Week 55: Summer goals?

8 years ago

So today was officially the last day of school for my kids and tomorrow is one of my LOs birthdays so I decided to start the weekly thread a little early.

All day, I've been thinking about this summer and what I'm going to do. Enroll the kids in dance and gymnastics classes, watch a friends kid, check out the summer library activities; as well as what I hope to accomplish before school starts back up in the fall.

One is to lose the weight I gained during remodel (pregnancy gain?!?, heh, its got NOTHING on remodel gain!!!) Another is to get the rest of the popcorn texture removed, ceilings painted and new flooring installed.

I already have all of the supplies, the paint, flooring and trim, I just need time.

My goal is to make time during these 3 months, when I don't have to worry so much about bedtimes and school schedules, and get my house finished!!

I know a lot of you GWers have outdoor plans (this is GARDENWEB after all) but I would still love to hear them.

When fall comes, school is starting back up and the leaves are turning, what do you hope you willl have accomplished?

More raised garden beds? Finishing that fence or that car? Having a second fully functioning bathroom?

Share with us!! We are here to encourage each other to push on with our projects, no matter how big or small. Whether it is FINALLY getting a settlement on the crushed roof house or just unloading all those extra doors on Craigslist, we want to hear about it!

Featured Answer

blfenton

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Gosh the kids here aren't finished school til the end of June. My kids, on the other hand, finished high school years ago and university a couple of years ago.

My containers are done but I have a to-do list that seems to be growing by the day - clean out the carport and the rec room, scrub the deck and glass railing (yech), interview landscape gardeners for our backyard which looks like it will be next years plan rather than this years which it was supposed to be, interview painters for the outside of the house (see landscape gardener excuse).

My DH has a 3 month out-of-town contract which will take him to the end of the summer so he leaves town Monday mornings and arrives back Friday nights so it's hard to get things organized. I always arrange this stuff and do the hiring but it's tough to bounce off ideas and impressions when he isn't around. Oh well - the contracts pay for this stuff so I guess I shouldn't complain!

Speaking of this being Gardenweb - my neighbours planted 6 new rose bushes on Wednesday even though they knew they were leaving town today for a week. They have asked me to water them while they are away and we are having above average temperatures and sunshine right now. So my goal for the next week is to not kill their new rose bushes.

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Comments (50)

santabarbaratara
8 years ago
No kids here and with the drought we have no gardening plans but our kitchen remodel is a welcome distraction! We honestly haven't made any plans beyond July. We've waited 22 years and until retirement to begin so there may be no stopping us!
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I suppose the good news is that the Climbing Peace Rose is not old enough to be original to the period when their home was built in 1932, so they could take it out if they choose without feeling like they were stripping the home of its original plant heritage. I also noticed yesterday that an otherwise weed-filled front bed that runs alongside the covered front porch has three volunteer petunias in it. That entire bed is destined to have the soil amended and small mounded shrubs planted there as it is a pretty narrow bed that could have small mounded shrubs or a ground cover or shorter types of blooming annuals or perennials, but it really doesn't have space for all 3 types of plants between the porch and the sidewalk. With the Peace Rose, I believe they would prefer a new location, so if the cuttings work out and give them plants they may end up taking out both the hackberry tree and the overgrown rose later on. The whole landscape needs work on all 4 sides, so they are busy making plans for that now that their interior is finished and they've moved in. I didn't really find anything of historical interest in their yard, plant-wise, but the back yard has a lovely crop of clover and dandelions for the bees, and that area was being visited by bees, butterflies and one dragonfly yesterday afternoon. Mammy, It is sad but true that at the end of every beautiful day (and some not so beautiful ones as well), we gardeners end up sore and achy and in need of serious pain relief. Jen, I love reseeding zinnias. Mine have reseeded in the same spot for almost 20 years, but every few years I add some new ones to the mix just to keep it all from getting too monotonous. After quite a few years of reseeding, we ended up with mostly pinks and yellows, so I had to sow reds, purples, greens, etc. to get more color back into that bed. Nothing much attracts butterflies all summer long like the zinnias do. 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CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
Mine remain static:

Finish adding shelves to my potting bench.

Get the crap in the front yard moved to the back so I can build another raised bed.

Lay some pavers were water pools from the sprinklers.

Actually plant the few winter sowing things that did sow.

