Normandy Park Restoration

Decided to setup a temporary theater in the basement.  This will allow me to experiment with layout and lighting solutions, and to enjoy part of the basement while I work on other parts of the house.  Going to get the projector later tonight.  For now it will just project onto the white back wall.  Here is what the room looked like before I started: Here is what it looks like now.  I painted the ductwork and the paneling with the dark green paint I had used on the ceiling.  It's a quick job, just one coat, lots of issues, but ok for temporary use.  All I need to do now is find a cheap couch and I'm all set.

Found some decent door handles at Home Depot.  They were about $35 each, a lot cheaper than the comparable ones I was looking at which are about $80-$100 each.  Not quite botique, but good enough given the price.  Here are the old ones: and the new: I haven't replaced the striker plate yet, as it's not a simple fit, but that will happen soon.  I'm also replacing the door hinges with brushed metal hinges.  I may or may not paint the doors, haven't decided yet.  Probably will paint them.

Need more storage and organization in the basement shop.  Still a lot of crap down there.  But I was demo'ing the basement I realized I could reuse a bifold door as shelving.  Use some door frame rails I pulled out and managed to build this shelving above the bench: Of course it's still a mess.  Hopefully when I finish the garage I'll be able to move the major tools out there, but it's starting to get organized down in the basement.

Out with the old:  In with the new: Can't find many wall lights that I like so I got one of these as a trial.  I like it, so I'll get 2-3 more for the other wall sconces in the house.

Got the OSB installed on the front and covered with Tyvek.  It's too cold to do much work outside this weekend so that's all I got done on the garage.

Done with the front framing.  Need to get the code inspector out here before I put siding on it just in case I've missed some code requirements.  Hopefully he'll have time this week so that I can do the siding and trim next weekend, and schedule to have the garage door installed. Doesn't look like much for 2 days of work, but I took my time and had to make a lot of runs for tools and parts.  Also I reused a lot of the 2x4's that I took out of the basement, so pulling the screws out of those so I could use them added some time. The back wall just has some interior paneling temporarily tacked up to prevent rain from blowing through, it hasn't been framed yet.

Doesn't look much like 5hrs of work, but the garage has been started. Spent a lot of time making runs to Lowes, and mounting the wedge bolts on the bottom took a long time.  Also removed the existing wiring and setup a temporary power outlet connected to the 3-way light, and wired 2 4' shop light fixtures so that I can finally have some light while working.  Hopefully I'll finish framing the front this weekend, then I'll have the code inspector check it out before I get the garage door installed.  Plan is to use a 10'x7' brushed aluminium and frosted glass garage door.  The door won't be centered, rather offset to the left a little.  I also think going with a 10' wide door will give more of an impression of a large garage rather than a dinky single-car look, which I prefer.

The current ceiling has a whitewash over the tongue and grove.  It's a nice idea, but it's inconsistent and a bit dated looking.  Also, matching the stain if I make changes would be a problem.  So I decided to paint the ceiling.  Saw a sample house that used grey on the ceiling and really like the way it looks.  Here's the sample: Of course this has a lot more upgrades, so it will be a while before I can match this look.  Since the beams in the master bedroom are already white, I figured I'd start there. Here is the result.  Doesn't look like much of a difference in the pictures, but it's much more noticeable in person. Painting it this way gives me more flexibility, so that when I patch holes when moving pipes or other changes, I can hide the work more easily.  I may also consider filling and sanding the knot holes to clean up the look even more, but no rush on that. This look should fit better when I paint the doors.  Plan is to use a lighter shade

My brother-in-law went to town on the stump in the back yard.  Now at least it isn't obstructing the view anymore.  It will take a while not only to split the removed part, but later I'll rent a stump grinder so that the entire center piece there can be removed about 6" below grade.  I'll then temporarily concrete over it so that the patio is more usable.  Eventually the whole patio will need to be redone though.

Got busy pulling out the ugly bushes and putting fern in.  I'm reusing ferns from the side of the house, so they are a little scrawny right now, but will fill out soon. I also decided to tear apart the non-functional water feature and make something more useful out of it.  Wanted to reuse the parts already there. Not done with it yet, but it's looking pretty decent so far.  You can also see the rain chain I added.

Pulled down the wall around the downstairs bedroom.  Also went over my plans with the code inspector and we don't see any issues so I'll be pulling permits for the basement work and moving the kitchen.