Dismantling the Queen

In preparation for refinishing the floors in the house I had to move everything out of the main level. Many items went in the basement but I didn't want to put the beds down there. I was faced with hauling the queen sized mattress and box spring up the stairs. Up the narrow and steep stairs with a turn at the top.


Option 1- Don't even try- it will not fit

Option 2- Try it!!
- Well I did and it didn't fit, not even the mattress.

I bought a roll of cling wrap thinking I could fold the mattress in half and wrap it in cling wrap.


I tried it and there is no way the cling wrap would hold together a folded mattress. Maybe if I went around it about a hundred times.

So then I remembered the straps I used to hold the canoe and other objects on the top of the car.

These worked great. I folded the mattress, sat on it and wrapped the straps around it and ratcheted it tight. It also provided some good hand-holds for carrying the mattress (I was working alone here).

So I carried that giant mattress taco up the stairs. The interior wire framework got bent but it straightened out again after a little reverse folding and just laying the mattress flat for a time. Sleeping on it helped and I slept on the mattress on the floor for a couple of nights.

Now the box spring. No folding this in half.... There are split queen box springs available but I did not want to spend the money. There are tutorials on line about how to cut a box spring in half and piece it back together and I was willing to try that. I flipped the box spring over, took off the fabric backing to see what I had to work with.

3,552 staples removed and I found the box spring was made up of a grid of wood boards and wire supports- no surprise there. Then by examining the board structure and the heavy wire mesh below, I came up with a plan of deconstruction that would allow me the ability to reconstruct.


Rather than sawing anything in half, I removed the boards running the length of the box spring, 5 boards in total, quite easy to remove.

I removed the long boards because I could see that this would allow the wire mesh to be folded in a manner that would not require too much force or deform the box spring in any permanent way. I just looked and the wire mesh and figured out which way it would be easiest to fold.


So again I was able to fold it in half and secure it with the ratchet tie down straps and carry it up the stairs. I laid it flat again, put the long boards back on with wood screws (making it more secure that the nails) and then stapled all the material back in place like it was in the beginning.

Easy-Peasy

It has been 1O months...

...since I last posted.

Here's what I have been doing since then.

January... got rid of all the old knob and tube wiring in the basement


The house is all rewired but there is still old stuff in the garage. Do you like this tuna can receptacle?


February, March and April in were spent in a funk and I couldn't get my mind around doing anything but sorting Legos














May
Worked on the sewing studio


June
Stripped the stairs and landing


July
Spent three weeks in China!!

Hangzhou


Shanghai


Beijing

Three wonderful weeks visiting my son and his girlfriend and seeing as much of China as possible.

August
Tore up the kitchen floor and emptied out the main level of the house



September
Had all the wood floors stripped, sanded and refinished


October, November
Stripping trim, restoring windows, painting, aargh it has been a full year. The house is still empty and working like crazy to get the windows back in their frames.

Kids

My son has graduated from college and moved to China. Not house related- but certainly a big deal here at the house.


Now I just have this "kid" at home.

Bathroom (almost) Done

My bathroom has been put together for some time but I have not updated posts here. It is not totally done but is at about 98%. Why is it so hard to finish that last little bit??

Here is what it looked liked in the beginning...

And now...
new beadboard on the walls, pedestal sink from the Habitat ReStore. Ikea cabinet that was an exact fit for the space, new lights, towel ring from the ReStore, original medicine cabinet stripped and repainted.

New vinyl floor (tile must wait), toilet paper holder from the Habitat Restore, toilet from the ReStore, original tub.

Before...

After...
vintage ceramic cup holder from ReStore, towel bar from the ReStore, new American Standard Williamsburg faucet.

Exhaust fan from the ReStore added where there was none

Swanstone tub surround, American Standard Williamsburg faucet, showerhead and spout

Original shower curtain rod reinstalled, towel hook from ReStore

I did not change the placement of any of the plumbing fixtures but did update all the plumbing-new supply lines, new vent stack. I kept the original plaster above the beadboard, behind it is new drywall because the old plaster came off with the old crappy tiles.
I put new drywall over the badly cracked plaster ceiling and reinstalled the light that was there. I don't think the light is the original but I love the starburst pattern it casts on the ceiling.

Still to do:
Recaulk around tub
Rechrome door hardware
Install small cabinet in toilet alcove
Resurface tub?
Replace vinyl floor with tile
Don't you hate it when there are repairs to do again before the initial restoration/remodeling is done?