Making Plans!
For the past seven months I have been consumed by the carriage house.
I forgot that I also owned the very large house across the driveway.
But now…I am back in the behemoth.
In talking with Justin the other day, I knew a few things to be done, like finish the cat fence, get a washer/dryer hook-up, and so on. I mean, not a lot. But, what happened to my endless list of Things To Do? Surely, the list had not been magically reduced during the previous seven months, right?
But I could think of nothing else. It was like my long absence from the house erased my memory of endless tasks.
So, I thought: Justin and I should walk though the whole house.
And we did.
And memories flooded back.
Priority items in red.
BASEMENT
LAUNDRY ROOM
Washer dryer hookup.
Ceiling installed. I plan to use beadboard.
West wall recreated. The previous owner removed this and the ceiling joists have since been supported by lally columns. I am livin’ for their departure.
Install…drum roll, please!…the recreated dumbwaiter and laundry chute!!!!!!!!
Some kind of flooring. I have no idea what to do. What would 1894 laundry room flooring be? I could, of course, do something hipster (I can hear some of you shrieking).
BOILERS
The boilers vent/intake through the boarded-over south window. Oh, the horror. My plan is to bring these pipes up through the east powder room wall and then outside. They will, essentially, visually disappear.
Previously, I had planned to reroute them through the south deck.
This new plan will be much easier.
SHOWTIME!
Under the entry hall and round Receiving Room is a basement room of the same wonderful shape. I had planned to use this for lighting storage but that seems a criminal use of such a delicious, curvaceous space. Instead, by utilizing the basement of the carriage house, I can free up the curvaceous space.
And use it as….(scroll down)…
…A MOVIE THEATER!
I will install a big screen on the south wall, place four comfy chairs in the round area, and a kick-ass speaker system.
For acoustic reasons, I will lay down outdoor carpeting on the concrete floor, and install acoustical panels on the ceiling joists.
There will be a counter with sink, a small fridge, and…but of course, dahlink…a popcorn maker.
The room will be available to my Airbnb guests. Methinks it will prove a big hit.
THE MOUSE BATHROOM
The only remaining Mouse Motel bathroom in the entire galaxy will get rebuilt and restored. This will prove helpful adjacent to the movie theater.
The tiles, and towels, will be pink.
FIRST FLOOR
POWDER ROOM
The peacocks have been patient for eight years.
‘Tis be time to finish the powder room!
There are two big issues.
ONE: The porcelain geometric tile floor is a mess. About half is gone. So, I need to find somebody who can do this work. I also need replacement tiles but a company in Arkansas supplies such tiles.
TWO: The wainscoting is white quartz. It is very dirty, and the slabs are sitting in the south hall. How to clean and polish them?
My thought is to move ahead with #2 and just ignore the floor for now. With the wainscoting back in place, I can install its wood edge trim, repair the plaster walls, and install a ceiling. Then…drum roll, please…I could install the peacock wallpaper!
I will reuse the toilet (now restored) that was installed in the room in 1929. I will install a temporary sink until a 34-inch wide period-correct marble vanity is found.
KITCHEN
Strip all the trim, an arduous task.
The new maple floor needs to be sanded and finished.
Order wainscoting to match the 1894 original.
SECOND FLOOR
ROUND ROOM
This will be my office. It needs the walls and ceiling restored. And the floor finished.
And the brick/tile of the fireplace restored.
Then…drum roll, please…I can decorate the room.
PARTIAL OCTAGON ROOM
I created this room by dividing the Octagon Bedroom is half. This half will be used as storage for my lighting business.
The 1929 bathroom will receive a new slop sink and powerful vent. There will be no toilet and tub (although new plumbing for them was installed in 2014).
A lot of shelving needs to be installed.
1894 BATHROOM
Finish plumbing.
LONG BEDOOM
This will be my room.
Covering holes in the ceiling with plastic.
Complete the electric work.
Finish closet.
NEW BATHROOM
Complete the mudding/taping, and prime all.
Paint and wallpaper.
The floor needs to be sanded, stationed, and varnished.
Vanity and bidet and lighting installed.
THIRD FLOOR
Complete plumbing for bathroom and kitchen.
Redo all electrical.
ATTIC
Remove fan coil HVAC unit and place on third floor (better access). Replace all flexible ducting with metal (vastly more efficient).
Lay down 1×12 flooring.
Redo lighting.
Install stair to attic?
In short, make attic nice.
OUTSIDE
Complete cat fence.
Create new exterior stair to basement of carriage house.
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Have you thought of throwing a ‘stripping party’ for the kitchen? Perhaps you could have some friends or volunteers over for a Saturday and strip the trim in the kitchen and provide them with a meal to say thanks. Just a thought/suggestion. Maybe hold back on the exotic dancers though haha
Hi, Megan!
I’ve not had much luck with volunteers so far!
1890s laundry room floor?
