And So…It Begins.
After purchasing the Cross properties in 2014, I began work on the carriage house.
It soon became evident though that there was a serious problem with the second-floor bathroom. It entirely rested on 20-foot 2×12 joists.
This is bad.
2×12 joists should never be so long. And then to add the weight of a bathroom?
This is very bad.
And then add the passage of time?
Well, those joists sagged. A lot. And they would continue to sag. Ever more.
This proved untenable.
To address this issue was just too much at the time. For, I had the big house to also deal with.
Thus, the carriage house was kinda moth-balled. And the years passed.
In 2021, I reactivated the project. The bathroom was torn out. The space will become a walk-in closet. A new bathroom will be installed in the turret bedroom. A way cool bathroom that will not crush the house.
The sagging 2×12 joists were ruthlessly cut and raised up and up and up, a process taking months and resulting in some terrifying moments as the house groaned and popped and screamed.
New 2×12 joists were sistered on, and the world rejoiced.
The ceiling though was now a mess.
There was the large hole I created in 2014 under the bathroom. Then there were the new holes created by repairing the sagging joists. Basically, a 1/4 of the ceiling was now open to the joists.
The remaining original plaster proved sorta kinda somewhat intact after I removed the 1980s pop-corned sheetrock. The plan was to repair the ceiling with good old-fashion plaster on lath.
Then I did my first-ever plaster repair on the pantry ceiling. A tiny area or repair. And I cursed. Mightily.
And I thought, with conviction: There’s no friggin’ way I’m gonna do the HUGE amount of repair work on the living room ceiling using plaster.
NO. FRIGGIN’. WAY.
During the past months, thus, I have been pondering What To Do:
- An appealing option due to the speed of installation and low price was to install a dropped acoustical ceiling.
- How about beadboard paneling, pre-painted before installation, and them trimmed out with pre-painted 1×6 boards to create basically 4×4 squares? I have done this several times before and the effect is quite attractive.
- Or how about all new sheetrock?
Yes, I am joking about option #1!!!!!!!!
Option #2 was mighty attractive. The process is fast, and the painting in done before everything is installed. Hence, only minimal ladder time.
Option #3 was the least expensive…but the idea of mudding and taping ALL THAT SURFACE AREA made me ill thinking about it. I will be 65 very soon, and my mantra is: Just say no to a lot of ladder time! (Note: I could hire this out but a search for good mudders/tapers proved unsuccessful).
So, pondering resumed.
Then Option #4 popped into my mind.
How about sheetrock, yes? But…and this is the masterstroke…rather than mudding and taping ALL THOSE SEAMS, how about creating a grid pattern of pre-finished 1×6 boards covering over the seams? The finished ceiling will be smooth, with an applied 1×6 grid of kinda sorta 4×4 squares.
This has the advantage of:
- Cheap.
- Quick.
Oh! Ross happy! Egads, this is a brilliant idea!
I had to haul my drafting board out to create a measured drawing so that the sheetrock seams were all placed where they would ideally be covered by the 1×6 boards.
Step One was to install 1×4 boards on the ceiling to create a level surface and make sure the sheetrock can be properly and easily attached (easily being the operative word).
Justin used a laser level (THE coolest-ever tool) to assist in making the surface plane of the ceiling (via the 1×4 boards) as level as reasonably possible. You can see the laser line (green) just above the door opening to the dining room (lower left). The ceiling was never level, and sensuously undulated. It will now though be a bit less…sensual.
This option also has the advantage of retaining the historic plaster in place. So, somebody down the road could restore the damaged areas.
But that somebody will sooooooo not be me.
It is hard to imagine that, after all these years, the ceiling of the living room in the carriage house will no longer be destruction porn.
Ross excited.
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An innovative solution.
Wasn’t really feeling the beadboard ceiling and glad you’re not going there. At least for that room.
