My first North Carolina rainstorm was upon us and we could barely see across the street. Then the power went out. Then we heard a large crash and we rushed to the back door. A limb, the width of a man’s leg and about 15 feet long, had fallen from the pecan tree alongside the patio. On the way down, it knocked over two metal patio chairs before crashing through the wood banister leading up to the back door. The limb came to rest against the storm door, pinning us into the house but not breaking the glass.

As soon as the rained stopped, Kate and I stepped outside to assess the damage. Kate found a saw in the shed and began to cut the limb into three pieces so we could drag it to the curb. I picked up armfuls of smaller branches and tossed them into the construction dumpster. Together we lifted the banister and laid it against the house. With just a few minutes of daylight left, and the power still off, we got in the car and went in search of dinner. We came home hungry—the power was out everywhere.


One Wall Painted
 in the Family Room



Things looked much better in the light of day. The storm left behind a sunny, low humidity day and the Public Works Dept. had already sent out a truck to pick up the limbs everyone was dragging to the street. We decided to drive to Roanoke Island and explore the town of Manteo, but not until we put a coat of “China Doll” on the upper portion of one wall in the family room. Declaring the total look a winning combination, we cleaned up and headed east. To quote the well-known singer Maurice Chevalier, “Thank heaven for little girls; they grow up in the most delightful way!” I am thankful my “little girl” was around to help me through these last two days.

Electric Shock!

We were back in Edenton this past weekend with Nancy and Gary. Taking advantage of the talents and interests of our volunteers, we tackled a number of electrical projects, removed the vanity in the master bathroom, and wallpapered the lower portion of the family room walls.

Gary is clearly our team’s master electrician. Over the course of three days, he and Larry completed eight electrical projects:

• Removed the family room chandelier and installed a ceiling fan in its place
• Rewired and installed a vintage chandelier near the butler’s pantry
• Changed out the fixture in the butler’s pantry
• Removed the light fixture in the laundry room and readied it to receive a to be purchased fixture
• Rewired and assembled a vintage fixture to be placed over the desk in the kitchen

• Removed the wall sconces in the master bath, relocated the boxes, and installed new fixtures
• Installed a new chandelier in the master bath
• Replaced 4 electrical outlets in the family room that had been painted red

In most cases, there were no metal boxes housing the wires going into the old fixtures so this had to be corrected before the new fixtures could be installed. Likewise, many of the wires were cut way too short to allow for the easy replacement of fixtures. It seemed like every time I looked around, Gary and Larry were standing on a ladder with their arms over the head. I am happy to say all of this work occurred with only one shocking moment. Despite the power being turned off, we were all reminded how unpredictable electrical work can be. Thank goodness it was just a gentle reminder.

 

If Gary is the king of electrical, Nancy is the queen of wallpaper. Looking for a way to disguise some imperfections on the bottom portion of the family room walls, I came up with the idea of covering it with textured, paintable wall paper. Thicker than regular wallpaper with a look of plaster, I hoped it would help solve my issue. While the ceiling is 11 foot high, we were only papering the bottom 28 inches of the wall so we were able to work without ladders. First though, we had to paint the chair rail. Once it dried, we were able to tackle the papering. While I cut each piece, Nancy meticulously adhered it to the wall. Despite the first class installation, the imperfections are still visible. I decided, however, to move forward and paint the paper before making a final decision as to whether this diversion is going to be sufficient.

Since we want our volunteer crew members to keep returning, we do what we can to keep them happy. That includes good food, 5 star accommodations, and high quality tools. We even had tee-shirts made up with this logo for everyone who helps us out.

Saturday night we got introduced to the Steamers. No, we didn’t have clams for dinner. Edenton is home to a summer collegiate baseball team from the Coastal Plain League that covers North and South Carolina and Virginia. The team is known as the Edenton Steamers, and they first played in town during the 1940s and early 1950s. The franchise was reopened in 1998 and in 2011 they had their most successful season ranking seventh in the nation. Tickets are just $5 and it’s a great way to enjoy a summer evening. Unfortunately, a storm was on its way so we left just after the 5th inning.

 

A Unique Water Collection System

While we were able to beat the storm home, we did not outsmart it. Shortly after starting, we saw rain dripping from the ceiling of an area we call the “man cave”. Ice chests and an assortment of buckets collected the rain as it ran across the slopped ceiling. Monday, Larry was on the phone talking to a roofer. By next Monday, we expect to have a crew on the roof replacing the porch flashing. While we had not planned to scrap and paint the metal roof until next spring, we decided to accelerate that plan “since the crew would be here anyway”. Let’s hope this is our first and our last ceiling leak.

The Butler Did It!



A New Crew--Jim and Lynne

We just got back from spending an expanded 4th of July weekend in  Edenton. We were lucky to have Lynne and Jim (my sister and her husband) with us. They are experienced home builders with a lot of talents and ideas to offer, having designed and built their own home in the mid 1970’s.

