McKenna Street

UPDATE: tumbled marble, stained glass windows, 7/06

2009-06-21T18:50:00.002-04:00

The other two stained glass windows have been installed. The three windows line up parallel to the length of the house in the eaves of the vaulted ceiling. The light from the window on the front of the house -which is covered by plexi for hurricane protection : ) - filters through to the next window that is in the living room (the living room window also provides access to the attic space above the kitchen and porch).

Sidelights, 9/15/06

2009-03-27T20:24:00.007-04:00

We wanted to use sidelights to let more light in from the porch of the front apartment. I looked for matching sidelights to the nine light oak doors, but they were out of our price range. Then a listing for these sidelights appeared.

Fir with insulated leaded glass. I think that they were part of a job that was changed. $150 for both.

I stained the sidelights at the same time as the doors.

Because oak and fir have such different grain patterns, I knew that they would not match exactly, but they were pretty close.

Pat built the frames and installed the sidelights with the doors.

Shower base, 9/13/06

2009-02-15T11:24:00.011-05:00

Giselle G. and family were remodelling and this Swanstone shower base just did not fit the bill. It was installed and then immediately uninstalled. I think that we paid $50 for it.

Here is the installation (back in 2007!):And then John started tiling!We purchased 3 pallets (approximately 900 sqft) of slate tile from BuildDirect.com. With residential delivery, the tile was ~$2.50/sqft. The same slate was used in the two kitchens, three baths, and front porch. John designed and installed all of the slate, including the reclaimed slate from a New Orleans sidewalk that was used as a shower seat!

The finished product is very dramatic!

Not technically a Craigslist purchase. . .

2009-02-14T15:53:00.005-05:00

We bought this stainless steel backsplash from my friend Perry. It was damaged in shipping so Pat flexed his finish carpentry skills to make it beautiful. Now we need to install a granite top on the bar to finish it. Hopefully, that will happen over Mardi Gras.

UPDATE!
We ended up wrapping a piece of plywood with stainless steel for the breakfast bar (and backsplashes). Looks great!

1930's doors (knobs, hinges), 8/30/06

2009-02-13T17:42:00.010-05:00

So, we had the giant 3'x7' doors, but we wanted to use something older in the front apartment for interior doors. I pictured a four- or five-panel wood door. However, there was a listing for all but one of the doors that we needed. They were a single panel style from the 1930's with original hardware (glass knobs, heavy hinges, etc). Not framed, but the plan to re-use the bargeboard from the original center wall of the house for the interior trim of the front apartment was already forming. $35/door. 5 doors.
Michael B. and family were renovating their Chevy Chase home and changing out the doors. Some were stained, some were painted; some were in the basement, some were still hanging. We waited while Michael took down some doors (much to Mrs. B's consternation since she was trying to get the kids to sleep). We offered some tips on removing and hanging doors which caused Michael to feel like he was on an HGTV show. Chris said that, in fact, he was; that the camera was in my glasses. For a moment, he seemed to believe us.

A couple of weeks later, there ended up being another door. I contacted Michael and asked if he had been holding out on me. So we went back to pick that one up, as well. (Due to some framing and plumbing constraints, we ended up not needing the last door; maybe it will find a home in another project.)

We transported the doors to NOLA. I removed all the hardware and lightly sanded the doors so that they could be painted.

John and I primed the doors.I mixed black and brown (java) to get a dark brown (that was very close to the original stain color). John and I painted the doors.I cleaned up the hardware.Pat constructed amazing frames from the bargeboard.

French doors for back apartment, 9/23/06

2009-02-10T21:48:00.012-05:00

We took a beautiful scenic drive out to the Plains to look at french doors that were being removed during a major home renovation. The house was GIGANTIC.
The doors had not been removed yet, but would be in a couple of weeks by the contractors.

The plan was to "open" the back wall of McKenna Street with two sets of french doors. The cheap, full-light french doors at HD were in the $300-400 range. Each of these sets was $200. Although used, the glass seals and wood were in very good shape. Additionally, they had nice lock sets (that we were able to get re-keyed for only ~$25). On top of that, each door had a transom over it, making the total assembly +8 feet tall.

