Chicago Duplex Down Rehab

Trim continues. More staining. More sanding. More wipe-on polyurethane. Stewart's been coming by almost every weekend to help out. Here's his other endeavor: band blog . Below is the sanded and stained bay window ledge. I'm going to use McCloskey's 'Man-O-War' spar urethane for the ledge since its exposed to so much sunlight. Same varnish we used for the doors.

The 42" front exterior door had a very worn down wood threshold originally. Ed later replaced that with another oak threshold. Since the floor was being replaced, and the threshold out of whack due to the uneven surfaces and tilted door, Ed's threshold was also tossed. I decided to look for a more commercial (READ: durable, can take a beating) solution. Even though they are not building vintage or aesthetic, a shallow aluminum threshold was the answer. I ended up purchasing the threshold from AB Supply online. They have a pretty amazing selection of hard to find hardware. The big box stores only sold up to 36" aluminum thresholds, and not a big selection of widths. Since the limestone sill was slightly higher than the floor, I added an additional strip of walnut to make up the difference. On a great suggestion from Eric, I routed the walnut about 1/16th of an inch to create a groove for the threshold leg to sit. This prevents the piece from sliding in and ou...

I've been going to WOOD WORLD at Elston & George since I bought the building back in 2002. They had some great trim I couldn't find anywhere else to match some of the existing. Lately, i've been taking some trips out to Des Plaines to visit OWL LUMBER , since they have a different (and slightly cheaper) selection. Here's my take on both of these specialty shops. Wood World has more unique trim profiles, and very laid back, friendly staff. Owl Lumber has all the standard profiles, but much more rare wood stock at some decent prices. You'll just have to visit both! I plan on using 'finger-jointed' poplar (not pine) for the master bedroom, and I think Owl Lumber will be the place to go. Photo is of employee counting and wrapping my order.

One of Eric's fortes outside of architecture and building is restoring antique hardware. You can see the results here. These are the original door knobs after some work with the grinding wheel (with abrasive brush) and 'wipe on' polyurethane. Unfortunately not all the hinges were solid brass, so some of the brass finish is gone, but thats hidden most of the time anyway on a near exterior door.

Rick the finish carpenter came up from Indy this past week to start tackling all the trim work that needs to be done. All the trim on the first floor is red oak with Minwax Ipswich pine stain. Not too dark. The dark horizontal piece at the top of the window is mahogany, nice idea from Eric. Rick made a rack to store all the trim since it was all over the floor for the past few weeks.

Eric pulled the 42" wide front door off for a much needed restoration. Other than the door slab, it has been completely rebuilt. I should have took some before photos.. Derek is a relatively new addition to the crew, and has been doing a good job with all the finishing and refinishing of woodwork. He's bringing new life to the front entrance!

Once Oct 1 came around, I knew it was time to take care of any last minute jobs that required outdoor work. Derek has been helping Eric stain/varnish all 12 wood windows (3 + 5 + 4). Here's a shot of the 2nd floor work. Hopefully we'll have the trim in the house next week, get some of it finished before install. There's Sabine, one of our cats. doing nothing as usual.