Original Condition

This room is roughly 16' x 15' when including the closets.

My Fixes

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Wish List

Bedroom 1 Wish List by Vendor

www.wayfair.com

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Baldwin 4754.150.CD	Classic square beveled edge single GFCI switch plate, satin nickel	4754.150.CD	1	$5.36	$5.36
  Total					$5.36

Totals by Vendor

• Vendor	Total
  www.wayfair.com	$5.36
  Total	$5.36

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Bedroom 1 Purchases by Category

Flooring

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Great Lakes 13361	Hand sculpted hickory flooring 3/4" x 4" (16 sq.ft./carton)	13361	18	$79.84	$1437.12
  FloorMuffler 0264049	4' x 25' x 0.08" polypropylene foam underlayment	0264049	3	$64.98	$194.94
  Total					$1632.06

Trim

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  MDFCRWN L 4912FBDPM	3.625" x 5/8" x 12' crown moulding	L 4912FBDPM	5	$21.99	$109.95
  House of Fara 8583	3/4" x 3" x 8' MDF fluted casing	8583	6	$13.78	$82.68
  House of Fara 579	3/8 in. x 2-1/4 in. x 7 ft. basswood fluted casing	579	2	$12.98	$25.96
  Reliabilt MDF 623	3.25" x 12' primed MDF baseboard (for bottom of crown moulding)	62312FBDPM	5	$11.76	$58.80
  Menards 1036058	12' 1x4 MDF board	1036058	10	$8.55	$85.50
  Ornamental Mouldings 3359PKWHW	7/32" x 9" x 2-7/16" birch acanthus applique	3359PKWHW	5	$4.99	$24.95
  5/16 x 2 1/2 S4S pine	5/16 x 2 1/2 S4S pine		12	$4.34	$52.08
  EverTrue EV742PBWHW	3.5" x 6" wood plinth block	EV742PBWHW	6	$3.98	$23.88
  Total					$463.80

Electrical

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Hunter 51623	Postman 52" Matte Silver Indoor 3-Light Ceiling Fan	51623	1	$149.98	$149.98
  Lutron PD-6WCL-WH-R	Caseta smart dimmer switch, 150W LED, white	PD-6WCL-WH-R	1	$59.95	$59.95
  Progress Lighting P3479-09	2-light brushed nickel flushmount ceiling light	P3479-09	1	$49.97	$49.97
  Cerrowire 3691720	25' 14/3 NM-B cable with ground (for ceiling fan and light)	3691720	1	$44.99	$44.99
  Lutron MIR-600THW	Maestro IR-controlled dimmer with remote, white	MIR-600THW	1	$39.99	$39.99
  Hubbell USB15WZ	electrical outlet with USB charging ports (3.0A total)	USB15WZ	1	$24.99	$24.99
  Leviton D24SF	Fan Speed Controller, 2nd Gen	D24SF	1	$22.50	$22.50
  Legrand NTL885TRWCC6	white decorator outlet with LED nightlight	NTL885TRWCC6	2	$15.98	$31.96
  EcoSmart FG-04206	100-Watt Equivalent A15 dimmable clear glass filament LED vintage Edison light bulb, bright white, 3-Pack	FG-04206	1	$14.98	$14.98
  Hampton Bay 70RRBNHB	Ansley 2-Gang rocker metal wall plate, brushed nickel	70RRBNHB	1	$10.97	$10.97
  Cree BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-2U10060W	60W equivalent A19 LED bulb	BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-2U10060W	2	$6.97	$13.94
  Baldwin 4754.150.CD	Classic square beveled edge single GFCI switch plate, satin nickel	4754.150.CD	2	$5.36	$10.72
  Legrand S232WCC20	2-Gang 32 Cu.In. PVC electrical switch/outlet box	S232WCC20	1	$4.61	$4.61
  Total					$479.55

Hardware

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Signature Hardware 929071	4" x 10" antique style floor register, brushed nickel	929071	2	$34.95	$69.90
  SMI VWM630	polymer resin cold air return grille, white	VWM630	1	$29.99	$29.99
  Gatehouse L6X201B	Satin nickel universal turn-lock privacy door lever	L6X201B	1	$19.97	$19.97
  Liberty P19449C-SN-CP	Garrett 1-3/4 in. classic satin nickel round cabinet knob	P19449C-SN-CP	4	$5.47	$21.88
  Total					$141.74

Totals by Category

• Category	Total
  Flooring	$1632.06
  Trim	$463.80
  Electrical	$479.55
  Hardware	$141.74
  Total	$2717.15

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Bedroom 1 Purchases by Date

June 3, 2014

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Cree BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-2U10060W	60W equivalent A19 LED bulb	BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-2U10060W	2	$6.97	$13.94
  Total					$13.94

July 15, 2014

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Lutron MIR-600THW	Maestro IR-controlled dimmer with remote, white	MIR-600THW	1	$39.99	$39.99
  Total					$39.99

September 25, 2016

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Gatehouse L6X201B	Satin nickel universal turn-lock privacy door lever	L6X201B	1	$19.97	$19.97
  Total					$19.97

December 1, 2016

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Progress Lighting P3479-09	2-light brushed nickel flushmount ceiling light	P3479-09	1	$49.97	$49.97
  Total					$49.97

January 3, 2017

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Hubbell USB15WZ	electrical outlet with USB charging ports (3.0A total)	USB15WZ	1	$24.99	$24.99
  Total					$24.99

January 9, 2017

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Ornamental Mouldings 3359PKWHW	7/32" x 9" x 2-7/16" birch acanthus applique	3359PKWHW	5	$4.99	$24.95
  Total					$24.95

July 7, 2017

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Great Lakes 13361	Hand sculpted hickory flooring 3/4" x 4" (16 sq.ft./carton)	13361	18	$79.84	$1437.12
  Total					$1437.12

August 21, 2017

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Reliabilt MDF 623	3.25" x 12' primed MDF baseboard (for bottom of crown moulding)	62312FBDPM	5	$11.76	$58.80
  Total					$58.80

September 4, 2017

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Signature Hardware 929071	4" x 10" antique style floor register, brushed nickel	929071	2	$34.95	$69.90
  SMI VWM630	polymer resin cold air return grille, white	VWM630	1	$29.99	$29.99
  Total					$99.89

March 27, 2025

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  MDFCRWN L 4912FBDPM	3.625" x 5/8" x 12' crown moulding	L 4912FBDPM	5	$21.99	$109.95
  House of Fara 8583	3/4" x 3" x 8' MDF fluted casing	8583	6	$13.78	$82.68
  EverTrue EV742PBWHW	3.5" x 6" wood plinth block	EV742PBWHW	6	$3.98	$23.88
  Total					$216.51

April 18, 2025

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Hunter 51623	Postman 52" Matte Silver Indoor 3-Light Ceiling Fan	51623	1	$149.98	$149.98
  Lutron PD-6WCL-WH-R	Caseta smart dimmer switch, 150W LED, white	PD-6WCL-WH-R	1	$59.95	$59.95
  Cerrowire 3691720	25' 14/3 NM-B cable with ground (for ceiling fan and light)	3691720	1	$44.99	$44.99
  Leviton D24SF	Fan Speed Controller, 2nd Gen	D24SF	1	$22.50	$22.50
  Legrand NTL885TRWCC6	white decorator outlet with LED nightlight	NTL885TRWCC6	2	$15.98	$31.96
  EcoSmart FG-04206	100-Watt Equivalent A15 dimmable clear glass filament LED vintage Edison light bulb, bright white, 3-Pack	FG-04206	1	$14.98	$14.98
  Hampton Bay 70RRBNHB	Ansley 2-Gang rocker metal wall plate, brushed nickel	70RRBNHB	1	$10.97	$10.97
  Legrand S232WCC20	2-Gang 32 Cu.In. PVC electrical switch/outlet box	S232WCC20	1	$4.61	$4.61
  Total					$339.94

May 1, 2025

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  Liberty P19449C-SN-CP	Garrett 1-3/4 in. classic satin nickel round cabinet knob	P19449C-SN-CP	4	$5.47	$21.88
  Total					$21.88

Someday

• Part	Description	P/N	Qty.	Unit Price	Total
  FloorMuffler 0264049	4' x 25' x 0.08" polypropylene foam underlayment	0264049	3	$64.98	$194.94
  House of Fara 579	3/8 in. x 2-1/4 in. x 7 ft. basswood fluted casing	579	2	$12.98	$25.96
  Menards 1036058	12' 1x4 MDF board	1036058	10	$8.55	$85.50
  5/16 x 2 1/2 S4S pine	5/16 x 2 1/2 S4S pine		12	$4.34	$52.08
  Baldwin 4754.150.CD	Classic square beveled edge single GFCI switch plate, satin nickel	4754.150.CD	2	$5.36	$10.72
  Total					$369.20

Totals by Date

• Date	Total
  Jun 3, 2014	$13.94
  Jul 15, 2014	$39.99
  Sep 25, 2016	$19.97
  Dec 1, 2016	$49.97
  Jan 3, 2017	$24.99
  Jan 9, 2017	$24.95
  Jul 7, 2017	$1437.12
  Aug 21, 2017	$58.80
  Sep 4, 2017	$99.89
  Mar 27, 2025	$216.51
  Apr 18, 2025	$339.94
  May 1, 2025	$21.88
  Someday	$369.20
  Total	$2717.15

Bedroom 1 Diary

• May 27, 2025
  
  • I removed the masking from the upper window sash and brought both sashes to the bedrooom. I removed the temporary foam insulation from the window, then installed the upper sash, then the lower sash, then the last white jamb liner (lower left).