A matching single door with transom was also for sale, so we picked that up, too.After a few tense minutes trying to manuver a couple of 300 lb doors and windows (yes. we picked up some windows for my mom) through the overgrown English garden, the goods were loaded!(On a side note, I bought a GORGEOUS set of mahogany bi-fold chippendale style doors for $200. I have no idea what I will do with them, but they were too beautiful to pass up.)

Before: (notice how dark and small the room seems even with the ceiling already vaulted)

Framing:

Final:Notice that the transom was too tall to use above the door, so it was re-purposed as a window.

The doors open onto a covered 100 sqft deck that is about 10 ft above ground level. The view of the neighbor's pool and tennis court is quite nice!

Mission-style oak exterior doors

2009-02-02T21:11:00.009-05:00

I sketched a façade for the house while we were in Memphis after the storm. It was a craftsman-inspired style that was sympathetic to the age and scale of the house and seemed to be achievable from a cost-effective view.

But how would we be able to afford the true divided, nine-light doors that I envisioned?

You guessed it! Craig's List!

The week after I moved up to MD, I was browsing the listings AND THERE WERE THE DOORS. TWO OF THEM! EXACTLY what I had sketched. $1100 for the two doors. (I know, sounds like a lot for us, but these doors run $1,000-3,000 each!)

I forwarded the link to C., who was still in GA at the time. We were in agreement. They were perfect.

I went by to see them. Toby and Jessica had done an AMAZING renovation of a craftsman-style home. But there were two custom Simpson doors that were not the correct size. Rather than reframe the doorways, they decided to order new doors and try to sell the others. Lucky us!

C and I picked them up and C transported them to NOLA. I spent a week sanding and staining the doors (and the sidelights that we found to pair with them).

Pat installed the doors. . .

and we found hardware that matched the style.

8) black kitchen appliances, 9/23/06

2009-01-07T21:09:00.008-05:00

Jeff L. and his family were finishing up their kitchen and family room renovation and were ready to get rid of their old appliances. A full set of black kitchen appliances for $250. I contacted him right away!

After Chris and I loaded the appliances, Jeff refused to take any money. He said that he listed them with the intention of giving them away, but did not feel that people would be responsible about picking the appliances up if they were listed for free. I personally think that he just wanted to help us out because of Katrina and what we were trying to do with the renovation. Either way, we really appreciate it! And the end result is striking.

The cabinets (while not from CL) are recycled from the house my parents renovated in Chattanooga, TN. They are metal cabinets (c. 1920-30's) that were white. John spent many hours cleaning and painting them.

The stainless counter was from the same kitchen. It had been sitting in a barn at my grandmother's farm for years. It looks great after lots of Brasso and scrubbing!

Pat fashioned the butcher block counters from a cast-off, warped piece from IKEA. He also fit all of the crown molding (recycled courtesy of my friend, Skip). Note: The kitchen ceiling is the original beadboard porch ceiling (with many coats of caulk and high gloss white paint!).

16) 2 Kohler Sterling toilets, 1/17/07

2009-01-07T20:50:00.004-05:00

We needed two more toilets for the back apartment. Then we spotted the listing for two Kohler Sterling toilets. Only $50!

Clayton W.'s neighbor had two toilets to get rid of, so Clayton offered to list them on CL for him. When we arrived, everyone was in front of the back yard fire pit - maybe a little tipsy : )

While warming our hands in front of the fire, we hung out and talked about renovations, NOLA, and Katrina for awhile. Then, while Chris was loading the toilets, Clayton W.'s neighbor gave me a tour of his house (that he was modifying substantially). Very cool curved staircase in the entry!

The bathrooms look great!
John designed and installed all the slate. The top photo is the shower-only bathroom. The bottom photo includes the other clawfoot tub from my house that collapsed during Katrina.

UPDATE! Doors and Granite 7/06

2009-01-07T20:34:00.003-05:00

The giant, heavy doors are installed! (The granite is still leaning against a tree in my backyard in Georgia.)

