We're Moving On Up To The West Side,,,,,Oopppps

Well the old song was moving on up to the east side but we're moving on up to the west side of this great ole house.  Yep, the Sleep Room-Sleep Porch special place.  Below you can see it was a bit of a mess even from the outside but what an opportunity.

I imagine you don't remember but we had to remove all the west windows and replace the bottom sills due to rot.  It took all of us and a lot of "tractor machine" help as well but we got it rebuilt and replaced in almost exactly the same situation as Mr. WG had built back in the 20's.

Once we got the windows rebuilt and back in place we had to work on the other rooms and we have been awaiting the chance to get to this great ole room and remodel the entire section of the house.  The picture below was after the windows were replaced and after Jane had spent weeks cleaning out the old bird, mouse and Bat, (yes I said Bat) stuff.  But remember, Boy What An Opportunity.

Jane and I both have used the old room as a work shop all winter and it became a "catch all" for anything left over or waiting to be used.  What a mess.  Jane did get her kitchen tiles painted out here and  it was out of the cold and rain.  Thank you Jesus.

Just so you can see the "before" situation the picture below is an idea of the condition of the ceiling before we started our make over.  The entire room is made of "bead board" tongue and grooved plank.  The wood was installed over 90 years ago and its moved, changed in size and endured many coats of paint and less than perfect maintenance.  Since we were going to make this our main living area we took extra precaution to resurface the ceiling as best we could.  We actually put 16 tubes of caulking on the ceiling filling the bead board groves and trying to realign the boards to the original appearance.

Below is the finished surface area and I think we got it.  At least Mr. Donald has signed off on it and Kay has yet to see it and give a thumbs up or down.  The ceiling will be a focal point of the room and the house and it should last forever. 

The walls were in about as bad of shape as the ceiling but not quite.  The leaking roof had taken its toll on the ceiling but the walls were in a bit better shape.  However, we still had to caulk and nail many of the bead boards and try to close the gaps and fill in the openings to try to get the appearance the house once had.  The following picture is our starting point on the walls.

From the two previous pictures you can begin to see the great color that Jane picked out for the room.  It grows on me and I am beginning to really get into it.  Its a Sunshine Yellow, Green or something, Sherwin Williams mixed it for us and I thought boy this bad when I opened the first can of paint.  But, as usual the color will grab you and its perfect for the "Sun Room, Sleeping Porch" effect that we want to have.  The picture below will give some idea of the new paint. (By the way, this is the wall we plan to install several exterior boards from Uncle Cokes house.  We have to wait till the snakes leave the Coke house so we can get in there and get the boards.  Neat huh?)

Looks pretty good with the white trim and the new light oak floor will really bring out the entire room
The final picture below is another view of the partially completed room.  As of today, after over 50 man hours we have finished the ceiling, walls and some of the wood work trim.  Hopefully we finish the remaining wood work trim and then lay the new floors next week.

Boy are we grateful for the opportunity and the chance to help recreate the great old house to its original glory.

Stay tuned for more updates on the completed room.   That leaves the hallway and the "mud room" as the final rooms and then,,,,,,rest,,,,ahhhhhhh rest.

Ya'll come,,, we'll leave the light on for you......