Cut out some trees and nandinas that have overtaken the entire world.

Get 9 Japanese maples into the ground (in the fall) and repot all the ones that have been poorly soiled. Who knew?

Then.... inside again.
ediblekitchen
8 years ago
Summer Goal = finish kitchen. At this point we're waiting for counters to go in next week. I'm so excited to see how the soapstone will look. Texas_Gem, I hear you about the remodel gain. I never thought that not have a kitchen (and stress) would have such an effect. As soon as I have my kitchen back, it will be healthy meals again.
Lavender Lass
8 years ago
Let's see....I have to remodel the kitchen (mainly base cabinets and painting/new floor), repaint most of inside of house, add new floors to much of house (water damage and just old), bring my mom's deck down and install it at our house, and get CL hot tub off back of our truck (but will be great for husband's neuropathy).

For garden spaces....pull three years worth of weeds out of many garden beds (thank goodness for my mom, who holds the title of super-weeder!), make enough holes from weeding to bring many of mom's plants down here, put up fence around kitchen garden (approximately 30' x 45') to hopefully keep deer out and bring mom's roses down here, well let's say it's going to be a VERY BUSY SUMMER! And I have only myself to blame, for taking mom rose shopping last several years. LOL

And let's not even talk about work.....yes, I think I may be a bit optimistic, especially since my brother is moving tomorrow to Wenatchee. He's my biggest help with all things home/garden related, but he just got a new job and we are so excited for him. Time to start bribing husband's friends with pizza! :)
rmtdoug
8 years ago
I'm under a self-imposed (wife, actually) break from remodeling until next year. Consequently, I'm really bored right now, so I decided to scrounge a bunch of materials as cheaply as possible from Habitat and build a full size mockup of the kitchen in the back yard. It won't be pretty but I will have a literal 3D mockup of the space without spending more than $100. I can play around with placement of cabinets and appliances and shelving, etc. all summer long until the rains begin.

Otherwise, today I will tear off the last of the worn out gutters on my shop and order new ones next week and get those put up sometime this summer. Last weekend I fixed our two squeaky doors that had become legendary in our house. Sure is quiet around here now. I continue to work as much as possible to save the money needed to finish the house. Next year will be the big year. I will continue my weight loss effort through the summer, which is going very well. I feel great and am never hungry.
localeater
8 years ago
I dont normally post on this thread, though I am a lurker who is inspired by you constantly.

Here in Maine it is still Spring. I just finished putting in my vegetable garden last weekend- though its never really finished :). We are having a powder room and our combo laundry/powder room down this summer so I am very excited. The powder/laundry is leftover since when we did our kitchen which was 3? years ago. So it will be nice to put a check mark next to that item.

For the last two summers I have been working ferociously on turning a section of my lawn into a pollinator garden. This year it is really showing the fruits of my labor. Bachelor buttons are currently in bloom, and so many things are setting big fat buds! One of my goals is continuing to work on that, and clean up one more corner.

I also must transplant my daylilies. I say that every year, and dont get to it. :(

I would like to refinish my dining room table this summer. I have no idea how to do it. It is just the top since it sits on a metal base. It is very flat, no carvings. How hard can it be? Anyone have any advice?
mushcreek
8 years ago
Mine is the same as it has been- finish the house! We're close to calling for final inspection and a CO. The last big part will be the flooring, probably after inspections are over. I have to have surgery at some point, then need to find a job, as building the house has been my job for 3 years now. I have to get the flooring done before I go to work at a job, as we'll be camping in the basement while I do the floors.

We've been dabbling a tiny bit with gardening, but we still have to do the final filling and grading around the house, so it will have to wait. We put in a small hosta garden in an undisturbed area. Summer is upon us here in SC, so the gardens are in survival mode until fall. I'd like to get some raised beds built this fall and raise some collards during the winter. Right now, we have herbs and a couple tomato plants in pots, but we want to expand our 'garden'. The only sunny area we have for raising veggies has the worst soil I've ever seen, so I think raised beds will be the path of least resistance. Somehow, grassy weeds seem to survive, so I just keep mowing them, and they are gradually turning into what I call a 'farm lawn'. I'm not going to expend money and water on something I can't eat!
christina222_gw
8 years ago
I'm pushing to get this bathroom project done. Here in south Florida summer is when nothing gets done if we can help it. It's just too hot and humid. We try and get everything wrapped up for 4-5 months of easy indoor stuff. It'll be November or maybe December before I'm willing to tackle anything outdoors.

