Just wanted to give a quick update before tomorrow when I hope to put a second and maybe final coat on….
I really like it so far and think it’ll look really good when it is finished.
Thanks to everyone who voted for me for the Mobbies. Last I checked I was in 6th place. I’ll have to be sure to keep posting so we can give it another run next year.
Thanks again for the support and stay tuned.
Oh and I think the front door may get painted this weekend too. The color is a surprise for now…
Its almost laughable how much time has been spent over the last year putting painters tape on some area of the new stairs. The time my Dad cut cardboard pieces for each tread and taped everything was probably the most excessive. I will confess, I had been putting off painting the risers and carriage because of the amount of intricate taping that had to be done so as to not ruin all of our effort with the shellac/poly.
Here they are before I started:
In the pictures the treads actually look like they match the floor really well. I guess it was tough to tell how well they came out before because there was no contrast. Huey had a stressful day at the Vet so he was asleep for a good chunk of time. During that time I got this much done:
Keep in mind it is just one coat of semi-gloss, but I hope to chip away at it some more and at worst finish it by the end of the day Saturday. I think I may put another coat or two of poly on the railing as it doesn’t seem as glossy as I wanted.
And of course, if you are following the Mobbies, tomorrow is the last day to vote!
Stay tuned.
As my large scale construction updates have slowed as I move into post-renovation financial recovery mode, I think I will try and share local news and links as they pop up. Many of you local to the area have noticed alot of development going on (McHenry Row) and a couple new establishments on Fort Ave (5 Points Tavern, Baracudas, and a potential sandwich shop called Southbeach Sandwicherie).
It seems as though things at McHenry row are back up at full swing. Baracudas (formerly Luca’s) and 5 Points Tavern (formerly Aloha Tokyo) are both open, but I have only been in Baracudas (more on that at a later date). On the corner right near me at the intersection of Fort and Hull is the sandwich shop.
Its obvious the changes going on in the neighborhood over the last 2.5 or so years I have been living in the Point. I have always felt it was safer then the likes of other city neighborhoods and it appears the word is out.
Jamie Smith Hopkins, writer of the BaltimoreSun Blog “The Real Estate Wonk,” posted this article today:
Locust Point is Safest Large Neighborhood in Baltimore
I agree and can’t wait to see the neighborhood continue to improve.
Posted in development, Locust Point, safest
Unfortunately this is another one of those Before and Afters where some imagination is required. As I have mentioned in previous posts, there was no bathroom downstairs when I bought the house.
When I was considering making an offer on the house last year, I knew that I wanted a bathroom on the first floor somewhere. It ended up working out best putting it adjacent to the kitchen. I messed around with several configurations before deciding on the end result.
When we finally started framing walls back in November/December of last year, I really only had experience watching the framers on my job sites from when I worked as a Commercial Project Manager. My Dad had done his fair share from finishing the basement of their house out in Reisterstown, so he helped me learn quickly. This would be the first room we framed.
My electricians were pretty much itching to put boxes up downstairs so I am unable to find any pictures of the bathroom framed pre-electric rough-in.
I seem to have an obsession with any pictures with this light in them. It is probably because this was the only source of light we had to work with for many, many, months. I remember finally finding the floor lamp from my college apartment and using that on the first floor while I dragged this big buoy like lamp upstairs.
I wish I had some pictures of the inside of the bathroom as we went, but quite frankly it was always too small to really photograph anything of worth. The baseboards finally got finished in the powder room on Sunday.
Enough suspense for a half bath…
I am not entirely happy with the mirror, but it was cheap and will do for now. The paint color is a variation of the shade of the accent wall behind the bar. I ended up liking it alot. The sink is a Kohler pedestal. It was a huge pain to install. A word of advice to anyone considering installing one themselves…you need blocking installed in the wall. This sink mounts in 3 places, one on the floor, and two on the top piece. The two pieces; the actual sink top and the pedestal itself; actually in no way are mechanically fastened to eachother. If I could do it over again, I would have gone with a sink that had a cabinet…or rough-in blocking before the drywall went up. I guess basically unless you would like to cut back drywall and install blocking (or you get lucky and land on two studs) this is probably a sink that you need to plan ahead for…because we wasted alot of time with this one.
The toilet is also a Kohler. Originally I had purchased two identical toilets. The one was broken when we opened the box. The other went in the master bath. It was just as well because inevitably it would have been way too large for the room. It was exchaged for a smaller model and my Dad and I actually set this one ourselves.
Also of note, to cut down on costs, the tile in here is the same as the kitchen floor. We tiled it shortly after finishing the kitchen as we worked our way upstairs. This room was actually easy to grout. Haha. I figured it would be fine as they are very close in proximity and it is a very neutral tile. It could stand to be cleaned up a bit, but it photographs OK! Haha.
Oh and the light fixture…
It is not the one I wanted. The one I wanted was a 2 light version of the master bath light and it was backordered. I think it was back ordered until something like September, so at the time I told them just to send me something similar. It works for now, but looking at this picture it may be a little crooked too…
And again, it will do for now. A half bath on the first floor is better then none!
Posted in half bath, kohler, pedestal sink, powder room
The voting started this morning for the Maryland’s Outstanding Blogs. You can vote for my blog and a number of other sites here:
http://data.baltimoresun.com/mobbies/2010/voting/
(I am under the Arts & DIY section if you are having trouble finding me)
It is as easy as signing in via facebook, twitter, google, etc in the above link. I appreciate your support and following of my 1 yr + renovation process. You can vote once a day until the contest ends on Nov 12th!
Help Locust Point Rowhouse take this one home!
Spread the word!
Posted in Mobbies
