Bits & Pieces of the Rehab

Bit by bit the two-family is moving towards completion.  There are two major pieces that have been waiting for the weather to cooperate.

#1 is addressing the front doors, the upper part of the porch and the windows above it.

#2 is bringing back the second story enclosed porch on the back of the house.


So, at some point, hopefully not in the too distant future, we will check back on those and see some big improvements..

For now, let's take a look at some interior details.

Living Room mantel on first floor

Here it is with a coat of primer.

LR mantel after painting with Dorian Gray

Closeup shows the tile had been covered with white paint.

Stripper doing what it's made to do.

We all know stripper does not do all the work but lets skip ahead. The paint is gone and the  reflective creamy white tile is back.  The hearth tile was not in the greatest shape so the decision was made to cover it with the new flooring.

I decided to try a little white paint (Deep in Thought BM) on some parts of the mantel. I did one wide stripe across the front and decided any more would be too much.

Living Room mantel on the first floor.

This one had a few problems:  missing parts, cracks, multiple nails and nail holes, and lots of built up dirt.

Originally this part looked like the one on the second floor in the picture below.  However, it is what it is and there is no going back. This mantel will have to live on without those lovely leaded glass doors.

I have not touched this one yet but it won't be painted.

A good cleaning, nail removal, wood filler and some glue on the loose parts and it was ready for primer.

Sounds quick and easy..it wasn't.

There was also the tile to clean, and clean, and scrape, and clean again.

I got so busy with the cleaning and painting that I forgot to take pictures along the way.  Anyway, this it how it looks now.  I have an idea for the upper part but not sure how to execute it yet.

The second floor fireplaces are a work in progress.

The summer cover for the living room will soon be all black to go with the light fixture.
(will reveal the light fixtures in another post.)

This is the pantry cabinet on the second floor between the kitchen and bedroom entrances.  It was in fairly good condition so I decided not to paint it.  There are doors for the lower section that were taken off to install the new flooring.  It mostly just needs a good cleaning.

The first floor pantry cabinet is slightly smaller and was in much worse condition.  That's a little odd because, on the whole, the first floor was in better condition than the second.  Anyway, this one needed a new glass on the right side and new hardware.  Painting seemed the best way to minimize some of the damage.  More work could be done to the drawers and doors but that may have to be put on hold for now.  Lots of other priorities.

Work will begin on the front porch very soon.  That dark ceiling will be removed and a new one installed.  But for now I'm working on cleaning the glass, especially on the transoms, so I can apply the new house numbers.  The upstairs apartment door required a new transom glass so no need to chip away with a razor blade on that one.

But still plenty of cleaning needed.  That new strip of wood at the top of the door is part of the repair to fix a gap between the door and the frame.  Once everything is painted it should blend in nicely.

The house numbers did go up on the back fence by the alley.  Cross that off the to-do list.

Showing the shower minus the shower doors.  They finally arrived and look great.

Those four white globes are reflected in the glass above the half-wall. (Just in case you thought it was weird to have lights on the shower wall.)  The five panel door is also a reflection so it's impossible to see the wall tile inside the shower.

Bathroom vanities match the kitchen cabinets.

The linen cabinet is a kitchen pantry cabinet that works great for towels and bathroom necessities..

Both floors have identical bathrooms except for the mirrors.  This mirror was found at Home Goods and even though I tried, I could not find a second one at any of their stores.  I loved that it matched the vanity so well and even had slim border that matched the cabinet hardware.

So, this bathroom got a little glam instead.  Oh and the light fixtures are not the same either.  In fact all the lights on the first floor are different than those on the second floor.

I think that's enough for this post.
Check back for more updates soon.