Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Gothichome
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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Ya, I messed up. Told the electricians there would be a one inch drop on the ceiling when in reality it’s 1 1/4 inch so my boxes are just a bit shy of flush. Not a big deal, to rectify i’ll Just pop the floor boards and tweak them a bit. I think the mixed widths on the floor boards were just away of using up left over and off dimensions boards. All boards in the rest of the home are the same width. Typical of Victorians and older homes, put the good stuff in the public spaces, cheap for the kitchen, no one (of consequence) will see them. Or they were always intended to be covered with linoleum or oil cloth. Either way cheaper. Inch and a half tongue and grove fir
Saying that they spent the time and money to do some expensive and fussy trim work on the walls.

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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Another discovery, a third location for a kitchen sink. Just to the right of the sink/counter I just took out.
Image
Also, it would seem the counter was installed prior to the blue paint. The Ivory colour is under the blue. So as shown in the pic, we have five histories of colour. The light Ivory we are applying, the blue, I suspect early 60’s, Ivory of unknown date, under that a green, and on the very bottom, alternating dark and light staining and shellac.

phil
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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

Post by phil »

That trim is SO COOL !!
I always use screws not nails and some of the boxes you can screw from inside the box, that makes it a lot easier to contend with than the ones that are nailed on with the nails outside the box.
sometimes I find moving them tricky because the screws need to go at about a 45 degree angle. I use ones with countersunk heads. when you suck them tight they tend to shift the box and a little is a lot. so if I can't get them right the first time I put a dab of epoxy putty on the outside of the box and position it , then when the putty is dry I drill pilot holes and then tighten the screws up that helps them not shift as easily. the epoxy doesn't hold them , the screws do, the epoxy just helps them stay put while I attach them. occasionally the stud isn't square or there is a knot there or something so I've had to use little shims and things at times to get them to cooperate. you can tell your electrician is anal retentive if he tightens every screw so the slot is the same orientation.. lol. some do , I couldn't care less myself ;-)

with boxes I know you can get box extenders. You could check if you can get them for pots and then you can just add them if you want. the closer to flush you can get the better. but the boxes cant' stick out or the switch plates won't draw flat. light pots might get covered up depending on your style of lamp but you want to be able to take some weight in case someone hangs a heavy light. Sometimes I have to resort to getting little sticks covered in glue and plugging the screw holes to try again when they wander a little off from where I want them. of course with the pots they just attach to one joist but sometimes if you have to pull the pot out you can stick a short 2x4 up above the drywall and also attach that to help hold the other side flush at the same time. that one is only so strong as the drywall of course, but it can help a little to hold it square at least and just let it rest above on top of the drywall.

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Gothichome
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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Still working on the kitchen project, nothing picture worthy but soon. Close to turning the corner into assembly mode.
Phill, I really need to drop one box, the other is close enough as not to be an issue. As far as the bigger of the two lights the electricians installed a special mounting bar, looking at the bar it’s a lot of over kill. Probably could hang an anvil on it.
Any how, pictures soon, I promise.

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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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her's a box extender for light pots but it extends them by 1.5"
https://www.cesco.com/Cooper-Crouse-Hin ... s/p2037942

or there is a plastic one
https://www.cesco.com/Arlington-Fitting ... r/p1933819

the ones for switch boxes seem more common

https://www.cesco.com/Box-Extenders/c4407

with box extenders you sometimes dont; need to move the box to meet code. I believe there are specs on tolerances. one aims for flat with the wall but if you add layers of drywall they need ot be moved and if they have nailed the boxes where you cant' get to the nails you have ot break the drywall.

I usually just move them but I put all mine in with screws so I can. I aim for flush , if they are recessed by 1/16" or so I let that go. if they stick out you get a gap beteween the switch plate and the wall. If you didn't want to involve the electrician maybe you could just add the plastic box extenders if it concerns you. of course you can cheat and use long screws and that works and isn't really visible. it can be fussy to get them just right but crooked switch boxes really show.

the mistake I've made a few times is putting switch boxes near doorways and forgetting about the 4or 5 inches needed for the casings , then you go to replace the casings and have to move them over so the switch plates don't interfere with the casings.

there are tin box extenders for switch boxes they might be adjustable. like this one
https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/homede ... 80&hei=499

there are many different electrical boxes on the market. If you replace any look for the ones that have holes for screws accessible from the inside of the box. In new construction with the walls open it's easy to use the ones that you nail on and then you can't access the nails later. there are some plastic ones with a screw so you can adjust the box height after attaching them. I used new metal boxes throughout but the plastic ones are common.

usually with the light pots they aren;t an issue as they are big but I did get called on a few boxes I had used that were too smal for the number of wires inside them. there is a a table where you can look up the number of square inches inside the box and that has to coincide with the limit of wires allowed of the box. Also each wire nut is counted as another wire. I found out you can circumvent this rule ( here in canada anyway) by using wire crimps rather than wire nuts, then you can get more wires in a box. there rule is there to prevent people from using tiny boxes with too much going on inside, then they get to crowded. The inspectors don't like to see the boxes too crowded. you can daisy chain about 11 boxes on one breaker. my inspector just looked at the number of wires entering and the size of the box. I ended up changing any others so he couldn't catch me on that. If you are ever shopping for boxes try to pick the deeper boxes so you can avoid that hassle.

in new wiring the codes also call for a plastic boot over the box. tey are easy to install with fresh wiring and the walls open. its not easy to use them if you are doing a re-wire and installing the boxes without breaking the walls open. i didnt; get called on that. I dontthink its expected that people go tothe extent of using them in old houses that never had any vapor barrier, but in new costruction they want all the boxes sealed up. when I did my living room I used this stuff it's like sheets of plasticene. the idea is you wrap the box in that and seal it around any wires, this is for acoustic insulation. even a little hole lets sound through. it sounds all crazy but actually your electrical boxes can create a lot of heat loss in some cases if they are in exterior walls. If you are working in them you can often feel a draft coming through. the Plasticine sheets can be added because unlike the plastic boots it can be sealed around existing wires without removing them from the box. Youcan also use it where the wires go through from one floor to the next you can pack the plasticene around the wires so the air doesn't come through the 3/4 inch holes tha tthe wires run though. I had a neighbor that cgot called on it because an electrician used some sort of unidentified sealant arouund the wires, and the inspector's worry was that the composition of the sealant could affect the plastic insulation on the wire. I guess there are correct sealants to use where wires run floor to floor. In some cases you can loose a lot of heat through it running up the holes for wiring. If the holes are empty sometimes they become an access door for mice to get floor to floor. up the wall cavities. at one point I knew I had mice in my basement and next thing i had them in the attic. I think thats how they were getting up there. through the empty wall cavities. amazing creatures.

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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Thank for the info Phill, I believe the plastic box seals are code for exterior mounting only in new exterior wall construction.

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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Promised pictures, here’s one to hold you off.
Image
As part of the kitchen redo we are doing the rear vestibule. Another coat of paint,different colours.
It will be refloored at the same time the kitchen gets done. If all goes to plan the new floor should be down by the 19th.

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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Ok folks, we’ve turned the corner. Got the first colour coat on the walls today. Tomorrow it’ll get the second coat.
Image
Image
Got to pick up the moldings for the ceiling and the shoe moldings for the floor. Get those painted up and ready. Also remove the doors for the flooring guys, that’s this weeks projects.

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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Looking good ! What is the name of the wall color ? Did the trim and wainscotting get primed, too ?

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Re: Gothichome, the restoration of.

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Willa, the trim and wainscoting have a new ivory colour as well.
The wall colour is BM Hancock green.

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