There is sheetrock you can plaster over. I mean real plaster, not drywall compound. It used to be called blueboard. (As opposed to the greenboard that used to be for bathrooms) I have no idea what it is now. That’s what my parent’s used in their house. They have a real plaster ceiling and yes, they hired a professional. Then the rest of us helped him out with a sand dollar design consisting of putting one sock in another to make a ball, dipping it in plaster and then bouncing it up on the ceiling to make a “sand dollar”. Then he would come after us to just smooth it over. We did it all in one night. It wasn’t fun but it still looks great. Plaster takes practice, skill and patience. I’m pretty good with drywall and tile but I wouldn’t attempt plaster. Not even a small area.
I think your solution will be very unique and eye-catching. Those that see it will admire it and ask you how you did it. All pluses. A fitting ceiling for a special house.
And relocating the bathroom to the turret? IMHO sheer genius. It will make a fabulous bathroom with so many opportunities to do fabulous things. But please tell me it will have a clawfoot tub. Please. Even if it isn’t, just tell me it will until the end when you have to admit that it won’t.
I’m still thinking of Breana’s 6.5 foot clawfoot tub. I’ll bet I could almost swim in that. *sigh*
I literally gasped and said “oh no! That would be horrible!”. After reading option #1… you got me. You totally got me.
” as per general rules and guideline, southern yellow pine, 2×12 (2-by-12) floor joists graded as #1 allows joist spans up to 25 feet 7 inches for a live load of 30 pounds per square foot when spaced 12 inches apart, 23 feet 3 inch for 16 inch spacing and 20 feet 3 inches for 24 inch spacing.
I love your writing SO MUCH. But “destruction porn” is my latest and greatest favorite new phrase. I’m going to work it into something I write today or tomorrow and footnote you.
“destruction porn” !!! almost spit out my coffee
Ha. Love it. Ross happy. Readers happy for Ross!
Love it! Thanks for making me laugh. Never knew ceilings could be sensual…. 🙂
I think option 4 is a great idea. I have seen this (if I’m picturing what you have in mind correctly) in several historic houses and was surprised to learn that was the original ceiling. The house that comes to mind is Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien, Wi. The staircase ceiling squares might be a little smaller than 4 X 4. Things are coming along nicely.
Hi Ross, usually I don’t comment, as both of the houses are yours, and your taste, but I guess I’m the only one who thinks the 4×4 squares will look awful. You have plenty of original wood already. Why take away from that. I agree drywall is a horrible mess, but it seems that would have been the look of that ceiling in the 1920s. It will look like Tudor siding on your ceiling. Plus with the cost of wood now a days, It would probably be cheaper to pay someone to mud instead of buying wood for the squares. Only my opinion…..both your houses are/ will be beautiful.
Hi, Scott! Nice to meet you!
When the carriage house was converted into a house circa-1921, the newly created living room had a plaster on lath ceiling.
This is still in place, albeit highly damaged.
It was my intention to repair the ceiling using plaster on lath. But, after doing a small test area in the pantry I realized: OH HELL NO!
I pondered several alternatives (previously posted). Sheetrocking over the current ceiling, and then doing a mud/tape job, would have recreated the original look.
But…as previously noted…my response to ME doing the mudding/taping was: OH HELL NO!
And trying to hire anybody to do this work proved unsuccessful. Moreover, even if I had found somebody, the cost would have been higher than my solution (not less), and would have generated a ton of mud dust when sanding. I am loathe to generate such dust while Cody (and his kitties) live in the house. This is why I proceeded with an unusual mudding job for the pantry.
Long ago, I discovered that restoring a house is an endless series of imperfect decisions.
Long ago, I discovered that restoring a house is an endless series of imperfect decisions.
If my magic wand was not on the fritz, I would wave it to do a plaster on lath repair job. But…instead, I made an imperfect decision.
While you envision a Tudor look, I envision a classic Mission-style look, befitting the Mission-style interior of the carriage house.
I think the finished ceiling will look F A B U L O U S !