    I cleaned up a bit, removing most of the things from the room that I no longer need nearby. I also moved the wool rug from the master bedroom to this room, mostly just to get it out of my way; it's been rolled up in the master bedroom for years. It is too big for this room, and not the right colors, but it will live here for now. One good thing: it eliminated most of the echo in the room.

    I patched and spot-primed 2 gouges in the window stool.

    I put a coat of paint on the window stool and the window bay seat. I later put a second coat on the window bay seat. Both will need another coat.

• May 26, 2025
  
  • I reinstalled the second bifold door of the east closet. The closets are now officially done.

    I completed the finishing process on the door jamb and door stop moulding, and removed the flashing from under the jamb and plinth blocks.

    I went to Home Depot to get a wall protector to put on one of the east closet bifold doors. The entrance door knob hits one of the bifold doors, and I've always disliked the alternative here (a hinge pin stop, which eventually trashes the trim). I also bought a sheet of foam insulation to put in the window frame while I work on the window sashes.

    I installed the wall protector on the east closet bifold door.

    I removed the lower left window jamb liner, then removed the upper and lower sashes. I then removed the upper left window jamb liner, the top left window jamb liner and the right window jamb liner. I then installed the new white jamb liners, except for the lower left since it needs to wait until I'm ready to reinstall the sashes.

    I cut a piece of the foam insulation I bought earlier to size, then fitted it in the window opening and taped it in place with masking tape. This is just while I work on the window sashes.

    I cleaned the upper sash, lightly sanded the parts I am painting, cleaned again, then masked everything on it that isn't getting paint. I then sprayed 2 coats of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 'blossom white' on the sash frame. I then removed the masking tape.

    I later did the same for the lower sash, minus removing the masking tape.

    I should be able to reinstall the sashes tomorrow, and install the last new jamb liner piece (lower left).

• May 25, 2025
  
  • I reinstalled all 9 of the wall plates.

    I changed my mind about the entrance door stop moulding. I was able to remove it with no damage, and reinstall it. I left the moulding on the latch side alone since it's perfectly positioned for a nice snug door when latched. But I slightly moved the top moulding and the hinge side moulding. No more rubbing or squeaks. I started the refinishing process on the door jamb.

    I moved one of the east closet's bifold doors to the basement and resprayed it to color match the west closet doors. I later reinstalled it, and moved the other bifold door to the basement and resprayed it.

• May 24, 2025
  
  • I cleaned the other side of the entrance door, lightly sanded it, cleaned it again and then sprayed a coat of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 'blossom white' on it.

    I cut in the second coat of paint on the walls, then rolled the second coat.

    I removed the masking tape from all of the trim, including the crown moulding.

    I removed the flashing from under the baseboard and shoe moulding, except under the entrance door jamb since I'm still doing some work there.

    I installed the new cold air return grill.

    I installed the new dual-gang wall plate for the ceiling fan and light.

    I reinstalled the entrance door, and I've decided I'm going to live with how snug it is for now, mostly because I rarely close that door and because I don't feel like replacing the door stop moulding at the moment.

    The new extended lip strike plate for the entrance door arrived. I installed it, and it's the perfect size and good quality. I'll order more for the other bedrooms.

• May 23, 2025
  
  • I removed the masking tape and flashing from both closets.

    I reinstalled the doors on the west closet. I can call this closet done.

    I removed the entrance door and moved it to the basement for finish work. I sanded the edges of the side I planed, lightly sanded and then cleaned one side of the door, then sprayed two thin coats of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 'blossom white' on one side.

    I finished masking the trim in preparation for the second coat of paint on the walls. This took a long time due to my perfectionist tendencies.

    I cut in the baseboard paint on the west, north and east walls.

• May 22, 2025
  

  • I primed the baseboard and shoe in the east closet.

    I put the first coat of paint on the baseboard and shoe in both closets.

    I put the second coat of paint on the baseboard and shoe in both closets.

    I removed the masking tape from the wall in the east closet. I then removed most of the flashing from under the baseboard and shoe that I used to mask the floor. Honestly, that might be the most brilliant idea I've had in a while. I cut the paint with a single pass of my utility knife and the flashing came out easily, leaving a perfect paint job on the shoe with zero paint on the hardwood floor.

    I did a little bit more trim masking in the room in preparation for the second coat of paint on the walls.

    I reinstalled the bottom shelf in the east closet (4 screws).

• May 21, 2025
  
  • I got sidetracked today dealing with the entrance door. I rehung it quite a while ago because it was so crooked that it didn't engage the stop moulding at the bottom at all. Unfortunately, due to adjacent walls on both sides, there wasn't a lot of room to work. I got it hung evenly, but it was a snug fit. At the time the door jamb still had its original finish. Well, now with primer and paint, the door was rubbing the jamb. The other issue was the strike plate not being long enough to protect the new trim, which is considerably thicker than the original. And finally, the stop moulding, now with primer and 2 coats of paint, is too tight against the door.

    I knew I had to plane the door to a narrower width. And not wanting to risk compromising the fit of the knob and latch, I knew I needed to plane the hinge side. But I didn't have a hinge mortise jig for my router, so I went to Home Depot and bought the inexpensive Ryobi hinge mortise jig. I also bought more Rust-Oluem Painter's Touch 'blossom white' satin spray paint to repaint the closet doors that wound up mismatched from the Behr spraypaint, and to repaint the entrance door when I'm done fixing it. I made sure that all 8 cans were from the same lot number.

    I planed about 1/16" from the hinge side of the door with my Bosch power planer, then recut the hinge mortises. This went just fine. The door now fits width-wise. I've yet to decide what to do about the stop moulding. I sanded it a bit which improved things considerably, but the issue will likely return if I reprime and repaint it. The right thing to do is to remove it and either install new moulding or just move the old moulding if I can remove it intact.

    I ordered an extended lip strike plate from Amazon, but it will not arrive until June 2nd.

    I sanded the joint compound on the baseboard and shoe in the east closet. I also caulked it.

    I started masking the trim for the second coat of paint on the walls. I only did about 6 feet on the north wall, just to see if the yellow Frog Tape (for delicate surfaces) is going to hold.

• May 20, 2025
  
  • To-do for today:
    • DONE - Put the first coat of paint on the baseboard and shoe moulding of the south wall.
    • DONE - Put the first coat of paint on the remaining closet door casings.
    • DONE - Put the second coat of paint on the entrance door jamb and door casings.
    • DONE - Put the second coat of paint on the baseboard and shoe moulding of the east, north and west walls.
    • DONE - Put the second coat of paint on the baseboard and shoe moulding of the south wall.
    • DONE - Put the second coat of paint on the remaining closet door casings.
    • DONE - Replace the entrance door hinges with new satin nickel hinges.
    • DONE - Remove the masking tape from the north and west walls.
    Queued:
    • Sand the nail holes in the baseboard and shoe moulding of the east closet.
    • Prime the baseboard and shoe in the closets.
    • Caulk the baseboard and shoe in the closets.

• May 19, 2025
  
  • I caulked the baseboard and door casings in the room.

    I put the first coat of paint on the entrance door jamb and casings.

    I put the first coat of paint on the baseboard and shoe moulding of the east wall, north wall and west wall. I also put the first coat of paint on one of the door casings of the west closet.

    I put a second coat of paint on the door jamb. I'm using such thin coats here that it will probably need a third coat.

    I have put off closet work for a bit because I have the entrance door and the closet doors stored in the closets while I work on finishing all of the door casings.