I've got a few small projects that I might tackle. Some prettying up of the laundry room. Possibly replace the front door. I'm approaching burnout after about three years of constant projects. I need a break for a bit.
cookncarpenter
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
With consideration to the ongoing drought in So Cal, I'll be removing the last area of lawn we have in the front yard. I replaced our large rear lawn with DG and drought tolerant plants several years ago. Other than this 10'x20' patch of St. Augustine, the rest of our front, and side yard is already planted with very low water using plants, so I'll just be adding more of the same.

In addition to saving the water, I'll be so happy not to have to mow and edge anymore! :)

...and I certainly won't miss picking up after neighborhood dogs whose owners are less than attentive ;)
Terri_PacNW
8 years ago
This summer: I'd like to say it'll put a good start on my new kitchen. But I'm feeling a lot like it'll be next summer at the earliest.

So my summer break won't start until June 30 and according to an email I just received, it'll start July with a baseball tourney, this one in Lynden near the Canadian border for 4th of July weekend.

I have just one month off to get things accomplished. With baseball out of town every weekend, I'm not seeing a lot getting done.

I do have my other coffee table half citristripped and in need of finishing. I have some sewing cut out.

But for now sitting in the sun on my deck watching a robin peck through the tree chippings finding snacks.
bcafe
8 years ago
Texas Gem, we are now down in the 'handle by you! We would love to find a house in the kids' school neighborhood. Otherwise it's swimming lessons, swimming, soccer, and probably a camp at the discovery center. Oh, we are also heading north over the 4th.
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Bcafe- what schools will they be attending?

Localeater- Christine aka CEFreeman is an expert at refinishing. I had her instructions saved on the old GW but my saves were lost when we moved to Houzz. I'll try to track down a link for you.
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
Localeater- I found the post but I'm not sure how to link to a single comment so I copied the text below.

You have absolutely nothing to lose by trying to strip a door.
1) yes, I've seen cream with natural wood frames and it's usually gorgeous. Surprisingly so.
2) Stripping.

Take a door off.
Get Citristrip or Soygel. None of the evil, flesh-eating chemicals that take 18 coats and tons of scraping and sanding.
You don't need space suites or even gloves for these products. I SWEAR by it. 18 antique doors, 11 cabinets of varying finishes and ages later, I am here to tell you how not to waste your time or fumigate your family. My stuff is down to gorgeous, bare, unstained, un-crapped-out wood. Some oak, maple, cherry, I think birch and goodness knows what they've used over the years.

Coat a door thickly. Like you're frosting cake vs. painting it on. Even though it says it takes about 15 minutes, leave it on. It does start to bubble and you'll get all excited, but if you dig at it now, you'll probably need yet another application for just the paint.
Leave it alone overnight. Really, resist the urge to poke at it.
I also suggest cutting up some grocery bags and pressing them over the citristrip. It holds the stripper against the paint, permitting it to continue to work at it -- but you don't have to. But no peeking.

You'll see the paint start to lift in ribbons. It is FABULOUS. And very exciting. Look at the pic below. This is before I knew I didn't need to bother with gloves. This old paint is coming off in sheets!
The next morning (or 8 hours later), you can squeegee the goop into another plastic garbage bag and toss it.
Now, take another coat of Citristrip and put it on evenly, but thickly. This will suck any residual stain right out of the wood. No joke.
I'd leave this on for a couple hours. Squeegee it off again. A credit card does just fine. A toothpick or something pointy gets into any detail, but this is where it worked the best for me, and lifted old paint right out of the crevices. Do NOT use a wire brush, because the wood will be softened.

Important: Use a scrubbie and water to neutralize it and get the residual stuff off the door. I was doing this and it was working beautifully! I do it outside in the driveway with a hose, although I've stripped my cabinets in place. A small blurb on the website discussing stain removal says water, but even their customer support (Nick) was horrified and insisted mineral spirits. If you use mineral spirits, you stand a good chance of reliquifying old stain and having it soak back into the wood. Mine also turned magenta. Bright, Easter egg magenta. Crayola magenta. Really, really bright magenta. (got it?) It was 100 year old stain soaking right back into my beautiful wood.

