Trash, 30 Yards of it

 

As I mentioned before, there was a substantial amount of trash.  Saki is sporting his vest he pulled from their wardrobe and working on his English reading skills from one of their books.  (They had about 3 pickup truck loads of books that Salvation Army would not take because they were "too stinky").

 

Once the trash was out of the house, most of the stench moved outside too.  The kitchen still sinks because the floor and cabinets absorbed the stink.  We will get to that in due time.

 

 

They also had a beer can room with 439 cans in their collection.  (They drank all the beer).  According to the log, collection activity ceased on July 7, 1981.   He must have had a little too much fun that 4th of July.  "I'm never drinking again"...

 



Starting in the Bathroom

The goal is to move in, so we need a bathroom and bedroom completed.

Bathroom Blues.  How about some carpet in the bathroom?  The prior owners thought that it would be a good idea to cover up the original art deco style bathroom tile with glue down carpet.  The bathroom needs updating and cleaning along with some upgrades.  The goal is to restore the bathroom in an authentic late 1920's early 1930's style, which entails some bold colors.

Mechanical:  The project will involve new GFI electrical, installation of a vent and new PEX plumbing. 

Makeup Desk:  The bathroom is large for an old house and includes a built in makeup table.  The original cabinets were filthy and were unremarkable.  The original cabinets were built into the wall and were surrounded by the original base tile.  I carefully removed the base tile and the cabinets and am researching a replacement strategy.

Light fixtures:  Some of the light fixtures and vanities are original.  The mirror is decaying.  The mirror includes beveled edges, curved top and patterns beveled into the glass, so I decided to repair it. It was difficult to find someone to  do the resilvering but I finally settled on Frank Wright Glass in Detroit.  We will see how that process goes.  The original light fixtures are chrome with a beveled glass with swans carved into the glass.  They are interesting, but the chrome is pitted.  I am looking for someone to refinish the Chrome accents in the bathroom.  I will provide more information and photos on that later.

P.S.  The tile is blue, but looks green in these photos.

Tile hiding under that nice clean carpet.

Floor: The tile underneath the carpet was covered with glue.  I took hot water and poured it on the glue.  It softened the glue, then I carefully scraped away the glue with attention to the tile as not to damage it.  In the removal process some of the tiles came up.  They will have to be repaired and reinstalled.  Overall, the floor is in excellent condition and is a bright gold, black and white mosaic.

Walls:  The original wall tile was teal and black.   This was common in this era bathroom.  The tile is in excellent condition and simply requires some cleaning and minor grout repair.

Sink:  The sink is an original pedestal sink.  I have another antique sink with Chrome legs and chrome towel bars, and eventually I want to replace this sink. 

Painting:  There is minor plaster repair and paint needed.  We decided to paint the trim black to match the accents.

This process is just starting, but here are some photos of the process.

 We got the carpet and glue gone.  It still needs a couple more cleaning sessions.

Here is a photo of the original sink.  That PVC drainpipe needs to go.

 We painted the door and window trim black. 

NEW HOUSE!

Here is a photo of our new house.  It is a 1928 English Tudor.  We recently sold our 1920 Dutch Colonial to a couple of folks who had the pleasurable experience of moving into a completely renovated and updated home. 

Our experience, however, is set to take a different course, and as with all truly great remodeling projects, this one started with a 30 yard dumpster. The prior owners live here since the 1960s.  They saved every check receipt, every phone book, every set of clothes along with some interesting pencil sketches of Sting.   They also smoked and did not believe in cleaning or updating of any kind.  The house is completely original 1928 with stained glass windows, mahogany staircase, maple floors, and many interesting original features. 

Here are some photographs of the house before any work takes place.  This blog is going to document the restoration process, which I imagine will take at least 2 years. Then perhaps my wife and I can move into a completely renovated and updated home.  It takes a special kind of woman to put up with 2 years of drywall dust, dirt and sawdust. 

P.S.  Compliments to Derek Lee Lancioni (a guy who bought some junk from me off craigslist).  His blog and projects about his house inspired me to do the same.