Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
Still a ways to go with the house but at least there are new walls and….yeah, that’s about it…new walls. It’s barely liveable but probably no worse than any other renovation that I’ve occupied full time. At least there is a toilet and a sink. They are located two flights from each other but they do exist.
We’ve come a long way in a week and some.
Ye Olde Sheetrock
You’re probably wondering what’s going on with the house (or not).
While away for vacation, the work continued but it was tough for the boyz to get much done without the decision maker and kicker of butts. To make up for some lost time, I hired a contractor to frame, sheetrock, mud and tape.
Now he’s kicking my butt, as well as the plumber and the electrician. This guy is fast!
The house was in worse shape than I had thought. Isn’t it always? Moldy sheetrock and rotted wood under windows and near leaky pipes. That’s being replaced but I have not taken down ALL of the walls as I didn’t want to start a full gut three weeks into the project. The damage does seem to be coming only from the areas mentioned, though.
Lesson learned? Yeah, next time I’ll start with a full gut from scratch unless it’s beautiful plaster. This was some old crappy thin sheetrock. The entire house is getting laminated. Laminate means to add a thin layer of sheetrock on top of existing plaster or rock.
Plumber is going slow and dragging me down with him because he’s a scatterbrain who sends me to Home Depot every 5 minutes. The two local hardware stores and Home Depot know me already. Plumber says I’m “mean” because I actually want him to work harder and more efficiently. Whatevs. He better get it done today or Hubby takes over this long weekend.
Haven’t gotten to do any of the fun stuff yet, like shopping for my salvage materials. I can’t seem to get away from the house. Hopefully next week, I’ll be free once the plumber and electrician have done their stuff and the other guys are just taping.
And that’s where I’m at. Gotta go. I’m picking up the plumber at 7am to take him with me to Home Depot. Ugh.
Leaving on a jet plane to County Mayo, Ireland for a week. Well, I was gonna do some blogging from there. Really. Then I found out that the cottage we’re staying at doesn’t have wifi. That’s the Old Country for ye. Maybe there’s an internet cafe but you know what? Screw it. I’ve got the week off.
Looks like we’ll have typical Irish summer weather. Rain every day and high of 68 degrees. Too bad I packed all of my summer clothes before checking that.
I’ll take some iPhone pics because I’m not even bringing my camera.
Meanwhile, work continues at the Rockaway house. The crew is keep on keeping on.
See ya Monday the 27th!
It’s been some some since I spoke about the new project. That’s because it’s taken forever to get a closing date and there were times I thought it wasn’t going to happen. Well, I’m finally getting the keys on Monday afternoon!
Most ladies get excited when they pack their bikinis for their beach houses, but I was psyched to pull out my trusty work boots and painting clothes.
Wanna see my packing list for the first week of demo? Sure you do!
1. Sledgehammer
2. Sawzall
3. Crowbars
4. Tool Bucket (Hammers, Chisels, Bear Claw)
5. Screw Guns
6. Extension Cords
7. Work Light
8. Ladders
9. Shovels
10. Shop Vac
11. Safety Mask
12. Gloves
13. Goggles
14. Contractor Bags
15. Floor Protection
Valley of the Creepy Dolls
Oy. How did I collect so much stuff? I can’t even see half the crap in my basement. Fuggedaboutit! So, here are some photos of a few more things I found. Hope to see you at the stoop sale on Saturday. We’ll schmooze. You can meet my dogs. Maybe take some stuff off my hands so I don’t have to schlep it back into the house? Oh wait…it might rain. Maybe the sale will take place IN my house and not on the stoop. Whatev. It’s rain or shine!
What home is complete without a creepy clown painting? You know you want him!
Black velvet painting. Very classy. Unfortunately, she has a rip. Yours for 5 bucks.
There are hinges and pulls and knobs and old tools. Guy things. Ya know.
**UPDATE: Chance of showers. This is rain or shine. We’ll take it indoors if necessary.
This is it! We’re getting rid of the clutter or else! Hope you’re around this Saturday, June 2nd because there will be something for everyone, especially crafters and vintage vendors.
I only started to go through stuff yesterday afternoon but I see that there are plenty of handmade upcycled goodies left and oodles of interesting found objects to make your own creations. Priced at $2 for salvage pieces to $20 for Etsy inventory marked down from like 60 bucks.
Those baluster candlesticks were originally $75. Take ’em home for $20. I also have a bunch of balusters left so you can make your own. They work great as coffee table legs or picture frames. Or balusters for a front porch.
What else?
Mid century doll house. Needs TLC. $20
Vintage tschotskes. $2-$8. Lots of salt and pepper shakers for $5.
Vintage jewelry. $2-$10
Fabric and wallpaper. $5-$10
The cool dress form belongs to my upstairs neighbor. Don’t know what he wants for it but it won’t be expensive. He’s also got loads of designer clothes including Gucci, D&G and Hugo Boss. Size medium-large. All originally over $150, priced at about 10 bucks. He also has DVDs and internet accessories.
