Don't Rush into Gold

Why is it important to spend quality time with color selection?

Color is as powerful attribute to ambiance as music is to a dance hall. Color is one of the most fulfilling elements in our lives. Color can change your mood, it can draw attention or it can camouflage and protect. It speaks to who you are, how you feel and where you're going.  Here are three more good arguments.

1 Color can unite unique rare accent pieces with standard mass produced items in your home.
2 Intense hues that shine of boldness can add spirit to spaces that also feature more grounded elements like wood, wrought iron or woven textiles.
3 Negative space gains a glimmer of happiness with the enhancement of bright colors.

Hue
the property of light by which the color of an object is classified as red, blue, green, or yellow in reference to the spectrum.

Spectrum
this band or series of colors together with extensions at the ends that are not visible to the eye, but that can be studied by means of photography, heat effects, etc., and that are produced by the dispersion of radiant energy other than ordinary light rays.

Value
When in reference to fine arts=  a. degree of lightness or darkness in a color. b. the relation of light and shade in a painting, drawing, or the like.


So how do we complete the complex task of choosing a brilliant color scheme? 

Erase everything from your mind but that which stays

Determine what features or existing elements of the space you would consider permanent.  For example: the bricks and/or stucco, or the fine Italian sofa you got as a wedding gift or anything that is staying put  and that has spatial value within the scope of vision in the project you are looking at.  The colors you select must work well with these elements as well as with themselves.

Determine a point of focus

There are things about your project that you would want to see naked and things that don’t give the space any definition at all.  Emphasize your project's attractive features, like an arch or a crown molding.  You can draw more attention to these details by  means of contrast.  If there isn't much to work with you can create interest by adding a border.

Simplicity creates flow

Once you have created you color palette, continue the theme around the house without deviation.  This doesn’t mean every area has to look identical, but if you deviate from your palette you will lose that which ties the entire home together. 

Don’t finalize your selection at 11 AM on Saturday morning

I realize that the week is busy and that projects get accomplished when there is time.  If you start looking at colors when you get up on Saturday morning and have them chosen before lunchtime, you might get lucky, but you might find out the hard way that you didn’t take enough time with your color palette.  When the sun is in the west it creates a completely different look as it does in the morning.  The same goes with your artificial light after dark.  You might find that the brown you chose that looks so full and rich at midday turns black at night.  You might find that the wonderful blue you selected that was so calming and crisp in the morning only turns mottled and bland in the evening.  Spend at least twenty four hours before purchasing multiple gallons of paint.  Look at your colors in every light possible.  Another note I should add here is make sure you like the color from every angle at the various times of day you view them.  Some hues can change by entire shades of value on different walls.  A slightly more challenging imagination gag is that small blotches of color can appear different when finished if it is a grand space like an entire room from floor to ceiling or the color of the siding on an exterior.  Even what is considered an overwhelming color in small proportions can soften in a large surface and sometimes vice-versa.  Something rich in small amounts can become bland in large amounts.  Now I probably have you really confused. 

The most important thing when deciding colors is will you be satisfied with it for years to come.  What is hot this year may become old news next year.  Choose colors by your overall taste in what represents you at your core, not just what you are attracted to right now, unless you want to repaint every other year.  There is nothing wrong with wanting changes often if you have the means.  Most of us don’t though, which is why it is so important for us to take the time and energy to really consider our colors.  It is the most underrated aspect of any project because we all get excited about it but few of us really know how to do it right. 

Creating a tasteful color scheme can add so much value to your home.  I have seen lovely sturdy homes sit on the market unsold with mediocre curb appeal while neighboring homes in need of repair but tastefully colored sell immediately.  Only about 5% of the houses have a well selected color scheme.  I am not saying that it is going to bump your square footage up and increase your value by twenty thousand dollars, but if you decided to put it on the market right now, as it stands, would potential buyers stop and stare in the street pondering the idea or walk tucking a brochure into the enormous pile that they have already collected?  That makes for a huge difference in value.  And if you aren’t considering selling, it sure feels nice to have the pretty house on the block to come home to.

