Drawers, Floor and Stripping Paint

Getting back into the shop today to build drawers for two closets and also for a vanity. I also have some salvaged redwood boards from an old fence that I will be turning into sill aprons for a window project that I will be doing soon.

old fence boards

The mud room in the house has a wood floor now. Doug Fir 1 x 4 was removed from the kitchen for repair and some was used upstairs to replace funky floor boards. It feels good to see a finished floor since we repaired it 6 years ago.

new floor for the mud room

Another project I tackled at the house was stripping paint from a door. I stripped all the doors upstairs and now have a good method that does not require any toxic chemicals. I learned this method from taking courses at College of the Redwoods in their Historic Preservation and Restoration Technology program.

To strip paint my favorite method is using a heat gun. The doors in this house have raised panels and molding that frame the panels. To remove paint from the different shapes I have ground putty knives to fit the molding and the profile on the raised panels.

scraping tools

For the stiles and rails I use one of those 5 in 1 scrapers and keep a stiff putty knife close by to frequently clean the paint from the scraper. The heat gun softens the paint and when enough heat is applied the paint easily comes off all the way down to the sealed wood below the many layers of paint that have been applied over the century and a quarter that the house has been in existence.

Break Away

Packing up and moving on... I picked up about $500 worth of clear pine, mostly 1x6 and some 1x8 for jambs and trim in the Yellow House. A detail I have been anxious to replicate is a half inch bead on the outside corner of a trimmed out wall. The original was trashed during the early stages of dismantling when we reframed the pantry door and main entry on the southeast side. The result is charming and attractive, I liked it so much that I used it again on an outside corner inside the pantry and I hope to use it one more time upstairs in the hallway.

Beaded Corner

Not all the trim work is finished but the doorway to the music room and the pantry entry is done. The main entry is now insulated and sheet rocked and the kitchen trim is painted and ready to install. I am anxious to get back and finish up, next on the list is the wood floor in the mud room and the tiled warm floor in the bathroom. Becky will be picking up the tiles this weekend.

Main Entry

Now I have tools packed and I am heading out to make some money. I have stops to install on the shed sash windows, a hole to repair where a door knob broke through and preparation for drawers to build. Enough typing, it is time to get to work.

Inside Corner in Pantry