Check out the back apartment kitchen!

2009-01-07T20:10:00.005-05:00

Chris and I drove into Atlanta to remove the cabinets and appliances from a condo off of Peachtree Rd in midtown. We returned later to load and transport it all to NOLA (on my parent's too heavy car trailer). We scored the whole kitchen (cabinets, appliances, granite, and a stacking W/D) for $2200. I think that just the refrigerator listed for over $2k new. Chris J bought the condo next door to expand his living space and did not need the extra kitchen. He said that he priced it for what his contractor quoted to remove it. So we removed it for him. It was a LOOOOOONG trip to NOLA after we loaded the trailer (and thanks to Chris J for helping!). We slept overnight in a rest stop on the MS coast rather than pull into the city at 2AM with an open trailer full of a complete kitchen when pretty much everyone in the city needed a kitchen right about then.

It is finally installed and looks AWESOME!

great progress on the apartments

2008-08-11T21:18:00.003-04:00

It has been a while since we've posted, and there are more craigslist finds that we need to document.

But you can check out some photos of the drywall going up in the back apartment here:

http://gallery.mac.com/patricios#100159&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Update! Stained Glass

2008-04-06T13:24:00.006-04:00

Pat built cypress frames to hold the stained glass panels.

I stained the two interior frames so that they would match the old pine used to frame the opening and mounted the stain glass in the frames.

The final product looks great! It looks like it has always been there.

Some people spend over a thousand dollars for a toilet. . .

2008-04-06T12:36:00.008-04:00

. . .but not us. Instead, we payed $60 for a $1200 (MSRP) toilet. Really, the cheapest I found this toilet was ~$800. (BTW, you can get a mahogany seat for this toilet for $500.)
Jonah D. did not like the way this toilet flushed. He was upfront with that fact. He knew that it was supposed to be a really nice toilet. It just wasn't working out for him.

There was some difficulty in meeting up with him. Finally, we met at his brewery's holiday party. I mean, where else do you pick up a used toilet?

We chatted awhile and told him our "story." Jonah seemed like a super-cool fella, even inviting us to the party. However, it was time to pick up another Craigslist find, so we had to pass.

Luckily, we have not had any problems with the toilet's flushing capacity. It has been well-tested.

A couple people have commented that getting a used toilet was strange, disgusting even. They are full of shit. ; )

10) bath vanity and medicine cabinet, 10/2/06, Tony O.

2008-04-06T11:55:00.009-04:00

Not exactly in order. I'm posting this now because the front bathroom that contains this vanity is complete.

Tony had a townhouse in Capitol Hill. When we went to pick it up, there was a very swanky party dispersing from the condo 2 doors down. Tuxes and evening gowns.

Tony was unhappy with this mahogany sink vanity because he felt that the formal appearance reinforced the small size of his bathroom.

So it needed to go. Here is the ad photo that he posted.

He was very precise and concerned. We knew he was a lawyer when he wrote in an e-mail to Jacqueline, in the interest of full disclosure - the pattern on the mirror does not exactly match the pattern on the vanity.

The vanity, marble countertop, raised bowl sink, and brushed nickel faucet are striking. I'm very happy with the appearance as installed. The tub is from Jacqueline's Katrina destroyed house. John repainted it, and fussed with a replacement claw foot until it sat right. I don't remember if the claw foot was destroyed by the storm, or was already broken. The Kallista toilet in the finished bathroom is another craigslist purchase, from Jonah. See more details here.

The marble and the slate don't clash. That was one concern that we had for the installation. When renovating in the bricolage style, you never know.

Here are some photos so you can see the finished installation. I'm proud.

It is not just us!

2007-04-08T19:06:00.004-04:00

I read this Craigslist post this morning.

renovating house and apartment - appliances, etc. wanted

Reply to:
Date: 2007-04-08, 12:27AM EDT

Hi Folks!

We are having great success in assembling needed items. thanks so much. here is our Craig's List Registry
Still Needed:

now only one ..found one. ...thanks .... over/under washer-driers (gas or electric) 28" wide or smaller would be perfect. Too much to ask?

