Our friends and neighbors Bret and Mary-Peyton just finished a kitchen remodel and we stopped by today to snap a few pictures.
Bret spent most of his winter vacation finishing this off with Mary-Peyton's help. It turned out well, no? In the mix is a massive redwood table made by Bret and some great vintage Poulsen Danish lights. The wrapped countertop looks great in gray Silestone.
First, the before shots
Now, the after shots (click for higher-res views)
…
Dan had a door in much need of replacement. I call it the "conquista-door" because of the heavy-handed carvings that would be more appropriate on a Spanish revival home… but it's ill-placed nonetheless.
A day later, he had something more Eichler-appropriate. Check out his blog, too, see what else is afoot.
One thing we've learned on our own door and this one is that yellow paint covers terribly and takes about 6 coats to cover completely (whereas a darker or more opaque color might cover in 2 coats)… something to consider when picking a color and looking at a time-line (or costs shoudl you be hiring someone to paint it).
Nonetheless, we seem to have gotten Eichler front door replacement down to a science. Drop me a line if you need a new one…
We recently did some work for a neighbor who needed help replacing a worn, dilapidated (and ill-matched) door. We think it turned out well.
…
In additon to the guest bath, we completely gutted the master bath — boy what a mess. I'll spare you the photos, but the luan plywood behind the tile had seen better days.
We used the same 3X6 white subway tile hung in the same way. For the curb, I used the matte aluminum Schluter tile strip instead of bullnose for a cleaner edge on both sides of the matching 6X6 tile. The geometry is quite nice.
We used Dal-tile's "Charcoal" keystones blend for the floor with Delorean Gray grout and love the combination… I might even re-do our own baths in this combo.
We used Denshield tile backer and ran it along the wall behind the toilet and replaced the paneling adjacent to the toilet (scarred from old repairs). Previously, the entire room was wrapped in wood — a very bad idea for a wet area. Now, the paneing is just serving as an accent far away from actual water.
I finished up the grouting too late for any proper photos, so here's a few iPhone grabs.
We finished up Michael and Iris' guest bath this weekend. Here are some before and after shots…
…
We're thinking (seriously) about installing a pool in the backyard. The Concord summers would make it a useful thing to have and it's always been a sort of dream of mine to have a pool in the backyard. We've talked to a local contractor about installing a small fiberglass Viking-brand pool, but their quote was late, high and short (as in: it didn't seem like they are interested in the job).
We're presently still looking into the Viking Pool (if we can get an installer to actually call us) and we've been having a great discussion with a local gunite pool installer as well. Below are two plans, the fiberglass pool option (8.5X18) and the tradtional gunite pool (12X24). If anyone is interested in looking at a more detailed plan, a full PDF of the gunite plan is here. The gunite version could also be a vinyl-liner install as well — we have no affinity to materials, really, as each has their pros/cons.
We've also entertained a DIY installation of an EndlessPool Waterwell at 10X15, but the depth is the most shallow at 4.5 feet. The price is about 1/2 the cost of the gunite install, but it would include quite a bit more DIY excavation and permiting.
There is one space where clearance might be an issue in the side yard by the large tree, but it's not too tight for a Bobcat (see icture below). We've also been told that equipment placement cannot be as close to the fenceline as planned in the Viking plan below, but would certinaly love to hear thoughts on that. Presently, we're thinking the boiler room might be large enough to house equipment or be expanded pretty easily (it's the black square on the gunite plan)… we're, of course, still in the planning stages and things can be flexible. The boiler room has/can have available 220V and 110V service and we'd not look to a pool contractor to add any new lines, but instead use our own electrician.
So:
If you happen to have thoughts, suggestions, comments or recommendations, please send them our way. We're definitely looking for other contractors to get a few point-of-reference on cost. Thanks. Comment below of send an email to red@redneckmodern.com.
This weekend and last, we helped a friend and neighbor, Laura, to build a zebrawood desk. It turned out well, no?
(Lots more pictures after the jump — and click on the pictures for larger, clearer versions)
…
One of the defining features of an Eichler home is the set of globe lights that were original to the homes built in the 60s (the late-50s often had a pagoda-style light). We've learned the hard way the each tract has a slightly different design — some white, some black, some with domed celing mounts, some with cylindrical)… but one thing's for sure. If a bad 70s renovation found yours in the skip, then you were sort of hosed.
Recently, though, a few folks have brought these back to the marketplace. While there have always been corded choices from Seagull Lighting and a few others — even Ikea — these new versions from Schoolhouse Electric and Rejuvination Hardware come sthe closest with solid rods. The ones from Rejuvination are even customizeable, however, I'd guess the Schoolhouse ones could be made shorter if necessary.
Of course, you can always replace with reproduction Nelson Bubble Lamps, too.
Replacements for the globes themselves can be tricky (and expensive), so if you do buy a new set of lights, you might think to get another whole lamp for extras down the road.
(Before: Note the brackets holding up the sink.)
We posted a sneak peak a few weeks ago on this one. Since then, I was able to install the window and finish off the details — and be able call it a completed project. Again, redneckmodern did all of the work… from demo to hanging the shower curtain (and everything in between) and the entire project came in well under the $5K mark.
Lots more pictures after the jump (make sure to click them for larger, more clear versions) — and make sure to check out the previous post for the details.
…
Unfortunately, we've recently had some poor experiences with the folks that installed our LG Art Cool AC system, so we decided to try a different contractor (JMT) and so far, I'm glad we did.
Interestingly enough, JMT was one of the two folks we considered for the initial install and they're who we called for the tune-up this time. Both times they've been to the house, they've been on-time (which should have been an initial positive indicator), so we hope we're in a good situation now with a responsible contractor.
…
