A Square Deal (*Rectangular)

Old Door

One locale of terrible, was the back door to the house. It didn't fit the frame properly, so you could see the outside through massive gaps; there was only a deadbolt to open and close it by; and whoever painted the thing originally chose to paint a good portion of the window, rather than tape off and make it look like they cared.

New Door

We found this to be unacceptable - not to mention a pain when heating and cooling.

Katie and my mom were sent to Home Depot to scour the racks for the "perfect door." They came back with a photo of a door. Clearly a picture wouldn't keep elements out, but it was late and Katie had just come back from a longer than scheduled work trip. The next day was Fathers Day, Katie and I hosted brunch on the porch with my parents, hers, and her brother, Matt, came with his wife. After touring the many wings of the house, and eating some tasty baked goods, the men went back to Home Depot to acquire the door in the photo. After flashing Papa 'Sano's military ID and some credit info, we came home with a beautiful Jen Weld door, to literally fill the gap. (Special thanks to the parents for this house warming gift!)

The door has a massive window in it, and between panes of glass are venetian blinds! With the slide of a little handle, you can raise, lower, and shade the view into the back yard. Natural light is one of my favorite lights, so Katie clearly made a great choice.

With appropriations for both deadbolt and door knob, the door was exactly what the freshened kitchen needed to complete the look and keep us safe. (Aside from a nice rug in front of the sink, and some new faucets...) It brings kitchen modifications to closure for the time being.

Installation started Monday when no one else was around, mom had left on Sunday afternoon, and Katie and I were still sleeping at our apartment. Katie was off to work, and I stopped at the house for my morning coffee on my way to the last of two work-days at school. What I found was my head contractor and a wide open back of the house!

No Door

The door was off the hinges, and the frame was almost completely removed from the house. This guy was like lightening, I poured some coffee, counted my plan for the day, and left dad to his passions. While my classroom was finished being packed, he cleared the opening, measured a few times, and prepped the frame.

I stopped in for lunch, to find he was waiting for me to help test fit the new door! It didn't fit - but it only missed by fractions of an inch. Before I headed back to work, we pulled out the bottom door plate and in my absence he lowered it a third of an inch, and framed the door properly. By the time my principal told us to leave, the second fitting was ready.

Lowering the base just a hair.

Just prior to placing the door, we threw the level up against the door frame. The top and bottom were dead on level. The sides were squarely plumb with the gravitation pull of the earth! Solid and square, not bad for a mass produced house from 1950!

We hoisted the door a second time, and wove through the tools and doors to the back yard. The door was set down, it did a pirouette, removed the shipping materials, and gently lifted the beast into the open frame. It fit perfectly!

Following the basics of the directions with the door, we hung the frame, and shimmed the door so that it opened, closed, and chopped vegetables smoothly. The project had taken the better part of a day, but the outcome was dramatic. Finishing the door with moulding and a new set of door knobs (double key deadbolts don't come packaged with key match door knobs, WHY?) and the door looks flawless.

Hardest Worker Ever!

Now we just need a coat of paint.

Construction Began

Frankie loved the shop-vac box

House warming gift
Thank you, Natick, MA

Construction on Duesel House began on June 16th around 4pm. Jeff's parents came into town, and the famed "Duesel Construction" team got to work. Pop Duesel and Jeff were once employed to help renovate an uncles house, and they finished a basement in the family home on Redcoat Circle. Ok, truth be told I wasn't even a teenager at that point, so I mostly stayed out of the way. There was also a kitchen renovation, tile and grout, and a faux-wood floor in a Cape Cod condo - those I really was part of.

This is where I learned the basics of how to tear into things, with the hope that I could resurrect the mess afterwards. As teenager-hood set in, I turned to automobiles, so with my original tutor here to help me get back into the swing of home construction, we tore into the house.

The kitchen walls were well on their way to being useable, but there was telephone wire, and crumby door and window moldings that needed to be eradicated. Before I headed back to the apartment for the night, we removed all the trim from the three kitchen doors, and the window sash was already under patching and sanding.

"Hi, I was out of town all week,
and this is how I get welcomed home!"

