Back Porch Flooring

One huge improvement that's been made is the back porch steps (this happened about 2 weeks ago now- I'm a little behind on posts!)

The steps are so much better than the overturned bucket we had been using to get in & out of that back door!

We chose mahogany wood, so it matches the front porch.

Once the contractor put them in, he advised getting them sealed as soon as possible.   This lead to having to decide on the color of the stain.  We tested some out on some scraps that were left over...

Once we decided, Mike sanded down the bare wood, used tack cloth to get rid of the dust, and then did 2 coats of stain.

Sanding in progress

Applying stain- just 5 boards at a time.

We will have to paint the risers, but waiting to do that until the construction is done!

I love the warm color of the stained boards.  I'm hoping that the kitchen floors come out similar!

Trimming it up- Basement stairwell

We're still working away, trying to get our basement stairway into presentable shape. 

While not many people are ever going to see this when they visit (so it should probably fall lower on the priority list) it's one of those things that has been irking me every time I go down to do laundry. 
Plus, we're in a holding pattern on the kitchen/addition while we are interviewing the contractors, and it's too cold to do much outside...  So, this is at least helping me feel like we're getting something accomplished!

The To Do List for this space includes:
-Install a new handrail  DONE!
-Place moulding to clean up the edges between the plaster and the beams- see below :o)
-Paint the walls and the shelving
-Organize the shelves and come up with some organizational accessories to hang on the walls

Here are a couple of "Before" shots...

I love the thick, old, hand-cut beams. 
I don't want to cover them up.

But the jagged-ness of where the plaster ends (or the wood siding in the photo on the right) drives me crazy.

So, Mike installed some moulding...  Keep in mind that it'll look a lot better once we're done painting!

There were a couple of tricky spots where electrical was run, or the newly installed handrail bracket was placed (doh!)  But we're not stressing about it- since it's not highly visible.

We just got a little creative with the cutting, and will get a little more creative with the painting ;o)

We have a little spackling to do here --->

So here's where we now stand:

Basement Stair Rail

It was number one on the list of 2012 projects- and we're crossing it off!

I'll share photos, but you've gotta excuse the icky-ness of the basement!

Here's what we were dealing with --->
Judging by the wear on them, we think the stairs are original to the 1790 house! 

There was a thin little board nailed into the beams- but it was very loose & wobbly.  It's a wonder no one's gotten hurt yet!

 

Mike headed out to the home store and picked up a new handrail & hardware.
Needless to say, the "demo" of the old rail was a piece of cake.
It didn't take Mike very long at all to install the new one!

But there's still lots to do here...

We went to Lowe's last night, only to find that we had 10 minutes before the store was closing. 

Luckily, that was just enough time to grab some moulding.  We'll be putting a strip of it around where the plaster meets the beam.  Then painting the stairwell walls will start.

I'm actually kind of excited to organize the shelves and find some neat hardware for hanging supplies & stuff on the walls!  But once again, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself ;o)