What I've been up to...

So I've been very busy the last several months since my last post, and so I have a plethora of new images and developments to share!

In June I ended up exposing the ceiling joists in the living room (I couldn't take the swirling plaster pattern any longer!) The project created quite a mess, as you can see, and also lead to the discovery of a few artifacts. As I was tearing out the ceiling I came close to getting hit by these two glass bottles. If the numbers on the bottom are any indication, they are from 1960 (one has a '59' on the bottom and the other a '60'). I also found a 'Clark Bar' wrapper and a small 'Planter's Peanuts' wrapper, so I can only assume that this is the remains of the workmen's snack (perhaps those who installed the very ceiling that I just tore out).























In August and September the focus has been heavily on renovating the bathroom. This has been no easy feat, since the existing subfloor in the bathroom exhibited some rot and had to be completely replace. So out came the plumbing fixtures, down came the walls, and up came the floor. (This gave me an opportunity to remedy another quirky construction blunder from a previous owner, which I'll discuss soon.)
With the new subfloor down, I could now start framing the new bathroom walls. The now illustrious one wall left in the house (between the front bedroom and bathroom) received an add-on of sorts -- a 4' high furr-out that will encapsulate the hitherto exposed plumbing to the vanity. This furr-out will create a ledge that will run the length of the wall behind the tub and vanity, which will be convenient for placing items such as soap and toothpaste (as the sink is not very big). A large mirror will run from the top of this ledge to the bottom side of the custom vanity light above (more on that in a future post). The ledge is bounded in the corner by a small chase that conceals the previously exposed vent stack. On the opposite wall, where a large chase was required for the main HVAC supply duct to the first floor, I've taken advantage of otherwise wasted space by creating a niche to build in two storage cabinets that I purchased from West Elm.











After this came the header for the sliding and stationary wall between the bathroom and the landing, and the brick wall of the bathroom received a few coats of moisture-lock paint (giving me a good indication of what the final, white painted brick wall will look like).

There has been much more work that has been done, and I'll have more on that soon!