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Renovation - where to start?

34K views 495 replies 24 participants last post by  peanut 
#1 ·
Can anyone help me? We have a lot of work to do on our property. We need:

~ a new garage (our sill is under water for a few months of the year and the shingles are non-existent. This is a 1950s wonder.)
~ a mature 50' tree 10' from our foundation removed.
~ a new fence
~ a new kitchen (will need to be gutted)
~ new entryway (will need to be gutted)
~ refinished hardwood throughout, with some baseboard replaced,
~ and a structural engineer in to check our basement, which appears to be moving (as most homes in the area are!)

What order would you do these in?

The structural engineer wants us to gut the basement before he comes to look at it. Unfortunately for him we have a boarder staying there. We could move her upstairs, but that would mean emptying out my sewing studio. I could bring some of it to the main floor, but the reality is the rest of the basement has to be stored somewhere on site so we can access hubby's tools for the reno (we will be doing some of it). That seems to push the garage to the forefront of projects to be done. What do you all think?
 
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#53 ·
Hubby saw the bench I'm refinishing in pieces and said "What happened here?" I told him I was working on it. He commented on the light fabric (I've already recovered the top). I told him I'd Scotchguard it. He asked how much it cost. :sigh: I told him $5. He admitted it didn't much matter to him what happened to it then. :lol:

I asked him if he wanted to come shopping for a mirror for the front entry. He said 'not really.' He's really opting out of this entire house thing. So I asked if he minded if I went shopping for it with my friend. He said 'no, I know you'll get a good deal with her'. So I phoned her and off we went! :)

I took my paint to get it shook up so I could use it to paint the bench. Then, after considerable window shopping, found a mirror/plant hanger at HomeSense. It has a half moon plant hanger. I figure I'll put an oak plywood shelf just inside the planter to hold letters and keys while people are putting on shoes & boots.

Had to buy some new primer, as my old was bad. Total cost for the evening was $55CAD. And hubby didn't even bother to look and see what I bought for a mirror. I don't think he cares about the house stuff at all.
 
#54 ·
The real stickler in my planned weekend reno is what to do with the floor. The current surface is dreadful! It's an old cracked linoleum, with hardwood underneath. I'd love to strip the hardwood, and do a lovely stencil design around the edges. But I won't have time for that this weekend. I'd have to steam the floors to get the glue and backing from the linoleum off it first.

We priced out lighting and paneling while out, just in case I needed some. Paneling is $33 a sheet. And I can find a light for under $100.
 
#59 ·
First finish coat on the bench.

Emptied the front entry and mopped it top to bottom, including the ceiling. Also washed the windows. There's one in the door and that sidelight. Waiting for things to dry and I'll put everything back in...for now.

Checked the garage for linoleum. I KNOW we had some leftover from doing the back entry. Just cannot find it. What I DID find though was enough baseboard molding to do the entire entry. :D Pulled it down and found the depth of it matched exactly what was in the closet, but the pattern is a bit different. No matter. The closet will have doors on it. The baseboard won't be the 10" high stuff in the rest of the house, but I don't think that will matter. The room is really too small for 10" high baseboards anyway.

Phoned the paint store and asked how much it cost to rent one of those machines that takes linoleum glue off flooring. She said $35/24 hours and I have to book ahead. So I booked it. I've decided to go down to the hardwood folks. If we get to it and it looks ratty, then I'll just lay another sheet of linoleum down on it...if I can find that linoleum...

Took time to nail some of the paneling that was loose back to the wall. We have a bulge in the paneling from the house settling that I am having trouble with. I want to talk to hubby about that before he leaves. Maybe he can help me with it this weekend. We'll see. Right now he's off window shopping for clothes.
 
#60 ·
Okay, there's no linoleum to be found in the house. I'm not too unhappy about that. My partner in crime thought we might staple it to the floor, so it's not permanent if hubby doesn't like it. But I'm not fond of that idea either.

I'm almost thinking, if the hardwood floor is yucky, I might just give it a good sand and paint the thing with a barn grey deck paint...to pull out the stainless steel of the door knob, and offset the dark metal of the mirror. Hmm...a kind of modern country look? I've already got a garden style theme going here. I need to pick up some deck paint chips.
 
#61 ·
Talked to hubby a bit. Didn't tell him what I was up to, but did ask if he could fix the bulge in paneling over the sunroom doorway. He said he'd take that panel down today and fix it! :yippee: That's been like that for years.

I also asked what he thought about painting the bare boards under the paneling on that one wall leading into the hallway. He said he didn't think he'd like it, but we may as well try it and see. If we don't like it we'll just drywall over it anyway. So I feel I have the go ahead on that one too.
 
#62 ·
Waiting for the bench seat to dry. I coated that light fabric with a water resistant coating. Also waiting for the final coat of paint on the bench to dry. Looking good! Hope to have it all back together by this evening. :)

Now to get hubby to work on that paneling. He seems to have gotten sidetracked. Oh well. If he doesn't do it, I'll try and do it next weekend. I was so hoping I wouldn't have to struggle with the table saw though.

Took a closer look at what I want to be the 'feature wall' of exposed board siding, and discovered the paneling is not only nailed to it, but glued to it as well. It's going to be a struggle to get it off. I think I'll give it a try this weekend though.

I'm taking this evening off and relaxing. No point burning out on this.
 