• May 18, 2025
  
  • To-do for today, but I suspect I won't get it all done:
    • DONE - Home Depot trip for more DAP Alex Ultra caulk, Zinsser B-I-N, brushed nickel door hinges and a replacement bifold door knob for the one that was broken inside the package.
    • DONE - Sand the nail holes in the baseboard and shoe moulding of the north wall.
    • DONE - Sand the nail holes in the door casings.
    • DONE - Prime the baseboard, shoe and door casings in the room.
    • DONE - Remove the entrance door and hinges.
    • DONE - Patch the minor dings in the entrance door jamb.
    • DONE - Prime the entrance door jamb with one coat of Zinsser B-I-N.
    • Sand the nail holes in the baseboard and shoe moulding of the east closet.
    • Prime the baseboard and shoe in the closets.
    • Caulk the baseboard and door casings in the room.

• May 17, 2025
  
  • I put joint compound in the nail holes in the baseboard and shoe moulding in the east closet and on the north wall of the room.

    I masked the walls of the room from all of the door casings and baseboard so I can caulk, prime and paint the baseboard and shoe moulding. Really this is just for the caulk, since it helps prevent me from getting caulk on the wall where I don't want it. I'm pretty good about wiping caulk as I go, but I'm using DAP Alex Ultra and it sets up quite fast. The masking tape just makes for a good guide to make sure my smoothing doesn't spread caulk up the wall. In all likelihood I'll remove the tape after caulking (before primer and paint). This took a long time due to me being picky and the profiles of my trim work.

    I sanded the joint compound used to fill nail holes in the baseboard and shoe moulding on the east wall.

    I caulked the baseboard in the west closet, mostly to use up the last of a caulk tube that was going to go bad if I let it sit for a few more days. I have one more 10.1 ounce tube left, which probably means I should buy another one just to be sure I don't run out caulking the rest of the room.

• May 16, 2025
  
  • I taped flashing to the floor of the closets at the walls to act as masking while I work on baseboard and shoe moulding. This took a while because I ran low on flashing and had to cut my 6" wide roll into 2" strips.

    I installed all of the shoe moulding in the closets. Same time-consuming miter cuts as the baseboard.

    I filled the nail holes in the baseboard and shoe moulding of the west closet, all of the door casings ad the east wall with joint compound. I still need to do the north wall.

    I sanded the joint compound in the baseboard and shoe moulding of the west closet.

    I removed the entrance door strike plate and cleaned it. I had gotten primer on it when priming the wall. I also addressed two 18 gauge nail misfires in the door trim.

• May 15, 2025
  
  • I spot-primed the baseboard and shoe moulding on the west wall, just to seal up the joint compound I used to fill nail holes.

    I installed the corner blocks and baseboard in the east closet. It wasn't terribly easy, mostly because the closet walls are not very close to perpendicular. The two outside miters, for example, pushed my miter saw near it's limit. They required 47.5 degree cuts.

    I installed the corner blocks and baseboard in the west closet, with the same complications.

• May 14, 2025
  
  • I finished cutting and nailing all of the plinth blocks, door casings, baseboard and shoe moulding in the room. I haven't started the closets yet.

    The north wall required another scarf joint in the baseboard. I sanded that joint and put one coat of Zinsser B-I-N primer on it. It needs another coat and some more sanding.

    I started filling the nail holes in the trim with joint compound. I didn't get very far, but made good progress on the west wall.

    I fabricated a small tool from an oak dowel to help me fill the nail holes in the fluted door casings. I decided to coat it with polyurethane to help prevent it from swelling when wet, so I can't use it until tomorrow (dry time).

• May 13, 2025
  
  • I installed one of the entrance door casings and plinth blocks.

    I cut some aluminum flashing to length and taped it to the floor under where the baseboard and shoe moulding will be installed. Just easier to remove than masking tape after painting.

    I installed the baseboard on the east and west walls, and most of the south wall.

    I made the tricky coping cut for the southeast corner of the room, and also trimmed down the second entrance door plinth block which will dissolve into the adjacent wall. I wound up doing the final cutting on the router table since it allowed me to very carefully shave off what I needed without the MDF falling apart.

    I primed most of the shoe moulding, since it's easier to do before installation.

• May 12, 2025
  
  • I sunk all of the face nails in the hardwood floor. That's the last full row and 1/2 row in the closets and the first row in the room (though the ones in the room will all be covered once the baseboard and shoe moulding are installed). I then filled them all with colored putty.

    I primed all of the closet door plinth blocks with Zinsser B-I-N, and one of the entrance door plinth blocks. The final entrance door plinth will need to be cut for clearance, so I haven't primed it yet.

    I temporarily reinstalled all of the closet doors in order to be able to make sure they don't run into the door casings. I then cut and aligned the closet door casings with my level, marked the positions with a pencil, then marked and installed the closet door plinth blocks. I then measured the closet door casing final lengths and cut them again. I then installed them.

    I am putting aluminum flashing under the plinth and baseboard as I go. This is just to mask the floor from joint compound, primer and paint when I get to that step for the trim. It's much easier to deal with than masking tape or various types of paper, because I can pull it out later without it tearing. And I can cut the paint line and not penetrate the flashing, so no accidental cuts in the floor and no bits left behind. The flashing is less than 1/100" thick.

    Tomorrow I hope to install one of the entrance door plinth blocks and one of the casings, then get started on the baseboard. The final plinth and door casing will wait a bit because I need to put another coat of paint on the wall in that corner since it won't be accessible once the casing is installed (there's less than 1/4" from the edge of the casing and the wall). A short piece of baseboard in the same corner will need to be coped to the plinth block, which won't be very easy, mostly because coping sharp turns in MDF is not much fun. I might try doing some of it on the router table with a 1/4" straight bit.

• May 11, 2025
  
  • I finished installing the hardwood flooring. I'll probably set the face nails in the last row a bit deeper tomorrow before I fill the nail holes.

    Next up is trim installation: plinth blocks, door casings, baseboard and shoe moulding. I am debating which parts to pre-finish beyond the shoe moulding, just to avoid some of the masking work.

• May 10, 2025
  
  • I removed the bifold door mounts on the floor of the west closet. I then cut and installed the row of hardwood flooring that goes under the bifold doors of the west closet. I then reinstalled the bifold door mounts of the west closet.

    I installed the next row of hardwood in the west closet. Hence I'm done with pieces that require the jigsaw.

    I finished installing the hardwood in the east closet. This took most of the day, mostly because I couldn't use the flooring nailer. Lots of pre-drilled holes at an angle through the tongues, then hardwood trim nails driven by hand and then sunk with a nail set. The last full row and the final row (about half a board) were face nailed. I need to get some putty to fill the nail holes that will be visible after the baseboard and shoe moulding are installed.

    All that remains of hardwood flooring installation: the rest of the west closet. It will likely take most of a day since it's the same gruling process as the east closet, though it is about half done and I found my nail set that's easier to use.

• May 9, 2025
  
  • I reached the closets with the hardwood flooring.

    I installed the underlayment in the west closet.

    I installed the underlayment in the east closet.

    I removed the bifold door mounts on the floor of the east closet. I then cut and installed the row of hardwood flooring that goes under the bifold doors of the east closet. I then reinstalled the bifold door mounts of the east closet.

    I installed the next 2 rows of hardwood in the east closet, and started the next row. Unfrotunately for this row and the remaining rows, I can't use the floor nailer (clearance). So it'll be slow going with the drill and hardwood finish nails.

• May 8, 2025
  
  • I finished installing the 33rd row of hardwood flooring and started the 34th row. I'm not at the closets yet, but I will be tomorrow. I am traversing the doorway to the hallway, and thankfully the transition piece I installed way back when is working out perfectly.

    For some of the 34th row and beyond, I will not be able to use the flooring cleat nailer due to clearance. To the extent possible I'll hand nail into the tongues, but I suspect I'm going to need to glue the last row to the second to last row and count on the face nailing of the last row to hold them both in place.

• May 7, 2025
  
  • I finished installing the 23rd row of hardwood flooring. Not nearly as much as I had hoped for today, but it's progress. That's about 64 percent of the room, not counting the closets. Hopefully tomorrow I'll reach the closets.

• May 6, 2025
  
  • I finished installing the 12th row of hardwood flooring. That's about 30 percent of the floor, not including the closets. I didn't have any trouble working around the floor ducts, and in fact I put the new floor registers in place.

    Most of my time is being spent sorting through the boards in a different room and going up/down stairs and across the house every time I need to make a cut (at least once per row). I'm near the point where I can bring a bunch of wood into the room and sort it into piles by length, which will let me work faster. I expect to reach the closets tomorrow.