Sale will take place 10am-5pm on Saturday. 11 Verona Place in Bed Stuy. That’s the A train to Nostrand and walk 1/2 block east, then left on Verona between Fulton and Macon. Do not come early or I will send the dogs out to lick you to death.
The flickr set will be updated along the way, so keep checking!
Add yourself to the mailing list for a reminder.
Latest finds to sell.
The only time we’ve ever finished our renovations have been when we put a house on the market. Well, this time we’re not going anywhere but it’s probably a good idea to finish our own house before taking on the next project.
The thing is that we’ve lived in a construction zone in one house or another for the last 18 years so we are quite used to it. Plus, this place is so close to being done that we tend to forget there’s still work to do.
Nobody ever realllly finishes their renovations anyway, do they?
Here’s the punch list. I don’t have too much faith that we’ll get it done any time soon, but perhaps we can check off a few items.
1. Light fixtures. I keep buying them, but I don’t install them.
2. Paint basement steps.
3. Convert work room into dining room. Ugh. Now that I’m embarking on my first flip, the Reclaimed Home store is going out of business. I now have the task of liquidating my merchandise and crafts. Years of crap to sift through. Then I just move the table and chairs in, right? Nah, we want to take down a wall. Demo in an already finished room.
4. Get rid of pissy cabinet. It was nice while it lasted but we no longer need a sink downstairs. Plus, the cats are peeing on it.
5. Get rid of cats. Only kidding!
6. Molding for window sills. We did the marble and never finished it off.
7. Fireplace screen. It’s not fixed to the mantel and it needs painting. Currently being held up by a table I pulled out of someone’s trash. Classy.
8. Molding in bathroom. We finished that bathroom 5 years ago and still, no molding.
9. Redo stairs from garden to parlor level. Yeah, that’s a job for the stair guy.
10. That damn deck! Ha, it’s going to go another summer before we get to it.
I didn’t want to jinx it by mentioning it, but now that my offer has been accepted, inspection is done and I’m about to go into contract, I think it’s safe to tell you about the new house!
After looking in The Rockaways in bad weather then deciding to search upstate for a few months, I got discouraged with “the country”. Yes, there were houses in my price range. Loads of them. And I looked at them all. Only, none of them made too much sense. After travel time and/or living away from home most of the week, high taxes and the amount of work these places needed, I decided to give it one last shot locally.
I caught this house on Craigs and the agent actually did her job (unheard of in NYC in my price range) by returning my call and showing me the house. Not only that, but she has followed through on everything with this deal.
Location is pretty darn good even if it’s not on the beach. It’s actually located on the bay side of the peninsula with a view of the water. The parks department bought the property across the street on the bay and it will be a park with an area to put in kayaks and such. At the rate they’re going, I’ll be finished before them. This is in the high Beach 80’s, close to Thai Rock and within walking distance to the hip beach area. Like 4 blocks walk to beach.
The house is not much to look at. New vinyl siding. Hate it! But since I gotta keep costs down and I don’t want to put all that vinyl in the dumpster, I’ll try to purdy it up best I can with some molding to take away from the fugliness.
The 1920’s house probably never had any detail to begin with and it surely doesn’t now. There is actually wood flooring under that carpet, but who knows what I’ll find behind that drop ceiling and wall paneling? I’m thinking of going with Hollywood Regency style to spice it up.
It’s a legal 2 family of about 1000 square feet and I’ll keep as two units. I figure that rental income is never a bad thing. When all is said and done, the house should be fairly affordable to moderate income buyers. Even if someone just purchases it as a second home or two parties want to split it, the two apartments, although small, make sense.
The kitchens will get face lifts as will the entire house. What is NOT getting ripped out? Hello….
So, here’s where this blog will take another turn. Look for info on The Rocks (Yeah, gross term, I know. I said it to make you puke in your mouth alittle.) in the upcoming months. I’ll be posting design tips and DIY videos once the renovation starts.
If you follow me on Pinterest and you’ve noticed me creating boards like “Siding options”, “Tiny Back Yards” and “Hollywood Regency” now you know why. Let the fun begin! (In about a month when I close.)
Deb has been looking for a house for awhile now. Anything that has a decent renovation goes into a bidding war and as a first time home buyer, she’s reluctant to take on a huge renovation. She tries to wrap her head around fixer uppers and homes that are not her style, but lacks confidence in her “vision”. So, I nudge her along.
I sent Deb before and after shots of the second home we renovated, a weekend place we had up near Stone Ridge from about 2000-2004. I’m posting the conversation along with the photos because it’s Passover/Easter weekend, so you want I should actually write a real post?
Happy Holidays, y’all!
Ok, so D=Deb and M=me
D: Very cool. So did you buy all the furnishings? How long did all of that take? Was that a flip or that was your house?
