Wallpaper and a Chandelier

We hung the wallpaper in the bedroom on Friday night. We've had the paper for a while, we got it though Graham and Brown. It's the kind of wallpaper without the glue, so we had to glue the back, and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. It's really difficult to cut when it's wet, that seemed to be the most difficult thing. I had problems with the first corner too, where you're trying to fold it both ways, it tore a bit. We're going to put up crown, so it's not a bit deal.

The next day we put up the chandelier. We got it from Home Depot, it's chrome with acrylic. It was still pretty heavy though. Took a bit to hook it up, They had a pretty good system for hooking it up, where 2 pieces screw together, then the escutcion gets screwed in to place. We hung it too low the first time, so we had to take it down and shorten the chain. We'll see how it looks with the bed back in place. I still have some work to do on the closet, then we can move back in. Since we're doing built-ins, I can't do the baseboards yet. It's going to take a while to get the built-ins done.

The weather is getting better, so we've been doing more outside. We want to get the draintile done at the front, so we can get our garden going. I just about finished digging already, it's only the front that needs to be done, since we did the sides before. There was an old gas pipe going through the foundation wall, so I cut that off with the sawzall. There's another pipe coming from the ground, it looks galvanized, and has a clamp on the top. No idea what it's for, it's deeper than the foundation, so I may just cut it off. Looks like it was for an awning or a small flag pole or something. I took a bunch of mortar and some stone off the foundation, that was left over from old stone work we took off. I used the sledgehammer, a masonry hammer and chisel. It was a lot of work, feeling sore from that. Next we need to parge the foundation wall, and some coating on it. Then we need to get all the gravel and pipes to finish the job. Hopefully next weekend.

Bedroom painted

We've slowed down a lot since I've gone back to work. We did get some paint on the walls. We had the paint matched to 2 colours on the wallpaper. I wasn't sure if I liked the blue coloured ceiling at first, it just seemed too saturated and artificial. It's starting to grow on me now though. We're going to be building a built-in for the closet, drawers on the bottom, and hung clothes on the top. On the wall with the windows, we're going to add some built in bookcases and a bench under the window. I can't really do all the baseboards and trim, until I have those in place. We do plan on sanding the floor. I was going to do it this weekend, but my back was too sore. I did the dining room with just the edger. A 10x12' room is a little small for a full sized sander. I started mudding the closet, we're going to line it with cedar, so I'm just doing 2 coats, then we'll prime it, and maybe paint it. I probably won't do cedar above the shelf, so it needs to look okay. Hopefully we can move back in, in a couple weeks, once the floor is sanded and varnished.

Bedroom renovation progress

This room had a bad reno done by the previous owner. He ripped out the old plaster, and replaced it with a horrible drywall job, and sub-standard electrical work. The drywall on the ceiling was hung the wrong way, and some of the joints were hanging between joists. He ripped out the closet on the dining room side to make one large closet. He filled in the floor with some door trim, and a hockey stick. There were no closet doors, and he just stuck some carpet to cover his handiwork on the floor. The vapour barrier didn't have any acoustic sealant, and was taped with packing tape. The insulation job wasn't great either, so I tore it back to the studs. It took longer than I though, a couple days to do the demo.

Here I am doing the new electrical. He had the wires almost at the bottom, and chiseled the corners, with no protection plates. The room had 3 circuits too, when one is sufficient for one room.

Here it is down to the studs. I couldn't get he electrical through the corners, so I ran it across the top.

Here we are with 2 coats of mud. I need to get a new sill for the window, since the previous owner cut it off, to make it easier to install drywall. I have to replace all the trim, since it was all missing. We're going to build a bench along the window, and bookcases on the sides.



Here's the closet filled back in. We're going to build a build-in for the closet, with drawers on the bottom, and doors on the top. The closet on the dining room side is going to be a mini office. We're going to have the computer in there. Hopefully we'll be able to prime tomorrow, or Monday. We're planning wallpaper on the back wall opposite the door, and we're matching colours from the wallpaper for the walls and ceiling. We need to sand and varnish the floor as well, maybe next weekend.