The thing to be careful of is using something sharp to scrape. (No wire brush!) Be gentle, because leaving this stuff on so long makes the wood softer and you can gouge it.

So anyway, I think this stuff is almost fun. If you get it on you, don't freak. It doesn't hurt. Doesn't remove color from clothing (where I wipe my hands) and if the stain gets on your hands, rub some on like lotion, wait a minute and wash your hands. Done.

You'll save a lot of $$ and decision making if you just try one door. Heck, if you're in the DC area, I'll do it for you. It's totally cool.
Lily Spider
8 years ago
Enjoying it with my kids :)
bcafe
8 years ago
Texas_Gem, we actually moved down last August. When you posted 'high end' homes I remembered that you too lived down here. They attended Windsor this past year.
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
Ok, that's right. I remember you posting last year about relocating to this area.

I was gonna say there are tons of new and newer builds in the greenways, colonies, grey hawk, etc all the areas between Coulter and around the loop but those are CISD homes, not AISD.

I recently attended a meeting where they said that area to build a home in AISD is basically full. All the new and newer homes are being built in the SW area of town which is all CISD. My kids go to CISD and we are expanding rapidly!!

Good luck on house hunting. Windsor is a nice neighborhood.
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
OT but I had to share! My month from Hades is done!!! Yay!!!! (doing a happy dance)

We had my 4 year olds party today, which meant cleaning the whole house to "stage ready". I'm always stressed while prepping but I always love it when its done.

If only I could live like this every day.

My plan this week is to relax and then I hope to go full force into finishing the house starting next week.
mgmum
8 years ago
I want to get the bathroom finished, just waiting on a start date from the contractor. I still need to choose the paint colour, but that's no big deal. While they are here I hope to get the basement tidied up and purged a bit. I definitely want to get the basketball hoop up before the end of June. Then the usual weeding etc. I hate the humidity so I'm hoping it won't be too bad this year. The best part is Aug 19th when the boys and I leave for Calgary and Vancouver Island. We return on Sept 3rd. Can't wait!!
oasisowner
8 years ago
Yard sale coming up this Friday - I am getting rid of soooo much stuff. The following week is supposed to be kitchen demo!
AnnKH
8 years ago
I have a long project list. We just had our stair replaced with hardwood, and new flooring in the foyer, so now I need to clean/refinish the baseboards, and paint.

Both our college-age sons are off doing internships this summer, so I'm going to attack their rooms. Both need painting, and I'm replacing bunk beds with a queen bed in one bedroom. When the bedrooms are painted, the only big expense left for the house is carpet in the bedrooms and family room, but that will have to wait until the checking account recovers from the stair/foyer project.

I'm doing two small furniture refinishing projects for my Mom, and I'm building cabinet pullouts for a friend's kitchen.

The neighbors opened up their pool aver the weekend, so I suspect projects will take a backseat to pool parties on a regular basis!
localeater
8 years ago
Thanks TexasGem for finding that for me!!
cpartist
8 years ago
In the summer we're in a rental condo on Long Island. Visiting my Dad, seeing my son, doing an art show this coming weekend, headed to a colored pencil convention the end of July and cruising from Amsterdam to NY the end of August. In between we hope we get some final plans and decent prices on the house we want to build in FL. I also need to supply my gallery in Annapolis with some more shell drawings so I need to get busy. And I have to prepare for a second cruise where I'm teaching colored pencil in November. If the house plans come through sometime in July, I will need to make a trip down to FL to work out some of the nit picking details.
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
8 years ago
Just look up last year's thread, find my list, copy and paste. Really, I accomplished almost nothing on that list. But my first priority so far this summer was to get off the weight I put on over the winter -- almost there! Since I do it by walking as much as possible other things were put on hold. Next it is to catch up with the weeding, thin out the flowerbeds, plant the new apple tree and bush apricot (somewhere!), then start on Spring Cleaning.
christina222_gw
8 years ago
My air conditioning broke. $330 later my "small projects only" list turned into a "no projects" list.
AnnKH
8 years ago
Congratulations, raee!
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
So last week I posted this pic

and I said this is what I stare at while I'm trying to prep. It is all of the papers that had come home from school so far.

Of course in the last few days of school, I got a HUGE influx, probably equal to or more than what is pictured.

