Bungalow DIY

A lesson learned... don't forget about the air ducts when insulating

2012-01-04T18:57:00.000-05:00

Several weeks after having the blown in insulation installed, I noticed what appeared to be quite a bit of dust behind the heating return grate in the living room (we have a forced air heating system). Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, the return, like many older homes, actually uses a section of the wall cavity as a heating duct. After removing the grate, my fears were confirmed. The entire return and the main return duct in the basement, were packed with insulation!!
I immediately rushed into action, removing as much of the material as I could from inside the grate itself. Then I went into the basement and cut a hole into the main duct to remove the rest of the insulation that had found its way into the system - what a mess!!
But a couple of hours later and I had most of the insulation out, although I will have to vacuum out the filter in the furnace several times in the coming weeks to remove any remaining material that finds its way down. Many of you with bungalow style homes who decide to go with blown in insulation may end up with a similar situation if you have forced air heat. Hopefully for your sake its not a problem for you, but it's worth checking out just in case.

Blown in insulation - cellulose vs fiberglass

2011-12-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

Like many older homes, our craftsman style bungalow didn't have any insulation in the structure when we purchased it several years ago, unless of course you count the newspapers from the 1920's stuffed into the sill above the foundation in the basement. Because cold weather is approaching - and we burned nearly 700 gallons of heating oil during the last heating season - we decided it was time to remedy the problem.

We quickly decided blown in insulation was our best option, as I didn't feel like ripping down the walls for the project. The biggest question then became what insulation product do we use. There are three main types, foam, cellulose and fiberglass.

Concerns over the potential for foam insluation to "out gas" or emit some noxious chemicals quickly eliminated that option so I centered my research on cellulose, which is essentially recycled newspaper, and fiberglass. Both have their drawbacks and their positives, but we finally decided that cellulose was the way to go for our situation.

The main drawback for blown in fiberglass is that it tends to lose its R-value, the insulating properties, as the temperature difference increases between the exterior and interior of the structure. Living in the northeast with cold winters, its when the mercury drops when the insulation is needed the most so this was a big concern for us. I have heard that the problem can be mitigated with installing some bat fiberglass insulation above the blown in stuff, but that wasn't pratical for our purposes.

The main drawback for cellulose is concerns that people have over its ability to catch fire - it is recycled newspaper after all. Most manufacturers however add a fire retardant to the material that is supposed to prevent the insulation from adding to the structure's fire load. Cellulose can also settle within the wall and cause gaps if not installed properly.

Because the temperatures were already dropping outdoors, we opted to hire a contractor for the job rather than do it ourselves, although most of the materials and the machines needed for the job are available at big box home improvement stores and tool rental companies.

Make sure to ask potential contractors about your concerns when it comes to settling if you choose cellulose. Most who know what they are doing will tell you that if they install the product with a pressure of three pounds per square foot, it should take care of the problem.

Good contractors will also drill two holes in each wall cavity from the exterior - one on top and one on the bottom - to ensure a proper installation. Ask about this as well. The siding is often removed before the holes are drilled and replaced when the job is completed. Most contractors can get the job completed in about a day depending on the size of your home.

When hiring a contractor, its also a good idea to ask for a couple of references - customers who have recnelty had work completed and can tell you about the experience. If I am very happy with a contractor, I will always offer to serve as a reference for them if needed.

When the project was completed, not only was our house warmer (we actually had to turn down the thermostat in the middle of the night because it was so hot in our room), but it also reduced the amount of ambient noise from the outside that made its way into our home.

Tip of the Day - When installing insulation in your home, or any energy saving material, check to see what kind of tax incentives or rebates may be offered. We actually received a rebate from the state that gave us a substantial savings on the project.

