Renovation // Transformation

You know you’ve would up in the right place when:

1: On a recent trip to Sam’s Club, a random guy hands you a coupon for free pizza… then a week later, he walks by the open garage door with his partner and dog (ends up, they’re neighbors). They invited us to a pot-luck the following week which was fantastic and we got to meet some more wonderful new neighbors (thanks again, Mauri and Stacey).

2: Another neighbor brings you a home-made peach pie made with peaches from the garden… it was delicious.

You know when you’re living through a tough renovation when you step back and get a bit grossed-out (and a bit amused) by the juxtapositions in your life.



mapp gas torch / last night’s dinner / yesterday’s mail / and the phone



a file folder with lots of important information / a watermelon / a mop handle / paper towels / and yesterday’s shirt



a work-light / screwdriver / pry bar / grease / this morning’s coffee / this afternoon’s energy drink / business cards from contractors / and another pry bar



work gloves / plumber’s tape / wedding ring (sorry, sweetie) / dollar-store soda / espresso pot / relish / cutting board / noxious chemicals / hot dog buns / and organic tomatoes

The office was so cluttered, I tried to get some work done on the sofa next to a plumbing book and another coffee cup.   

For some reason, many of the studs in the walls have been slashed through and reinforced with plywood plates — and by the looks of things, it was original to the house… I’d understand if it was just a few, but there are too many for it to be a one-time mistake… Any ideas? The one on the right was so loose, I installed a new stud adjacent to the old one.

edit: [from Dan]…’slashed’ 2x4s are an old carpenters trick to straighten warped timber prior to putting on drywall or plaster.  It normally is an indication of quality construction because most framing timber will bend depending on moisture content, moisture loss rate, and loading.  Most houses where this is practiced were framed, encased, and roofed…and then allowed to ‘season’ before interior wall treatments were applied.  The carpenters would then run a straight edge along the wall and correct any studs using this technique.  The ‘quality construction’ dimension of this is that the overall construction timeframe was lengthened to make sure that the framing was allowed to adjust, and then corrected…made the wall finish more planar and square.

This Saturday, we had a housewarming + demolition party and the results were impressive… a garage door that hadn’t been opened in 40 years creaked into action, some walls were knocked down to reveal the garage itself in it’s former glory (previously it had been cut into rooms) and a large portion of our house went into the dumpster… and while that’s generally not something to be thankful for, we certainly are.

(caption) from top left / clockwise… the walls revealed some interesting post-war building materials and construction notes / tim takes down some wall materials with the wrecking bar nicknamed "the bon jovi" bar (we’re still trying to figure that one out) / one of the original residents, mr. squirrel / the sign-in, "don’t sue us" liability waiver / christopher hates blue walls / some interesting modernism reveals itself / kit, the kit-chen wrecker, signs in… thanks guys!

Wow. Just when you think you can’t get anything for nothing these days…

As a self-proclaimed "modern redneck", I do like to shop the discount stores — Big Lots being a favorite. There’s just something about dented cans and yesterday’s brand-experiments for pennies on the dollar that makes me smile.

Today’s haul from the local Big Lots included several pairs of work gloves for 80-cents a pair, a few pry-bars, a sledgehammer and the best find: a $2 porch light.

When we moved into our modern home, the Early-American anachronisms were astounding: wrought iron mailbox details, carriage house light fixtures and faux brick paneling. Well, we have the light situation resolved… mind you, a temporary fix while we source the original spun aluminum fixtures, but a nice one nonetheless.

These lightweight, all plastic, fluorescent-powered fixtures were literally $2 each — otherwise less than the cost of the light bulb that was included with it… and what an improvement.

I (heart) Big Lots.

//red

Those familiar with Eichler-built homes are likely in-the-know about the dreaded black mastic. You know, the goo that remains on the floor even after the affair of removing the floor tiles themselves — the stuff that has to be removed before new flooring is installed. Fortunately, in our case, the tiles had already been removed, leaving only the concrete floor with mastic residue.

Some folks have resorted to grinding, sanding, petrochemical strippers, etc… but we recently had great success with a product called Bean-E-Doo (and thanks to Stacey for the supply).

While there’s sure to be may different techniques (like the one listed on their website), we had great success swabbing it on with a stiff acid-brush (on a handle — wearing suitable shoes as I did have to walk across the surface), letting it sit for an hour-or-so then scrubbing some more — you can actually see spots not yet softened when you’re scrubbing around, so you get a good sense of when to stop.

After it loosened the mastic, I flooded the area with an alkali-based "purple" degreaser/water solution, scrubbed some more and suctioned it up with a Rigid 12-gallon/5HP wet-dry vac — so far one of the best purchases yet. The Bean-e-doo emulsifies very quickly, even in plain water. We also tried a few other techniques that involved cat litter, squeegees, scrapers, etc.

The floor came amazingly clean, but just to make sure, we flooded again with a slight bleach solution (in the hopes to neutralize the cleaner as well as to help guard against mildew/mold/odors)… so far, the results are amazing considering how simple the process is… see below.

The downside is that while it was great at removing the black mastic, it didn’t put a dent in the white/tan carpet glue in some spots on the floor and there are still stains left from the mastic… and the room smells a bit like Italian dressing, but it could be worse.

The process is, however, time consuming and it isn’t removing all of the stains not matter how many applications, techniques, etc. Given how much we have to do, we might need to resort to a quicker method, but this is certainly a good option for many folks. Our friends Darren and Leah rented a wet-grinder, so that’s something we might check into as well.

There’s a stage in a remodel called "before" — which, of course comes before "during" and "after".

Currently, we’re living in "before" and the novelty wore off after the first week. Dusty, mastic-laden floors. No operable stove. Handicapped accoutrements… a far cry from the newly-built townhouse we left in West Oakland… but, even sans-novelty, we wouldn’t trade back and are looking forward to the adventure.

I started a flickr photostream of the "before" images and I’ve posted some of the more telling ones below. Posting "during" and "after" photos will certainly be nice.

The rubber tree is no more… thanks to Amazon.com’s Prime service which lets you overnight anything for $3.99 — and they sell chainsaws. Better yet, they have a fan-base that gives good reviews — this model was a fave for an electric chainsaw.

Otherwise, Marty (the cat) still doesn’t know what to think of this eternal sun-spot and has enjoyed lounging in the atrium while the birds overhead taunt him.

So, there’s this rubber tree growing in the atrium. It was likely beautiful 25 years ago (at 20 years old)… but today, at 45, it has to go — it’s literally growing into the roof. This is one of many odd landscaping-neglect issues to work with over the next few years… but it’ll be fun.

Lesson learned = plant the right tree in the right spot and take care of it.

//red