One Room Challenge - Week 7

Oh my. Week 7 already! It was a week of a lot of manual labor… and waiting. Waiting, nervously, for the supplies to arrive. The supplies I need to finish this project. There is still hope of this space finishing on time. Maybe. Hopefully.

Let’s start with what I have accomplished and what I know I can finish. Focusing on what you *can* do, as opposed to what you can’t, helps keep project paralysis at bay. So let’s start by keeping focused on the positives

Getting a big one out of the way first, I finished stripping the paint off the porch floor. As with other places around this house, there were many layers, but this paint was especially difficult to remove. I used an infrared heater to soften the paint so it could be scraped off safely, but it was as sticky as tar. After 8+ hours of scraping, spread out over a few days, I got it done and had a pile of peeled paint that measured 2’ wide x 4’ long x 4” deep as evidence of the effort. That was just off of half the porch!

During my breaks from the enviable job of stripping paint, I finished repairing, sanding, priming, and painting the remaining spindles. For the repairs, I first applied the Abarton Liquid Wood to solidify the decaying end of a few of the spindles, then filled the gaps with WoodEpox (Also by Abatron). You can fix any kind of rot and wood damage with these products. Even damage you think might be irreparable. Another step taken to keep more things out of the landfill. Once it’s dry, it’s just as strong as regular wood and can be tooled in the same way. After sanding and shaping the pieces, I applied a coat of exterior primer, followed by two coats of gloss paint. The only part left is to paint the details in the contrasting mahogany and navy colors used around the rest of the house.

Final accomplishment of the week was the planning and prepping of a cookie! Nope, not an edible one. This was a new term for me as well. I went into the shop that kiln dries wood for artisans and called it a biscuit by mistake. I don’t think this gave away the fact I’m a total amateur. Right? I got several of these when our neighbor was forced to cut down their enormous maple tree. It was starting to rot on the inside and there was concern it was going to topple over and possibly take out a couple of garages, at best, and someone’s house, at worst. As they were cutting up the pieces, I requested a few slices from it with the intention to use them for furniture builds. I saved one for the porch. I have to count the rings, but I’m pretty sure it’s over 80 yrs old. The trunk was a little over 27” in diameter. This wasn’t an easy process, but the challenge made it enjoyable. Below is a side-by-side of a cookie that’s been planed level and sanded (left) and one right after being kiln dried (right). Once I’m finished with this semi-secret build, I’ll share the whole process in a post dedicated to this piece. Follow along on IG @byrneburymanor so you know when these posts are published or subscribe below.

This is a project I’ve never taken on before and I’m crossing my fingers I don’t muck it up! As with any projects that take me out of my comfort zone, I was a little bogged down in the details at first. Taking it one step at a time, I started by researching how to make a router sled to level the cookie since it’s too larger to be run through the planer. This step proved successful. I’m sure many have already guessed what this cookie will turn into, but I think I can still surprise most of you (if it all works out). I’ll be learning new skills for this one and, if I’m successful in realizing my vision, it’s going to be quite a piece! Below, you can see the sled I made for the router.

Now for what’s on hold and in danger of being left incomplete (for this challenge anyway). This is kind of a big deal because it involves the floor. I really want to complete the floor before bringing in the furniture, but two things stand in my way. I ordered dye for the floor finish since I want the flooring to match the wood I’ll be using on the steps (a project for later this summer). It has not yet arrived. I also need to repair the part of the porch flooring near the steps and the T&G flooring I typically use is not in stock at any of the stores near me. I decided to make the flooring myself since I have a feeling it won’t be in stock this season, but that’s also on hold until the T&G router bits arrive. *fingers crossed*

I’m putting positive thoughts out into the universe everything falls in place. However, even if it doesn’t, I’m still grateful for the One Room Challenge. I doubt I would’ve gotten as far as I have without it and it was timed perfectly to get this space done and enjoyed for the rest of the summer. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s reveals next week!!! Definitely check out what everyone’s got going on on the One Room Challenge blog!