The Craftsman magazine - Gustav Stickley

2010-06-22T01:06:00.001-04:00

In my searchings for information on the craftsman style, I have of course read countless mentions to Gustav Stickley, considered by many to be the father of the craftsman style. In 1901 he started the magazine called "The Craftsman" a publication that lasted for about 15 years and includes plans for craftsman style homes. The other day I ran across a database of the magazine in the University of Wisconsin's digital collections. The database includes complete copies of all The Craftsman magazines ever published! For someone who loves to go straight to the source for the best information on a topic, this was a great find. I've been checking out some of the magazines, and have found quite an interesting collection of house plans, discussions on style and even poetry that gives more meaning and understanding to this great American style that influenced so many. The image is of the cover page for the first edition in October 1901. The entire edition is dedicated to William Morris, who was one of Stickley's biggest influences. The database is worth checking out - if you can find the time between projects. You can find the database by clicking here, or by checking out the link on the blog's homepage listed under The Craftsman magazine. It's a great read and adventure, so enjoy!

Finishing the front stairs

2010-06-20T23:40:00.000-04:00

Even though its unseasonably hot today I decided to finish off the front stairs. I installed the new posts yesterday. Today I had to install new treads and back boards, if that's what they are even called, onto the risers.
After much thought and consideration, I decided to make the treads a little longer than the original ones, which had stopped near where the railing started. I made the new treads long enough to fit underneath the railings - adding almost a foot in length compared the old treads. I also let the treads hang out a few inches on each side, giving smoother lines to the stairs that is more in tune with the craftsman bungalow style. It also gives the stairs the appearance of being larger, and I believe, more welcoming. I had to notch out the last tread where it meets up with the post, but this wasn't as hard as I first thought. I just held the tread next to the post and marked off the areas were I had to cut. All in all I think the stairs look pretty good. I'm sure the stairs will look even better when I get around to putting some new paint on them, but that's for another day. The whole porch could use a new paint job. It's definitely on my to do list for this summer, but I'm not sure yet if I'm going to tackle that next, or start working on the rear sidewalk. I already have the brick pavers, and a large pile of stone dust in the backyard that's calling my name.

Tip of the Day - Some of the old treads were still in pretty good shape so I decided to keep them around. The treads are made from the same board as the porch floor - you never know when you might need a replacement section or two.

Installing new posts on the front stairs

2010-06-19T23:51:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I decided to finally get around to the front stairs. I cut out the old posts this morning and installed new, pressure treated ones. The old ones were rotting away on the bottom and had to be replaced. It was a good think the one step fell apart, otherwise I may not have seen the extent of the rot and not done this in depth of a rebuild. The risers were still in good shape, thankfully, so I just used the cut out posts as guides to cutting the new posts, and used a couple new carriage bolts to hold it into place. We had to twist them around a bit and add a couple of pieces of 2x4 spacers to get them just right, and for some unknown reason we also had to trim a little off the old railings to make everything match up correctly, don't ask me why. But all in all, it came together pretty well. The railing still seems a little rocky, but I'm hoping the news treads will help pull everything together. But we'll save that for tomorrow. The lawn still needs to be mowed before the sun goes down. Oh, and if you actually looked close enough to the photo and were wondering if that's a beer bottle on the right pillar, why yes, it is, how astute of you. Nothing to quench the thirst after completing project on a warm summer day than an ice cold beer.

Fixing the front stairs - to the front of the line

2010-06-15T08:37:00.000-04:00

Originally I had hoped to start working on the front porch later this summer, but it just moved to the front of the list. At the very least I'll have to replace the stairs that fell apart this past weekend. I knew the stairs could use some work, but I had no idea just how much in need of attention they were.
Several of the treads fell off the other day, while I was stepping on them of course. On closer inspection the stairs started to show more signs of rot that I anticipated. The risers themselves are pressure treated and in good shape - a good sign - but the posts will have to be replaced. Some of the treads were still in good shape, some old tongue and groove pieces, so I saved them in case I need to replace some on the porch down the road.
The tongue and groove strips however were really too narrow to be used as treads anyway, so I'll be replacing them with 6" pressure treated treads.
Originally I had hoped to start working on porch later this summer, after I completed the rear sidewalk and new door on the screened in porch, but looks like the project has moved up a notch. I already picked up some lumber this weekend after estimating what I'll need for the stairs. Hoping to get the project done soon, as there are lots of other things that are going to need my attention this summer.