I lived in a turn of the 20th-century stone farmhouse in Wales for the year. The original kitchen and storeroom had that brick colored square tile, very utilitarian and solid looking. Matched the brick windowsill and door sill trims outside. And for being over a century old, it looked pretty good! I wondered if the single bathroom upstairs once had that too, but it was covered in a sandpapery looking linoleum that was popular in the area at the time.
Ooo, and did I mention the mossy slate roof? Veddy cool.
Your list is impressive.
Have you considered linoleum for the laundry room floor? It’s both period and hipster. You just can get the same patterns they might have had.
Are you covering the holes in the ceiling of the long bedroom with plastic or plaster? Just wondering if that is a typo. [Ross: plastic for now.]
I think you should do the outside first so when you move in the cats have their space done. You can always live in a construction zone. [Ross: I’m not going to move in until the cat fence is done, my office, my bath floor, a washer/dryer, and all my stock moved in.]
Gee, on first read that list doesn’t seem so long. With the cat fence, long bedroom and bathroom done you *could* move in and then work on what seems like you need the most first. Plus there is nothing like living in a space to help you decide what and how something needs to get done. [Ross: I don’t need the Long Bedroom done to move in. Just the holes in the ceiling covered.]
I’m thinking more needs to be done in the kitchen than those three items on the list. [Ross: I’ll finish the kitchen after I move in.]
But you can accomplish a lot with a microwave, hot plate and an Instantpot. [Ross: I also have a sink, stove, and fridge.]
mlaiuppa made a good point to do the cat fence first, unless there is a reason for not doing it yet (example: need to access the area for renovation/ restoration without any kittycat doing the great escape).
I think you have done so much that the list is getting shorter.
That’s still quite a list. However, finishing the cat fence is a must. Then, honestly, I don’t see why you couldn’t live there. On your list it should have said, sell other house. What is the status there?
Hi, Dan!
After I move into the Cross House, I need to then finish my current house. Argh!!!!!
“Some kind of flooring. I have no idea what to do. What would 1894 laundry room flooring be? I could, of course, do something hipster (I can hear some of you shrieking).”
Might I suggest polished concrete finished in a black and white paisley?
Perfect, Jim!
Wow, that’s a comprehensive list. And color-coded! It will be thrilling to watch you tackle all this using your patented Baby Steps(TM) method.
In other news: I’m going to make a list like this for my house and yard. And use Baby Steps(TM) to tackle the projects. By the end of the summer, it won’t be all done — but boy, will my house and yard look better. And that will make my family, my neighbors, and me happy. You inspire me!
I had a list like that at one time. But it kept getting longer and when I would occasionally review it I would just get depressed at how little progress I had made.
Wow! So much done, but still to go. Deep breaths. Anxiously awaiting any news you want to share. 🙂
Marble is cleaned by mixing up baking powder with water and then covering the marble with the paste and also covering the whole thing with plastic to keep it from drying out. Might work with quarts as well?
I’ve read diluted vinegar and also isopropyl alcohol. But I don’t trust them or the baking soda. At least not to start and not tested on any place where it would be noticed.
I wouldn’t use anything beyond mild soap and water to start. Quartz is harder than marble but if it’s polished no telling what might dull it down. It could always be polished up again but it’s easier to avoid not ruining the finish than repairing it.
Maybe you could do some sort of poured concrete for the laundry room floor? I honestly doubt it would have been something very complex at all- the basements of a lot of old houses I have been in have been either concrete or compacted earth. Good luck in whatever you decide! Someone also said linoleum- which is definitely a solid option as well.
I purchased a late 1940s Cape Cod style home a few blocks from our 1886 home two years ago; I knew the couple who built it and lived in it for 50+ years. After their deaths it was sold to a couple who did not love it or take care of it; eventually they split up and let it go into foreclosure. It had sat empty for over a year when I bought it, and I’ve been working on it since while letting most of my own house’ projects wait. It can get overwhelming, especially when you factor in serious health issues (in the past now, hopefully) and other things that life has thrown our way. I often wonder if I will live long enough to get the Cape finished and sold, and then finish the interior of my own house; it seems as if every job I complete begets two more. At times I am tempted to put both houses up for sale as-is and buy a newer, smaller home that needs nothing; then, someone will stop on the street while I am working on one house or the other and talk about how wonderful it is that I am restoring an old house, and about how much improvement they have witnessed, and my battery gets a little boost. I try to take it one day and one task at a time, similar to your baby-steps method; if I think about everything that has to be done at once, it seem monumental. Hang in there, Ross; we will make it…
So exciting to see all your To-Do List & planning ideas! Very comprehensive!
Whew! It’s a bit daunting!
Exciting to think about you moving into Cross House!
It doesn’t mean much since my house is probably about 15 years newer but my laundry room floor is concrete stained red and scored to look like red tile. It has a section that was badly patched that I’m hiding with an old rug
It doesn’t mean much since my house is probably about 15 years newer but my laundry room floor is concrete stained red and scored to look like red tile. It has a section that was badly patched that I’m hiding with an old rug