Apartment sized dishwasher
stainless steel dishwasher - standard or smaller
Marble counter top material....You got to be kidding! Craig's list is amazing.

standard sized bathroom stool (2)
Bidet
Small Corner bathroom sink (2)
Bathroom Bidet (1)
Think we have the following ****** locked away....
***drop in cook top - gas or electric - standard size
****Wall oven unit - with Micro and Warming drawer would be great!
Anything else you might think we would need.

We have pickup truck. furniture to outfit English Basement apartment

Photos would be great! Thanks so very much.

Maybe we can have a party with all who have a part in this when we are done. Would be fun, no? A Craig's List Party!!! maybe the new rage! Looking forward to hearing from you.

Tom

PS: My wife, Helene, and I are in town from Oregon (SE from Portland in country) helping daughter get her NW home renovation along. I graduated from Catholic in 1961 - Imagine? Yes, there are people that old and still alive. {

Doors and Granite, 7/06

2007-04-08T17:59:00.001-04:00

Once we figured out that Craigslist was a great source for rebuilding materials, I started looking frequently (maybe that is an understatement).

Doors and granite showed up in July. Maybe it was even reposted. $500 for all of it.

Nine doors total. Five at 7' by 3' and four at 7' by 2'. From a hotel in South Carolina. Two hour fire-rated MDF.

And several pieces of granite, approximately 50" by 30" that came off the side of a bank building.

We were somewhat disappointed that they were not solid wood; however, they met our price criteria for usage and were pretty cool looking with the three large panels.

Note: I should probably define the price criteria for usage as it has been a determining factor for either going after or passing on various items. Because we are not in New Orleans, costs such as transportation and time delay have to be considered in addition to the amount that we pay for an item. And, while difficult to factor when discussing price, cool is important, too. Sometimes it can trump the decision made solely on the basic pricing criteria. Another difficult to determine value that we try to factor is the value to us of recycling vs buying new. In the case of doors, the comparitor used was the basic framed, hollow core, six panel MDF carried by [insert big box home store name here]. The house had these doors when C purchased it and they were pulled out when the house was gutted. While functional, I hate these doors. They have no soul. Kinda tin man. But (as C will tell you) I am ridiculous about these things. The price post-katrina for the big box store doors, framed, was ~$100/ea, depending on size. We felt that we would optimize our value by obtaining unframed, used doors for ~$50/ea. P felt that it would take less than an hour of his time (~$30) to frame a door. At that price, we would end up with a higher quality product than the comparitor for less than or about the same price (once transportation was taken into account).

When we asked the seller (another example where we do not have the email anymore) for what price he would sell just the doors without the granite, he said $400. He really just wanted to get rid of the granite.

There were seven pieces of granite. We did not really know what we would do with them, but it seemed like a good deal to get granite for countertops (later we found out how much it would cost to cut it!). So we borrowed a trailer and drove into Atlanta to pick up the goods.This stuff was heavy. Luckily, the guy we were buying from helped. And he was pretty strong. Apparently, he had been collecting this stuff and his roommate just wanted it gone. Good for us!

If I remember correctly, these doors helped us form the basic design for the back apartment (more modern, sleek, and white).

The granite is still in the yard in GA. Now that we are using slate for the counters in the front apartment, we will use some of this granite to build a table outside (I hope!).

At $400 for nine doors (~$45/ea) and $100 for seven big pieces of granite, we were pretty satisfied with the acquisition.

tumbled marble, stained glass windows, 7/06

2007-01-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, we think that Jacqueline lost the e-mail address for these folks. So we'll call her M and him T. Sorry, we kept the e-mails. But Jacqueline didn't keep the job that had the e-mail.

There was a post on craigslist, "36 square feet of tumbled Marble - $35". Jacqueline suggested that the marble would be a good counter surface for the front apartment or a bathroom.

It was funny before we even got there because Jacqueline called to confirm that we would be arriving soon. T thought she was someone else, and was odd to her on the phone . She can fill in more of the details about that conversation.

