Big Project

Hanging the barn door yesterday was just the crowning touch to this months long project. This is the entrance to the son's office/studio/man cave. After getting water in this room last spring it was time to strip out the carpet and install some hard surface flooring. But first, identify where the heck the water was getting in and plug that up. Some sealing up around the window well and extending the downspout an additional ten feet seems to have taken care of that. Once the carpet and still damp carpet pad were removed I was delighted to find that the moisture had loosened the original tile which was likely laden with asbestos. No need to grind or sand anything down, the tiles that were still stuck down a bit popped right up using a large putty knife. Then to remove the tack strips and baseboard, clean the concrete thoroughly, and finally filling in any gouges. Once that was done it was time to install the new flooring. I used an inexpensive but stylish adhesive-backed vinyl tile, the same flooring I had used earlier in the downstairs bathroom and laundry room. Despite the low cost it had held up well in higher traffic areas for three years so it seemed a good choice. Then on with painting the room and installing new baseboard. The door to this room had never fit well in its too tight framing. It stuck so solidly at times that Reid nearly yanked it off its hinges when trying to open it. Various smaller fixes had been unsuccessful and eventually some of the framing broke away from the wall. Then a major reworking of the door frame was necessary. Repairing it on the inside of the room and removing it entirely on the outside to allow for clearance of the barn door hardware. The door itself I constructed from a wall panel that I had replaced with a louvered door. Everything was repurposed from items on hand, all that I purchased was the barn door hardware. Today is moving and cleaning day! The son will be happy to have his work space back and I will be happy to clean up yet another remodeling mess.