More Floor Palettes

Love this! looked more blue than grey in another version of the pic, which I liked. Like the darkest is steely midnight and the lightest is greyish white. I think this is the only palette I've picked that could conceivably be different values of the same color.  Seems pretty tenant friendly too.  Not too artsy.

I like this green. variations on this.

I think a pink like this and a cooler grey/white would be calming.

Same greeney color, next to some kind of white and/or neutral plywood color. I still like the idea of leaving a little negative space. 

Love this and seems totally doable. Not whimsical enough?

Wasn't thinking about yellow but I LOVE this combo. Sort of a marigold color and charcoal and white. ARG, I know I keep picking things with three diff colors in them which is making things harder, it just looks so cool! I like the contrast.  

But then, I guess we don't have to live with it, so you make the call.  What is best for bidniss?

Painted Patchwork Floor Ideas

Hello, I'm getting on board with the "whimsical" idea but still not going as crazy with color as maybe you'd like. Can I ask, is "whimsical" something you're thinking of doing because it fills your bucket or because it is actually good for rental/resale?  Isn't this edifice already pretty whimsical without going colorwacky on the innards?

Here are some color combos I like. Not quite a variation on one color, but I'm looking.

I should just say that I LOVE pretty much all the stenciling ideas that are out there, especially these geometric shapes, but I realize that is a ton of work and not what we are talking about. I was just looking for examples of these colors next to each other on a floor. So yes, I love these entire looks including pattern, but I am just posting them here to show color palettes. I'm down with painting one board at a time, but also like the checkerboard look as well as more complicated stenciling.

Will keep looking for one color light-to-dark schemes.  Just remember, I'm telling you what I'd be happy to live with, but I have no idea what tenants (especially country-folk tenants, or city-folk vacationer tenants?) or buyers will go gaga over.

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Really love this shade of blue if you wanted to do one solid color or variations on one color, but I actually like this combo more. Realize that is lots of colors, but it could be black/blue/whitewash/ and negative space plywood.

I like this scheme also. Greeny grayish to yellow and white. Ugh, too many cans of paint.

There's a whole bunch of stencil options on the internets, which is more work BUT in a way maybe it's more forgiving? Paint a darker color, dark grey or blue, underneath and do a white stencil over? I like this one where it is not such a crisp line, not sure how to achieve that. Or even just white stencil over clear-coated plywood, for texture and to cover unevenness. Again, more work but maybe more forgiving overall than trying to get a solid, even color.

Same principle here, and it is pretty and rustic. Could do patchwork style by painting each board OR I like the checkerboard a lot too. Maybe way too much work but there are plenty of tutorials. Just make sure there is a square on the dog puke spot.

UpState Update: Two Floors Nearly Finished!!

We went up to the house yesterday and LO AND BEHOLD! it is a dwelling!!  We might be closer to turning some income out of this monster than I'd been thinking.  (there's been a lot of depressed thinking and check-writing lately.)
Just look at these pix:

 This is the Great Room (that is what we have decided to call the main floor which houses the kitchen, living room, dining room and staircase up to the Master Suite).  The plywood floor is down, the kitchen floor is tiled and all the windows and doors have been trimmed out.  

Take note of that last item: doors.  That door over there on the right is new!  It is the entrance from the entry structure into the upper two floors of the house.  My idea!!  This has the added benefit of trapping heat in the great room and upper floors so that winterizing is cheaper and/or winter renters can just dwell in those upper spaces and skip the chilly bottom.

This is the view from the upper landing in the entry structure (door slides into the wall at left):

And this is the view from inside the Great Room looking toward the landing (door slides into the wall at right):

And here is the view of the inside of the entry structure seen from the upper landing outside the Great Room.  The new thing here is the three big beams you see which intersect just above center (not the ugly 2"x8"s in the foreground in the lower center - those are just safety rails until we get a real railing installed).  These beams replace a bunch of ugly framing elements that would have required sheetrocking over them.  We used 4"x11" rough cut maple beams so, in addition to being big and cool looking, they are a lovely wood.  This is one choice I think definitely improves resale value - good use of local lumber.  We can market that the way folks do: Features Locally grown sustainable hardwoods! YEAH!!

