Basement Progress and Caulk Talk

This weekend was busy with home renovation projects-- not all of which were planned.  Hate that.

The planned part was having my project-loving and talented father come down to help us complete the trim work in the top half of our future master bedroom/art studio.  

1/11/15 New Sheetrock patched

1/11/15

1/17/15 Trim is up, carpet is gone

1/17/15 Hardwood plank flooring is next

The not so much "planned" project was our upstairs bathroom.  When we started renovating the upstairs, we didn't have the cash to do everything all at once.  Because the space was no longer an eyesore, we figured we could get away with not doing anymore upkeep on it for a bit... WRONG.  Very wrong.  The caulk in our bathtub was cracking, and dare I say molding for the longest time.  Quick cleaning sessions with bleach and a magic eraser took the orange mildew/mold away, but the cracking and splitting of the caulk remained.  (That's what she said-- FYI that situation would be terrible) 

What was frustrating is this is the second time we have had to re-caulk our bathtub, and it never fails, the same shit happens.  I refuse to do it again.  Next time I am ripping out the bathtub and throwing it outside.  So, there better not be a next time.  The re-caulking of the bathtub was the biggest pain in my ass.  First, we had no idea what type of caulk to buy to prevent this annoying occurrence from happening again.  After asking my dad he handed us a bottle of caulk called Waterproof Silicone by GE.  This is NOT a crappy acrylic base caulk.  So, if you are having the same issues as we were, the problem is you were using acrylic.  Thumbs down.

This caulk ain't messin' around

I spent a good part of my Saturday making sure all of the old gunk was scrapped away so that I could apply a fresh coat of caulk- crack free.  Once I rounded the sides of the bathtub, touching the wall, I noticed something that made my eye twitch.  Soggy Sheetrock.  I ended up having to remove about a 1-2 inch section of our wall next to our bathtub.  Because we let the cracks in the caulk go for too long, it managed to destroy our wall because there wasn't a protective barrier from the water.  Now, we have to replace that.  I sincerely hope all of this is a blessing in disguise.  

Once I got the tub taped off and perfect, I grabbed the caulk gun.  Squeezed the trigger and nothing happened.  Tried this for an hour, took a nap, came back and tried again.  Nothing.  Went to Shane and asked him to help me.  He said I needed to poke a hole through the tip of the caulk bottle.  Duh and done.  Went back to try again.  Still nothing.  Turns out the caulk gun wasn't catching to move the bottom of the bottle up.  Went to buy a new caulk gun.  Came home to unleash my fury on that tub.  Notta drop of silicone caulk came out.  Read the expiration date-- 2010.  F***.

As if this weren't enough, the faucet in our bathroom decided to act up.  The hot handle worked just fine, but the cold water handle would not turn.  This faucet was our first "expensive" home purchase.  $75.00 was a lot of money to us seven years ago.  Who am I kidding, it still is.  We were so proud of this faucet, and showed it off to anyone who was interested in looking at it.  Shane took the faucet apart, hoping we could spare it's life, but it was DOA.  So, here we were with a soggy wall, faucet-less sink, and no caulk.  Queue the violin.

We went back to the hardware store and bought a new bottle of silicone caulk and a brand new shiny Moen faucet that looks like something straight out of The Fifth Element.  Came home and got it done.  Best that tub AND sink has ever looked.  (Photos of bathroom to come)

The moral of the story: Silicone caulk for tubs all the way and don't buy off brand faucets if you can help it.

Dang, that is a lot of writing and a lot of caulk talk.  We did manage to get some socializing into the weekend mix.  Our freshly married friends came to Minnesota from DC for a little Hammerschlagen (first time playing) and Cards Against Humanity fun.  So offensive.  I love it.

Stop back later this week for additional photo updates on the basement progress.  Buh-bye.

Something Old Turned into Something New(er)

About a year ago we were gifted an old waterfall dresser from Shane's Aunt Mabel, who was holding on to it for her mother... in other words, this particular dresser isn't the newest being from his great grandma and all.  We brought the dresser home, where it hung out in our "someday we will get around to it project room."  It did a fabulous job storing board games and art paper.  More recently we have been breathing new life into our basement.  The tiny bedrooms have merged into one great big one.  Insulation has been installed, new ceilings put in, and a new plank wood floor to come-- but that is for an entirely different post.  Moving on, the furniture that was hanging out in our neglected basement needed a good talking to.

Me and this dresser both knew the day of transformation was coming.  For the past few months I've been exploring possibilities as to what I should do with it.  Should I paint it?  Should I not?  Because I am all about sharing ideas, here are a few that I dug up around the internet:

Here is some wicked stenciling--

and lastly, a major pop of color--

The missing veneer on our dresser certainly isn't as noticeable as the above image and the inlay, oh the inlay, was gorgeous.  A picture couldn't do it justice.  I finally decided I was going to go with something along the lines of the brown and gold painted drawers image.  However, plans tend to change when my parents come over.  With their creative skills and a few years of experience with this sorta thing on me, they were able to give me a few pointers on what you could do in order to preserve the natural beauty (and wear) of the dresser.  So, I'm here to tell you how it is done.  

The first step, and the most obvious of steps, is to clean off the debris.  Use some mild soap and water to do so.  When the piece is dry, give it a light sanding (if you feel like it), to help smooth out and unify the discolored areas.

Now is the time to bust out the good stuff.  You can buy this Formby's build up remover for a couple of bucks from Menards. If you compare the left to the right, you will see how much richer in color the left side is.  With that much of a difference, the product is still super gentle.  Just make sure you are going with the grain, no matter what.  If a shark is eating your leg, you've still gotta go with the grain.

While the build up remover was doing it's thang, it was time to move on to the hardware.  The handles were placed in a glass dish filled with Tarn-X after being scrubbed a bit with steel wool.  If you can, find an old toothbrush laying around to really get into the grooves.  It would be smart of you to wear some gloves too.  Human's aren't made from metal.  Unless your The Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator. 

Here is a little before and after action, with the after being on the right.  Pretty.

Once the Formby's was dry, it was time to brighten up the piece.  I used a cherry stain (about $2.00) from Menards and applied it using a rag.  That's right folks, I still went with the grain.  It took me about three coats to really brighten up the piece, but this will vary depending on how deep in color you want to go.

This photo was taken while the dresser was still a bit tacky.  So much for patience.  There are a few chips taken out on the veneer on the bottom of the third drawer, but I think it adds character to this well-loved piece.  

In the end, this piece only took about $5.00 to make beautiful again... well, it was always beautiful.  It just needed uh, a little make-up.  I am all about making old things look newer again, because let's face it, they don't make furniture like they use to.  Now we can enjoy this little lady for many years to come.  Happy Monday.