Remodeling at my folks' house

[Trent Mason]

With the "spare time" I've had lately, I've had the opportunity to help my folks do some remodeling at their house in Charlotte. I've been here for about a week and just finished up the latest phase of the project, scraping the popcorn ceiling, mud, sand, paint everything from the ceiling to the base boards in the foyer and upstairs hallway. Doesn't sound too bad except for the 18' ceiling in the foyer. :swoon: Here are a few pics and some more descriptions.


It's not lonely at the top anymore. :wink_smil

The contractor that built the house 20 years ago capped the crown moulding and base cap a few inches from the outside corners of the nearest walls. I guess they didn't feel like coping around the casing to the attic door and smoke detector. :eusa_naug :slap: I took off the caps and spliced into the original crown and base cap and kept on trucking down the hall. :icon_thum

The upstairs hallway shares the ceiling with the foyer. All of it was scraped, mudded, sanded, removed all old caulk between the existing crown and the ceiling (it had popcorn in it), primed and two coats of paint. Also painted the walls, trim and doors. :thumbs_up:thumbs_up

On to the master bedroom. Scraped ceiling, mud, sand, paint, installed crown moulding.

On to the master bath. Same thing as the master bedroom only there are 13 walls in there.

On to the den. Same deal as the other room and I installed a new ceiling fan for them. :icon_thum

All lights, receptacle covers, etc were detached and reset during this work. I also covered everything with plastic to avoid having a huge mess. It's a lot of work, but they are very pleased with the results. :wink_smil I also installed crown in one of the guest bedrooms and the hall bathroom. I have two more rooms left to do, then it's on to installing the hardwood floor in the den, building a shed.......... Oh well, it's been a long week, time to hit the road and go spend a few days with my sweetheart.

Thanks for looking. ccasion1

 

[farmerbw]

Great job bro, I bet the folks are thrilled with the new look. :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap


Brian.

 

[Mt. Gomer]

That looks great! I'd love to get rid of our popcorn ceilings.....

 

[HMH]

Sweet, that's a long week though. I'd rather eat dirt than paint...

I like the color in the foyer, what is it?

 

[SubGuy]

Look like "This New House"! Do I smell a follow-up program? Gonna hafta get that young Norm look going if anyone will take you serious.:rotflm: Good work my friend!:icon_thum I prefer putting in hardwood stairs to painting so, your a better man that I.

 

[Glennbear]

Fantastic job!!:eusa_clap All that in a week's time ? It is obvious that your next employer will be getting a VERY hard working employee. :wsmile:

 

[DaveO]

Wow Trent you do great work! I think I'll be calling on you the next time I need some trim work done.

Dave

 

[LeftyTom]

Nicely done, Trent. Drive about an hour north of Charlotte. I've got some popcorn ceilings that have gotta go :evil3:.

 

[rcflyer23]

Looking good there Trent. That's the way to put your "Free" time to good use.

 

[toolferone]

Any great secrets for removing the popcorn? We all want to know. You have ben a very busy man, looks great!

 

[Canuck]

Fantastic work there, Trent!!!:eusa_danc:eusa_danc

You sure have demonstrated that you "know your stuff" when it comes to a remodel.:icon_thum

Wish I had your energy!!!!!!!!!!!:wsmile: (I walked behind the lawn mower for 1.5 hours today and I am bushed tonight.:embarrassed

Wayne

 

[Bas]

Definitely FINE looking work my friend!

Look like "This New House"!

Actually, the version here in NC is called "This Here Place"

 

[Wolfpacker]

Trent,
Wow, you got all that done in a week !?!?!?!?! I'd probably take a month to do that, but guess if it was at someone else's house and I wanted to get home to the LOML, maybe I could do it. :gar-La;

I need to paint my house and have a 2 story foyer and staircase almost identical to your folks'. Did you just use a ladder to paint the wall above the stairs and support the downhill leg with something ? What about the high part of the foyer walls...just ladder or use scaffolding ?

