Now that we’ve been living in the Union for awhile, it’s time to focus on the finish woodwork. The cat doesn’t really care if insulation and wall studs are showing but I do.
As you can see, I’ve boxed in the windows and surrounded them with high density spray foam. As it turned out, the foam was critical because the masonry surrounds on some of the windows did not offer much to nail to; in fact, a couple of the windows that were installed into the new concrete at the front and back walls had no place for nails at all. They are firmly held in place with just the foam which should last longer than we do.
After the boxes were installed, I constructed the face frames downstairs in the shop. I carefully measured the window boxes and with a bit of quick math, I was able to make the right size frame, well, most of the time. I only got it wrong once but that’s enough since those clear pine boards were $27 each and waste was expensive.
To get flush joints in the corners, I used an angled screw jig on the back side. The gizmo is made by a company called Kreg and I’m just thrilled with what it can do.
It allows one to predrill screw holes at just the right angle so the screws will secure the boards together without the screws poking through the finished face of the boards. I’d seen them used before on kitchen cabinets and it makes a potentially tricky job much easier.
Speaking of tricky, mounting the face frames on the window boxes posed a challenge in that the boxes were, like the rest of the building, not exactly straight. The masonry openings were not straight to begin with and this telegraphed through to the wood a little. This galled my perfectionist nature but there was nothing to do about it except to make it work.
Sure, I can pick apart my own work but in reality, my fit and finish is better than most new homes. Besides, once the draperies are up, nobody will notice that 1/16″ bow in the window box.
Below are a couple examples of the finished product including the draperies that Katie and her mom Marla made.
The light fixtures were also elements that had been waiting for the right moment. Katie and I have been collecting fixtures for the hotel and it is really gratifying to see them in place.
Other decorative features from the collection have been gathering in the kitchen.
Most of the furniture was found locally and some of it came with me from my old house. We still have the doors and jambs to complete but the furniture looks great despite the unfinished backdrop.
Oh, and one last addition. Katie and I found a new rocket powered kitty to keep the mature cats on their toes.
His name is Max.
Great to see a new post. I look forward to each one. I bought an old farm house in 1976 that had been vacant for about ten years. It was built in 1910 and started out as a four room (two up and two down) house with a separated kitchen in the back. When I bought it, four more rooms had been added. There was no electricity except for one receptacle in the kitchen. Each room had a light in the middle of the ceiling. The only water was from a spring about 150 feet from the house. It took a long time (two additions, a garage, jack up the back side and level it, new roof, insulation. all new interior walls and solving numerous other problems) but every ounce of sweat was worth it. Thanks for sharing your journey. I truly love the finished product. Looking forward to your next post.
Tom
It’s all worth it in the end. I just think about all of the new tract homes that I could have purchased and how lucky I was to find this place instead. Good luck with your farm house. I hope it’s as much of a dream come true as the hotel is for us.