Home Improvement

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Published on August 6, 2014August 6, 2014 by Our Humble Abode22 Comments

Alternate title: Our house is finally a solid color. Which is a lie. Only two sides are painted. We’re still waiting on windows for the front, then we can insulate, side, and paint. But, here’s the progress on the back and garage end. After installing the siding, soffit, and caulking joints we masked off the windows and doors. I decided it would be easier to mask an inch or so beyond each window, then come back and free hand edge. Instead of taping each slightly tapered edge of the window.

Living in a bubble for a few hours was strange.

Once masked, the painting went lightning fast. We used Behr’s exterior paint + primer in Mined Coal. While stirring the paint, we worried it was too thick for the sprayer (we have this one, if you’re wondering) to apply properly. Happy surprise, it sucked it up just fine and sprayed evenly. Though it did use more than we expected. Each side took about three gallons of paint, using six total. One gallon should cover 300-400 square feet, we got 100. Basically the single coat is equal to two or three normal layers.

Only a few drips, too, I think because the paint is so thick. So happy surprise number two, we didn’t have to apply a second coat. Now the house looks dark and handsome.

Especially compared to our blue starting point a few years ago.

The soffit matches the siding, helping it blend in. To simplify the process, we chose to paint before installing the steel. One less thing to mask off, right?

Missing vent covers are getting a few coats of paint, too. New lights going in soon.

Next, measuring the steel and getting it installed.

We still have a few areas, around the windows, on the higher garage end to touch up before we can take the scaffolding down. Ben doesn’t trust me up there because I’m clumsy enough on the ground. Apparently he doesn’t want me falling.

Painting went 100 times smoother and faster than I expected. I think Ben spent maybe an hour actually spraying. That sprayer kick ’em some booty, as the boys would say. Masking everything off definitely took longer. Cutting in each lap took the most time, but wasn’t difficult. Now we have a much better view when we drive up. I jokingly said we should paint the little play house to match, but I’m not that crazy. Yet. It’s just ugly.

What’s the Deal?

Published on August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 by Our Humble Abode16 Comments

Whether it’s family, friends, or readers, the most often asked question about our house is related to the most crazy feature: the pool house. It’s a large room with a deep indoor pool. Here’s the view from the house when we moved in:

And looking back from the fountain seen above:

Clearly, the main feature and purpose of this room is the pool. But, if you look at the above photos, you’ll see a recessed hot tub and a raised wet bar area. When we bought the place, the pool hadn’t functioned in several years. In the 10 or so years the previous owner had been here, the hot tub had never worked. Instead, the pool had very disgusting water lingering and festering. We sucked out the remaining water and ripped out the sun bleached and damaged pool liner.

Before we could landscape and build our single level deck, we had to knock out the platform:

To be able to cut out the concrete…

and lower the door and window:

One thing always seems to lead to another. Or requires something to be done before the next can happen. All of that to say the pool house isn’t looking nice these days. See what I mean?

Essentially, we use the space as our personal warehouse. Those stacks are rigid insulation that we’re using to wrap the house. On the floor we’ve got siding and exterior trim. You can see the saw horses where I prepaint the trim white.

When we replaced the cedar shake roof, the plastic wrap around the skylights came loose. So that dangles down in a really graceful way. Ha.

As stunning as it currently is, this isn’t our permanent plan for this space. Before we can get to any of the pretty parts, we have to remove the plastic ceiling panels and the dark stained siding. Then, we’ll wrap everything in two layers of the rigid insulation panels to hold in heat during the winter.

Here’s what we’ve discussed for the finishes in the room. On the ceiling, we want to use tongue and groove wood. Whether we leave it natural, stain, or paint it is still up in the air. For the walls, we’re leaning toward the same lap siding, but painting it a lighter neutral. A section of the back wall is two feet deeper than the rest. We’ve thrown out the idea of creating a rust steel accent wall there, to help tie the exterior in. Those giant beams will get a good sanding and clear coat. I really like the original lights, so those will stay.

In place of the recessed hot tub, we’ll cover the hole, tile over it, and put in a stand alone tub. They’re so much more efficient and accessing the plumbing is a necessity.

I mentioned tile, and we’re really hoping to use a natural material. Perhaps the same slate we used in the master bathroom because we love it so much. It’s not slippery or slick, and looks amazing. Most of the doors and windows are fogged up, which means the seals are broken and need replacing.

Over in this corner, we’ll add a kick ass kitchenette.

Once we remodel the kitchen, the sink and some of the granite will get reused in here. We thought the old range would live in here, too. Until fate changed that plan. Almost two years ago, we found a barely used 48 inch range on Craigslist for a song. Initially, we thought we’d use it in the kitchen, but decided we’d rather have double wall ovens and a cooktop. So, the steal of a deal range will allow us to bake out here in the summer, without heating up the house in the process.

As for the pool itself, we do plan to fix it. It might need some new plumbing work, and certainly needs a new liner. Most of these plans aren’t a priority. We’ll have to change out the doors and windows soon-ish. Some kitchen work will probably happen when we work on the main kitchen. Other than that, we’ll just have to see when things happen. For now, it’s an extremely convenient place to store everything we need for larger projects.

Operation: Siding

Published on July 15, 2014 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Over the weekend, Ben made a lot of progress on the back side of the house, hanging almost everything.

Though the siding on the front of the house doesn’t look awesome, the back has been a hot mess. Kind of like a mullet: okay in the front, awful in the back. For the past year, this has been our view:

Ugly, right? Old blue siding with a too high light, exposed OSB, shiny insulation, even tar paper. Clearly we’re not finished, but, having real siding is nothing short of amazing at this point.

