DIY Woodworking, Home Improvement, and Art Projects

It’s been awhile since I have stopped by and written of any projects. In truth it’s been awhile since I have done anything but think about new projects. We just ordered a new refrigerator to replace the 25 year old Amana that was in there when we bought the place. It has held up admirably, but it is time for it to retire. With a new, sleek, black refrigerator coming on Tuesday, we felt it was time to complete the last big project in the kitchen; Putting a faux finish on the fake-brick wall - say that three times, fast!

The faux bricks are standard dimension, but only 1/2″ thick, and they were installed before we came to the house. They are a typical, bright red-clay looking brick, slightly rounded edges, and they were put up with the same technique as tile, but never filled in with grout. So right now the bricks are floating over a messy layer of gray mud. The idea is to get some sanded grout powder in a different color, mix it up, apply it in small sections, and make sure it is flush with the brick faces. Then I will go back when the grout is dry and use acrylic paint and glazes to give the bricks some variety and make it look like a two-hundred year old wall.

For this project we’re using:

• Cheap plastic picnic table cloths from the dollar store to drape over the counters to keep things clean.
• 10 lb. box of powdered, sanded grout.
• A corded power drill with a mixing extension to blend the powdered grout and water.
• A dollar store bucket to mix the grout that we can throw away later because it is a pain to remove it.
• Regular trowels and metal spatulas/scrapers to work the grout into the gaps between the faux-bricks.
  • Update - looking back on it, it would have produced better results, and been cleaner, to use a baker’s bag to apply the grout.
• A few old rags to wipe away the excess grout from the brick faces while not smoothing the grout too much.

We’ll be taking pictures before we start, and as we make progress, so if I can get off my lazy ass I might show you what it looks like. At this point I probably have 300-400 pictures on my memory card ready to download from other projects. Cheers!

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It has been awhile since I have been able to put any amount of time to working on our projects. This past weekend though, I was able to work on the master bathroom renovation on Saturday. We also did some shopping and got a nice vanity light fixture from our local light store (Lights for Less in Brunswick, Ohio if you’re interested - they are awesome!), a storage rack that goes behind and over the toilet, and a European-style towel rack that we’ll install on the wall later.

So the plumbing is fully hooked up now: The toilet is in place and working and the vanity faucet is working. The pipes below the sink though took some adjustments before they stopped leaking. The main thing I found was that it’s best to use plastic piping for the drain trap and extension tubes. I am told it lasts longer, doesn’t rust like brass, and it is very lightweight and easy to cut. You do need to use teflon tape or putty on all of the connections though. This was one thing I didn’t do the first time. There were a couple of connections that I didn’t tape up, and water leaked down through the threads where ends screwed together.

I also got a final coat of tinted glaze on the walls and it really helped to tone down the cinnamon/rust colored glaze that I used before. All in all I put two coats of primer, two coats of Ralph Lauren sand texture paint, one coat of a creamy, off-white color paint, two coats of cinnamon-colored transparent glaze, and two coats of celery-colored transparent glaze, for a total of nine layers! That took awhile, but the effect is sweet! It looks an worn, lime-washed plaster wall in a centuries-old Flemish or Tuscan village. It was definitely worth the effort, and the way it looks with the slate floor and the cinnamon-colored vanity is really cool.

The only thing we have yet to find is a mirror. I don’t know why, but it’s difficult to find just the right style, and just the right size, for this bathroom. Other than that, we just need to install the light fixture, prime and paint the ceiling white again, install the baseboard molding, and install a mirror. Just gotta keep on movin’!

Cheers!

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This is just a quick update on what we accomplished tonight, in between runs to the home store, and Bob Evans restaurant.  I think I was going into Bob Evans withdrawl there for a while…but now I am better. 

The tiles had been washed with cold water and a sponge one more time earlier in the afternoon.  They were dry enough, so I went in and used a new tinted glaze on the walls.  The idea was to tone down the more ‘Spanish’ look that I got with the terra cotta/cinnamon colored glaze.  I used a rag-rolling type of technique and it worked really well.   Now we’ve got this cool, layered, old tuscan plaster look.  It’s a little bit like what they tell you the Bellagio Faux product from Behr is supposed to look like, but I made this all myownself.

After that was well on its way to drying we started in on sealing the grout lines.  The tiles and grout had been curing since Sunday afternoon, so I knew that was plenty of time to wait.  I will post a separate product review on the TileLab grout sealer I used.  We then applied one final coat of the AquaMix sealer and enhancer over the tiles right around the toilet gasket.  We plan to put the toilet back tomorrow night, and this way that section of tile will be completly cleaned and sealed, and the grout will be done too.

So for now, it’s time to go to bed.  That was a decent amount of work to get done on a school night!  Cheers!

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Sometimes it takes a little shake up in your routine to get back to the do it yourself projects that have slid into obscurity. My special lady has gone south for the week, and I have plenty of time to take care of the dog, write some fiction that I’ve been meaning to give more attention to, and last but not least, work on the kitchen renovation.

