Along with all of the hard work that Mom and Dad have put into the house and grounds over the past year, we were able to finish several projects while we were there in July, the landscaping being the biggest accomplishment. We have taken a breather, reflected on what has been accomplished, and now we begin a new phase of finishing off all of the little projects, from installing the trim to building the new garage. Some are already in progress and others won't be finished for years to come. I made a detailed itemized list to keep track of the progress, organized by outside and inside, and by room. 97 projects to go!
There is a strategy for what comes first. Many items depend on other items being completed first, but some can be done at any time. I will describe, by room, what is left to do. The following does not necessarily follow the order in which things will happen:
Parlour:
This room was originally the parlour of the house, with an enclosed foyer at the foot of the stairs that had a door to the staircase and a door to the parlour. At some point in the history of the house, the foyer was removed and the parlour was split into a bedroom and hallway. We found evidence of all of this when we removed the plaster, with the ghost of framing in the floor and ceiling where original walls were.
Now there is no hall or foyer, and the whole front half of the original house is now the parlour. The wall and door to the stairs will remain.
Below was June 30th, 2010: James ripping the plaster and lath away from the chimney. The wall to the left was the wall between the hall and front bedroom. That wall was removed and now the whole front of the house is the Parlour.
Below is the front bedroom, June 28th 2010, just as we were getting started with the demolition. The floor in this area was pine wide boards that were painted. That was
removed (or fell out) and a whole new floor structure was built.
Below is David working on
the plaster, and Sarah sweeping up on the original softwood floor, also from June 30th, 2010.
Currently the floor is the plywood sub-floor. Below is a picture took of the Parlour on June 6th, 2011, before the walls were primed and trim was installed.
When I was home we picked out at Royalty Hardwood at Pooles Corner a prefinished maple floor that will be installed here. The maple will have a slightly darker finish than the dining room. But before that can go in, we will have the entry area between the front door and the stair door tiled with 12x24 ceramic Bengal Sierra tiles. Mom and Dad found these at Home Depot and they are perfect. Below is an ad for the tiles to show what they will look like. They will be laid in the same pattern as shown below, and the grout will be terracotta colour, like PEI dirt.
The new floor is lower than the original. This means that if we put the doors and trim back on where they are, there will be about an 1 1/2" gap at the bottom, so the door frames to the dining room and Butler's Pantry will be taken out, lowered and put back in so they fit better and the original trim won't be too short. This will happen after the floor is finished.
In the photo below from June 6 2011, you can see the gap below the door to the upstairs, and the dark line at the bottom stair is where the original floor was.
Also, the baseboard will be installed after the floor is in. Unfortunately, almost none of the original baseboard was salvaged. I assume that when they removed the floors, the base came out with it and went to the dump.
Mom and Dad have finished installing all of the old window trim in the Parlour.
The front bedroom had a mantle in it. Until we tore out the
plaster, I didn't know if there was ever a stove at the mantle or not,
but we found that there was an opening in the chimney above the mantle,
so once upon a time there was a parlour stove. The chimney is now gone,
but the mantle will be restore by Dad and put back in it's original
position, again, after the floor is in.
This is the mantle as it was, in the front bedroom.
This is the wall where it was after Mike and Dad removed it in the spring of 2010.
This is the same location where it came from. I had the sconces centered over it's original position.
This is what the sconces will look like. They are modern, but have hurricane globes on them, like the previous house lighting. They will be in brass.
For general lighting, the room has pot lights above each wall, to illuminate the walls and pictures or art that will be on them. Also, a second Moravian Star light fixture now hangs over the foyer area, above where the floor tile will be. This room also has cable TV hookup.
When all of that is done, the finishing touch will be the wallpaper, Chrysanthemum.
The finishing touch will be curtains for the windows. We have those picked out as well. Insulated sheer off-white in a herringbone pattern.
One of the last details is that there will be a wooden picture rail around the ceiling. We will hang pictures on wires from hooks that hang from the rail, so we don't have to put picture holes in the walls. It will be painted white to match all of the trim.
One of the last details is that there will be a wooden picture rail around the ceiling. We will hang pictures on wires from hooks that hang from the rail, so we don't have to put picture holes in the walls. It will be painted white to match all of the trim.
That's about it for the Parlour. I'll review other projects and rooms, and update as the work goes on.
