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Dining-Room Makeover: Introduction From "Restoration Realities" episode DRTR-104

	This 1907 Queen-Anne is an ideal candidate for an ambitious, ground-up restoration -- an "ailing" old home in a historic neighborhood.
	The dining room BEFORE the renovation.

In this episode, DIY's Restoration Realities helps with the renovation of the dining room in a 1907 Queen-Anne in a working-class area of the historic West Village district in Detroit. Restoration carpenter Chris Babcock helps supervise the technical aspects of the project.

In this first segment, we meet the owners and prep work gets underway.

Materials used in this episode:

Two 5-gallon buckets of gypsum drywall mud
Wallpaper stripper
Two 2-1/2-gallon garden sprayers
Plenty of hot water
Plaster
Gallon of bonding primer
Paper tiger (wallpaper-removal tool)
Cordless screw gun or drywall gun
Shop-vac
Several 1-gallon and 5-gallon buckets
Putty knives or five-way painters tools
Utility knife
6" and 10" to 12"-wide taping knife
Rubber base grout float
Large cellulose sponges
Scouring pads
Bag of lime-based finish plaster
Drywall-sanding paper
Gel stain to touch up the base trim
Rags
Plaster washers
2" drywall screws
Paper drywall tape
Ladders and walk boards (or mobile scaffolding)
Drop-cloths and sheet-plastic
Paint poles
Roller frames and roller covers
2" and 3" paint brushes
Angle-sash paintbrush

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	Homeowner Bill Swanson takes on this restoration with a room-by-room approach -- finishing one room so that he can "put it away" and move on to the next one.
	Vittoria Katanski has had a passion old homes since she was a child.

Bill Swanson, the son of an antique dealer, has a fine appreciation for old things. So when he and his girlfriend Vittoria saw a neglected old foursquare two doors down from her restored house, he jumped at the chance to buy it. However, what he bought was nothing short of a wreck. Years of neglect has left this two story 1907 wood foursquare in extremely poor condition. But Bill saw past the piles of old clothes and broken furniture, cracked plaster, peeling wall paper, and busted plumbing. He saw the possibility of restoring a 'working-class jewel' in an old neighborhood. In fact his neighbors are so appreciative of his interest, they said "let us know what we can do to help"

Restoration Realities helps this man rescue his ‘old jewel' by assisting Bill, Vittoria and his neighbors as they reclaim a room. To begin thie transformation, we chose the dining room. Nestled in the back of the house, it's entry from the front parlor is through a matching pair of wood columns. A coffered ceiling displays plaster squares which must be patched and painted. The walls have layers and layers of old wall paper, peeling off. We'll teach Bill and his team how to strip the wall paper off and patch the plaster. Once that is done, a new coat of appropriate primer and paint will be added. But before that goes on, we wire-sand the oak surround on his floor then oil it.

The finishing touch, once we clean all the original unpainted wood in the room, is to add just the right accent pieces. That's where Bill's Dad comes in, he agreed to outfit Bill's dining room in the style that will befit it after the basic work has been done.

	Figure A
	Figure B

Cleanup and Prep-Work

Inspecting the condition of the dining room, it's obvious that water damage has occurred (figure A).

• With the help of several friends from the neighborhood, the first step is to clean the room as best as possible. Brooms, garbage bags and a shop-vac aid the initial cleanup. With so many helpers, this cleanup goes quickly.

• Chris removed a hanging lamp, that is far from period-authentic, from the center of the dining room.

• Chris and Bill began work scraping the chipped paint from the ceiling (figure B).
  

  The house exterior is indicative of the level of repair that will need to go into this ambitious restoration.

Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection when working with power tools or pneumatic tools.

Note: This is a summary of steps included in the procedures shown in this episode of Restoration Realities. There may be variations in procedures for your particular restoration project based on the types of materials you select and the nature or extent of your particular project. Always follow proper safety precautions, and read and follow manufacturer's guidelines, diagrams and safety notices that come with materials or products that you select.

RESOURCES :

Victorian: American Restoration Style
Model: 0879058870
Author: Joan M. Brierton
Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publishers
Order this title from Amazon.com.

Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes
Author: George Nash
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561585351
Order this title from Amazon.com.

Renovating and Restyling Older Homes: The Professional's Guide to Maximum Value Remodeling
Author: Lawrence Dworin
Publisher: Craftsman Book Company
ISBN: 1572180293
Order this title from Amazon.com.

Selecting and Renovating an Old House: A Complete Guide
Author: United States Department of Agriculture
July 2000
Publisher: Dover Publications
ISBN: 0486409562
Order this title from Amazon.com.