20 January 2020
Amy and I finally finished the hearth in the kitchen. But that just removed the last barrier to putting a mantle back.
We've been keeping an eye open for an old mantle that would fit there, but found nothing that we really liked, or that had the measurements we needed without hacking it up. We finally decided to build a 'new' mantle out of some old and new lumber and trim. Replacing the mantle this way allowed us to create a mantel in the same style as the other plain mantels in the house.
Since this was originally a detached kitchen, I'm guessing that the original mantle wasn't even this fancy, but we like the way this looks, and it's nearly identical to the mantles in the 3 bedrooms.
I cleaned as much of the soot off of the bricks as I dared to. The old mortar is pretty stuck on grey. We might decide to blend the mortar better later, but for now we'll live with it and see how much it bothers us.
We visited Mount Airy, NC recently and, unsurprisingly, ended up browsing yet another antique shop. This monkey wrench was resting on shelf like a museum piece. I noticed it because I had recently had a discussion with my father-in-law Bob about pipe wrenches and monkey wrenches. I had always thought they were basically the same thing. Bob said no, a monkey wrench has smooth parallel jaws. This one looked to be well made and very well taken care of. I picked it up and it said 'You don't have one of me. You need to take me home.' So it did. It was the perfect tool for tightening the faucet connections in the upstairs master shower without marring the chrome fittings.
We're doing a ceramic tile floor in the shower and I'm trying out Schluter's Kerdi system to create a properly sloped and water tight shower pan. I continue to try to do as little harm to the house as possible. So prior to putting in some leveling compound to support the shower pan, I taped all the gaps between the floor boards. I also covered the beadboard back wall with luan. Luan is a terrible substrate to attach tile to, but we're going to use Dumawall tiles attached with adhesive. The assembly should be water tight, and it will only tear up the plywood if anyone ever pulls it all down.
Amy and I finally finished the hearth in the kitchen. But that just removed the last barrier to putting a mantle back.
We've been keeping an eye open for an old mantle that would fit there, but found nothing that we really liked, or that had the measurements we needed without hacking it up. We finally decided to build a 'new' mantle out of some old and new lumber and trim. Replacing the mantle this way allowed us to create a mantel in the same style as the other plain mantels in the house.
Since this was originally a detached kitchen, I'm guessing that the original mantle wasn't even this fancy, but we like the way this looks, and it's nearly identical to the mantles in the 3 bedrooms.
I cleaned as much of the soot off of the bricks as I dared to. The old mortar is pretty stuck on grey. We might decide to blend the mortar better later, but for now we'll live with it and see how much it bothers us.
We visited Mount Airy, NC recently and, unsurprisingly, ended up browsing yet another antique shop. This monkey wrench was resting on shelf like a museum piece. I noticed it because I had recently had a discussion with my father-in-law Bob about pipe wrenches and monkey wrenches. I had always thought they were basically the same thing. Bob said no, a monkey wrench has smooth parallel jaws. This one looked to be well made and very well taken care of. I picked it up and it said 'You don't have one of me. You need to take me home.' So it did. It was the perfect tool for tightening the faucet connections in the upstairs master shower without marring the chrome fittings.
We're doing a ceramic tile floor in the shower and I'm trying out Schluter's Kerdi system to create a properly sloped and water tight shower pan. I continue to try to do as little harm to the house as possible. So prior to putting in some leveling compound to support the shower pan, I taped all the gaps between the floor boards. I also covered the beadboard back wall with luan. Luan is a terrible substrate to attach tile to, but we're going to use Dumawall tiles attached with adhesive. The assembly should be water tight, and it will only tear up the plywood if anyone ever pulls it all down.
The leveling compound is in and I've got the pre-sloped floor cut to fit.
In the mean time, Amy has embarked on her own huge project, refinishing the study/office. The entire room, floor to ceiling, is beadboard and trim that has been stained and shellaced. The doors, fireplace mantle, and wainscoting are faux finished. Time has left the old shellac dirty, darkened, and bumpy.
After experimenting with how much to do to the old finish, she had decided just to take most of the old shellac off. We'll refinish with new amber shellac... probably.
Another bonus in the kitchen! We finally found some bar stools that we like. They look great after Amy cleaned them and did a little touch up work.
That mantel is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI also like how you are building the shower with the consideration for it to potentially be removed later with minimal damage to the original surfaces. Not many owners of historic homes are that forward-thinking and considerate.
I enjoy your blog, keep it up!