Should've would've could've done

[ksmith]

Should've jogged this evening. Instead, I applied the first coat of stain to the oak vent registers I'll be installing in the kitchen and living room. An oak stain for the white oak kitchen registers, and maple stain for the red oak living room pieces.

Amazing, the difference that one coat of stain can make. There's nothing like good wood.

Comments

OOooooOOOOooo

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

*Serious envy*

Re: OOooooOOOOooo

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I got them from a place called Signature Hardware. I didn't think I'd ever find nice register covers because some of the outlets in my house are weird sizes (two are 30" long, so I had to get a couple of these). Googled one day during lunch, and danged if I didn't find this place. Spent waaaay too much, but given that the house has nice woodwork and hardwood floors throughout--except the bathroom--I figured it would be worth it.

I also bought registers and returns for the bedrooms. Of course, being an older, jury-rigged house, some vents aren't exact measurements, which means that I will need to shave baseboards. I bought a Japanese woodworking saw (like this one, but I'm not sure of the exact model) which will allow me to cut the baseboard while it's still on the wall. The person who rec'd it said that Japanese saws cut on the pull, which allows for more control.

I'm getting way too into this. But damn, that wood looks lovely.

Re: OOooooOOOOooo

[kalligraphy.livejournal.com]

Think about a dremel tool, excellent for precision work including wood working and metal working

Re: OOooooOOOOooo

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I've heard about those, too. I'll remember it as another option.

One good thing about all this is that I'll be working on baseboard edges. I should be able to ease them away from the wall an inch or two prior to cutting. It's going to be a pain, but the stained oak registers and returns are going to look so much nicer than the pinky-brown metal things they're replacing. The only advantage the pinky-brown metal had is that it could be bent to fit to some extent. A quarter inch difference in length? No biggie. With wood, it makes a difference.

Re: OOooooOOOOooo

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Since you have nice woodwork throughout, it makes sense to me -- both for your enjoyment as long as you live there, and for resale.

The bathroom may need work, however? Or just no exposed wood?

Saw looks cool. Until the hands stop hurting, though, I'll just admire yours! (That website looks like Restoration Hardware for DIYers.)

[kalligraphy.livejournal.com]

A number of years ago we were ready to kill my mother. We had just done major renovation work on the house. The arch to the back hall and all window sills and edging were done in white pine. Beautiful, expensive, white pine. Mom decided that she wanted to trim those rooms in white so she went to the store to inquire about white stain and the idiot at the paint store told her that there is no such thing as white stain. So she bought white paint and painted all the white pine. Forever hiding the wood grain. Mom said that she had to because there is no white stain at which point we pointed out that you are supposed to use bleach.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Oy.

My house is older--late 60s/early 70s--and all the kitchen cabinets are real wood. Even the shelves are 3/4" thick board, as opposed to the particle board shelving I've seen in homes much more expensive than mine. The doors are Shaker-plain, no design whatsoever. But, real wood.

Whoever installed them stained them green. I blame the 70s.

It's not a horrible green. Kind of a piney shade, which you can still find in stores. But still, green. My ultimate goal, at some point when I have nothing else on my plate, is to strip away the green and apply a nice oak or maple stain. trolleypup once warned me that I might never be able to remove all the green, but the right kind of cool-toned brown stain could work with whatever green undertone remained and make the wood look almost alive.

I will admit that there is the same sort of all-wood cabinet in the bathroom. The owners stained that one yellow. My folks did paint over it, a nice cream shade. My Dad didn't have the patience for refinishing.

Some companies offer a huge number of non-natural stain colors, but I confess an aversion. What did the wood ever do to you, that you should stain it rose pink?

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Solid pine can be retrieved by sanding, but it's a lot of work.

The idiot crew who painted my Floral Park home applied stain like paint to all the wood cabinets. Oh, yes! They came back and had to sand the ash back to almost the starting point. And did it only marginally well in a couple of places.

There are advantages to doing it yourself...