Saturday morning we began work good and early. Leaving my dad to trim and smoothing walls around the doors, my mom and I went to Ikea and then a stop at Katie's brothers house Springfield. We acquired a new countertop, and borrowed a table saw from each place respectively. As we pulled up to the house, Katie finally got back from a work trip to Boston (She was supposed to return on Friday, but the Teamsters had another plan for her).
She was put to work oiling the counter top, and painting the remaining railing on the porch.

I removed the sink and the old countertop pretty quickly, and then got to cutting and massaging the new counter for the Kitchen. By 5 that afternoon, the kitchen was back in action and even the door trim was put back in place.
Paint, countertop, and some moldings. Not a difficult couple steps to makeover a kitchen.

Highly delecate task of cutting out the sink.

Final product with head contractor Duesel

Matt's table saw is being put to serious use

Door Trim

Slinging Paint Becomes a Family Project

Travel isn't helping the speed of projects here at DueselHouse. As school is wrapping up, we're getting back on track, and the paint is finally starting to fly. Memorial Day weekend was a wash for projects, but we celebrated an awesome marriage with Katie's friend Heather, and her new husband Dana, up on Longbeach Island, New Jersey. Beautiful place, wonderful couple. The following weekend Katie slung some paint inside the house with her sister and the realted family. Dogs had a field day in the yard, and the kitchen and livingroom were bathed in decidedly tolerable tones, compared to the bloodbath red and pinkish mystery color respectively.


No longer mystery meat pink in the livingroom

 Some warmth was added to the living room, by way of a chocolate brown. The room has a more intimate feel, and all the windows definitely bring the focus of the room to the now white painted (primed?) fireplace. Whoever thought painting bricks red and mortar white should probably be run out on a rail. The place definitely looks liveable now. The floor still leaves much to be desired, but that isn't far down the 2012 list. Ripping that up will happen after we move in, but before we have any furniture in the second bedroom (so we can put the couch somewhere for the time being).

The walls of the house have clearly been abused, and we will probably be going back to fill, smooth, and level the livingroom walls in due time, but just the basic sanding and painting already made the place look hospitable.

Special thanks to Nikki, Jude, Miles and Marcus, and mother Indrisano for all their help while I was out galavanting around the desert for a weekend. I'm also told that Anthony helped too - the porch furniture is nice and sturdy, thanks!


A less violent color in the kitchen

 In my absense, Katie also slung a coat of yellow in the kitchen. Do not think "Big Bird," rather "wheatfields in October," to get an idea of the hue. It's amazing. What is even more amazing is that my brother-in-law Jude completely banished the red from the Kitchen. That alone was no small feat, I'm told that the walls we prepped by plastering over the low spots and holes from the funky counter section, everything was sanded with 200 grit and then 150 grit sandpaper, primed twice, and then he painted - twice! All of this done by Jude, who hates painting! We are indebted to him, and will be more than happy to return the favor whenever needed. The room went from garrish to smooth and visually tolerable overnight.


The Frankster, basking in the sun


When I got back, Katie had to head out again on business, so Frankie and I got started on our own paint projects. [note, Frankie enjoyed the sun, while I painted with Scott Merrill]. Painting the railingson the porch has been step one. The narrow spindels are the hardest to paint, because of the tight spaces and big hands of those weilding the brushes. Once we've gotten that done, the porch decking will get a good contrasting grey slapped down (two cotes?) and we will move on to the house trim. I cannot say I'm a big fan of painting, but I like the feeling you get when things clearly look better.

This step, combined with removing all the woody-weeds that have sprouted while the house was unoccupied is really making the property feel like our own. Katies mom brought us a couple ferns to compliment the hanging flowers, it's starting to be a home again. It's our home!

Between June 16th and 21st we have a live in contractor on the property. My dad is coming to get a bunch of projects knocked out with me - happy Fathers Day! I've still got to be at school on the 18th and 19th, but there are some major improvements underway. After he leaves, it's MOVING TIME! Keep checking back for updates!
-Jeff


Porch half painted (Thanks for helping Scott!)
(The lighting doesn't do it any justice... it's better, I swear.)