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.