• May 5, 2025
  
  • I sprayed a coat of Kilz Original on the front of the 8th panel of the closet bifold doors.

    With some help from mom, I got the Floor Muffler underlayment installed in the room (but not the closets yet). I wanted to get to where I could start working on the first few rows of hardwood.

    I sprayed a coat of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Blossom White satin on the front of the 8th panel of the closet bifold doors.

    I face nailed the first row of hardwood on the floor, and tongue nailed the longest board. I'm doing the tongue nailing by hand with hardwood trim nails, pre-drilling first. Not only does this eliminate any splitting, but the flooring is hickory and the nails won't go through it without pre-drilling (I tried). Hand nailing these is slow, but it's the right way to do it. I don't trust my 18-gauge nailer to reliably penetrate the hickory, and the big bump guide on my 15-gauge nailer doesn't let me aim precisely enough.

    The first few rows are tricky due to the two HVAC floor ducts not being equidistant from the wall. One is 4.125" from the wall while the other is 4.875" from the wall. And since the ducts are 4"x10", it doesn't jive very well with the 4" wide hickory I'm installing. I notched for one of the ducts in the first row of hardwood using the table saw and jigsaw, and will need to do similar for the next 2 rows before both ducts are covered.

• May 4, 2025
  
  • I put another coat of paint on the trim around the window bay ledge.

    I disassembled the 4th bifold closet door (panels 7 and 8). I cleaned both sides of panel 7 with denatured alcohol, then sprayed the back side with Kilz Original.

    I did the first round of cutting in on the walls around the detailed spots (door entablatures and window bay trim). I did this with a 1/2" wide straight artist brush. It was difficult but it's done.

    I flipped the 7th bifold closet door panel and sprayed the front side with a coat of Kilz Original.

    I finished cutting in the first coat of wall paint.

    I rolled the first coat of paint on the walls, very thin. The second coat will be thicker, but won't happen until after the new trim is installed, which will be after the hardwood floor.

    I sprayed a coat of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Blossom White satin on the 7th panel of the closet bi-fold doors.

    I cleaned both sides of the 8th panel of the closet bi-fold doors with denatured alcohol.

    I sprayed a coat of Kilz Original on the back of the 8th panel of the closet bi-fold doors.

• May 3, 2025
  
  • I continued to work on the fix to the paint on the 5th door closet panel.

    I put the second coat of paint on the door entablatures.

    I put a coat of paint on the window casings and apron just to seal the joint compound I used to cover the nail heads. I also put a coat of paint on the acanthus applique on the window entablature, and a bit of paint on the joint compound covering the nail heads there.

    I cut in a first coat of wall paint on most of the walls, except the areas around the door entablatures and the window bay shelf. I am waiting a bit longer for the paint to cure on the entablatures before I do the tricky cutting in there, and I still need to caulk and paint the edge of the bay window shelf. And of course it'll all get done again on a second coat since the door casings, plinth blocks and baseboard won't go in until after the hardwood floor.

    I caulked the trim around the bay window ledge, and later applied the first coat of paint on the trim.

    I reassembled the closet bifold door that was spraypainted with Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Blossom White satin (panels 5 and 6), and reinstalled it. I need it installed when I get around to positioning the new door casings, but I also just wanted to see that it looks consistent in daylight.

• May 2, 2025
  
  • I sprayed a coat of Rust Oleum 2X Blossom White on the front of the 5th closet door panel. The coverage is definitely better than the Behr, and nowhere near as much is lost to overspray.

    It looks like there was one area of contamination that wasn't removed with denatured alcohol. It's the top edge of the panel. I'll need to sand, clean and repaint there.

    I cleaned both sides of the 6th closet door panel, then sprayed a coat of Kilz Original on the back side.

    I caulked the door entablatures. I even did the tops, despite them not being visible unless on a ladder.

    I finished nailing the window trim in place, feeling pretty confident that I can replace the jamb liners without mucking with the trim.

    I put joint compound in all of the nail holes in the window trim.

    I sanded and cleaned the spot on the top edge of the 5th closet door panel where the paint had crackled (presumably surface contamination I missed when cleaning). I sprayed a light coat of paint on this area. It looks like it's going to need more work, for which I will wait more than 24 hours and then probably apply a bit of Zinsser B-I-N before painting again.

    I sprayed a coat of Kilz Original on the front side of the 6th closet door panel.

    I sanded the joint compound I put on the window trim earlier.

    I put the first coat of paint on the door entablatures.

    I sprayed a coat of Rust Oleum 2X Blossom White on the front of the 6th closet door panel.

    I glued and pin-nailed the acanthus appliques on the closet door entablatures.

    I sprayed a coat of primer on the acanthus appliques for the door to the hallway and the window.

    I glued and pin-nailed the acanthus appliques on the hallway door and window entablatures.

• May 1, 2025
  
  • I ran into some trouble spraypainting the closet doors. The Behr paint I bought isn't the same color from can to can, even within the same lot number. :-( Some cans were pure white, others an off white. This means I need to respray the 4 doors I've already done. :-( I don't really want to break out the HVLP gun in May just for these doors, so I'm going to try Rust Oleum 2X on the next set of doors. The Rust Oleum product I formerly used for doors isn't available anymore, or the packaging has changed enough that I just don't recognize which current product is the same as what I formerly used. But I've never had such a drastic color difference for a satin white as what I got with the Behr. In fact in the past, even across different lot numbers, Rust Oleum products have been consistent in color (at least for satin white). And I can't even complete a single door front with one 12 or 13 ounce can, so inconsistent color is a showstopper.

    I cleaned both sides of the 5th of the 8 closet door panels, and sprayed a coat of Kilz Original on the back side. I lter flipped the door panel and sprayed a coat of Kilz Original on the front side.

• April 30, 2025
  
  • I reassembled the first bifold closet door, and reinstalled it.

    I disassembled the second bifold closet door. I cleaned both sides of one of the pieces with denatured alcohol, then sprayed a coat of Kilz Original primer on the back side.

    I cleaned both sides of the second piece of the second bifold closet door with denatured alcohol, then sprayed a coat of Kilz Original primer on the back side.

    I masked the crown moulding from the walls so I can paint the walls and not be worried about dinging the crown with the paint roller.

    I brushed 2 thin coats of ceiling paint on the spots on the ceiling that I patched with primer yesterday.

    I put a coat of Kilz Original primer on the front side of the first piece of the second bifold closet door.

    I sprayed a coat of paint on the front side of the first piece of the second bifold closet door.

    I sprayed a coat of paint on the back side of the second piece of the second bifold closet door. This is just an experiment to see if it makes sense to do this for long-term wear.

    I sanded dust and roller lint nibs from the primer on the walls, and wiped them down with water and a microfiber towel.

    I sprayed a coat of Kilz Original on the front side of the second piece of the second bifold closet door.

• April 29, 2025
  
  • I primed the front side of the 1st closet door panel.

    I cleaned both sides of the 2nd closet door panel with denatureed alcohol.

    I primed both sides of the 2nd closet door panel.

    I painted the front side of the 1st closet door panel.

    I made a trip to Home Depot trip to get more Kilz Original aerosol primer, Behr satin white aerosol paint and a center spring for bi-fold closet doors.

    I painted the front side of the 2nd closet door panel.

    I put the second coat of paint on the crown moulding, then removed the masking tape from the ceiling. The tape pulled a little bit of paint in a couple of spots, down to the drywall paper (indicating poor bond of the original ceiling paint). I started patching those spots with Zinsser B-I-N.

• April 28, 2025
  
  • I put a coat of Zinsser Cover Stain primer on the walls of bedroom 1. It's difficult to brush, I'll probably need to sand a few spots a little bit. And it might need a second coat.

    I did try a different 1/4" nap roller cover than I normally use. I tried a roller cover meant for epoxy and adhesives. It was definitely easier to use, if mostly because it doesn't stick to the paint tray as much as a normal woven roller cover. Zinsser Cover Stain is very thick and super sticky, especially the new low VOC formulation, so this type of roller cover is probably the right thing to use.

    I was hoping to get a second coat of paint on the crown moulding, but given that I might need a secoad coat of primer on the walls, I decided against it. And realistically, I want the fumes from the Cover Stain to dissipate more before I spend a bunch of time with my head near the ceiling.

    Hindsight being 20/20, I probably should have just used Zinsser B-I-N like I did on the ceiling and in the closets, despite the higher price. It takes 2 coats to get full coverage, but it's much easier to work with and dries much faster.