And looky looky!!! Big update in the Master Bath.  The shower glass is installed!!  We finally have a complete shower enclosure!  It is pretty exciting.  We still need the fixtures to be installed, but the glass looks amazing.  The shower is the nicest (and most expensive) room in the house -- way nicer than any bathroom in our place and nicer than any bathroom we expect to have in a house we live in anytime soon (maybe once we rent/sell this place we will be able to afford a nice bathroom of our own).  Note also that the bathroom door has also been installed.

Here is the view of the bathroom door from the Master Bedroom side:

Oh, and finally, the steps have been installed on the back deck.  We are hoping that the inspector does not require us to install railings since it is such a short staircase.

Please don't ask what is left to do.  There is a lot.  Off the top of my head, we still have to do the following: The main staircase from the Great Room to the Master Suite needs to be completely re-built.  The staircases in the entry structure need to be built since the ones we have in there now are just utility staircases for the construction period.  We need all surfaces finished (painted or varnished).  Plumbing fixtures need to be installed.  A lot of electric boxes need to be finished so that fixtures can be hung.  The floors need to be sanded and sealed.  Closet doors are needed in the bedroom.  We need a new hearthstone and we need to tile, stone or otherwise finish the fireplace surround and chimney.  Oh, and did you notice that there is no kitchen in the kitchen (maybe we'll leave this for a buyer? but if we rent it first, we'll have to put in some basic kitchen stuff)? And that is just the stuff I can think of.  So, there is a lot to do.  

Oh, and there is also the ground floor with two bedrooms and a bathroom which has not been touched for over a year and which we are just going to board up and leave for later.  If we're selling, that's less important than if we're renting.  Extra bedrooms is extra rentful magic.

UPSTATE UPDATE!!! SERIOUS PROGRESS!!!

I spent the day up at the house and in the nearby environs yesterday and, for the first time in ages, I am happy to report that we have made some good progress.  

Remember this heap of gauged black slate floor tile?  I bought 270 Sq. Ft. of it at a stoop sale last fall from a woman who bought it in the early 70's planning to re-do her kitchen but then never got around to it. (Here's a link to the post about it.)

Well, look at it now!!

Anyway, after three and a half years collecting old materials in hopes I can repurpose them in our project, I believe this is the first time that any of those old materials have been successfully installed in our house.  I am very happy with the results.

And, here is another development - We had the bedroom floor re-covered in a layer of half inch plywood.  We are going to varnish or paint it and then live with it until we can afford a real hardwood floor (which could be a very long while if we are happy with the painted floor).

I am feeling a little better about our project at the moment.

Upstate Update - July 4th, 2014 Weekend - Entry Structure Before & After

So here are some before and after photos of the entry structure.  I am posting these because we finally decided to deal with the open framing in the entry structure by replacing it with fat solid maple beams (it ain't cheap, but I think it is an architectural design element of the type that improves resale).  These pix show the progression of that space.

This is the entry structure seen from the upper landing some time last year.  This was before the ceiling was insulated and the space was sheetrocked.  The open framing elements I am describing are the sideways ladder on the upper left and the open rectangles you see dead center above the front door.

This is just a month or two ago after sheetrock was up and not yet taped.  Unfortunately, our then-contractor went to jail while the sheetrockers were working so they never got the message that we didn't want any sheetrock on the open framing you see on the upper left side.  Time for another contractor.  Bummer.  (this is getting to be depressing)

And here is what it looked like this past weekend.  You can see where we replaced all that open framing with the maple beams (AMAZING!!).  That thing right up front is just a makeshift railing to keep folks from falling off the landing into the staircase -- it is a little dangerous still (Okay, a lot dangerous).

The Door in the Window - Nearly Final Edition

This will be the third post about this one little design element, but I think it is well deserved.

Remember this:

And this:

Well, today they look like this!