M: No, we never did an actual flip before! That was our Kingston house. We put too much money into it thinking that we would keep it forever (which we’ve done on all 4 houses). We owned it for about 4 years and renovated slowly the entire time. When we decided to sell, we finished the reno. I don’t know how long that was in actual reno time because we stopped and started so many times. It was our weekend project for many years. We went up there to get away from our Park Slope renovation.
D: Considering that you like wild colors and all it seems rather tame for you, no? But in line with what it is. I likey.
M: I think I did that because everything was so dark when we bought it that I just wanted LIGHT.
D: The dining area, you covered the beams, is that what I’m seeing?
Before. Obviously.
M: Not really. Those “beams” were faux, made out of foam. We ripped them down. The house was modular and came in 2 sections. That beam running down the middle is the joint. It was never bolted together until we did it. Or maybe it had a couple of bolts, but not to Luke’s liking.
D: Gawgeous. Did you and Luke do everything, like you lay the floors yourself etc?
M: Did not do everything. Hmm, I remember laying out the floor but I don’t remember nailing it down. We had a contractor working beside us. Not sure if he installed or we did. I know that he sanded and polyed.
D: Please tell me that wood floor was under the carpet? har har
M: Oh please, girl. That house was carpeted throughout. It had plywood under all the carpets. The day I was up there alone ripping up carpeting, my dogs were running around outside (we had 7 acres) and one of them came back with a deer leg and dropped it right in front of me. They didn’t kill the deer. People were hunting illegally on the property. I chased one of them down one day.
D: Did you add wainscoting or was that there?
M: The wainscoting in the bathroom was just Home Depot stuff we put up. The living room walls were originally brown wall paneling. We wanted to do that “bat and board” look, so we had a contractor install actual boards piece by piece. Then the previous owner asked why we didn’t just put up plywood and use 1×2’s to create the same look. We were like “Oh yeah. We could have done that.”
D: So, can you do this to the 6th avenue house I like?
M: No I’ll be busy working on my own.
D: This is why I do wish you could sit with me look at a house I like and advise me on how I can make it look a certain way. Darn you!
M: So find a house you’re going to put a serious offer on and I’ll go with you to second showing. But it’s really not as exciting as creating my own mess.
D: Sweet, thanks for sending
Happy New Year! If you’re spending New Year’s Day in the Borough of Kings, come join the Polar Bear Club for some fun in the brrrr sun down at the Island of Coney.
Wanna know which post was the most popular of the year? Something I didn’t even write. Jews at Home Depot was off the charts with 1500+ hits per day for over a month straight. It’s still gets tons of hits. It’s mostly being passed around via email. That’s right…those alta kockers wouldn’t know social media if it hit them in the tuchas!
Til Tuesday…
Seametrics has put together a list of the top 50 green living blogs. Who is Seametrics? The company designs and manufactures a wide variety of flow metering products. They provide solutions to users in industrial water treatment, energy management, irrigation, utilities, transportation, and chemical handling. In other words, big industry.
There are some awesome green blogs on the list. It’s going to be fun exploring them. But my favorite? Oh, something called “Reclaimed Home”. Ever heard of it?
Well, now it’s GO time here at Reclaimed Home. Vacay is over, there are a bunch of goals to achieve and the holiday season is just around the corner.
We’re still working on writing up the business plan. What a snooze, but it has to be done. Guess that is the priority this week. That and getting the new website set up. That and getting some lumber and salvage online. Yeah, it’s already Wednesday. Did I say “this week”?
As a last hurrah for the handmade craft shows this year, I think-but-it-has-not-been-confirmed-that I’ll be participating in Build it Green’s “Crafted at the Canal” in Gowanus. Yes, for those of you whom don’t know it yet, Build it Green has opened a second location in Brooklyn. If I’m participating in a 5 day handmade show, it means I have to lock my little elf fanny in the workshop to make stuff.
It’s all very exciting and new, but I can’t wait for the new biz to be up and running already. The waiting is the hardest part. Thank you, Tom Petty.
Will be visiting the in-laws in Dublin this week. I’m bringing my laptop because I’m pathetic, but don’t look for regular posts. If I see something that needs reporting and I get bored and feel like working, you’ll hear from me. Otherwise, see you next Wednesday!
The Reclaimed Home team is getting bigger! Yeah, there are two of us now. Woot! Huge company!
Cassidy contacted me via email a couple of months ago. She was interested in working in the architectural salvage industry. I told her that I don’t strictly do salvage, but I’m open to hearing any of her ideas.
Well, she had ideas! The young go getter (22 years) is no stranger to antiques and salvage. She grew up surrounded by old house parts because her father was in the business. If you haven’t guessed yet, her dad is Steve-Great American Salvage-Israel and she wants to follow in his footsteps.
The Reclaimed Home salvage ball is rolling along nicely. We’re planning, planning, planning. We have access to some major pieces and lumber (courtesy of Dad) to get us started.
So, welcome aboard, Cassidy! I for one am happy to have you here.