Trimming to Match

If we had better documentation, this post would lead with a picture of the original front door. Then, I would show you the new orange door. And then, I would tell you they are the same door and you might not believe me. I would show you the huge cavities in side of the door where old mortise lock sets once lived. You would see another circular cavity in the door from an old doorbolt, and a very dirty old red door face.

Thanks to bondo, sandpaper, new hardware and some paint, you don't have to see the old door at all. However, the final touch to the door was fixing one window trim panel that was missing and replaced with tacky quarter round. We tried all around town to find a piece of pre-cut trim that matched, or was close to the rest of the door. No luck.

Next step? Determine the profile of the trim by casting a mould ... with play doh. Then, scan in the mould on the computer (I am geeking out at this point), trace the profile in a graphics program, and print off an exact copy of the trim profile.

Finally, get a handy man who is good with a table saw and router, and go nuts on some poplar. Tom Jones(aka Dad) was the lucky carpenter for my project.

Installation was the fun part, but I only had enough wood to get it right the first try. Measure three times and cut twice I was told - and it worked. Installation documented below.

Pipe Dreams

One of our most dramatic improvements in the front of our home was the handrails. Old, wobbly and rusty rails were just not working for us. Thankfully, Becca has a family friend who is a professional plumber. We described our dream of chunky pipe handrails to him over dinner, and a few weeks later I came home to the surprise of new handrails. This was definitely a job for a pro, and we were so thankful for Craig's professional help.

Original handrails.

A Big Step

I don't think we've mentioned these details yet, but (1) Chris and I only looked at our house once before making an offer and (2) this is the only house we looked at. We realize it's a rather unusual way to go about the house hunt, but it's worked for us so far.

As a result, we moved into the house knowing that there were lots of small things that required fixing (like paint colors) and some large things as well (like the kitchen), but we by no means moved in fully aware of what we were getting into. So, as we settled in last summer, we quickly realized that the stairs needed some attention.

We're fairly certain that the old stairs treads were original, and are absolutely certain that they'd experienced some serious neglect. The finished had worn off them long ago, and many had cracked down the middle. Someone at some point had decided that 16 penny nails were the way to fix the problem, and had hammered them in all along the top. The result: gross, rough wood that creaked and had big nail heads sticking out, and that even pinched your feet when you walked upstairs.



We debated trying to refinish and reglue the old treads, but decided to scrap them and start fresh. So, we purchased the new lumber and took it home over New Year's for my dad's help and chop saw. We brought them back and over the next two weeks removed the old treads and stained, installed and sealed the new ones. In the process we learned all about countersinking and grew a great appreciation for wood plugs. We also had to get very creative in working around them as the polyurethane set up.





To date, this is without a doubt one of our most satisfying fixes. This is truly the only floor in our house that doesn't creak (we'll get to the rest someday!) and the new surfaces are beautiful and smooth.



While most people coming over to our house just see stairs and have absolutely no idea how much work they have been, and no way of knowing the improvement that has occurred here, we feel like we'll never forget. I imagine we'll have lots of projects like this - that no one else can possibly appreciate as much as we do.

We still find ourselves walking up and down them from time to time, just to enjoy the feel of the smooth wood underfoot.

So if you come over, be sure to check out the stairs.

Window Face Lift

Becca loves planting flowers. One day in passing, I threw out the idea "what if we made window boxes?" and she latched onto the idea. Weeks later, she was still reminding me how great window boxes are and I finally got the hint. So, in three days, we built two 42" x 6" x 6" boxes. The results were satisfying.

Good Grateness

If you have poked around in enough old houses, you will notice that most homes made before the 1940's have a main floor vent protected by what some call a wooden "egg-crate" intake. Of all the intakes I have seen in homes, the one in this house is the largest. Measuring a lengthy 62" x 14" x 1.25", it claimed a large part of our living room corner area. Missing several pieces and badly beaten up, our best option was to create a new solid oak replacement.



After a Saturday with the table saw, and several more Saturdays staining, assembling, gluing and nailing (400 nails total) we recreated the piece with every original detail intact. We also opted to match the grate to the flooring instead of the trim and Wrigley approved.

Sprouts

I planted seeds for our vegetable garden 4 days ago, so that by the time we have the land ready we'll have plants to put in them. The seeds sit in the sun on our front porch in little seed boxes, and started sprouting yesterday. The lettuces have the best lead, but I have a feeling some of the other plants will catch up soon.



If all goes well, we expect to grow:

jalapenos
red onions
green onions
bell peppers
green beans
cucumbers
summer squash
zucchini
beefsteak tomatoes
roma tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
sweet corn
cantaloupe
romaine lettuce
green leaf lettuce
spinach
arugula
strawberries
sunflowers
lavender
basil
cilantro
rosemary
dill

Blanking the Slate

We've had a lot of small steps toward progress in our backyard in the past week. When we moved into the house, we did a survey which showed us that the old alley behind our house was part of our property. While we loved the idea of the extra space, it resembled quite the jungle at the time. It overflowed with trash and actually had trees growing from the ground.

So, last fall we rented a wood chipper and bought a chainsaw, and began to conquer. We rid the area of dozens of saplings as well as huge quantities of trash, filling more than two dozen yard bags at the end of the day. Then, this past weekend we had a landscaper come out with his Bobcat to level the land. I'll have to look for a picture of the area pre-wood chipper, but the before and after Bobcat pictures are below.

Our plan for this area is to make a garden. We will build raised garden beds out of cedar to grow vegetables, fruits and herbs, and will pave around the beds with old bricks we got for a great deal off of craigslist last week. We want to make a rain barrel off the garage, and I plan to learn all about composting and start a bin as well.




Bricks are stacked and ready in the garage until we have the area ready for pavers. (With Wrigley as a photo extra). We had to dig most of the 1600 bricks (approximately 8 tons, but who's counting?) out of a guy's backyard patio, load them in the truck and unload at our house. I can't wait to see them in the ground.



On another note, a bit of spring excitement is in the works on our front porch as well. I've noticed over the past few weeks that when I go out to water plants in the morning, a bird flies out of one of our hanging ferns. Just this weekend we peeked down into the plant, and found the nest. No eggs yet, but we'll keep you updated!

Starting Out

Last May, Chris and I bought our first house--a dutch colonial built in 1926 on the southeast corner of Kansas City's beloved Brookside neighborhood. While the house had fallen into quite a state of disrepair during its 83 years, we saw potential. At least, we hoped we did.

Shortly after buying the house, we developed the ambition of blogging about our many adventures restoring it. We found our blog name, reserved the sight, and . . . . well, we've been busy working on the house.

So, after approximately 11 months of home ownership, numerous projects completed and many (thousands?) more to come, I'm committing to recording our endeavors for all to see. There's much catching up to do, and much to record as we keep making progress. We'll do our best to capture as much of it as we can.