| Home Improvement Project 2006 |
| Phase 1: Chair Rails, Trim and Brick Work |
| I'll start off with some "before" pictures, after which I'll show preparation, construction, and the final result. Keep in mind that I began putting up new chair rails in about ... <thinking thinking thinking> ... around 2000 or 2001. Then a little obsession called Farscape struck, and silly projects like carpentry got dropped in favor of writing science fiction. I finally faced up to reality, and decided to hire someone to finish up my half-finished projects. This included the chair rails, baseboards, window trim and the installation of window sills, and putting up some faux brick in my livingroom in order to make one wall a bit more visually interesting without becoming intrusive. This page will take a little while to complete, since it will be two to three weeks before my windows come in and are installed. |
Before:
| All images are thumbnails. Click on a picture for a larger version. |
Kitchen hallway with just the first piece
of the chair rail installed.
of the chair rail installed.
Dining room table, again with the same
partially installed chair rail.
partially installed chair rail.
Living room with a very blah kind of
look on all four walls. You can see the
original baseboard behind the stove.
look on all four walls. You can see the
original baseboard behind the stove.
Preparation:
Better look at the kitchen hallway,
cleared out for the carpenter.
cleared out for the carpenter.
Opposite side of the dining room.
As much as possible has been taken
down so they can install the panelling.
down so they can install the panelling.
| Faux brick panelling, which is going to look a heck of a lot nicer and less obtrusive if it is the same color as the other walls. The rooms in my house are relatively small, so using lighter colors to keep them as 'large' as possible is important. My hope is that the painted brick look will provide some texture to one wall without visually reducing the size of the room. |
Work Begins:
A place for the carpenters to make a
huge mess of sawdust. Note what the
weather is doing. Figures.
huge mess of sawdust. Note what the
weather is doing. Figures.
Getting set up.
Bits and pieces start to make their way
into the house.
into the house.
How construction works in Vermont in
the winter ... in the middle of a snow
storm.
the winter ... in the middle of a snow
storm.
Bullnose without the trim that will go
underneath it.
underneath it.
First stretch of chair rail is completed.
This will look a little bit better once it
has been painted.
This will look a little bit better once it
has been painted.
This sort of work is why hackers like
me need to hire the pros. Once it has
been painted, it will look fantastic.
me need to hire the pros. Once it has
been painted, it will look fantastic.
Chair rail is finished!!!
This is the way to install brickwork in
your home quickly and without all the
mess of mortar.
your home quickly and without all the
mess of mortar.
One sheet of panelling. (You have to
imagine me doing the Counting Count
from Sesame Street here.)
imagine me doing the Counting Count
from Sesame Street here.)
Twoooo sheets of panelling.
Threeeeee sheets of panelling. (Oh
dear, I'm out of wall. I can't keep
counting.)
dear, I'm out of wall. I can't keep
counting.)
The seams are going to go away by
the time we're finished with caulking
and painting.
the time we're finished with caulking
and painting.
While Jason and Tom were laying brick
and troweling mortar, I primed the first
stretch of chair rail.
and troweling mortar, I primed the first
stretch of chair rail.
It needs one more coat of paint, but
there's the finished product. Yum!
there's the finished product. Yum!
Touching up the paint on the wall, and
painting the baseboards.
painting the baseboards.
In between everything else going on,
we also noticed that my cupboard was
about to fall off the wall. Jason fixed it.
we also noticed that my cupboard was
about to fall off the wall. Jason fixed it.
End Result - Phase 1:
| Chair rails (or lack thereof) BEFORE. |
| Chair rails AFTER. |
| Blah wall BEFORE. |
| Living room wall AFTER. |
Compare this picture to the one
directly above it. There's the finished
chair rail. (I can't wait to paint!)
directly above it. There's the finished
chair rail. (I can't wait to paint!)
