Remodeling Projects
I decided to make good use of the 4-day Thanksgiving
vacation this year and finish building a new mantel for the living room.

I thought it might be nice to include a "before"
picture...

I tiled the hearth to cover up the bricks which
needed repointing
and were very hard to clean. Here you can see the base frame going together.

Here it is sheeted out and I am starting to add some
of the trim.

All the trim installed and ready for paint!

Primed and waiting for the final paint. This will be
painted with the same
color I am using on the trim for the rest of the living room.

Here it is with paint! It seems to be calling out for a mantel clock so I
guess I'll be busy working on that in the future.
All-in-all, a pretty productive weekend!

Note the dropped section in the middle of the living room ceiling. I
needed to run electrical for the spots and to separate the fan motor from the lights and I
couldn't realistically cut into the cathedral ceiling without major problems. I made up
some arched trusses to bolt into the roof, ran the wires and skinned it with
beadboard.

I finally finished the ceiling in the living room and now I just have to do the trim
work. I opted for an old-fashioned style of trim with corner rosettes. It is lower in cost
than standard trim, easier to do since it doesn't require mitered corners and looks great!

I used a 1 x 4 for the top and sides, routing the edges to match the style of the
rosettes.

This is what it looked like "before"...
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I've finally got a shop I can use! Once I get everything put away,
I'll be able to start doing some fun stuff.Note for my married friends: I stole the
vanity out of the
Master Bathroom to build the island. Hey, it matched the other cabinets!
What can I say? Eat your hearts out guys... |