My second grader came home with an actual trash bag full. They cleaned out their lockers that day so there was a lot!

Today, I did my culling of school papers and now that same spot looks like this.

I forgot there was a corner back there!! The school binders won't actually stay there, I just put them back so I could get a pic of the difference.

This

Is what I culled from just ONE kid. Why oh why in this day and age does the school WASTE so much paper?!?! Why not just communicate electronically?

Oh well. Those school binders contain EVERYTHING for the year. Special projects or reports, school pictures, report cards and even yearbooks.

It took about 6 hours to go through everything but I'm so glad its done! Now they can be put away and I can have a huge chunk of counter space back!
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
Cpartist- I had to look up your work...amazing!!!!

I would love to have a piece of your art hanging in my home. Truly, you are a master and your art is phenomenal!!
funkycamper
8 years ago
Oh, where did you find her art, Texas Gem? Link? I would love to see it.
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
I don't know if she wants her real name revealed here, but she said enough that I was curious and I have superior google-fu skills I was able to find it.

If she is ok with it I will post it.
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
Wow T_G!
Thanks for posting my Citristrip experience! That door (pictured) is safely ensconced in its pocket door slot in the wall. I have only 3 more to do and can't wait to get my front porch cleaned off so I can start stripping again. What I also love about this product is that the only sanding I ever do is a quick smoothing with a 220 over the raised grain. Once very dry, of course.
BTW. For the finished product, I stained with Varathane's 'Sunbleached,' then Minwax 'Provencal,' and a very, very quick wipe with Minwax 'Jacobean' to bring out the dings and dents. I do not clear coa with anything -urathane. -urathane products yellow. I either use Polyacrylic or if it's in a dry location, simply paste wax. The later gives me the luster I was looking for, vs. any type of shine.

The entire post, which I actually cut and pasted my own self, is here.

Just got back from a weekend in MI. E. Lansing High School graduated Sunday. It was a pleasure. I forget how funny and smart my family is. I alternated between laughing and shshhhing. They're also very loud. LOUD, I say!
mushcreek
8 years ago
Wow- Thanks for the link for using Citristrip. I'm going to try it on the remaining 9 antique doors I need to re-finish. My wife spent hours with a heat gun, and then toxic stripper to do a mediocre job of stripping the first door. The stain- nearly black- wouldn't budge, so the first door is getting painted. I want to paint the doors in my side hall white anyway because anything else would be too dark, but I want to successfully strip a couple of the doors and finish them natural for certain spots in the house. I'm going to give your method a go- can't do worse than we did on the first door!
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
The trick is to be patient. Do NOT peek. Leave it alone. You might try Citristrip on the nearly black one, since again, you have nothing to lose. Just remember about keeping it wet (plastic bags) so it doesn't dry out and spot. I do one door every 2 days. 1 for paint removal, the 2nd for stain removal.

When you squeegee the stain off, you'll get it on your hands. Remember Citristrip will take that off, too, if you use it like lotion. After pressing the stain out of the wood, I've also started just hosing down my pieces in the yard. Squeegeeing the water out, too, and letting it dry. I do have to glue veneer down occasionally, but who cares about that, right?

Now I'm getting antsy to clean off my porch and get started on my remaining doors. Just fighting with the mental fatigue of a 10 hour drive through 2 rush hours and massive thunderstorms.
mushcreek
8 years ago
The nearly black one is already painted again, and nearly ready to hang. All of the doors came out of the same house, so they all have that black stain. I'm going to set one up tonight and let it soak all night. No veneer on these old heart pine doors, so I don't think water will hurt them. Our local big box store only had quarts of Citristrip ($$$), but at least I can find out of it works.
Texas_Gem
Original Author
8 years ago
Guess what? My newly built master closet got texture sprayed today!!!

I had a long heart to heart with DH about how I become easily depressed when my environment isn't "a place for everything and everything in its place"

It really resonated with him and he seems to have FINALLY gotten the fire back.

Both of us were SOOO burned out by the DIY kitchen remodel that took WAY longer than expected that when we finally got it to a useable condition, we decided to take some time off.

For me that was a few weeks, for him it has been over a year.

I don't think he truly realized just how much living in an environment like this has a negative impact on me. Now that he does, he has stepped it into high gear and he vows that it will be done before the summer ends.