    I started the process of painting the closet doors. There are 4 bi-fold doors, which means 8 total pieces. I should've started this process sooner since I only have room to do one piece at a time, and I need to prime and paint. One side at a time, so it's likely going to take more than 2 weeks to get them done and that's assuming I can get both sides of one piece primed in one day. The doors were originally unfinished on the back side, and I might not paint the backs but they will get primer (Kilz Original aerosol). I cleaned both sides of the first piece (denatured alcohol), and sprayed Kilz Original on the back side.

• April 27, 2025
  
  • I reassembled both closet organizer assemblies. I needed help from mom for the east closet due to the way it is assembled. I also thoroughly cleaned them, then drove all the screws and replaced the screw caps. I lost one cap, but it was for the back corner screw of the top shelf of the east closet. This isn't visible without getting on a ladder and squeezing between the assembly and the wall, so no big deal. But the awkward access to those shelf screws is why it took hours for me to finish this work.

    Tomorrow I should be able to start priming the walls of the room.

• April 26, 2025
  
  • I put the second coat of paint on the ceiling of both closets. For this coat, I cut in with a brush and then rolled the bulk.

    I went to Home Depot for a gallon of Behr ULTRA Ultra Pure White in eggshell sheen for the closet walls. Closet walls get scuffs, so I didn't want flat sheen. But the walls aren't perfect, so I didn't want satin. Eggshell is a good compromise, and this particular paint used to be called 'Scuff Defense' so it should be decent at handling scuffs.

    I cut in the first coat of paint on the walls of the west closet.

    I cut in the first coat of paint on the walls of the east closet.

    I rolled the first coat of paint on the walls of the east closet.

    I rolled the first coat of paint on the walls of the west closet.

    3 hours later, I cut in the second coat of paint on the walls of both closets. I was reminded that Behr's eggshell actually has more gloss to it than Sherwin-Williams' satin. Go figure. It's fine, and for a closet it's probably a good thing (boots, shoes, boxes, etc. tend to scuff the closet walls).

    I rolled the second coat of paint on the walls of both closets. I put this coat on fairly thin, mostly to avoid having to buy another gallon of paint of which I'd use less than a quart. I have a little bit of paint left, which should be enough for touch ups on the closet doorways if needed.

    Tomorrow I should be able to reinstall the closet organizer assemblies, though I have some minor roof work to do.

• April 25, 2025
  
  • I rolled Zinsser B-I-N primer on the ceiling, walls and subfloor of both closets. Normally Zinsser B-I-N fumes don't bother me, but working in such confined spaces, it was a bit problematic even with a respirator. But it's done.

    I painted the ceiling of both closets with Behr Ultra ceiling paint (Ultra Pure White). The area is small and is mostly hidden when the built-in organizer assemblies are put back, so I decided to brush this first coat. It didn't make sense to consume a roller cover here. I might brush the second coat too; brush marks aren't really an issue here since it's a very flat sheen and I'm using a good quality brush, applying thin and being careful about brush marks.

    .

• April 24, 2025
  
  • With some help from mom, I disassembled the west closet organizer assembly and removed it from the closet.

    I removed the baseboard and nails from the west closet.

    I cleaned the ceiling and walls of the west closet with diluted ammonia.

    I primed the edges of the walls and ceiling of the west closet with Zinsser B-I-N.

    I scrubbed the subfloor of the west closet with diluted ammonia, a green scotchbrite and a microfiber towel. This was mostly to get rid of lumps of joint compound from the original drywallers, but also prep for a coat of Zinsser B-I-N.

• April 23, 2025
  
  • Change of plans...

    I managed to disassemble the east closet in bedroom 1. It was very difficult to do solo, but I got it done. My thoughts from yesterday were incorrect because it wasn't possible to remove the top shelf without disassembling the entire shelving/wardrobe assembly.

    I also removed the carpet, tack strips, carpet padding, carpet padding staples, baseboard and baseboard nails that didn't come out with the baseboard. I cleaned the ceiling, walls and subfloor of the closet.

    I masked off the metal French cleat that the full-closet shelving and clothing bars were hanging on, then did the edge priming of this closet.

    I removed the carpet, carpet padding, tack strips and carpet padding staples from the west closet. Tomorrow I'll remove the baseboard and nails, and disassemble and remove the organizer assembly.

    I burned the tack strips and some baseboard in the fire pit. The nails don't burn, but my experience is that they rust away in the fire pit fairly quickly.

• April 22, 2025
  
  • I replaced the 4 remaining duplex outlets in bedroom 1 with decora style outlets: 2 with built-in settable nightlights and 2 plain outlets. The room now has decora style outlets throughout.

    I started patching the minor dings on the walls with joint compound.

    I made a shopping list for supplies I need going forward. Baseboard moulding, Zinsser Cover Stain, Zinsser B-I-N, paint tray liners, Frogtape and inside corner moulding from Lowe's, shoe moulding from Home Depot and Linzer round trim paint brushes from ACE Hardware.

    I picked up all items from my list. It took a couple of hours, mostly due to Highland Road being a construction nightmare right now.

    I did a little sanding/scraping of nail hole bumps left over from pulling the baseboard and door casings.

    I sanded the spots I patched with joint compound earlier today, and spot-primed the patches with Zinsser B-I-N. In the process I found a couple more dings I need to patch.

    I'm hoping to be able to start priming the walls tomorrow.

    I did some cleaning of the inside of the east closet. I'm still debating whether or not I put new paint in the closets. It's quite a bit of work to remove the built-in organization to be able to get to the walls and ceiling, and I wouldn't be changing the color (I'd keep them white). I might just remove the top of the organizer and the shelves, and paint around the rest. I'd mainly do this just to get a better finish on the closet walls. While they're not dinged up, they have a flat low-quality paint on them (probably ceiling paint).

• April 21, 2025
  
  • I installed the Caseta dimmer switch (for the ceiling fan light) and the Leviton D24SF fan speed controller in the wall box in bedroom 1. I set them up in HomeKit, and tested them. They're both working fine.

    I masked the ceiling in preparation for painting the crown moulding. I later put the first coat of paint on the crown moulding.

• April 20, 2025
  
  • More ceiling fan saga. The instructions for the ceiling fan rated electrical box were wrong about the screw size. So I wasted a trip to Home Depot for #10-24 screws when I needed #10-32 screws. I wound up having to go to the Home Depot in Pontiac (further away) to get 2" long #10-32 stainless steel screws.

    I also went to Menards to get a second ceiling fan matching the one for bedroom 1. It's smaller (44" versus 52") and will be installed in bedroom 2 when I get around to it. I bought a double-gang old work wall box for the controls and 25 more feet of 14/3 wire.

    On my first trip to Home Depot, I bought another ceiling fan rated box/brace kit and returned the 'old work' one I didn't use (I didn't like the single spike on each end to engage the truss), another Lutron Caseta dimmer switch and another 3-pack of A15 100w-equivalent vintage look LED bulbs (clear lens, filament type).

    I put the second coat of paint on the ceiling in bedroom 1.

    I mounted the ceiling fan in bedroom 1, and installed the new LED bulbs. Tomorrow I'll wire in the controls in the wall box. I need the light when I start painting the walls, and when installing the hardwood, baseboard, plinth blocks and door casings.

• April 19, 2025
  
  • With some help from mom, I managed to remove the old ceiling light electrical box and install a ceilng fan rated box. This was far from easy, since I was working in the attic wearing a respirator and holding myself up on angled truss lumber. It took about an hour to get the old box out, and an hour to get the new one in place. The latter should have gone faster, but the included mounting screws for the ceiling box cross brace were garbage; the hex head stripped immediately on the first screw having driven it about 1/3 of the way, and the Philips part stripped immediately when trying to remove it. This is despite using a very good PH2 bit (the Wera diamond-coated type). Sigh, I hate when companies include complete garbage hardware. If you're going cheap out a few pennies on 4 wood screws, just don't include them at all. I used some GRK Torx head screws instead once I got the garbage fastener out, which worked beautifully.

    Worth noting that the #10-24 screws included in the ceiling box/brace kit for mounting the ceiling fan are too short. I saw this in some of the reviews, and it's true. I'll pick up some longer ones tomorrow and probably return the second ceiling fan box/brace kit that I didn't use.

• April 18, 2025
  
  • I went to Home Depot for more ceiling paint, a Lutron Caseta dimmer switch, a Hampton Bay Ansley 2-gang wall plate and some EcoSmart A15 100W equivalent 3000K clear lens vintage-look LED light bulbs.

    I went to Menards for a Hunter Postman 52" 3-light ceiling fan, a 2-gang 32 cubic inch old work switch/outlet box, and 25' of 14/3 NM-B cable with ground.

