1790 Center Hall Restoration

[DAP]

Here's some shots from our old homestead (ca. 1790). We finally have moved to restoring the center hall. My CEO and I busted booty on the hall, especially the CEO. It was one of the more challenging rooms in this abode.

I had to resize these pics so some of them lost some of their clarity ... sorry bout that.

First pic is the lovely 'BEFORE" pic of 100 yo wall paper (nice in it's time I'll bet) and some yummy shag carpeted stairs.

I apologize in advance for those shag carpeting advocates but for old home lovers, it is only one of an unending source of nightmares.
/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[DAP]

Next pic is after a few gallons of DIF, plaster repair and cutting in the chair rails and kick boards ... that's hand hewn oak on the floor, various sizes and over 200 years old ...

 

[jimg]

Nice side lights...are those original?

 

[DAP]

Stripping the stairs was great fun. NOT. They are pine treads and oak risers. Underneath that wonderful shag carpeting and padding was 3 layers of very very old lead paint. And the most fun was the crown moldings on 2 sides of each tread edge. The ONLY stripper (we tried em all folks) that works on the edges was a heat gun and a wire brush, one inch at a time. I'd say I have about 50 minutes a step just for the edges. The only thing that would strip the treads were the heat gun and a grinder. Hours of pleasure! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The risers were sanded, sealed and repainted.

 

[DAP]

CEO decides on a period faux paint job with subtle stenciling above the chair rail and a dark striped paper below.

This was 3 layers of faux goop she did. I added wooden panel borders to that wall as you see later.

 

[DAP]

Yes Jim, we belive they are. So is the 1790 lock on this massive walnut door. CEO used the side light design for an oil cloth in another attached pick.

 

[DAP]

Early american designers frequently created "floor cloths" for flooring. These were standard canvas stretched and plastered and painted, cured with an oil varnish of some sort then affixed to the floor.

It was a sign of decadence because they needed so much maintenance. Kinda like SUPER lineoleum!

Here's one the wife made for this hall. She used the side light lead motif for a base design.

She's sumpin.

 

[DAP]

.... of the finished hall. Brass stair rods were added after the pic was taken.

 

[DAP]

Last, a really badly light pic of the hall. Sorry for the poor quality. The wall mouldings are in and the paper is done, rugs thrown, ...

next room ... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I sure hope you had proper protection if that was lead paint on those steps. One of the worst things you can do to remove lead paint is to use a heat gun. If the paint gets too hot it vaporizes the lead and that is very bad. Grinding is another bad thing to do.

Proper way to remove paint is to get a good ventalition system that has hepa filters hooked up to the room you are working in. Vent the place as you work in a proper outfit with at the very least a half face mask (full mask is better) with hepa filters and even then there is the full suit with outside air source so you don't have to breath in any of the lead vapors or dust. Chemical strippers do work if you get the good ones (they just take time and patience). If you must use any other method you should seal the room off from the rest of the house as the lead particles do not come out of cloth furinture and rugs.

We do lead abatement and I have sat thru a lot of classes that deal with lead and it is not fun. Hopefully you did not have any young children around your house while you were doing this and even now unless you have cleaned the whole house by hepa vacuming, washing and re-hepa vacuming the entire house before you let any young children play in or around it again.