Jackson's Mansion

This year has flown by - the leaves are starting to turn and the nights are cooling.  Although I have done no posting year to date, I have made some small progress to our home.  And so with a little Stuart Mclean keeping me company, I will update the blog...

The project started in Jan was to add a bathroom to a large laundry area in the back of our house.  The room was 14x14 and after many penciled plans we pretty much settled on the following layout.  Much of this design is due to limited access below this area for HVAC and return lines etc.

Trying to give this new room some sence of level I painfully peeled up 2 layers of 1/4" plywood (which was nailed 8" ever 8"...) and then the original plank flooring.  The floor was very high just in front of the sink area.  After taking a plane to the high beams I applied new 3/4" plywood. 

Months went by.....

In August I framed the bathroom, shower stall etc.  Although the floor was better it was still out by over 2" in one corner.  More plywood and 6 bags of self leveling concrete later we now have a level floor.  We still have a long way to go, but progress is steady.  This weekend I just finished the shower pan and am almost done the pine ceiling.  We have purchased the clawfoot tub, pedistal sink, toilet and all faucets, but still need to decide on tile etc.

Sink will sit between the 2 wall lights below, shower is to the right.

Other than that we replaced most of our fence this year as well.  We have about 300' of fence and we did about 230' of it this summer.

And we picked up a fantastic buffet this summer as well - 5' high and 5-1/2" wide - it is a vey heavy piece which has survived for years and now will endure the test of my 3 kids...

And there's the update, I hope you enjoyed it, keep in touch.

"You should keep your blog updated as a warning to men everywhere thinking about buying an old house"

 - H. Smith -

Happy New Year to all!

And so begins another project.  We currently have a “laundry” area which is approx 14’x14’.  In short, we plan on splitting this area and building a 4 piece bathroom in an area approx 12x8.  We have many details to decide on yet, and a “kitchen and Bath” show to attend next weekend but the demo has started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for now - thanks for checking in.

Leigh

 

 

 

So here's the update...

The "log room" is complete.  Just over one year in the making, tons of plaster, wads of cash, hours of labour and I am please to say she is complete. 

So this is the wall of the room where the plastic mantle used to be.  That is an electric stove - we plan still to install a gas stove, but will wait until someone drops a bag of money on our front step.  The shelf above the "stove" is a corner shelf I made from 4x6 rough fir timbre - special thanks to the Hudson family for their donation!

Below is a pic of a nice large heat grate and a closer look at the millwork - and of course the room in it's original state.

   

 

And so that brings this project to a close - all that is left is the credit card statement....  Next - we will be building a new bathroom from scratch, further buletins as events warrant.   Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for 2007!

Welcome to October!

Well we had the floor finished this week, and it looks great.  For the most part all we need is millwork to finish this room off.  We are still undecided as to the supliment heat sorce we want for this room.  A gas stove would be great - just short $2000 right now.   Either way it's nice to see this project coming to a close.

 

Once again, it's time to bag some leaves.  I have a leaf blower this year and I was sceptical, but am very happy with it so far.  Hopefully I will have the leaves up by next weekend.

Leigh

 

Well a major step in the logroom took place today.  My brother and I installed the oak flooring - a much bigger job than I had guessed.  it does however look fantastic and once finished it will be the only room we show visitors. - "Where is your bathroom?" - "Sorry we don't have one..."

Oh yes, here is the fixture we found in the in-laws basement.  We had it rebuild and I think it looks great.

That's the update, happy renos...

Leigh

Yes, the summer breezed past me and I don't beleive I posted once.  That is not to say I didn't get any work done, however my production was limited.   The "log room" is finally read for hardwood, which I plan on installing this weekend.  We went with the 1-1/2" x 3/8" red oak to match the existing areas of the house.  As you can see from the pic, I have a nice expensive pile of sticks waiting for me.

 

Other than that, we spent the summer looking for lights, registers, old furniture etc...  Below are a couple of my finds.

The evenings are becoming cool, leaves are turning, my firewood is stacked - fall is very close!

 

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It has been quite some time since I have made an entry.  Here is the update....  The Playstructure is complete and you may notice it has been sided with the "logs" I removed from the "log room" which is currently under construction.  I think it turned out pretty good.

The second event worth an update is that the window for the "log room" finally arrived this week.  And so the 34x60" window was remove and the new one inserted.  The new window is about 4" narrower and 8" shorter than the original 1881 window, but it is close and it does mirrow the window on the right side of the house now.

 

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Renos seem sweeter on a weekday, when you should be at your regular job...

So the drywalling started today in what is formerly know as "the logroom".  Thank goodness for the rented drywall lift.  I am a one man army on this job and could have never done the ceiling without it.  I am sure it has been said hundreds of times, but I will say it again - rent a drywall lift - even if you have plenty of help, it is money well spent.

My first attempt at a roto-zip type tool for cutting holes for the fixtures went fairly well, although some extra putty will be required on the first 2 holes. 

The main window will be here in 2 weeks, so I will have the walls completed by then.

 

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With Spring here and the snow melting I spend most of my time looking out the back window at my yard...  waiting for the 3 or 4 days of warmth we are sure to enjoy prior to the mosquitoes!  Honestly, it will be fantastic to work on a few outdoor projects.

Things are progressing inside.  The "log room" is insulated, wired, vapor barriered, and ready for drywall.  The large window will be here in 2-3 weeks.  Next week I will hang the drywall on all but the wall which waits for the window.  It will be nice to see the room start to take shape again. 

We are planning projects far faster than we can afford to start them however.

 Perhaps some pics next week.

 

Leigh

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Dust and demolition being the worst...

I believe I am finished the lathe and plaster removal of the "log room".  This last weekend I took just under 2500lbs of plaster and 3 truckloads of lathe to the dump.  Today I removed the old knob/tube wiring and doubled the entry way to what was the "log room" and will eventually be a game room of sorts.   This weekend I will support and rough in the opening propperly.

The next steps...

With this room gutted I can feed 240V to a bedroom on the second floor which is without heat.  Following that I will wire this room, throw some insulation around, and throw some drywall up.  As well a front window will go in, approx 68" x 88".

Still not sure what I am going to do with the floors.  It's real tempting to rip the plywood sub floor up and install a hardwood of some sort.  If we don't do that it will be a lamitate product.

Leigh

 

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