Stairs Updated Photos

Chris installed the final trim for the stairs this past week here are the updated pics.

Here are the stairs with the yellow paint and the repainted grate.

Here is the new attic entrance. Sure beats the heck out of that old piece of paneling.

Bathroom Update

We are progressing on the bathroom but slowly. I finished stripping the built in and door frame and finished patching the walls. Chris drilled a new hole for the bathroom fan vent and ran the ducting to the outside. We've also decided to have the plumber back to replace all of the galvanized plumbing in the kitchen ceiling with PEX. We were originally going to do the install our selves but with this project dragging on so long we felt it was best to hire out.


So Tuesday when the plumber is here I'm hoping to try out the shellac mix on the good trim and get the unimpressive trim painted aiming to get the walls painted next weekend. It should be close but I'm hoping for the best.

We have a trim color

My Brown Mahogany TransTint Dye came on Thursday afternoon and Saturday afternoon I got a chance to try it out.

First I had to calculate the proper proportions of dye to shellac the bottle says 1 oz of dye to 1 quart of shellac. I scaled the recipe back to 1.56CCs of dye to 50CCs of shellac. For this step I used one of my measuring cups from Rockler and a syringe I bought from the farm section of my local Fleet Farm. I ordered some syringes and assorted measuring vessles from American Science and Surplus on Friday but alas they did not arrive on time.



Next I measured out the dye and shellac, I had to dump the dye out on a little plastic saucer in order to suck it up with the syringe the neck of the dye bottle was just a bit too small


After measuring out the proper proportions I mixed the dye into the shellac and then applied to my sample piece using a piece of an old t-shirt
I was so pleased with the way it came out I stripped my original test piece and refinished it with the shellac.

New (Here I'm comparing it with the trim that is yet to be stripped, I may darken this piece up a bit with another coat):

Old:By my calculations I should need two bottles of dye to slightly less than one gallon of shellac. I'm still thinking I should be able to do all the kitchen trim and doors with one gallon of shellac. Once I get the final mixed up I should be able to finish the door that has been sitting in my shop since January. Whoo hoo, Progress!

Stupid Pine!

Attempt 3 on the staining was little more successful than attempts one and two however it wasn't a total loss I did really like the gel stains. Next time I have a non-pine project I'll have to give them a try.

After the latest failed attempt I decided to try a new approach. Many of the finishing sites suggest using dyed shellac to deal with the pine problem. Prior to this I was shying away from any colors that were not premixed as precision is not my forte. But remodeling a house isn't for the faint of heart so last night I purchased the Dark Walnut and Brown Mahogany TransTint Dyes from Rockler http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11448&filter=Dye along with set of mixing cups.



If this works out the way I planned (ha!) and I can get a color I like. I can then mix up a gallon of the trim color which I hope will be more than enough to get me through the kitchen and if the colors don't match exactly room to room I don't think it will be a huge deal.