A lesson learned - Installing lights in a hutch

2010-05-30T12:24:00.005-04:00

The other day I found this beautiful china cabinet that someone was giving away on Craigslist, which by the way can be another great resource for inexpensive materials and home furnishings for that matter. I've been looking for some time for a hutch in the mission style that wasn't too expensive - and this one definitely fit the bill. It was being given away by someone in a neighboring town who had just purchased a home and the cabinet came with it. He already had a dining room set and didn't need the unit. Believe it or not, the home it came from was also a 1929 bungalow!! The cabinet is solid wood and appears to be hand crafted - Gustav Stickley would have been proud. We strapped into the back of the pickup and brought it home.
After giving the cabinet a thorough cleaning, I decided to put some lighting inside the top section before putting it into place. I purchased an under cabinet lighting kit from the hardware store. The installation was pretty easy, just screwing the three separate lighting units into place and some wiring. I was so excited to have the project done and plugged the lights in for a test before I put it against the wall.
The lights worked great, except that I quickly realized the lights only lit the top shelf, as the shelving was wood, not glass, and didn't let the light through the rest of the unit. Oops!! I guess I should have seen that one coming. If I really feel adventurous one day, I could remove the wood shelves and install some glass shelves instead. But for now I'll let it stay how it is. The lights still provide some nice lighting in the evening, even if it doesn't light up the entire cabinet. I guess you win some and you loose some, but its all in a days work.

Tip of the day - I didn't want to loose access to an outlet behind the cabinet - so plugged an extension cord into it before putting the unit in place - and left the other end just on the inner edge of the hutch. Now when ever I need to plug something in, all I have to do is reach behind the hutch and grab the cord!

Keepin' it together - Making the perfect breakfast quesadilla

2010-05-28T22:09:00.003-04:00

Okay, so this doesn't exactly have to do with home repairs, but I wanted to make a three egg breakfast quesadilla the other day before heading out for some yard work and my wife said I'd have a tough time keeping it from falling apart. Sounded like a challenge for the handyman!! Not only did it stay together, but it was delicious, I have to say. So here is how it worked.

1 - Fry up some bacon
2 - Scramble some eggs while toasting two tortillas in a separate pan
3 - When the eggs are almost done, sprinkle in some cumin, to taste, hot sauce and some cheese - the glue that holds it all together
4 - Put a layer of cheese on the first tortilla, then add the eggs and crumble bacon on top
5 - Add yet another layer of cheese, then the second tortilla on top of that
6 - Press down with a spatula, flip it carefully - two spatulas may help, and let everything melt together
7 - Take it out of the pan, give if a few minutes to set before cutting into pieces - a pizza cutter is the best tool for this job - and put a dollop of salsa in the middle.

Wallah!! Enjoy the breakfast treat. A great stick to your ribs kind of meal, that's quick to throw together before starting another project around the home. Time to head outside and get some work done!!

A great source for building materials

2010-05-22T09:53:00.001-04:00

I just picked up a new screen door for the porch today at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It's a brand new door that I bought for only $5!!!. If you haven't checked out your local ReStore yet its a great resource for the do it yourselfer, especially those of us on tight budgets. They carry everything from toilets, tile, windows, doors, lighting fixtures and even entire kitchen cabinet sets at unbelievable prices. It's run by Habitat for Humanity, and the building materials they sell are either new or "gently used" that are donated by local contractors. The money made through the stores goes to the organization's home building efforts. The inventory at the ReStores change weekly, sometimes daily, so I check out our local ReStore whenever I get the chance. It's like going on a treasure hunt for the do it yourselfer.
There are ReStores located throughout the country. You can find your local ReStore by checking out http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx. I've also included a link to the site in my blog's link section to make life even easier.