The renewed focus is due in part to the fact that we’re hosting a gathering of friends this weekend for food, drinks, and a look at all of our progress. So, not wanting to let them down, I’m going to give them so progress to look at. The main projects to complete in the kitchen are the cabinet refinishing, reworking the faux brick wall, and priming, texturing, and glazing the other walls.

I’ll post some pictures of the projects a little later as I’ve yet to transfer them from my camera and edit them. I have another site that I’m developing concurrently to host all the tutorials, big projects, etc., all in one place, that will be easier to navigate and display more pictures. For now I’ll just give a quick run down of what I did over the weekend.

The Brick Wall - Not much done on these so far. I went to the dollar store and bought two large, thin plastic table cloths that I’m going to use as catch-all drop cloths. For two bucks total I got enough square footage to adequately protect most of the kitchen now. We’ve already got the joint compound that I’ll be using for the mortar joints and the stucco effect; though, I’m sure I’ll need to buy more later this week.

The Kitchen Walls - Here I’ve taped everything off, prepped the walls by giving them a quick wash with Murphy’s oil soap and water, and cut in all the corners and edges with Kilz Primer. I’ve set myself up for a quick coat of primer using a roller to complete the priming and sealing of the walls before I add the joint compound venetian plaster texture. I wanted to complete the priming and sealing last night but it was getting late and I was beat.

The Kitchen Cabinets - We only had one small section left to complete for this project. There are three doors, and two drawers, plus the faces of the actual cabinet unit itself. I managed to double coat the fronts with that same Kilz primer/sealer, and put one coat on the backs of the doors. This was after sanding, washing, filling, then sanding and washing again. I’m almost ready to put the first coat of color on them; hopefully this evening will see that get done.

As I continue with each project I’ll post updates. These are pretty big projects to try and finish in one weekend and three weeknights (she’ll be back Thursday evening.) I guess I can rest a little over the upcoming four-day weekend. Take care!

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After speaking with some wise people on a DIY forum, I’ve decided to hold off on using the Bellagio Faux products. While I may still eventually use them, I’m now leaning more towards using a better quality paint and trying to create the multi-layered plaster look by myself. I am concerned about the final result, the durability, and the subtle differences. The Behr product seems to present a more convenient, quicker solution. The DIY solution, using a higher quality paint, and probably joint compound among other things, will be a longer process and not as simple.

Ultimately it comes down to what I think will look the best without obliterating the budget. The thing is, the Bellagio Faux products aren’t cheap, so getting an alternative brand of professional paint and doing the texturing myself might still work out to be the less expensive alternative. In my opinion though since we’re going to be doing this in the biggest room in the house — where we spend most of our time — it will be worth it to spend what is necessary to make it look great. After all the effort it will take to do a nice finish on the walls, I’d hate to have to redo it because it looks poor.

Anyway, that’s just the latest update. It’s also proof that one can never stop learning. Asking questions and interacting with other DIYers can teach you a lot and probably save you money, time, and headaches. Until next time…cheers!

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I thought I’d write a quick intro to one of our next major projects.  We’re going to be putting a faux finish on the main living area walls.  It’s going to be the Bellagio Faux finish by Behr.  After seeing the product and some samples at our local Home Depot, we decided to grab the free DVD they have and the color sample booklet.

They offer quite a nice range of color combinations that they show you in the booklet.  There are final finishes that range from authentic antiqued plaster to combinations of blues, greens, and other hues.  You can use multiple layers in different pre-mixed shades, or just one coat on top of a flat base coat of regular interior paint.  I’ll post a little sample of our choice a little later.  I’m going to make a full tutorial out of this project so you can see just what is involved in the process and give you a chance to see what the finish looks like when an amateur applies it to his own walls.

I’ll post more about this product and particular finish as we gear up for this project.  I’m guessing that we’ll get to it around the end of summer or somewhere around there.  We have a big list and not everything is scheduled yet as we are still undecided on which room to tackle after the kitchen renovation.  Have a great weekend everyone!

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One of the main remodeling projects in the kitchen, in addition to the cabinet refinishing, is the venetian plaster effect on the walls.  When we started there was awful wall paper in a country pattern.  On the opposite wall, in the small dining area, there was an equally hideous, but different pattern.  We knew that just re-doing the cabinets was not going to be enough.

We removed the wall paper (that topic will be covered in depth in other posts and in other project tutorials) and what was left on the walls was a scratchy, uneven texture from all of the excess paste.  The previous owners hadn’t used any sizing before applying the wall paper, so our removal job was more difficult, and the walls needed a creative solution to make them look good.  Straight priming and painting wouldn’t work here…the walls were just in no shape to work with using traditional painting techniques.

We had wanted to do a venetian plaster faux finish somewhere in the house, so this seemed like the ideal location.  There were several things we considered here.  One, would the plaster finish match the cabinet style, and the other colors/textures in the kitchen?  Two, could we do a finish like this ourselves and actually make it look good?  Three, what kinds of costs are involved with a venetian plaster finish and would it be worth the final results?  Four, what kinds of products were the best, cost-effective, and easy to find for the job?

Check back to find out the answers we came up with, and to see the test results on the walls!  When we try an idea, we try it big!  Cheers!

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