Restoration History 2: Gasp!

Year One
On our first night of ownership we tore out the nasty smoke and urine stained carpet (aka: floor protectors).

In the first month in our new house (March 2002) we added heat and quickly painted a bedroom.

Life might have continued on with me painting everything white had I not gone to a fantastic home tour in our neighborhood We quickly bought every book we could find on bungalows and took our first visit to the Gamble House.

Ahhh….. So Beautiful!!!... (and the girl’s cute too).

That summer we taught summer school (booooo!) and we plastered and painted one more room. Plus we had our fir floors stripped of many layers of paint by some guys who rolled out of the back of a van, Cheech and Chong style.

Kris prepares the room for painting.

Fin

I also decided to cedar-line a closet and build an organizer using my first real tool (Dewalt 14.4 v Drill)

Crazed look in eyes = woodworking bug takes over brain.

The Horror
Our home inspector warned us not to use the fireplace due to the illegal drywall box surrounding it.

The Spring of 2003 I decided to remove the mysterious box..

What the?

Come Closer Clarice…

Closer still.

Someone had done something unspeakable to our fireplace. So that explains the 200 or so bricks I found burried in the back yard.

In the Can (Is that crass?)
Meanwhile in the bathroom, the 70’s rocked on. Spanish tile and a huge “oak” cabinet.. plus gold framed mirror and round “makeup staition / yacht lights”.

Here is the bathroom after I got the bright idea of painting the oak cabinet white, the walls red, and switching out the light fixtures while Kristin was out of town. (Too much HGTV).

One of the saving graces of the house was the original clawfoot tub. Unfortunately it was so disgustingly dirty that I can only warn you …

_Look away! (That was a clean day.)

Den paint and bench repair.

I have been keeping the blogs short because image posting is kind of a pain in my opinion. But I may have figured it out so viva pictures.

We finished staining and applying shelac this week.

Then yesterday, a little ceiling painting...

Today we put a coat of the wall color on.

It is looking good, but another coat to go plus touch ups. I also decided to rebuild the stairway after a conversation with Joaquin, who was staining the laundry porch. El dice que la madera esta mas fea. Estoy triste. Perro decidio a cambiar la madera. So here it is. Before..

After

From the front....

Tomorrow... More painting.

Fixing the windows

The new kitchen door installed.

The new kitchen door installed.
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

Things are moving along slowly. We had some woes with the kitchen staining that you can check out at the flickr site. > http://www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Staining of the den is complete. Getting ready to paint tomorrow.

Restoration History 1: Bungalow H.E. Double tooth picks.

Thought we would catch up on the past house work that was never blogged including a little history of our ownership...

In 2001 we moved from San Diego to Los Angeles for new jobs, but could not find a place to live. We scoured the mean streets of Pasadena, Glendale, and San Gabriel for a place to live but found nothing. Plus who wants to rent to someone with multiple cats?

We were set to move in with the p.u.'s and our new school year was starting in a few days when we spotted an intriguing ad mentioning a rental house in “bungalow heaven.”

We drove into a forbidden area of Pasadena, north of the freeway and found a charming, tree-lined street. We got the house a cute colonial revival...and six months later started looking for a home to buy.

After a few fallen offers I saw a house come up on the MLS…. On our street!

A short time later and we were the proud owners of one of the most decrepit houses on the block, a 1910 craftsman. We got the smell discount.

No heat… Worn electrical… Broken-out windows… overgrown yard… cracked lead pipes…...fallen down fences….exposed crumbling brick..zero garage….70’s remodel bathroom….

We loved it.

Next Time: Goodbye 1970’s.

Finishing touches

Artista
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

We finished painting the guest room yesterday with much teeth gnashing over the blue tape. Lots of touch up.

Stain and shellac...

Stain and shallac...
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

We finally finished the woodwork in the guest room. Now on to painting!

For Sale... Sniff...

wedgewood stove
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

We are selling our beautiful Wedgewood stove. 1950's era.

It is just too big for our little kitchen.

Would you like to give it a home?

"But I miss my stove, she's all alone...," :Evan Dando

Scary foundation..

Scary!
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

We took the top layer off the stairwell. It's all funky and rotten. Hmmm. I swear, if I find a body...

Staining again.

Applying a washcoat.
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

I am kind of getting into staining again.
The secrets:
• Careful sanding
• Clean with tack cloth between every coat
• Washcoat!
• Wait for coats to dry

Bad:
Pour stain onto project and rub around.
Do in direct sunlight
Use wrong can of stain

Our New 30" stove

Our New 30" stove
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

We decided to buy a smaller stove to replace the monster stove. This is our third stove. Hopefully the last.

Built in Bench Stripped!

Built in Bench Stripped!
Originally uploaded by gizmodyne

Here is the bench that will be part of our cozy new breakfast room.