A Naked Ceiling
A while back I posted about…at long last…pulling down some of the sheetrock on the third floor ceiling of the Cross House. This revealed two important things:
- that the 1894 beadboard ceiling was extant,
- but fire-damaged in some areas.
Then, all the pulled-down sheetrock bits just sat on the floor for months and months and months.
However, Justin recently hired a strapping young lad, Dawson. And Dawson was willing to climb up to the third floor and go to work.
Two things to note: 1) No sheetrock on the floor! I had a dumpster positioned just under the third-floor door on the south side (which once attached to a fire escape) so all the sheetrock bits could be simply tossed overboard. Squee! 2) All the sheetrock on the west side is also now gone!
The beadboard in the NW corner is in excellent shape. However…
…there is fire damage in the SW corner. There was an attic fire in the late 1920s and early 1960s. The latter fire is when the sheetrock was likely installed.
This morning, Dawson removed all the sheetrock to the east side. NO MORE SHEETROCK ON THE CEILING! It appears that 80% of the beadboard is in great shape. Although the green paint on it will need to be removed. Ugh.
I am going to have new beadboard milled to match the original, and then repair all the damage.
The original beadboard will then get stripped, and the whole shellacked.
The walls are also beadboard. These will get refinished, too.
Yes. A. Lot. Of. Work.
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No worries dearest Ross!
Removing paint from ceiling and lateral beadboard for cold wintery days!
And it will be stunningly, amazingly gorgeous when you are done!
Amazing 80% of the original ceiling is in such great condition. If fact, amazing it’s all still there. But I guess it’s easier to just cover it than tear it down and replace it.
It may cost dearly but having the replacement boards custom milled (because of course you can’t get that size, shape, wood any more) is a great decision. Have you considered if you are going to shellac them after they are stripped?
When I moved in, the bedroom on the back had been added in 1949 when the kitchen and bathroom were done. There is no trim on the windows or doors, the floor is narrow oak rather than the wider old growth pine and the baseboard was just a narrow quarter of trim. The rest of the house has very wide baseboards. And of course the radius is different than the current standard. Rather than pay extra for a special tool to reproduce that radius I let them used a current shape. You can’t tell since the room is separated from the rest with a door and hallway. But I did have baseboard milled for that room and it wasn’t cheap. What I did learn is that the back of the baseboard has a strip cut down the middle in order for it not to warp in any way and to help it lay flat against the wall. It doesn’t because plaster, hand done on lathe. They were good but also human. But I am glad of the decision to add it. I also added the picture moulding around the top about six inches down from the ceiling. Again, not real picture moulding with the curve on top but a standard moulding that from the ground looks the same. I did manage to get picture moulding hooks at a local Mom and Pop hardware store before it was lost to eminent domain and a new freeway exit. I sure miss them. They had a lot of parts and things an old house would need. I went to them for all sorts of things to do with my double hung windows with sash weights. The older electrical supply place in the other direction is still there but I don’t know how much longer.
I see you at least have insulation showing through the missing burned beadboard. I added insulation to my ceiling from the attic in the first three years I moved in. Boy did it make a difference. I also replaced the thermostat with a programmable one. Between those two things I think I reduced my heating bill by 70%, which is insane.
I’m considering doing more. Maybe another layer of insulation under the roof or maybe a radiant barrier to try to keep the heat from soaking into the house. My fan quit so that needs to be replaced. I opened the attic windows as a temporary fix so there is ventilation but I’d like the fan back to really keep the cross ventilation going.
You have such lovely light up there from all the windows. Doesn’t seem like an attic at all until you consider the oddly shaped space and slanted walls. I sure wouldn’t mind staying up there.
Hooray, Dawson!
Welcome Dawson, to the Cross House Crew (and its audience/followers).
I love the shape of the third floor. I don’t think a lot about what it was used for, though. I’m more interested in what Ross will do with it, but ballroom dancing sure comes to mind…
Yes – some of us will need to take dancing lessons! That room is going to be awesome (after loads of elbow grease)
baby steps 🙂
That third floor space is lovely! And it looks better with the sheetrock gone, in spite of the damaged bits. It will be even more magical when the bead board has been stripped and shined up.
I love, love, love what you are doing. I just discovered your blog and consumed the whole thing in just three days. I respect how you are staying true to the house but still making it your own. Your generosity in sharing all of this and baring your soul is inspiring. Thank you.
Welcome to the group. Isn’t he awesome? 🙂