Leveling subfloor for hardwood

[curtis73]

Nicely done!

Looks like you're making excellent progress. I always go to real paint stores when buying paint, they are so much more knowledgeable and helpful than the big box stores. The quality of paint at the big box stores is less than name brand stores.

I was so happy with that paint store that I took some leftover maple to him for his wood shop. I also gave him the applicator I used. We had brainstormed some applicator ideas and I wanted him to be able to try what I ended up using.

 

[curtis73]

Not much to update. Couch and chair are in, and I bought a new studded office chair for the secretary desk. I had enough Maple left over to do all the baseboards.

Inspector came to look at the fireplace and was here about 15 seconds. He basically said "yup, it's a fireplace."

I'm slowly getting around to skinning it with backer and I'll be making a run for the stone veneer I want.

 

[zannej]

Good to hear that. Glad the inspector passed the fireplace. I'm looking forward to more updates.

 

[curtis73]

Been going slowly. My truck is sick, Covid is ramping up, holidays, and hunting season mean my priorities have been shifted. But I do have updates.

I was able to take the 2.5" slab of walnut and turn it into a mantel. The slab was longer and skinnier than the mantel shape, so I was able to take the ends off and laminate them to the side to get the shape I needed. Biscuits and pocket screws for the win. Cut, radius, router, light stain, and done. The finish is a concoction I made with equal parts mineral spirits, satin oil poly, and tung oil. I hand-rubbed 6 coats.



Then I built a coffee table to match with the remaining walnut which I had cut to 5/4". I grabbed a scrap of lauan to make a leg pattern. Maybe it's because it's hunting season, but I wanted legs that went along with the Victorian/English Gentlemen's club theme and reminiscent of antlers without being too "country." I hand rubbed two coats of the tung oil/poly mixture, then coated with two coats of satin poly thinned 2 parts poly to 1 part spirits. I wanted a couple coats of actual straight poly since this table will get things like drink glasses set on it, feet propped up, and generally more use than the mantel




Now I'm building cabinets for the left and right sides of the fireplace. I don't have pictures yet, but I got as far as building the basic framing of the cabinet. I'm running low on useable walnut, so I had to make the choice of doing the side panels with lauan and a walnut veneer. It will be the only part of the cabinets that isn't solid walnut, but I'm OK with that. It also freed up a wee bit more interior space in the cabinet, which, in the limited space I have will be nice for future upgrades to my A/V system. If I ever need to upgrade or replace my receiver, I don't want to be forced to limit my choices by "what fits."

I'm finishing up the cabinet doors today and they'll get the same stain/finish. Still waiting on the veneer to show up, then I'll get some pictures.

 

[oldognewtrick]

Great job on the mantle and I really like the coffee table!

 

[Snoonyb]

With every Country Squire, is an equally talented seamstress.

 

[curtis73]

I seem to be lacking in the "-ess" department. Have an extra I can spare? Thank goodness I'm not a bad seamster myself.

 

[zannej]

Legs for the coffee table are very cool! I like that there's a lower shelf in there. Mantle looks nice as well.

 

[bud16415]

Very Nice.

 

[curtis73]

Not quite entirely finished. Still need trim around the copper, and the speakers will eventually hang on the wall, but almost ready.

I searched long and hard for real copper ceiling tile and found one possibility, but it was way too expensive and so corroded that it had pinholes in it. So for now, it's the plastic stuff. The walnut cabinets are all solid walnut except for the end panels which are lauan with walnut veneer (ran out of walnut heartwood.) The walnut cabinet doors I took down the street to have a stained glass shop build the glass. The perimeter pieces are pink glass that was reclaimed from a church built in the 1780s.

Almost done.

 

[bud16415]

Very nice and you can be proud of saying you built it from the ground up.

 

[Junto]

Thank you. A labor of love. I never knew how long I would stay here, but my job is awesome so roots in this area are fine with me. I did give pause when COVID hit and housing prices skyrocketed here. For a while there I could have sold this house for 40% more than I paid 3 years ago, but I guess I really want to stay. For about 1 hour I thought "I could put this maple in my next house..." but nah.

I did scavenge some shingles from the neighbor's garage roofing job in case I needed them, but I only would have needed a piece of one. Instead I had some leftover floor leveling compound so I just used it in that one corner by the bathroom.

Curtis73. this thread reminds me of the Einstein quote: "If I had one hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem & 5 minutes thinking of the solutions”. I think I learned more from the way you anayzed and framed the problem as anything else. Thank you for helping me solve my next "opportunity".

 

[Ron Van]

Did you finish?