Once again, we were welcomed by the many changes that had occurred since our last visit. The kitchen cabinets have arrived, and a few were installed. More were being installed by Scott’s crew when we left to go home on Tuesday. I love the simplicity of the Shaker style, and the richness of the medium cherry color. And they look great against the fireplace brick, natural oak floor, and the “Exciting Orange” color we painted on the walls.




The Sink Area

  




The Cooktop and
Counter Area



The other big surprise was the progress in the master bathroom. The tub had been delivered and the former closet where it will be placed had been reframed to make an enticing cave-like alcove. The pocket door was relocated to create some privacy between the bedroom and the bathroom. I am looking forward to the day when I can fill the new tub with water, slide in and enjoy this new area.



The Tub Awaits Installation

While Scott and his crew continue their work on the kitchen and master bath, we focused our attention on a different set of goals. While our to-do lists (we normally work in teams) contained a number of items, we were primarily focused on repurposing the closet under the stairs into a “butler’s pantry”. This was a multi-faceted project that included ripping out the existing drywall and re-studding two of the walls; installing, mudding, and painting new drywall; and refinishing two of the old kitchen cabinets so they could be re-installed in this area. Since we are also going to add a beverage cooler to this area, we need to add some electrical. However, a new circuit needs to be run—and that means crawling around underneath the house—so we decided to outsource that job to John the electrician.



Jim Puts Up Studs



Lynne Refinishes a Cabinet

Pecan Shells Found Behind the Walls

While this may not sound like a big project, it took us the full four days to complete the task. Crooked walls were Jim’s nemesis making what should have been a fairly straight forward project into a more difficult one. Behind the old walls, he found a number of hollow pecan nuts. Ambitious squirrels—anticipating a cold winter—must have collected them from the pecan trees on the property and brought them into this warm, comfy resting place. 

Meanwhile, Lynne and I were out in the carport transforming two of the old kitchen cabinets into “new” ones by applying 5 layers of primer, paint and sealer. While slow, the task was made more challenging by the 100°+ weather we were experiencing.

Our final challenge came when the guys lifted the upper glass cabinet into the new pantry area only to find it was a few inches too long to make the turn so it could be hoisted onto the wall. After a little head banging and a multitude of “what ifs”, Lynne suggested we cut a hole in the drywall to provide the cabinet the additional space needed to make the turn. As Larry shed a tear, he got out his knife and cut a three foot by 9 inch hole into the drywall he just hung, spackled, and painted. On the count of 3 the guys lifted, turned and placed the cabinet against the back wall. Eight screws later it was perched in its new home. Now would have been a good time to celebrate with a cold drink from the beverage cooler, if we had run that electric circuit.

Finding and Extra Inch

It Fits!

Repairing the Laundry Room Walls

When not providing a helping hand to Jim on the butler’s pantry, Larry took on making some much needed repairs to the walls in the laundry room. Right now, this area is empty. The washer and dryer and storage shelves were all removed several weeks ago as was the old linoleum flooring. We plan to remove the water heater as well, but are waiting for John the plumber to do so when he installs the new gas tankless water heater, water softener system and utility sink. Dane from Ellis Flooring will be installing the new slate floor. Larry raised his hand to repair and paint the walls (they were full of holes from the wood and metal shelves that had been installed) and install a new light fixture. Once again, what should have been a relatively simple but time consuming project turned out to be more complex when Larry learned the walls were plaster. Never having done plaster repair, he had to purchase some different products and adjust his technique. He certainly is a fast learner because by the end of the weekend we had a freshly painted laundry room waiting to be filled with new appliances. 

Repairing the Bookcase

In between building out the butler’s pantry, the team tackled a number of smaller  projects. Jim became our resident wood repair man replicating chunks of missing wood from door jam, window frames and the living room book case. Using a product called Bondo (intended for body repair work on cars); he made these areas look new. With a fresh coat of paint you’ll never know where the wood stops and the Bondo starts. He also repaired and reinstalled a finial from the banister of the back stairs that had rotted and broke off, mounted a pair of plantation shutters in the upstairs hallway, and hung a towel bar in the hall bath.

When Lynne and I weren’t outside sweating to death, we were inside painting. By the end of the weekend, the two remaining bedroom closets had been painted marking the completion of one of our “must get done before we move-in goals”. The foyer closet also got a coat of paint, but we realized it needed some wall repair by Larry before we could give it a second coat. Looking for anything that might keep us from working outside in the heat, we also finished removing the red wallpaper from the family room.

Jill Paints the Cabinet for the Butler Pantry

Is Lynne Resting or Painting?