Window Restoration

For the homeowners and the craftsmen alike an incredibly valuable skill to learn is window glazing.  I can’t stress enough how valuable it is.  So many contractors will come to do an inspection and see a hint of rot or glaze that is cracking and falling out and say, “Oh yes, you definitely need new windows”  Suddenly you will be looking at between one and two thousand dollars per average sized window that definitely needs to be replaced.  Some of you may have already caught my “do it yourself wood rot blog.”  That goes for windows too.  It is the same procedure and you will usually find rot in the corner of the bottom rail where it meets the stile.  I should probably explain the parts, huh. The top rail and the bottom rail are what they sound like.  It is the piece of wood at the top or the bottom of the window.  The stiles are the pieces of wood on the left or right.  The glass is surrounded by rails and stiles.  They hug the windowpane(s).  If there are divided panes the wood in between are called muntins.  Okay back on topic:  The point I can’t stress enough is that if you have the time to do home projects, doing this yourself can potentially save thousands upon thousands of dollars.  Ready?

All you will need for supplies is matching paint, an oil based primer, a good putty knife or two, and window glaze.  All this shouldn’t come to more than about a hundred dollars. 

The first thing to do is examine physically the old glaze.  You can do this with the corner of a putty knife, but I use a cheap, old beater pocket knife for this because I find that the rigid triangular shaped point is a bit more effective.  What you want to do is prod a crack and see if it pops loose even a little bit.  Then pick at it until it all falls out.  If it is hard and adhered well enough, just leave it in.  If you can get under it, pick it out.  It is best to stay between the wood and the glaze and not the glass and the glaze.  You can, but, be careful.  The only thing keeping this job inexpensive is your care not to break the glass.  If you put pressure on the glass itself, you could crack it and believe me, it will happen on occasion and when it does, it is heartbreaking.  It is even more heartbreaking if it is old wavy glass.  **uncommon knowledge Old wavy glass is not flawed from years of distortion.  Those are imperfections of the glass being made by human hands that have been there since the birth of that pane of glass.  No two are alike.  They don’t make them with personality any more.**  After all the loose glaze is out, dust or vacuum really well.  Get the surface free of debris. 

You can use the oil based primer to seal the newly exposed surface of the chipped glaze and dried wood frame next to the window.  I like to use a general wood sealer that also works with glaze just because it has a faster dry time and when I am out on the jobsite I have to keep moving. 

Glaze is not expensive at all but it takes a delicately intuitive touch to work with it and a little knowledge about it could guide your hand.  It is both temperature and moisture sensitive.  It is an oil based product and it flows through it so there will be portions that are stickier than others and want to smear all over.  One trick I learned from my mentor that helped me greatly was the starch trick.  A sprinkle rubbed into the palms of your hand will make a damp, sticky, separating glaze, much more manageable.  Don’t use too much or your new glaze line wont seal the window properly.  It needs to remain a little bit sticky. 

If it is cold it will be hard and not easily workable.  On a hot day this step will go very fast and might not even be necessary.  Knead it.  Like dough.  Smash it, and work it.  Roll it into a ball.  Do this as much as necessary for it to become soft and mushy.

Between your palms pinch roll it by pressing it back and forth between the heels of your palms so that it snakes out.  I usually aim for roughly a quarter inch diameter snake.  This is roughly the volume per inch of a good glaze line plus excess for cutting, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Lay the snake into the crack between the wood and the glass gently pressing it in with a thumb or finger.  If it isn’t sticky enough because you used too much cornstarch on your hands this is when you will discover it.  If it doesn’t want to stick start over and make it again slightly stickier.  If you force it in with out it naturally sticky it won’t last very long.  It should stick and dry that way.  That stickiness is the glue that bonds it all together.  The starch is good for making it manageable when it is too sticky to work with, so you can get away with some, but if you over-indulge your work will show it in the years to come.

Put the blade of the putty knife against the glass laying it flat on the bead of glaze you laid out.  Press the glaze in hard.  It should squirt out from under the edge of the knife a bit as you do this.  I like to overlap each new blade press by about half a blade width for consistency and to make damn sure I got it all in there really good without missing any spots.  You want to be able to imagine that you left no open pockets unfilled with the glaze underneath the surface.  The squirting of it from under the blade as you retract away id a good indicator that the material had nowhere else left to go but out from under the knife.  This is by far the most crucial and exhausting part of glazing.  If your forearms aren’t sore by the time you are done with a pane of glass, you weren’t doing it right.  I do this all the time and mine still get tired from it. 