Upstate Update - Back to Work

They are back on the job since Monday of this week and I am trying to keep my anxiety from flaring up - but this is getting pricey and it ain't bringing in any $$$.  V's mantra seems to be "Let's get this finished and rent/sell it fast".  I envy her her ability to see a line from where we are to a place called finished.  All I see is the holes filled with snakes and rusty nails.
Here are the pix of work accomplished so far this week.  Looks good.

Upstate Update - Behold the Back Deck

I received these photos from Jeff last evening.  Looks good to me.  I would have preferred a more natural wood look, but he assured me that the stuff he coated the cedar with will increase the life of this deck dramatically.  Also, it will obviously weather naturally as well.  I am going to trust him on this.  Still, it looks like orange juice concentrate - NOT GOOD FOR RESALE, JEFF!!! 
Stairs are yet to come.

Brownstone Facade Restoration - Intro

Without preface, we are having the facade of our house redone. Work started yesterday.  It is a big job. And expensive. And loud. And dusty. And I fear that, if it does not go smoothly, this will be the one that knocks me out. I haven't the stamina to get up after another defeat. So pray that it goes well.

This job is done in a number of stages.  Here is my simplified understanding of those stages:

1. removal of top layer of old facade - very labor intensive - using electric demo hammers (little jack-hammers) with a chisel bit they chip off the existing top layer of paint and cement and take the facade back down to the original "brownstone";
2. chipping back brownstone to good rock - once they get to the brownstone, they will find flaking and water damage and they will need to chip that back down to clean, hard rock, being careful not to remove more than is necessary;
3. application of a "slurry" coat - I may have this a little wrong, but I believe they apply a layer of material that helps the concrete bond to the brownstone;
4. application of scratch coat - they put on a new cement facade with details roughed in;
5. curing period - basically this is dormant waiting period of a few months or more while waiting for the cement to "cure";
6. application of final coat of sandy red "brownstone" cement - This is the artistic stage when they reconstruct the flat surface of the front wall and re-sculpt all the sills and lintels and details in the final layer of red cement.

 It is no small job.

Before

I got estimates from three different companies and the spread between the high and low bids was $17,000.  That is a big spread.  

I chose Metro Restoration to do the job. His bid was in middle, but his reputation was equally important. They did a house down the block five years ago and they did a really nice clean job of it and it is holding up well so far. More important, the homeowner had no complaints about the experience - and that is a big deal. Metro is finishing up another neighbors' house now. The owner and principal point of contact at Metro is a man named Hasan. Although it was hard to get him on the phone initially, he has been very responsive since our first meeting.

The first blow - chipping begins.  This is Hasan.  He gets his hands dirty.

Here's another factor, Hasan communicates clearly. I don't just mean his command of English - although that is certainly helpful and not to be taken for granted.  What I mean is that he is thoughtful and gives complete answers and points to things and engages in discussion.  Basically, when engaging someone to do a job where I know I don't know enough about the details to ask all the right questions, there is plenty of room for miscommunication and even more room for the better informed party to just be clever or even dishonest. I depend on people to be forthcoming and to answer questions fully and to give me guidance and if I can't have a real conversation with a person, I find it very hard to get comfortable that we are on the same page. At this stage, I am comfortable that Hasan and I are on the same page.  Hopefully, my first impressions will prove correct.

End of day one.

We decided to split the job up over a full year.  They will chip the facade and get the scratch coat on this Spring/Summer and then let it cure for a year.  Then they will come back next summer to do the final details and finish coat.  I requested this in order to spread the cost out over a longer period and Hasan agreed to do it.  But when we were signing the contract I asked him what would happen if he were eaten by an alligator after finishing the first half and before completing the job.  He thought about that seriously and then said, "I don't know. That is the risk you take.  For me, I don't care. I'm gone, eaten by an alligator."  He's not wrong.  But he did confirm that anyone who does this kind of work could pick up the job and finish it in his absence.

So, I'm going to try not to get ahead of myself.  Let's just see how things progress, shall we?

Upstate Update - Window Trim

Jeff sent these today.  Looks good! (so far in pictures at least).
I feel like one of my clients though - can I sign it?  Is it done?  Can we go to market?  Is it done?  NO!! Why not??!!!!