Dahlia House

Dahlia House
Taken in August 2013

Sunday, November 18, 2007

We have been busy busy! Brian got all the wainscoting for the conservatory cut into lengths and now I am sanding and staining them. Need to do over 140 to complete the job. Also found a nice green paint for the wall so will get that done this week.
Started putting up the wainscoting in the bedroom, got it glued and nailed up. Also glued down the subfloor (one more small piece to go). A few more pieces of sheetrock went up too. It's getting there!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

We have been making some major progress in the past few weeks. The 1/4 inch sheet rock arrived so we have been putting that up in the bedroom. Have also been scraping and sanding the window trim and sills to get them ready to paint. Brian has the sub floor almost finished and the wiring is complete. Still waiting on the ceiling tiles to get here. They are over a week overdue......
We have also been working in the conservatory. Got the gutters up, nice to have that job done. Spent hours sanding and scraping 112 years of paint off the outside of the house (which is now part of the inside of the conservatory). Got down to the bare wood in some places and could see the old salmon pink color that the house was first painted. Have the primer on it, just have to pick out a paint color now. Brian started cutting wainscoting in lengths to put around the inside of it, and I have been sanding and painting them, getting them ready to put up. Hopefully we will get some up before the kids get here for Thanksgiving.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

After our vacation down the coast last week Brian and I got busy and got the roof finished on the conservatory. So VERY nice to have that part finished. Putting the last few panels in was pretty tricky, and it took some time and patience, but got it done. Now we need it to rain so we can see if it leaks. Brian also worked on some trim work to make it look finished and I did most of the caulking. The next day he put in some wiring so we can have electricity in there. Other than that we have the ceiling tiles ordered for the bedroom and the 1/4 inch sheet rock is still on back order....so we wait to work on that room. Meanwhile we are winterizing the yard.....always a big job.

Monday, October 01, 2007

The last few weeks have seen a big change. We moved upstairs to be able to tear apart and remodel our bedroom. I tore all the old paneling off and then Em and crew finished tearing the old ceiling tiles off and tore up the old sub floor. Underneath was the original fir floor, but one whole side was rotten. So we cannot use it and will continue with our original plans of putting down some new flooring. Brian put in some cross beams to replace the damaged ones and cut some boards to fill in the left side of the floor. I got busy and insulated wherever I could. Had to clean one area out that was full of birdseed and nuts and other nasty stuff...........ick. The mice had a ball filling that area up.
Brian and Jahn and Em also worked on the conservatory. Getting started on putting up the roof. The weather did not cooperate and we were unable to finish it because of the downpour. But maybe next weekend.
Also got some primer put on the exterior of the west side of the house.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Haven't posted in quite sometime as we haven't really been able to do much. We both hurt our knees, and have been gimping around. Also Brian's work schedule has been crazy and I have spent quite a bit of time in Seattle. So here's hoping the fall will prove to be more productive. Here is what we did do:
Finished putting up the fence (just the painting to do)
Painted some trim for the upstairs bathroom
Bought cabinets for the living room
Tried to keep up with the mowing and weeding

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Well what a wild work party we had! So many people here to help! It was really nice to see everyone pitch in and try and get the job done. We got the conservatory sides and door in.....no roof yet. It was a lot harder than it looked. There was a lot of reading over the instructions and scratching of the head! But hey.....it's almost there! Also got started on the fence around the secret garden area. Got the back part up and the posts in for the front. Brian and I plan on doing the rest this week. Also got a lot of bark dust spread and a tree planted. Many thanks to all who helped!!!
Scott was here on Thursday and got the old chimney down and the roof patched. Thank goodness we won't have the leaks to deal with this winter! And the guy from the Water Doctor was here and installed the new system. The jury is out yet on the results. It seemed fine for the first few days, but it is back to smelling like rotten eggs again. Brian tried flushing out the hot water tank and bleaching it. Will see if that clears it up! So tired of having yucky water! Especially after all we have paid to get the system in.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Brian took this week off and we spent most of the time cleaning the small garage. It is unbelievable! For the first time since we moved here you could park a car in there! We certainly threw a lot of stuff away, but also organized the rest. What a job it was, but how very nice it looks.
We also unpacked more of the boxes for the conservatory. We have it all laid out on a table and ready to go. Tomorrow will be a busy day. We need to get the sill in place and then we will be ready for the weekend. Also Scott is coming to take the old chimney down, as it needs to go before we get all that glass in place.
Another thing that is happening is an addition to our water system. We are having so much trouble with the one we have that they are coming out to install a chlorine system. The UV light is just not working with all the "crap" that is in our water. Sure hope this works as it is not a cheap fix!
Looking forward to this weekend and all that we will accomplish!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Last week Brian and I worked on the conservatory and got the dwarf (stub) wall built. It's a challenge to follow all the directions as the conservatory came from England so it's all metric. But the instructions are very complete and helped us get it done. We have a few supplies to pick up for the work party, but if all goes right we should have it up by the end of the weekend. Haven't done a lot since as Brian has been working a lot of overtime. But just working on getting some spring cleaning done and painting some trim pieces for the upstairs bathroom.
Called the people that we got the shower from and they gave us a few suggestions on how to keep the doors from leaking. We will see if they work.