Now to make it look clean it is all about the correct angle.  You will need your putty knife and a steady hand.  I dig the corner in gradually until I find the edge of the wooden rabbet that was cut for the cavity of the window on the opposite side of the glass.  That is the line you want to follow.  It is straight and in just the right spot.  The top of the blade should rest right on the wood edge on the face of the window.  The blade should be as flat as possible laying parallel to the cut line.  Press down in that position and drag it keeping an eye on the corner of your knife.  You are freehand cutting it and tracing that line on the underside of the glass.  There should be a smash-like cut at the face edge of the glaze and a slice cut at the glass edge, both leaving a small wrinkly cut line of excess glaze material.  This might take some practice, but you know what?  It is no big deal because glaze has a working time of several days so if it doesn’t work you can dig it out and do it all over again with no waste other than some time.

After you get a good cut you will carefully scoop away the excess with your putty knife.  If you accidentally dig out your glaze, well bummer, but just press it back in and cut again.  If you merely nick it, don’t sweat it unless you are an anal perfectionist.  I can relate.  Only if I am in a real hurry will I not fix this by doing it over. 

I also will sometimes use the excess as a woodfiller in little cracks and flaws since I have it out.  There is no harm in filling a crack.  Glaze was the wood filler of the old craftsmen before manufacturers started making advanced products.  Works perfectly well too.  The only reason I wouldn’t use I in any other situation is the setting time.  But since we are already waiting for it anyway, just fill it with glaze.

Another trick is to put another dab of starch in your hands and ever so gently massage the line with your finger tip, by dragging out any tiny flaws.  Glaze is extremely malleable so why not take advantage of that?  I even do this to smooth out the vibration ripples from the blade not moving perfectly smoothly when cutting. 

In the places where there was still old glaze that was sealed well and didn't want to come out, just do the best you can to blend it smooth.  It will not be nice and perfect but trying to get it out just isn't worth your time.  The painting should suffice covering up any imperfections in your glaze line.

The glaze needs to set up.  Remember the working time of this stuff is days.  I like to wait two weeks to paint.  First, seal in the oils by painting the glaze with the oil primer.  After that is dry, paint with your window color in latex or whatever you have for your windows.  I cut my lines by hand but you can do it however you want.  But, just so you know.  You want the paint to just touch the glass.  Extend your paint line, just a hair, maybe like a thirty second of an inch beyond the glaze so that it is just touching the glass.  Creating that final line seals the glaze in and will make your window repair last much longer and now your window should look about as good as new. 

What do you mean replace my Queen?

I want to go over wood repair, because in this time of great need to save, it feels like something that needs to be discussed.  Wood rot does not necessarily mean that whatever it is part of needs to be replaced.  These days it may be able to be fixed.  Not everyone is aware of material technology and how far it has come.  Wood repair is more possible than most realize.  Things can be saved that most general contractors would try to sell the homeowner on replacement for several reasons.  A new one could mean more income for their project.  A new one likely requires less craftsmanship.  A new one is the simplest solution.  Do not hesitate to ask if it can be saved.  I repeat.  Do not hesitate to ask if it can be saved.  If they say no or even maybe but it is not a good idea, don’t disregard their opinion but get a second opinion.  When you get a second opinion make sure that the company or contractor specializes in Epoxy repair, wood repair, or restoration.  Some contractors just don’t do it at all and will never say yes to such a request.  For your second opinion make sure that it will be someone interested in repairs rather than remodeling. 

Here is how I saved some posts that hold up a porch.  Maybe you are skilled enough to even do it yourself, if you feel ambitious enough.  It isn’t terribly expensive and you do not need to have any very expensive equipment.  Give it a try and save yourself lots of cash and the aesthetic of your home. 