More Wallpaper is Removed from
the Downstairs Bath

  While not included on our list of “must get done before we move-in goals”, Lynne decided she couldn’t stand the wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom and had it stripped from the walls before I could ask, “What are you doing?” The room looks much bigger and brighter…and I’m glad she just did it.



 



Exciting Orange

The call for support came from Scott the “cabinet guy” early Friday morning. The kitchen was ready for painting and he wanted to know if we could get that done this weekend. Since being the painting crew was something Larry and I agreed to do to reduce our renovation costs, we packed our painting clothes, jumped in the car and made our way to Edenton.

Larry Tests Colors
and Primes the Walls

While I had already explored color options and declared I wanted to paint the kitchen orange, now it was time to execute on that plan (yikes). Larry and I went by the local Sherwin Williams store, selected two colors, bought a quart of each and went home to see what they looked like on the walls.

Larry painted an 8-inch square of each color side-by-side on three of the kitchen walls and it was immediately clear which color I preferred. However, as time went by watching those two patches of paint change color was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Well maybe not THE MOST amazing, but it was remarkable how much the colors changed. As the sun set and the kitchen darkened we fluctuated on what our choice would be.

In the light of day, we changed our minds one more time before settling on “Exciting Orange”. But before we could go there, we needed to get a couple of coats of primer on the walls. While I stripped red wallpaper off the family room walls, Larry applied the primer. Two coats and half a day later, we were ready for the color! Larry had barely painted one wall when I began to think I had made a big mistake. A few minutes later I spoke the unspeakable, “Stop, I think I made a mistake.” Larry kept painting and said “It’s gonna be fine. If you decide you don’t like it, in a few years I’ll change it.” I decided to trust his instincts and returned to the family room to scrape more wallpaper.


Is This Going to be "Too" Orange?

After an hour or so of scrapping wallpaper, I returned to the kitchen and was amazed to see the color looked okay. I’m not sure whether it was seeing more of the walls covered, or that the lighting in the room had changed, or the foreboding look in Larry’s eyes when he asked, “So what do you think?” that caused me to change my mind. Whatever the reason, I was slowly convincing myself my “Exciting Orange” kitchen was going to look just fine.


We Painted the Mud Room Orange Too

The next day I returned to Sherwin Williams to purchase another gallon of Exciting Orange so Larry could finish the job. Since paint was on sale, we also decided to buy what we needed for the family room, master bedroom and bath. As Matt the salesman rang up those 7 gallons of paint he said to me, “I sure can tell you aren’t from around here, nobody ever selects the colors you’ve chosen." Hmm, something tells me this won't be the last time someone figures out I’m not from around here. I just never thought it would be my choice in paint colors that would give me away!

Rebuilding the Kitchen Begins

It’s was just Larry and me at the house this weekend. We had lovely weather so Larry headed up to the attic to open some windows and was greeted by what he thought was a dead bat on the stairs. Following a quick retreat to the 2nd floor and a slammed door, he found a shovel and ventured back up to retrieve the creature. Upon closer investigation it turned out to be a bird which he scooped up, bagged and tossed in the construction dumpster. I made a mental note to add another task to the ever lengthening list of projects: Figure out how the bird got into the attic and close it up.


Making Full Use of the Area
Under the Stairs


Since we haven't been at our big yellow house for almost two weeks, we were anxious to see what work had been accomplished in our “new” kitchen. We weren’t disappointed. When we came through the back door we were greeted by the beginnings of a center island and a wall of custom cabinets designed to take advantage of the unique storage space that lurks beneath the back stairs.

 

A brief discussion with Scott later that day revealed the kitchen floor was “sinking slightly” and we “really should” consider having it propped back up while they are under the house anyway. A second discussion led to the decision to add an external light to the area around the back steps since “we are going to be doing some wiring in that wall for the mud room anyway”.



The Makings of a New
 Center Island



We chatted some more about the complexity of  the tin ceiling installation before wishing Scott luck in gaining approval from the Historical Society for the planned changes to the back porch. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they approve a style change request for a couple of doors and windows in the kitchen/mud room area that are more in keeping with the home’s historical style while also bringing some more natural light into these areas.

  

The New Mud Room

Other than checking on Scott’s progress, Larry and I had some work of our own to get done. Prior to arriving, we talked about the need to set some priorities on what we want to accomplish before we move in. We agreed we need to focus first on those areas where we will spend most of our time; the kitchen, family room, and master bedroom and bath.


By the end of the weekend, Larry had painted 2 ceilings (3 if you count the master bath) and 1 closet. I kept busy stripping wallpaper in the family room and many layers of paint from the master bathroom closet door. It was fun trying out my new heat gun, but we’re going to have to reassess the reality of doing this more widely across the house. It took me almost a full day just to do one door. With more than 15 doors and 35 windows, I don’t have the patience to do that!


Larry Painting a Closet

 



Stripping a Closet Door



Stripping Wallpaper in the Family Room