The Steps Are DONE!

With the steps primed and the risers and trim painted Andy set to work to tape off all of the treads.  We wanted to make sure we had perfect lines along each edge.  I missed this fun task but it took him over three hours.

Taping around rounded edges is tedious work!

The first coat of paint went on quickly.  We picked Stone Lion from Sherwin Williams.  

At first glance it looked great (although just about anything was an improvement over what was there before!). But after looking at it from the living room for the evening I knew it wasn't the right color.  It was too light. 

We brought out the runner and our visiting critic (4 mo old Rocky who is visiting for a few weeks) to check out some new color options.

We didn't hate it -- just felt it was too light.

So after looking at more swatches we went back to Sherwin Williams the next day and got a new paint color.  Some of these pictures distort the new color but we were very happy we made the change before it was too late.

After about a week to get all of the painting, sanding, and more painting done it was time to install the new runner.  Andy removed what was left of the old carpet (hooray) and all of the tack strip.

He measured and cut new carpet padding for each step and lined them up with the laser level.

It took a lot more planning to get the very top started (we wanted it slightly recessed behind the new carpet in the upstairs hallway) but once we got moving the carpet went down quickly.

We needed two runners because of the length -- I think cutting the rug was the most nerve wracking part of the entire process.

It took a little more planning to get the patterns and width to line up right but we are please with the end result. 

Now we can finally hang some pictures and art on the big blank wall!

One Step Forward

We are ever so slowly finishing up some Phase 1 projects.  We really want to get the steps done -- we plan to paint the treads and risers and add a new runner.  Andy cut out some of the carpet awhile back and a few weeks ago he finally had enough time to sand and degloss all of the existing wood. Since we're putting a new runner down we decided not to paint the entire step.  

 

The sanding and deglossing was a dirty job, but after everything was cleaned up Andy started priming all of the bare wood, including the banister.

I promise that it will look better once we get the two different colors of paint in and get the new runner in place but this is a good start.

And tonight Andy started painting!

The End is in Sight

A few weeks ago we reached a milestone event in our 2+ year remodel of the bedroom, bathroom, closets, family room, and hallways.  NEW CARPET!!  The old aqua carpet in the bedroom was gross but we lived with it while we built the new closest and remodeled the bathroom.  With all of the major (and dirty) renovation work complete we finally ripped out all of the old carpet in the bedroom and upstairs hallway.

Removing the old carpet exposed the hardwood floors and before you all gasp in horror that we covered them back up with carpet the floors really weren't in good condition closeup.

It didn't take us as long as we thought it would to remove the carpet and all of the old staples.  We spent the night on the air mattress in the living room since our bed was temporarily stored in the office.

 

The next day two workers came and installed all of the new carpet in about 2 hours.  It was wonderful.  I may or may not have gone in and laid on the carpet as soon as they left. 

We never had carpet in the new closets so this was a nice addition.

We have a different plan for a runner on the steps so the carpet stops at the top of the first step.  Andy was concerned about how it would look because of all of the repairs and trim work he had to do but we are very pleased with the result.  As soon as we find time to finish the steps the Phase 1 Renovation will be DONE!!

It's come a long way since this!

Walking the Plank

Painting the upstairs and downstairs hallways was a relatively boring but necessary task.  I couldn't settle on a color since it's visible from just about every room in the house so we went with the white color we have been using on the ceilings and trim (Sherwin Williams Creamy). The walls were ugly and marked up from the installation of the new heat pump when we moved in and we wanted to get them painted before the new carpet is installed.  We painted all of the trim when we worked on the bedroom so we taped off all of the trim and started painting the walls and ceilings.

Stairwells are the hardest.  Andy setup this plank propped up on a ladder...

And started painting...

I refilled the rollers on the other side of the knee wall so he didn't have to walk back and forth on the plank.

 So, here it is...in all of its clean brightness.  A bit boring, but so much better than dinged and marked up walls.  Once we get carpet we'll put something fun on the walls.

And a sneak peak of the new doors.  A painful and tedious job for Andy, but totally worth it. 

The Stairway Debacle

A few weeks ago we measured for a bought a load of trim from a local lumber store.  We needed crown moulding for the family room, baseboard for all of the rooms we plan to paint, casing for the doors and windows, a new windowsill for the powder room (and we learned that it's actually called a stool).  The crown moulding came in 16' lengths so all of the trim lived in the family room for what seemed like forever.

 

We were both excited to get the wall at the top of the steps finished.  Andy measured for the board at the top of the wall and sanded it super smooth and rounded the corners.  It's amazing how much time "simple" decisions that we didn't even know we were going to have to make can take.  I think the depth of the overhang took a good week...too short, doesn't look good...too long, permanently bruised hips (or in my case closer to my waist)!

 

But we finally made a decision and love the result.

The next dilemma was what to do with the trim where the steps meet the new wall. On the full wall side we had this odd triangular transition from the stair trim to the existing baseboard.

This is what was left on the side with the new wall.

Andy setup his handy laser level to make sure the cut on the full wall side (right) was the same elevation as the trim on the left.

With the old trim removed we found this interesting cut in the drywall.  Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't enjoy cutting drywall, who would take the time to do this?  Intentionally?

 

Andy had to patch the top section for the new trim.

Because a portion of the wall/trim stepped down we had to order a small section of a taller version of our new baseboard so that Andy could notch it out to the correct dimension.  Maybe we just think too much and make things harder than they need to be but this dilemma drove the new baseboard we picked because we need a profile with different height options.

The trim along the stairs still needs some work and some day we'll get new carpet.

And here is the final baseboard.  We still have nail holes to fill, lots of painting to do and some decisions to make about the trim going down the steps.