This is GREAT news for me as that has been my goal for the past few months but I've been so stressed and overwhelmed I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish it. With his help, I'm sure we can finish off all the projects on the list, or at least all the projects that we already have the materials for.

I just had to share with you guys because I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my back and I'm no longer trying to do it all alone!
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
T_G, I so understand what you've been feeling! Selling things, moving things, putting things IN their OWN place is cathartic! I'm thrilled for you about that. I know everyone here gets it, too!

I have an interesting bit of news, too.
I just sold 9, free-to-me antique windows to a fellow who wanted the wavy glass to restore a front door. He runs a restoration shop. I asked him to take a look at an antique, cane settee from my mom that is pretty torn up. Delicate and pretty, but ... cane.

He took pictures to give me an estimate, then started asking me about the pieces and (crap) stuff I have in progress. Of course, the minute someone asks me, I'm (joyfully) explaining.

He wants to meet with me next week about building cabinets, stripping, refinishing and/or painting furniture pieces for his shop. He was more excited than I was showing him. He raved about my cabinets in my MBR, where I've built the doors and drawer fronts out of salvaged wood. Consignment basis, so no time line, where the pressure would shut me down in my head.

Can you imagine!?!
schicksal
8 years ago
This summer...

- Stain the new fence and gates

- Finish the transmission replacement once the rest of the parts arrive

- Reupholster the seats in the Mercedes and the convertible top cover

- Have an electrician look at and probably replace our main panel. This is a big one since it's 45 now and been through 4 remodels and 2 additions. It needs to be looked into before we can start the bathroom work due to probably needing more circuits over there a 220 run for the dryer.

- A new entertainment center for the family room and moving all of the electronics to the media closet would be great!

- Complete the plan and materials list for the bedroom/bathroom/master closet/half bath... BEFORE removing anything from any of those rooms!

If all of these are accomplished by fall I will be more than happy :)
mgmum
8 years ago
Awesome, Christine!

Schicksal!! You do upholstery?! That's a dying art!
mushcreek
8 years ago
Well, we're batting .500 on the Citristrip. It took ALL of the paint off over night! I cleaned it all up, and then re-applied thickly, and once again covered it with plastic for the night. Sadly, it had little effect on the stain. It lightened it up a bit, but it is very blotchy, with some areas reddish, and others still black. Once dry, it looks OK-ish, but putting any kind of finish on it will bring out the nasty stain. I'll have to see if my wife likes the 'dry look'; otherwise it will just get painted. It does a great job for removing the paint, though. I wish they sold it in larger quantities. Buying 1/2 gallon at a time, it will cost about $30/door. Not bad, I guess, in the grand scheme of things, but when you only pay $10 for the door to begin with, it seems expensive. If it came in a 5 gallon pail, I'd buy one.

Now I'm haunting ebay for some kind of matching door hardware. We've decided to go with glass doorknobs. These doors have the old mortised lock sets, and I plan to keep and use them. There are a number of sets I have my eye on- I hope they stay within reason. Eventually, I'll be using 9 doors, 8 with door knobs. The remaining one will be on barn door rollers. I bought some small old rollers- much smaller than real barn door hardware. I'm not sure what they were used for, but it has been suggested they may have come off of a train.
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
Wish you were closer. I have crystal knobs and the lock sets.
If I let any of it dry, the wet stuff would keep working, but the dry stopped, creating a blotchy look.
Did you wash the door with a scrubbie and water? That's how I get rid of the stain.

I have only paid as much as $35 for a door and the necessary Citristrip (Is it really $30?) I kind of figure since it costs over $100 to get these suckers dipped, and more if they have to pick the up and deliver, they're a bargain for getting what I like.

If you go with the raw/dry look, I recommend sealing them with dark, exterior, latex paint base. Dries ab.so.lute.ly matte finish and IMHO, is gorgeous.

Amazing on the paint, isn't it?!?
mushcreek
8 years ago
The Citristrip was good and wet when I took the plastic off. I use pieces of cheap plastic drop cloth, since one big piece is easier to manage than a number of shopping bags. After scraping it off, i scrubbed it with a soap and water solution and a scotchbrite made for paint removal. I know it didn't attack the stain, as the stripper was till orange despite having been on there about 16 hours.

