Fnished job

[DREDIOCK]

Rather then highjack the sick of snow thread.
Thought I'd just start a new one on the house I FINALLY managed to finish a couple weeks ago

That is absolutely stunning Dred.   Damn good work and I'm sure it took some time, the effort sure payed off.   Seriously bro  

Thanks. Took about three times as long as I wanted it to. I started it in august and finally finished it about two weeks ago.
6 months on and off as I had to pull of either do to rain or other work comming in that couldnt wait.  
Then towards the end I was battling the temperature. I had hoped ot have it done right before Christmas but then we got a snow storm and that held it up as all my ladders were buried under the snow..And it was too cold. Then I had to wait till almost noon every day for it to warm up enough.

Also some changes were made. Some by the homeowner and some at my suggestion. Such as thetwo small gold medallions at the top of the windows at the peaks
And the gray background in the fancy trimwork here that was originally just supposed to be all white


As you can see none of that dental molding or trim isnt just faced off. which is what alot of guys do.
And all of that gold you see isnt just yellow paint. Thats 22 karat patent gold leaf. went through about $700 worth of gold all together.





Hard to tell from the pictures. But there are 9 colors all together including the gold. Almost $3,000 worth of material in total was used.
the shutters alone took me over a week to do. But at 140 years old I'm surprised they were in as good a shape as they were even.



Also what you cant see in the pictures is some of it is the original glass. Unfortunately about 10 panes needed to be replaced.
And there isnt a single nail holding those windows or shutters together its all wooden dowels. Amazingly, The windows still work perfectly.
When doing repairs on some of the trim I was actually able to re use some of the original nails which other then being a little discolored and slightly rusty were in fine shape.

Rest of the pics I have uploaded so far can be seen here

http://s447.photobucket.com/albums/qq198/Drediock/Victorian/

Anywho. I cant remember a job thats both been as aggravating. and enjoyable to work on all at the same time

[8313jbx]

 

[maddafinga]

Man that looks absolutely fantastic!!

Great work, no kidding. 

[PFactorDave]

Way to go!  My wife and I recently bought a quaint Cape Cod style house in our are...  The exterior is pretty nice, but we have been putting a ton of work into the interiors.  It's an enormous amount of work!  Kudos!

[gpwurzel]

Dred, some impressive work there mate. Very nice attention to detail too.



Wurzel

[mbailey]

Youve turned painting a house into a work of art. We have alot of old Victorians in my area that are completley redone. They dont make the grade when compared to that though. Absolutly beautiful  . I'd love to know what the interior looks like.

[DREDIOCK]

Youve turned painting a house into a work of art. We have alot of old Victorians in my area that are completley redone. They dont make the grade when compared to that though. Absolutly beautiful  . I'd love to know what the interior looks like.

thanks. I do try. sometimes I even succeed LOL

Hopefully I'll be able to provide some pictures of that in the next few months as well.
While most of the interior is done already. He wants the wallpaper stripped and new paper hung in the main stairway and halls and a back hall and stairwell he wants painted at some point this year.
Im just waiting on the go ahead.
Unfortunately most of it is done already. But the interior is as exotic as the exterior. All kinds of fancy ornate trim on the ceilings. A tin ceiling int the kitchen  He had done when he had the kitchen remodeled. Cant tell from the outside pitctures but inside they had period curtains custom made. really nice stuff. For furnishing its almost all antique, including and old crank up style victrola that pretty much looks just like this one

He said most of the stuff isnt worth alot  in value. But it all fits the house perfectly.

The basements pretty cool. You can see the old stone foundation that is still as rock solid as the day it was built. And the big thick timbers used under the floors roughly triple the thickness of what you see in todays houses. This house aint going nowhere.

Sometimes on this house I was my own worst enemy. I have a reputation for trying to be more critcal of my work then even my customers. As a result I sometimes have a problem knowing when to say "good enough" Considering this wasnt SUPPOSED to be a true restoration. Thats damn near what I gave him anyway.
Some of those bays I sanded. Patched painted repatched and repainted 3-4 times because I wasnt completely happy with parts of thiem.  Note,The customer thought they looked fine. It was ME that didnt like it. And there are still parts I would improve upon. But like I said. it wasnt supposed to be. Nor was it priced at a true restoration.
But lets just say the guy got a real good deal on the work he had done.

Anyway. I figure its going to make a good house to show off to get more work. And I got to use a few new products I'd been wanting to try out.

BTW Aquaglaze
http://www.oldewindowrestorer.com/aquaglaze.html
 and
Peelbond are great stuff
http://www.peelbond.com/