So, we drove into Atlanta. We arrived at the house, and inspected the marble in the garage.
M suggested that we also looked at the marble trim that she had, which went with the marble, and she wasn't planning on using.

During this time we told the story about the house on Mc Kenna Street. Coincidentally, M and T had lived in New Orleans, so we played the name game about places and neighborhoods. We talked more about the house in New Orleans, and then M showed me some stained glass windows that she made for her brother's house, to his specifications. The specs were slightly off, so she ended up re-making new windows for him. I had to think about it. We complimented them on their great new kitchen -- and the French doors into the dining room.

M told us the story of the french doors. She got them from a contractor friend who was working on a multi-million dollar project. There was a big wall of windows and doors. One of the windows or doors had a scratch on them. Apparently the person who was spending multi-million dollars didn't like that, and refused the lot of them.

So, M also had some windows that she wanted to get rid of. She asked us if we wanted them. We weren't sure and said we would check the sizes with J's mom to see if she could use them.

I bought the three stained glass windows for $300. They matched the planned color scheme of the exterior of the house, and were really unique and a great deal. T brought them to Athens the next day, because he worked as a contract Engineer for a nearby power plant. He also brought the vinyl windows.

Brief tour of pre-katrina McKenna Street

2007-01-21T18:18:00.001-05:00

Before the storm, McKenna Street was a typical shotgun double. Katrina flooded about 2.5 ft into the house, from what I can gather, that water stayed around for a week to two weeks.

Here is a link to a photo gallery on my site which has some before and after photos.
http://www.crowleigh.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=9&page=1&sort=ta

This page has many photos of what the house looked like when we got back after 3.5 weeks.
http://www.tulane.edu/~ccrowley/katrina/

The List (so far) of Craigslist purchases for McKenna St New Orleans Renovation

2007-01-20T11:30:00.001-05:00

1) tumbled marble, stained glass windows, 7/06
2) white doors, granite, 7/06
3) kitchen and washer/dryer (atlanta), 8/19/06, Chris J.
4) mission-style oak exterior doors, 8/30/06, Jessica and Toby M.
5) 1930's doors (knobs, hinges), 8/30/06, Michael B.
6) stackable washer and dryer, 9/14/06, Camille C.
7) sidelights, 9/15/06, Professional Painting (Bryan)
8) black kitchen appliances, 9/23/06, Jeff L.
9) shower base, 9/13/06, Giselle G.
10) bath vanity and medicine cabinet, 10/2/06, Tony O.
11) pedestal sink 1, 9/30/06, Pete G.
12) outdoor fan, 10/14/06, Clara L.
13) french doors for back apartment, 9/23/06, Miranda G.
14) pedestal sink 2 and door, 12/3/06, Tamera
15) Kallista toilet, 12/20/06, Jonah D.
16) 2 Kohler Sterling toilets, 1/17/07, Clayton W.'s neighbor
17) LG combination W/D, 3/2009

McKenna Street Project

2007-01-04T09:29:00.000-05:00

I considered how to repair the damage to my house caused by hurricane katrina. I navigated through the maze of insurance reports, papers to file, city building permits, ICC claims, flood elevations, greenspace, and consideration for future safety of the house.

One thing was clear, insurance provides replacement cost of like items. This meant that insurance companies consider the fact that your objects were not new, and will provide you funds to replace the object with another not new item. Is this fair? It doesn't really matter.

Another thing was apparent from the very beginning. This event generated a lot of waste. A tremendous pile of drywall and furniture dominated the side of the road once people started their home gutting in earnest. It was like a snowbank on a Buffalo, NY street. You couldn't see the houses behind it. From the city of New Orleans website, there was an estimate 25 million cubic yards of trash generated: LDEQ estimates a total of 25 million cubic yards of storm related debris (equates to football field one mile high)[from http://cityofno.com/Portals/Portal35/portal.aspx?tabid=38 ]

These factors, a sense of the inferior quality and disposable nature of many products sold by big box construction stores, thrift, and hating senseless waste contributed to a decision that was made. Wherever possible, recycled materials would be used in the renovation.

Enter Craigslist...