# 1964 Ranch Restoration



## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

House when we purchased it in 1998









Before Pic prior to new windows & vinyl siding this summer. We decided to remove the fake shutters.









The vinyl siding will be a darker blue/gray with white trim color.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

*The Basement Renovation*

The original basement was dark wood paneling typical of this period house. I believe my parents put it in back in the 1970's. We had previously added carpet to the rooms and a lighter paneling in the piano room, but tore that out also to expose the ductwork, beam and poles.

Before:









Removing Wall


















This left us with some drywall to replace, which we did just what you see removed and duplicated the swirl pattern instead of replacing the entire ceiling & painted.









Painted the beam & poles black and reframed the stairs wall (see before pic below):









Stairs framing before, stove was above this wall, it just wasn't right so we fixed it.









We insulated the wall and used plywood as paneling, taping off the squares and staining using 3 different colors. We kept the light paneling on the other wall shown since we'd placed it there and insulated previously, it was a neutral color.









Replaced or repaired & painted all the drywall in room and in adjacent hallway.


















New carpet for the steps:









Continued in next post...


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

*The Basement Renovation Part 2*

We moved the grand piano around on plywood as we installed the laminate floor.









Trimmed everything in black:









We'd installed track lighting along the interesting wall to highlight it, and recessed spotlights right above the piano. General recessed lighting down the center.









New back door with a window and light from the stairwell also comes into the room.









So, we went from this...









To this...


















~600 square foot music studio, nice write-off come tax time too.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

*Teenager Room*

This is what happens when you let a 13 year old design her own room. It's just paint, it will soon be redone as a piano studio waiting room as soon as we're sure we won't be having any adult children moving back home. If they do, they have to live in it as is or paint it themselves.




























I actually like the bathroom attached to this bedroom, will probably leave that alone. Again, the teen helped design the bathroom and even helped install the tile.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

*Kitchen Update*

We didn't have to do a lot with the kitchen, it had a good start when we purchased the house. We'll eventually replace the counters & get a new refrigerator.

We did replace all the light fixtures, paint the refrigerator black, and remove the linoleum and replace with tile.

Before:









After:


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

*Built-in hallway storage*

The furnace room is on the back side of this basement hallway. We used a prefab white bookshelf unit, backed it with white beadboard, built a frame base for it to sit on, slid the unit in the space & velcro attached the pvc trim to the wall. It's removable in case we need more space in the furnace room for repair to the utilities. We recently replaced the hot water heater & just slid this shelf unit out, replaced the water heater, and slid it back in.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

Took my sample piece of vinyl siding down and had them color match me a gallon of paint. The darker color on the garage door will help hide it's imperfections, and I get a preview of what our siding color will look like.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

*Deck Rebuild Started*

Today's Project: Three 42" deep deck post footing holes are dug, reference lines strung, form tubes put in and leveled, concrete hauled, mixed and poured, and post anchor bolts inserted in fresh concrete. Rented concrete mixer cleaned up and returned.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

Quick update on the deck...almost done, just have some steps & stair railing left to do. We decided to go with a black aluminum railing, and run joists 12" on center, 6'x6' posts. Still have to get our diagonal braces added, hopefully tomorrow. There is a vinyl piece separating the aluminum posts from the pt lumber.

Everything is straight, my camera's skewing the photos.



























An earlier pic of the decking.









We also got our new storm doors installed this week. Larson Lakeview doors, they are very nice.


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## shadytrake (Jul 8, 2012)

Love your deck and the piano room. How are the acoustics?


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

shadytrake said:


> Love your deck and the piano room. How are the acoustics?


Thanks! The acoustics aren't nearly as bright or loud as I thought it would be without any carpet. Which may be a good thing. The grand piano is fine, the upright I have is a little loud because I don't have it against a wall.


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## shadytrake (Jul 8, 2012)

We had a 9' Baldwin in my childhood home. It was an A-Frame and we had to have special supports for the piano. Mostly wood walls and glass windows. It was pretty bright but we had oriental rugs all over the room and it helped a lot.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

Deck is coming along fine, siding company gets started Wednesday (we're not DIYing that).


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

Not DIY, but a big change. I was hesitant about getting vinyl siding, but am happy with it now that we are done.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

*Re-caulking a tub*

I have to do this every two years or so, which really isn't too bad. I have this "thing" about tub caulk being clean and non-mildew or moldy. Once it gets in there, it must be replaced or it just keeps growing. So, I've gotten pretty good at it by now! Today was the day I'd had enough, it got redone.

Here's my very easy way to do it, probably obvious, but here goes anyway. 

Step 1: Remove all the old caulk, using a razor blade to scrape every last piece off the tub and/or surround. This is not fun, but necessary. I use a bit of Goof Off on a cotton swab when I'm done to be sure it's all off.

Step 2: Use painters tape to outline your area you are going to caulk. This is great if you don't want to try to be "perfect" without it. It comes out perfect every time this way.









Step 3: Use a toothepaste crimper on your caulk tube, it eliminates the chance for air pockets. 









Step 4: Apply the caulk according to the instructions on the tube. I apply quite liberally, as I know the tape will protect the area.

Step 5: Using a wet finger run from one end to the other, letting excess caulk go right on the painters tape.

Step 6: Immediately remove the painters tape and throw it away. You're done! Comes out perfect every time.


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## Pianolady (Jun 28, 2012)

Added 4 small halogen recessed lights to the kitchen this week. Why I had to live 15 years in a dark kitchen before thinking of this?, I don't know. It's so much nicer.


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