I've been debating to buy a tall stepladder or maybe one section of scaffolding, but having the scoop from someone who's actually done it would help a bunch.

Great job on all of it. Wanna come spend some time with your in-laws and do mine ?

Brent

 

[Trent Mason]

Thanks for the kind comments. :embaresse

I like the color in the foyer, what is it?

It's Valspar "Oregon Coast" interior flat.

Any great secrets for removing the popcorn?

There are a few. Use warm water in a pump sprayer and spray the popcorn down first. Wait a few minutes and use a 6" putty knife, etc to scrape it. Repeat.... on a lower ceiling I use a masonry tray(?) to catch some of the popcorn when it falls.

Trent,
Wow, you got all that done in a week !?!?!?!?! I'd probably take a month to do that, but guess if it was at someone else's house and I wanted to get home to the LOML, maybe I could do it.

I need to paint my house and have a 2 story foyer and staircase almost identical to your folks'. Did you just use a ladder to paint the wall above the stairs and support the downhill leg with something ? What about the high part of the foyer walls...just ladder or use scaffolding ?

I've been debating to buy a tall stepladder or maybe one section of scaffolding, but having the scoop from someone who's actually done it would help a bunch.

Great job on all of it. Wanna come spend some time with your in-laws and do mine ?

Actually, that was about two weeks worth of work that I've done in 3 trips. I ain't that fast. :gar-La;

I did the entire foyer with a 20' (I think) aluminum ladder. Be sure and get those little rubber things that slide on the top of the ladder to keep from dinging the walls up. I screwed a deckboard across the bottom of the entrance to the dining room to rest the ladder up against while working over the stairs. On the other side, I rested it up against the baseboard on the wall under the stairs. As for painting it, I actually only used about a 2' extension on the roller. I like to be very close to what I'm painting so I can see how evenly I'm distributing the paint so no long extension poles. :nah: I probably climbed up and down that ladder 100 + times and I am feelin it right now. :swoon:



Brent

 

[steviegwood]

Beautiful work there Trent. You can come up here to WV and take down some more popcorn anytime. I literally hate this stuff and the wife don't want me touching it because I will make to much mess. God Bless Her, I didn't want to do it anyway. Love the trim work, that adds a lot of character to a home. Steve

 

[jhreed]

Your mother has a beautiful home. And like my wife, she has way too many pillows. And like my wife, I know she is proud of her talented son.
Great work.
James

 

[b4man]

You are one amazing dude Trent! I can't believe you are unemployed. You might need to rethink your career path and become a remodeling specialist!

There's a job here in Greensboro that you would be perfect for:widea:

Enjoy your weekend with your beautiful wife:icon_thum


Barbara

 

[Matt Schnurbusch]

Trent,

Very nice work. Taking down the popcorn isn't really all that difficult. Messy, but not difficult. The part I hate is the skim coat and sanding afterward.

 

[walnutjerry]

Any great secrets for removing the popcorn? We all want to know. You have ben a very busy man, looks great!

Tom---------When the guy removed the "popcorn" from our ceilings he made it look real simple.

He first wet the ceiling with water applied with a garden sprayer. Used a wide putty knife and skimmed the popcorn off into a box held underneath the knife as he scraped. No mess on the floor, no dust from the scraping, no drop cloths. I did have the rooms pretty much stripped out though. He did about 350 sq ft in less than 2 hours.

Hope this helps.

Jerry

 

[Trent Mason]

Trent,

Very nice work. Taking down the popcorn isn't really all that difficult. Messy, but not difficult. The part I hate is the skim coat and sanding afterward.

Actually, when you go back and mud, unless you have a really bad spot where you have to use a lot of mud, you can use a damp sponge to smooth it over, rather than sand. Really cuts down on the mess. You're right about the scraping too, that's the easiest part of the whole process (unless you don't use water) :swoon:. Thanks Matt.