    I went to ACE Hardware to get a Caseta Smart Fan Control, but they didn't have it (web site lied). Instead I wound up with a Leviton D24SF, at 50% off of list price. It should work, and is listed to work with HomeKit, so I'm OK with it. The advantage of the Lutron Caseta over the Leviton S23SF is the ability to easily add a Pico remote, but over time I've found myself almost never using the wall controls for the ceiling fan in the master bedroom; I just ask Siri to set the ceiling fan speed (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) or to turn it off.

    The idea here is to install a ceiling fan with light kit where previously there was just a light fixture. I've always wanted a ceiling fan in this room, and now is the time to do it since I'm about to repaint. I want separate HomeKit-compatible fan and light controls on the wall, which means replacing the single gang wall box with a 2-gang and running more conductors from the wall box to the ceiling box.

    I got a lot of the work done today, but... I forgot to check if the ceiling box was suitable for a ceiling fan, and it's not. So I need to go back to Home Depot tomorrow to get a ceiling fan/light fixture box with brace that can handle the weight and vibrations of a ceiling fan. Which means I'll be up in the attic again to remove the old ceiling box.

    In any event, I managed to replace the single-gang wall box and to run 14/3 NM-B from the wall switch to the old ceiling box.

• April 17, 2025
  
  • I finished cleaning the remainder of the subfloor with diluted ammonia and a microfiber towel. A lot of this activity was just to make sure I've removed any lumps of joint compound that would later potentially lead to a squeaky hardwood floor. But it also allows me to reasonably prime the subfloor with Zinsser B-I-N to seal in any old odors.

    I cut in the second coat of Zinsser B-I-N on the ceiling, then rolled the second coat.

    I used the remaining B-I-N to prime the remainder of the subfloor.

    I cut in the first coat of ceiling paint, then rolled the first coat. I don't have a full gallon of ceiling paint, I'm going to need to buy another gallon for the second coat.

• April 16, 2025
  
  • I put the 'unifying' coat of primer on the crown moulding, about 12" of the ceiling and a few inches of the walls. I'm using Zinsser B-I-N here.

    I removed the ceiling light fixture, cleaned the area of the ceiling that was covered by the fixture, then spot primed the area with Zinsser B-I-N.

    I rolled the first coat of Zinsser B-I-N on the ceiling. With what was left of the gallon, I primed the part of the subfloor I had previously cleaned, which was less than half of the floor.

• April 15, 2025
  
  • I caulked the crown moulding on the north wall.

    I caulked the crown moulding on the east wall.

    I wiped the east wall again with diluted ammonia and a microfiber towel.

    I migrated the cold air return hole to its final location. As noted previously, the cold air return was too close to the ceiling to allow for crown moulding. I had the same issue in Bedroom 2. I moved the hole down about 1 5/8" and fabricated a filler support piece out of 1/2" thick plywood. The filler piece won't be visible since it's behind the crown moulding and the cold air return grill which butts against the crown moulding.

    It's a bit odd that the cold air returns for some rooms in the house were so close to the ceiling while others are not (in fact the one in bedroom 3 is on the floor). I guess the gist is that HVAC guys don't really aim for consistency or consider trim accomodations, they're just aiming for correct flow.

    I drilled the new mounting holes for the cold air return grill, and tested the grill fitment. It's perfect.

    Like the other cold air returns in the house, I put a coat of flat black latex paint on the wall cavities behind the grill. This particular return is a 30", which means it spans a stud. With the Victorian style replacement grills I've been using, the wall cavities and things within them (in this case, an AC power wire and some phone lines) are more visible and there's no center strip on the grill to hide the center stud. I prefer the look of the grills with just blackness behind them, and the painting only takes a few minutes.

    I caulked the crown moulding on the south wall. This completes the caulking of the crown, so I can put the 'unifying' coat of primer on the crown, edges of the ceiling and edges of the walls tomorrow.

    The crown looks good. My scarf joints aren't perfect, but they're not visible without bouncing light directly off of them at an angle. There was no way around two of the scarf joints since the room is a tad over 16' long. And of course the other two scarf joints turned out great. If I had to do it all over again, I would retry gluing the scarf joints to make longer boards before cutting to length. I've not had great luck with this in the past with MDF, but it's been a while since I've tried it.

• April 14, 2025
  
  • I cleaned about half of the floor with diluted ammonia, a cheap wood chisel, a green scotchbrite pad and a microfiber towel. Painstaking work on my hands and knees, but needed.

    I went to Home Depot for two gallons of Zinsser B-I-N, microfiber towels and some satin white spray paint.

    I caulked the crown moulding on the west wall.

• April 13, 2025
  
  • I finished removing the carpet and padding from bedroom 1, except for the closets.

    I finally started poking at some of the residue left behind by the carpet padding. The padding was the typical mized-media foam, and it appears that one of the colors of the foam broke down over time into a sticky, gummy substance. It left a pattern of gummy lumps throughout the room, though it didn't stick to the subfloor everywhere due to parts of the subfloor having enough joint compound dust to prevent it. But I want to clean the subfloor of the carpet pad residue, and it appears that diluted ammonia from a spray bottle and a little elbow grease is sufficient.

    Given that I don't know the history of this room, and there are some stains on the subfloor that predate my ownership, I'm going to prime it with Zinsser B-I-N.

    I need to start making a wish list for bedroom 1. Things I haven't bought yet includes HVAC registers, baseboard moulding, shoe moulding and lighting for the closets.

• April 12, 2025
  
  • I removed more of the carpet, tack strips and carpet padding. I also pulled all of the staples for the carpet padding that I removed. Lots of tedious work, in part due to the carpet installers running a small filler strip of padding near the middle of the room. That strip had two staples every 1.5", and the adjacent pieces had the same spacing.

    I finished disassembling my old Middle Atlantic ELUR Edit Center desk, which is a big monster (84" wide, about 44" deep). I decided to thoroughly clean the base components since they're difficult to clean when the desk is fully assembled. This took a while (spray bottle of diluted ammonia, toothbrush, microfiber), but the parts are now drying on what remains of the carpet.

    I burned the old trim in the fire pit. It was just pine, so it was fairly easy to break into pieces. There was a decent amount of it piled up on the porch, so it was time. Three sets of door casings, window casings, window apron and most of the original baseboard. I haven't yet removed the baseboard from the closets, but that will happen soon.

    .
• April 11, 2025
  
  • I removed the remaining baseboard moulding.

    I started removing the carpet and carpet padding.

• April 10, 2025
  
  • I primed the remaining 2 door entablatures and the remaining crown moulding. This is just a thin coat to seal the joint compound that I used to fill the nail holes. I used Sherwin-Williams Premium Wall & Wood Primer here, which is sandable. I may need to touch up one of the crown scarf joints. Of course the crown will need to be caulked before I start final priming and painting.

    I removed the two longest pieces of baseboard moulding. This is a delicate operation, and unfortunately the trim carpenter must've been using his finish nailer in bump-nailing mode. There were multiple spots with two to three 15-gauge nails right next to each other (touching), and they of course didn't come out with the baseboard. I wound up damaging the drywall in one of these spots to get a triple set of nails out, since they had all gone into the base plate near a corner where I didn't have a good means of protecting the drywall from my prying. Not a big deal since the walls need some patching anyway, but I've never understood why a finish carpenter would use bump nailing mode for interior trim. It's not that many nails, and they're normally 12 to 16 inches apart. What you want is a well-placed, well-sunk nail, which is near impossible to perform reliably in bump mode. I've been using nail guns for decades (I own 5 of them, from framing to a pin nailer), and really the only place I've found bump nailing useful is in the roofing nailer. Which is kind of a different beast than other nailers.

    I did some more wall cleaning, but there are some black scuff marks that aren't going to come off without some serious abrasion. I don't know what they're from since they pre-date my purchase of the house. I had intended to just use the Sherwin-Williams Premium Wall & Wood Primer to prime the walls, but since I don't know the composition of these scuffs, I'm likely going to use Zinsser Cover Stain primer. It's not fun to work with (it's thick and has powerful fumes), but it works for covering just about anything. I formerly used Kilz Original for these types of situations, but it's no longer available in Michigan. I could use Zinsser B-I-N, but it's considerably more expensive. I might spot-prime these scuffs with Zinsser B-I-N and then use Kilz Restoration over the top.

• April 9, 2025
  
  • The white window jamb liners arrived from Andersen. There isn't any warm weather in the foreseeable forecast, so it'll be a while beofre I install them. They don't take long to install, but I will be priming and painting the windows while they're out, and I have to allow for curing time before putting them back.

