It’s All in the Details

The Willetta project is moving along and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will be completed by March 25.  Right now, we are putting all the pieces of the puzzle back-the kitchen cabinets, countertops, appliances, tiling, final window and door trim, and final paint.

The last 5% of any renovation/restoration is the most important.  Generally that’s when your work crew is looking to their next job and may be losing interest.  It’s the last chapter that requires the most attention to detail.  Picking the right faucet, cabinet hardware, the door knobs is what I call the house’s jewelry….it’s what people notice.  Even though most of the investment is behind the walls in the form of new electricity, plumbing, HVAC, it’s the details that win over a potential new owner.

The Willetta house had many original details that we have chosen to preserve.  However, much of it was covered in layers upon layers of paint or deterioration.

These solid brass door hinges with the ball pin are very expensive to replace, if you can find them at all.  My husband accepted the task of cleaning all of the hardware from the house.  In our relationship, I’m the more organic one-never wanting to use chemicals and exhausting natural ways to accomplish tasks.

I have an old crock pot I dug out of the basement and read that you can “cook” hardware overnight to loosen the gunked up paint. Note the dents and the rust….after using this for cleaning hardware do not prepare food in it…

I added some dish soap and turned it on high and left it on the counter in the kitchen overnight. Not the best idea because the smell the next morning in the kitchen wasn’t very pleasant-a dusty, stale, old smell.  Just what you’d expect from boiling decades of old paint from hardware.

The paint was loosened up quite a bit, however, my husband thinks that soaking the hardware in the chemicals work better.  He used Klean Strip Stripper for wood, metal and masonry and Brasso Metal Polish.

At least one has choices!

All the interior doors have skeleton keys and mortise locks–of course there are no keys to be found, but the octogonal hardware is so attractive and matches the plate behind the glass door knobs.

I can’t wait to show you the finished house at Willetta~~it is such a gem and worthy of all this tedious work.  Big hugs to Scott for cleaning up the “jewelry”!