Shade garden

2010-05-21T15:30:00.000-04:00

After finishing up the flower bed on the side of the house, I decided to tackle a problem area in the rear yard. Around a willow tree there was overgrowth like you wouldn't believe. So I cut out all the weeds so I could clean up the area. There was a large vine growing up the side of the tree, which I chopped to pieces in order to remove - it was almost as thick as my wrist and covered with small hairs that I later learned are exterior roots. Unfortunately the next day I was covered with poison ivy. I didn't realize that this horrible plant also grew as a vine, and I cut apart the mother of all vines. I quickly learned the phrase, that is now etched in my mind - "hairy vine, no friend of mine."
After the poison ivy finally cleared up, I was able to clear the rest of the area around the tree, plant some Hostas, which are supposed to do well in shady areas, and covered the rest with the same red cedar mulch I used next to the side of the house. I saved the Hostas from a pile of debris that was thrown out on the side of a wooded trail near our home. I planted them last year in clay pots in the hopes of saving them, and they returned this spring!!
If you do a little searching, there is actually a wide variety of flowering plants that do quite well in the shade, but with money being tight this season I opted to just plant the Hostas and some Pansies for a splash of color.
As you can see from the photo, I haven't had a chance to do any edging around this particular garden yet, but I really wanted to get the Hostas in the ground before it started getting too late in the season. The Hostas look pretty small in the photo, but I'm hoping now that they are in a bed of soil rather than a clay pot, they'll take off by the end of the summer and really fill out the area.

Flower bed - Making a mowing strip

2010-05-21T14:55:00.003-04:00

Now that the side porch is nearly complete, I wanted to get a flower bed planted on the side of the house before it got too late in the planting season. I had ordered a couple of perennials from an online site and wanted to get them into the ground as soon as possible.
I did have a small area next to the house planted last year, and I had used bricks in the "soldier" position as edging, which means the bricks are standing on the short end and stuck out about four or five inches from the ground. While this looked nice, cutting the lawn near the edge of flower bed was nearly impossible and required a weed wacker to finish the job. The clay also started to break apart.
So instead, I decided to try something different when creating a flower bed along the entire side of the house and the nearly completed porch. I placed concrete pavers on their face, about a half in from the ground surface creating what is known as a "mowing strip." Google the term and you'll find lots of examples. It creates a nice edge to the bed while allowing the wheels of the mower to run over the strip - thus eliminating the need to use a weed wacker to finish the job.
I used a hose to lay out where I wanted the edge of the flower bed, then laid the bricks along the hose. I dug out the trench and put in about two inches of sand - the construction type NOT the playground type - to lay the bricks into (see picture above). To keep the pavers about a half inch above the ground surface, I used a piece of half inch thick wood as my guide as I went along.
You'll also noticed I used a flowing curved pattern, I thought that would give more character to the flower bed than just a straight line.
I also wanted a larger area near the porch - about four feet wide - where I could plant a Bloomerang Lilac bush. It was half the reason for creating the flower bed in the first bed. If you haven't checked out this bush yet but love lilac's its worth looking into. It is supposed to bloom throughout the year, instead of just the spring like most lilacs. It also grows to a maximum height of about four to five feet - perfect for next to the newly renovated porch. I'll take some photos later in the season to show you how the bush has developed.

Almost finished

2010-05-20T11:26:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to give everyone a peak at the nearly finished porch. On the upper left you can see a photo of what I started with, and the bottom right shows the almost finished project.
You can see we decided to go with a vanilla colored paint. We wanted something a little different because the rest of the house - and I mean the entire exterior - is white. Since most bungalows feature several exterior colors that compliment each other - and I don't feel like attempting to paint the vinyl siding - I wanted to add a splash of color where I can. I'll probably use the same color on the front porch, while leaving some areas white - to help pull the whole thing together. You may notice that I left some areas of the porch white just to help it blend with the rest of the house.
I still have to install the new screen door, and finish the railing on the stairs, but other than that the project is mostly complete.
You may also notice I also planted a few arborvitae trees next to the porch. These are the emerald green variety, which means the trees will grow narrow and tall, perfect to screen the roadway from the backyard without taking too much space. A bit slow growing - six inches a year they say - so it will take a few years. In the next few posts I'll show you how I installed a new flower bed along the side of the house where the porch is located.

Attaching the screen panels

2010-04-11T09:48:00.001-04:00

During the course of construction I had been agonizing about how I'll eventually attach the panels to the porch. I wanted to make them removable of course, the reason for all this madness, so I didn't want to just screw them into place.
After some research on different types of hardware, I settled on the brass buttons that you see photographed above. In doing my research on the dilemma, I discovered that these types of buttons were routinely used to hold screens in place when the house was originally built in the 1920's. Because I wanted to bring the house back to its original character, this was a great solution.