    I finished sanding the remainder of the crown moulding and door entablatures.

• April 8, 2025
  
  • I finished filling the nail hole son the door entablatures and crown moulding, and started sading and priming it.

• April 7, 2025
  
  • I started filling the nail holes on the door entablatures and crown moulding with joint compound.

• April 6, 2025
  
  • I finished cleaning the ceiling with a diluted ammonia solution. I'll probably make a second pass when I'm ready to prime and paint the ceiling. This takes a long time but is worth it. The ceiling had not been cleaned since move-in, and as expected, the paint used on the ceiling was low quality.

• April 5, 2025
  
  • I tacked the window entablature, apron and casings in place. In the process I discovered that the window isn't centered in the window bay. It's off center to the right. This means that the entablature is touching the wall on the right but has a gap (almost 3/8") on the left. Not a big deal, I just wish I had noticed it much earlier in the process. I haven't fully nailed any of the pieces into place yet because I might need to wiggle them a bit when installing the new jamb liners. The jamb liners should ship today (finally), but they will not arrive for another week or so. Not a huge issue since I need warm weather to install them (the window will be out during this time for painting).

• April 3, 2025
  
  • I bailed on using the shoe moulding from the hallway for the bay window shelf in bedroom 1. Mainly because it just didn't look right but also because it was a bit too dainty and fragile when constructing the short runs with returns to cover the bit of the shelf trim that extends beyond the bay opening. I can't effectively nail to the wall there since I'd run into the metal drywall corner support, so the glue for the outside miter cut will be most of the support (though I'll probably also put a single pin nail into the shelf).

    I wound up making my own moulding out of a 1/2" wide strip of 3/4" deep red oak I had in my scrap pile. I routed it with the same classical ogee bit I used for the window apron and top of the window entablature as well as the door entablatures, so it's a good match. I pre-glued the outside miters with Titebond III, and they're very strong joints. Since I routed my own profile, I just routed the end of the short runs instead of having to make mitered returns. One less joint to worry about.

    I sanded and primed the joint compound under the window. It's not perfect, but it's not possible to make it perfect without replacing the drywall. Fortunately the location is barely visible once the new trim is installed, and honestly I think it'll look near perfect once complete.

    I put the first coat of paint on the window bay drywall, mainly because there isn't room to paint some of it nicely once the trim is installed. Due to space constraints, the window entablature will nearly touch the ceiling of the window bay, as well as the sides. The window sill ends are less than half an inch from their adjacent bay wall. These space constraints are dictating the order of operations.

• April 2, 2025
  
  • I fabricated a replacement for the front trim of the bottom of the window bay in bedroom 1. Just a simple piece of 1x2 oak. I ran a roundover bit around the top edge, and a classical ogee on the bottom edge. I primed it and installed it.

    I did some sanding and priming of the bottom wood of the window bay.

    I applied some joint compound to the wall under the window, above the bottom of the window bay. Not sure what the original drywallers were doing here, it looks as if they never properly taped/mudded/sanded here. Not much of this is exposed once I install the new apron and shoe, but the bad spots were visible before and would still be visible. I'm fixing them.

    Speaking of shoe, I've decided I'm going to use the same shoe moulding I used in the hallway, for both the bottom of the window bay and the baseboard. I will need to buy it, since I only have a small amount remaining (enough to do the window bay).

• April 1, 2025
  
  • I removed the quarter-round and the front trim piece from the bay window bottom in bedroom 1. Had to be very careful since I didn't want to create more patching work. I sanded the oak plywood window bay seat, and put 2 quick coats of Zinsser B-I-N on it.

    The only reason I removed the front trim piece is that it was beat up and was only profiled on one edge. It's just 1x2, I'll fabricate a replacement from oak.

    I primed the inside of the window bay with Sherwin Williams Premium Wall & Wood Primer. I haven't used this product in a long time, but I had a gallon I needed to start using before its shelf life expires. I've always liked how it goes on, despite it needing two coats for full coverage when brushing.

• March 31, 2025
  
  • I finished priming the window entablature for bedroom 1.

    I finalized the design for the window apron. The issue here was simply the space available. The shelf in the window recess is not far below the sill. Originally, the trim carpenters had just mitered a 2.25" builder-grade door casing, which looked, well, like a builder-grade door casing. I decided that 2.25" was as tall as possible without looking like it was running into the shelf below, so I am stacking a classical ogee routed board, a 3/4" tall plain board and a cove from top to bottom. Instead of routing the cove board, I just used some leftover cove moulding from another project and cut and glued returns. I glued and pin-nailed the cove piece to the plain board. I hadn't decided if I was going to attach the top piece to the plain board or nail it to the bottom of the sill. However, the proximity of the sill to the shelf below made the decision for me; there isn't room to nail from under the sill with a nail gun or hammer. The main issue here is that the window itself extends below the sill, so I have to be careful nailing through the plain board to the wall. Thankfully the plain board is select pine so I am not very worried about 18-gauge nails changing direction as I install, but I will have to place the nails toward the lower edge of the plain board.

    This decision made, I glued and nailed the top piece to the plain board.

• March 30, 2025
  
  • I assembled most of the window entablature. I haven't attached the architrave bead yet since it's possible I'll need to shave a little more off the bottom of the frieze. I also primed the exposed raw edges of the MDF.

    I removed the old builder-grade window casings.

    I later shaved a bit from the frieze of the window entablature and attached the architrave bead.

• March 29, 2025
  
  • I cut and routed the pieces for the window entablature. Due to height constraints, it's slightly different than the door entablatures. The cove piece is 1/2" instead of 3/4" and I didn't route the bead in the frieze; I'm just using a 1/4" architrave bead make of red oak. And since I ran out of 3/4" MDF, the top piece is poplar.

    I finished a sealing coat of Zinsser B-I-N on the front and sides of the new window casings.

• March 28, 2025
  
  • I have most of a plan for trimming the deeply recessed window in bedroom 1. I don't want to replace the sill like I did for the windows in bedroom 2; it's more work and it'd be tricky since the sill ends are not far from the drywall of the recess. I also can't get much more width for the same reason. The same issue prevents me from using the same casings I used for the doors.

    So I wanted 2 1/4" wide casings, but fluted like the door casings. Unfortunately the only suitable ones I could find are only 3/8" deep. I bought them, and also bought 5/16" thick x 2 1/2" wide S4S pine which I glued to the back of the new casings after ripping it to the same width as the back of the new casings. It of course makes them very rigid (even more so than a solid board of equal thickness), but that's OK.

    I forgot that I want to replace the window jamb liners, just like I did for bedroom 2. The current ones are gray, and I want white since I'm going to paint the window white. I ordered the jamb liners from parts.andersenwindows.com, they'll probably take 2 weeks to arrive. They're kind of a PITA to replace, and I need warm weather to do it since the window will be out for a bit while I do the work and paint the window. That means the window trim won't be done for a few weeks.

• March 27, 2025
  
  • I finished priming and sanding the entablature for the door to the hallway from bedroom 1. I later cut it for the dissolve into the south wall, and installed it.

    I removed the trim for the second closet and scraped off the paint ridge with a sharp wood chisel.

    I completed the entablature for the second closet: assembly, priming and sanding. I later installed it.

    Tomorrow I hope to figure out how I'm going to trim the window, since it is deeply recessed and has no room for the entablatures I used for the doors. It currently has just basic builder window casings, including an ugly apron made from window casing.

• March 26, 2025
  
  • I assembled one of the closet door entablatures for bedroom 1 with Titebond III and 18-gauge brad nails. I also primed the frieze for the door to the hallway.

    I needed 3 more door casings. They're House of Fara 8583 from Home Depot. I'm not sure how I wound up with an odd number, but I needed 6 and I had 3. I bought 3 more at Home Depot tonight.

    I also needed 4 more plinth blocks from Lowe's. They're Ornamental Mouldings EV742PBWHW. I bought them at Lowe's tonight.

    I removed the trim from the first closet, then carefully shaved off the paint ridge with a sharp wood chisel. I then installed the entablature for this closet.

    I primed two of the appliques for the closet entablatures.

    I assembled the entablature for the door to the hallway. It's going to need a dissolve on the right side, but I'll cut that once I'm ready to install it. The door casings I'm using are just barely going to fit on that side, but that's OK. It just means I won't be installing that one until after the walls are painted. Worth noting that the baseboard will need to be coped to the plinth for the same reason (space).

    Tomorrow I'll probably install the entablature for the door to the hallway and then start assembling the entablature for the second closet. I haven't removed the builder trim from that closet yet.