First I had to determine whether or not the structural integrity of the columns were still intact. The rot was awful looking as most rot is, but these had areas where the wood was completely gone and small animals could move in if so inclined.  This was actually a plus for me because I could get down and look inside at the interior of the pillar.  The structure of it was hollow.  There was a support wrapped by a custom angled tongue and groove wrap that had been turned into a decorative cylinder.  The exterior was rotting from the bottom up, which probably what you would find on your own if you have columns outside your home on a porch or under a doorway awning.  It is where snow sits.  It is where rain pools.  Makes sense right?

Since inside it was well protected from the elements and was perfectly intact, I proceeded to estimate the cost of repairing the rotten wood exterior without any replacement or jacking up of the porch.  The homeowner was very pleased immediately that four new 12 foot tall 16” diameter posts were not needed and that we wouldn’t have to disassemble the supports that held up the thousands of pounds of roof above.  Who wouldn’t be thrilled?  See most people would see holes in pillars and rotten wood and automatically think, “My porch is going to collapse.”   This is an easy sell for a remodeling contractor to remove and rebuild a porch for twenty thousand dollars that won’t look like your pretty old porch anymore either.  What if it were one of the lovely Queen Anne porches with the delicate lattice work?  It will be newer and not match your Victorian, colonial or craftsman style home.

The next step was doing the work.  First drilling and picking with a chisel.  All that rotten wood has to go.  If it is soft and mushy or crumbles away get rid of it.  You will be making holes bigger, which I admit seems a little scary and destructive at first, but have faith dear homeowner.  You are not doing any damage that has not already been done by the weather.  Pick it away until you find something solid.  When the wood actually feels like wood, then stop because that is still like new.  Then with the drill, a small one like an eighth inch or so, not critical, but not much is needed, pepper the new surface.  Peppering is just going in a tiny bit from all different directions in a consistent pattern of close pock marks so that the end result looks like pepper in a pepper shaker; spotty and even.  This gives the open wood “tooth” for the epoxy to grab onto which will insure that it will have more bonding surface and a more difficult time separating after seasons of hot and cold have their impact on the space in between them.  I have preferences of materials that I like for the longest lasting results, but what really matters is that you use a good primer sealer on the new bare wood even in the peppered holes.  Rubber gloves are a very good idea when handling epoxy, not only is it slightly hazardous, but it will turn your fingers black for days if you don’t cover your skin.  The best wood repair products are usually nastier to work with and come in two parts that you have to mix at the time of use.  The nastier to work with the better the product is usually a good rule of thumb.  Its a bummer but a sincere truth.  Mix the epoxy thoroughly.  If you do not do a good job mixing it will not hold together or bond with the wood properly.  Follow the mixing instructions very well and exceed them.  I have learned this the hard way.  Apply the epoxy where there should be wood and build it up a little bit on the large side so that you have excess to remove when shaping away any imperfections.  Epoxy has a set time that can be up to days long.  It does not dry.  It is a chemical reaction, hence the mixing.  The reaction is accompanied by a hardening that takes place.  It is impacted by temperature.  A heat lamp may speed it up some.  Outside in the colder weather, it can triple.  You’ll know when it is completely hardened by the sanding.  If you cut into it with a chisel or try to sand it and it feels tacky or sticky in the least bit, it needs more time.  If it is dry and comes apart in a fine dry powder and does not immediately load up your sandpaper with gunk, it is safe to say that it is completely bonded. 

Now this is the fun part for me.  Carve the shape of your old pillar into the new epoxy using chisels, rotary tools, sand paper, or sanding machine for the desired shapes.  Take extra care not to carve away too much or you will be adding more epoxy again and waiting that bonding time again as well; no big deal really since the structure is not ruined but an annoyance that is certainly not desired.  After you are finished shaping and you are pleased with the results of your newly filled and complete looking columns, go over it with your primer sealer again.  Cover all the newly shaped and sanded epoxy and the wood around it once again to seal them together.  It makes no difference for this particular project whether or not you are going back with the same color or choosing a new color, but if you are going back with the same color make sure to overlap the old paint by feathering in from wet to dry with a dry brush or you may end up with a slight but distinct color or texture difference.  Usually I like to go in with new paint all the way to a distinct line to avoid this, but your discretion is probably satisfactory.  To the untrained and not knowing eye, you will have what looks like brand new pillars after this small tedious project and the next contractor that comes by won’t even consider mentioning a new porch.