Making removable screen panels

2010-04-11T09:39:00.001-04:00

Once the main structure was complete, it was time to sit down and make the actual screened panels. For the frame of the panels I used the same 1x2 pressure treated lumber as for the stops described earlier. Because nothing on the porch, or the house for that matter, is square, I had to measure the opening for each of the four sides, for each panel, and label each piece as I cut the lumber, to make sure it would fit in the recessed grove I created. It was a little time consuming but well worth the effort.
Once the pieces were ready, I again predrilled the holes and used trim head screws to put each frame together. Of course there are lots of other ways the frames could have been constructed, but I already had the screws and it was the easiest method for me at the time. I didn't have a biscuit joiner and just wanted to the porch completed already. A one month project is already stretching into the end of the summer.
Once the frames were constructed I had to stretch the actual screen onto them. After trying a few methods, I placed the frames on the garage floor, placed left over pieces of 1x2 along the edges and stapled the screen to the scrap pieces as I stretched the screen over the frame. Once all four sides were done, I stapled the screen to the frame itself.

Installing the spindles

2010-04-11T09:32:00.000-04:00

As I was saying before, I wanted to install spindles on the lower half of the porch, mainly for safety, but also so it would match the porch on the front of the house - the one I'll be updating soon so stay tuned.
The stops I installed for the screened panels also served as great nailers for the spindles. That was one of the reasons I decided to go with the stops in the first place. Putting the spindles in place was pretty much what you would expect, although one nice trick I learned was to cut two pieces of wood the same length as the space between the spindles to serve as spacers while installing them. This ended up being a valuable time saver and the spindles went in rather quickly.

The dilemma - screened panels

2010-04-11T09:26:00.001-04:00

Since I didn't want to rip up the trim again if I had to replace a ripped screen (the old screen was stapled underneath the trim work), and with a new dog I figured that would be inevitable, I wanted to devise a way to make replaceable screen panels for each of the sections.
Since I had never made screen panels before, or renovated a screened in porch for that matter, I spent a couple of days staring at the structure trying to figure out my best course of action.
I decided to screw pieces of 1x2, again pressure treated of course, lengthwise on the posts that were flush with the outside edge (before adding the new trim), to serve as stops for the panels I would eventually create. Once the new trim was installed, this would create a nice recess area so the panels would be flush with the outside edge. See the photo above that shows the stops after the new trim was installed.
As the wood was thin - I was using 1x2 after all and screwing it in from out outside edge - I predrilled the holes and used trim head screws so I wouldn't split the wood in two when installing the stops.

Replacing the sills

2010-02-13T19:25:00.000-05:00

After ripping off the original trim, which turned out to be the easiest part of the job, I realized that much of the cross beams, not to mention the sills, were mostly in one state another of rot. Repairing the sills was the first step, which I admittedly had no clue of how to do. My neighbor was a huge help and within a couple of hours completed this part of the project. He hauled over his floor jack and we used a 4x4 in combination with the jack to gently lift the roof, just enough so that we could cut out the old sills and slide some new wood, this time pressure treated, into place. As you can also see in the photo, there are no spindles to speak of. For safety, as well as aesthetics, I'll also be placing spindles, 2x2 pieces of pressure treated, on the lower half.

Renovating Screen Porch

2010-02-13T19:16:00.000-05:00

One of the first summer projects I wanted to tackle was renovating a screened in porch that is located towards the rear of the house. It was in a bad state of disrepair when we moved in, peeling paint and ripped screens. While I don't believe its original to the house, we love the feature as its a great outdoor space and wanted to renovate it. I started the project in the early summer thinking it would only take a few weeks to complete. As they say with any construction project, you should always take your initial time estimate and double it. In this case I should have tripled it!!! My first course of action was to rip off all the old trim work on the outside of the porch, as the screens had to be replaced and were held in place by the trim.

Lighting

2010-02-13T11:23:00.000-05:00

When we first moved in there was a horrible light fixture in the dining room that we called the stage coach wheel an appeared to be a throw back from the '70's. You can see it in the background of the post titled 'First Things First." If that's someone's favorite style then its great for them, but it certainly didn't fit with our home. We took it down and replaced it so fast that I didn't actually get a chance to take a photo of it, sorry everyone. But here is a pic of the new fixture we installed instead. With the new paint and the lighting fixture, the home is starting to look like a craftsman bungalow again.