• March 25, 2025
  
  • I finished routing all of the pieces for the three door entablatures for bedroom 1. Given the length of the ones for the closets, it wasn't easy.

    I started priming and sanding the routed edges of the MDF. First a coat of SealCoat, then an initial sand, then Zinsser B-I-N. Since the MDF was prefinished (not just primed) from the factory, I had an issue with the finish on the face of the bead on the frieze lifting. I had to remove it (it peeled off in one piece), which meant multiple rounds of primer and sanding to make it smooth. I would not normally use prefinished MDF for this work (it tends to be problematic to route), but I had some leftovers on hand from a shelving project that I wanted to utilize.

    I ran into a second issue with this MDF, namely internal tension. I noticed it when cutting a 1 9/16" wide strip on the table saw, where the leftover curved quite sharply away from the blade. I don't typically see this from MDF from Menards since I'm always buying the stuff that's stored indoors, but these pieces sat in my garage for a couple of years. It's not a big deal since the process of gluing and nailing my stackup will correct it, but it means a little more work clamping during the glue-up. For the moment the one piece that's a bit warped is clamped to an straight LVL beam in hopes of it being a little straighter tomorrow. If it winds up being a a real issue, I'll cut and route a new one. The bummer here is that I didn't address it sooner; it's already been routed with a deep cove bit and primed and sanded.

    I've seen MDF do something like this before. It's just not common for me to see it warp while making full cuts (versus say a dado). Thank goodness I was using a featherboard and the riving knife on the table saw, else I might have had a kickback incident.

• March 24, 2025
  
  • I started working on the entablatures for bedroom 1. They're the same design as the ones I used for bedroom 2 and the hallway. While they don't strictly follow classical dimensions, they're not far off. One of the reasons here is that I prefer to just route my bead in the bottom of the frieze instead of creating a separate architrave bead piece. Yes, it's sort of cheating and doesn't create the same look, but I like it and it's a little less work for me since I have a router table and the bits to do it. And of course having a descent entablature at all is a big upgrade over builder-grade door casing.

    Two of the doors in this room are big closet doors, and the frieze for each of those is 77" wide. I cut the frieze pieces for these from MDF, and routed the lower bead. I also cut the 2 pieces for the cornice for each of these doors. I then cut the same pieces for the door to the hallway and routed the lower bead. This last frieze was made from poplar because I ran out of MDF that was wide enough.

    I routed the cove in one of the cornice pieces for the door to the hallway.

• March 23, 2025
  
  • I finished nailing all of the crown moulding in bedroom 1 in place. I did a bit of work on touching up the joints, but will wait for the room to be cleared out to do the bulk of it.

• March 22, 2025
  
  • More work on the 3-piece crown moulding in bedroom 1. All 8 ceiling pieces are nailed in place, as well as all 8 wall pieces. 5 of the 8 crown pieces are installed. The remaining 3 crown pieces will be installed tomorrow. They're 3 of the 4 trickier pieces since they're scarfed on one end (to join to make one long run) and mitered on the other (corner). I decided I want to be fresh to do those since they'll take time and patience.

    If I finish nailing up the crown moulding and get the joints touched up, I'll start on the entablatures for the door and the two closets in bedroom 1.

• March 21, 2025
  
  • I have been working on the 3-piece crown moulding in bedroom 1. I'm using the same moulding as I used for bedroom 2.

    I haven't cleared out the room yet, so I'm not ready to paint or start installing the hardwood floor. But I can install the 3-piece crown moulding as well as the custom made door entablatures (which I've yet to make, but they'll be the same as the hallway and bedroom 2).

    I've installed 6 of the 8 ceiling and wall pieces of the crown moulding. It's 8 pieces each because the walls are longer than 12 feet and I don't have any way to easily transport boards longer than 12 feet. I'm using 45 degree scarf joints to get more than 12 feet, glued and pin-nailed at the joint (probably overkill). I've also installed 2 of the 8 pieces of crown.

• March 7, 2024
  
  • I am trying to clear out the first bedroom on the second floor so I can install new hardwood flooring.

• September 4, 2017
  
  • I ordered a Victorian style composite cold air return grill from Home Depot. I would have preferred a different style, but I couldn't find anything nice-looking that wasn't ludicrously expensive. I don't need cast iron or solid brass for a grille that will never be touched (it's located 7' off the floor).

    I ordered a pair of solid brass floor registers from Signature Hardware, in brushed nickel finish. The same as the registers I used in Bedroom 2 and Bedroom 3.

• July 7, 2017
  
  • I purchased 18 cartons of Great Lakes hand-sculpted 4" wide x 3/4" thick hickory hardwood flooring from Menard's. It's saddle color. It was on sale for $4.99/sq.ft., the best price I've seen them advertise. I managed to escape a nasty thunderstorm by just a few minutes when leaving the store, so the wood stayed dry. I had to rush it into the house when I got home, but it's now inside and acclimating.

• January 3, 2017
  
  • I installed a Hubbell USB15WZ electrical outlet with USB charging ports beihnd where my desk is teporarily located. It might be moved later, but for now it's where I need it to charge my iPhone while I'm at my computer.

    I installed a Legrand NTL885TR-WCC6 electrical outlet with nightlight between the closets (the spot least likely to be blocked by furniture). the nightlight has 4 selectable light levels as well as 'off', and also has an optional louvred lens. This will give Julie options for its use. I have it set at the highest level and am using the clear lens for now. I like these, I will probably buy more of them soon.

• December 27, 2016
  
  • I moved the remaining bookshelf unit out of Bedroom 1 and into Bedroom 3. I also moved the remaining books, except those I'm going to throw out.

    I finally got around to fixing one of the heat ducts in this room. It was poorly placed relative to the hole in the subfloor, and the hole was actually a little too small for the duct by about 1/8" lengthwise. So the duct would fall into the cavity between the floor joists and hence not really heat or cool the room. I enlraged the hole a bit with my Bosch oscillating tool, then pulled the duct up to 1/8" below the top of the subfloor. I then put a few narrow crown staples through it into the subfloor edges to keep it in place. It should now stay in place. I reinstalled the el-cheapo register, but I'll be installing new ones when I put hardwood flooring in this room.

• December 1, 2016
  
  • I installed a new Progress Lighting P3479-09 brushed nickel flushmount ceiling light fixture to replace the original that had shorted out and destroyed the Lutron remote control dimmer. I also installed a new Lutron remote control dimmer. The remote from the destroyed dimmer works with the new switch, so this room now has a spare remote control.

• January 11, 2016
  
  • I installed my third Nest Protect outside of the first bedroom. It's hardwired and named protectb1. I updated DNS and DHCP configurations. I've come to really like the latest Nest Protect smoke detectors. No false alarms, scheduled tests, notifications to my iPhone, they look nise, and they have nice nightlight functionality. What's not to like?

• July 15, 2014
  
  • I bought a Lutron MIR-600THW from the Home Depot in Lake Orion. I installed it in the largest bedroom on the second floor. Now Julie will have remote control of the overhead light.

• July 10, 2014
  
  • I replaced the bulbs in the fixture in the large second floor bedroom with a pair of Cree 60W-equivalent bulbs I bought at Home Depot on my way home from work. This fixture needs to be replaced; the bulb socket wiring is severely oxidized stranded wire, one of which had come out of the wire nut in the ceiling box. Of course I need Julie to choose a fixture.

• July 7, 2014
  
  • I installed my last Baldwin satin nickel switch plate in the largest second floor bedroom.

• June 28, 2014
  
  • I made a second pass at cleaning the carpet, focusing on the areas that were high traffic. I made a dent in it, but it's unlikely that it will come completely clean. I was on my hands and knees for a while scrubbing with a stiff brush and LA's Totally Awesome before using my carpet cleaning machine. It appears that the previous owners never cleaned the carpet, so some of what look like stains is probably the color being ground out of the carpet by dirt that was trapped for many years. The good news is that I'm not grossed out anymore since the waste water in my carpet cleaner is coming out clean.

    I installed Lutron MIR-600THW dimmers in the family room for the sconce and recessed lights. They have IR receivers and can hence be controlled by a remote. Remotes are included, but eventually I'll opt for a new learning remote or a piece of hardware that lets my iPhone act as a remote.

• June 27, 2014
  
  • I spent several hours making the first pass at cleaning the carpet in the large upstairs bedroom. It will need more passes, but it's gone from disgusting to not so disgusting. To truly get it clean is likely not possible, and it's fairly worn in what was the high traffic area for the previous owners. There isn't a chance in hell that I plan to keep this carpet, it'll be replaced by engineered hardwood. I just want to not be grossed out when I walk in there.