Finished Pallet Walls

The pallet walls are finished and we are thrilled with how well they came out.  In retrospect it was a lot more work than what we originally anticipated but we both think it was well worth the effort.  We also installed new electrical outlets at the bottom of each enclosure and put stainless cover plates on them to match the spiral duct.

1st Floor

2nd Floor

Electrical Outlets

Next up is installing new electrical wiring and lighting on the 3rd floor!   

Crafty Things

In an attempt to show our 3rd floor some love we recently made ourselves bedside lamps.  The bases came from our local thrift store and look really great w/ a fresh coat of paint.  The shades are cheap, Ikea originals w/ the decals placed on the inside.  They only show up when the light is turned on.  

The office needed some attention as well and thanks to a recent trip to Coopersburg, PA (birthplace of Harold Harr) with Harold and Vienna Harr for some treasure hunting, we were able to made some shelving out of wood crates and a wine cork tack strip made from wine corks and old tongue and groove floor boards. We got a lot more cool stuff from that trip and hopefully we will be posting more fun things in the near future.

Pallets!

We have been steadily collecting pallets over the past few weeks so we could use the wood to enclose the main supply air trunk for the hvac system.  Finding the pallets was very easy.  The biggest challenge was dismantling them into separate pieces, and with a heavy dose of saw-zalls, hammers,crowbars and elbow grease we got the job done.  

There was a lot of this...

And a lot of this...

After we had a nice stock of wood boards we scrubbed them down with soap and bleach to kill off any bacteria and wash away the dirt and grime that had accumulated during their lifetime as pallets.

Pallet Remains

The fruits of our labor

Installing the boards in place was very rewarding because the pieces went up pretty quickly.  To cut around the duct Greg used a compass from studio class to match the diameter of the duct.  So far so good!

Lookin' Good

Jen Planning Ahead

Supply Air Trunk Enclosure

Having the heating system installed and operational was a huge step for us, but we still had work to do to finish the job, mainly framing out the main supply air trunk and return air plenum on each floor.


After the heating ducts were installed there was a hole in the floor next to the supply air trunk on each floor.  This will function as the return air plenum once it is enclosed.














Buying the lumber and transporting it home was an adventure to say the least.  We had over thirty 2x4's crammed into our tiny little Honda Fit.

We started framing the first floor first and it went very well.

 

A few small things

Coffee Table

This has been in the works for a few months and Greg finished it a few weeks ago.  The wood came from Jen's parents house and was a side to a wagon which belonged to her great grandfather.  Greg made the base from steel angles and threaded rod, similar to our dining room table.




Wardrobe

The previous owner of the house left us a massive, beautiful wardrobe.  Jen recently took it apart, cleaned and repainted the interior and moved it to the third floor.









Light Fixtures

Jen had the idea to put candles in mason jars and place them on the stairs as decorations for a party we hosted.  We liked how they looked so much we decided to make them permanent light fixtures by screwing the lids to the stair treads and installing a vintage 'edison' style light bulb in each one.

Exterior Lighting

A definite priority on our to do list for the house was some exterior lighting along Dakota Street.

We chose a barn style goose-neck light for the fixture next to the front door.  Drilling through our approximately 16" thick exterior walls proved to be an adventure as we didn't have a drill bit long enough.  We had to drill from one end, measure, then try to match that whole from the other side.  Lots of trial and error and an interesting use of a twisted tomato support post from our old garden but we got it!

Hammer Drill!

It was freezing that day.

Finished Product

We also installed a motion light which isn't as exciting, but we are really happy with it.

More drilling!

Miles supervising.

After we figured out where we wanted the lights, we had to wire them.  It was our first attempt at working with metal conduit and unlike all our previous experiences in wiring (not much) where all details can be hidden behind drywall, everything is exposed in this house!  Lots of planning, but it went pretty smoothly.  It was good practice for the 3rd floor where there will be much more to come.

Heat!

When we first moved into the building, there was not a heating or cooling system in place.  Being that we moved in in November, we knew this was the first priority.  After much research and visits with contractors, we decided to install a forced air system with a branch of spiral ductwork on each floor.

It was a lengthy process from start to finish, but now that everything has been installed we are very happy with it.

 1st floor before (before we moved in)













1st floor after

2nd floor before

2nd floor after

3rd floor before

3rd floor after