649 6th

trim details

it gets closer every day...a few more third floor...

window trim

Just that close to having the entire third floor done (how many more times can we say that?) It would've been done tonight, but last night we somehow got slightly off in the long angled boards that run up the stairway. They say measure twice, cut once; I think that just became, "measure three or four times..."

We were able to finish trimming out the front and rear dormers. There's a bit of touch-up work to do, but basically done. I'm hoping to be back at the starting line with the newly painted replacement boards tomorrow.

(full view pictures will come when everything is set)

beginning of the end

I think that gladiolus metaphor is working. Finished cubby has blossomed into a 99% complete dormer. Final step is painting and nailing up wood strips to cover the inner window framing. Next post or two we'll take some detail shots of the final product.

Feels great to be on a roll. Even greater to witness the blooming edge of a seed we planted years ago. "Half way" was a difficult moment to pin down, and I have no better sense how far we are from the end, but I'm certain I just spotted a major renovation milestone.

Feels appropriate for birth place of our new home. Definitely the most freshly conceived space, a manifestation of dreams and regularly bathed with good mojo.

cubby in 3D

Cubby I: Cubby
Cubby II: Return of Cubby

candy barred

Second round of who-knows-how-many prepping trim boards. Primer both seals the wood and raises the grain, which when sanded results in a smooth, slick surface for the paint. Is that totally obvious to everyone? Takes time, of course, but fortunately the primer soaks in and dries fast. Result looks almost stained.

This time we cut the boards before finishing. Curious to see if it makes any difference to installation. For example, if a board needs to be slightly trimmed then end will need to be repainted. Not a biggy -- on par with cutting away a bit of pre-painted board. Exciting stuff.

All in the wind-up for tomorrow's pitch when remaining third floor base boards are installed. Windows will take a few more days; need to finish the frames before installing trim, but that's pretty much the last reno task on that floor. That IS exciting. From attic to bedroom/studio in how many days?

But for now, hallway looks like a chocoholic's fever dream. I'll pass on the Oompa-Loompas.

gladiolus

A few more pointy-headed words about the paint color on the third floor.

The idea was Gladiolus bud. The outer most walls were just slightly to the green side of white followed by yellow and orange respectively-- like the way the color striates along the side of the flowering bulb facing up to the sky (or in this case the center bit of wood that forms the peaks of rafters).

It's slightly more subtle than I intended, but in hind sight that might not be such a bad thing either.

what color is offwhite?

Three different tints in there. Can you tell the difference? I've convinced myself the right side and left side aren't the same. And the middle's neither one. Not much less subtle in person, especially in natural light. Hadn't seen the point of offwhites until now: separate but unified spaces in a big ballooning room.

The painted 3rd floor walls. Toby did a crackerjack job picking the colors and selecting which wall got what.

And last night we finished assembling and mounting the handrail. Was a tight fit, and all the more stable for it. Not that I was worried about our floating rail once both flanges were mounted. There's zero bounce vertically and only a bit of hum horizontally. Funny how quickly the hand goes to it when there's something to grab.

return of cubby

cubby

rainy weekend

We had a bit of wet weather head our way this weekend. Can't say I'm especially upset about it either. The work to finish up restoring the kitchen roof had to wait at least another week. We've done so much in the past few weeks it was also good just to slow down a bit for a day.

As to not call the entire weekend R&R we decided to finish up one of the half done items. We ended up landing on finshing up the installation of the pebbled glass door we found on the street. You'll remember many months back we got the paint off of it. Since then it's been leaning around waiting to be installed.

We finished framed with poplar and then set the door in the new framing. Using brushed nickle door hinges we hung it and it looks pretty darn good. The photos don't really do it justice. I''ve already gone ahead and removed the remaining traces of paint you see on the glass.