New coat of paint - finally

2010-02-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

After finally finishing the prep work on the walls, which took much longer than we thought, we were ready to put on the primer and top coats. We used the Sherwin Williams Prepright primer, which was expensive but well worth it to help cover up the massive amount of taping compound used to smooth things out. For our colors, we decided on using the Sherwin Williams Arts & Crafts color palette. They have some great colors that are more in line with what would have been used when the house was built. We decided on the Hubbard Squash for the main rooms, and Ruskin Room Green for the bedrooms and office. We were really happy with how it came out. It looks much better that the flat white that covered all of the walls when we first purchased the home.

The walls

2009-12-21T01:39:00.000-05:00

This pic shows you what the walls and trim looked like when we first purchased the home (minus the furniture). All the walls, and the trim for that matter, had a coat of flat white paint on them and more than a few cracks where the drywall came together. Once the floors were done, I spent a great deal of time trying to hide the cracks with some compound. The walls were also rough and I had to a on several just to smoothen them up. Other walls could just be patched here and there and they were fine. I used regular compound for patch work on the walls, and a vinyl spackling for the cracks. The vinyl has a flexible quality that prevents the crack from reappearing when materials expand and contract over time. It does however take a little longer to dry and is more difficult to sand, so use sparingly.
As for the trim, I sanded them all with medium sanding block just to roughen them up a bit and take of some of the old chipping paint. This was of course after much debate and soul searching. At first I really wanted to bring back the original stained woodwork and strip the paint from the trim. While the stained wood trim is what you would find in most craftsman bungalows, we decided to paint the trim with a cream semigloss oil paint from Sherwin Williams.
At some point I may still consider redoing the trim, but for now we wanted to just freshen it up so we could move in. Check out the finished trim work in the next posting. All things considered, I think it came out pretty well and worked with the paint colors we selected for the walls.

Repainting warm air grates

2009-12-18T00:32:00.000-05:00

The metal grates for the warm air heating system were also still original to the home, but had signs of significant wear. Since I couldn't get into the home when the floors were being done, I decided to use the time to sand the heck out of the grates to get all the peeling paint off. The inside corners were the most difficult, but I used a tapered pipe sander and that really helped get into the tight areas. After that was all said and done, I sprayed each with RustOleam filler primer because the surface was rough even after the sanding. The RustOleam worked great, especially after spraying the final coat of a black with a satin

Publish Post

finish.

First things first

2009-12-18T00:17:00.000-05:00

Our first step after purchasing the home was to have the wood floors refinished. As we still had a few bucks in our pockets after the closing, we decided to go ahead and hire a professional for this job, which will also give us more time to get the walls and trim work done before we move it.
My wife and I decided to keep the existing wood floors, which is poplar we believe. Not very hard as far as flooring goes, but its original to the home. We had the floors sanded and selected a chestnut color for the stain. It's a tree that is still somewhat common to our neck of the woods, and we have a chestnut in the backyard - that sealed the deal when deciding what color to go with.
Most of our early research on craftsman style homes noted that most use materials that are native to the area where the home is being built.
The guy who did the floors for us was great, he did a great job and gave us a really good price. We were really happy with how the floors turned out.

Where we're at

2009-12-17T22:21:00.000-05:00

So here it goes, my wife and I have purchased a craftsman style bungalow in a small New England town. The house was fairly well cared for by its previous owners, but much of the magic of a this architectural style has been lost through the years.
While we're on a limited budget, a new family with a baby on the way, my wife and I are both determined to renovate our bungalow back to its original glory, however long that may take. It will take some time, and some bruised knuckles and probably lots of visits to the lumber and home improvement yards along the way, but we're looking forward to a great journey.
Because there are other people I'm sure in our position, I wanted to write a blog about our adventures in paint, mortar and wood, share our experiences, our successes and failures along the way.
Those who are on similar journeys are always more than welcome to provide their input and advice while sharing their own adventures restoring these beautifully crafted homes back to their original glories.