Monday, May 14, 2007

We have been working outside a bit since the weather turned nicer, mowing and weeding and just general clean-up, but I also got the wallpaper up in the downstairs bathroom. I am still a bit unsure of it...but I think once all the trim gets up it will be fine. It just seems a bit busy. We will see!
Tonight a car pulled up in front of the house and the people got out and took pictures of the house and the surrounding area.....it is really fun to watch! I guess if this wasn't my house, I would take pictures too! It actually happens quite often!
Brian and I are going to start working on getting the dwarf wall built for the conservatory. We have a work party planned for the 16th and 17th of June. Hope to get the rest of the building up that weekend! All are invited!!!

We had a bit of a catastrophe when Emily was here last week. She was taking a shower and pointed the sprayer the wrong way and we had water everywhere! It was half an inch deep on the bathroom floor upstairs and running down the walls into the downstairs bedroom and bathroom! We are still having issues with the shower leaking along the doors, will have to call the company to see what can be done...maybe some adjustment??? As Em said....if it was going to happen to anyone it would be her!!!

Sunday, April 15, 2007

This weekend Jahn and Em were down and we got the vinyl floor installed in the downstairs bathroom. We even brought in all the cabinets and put them in place and put the base of the shower down! I finished some of the painting on the walls and trim. Hopefully we will find more cabinets to cover the rest. We need the storage. I will post some pix on the website later this week.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Well, here it is April and things are moving along. The bathroom upstairs is almost done...just a few pieces of trim left to paint and install. The floor turned out nice! It was a lot of work, but worth it. Painted the vanity white with black accents and stained the little side table to match the dark squares on the floor. All of the wainscoting is up and painted....I am really pleased with the results. Only two more bathrooms to go!!!! :-)
Brian finished the window trim in the front bedroom and I got it caulked and painted. Just put up the curtain rods today.....will get the curtains up tomorrow!
Em and Jahn will be down this weekend, not sure what projects we will get done with them...but it's always a boost to have the help!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Well our new catch phrase is "Nothing Is Easy" Everything always seems to take two or three tries to get done. First the crooked walls in the bathroom, next the shower that would not stop leaking no matter how many times we caulked, then painting the floor in checkerboard squares was a fiasco. The dark stain leeched over into the white squares...spent countless hours with mineral spirits and sandpaper to get it up and then had to re-paint the white with a tiny brush and a Q-tip. AHHHHHHHH. So next I need to put a coat of clear varnish on it all. Got my fingers crossed that this will go well.
We have been working on the downstairs bathroom too. Emily and Jahn were down and helped us tear out the old bathtub, and finish the subfloor, did some sheetrocking, tape and texture and now to paint. Even that wall was uneven and had to have some work done to even it out!
Oh...the shower finally is waterproof for the most part. All the caulking is watertight, there is just one seal that needs some adjusting, but we can live with that.
Brian also has started putting up the window trim in the front bedroom, that will need painting too soon. Might as well start carrying a paintbrush in my back pocket.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

We have been trying to get the wainscoting and trim up in the bathroom. Gees all the walls in that room are SO crooked! Trying to match up all the joints has been a real challenge! But we have one and a half walls done. I have re-caulked the shower and have my fingers crossed that this time we won't have any leaks. I am going to put it to the test today. Brian got the power strip installed on the island in the kitchen. It will be so nice to have plug-ins to use in that location to do baking, mixing etc....One more thing off the list.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Happy New Year!
Now that the holidays are over we are back at it! We have been working on the shower upstairs. The new hose is in, and Brian even tried it out, but we have leaks!!! Not in the lines but along the inside of the base. I have caulked and re-caulked, but there are still small leaks, so I have started to tear out all the caulking and will try it again with a different product. Grrr, why can't things go right the first time???
Bought the wainscoting and I am in the midst of painting it and the trim so we can get that up. Just want to call one room DONE! Soon I hope!