Around here, 1/2 gallon is $20, but it takes about 3 quarts to do one door, thus $30. I found one quart wouldn't quite cover one side of a door. Applying it too thin is a waste of time.

We'll see what we decide for a finish. Our powder room is right on the foyer, and I wanted a rustic old door in that spot. It's going on barn door rollers, and I'm trying to find an 'interesting' handle to roll it back and forth. The foyer is small- 6X8, so I don't want to go too dark. It's surprising how light the wood dries- you'd think I got much of the stain off, but when wet, it's very dark and blotchy. Yellow pine is terrible for staining, so I think they used a very dark opaque stain. I imagine these doors came out of old mill houses, and were probably the cheapest door available at the time.
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
I've got some Douglas Fir doors I'm going to attack. Interesting to see if I have the same problem. I've done 9 doors (no idea what the wood is) without any trouble with the stain. I have now, finally, run into something Citristrip nor regular stripper would attack. Corbels, not my doors, though.

I'd love to see pictures if you have time to post any!
christina222_gw
8 years ago
Plumbers came today and I have a functioning bathroom again! Had some issues though. The wall where the vanity goes is not even remotely plumb or square or flat. They left quite a gap in order to get it to look nice. I'll add a 1x4 back there and screw the vanity to the wall through that and then add the 4" marble backsplash, which probably will not hide the gap. I'm probably going to have to add some small marble trim top and bottom. They also had an issue with the toilet flange and in the shower the tilers had covered the screws needed for the shower. They replaced the flange and the tile guy came back and trimmed what needed trimming.

A long, expensive day of plumbing. Now it's down to just the finish work, getting the vanity sorted, one more grab bar, towel bars, a cap rail to be installed and paint touch ups. The end is in sight!
mushcreek
8 years ago
I tried to get some pictures of the door. The first one shows what it looked like before I started. You can see the dark stain where the paint has peeled off. I couldn't get a very good pic, but it looks sort of OK dry. When wet, like a clear finish would look like, the door is much darker and redder. The dark blotches come out nearly black. Since yellow pine doesn't take stain evenly, it doesn't give it up evenly, either. I might just hang the door and live with it for a while.
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
Really beautiful door, though!
I find that to be very similar to what I went through, but the black part is odd. I'm wondering if somehow, somewhere in some time, water got into the grain and mildewed?

Another idea I used on one door: Have you tried bleaching it? Got nuttin' to lose...

Yet another idea: I waxed one of my doors because I didn't want any type of shine, just the luster old furniture gets. I used a Briwax simply because I found it in the garage. I actually have Dark Brown and Tudor. One of them was redder, so I didn't use it. I didn't take that day to remove the old, red stain only to add more back! But that turned out to be one of my most beautiful doors.

I love those old doors. I'm looking forward to starting on my 6-panel doors. Just gotta get off my duff and clean off the front porch!
mushcreek
8 years ago
We used to use a product called wood bleach, which I believe is oxalic acid. Don't know if you can get it now days.
schicksal
8 years ago
@mushcreek - you can find new glass doorknobs and mortise locksets at Lowes/HD, actually. I went to several of them to find enough with matching keys to do the whole house but it was totally worth it. They were about $20 each and quality is better than the originals. The old ones weren't exactly made to tight tolerances.

@mgmum - Thanks! It's not something that I would make totally from scratch, rather I can buy the seat as a kit and install it. The machinery involved with sweing the leather alone makes this worthwhile, assuming I could even buy material already dyed the corect color to begin with. It's not exactly an easy process... just something I learned while fixing the broken bun warmers in our Volvo.

Our anniversary is this weekend so I will not be building anything. There may be a trip to a B&B involved. My other half woke up coughing a lot this morning though. This is not the time to come down with something. :(
mushcreek
8 years ago
That's interesting that you can get mortise locksets so reasonably. If I can get old ones, I will, but it's good to know there are reasonable options. I won't be using the locks anyway. I still want to get some stylish Art Deco backplates, if I can find them. The hard part is finding enough matching ones. It took me 4 months to collect the 37 drawer pulls I used in my kitchen.
huruta
8 years ago
My summer goal: Wean myself off of gardenweb appliances and kitchens. We finished our refresh last September. Why am I still here? :)
cookncarpenter
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
LOL huruta, I can relate... I finished my kitchen freshen-up in March 2013 ?? ;)