The second home project is progressing, albeit slowly. Here is how the stair bottom rails looked today:
Here is a more vertiginous view of both flights and landings:
As for the handrails, they are in a separate room getting their first taste of finish:
I'm using Waterlox tung oil on the naked Douglas fir. You can see how it changes the wood, giving it a darker, richer look. Sixty Grit told me that Waterlox finish is prone to air sensitivity and will spoil in the can after exposure to air. I'm giving this trick a shot:
Before sealing the can, I give it spritz of nitrogen gas from a product intended to preserve wine after opening. It seems to work. My Waterlox has been opened and resealed for a month now w/o apparent deterioration.
48 comments:
Lookin' good, CL. At the woodworking store they sell that same product and they call it Bloxygen. Being cheap, I use gravel. So far so good.
I was just about to ask how that project was coming along, now I know.
Waterlox Station - you got me.
Lookin' good, CL. At the woodworking store they sell that same product and they call it Bloxygen. Being cheap, I use gravel. So far so good.
There is a video on YouTube where the guy recommends crushing the can after each use with wood clamps. In the end he has a completely flattened can. link.
I was classically trained in handling air-and moisture-sensitive chemical compounds and so the first thing that came to mind was an inert gas blanket. Argon would be superior to nitrogen.
Note the new tiles. I've had to work around those guys.
The tile looks good - and the baseboard is tile, too. Interesting.
Woodman used the word "prefinish". My brother and I laugh about such things - preboarding, prewiring, preselection. We figure we are predestined to laugh about such things.
Nice.
Good job.
I woke up in the night thinking about the running bond pattern in the floor tile and the fact that the baseboard tile joints align with the outermost row of floor tiles. And while it is not something I will have to concern myself with in my building projects, it seems that from the standpoint of continuing the pattern the baseboard tiles joints should be staggered relative to the floor tiles.
Who knows - I would have to mock that up on site to see which looks best. Perhaps your tile guys know the score.
The can crushing thing is ugly. It's not a tube of toothpaste, woodguy, it is a can. Respect it.
Argon elegant. Using foreign materials to displace the air, meh. Crushing the can - really?
Now, on to the rest of my day.
File this under tessellation.
..... it seems that from the standpoint of continuing the pattern the baseboard tiles joints should be staggered relative to the floor tiles.
Right you are. Matching the joint pattern would result in an unattractive installation. It'd look more institutional and less residential.
Walterlox video was educational. Thanks.
Looks great, Chickel!
I approve of tile base. Nice clean look, and super easy to maintain.
Well, we now have two votes for rip out and redo. What does the boss man say?
***Agree to stagger the grout joints on the base. Don't even try to align with the floor.
I do not like stained case and base. Makes for dark outlines everywhere. Tile base or painted base is my vote, but that's my general nutshell opinion.
Not sure what you mean by "base" and "case". The steps themselves will be carpeted. He old balusters were butt white.
I agree that some don't like the look of the wood. I am not one of those. As for the staggered tile baseboard, I hadn't considered that. Strictly speaking, it makes sense to do on two sides of a square room.
The balusters will restore some of the "lost" vertical lines.
Can you tile the step? or perhaps hardwood?
Case = Casing around windows and doors
Base = Baseboard
-or- "Millwork/ moulding/ trim"
I like stained wood cabinets, stained doors and stained wood stair parts. I just don't like stained case and base. Just an opinion I hold. No biggie. No right or wrong.
I really like what you've done the to baluster shoe. Looks nice.
Tiled steps are hard to do because underlying structure flexes. Smaller tiles would help but my wife believes that grout is evil. I think wooden steps will be too much wood.
I think the original handrails are too big and clunky but Sixty convinced me of their intrinsic value a couple posts ago in this "series."
Wrought iron balusters come in various sizes and patterns, and are surprisingly low cost. Here's a photo; your local millwork supplier should have more examples.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/162198355118
I like the Douglas fir and I think the banister and baluster combination is part of the original fabric of the house. It is of its time and place and it makes a statement about those times.
But that's just me, speaking as a guy who has worked on houses dating as far back as 1790. I tend to think like a conservationist - keep the original pieces parts if they still work. We are but stewards of a property, it will pass into other hands over time.
Your wife is right- grout is evil. Epoxy grout is awesome, but a total bitch to install.
1790 - I'm impressed.
My father bought it, I restored it. I think I am still coughing up plaster dust. That was in 1965.
I was required to remove every 1790 nail from the lath I pulled out and set it aside. Every one of them was hand forged, and my mother sold them to restoration people and people who faked antiques. Fasteners are a great clue as to the age of an object.