#64 ·
Nice job! That's going to make such a big difference in that space, and I bet you'll be happy with it. Maybe it'll encourage C to get more involved on future projects. He may feel overwhelmed by all that needs to be done there, too, and not know where to start. Husby is that way. He'll hardly ever start a project, but he's a great helper once I get something going.

If you don't caulk the planks where you removed the paneling and don't like it when it's done, try filling those in. It really would make a difference.

I think you should not worry about the floor for now. You have a lot to do as it is, and the floor can always be done later. When your husband sees what you've done and what an improvement it is, he might decide to give you a hand with the floor and might like to provide some input about that, too.
 
#65 ·
Thanks SD. We'll see about the floor. It really is a matter of time. Depends how long it takes the paint to dry! Actually, I view the floor as the fun part. But you're right. I'll definitely have different ideas than hubby! I am, after all, the artiste... :rolleyes: Still, I think he'd be perfectly happy to come home and find everything done.

Regardless, all the painting has to be done and the bifold doors hung by Friday evening when my friend leaves. There's no way to hang doors solo as far as I know.

I'll keep chugging away at things this weekend and see how far we get before he leaves. Who knows, he might even paint the entry at this rate!
 
#67 ·
REALLY?! How do you keep the bifold doors from falling on you when you try to put them in the bottom hole? I have NEVER hung bifold doors, for everyone's information. Just watched it being done...with a lot of cursing. We have a top track.

Re: opening being square...Hmm...guess I better measure both sides of the opening before I go looking for doors.
 
#68 ·
It can get tricky, that's for sure. The type I put in have a bracket on the bottom and the top. I think (it's been twenty years or more) I put the bottom peg in the bottom bracket and then put the top peg in that bracket, which wasn't tightened. Then I slid the door into position on top and tightened a set screw in it to keep it in place. I hope I'm not skipping a step. As I said, it's been a long time since I did it.

Measuring won't tell you if something is square. You need to use a square to check for square.

Bifold doors will have to have something to hold the bottoms in place.
 
#70 ·
peanut - wow you've been a busy bee! Your bench looks great and SUPER job on re-purposing that plant hanger thingy! :thumb: I think its wonderful that you're including DH on your plans and by breaking it down into lil tasks, its less overwhelming to him and its almost as if he does have an interest but just doesn't want you to know.
 
#71 ·
Thanks for all the kind words everyone. :)

I left hubby with the thought that the next step was a little but important one. I want the 3/4" plywood (shelf and shelf support) edged with an iron on veneer strip. It drives me crazy to see holey plywood edges! Looks so unfinished. I think I'll pick up the veneer strips on Monday, when I'm out and about, and iron it on myself. Or maybe he'll do it for me.

We talked about what we'd like in a floor and he is adamant - hardwood or tile. As we live in the land of shifting foundations I am not keen on tile. Tiles and grouting crack. And we do have this hardwood floor underneath the lino already. So I will strip the lino away and see what kind of shape the floor is in. If it's in good shape I'll probably stain it and finish it myself...with many many layers of polyurethane! Especially by the door. If I do the hardwood floor, it will definitely be a longer project. Not for this weekend.

Checking out painting inside of exterior door online. They all say take the door down and take off all that beautiful hardware the locksmith just installed. Do I have to do that? Can I just tape around all the hardware with painter's tape and paint away? Anyone with door painting experience?
 
#73 ·
Have you thought about an engineered hardwood floor for the front entry? Its more durable and resists moisture better then traditional hardwood. Some articles say it costs more but I seem to find it often on sale at the big box home improvement stores.

It might be worth it to spend a lil more for the smaller area, especially since its by the main entry and the fact that you have longer winters.
 
#76 ·
Thanks Trishagirl. :) Today hubby phoned around some home inspection places and one guy gave him the name of a foundation expert to call in. We're debating doing one or both of them.

Had to go to RONA for an extension on the eavestrough. The house has settled so water was backing up, freezing, thawing, running off the wrong end of the eavestrough, and basically making a mess of the side of the house and creating roof dams this winter.

Talked to hubby and we decided, with the limited amount of funds we have, that a DIY makeover of the entry makes sense. We have no option but to call someone in to gut the kitchen. There are plastic tiles falling off plaster and lathe, and whoever did the ceiling messed up big time! It all has to come down to the studs and joists and be rebuilt back up.

While we were at RONA I picked up some iron on veneer edging for the closet shelf. I'll work on that project this week.

Also looked at lights with hubby. He made some good points, and we figured out the kind of light fixture we wanted. He was lamenting it didn't go with the style of the house, but because of the way the front closet is built, and the light fixture being so close to it, we really have limited options.

So...I basically have down what hubby wants in the front entry for flooring and lights. He doesn't get a choice on walls and ceiling. They have to match the rest of the house. I want that sucker bright and white. No more dingy brown and green.
 
#77 ·
PS... Libby, I looked at engineered hardwood and it seems quite thick. We'd have to add an specially angled piece in two of the three doorways to bring it to the level of the rest of the hardwood in the house. I'm also concerned it's too high to get our current front door open! We'd have to remove the flooring below to install it I think. And that might make it too low at the front door. People might be tripping out the door and falling into the house. Will have to think on this. I know engineered hardwood comes in different thicknesses. Just not sure if anyone sells quality engineered hardwood here.

But first things first. We'll see what's under the ancient linoleum before we panic and buy hardwood of any kind.
 
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