For durability, we chose to use LP SmartSide 7 7/8 inch lap siding. With many windows, doors, lights, and vents to cut around, it wasn’t the quickest process.

To finish off the windows, I pre-painted our Miratec trim. I painted four windows of trim after install and let me tell you, cutting in around each window was a royal pain in the butt.

So, the back of the house will all be lap siding, but we wanted to add some of the corrugated rust around back. One thing that bugs me is when the front of a house looks great, but the sides and back are super cheap. Still a mullet, people. To finish off the awkward, angled pool house side, we’ll use corrugated steel that will rust over time.

We know this is an unusual choice, but it seems very… Montana. Several homes in newer developments around town have it and we love how unique it is. Oddly, from afar, it kind of looks like stained wood. Which was another option we discussed, but it requires so much maintenance that we didn’t want to deal with. Once the steel is up, it’ll rust and that’s it. On a roof, it has a 50 year rating, so we shouldn’t have to worry about it for a long time.

Good news, the siding we chose comes in several pre-finished colors. Bad news, none of which were close to what we had in mind. The color of the boards is just primer that we’ll cover in a dark gray. All that to say, we’ve still got loads of work ahead of us before we’re finished. Baby steps.

Caddy Shack

Published on July 11, 2014July 11, 2014 by Our Humble AbodeLeave a comment

Time for an intervention, folks. I’m addicted to using old cedar planks. It started innocently. First, I used a few to create a slim entry shelf. More recently, we planked one wall in our bedroom. And now, our bathroom is rocking a new cedar tub shelf/caddy thingy. What am I going to do when I run out? Ahhh!

The process couldn’t have been easier, either. I measured from outside edge to outside edge of the tub (29 inches) and added two more inches for overhang. Then I measured the inside of the tub (24 inches). I cut an extra piece of cedar down to 31 inches and made two 1 1/2 inch wide strips. On the back side of my wood, I marked 3 1/2 inches (the difference between my outside and inside measurements) from either side to attach my small strips.

Setting a flat board would certainly work, but I wanted the cleats to keep the shelf in place if it got bumped. It can only move about 1/2 inch before it hits the other side of the tub so it can’t crash down. To attach the strips, I used two screws in each and flipped it back over. With a fine grit sand paper, I smoothed out the rough edges.

After sanding, I applied a light coat of teak oil to seal everything. Took maybe 20 minutes to make. And I’ve got a place to set a book or whatever while relaxing.

I considered making a walnut board, but I thought the darker color would draw more attention. This way, light color blends in and allows other elements to shine.

Cedar is also more naturally water-resistant, so it should handle splashes better. Crazy simple and totally functional. Feels a little fancy-pants, too.

Master Mood

Published on July 9, 2014July 9, 2014 by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

As I shared Monday, we’ve gotten started revamping our ugly bedroom.

Until now, our room has seen minimal attention in the form of white curtain panels and a coat of grayed green paint. I didn’t love the color while painting and it still hasn’t grown on me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay as a color. For the room? It doesn’t add anything, but it was better than the electric blue.

Before we can get to the fun, big impact stuff, I have some tedious work ahead of me. The two inside walls have orange peel texture, but the previous owner did a bang up job with some patches:

So I’ll have to address those areas as well as the popcorn ceiling. We’ll have guests here this weekend, so I won’t be able to get started as soon as I’d like. Once the guest room is free, we can move our stuff out of the room and I can get going. I’m aiming for a mix of sleek and modern with warm and rustic to play off each other. Here’s what I have in mind:

1. Cedar Planks, we might plank the other window wall, too. Only after replacing the window with a sliding door. Then I’ll put on a matte clear coat to seal everything that could be potentially hazardous to have indoors.

2. Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron in flat finish on the remaining two walls, to tie into the master bathroom.

3. We want to build a new bed, somewhat similar to CB2’s Dondra Bed. The basic, open platform base is the part I love. A light gray painted frame and simple upholstered headboard would off set all the wood going on in the room. Wood wall + hardwood floors + wood bed frame might be too much for one area.

4. While discussing replacement night stands, I mentioned floating shelves. Something like our entry console, but deeper with a drawer. This Slice Grey Wall Mounted Storage Shelf is close to our idea, though the dimensions would be different. Also, we’ll use cedar to build the boxes. That way, we can leave them natural to blend in with the wall. Or I might paint them to add more contrast. It depends on how it feels once installed.

5. Back when I made our curtains, my goal was to create something to close for privacy. Foolishly, I didn’t sew the panels long enough to raise when we changed the windows and trim. So, these panels will go in the basement and I’ll sew two new sets. The linen panels I made for the master bathroom have worked so well, I’m going to sew another set. This time in white, similar to these White Linen Curtain Panels.

6. To up the cozy factor, we need a rug. This Allen + Roth Rectangular Cream Solid Wool Rug looks so plush and soft, and it’s a great price for 100% wool. Unlike other rooms, our bedroom doesn’t get heavy foot traffic or dirt, so we can get away with a lighter rug.

7. There are two large mirrors in this house, both in awkward places. One in the laundry room and another at the end of the hall in the basement. I’ve wanted to frame one out to lean ever since. Creating a cedar frame similar to this Salvaged Wood Leaning Mirror is the perfect solution. It would bring the cedar to another area and add function.

8. Along either side of our bed, a Faux Sheepskin is nice and soft.

9. DIY Isosceles Lamps on the night stands. ‘Nuff said.

10. To add in some color, I want a few green accents. Nothing crazy, but this green wool blanket, the edges of our engineer prints, and a pillow or two.

Across from the bed, we’d like to add a small tv to create a little seating area in the currently unused, open space. Using the mid-century bench as a small sofa, maybe a chair, and a slim console. Those elements are still up in the air. Regardless, I’m excited to get started!