But the guy I worked with later, building a house inside an 1886 horse barn had worked on the oldest house in the county - that one was built in 1710 and is still standing. My brother took a picture of it the other day - it still looks good. That, was an old house.
Carpet the stairs - that will cushion the blow should one slip.
I'm getting ready to rip the carpet off the stairs and install white oak.
Also - new siding. Anyone an expert on siding?
I'm considering James Hardy or LP.
@Haz: Wrought iron would indeed look cool. I'm going to have the original white painted balusters sand blasted and powder coated to look wrought iron, Dan Rather style.
Rene - Hardiplank is good stuff. I've used it for more than 20 years and never had a failure. I found it's best to buy it primed and apply the final coat of paint after installation. Also, because it's a cementitious product, cut edges may form a galvanic response in contact with various metals, especially sheet metal used for flashings, etc. Make sure cut edges are painted or caulked before installation along flashings.
The LP siding, at least the one I remember, is a coated product made of wood ships and other stuff. It will last 10 years or so, but in a wet or humid climate, it will eventually fail, support the growth of fungus, and generally look awful. Its shorter life cycle makes it less cost-efficient than Hardiplank in the long run.
*wood chips, not wood ships*
Didn't CSNY have a song called "Wooden Chips"?
Cue CSN&Y.
I concur with M. Haz. HardiePlank is the siding to use. All wood siding will fail, in time. I have had vinyl siding - don't like it. Let me list the reasons why. On second thought, not now.
I have aluminum siding on my current garage. It is okay, but I hope they don't make that these days.
My house is brick. Brick is good.
White oak is my favorite wood for almost any project. Thank goodness my house is one story, so there are no interior stairs.
Thanks, Haz. Good info.
One of the installers I talked to who installs both Hardy and LP - he likes the LP better.
He did admit that out here in CO the LP is a new thing. The LP comes in 16' lengths compared to James Hardie at 12'. You are right - LP is a wood product and that makes me nervous. They claim all the waxes and binders and zinc make it strong. The installers hate Hardie because of the concrete dust.
It's confusing to get past all the sales pitches. Best to stick with Hardie.
I was going to mention dust abatement with regards to HardiePlank, but I figured the installers would be the ones dealing with it.
A proper saw, fitted with a blade that will cut cement and a robust dust extraction system are required. Fly-by-night operators won't have those tools.
Working in a contained space is also a good idea - even a temporary enclosure made with plastic sheeting will help.
It's not as dangerous as the asbestos dust and lead paint dust I have been breathing for 50 years, but it is bad. Nothing to sneeze at, so to speak.
And if a siding product includes wax, avoid it. Sounds like MDF or some other sawdust-based product. Run away! That stuff fails spectacularly.
Ok - I will run away. Thanks, Sixty.
Right now my old siding is de-laminating and turning to mush - revealing that under the paint is cardboard.
Dan Rather style?
What about Brady Bunch style?
@ Haz
Hardiplank is good stuff. I've used it for more than 20 years and never had a failure. I found it's best to buy it primed and apply the final coat of paint after installation. Also, because it's a cementitious product, cut edges may form a galvanic response in contact with various metals, especially sheet metal used for flashings, etc. Make sure cut edges are painted or caulked before installation along flashings.
Agree on the primed product. A neighbor did the color version, in blue, and it looks funky at the seems.
**Printing out for installer**
The dust is a non-issue. The guy at the cutting station will wear a breathing mask, the installers don't need masks. This is not rocket science; people have been using ti for nearly 30 years now and there are experienced installers nearly everywhere.
Somebody who is selling you a different product is probably getting a spiff from his wholesaler.
seams
Right. The LP sellers use it as one of the various sales pitches. Must less dust!
Not that I don't care, but - who cares?
Or a spliff - dude!
If your old siding was cardboard, then it sounds like it was Masonite. All the houses in my old neighborhood had that and they all failed, about 30 years after the houses were built. The previous owner of my old house had installed pink vinyl siding over the rotten Masonite. Yeah, I sold that mess an that's why I insisted on a brick house.
Haz is correct, I am just overly cautious about dust - that is a recurring theme on this thread, as I have to deal with it day in and day out. Hate the stuff. Always sweating the details about it.
Also, I have lost a number of friends lately - some to pulmonary problems, some to other issues, but my dust paranoia does get to me at times.
It is Masonite, Sixty. Masonite is BS-speak for cardboard.
My dream house is a plastic igloo with hose-bib and a drain in the middle.
"Dan Rather Style" - I meant fake wrought iron but accurate.
Funny, my dogs dream of that same house!
Only with moar treats!
Did Fruit Bat join Bissage in the land of wind and ghosts?
Butt White is Sherwin Williams color 8256
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