Report #3 on their new Retro Renovation journey
While Pam and I were off enjoying ourselves at The Hukilau, Mike and Lindsey were up to their eyeballs in work, continuing the fast-paced the restoration of their Edward Durell Stone House of Good Taste. And, they experienced their first unexpected expense. In today’s installment — the third in the series — Mike and Lindsey share the tale. And, they ask for our ideas for a secondary flooring material to complement the original terrazzo floors in many other parts of this gorgeous 1964 house.
Our heads have been spinning the last few weeks with all the progress on the house and craziness in our lives. Terrazzo floors are finished (note: Mike will be giving us the full run down about the floor refinishing process in the next House of Good Taste update) and have been covered for the rest of construction, the kitchen build out is just about finished, we are starting to pack up our current home, and move in is only five weeks away.
With the demo completed, our first task included electrical and wall/ceiling work. We placed the carpet back down over the terrazzo to protect it during what we knew would be messy stages of construction. We probably won’t see them again for a while :(. With our house in shambles, we have already looked at each other a few times and said, “what have we gotten ourselves into?” Truth be told, I think we both secretly love a little chaos in our lives.
This next phase has brought us both good and bad news. The good news is that our current home went under contract before it hit the market! Our realtor has some clients that he suspected might love our house and he was right, we got a full price offer and the best part is that they love our two vintage pink bathrooms. We’ll get to the bad news in a bit.
We realize electrical and drywall work don’t carry a whole lot of retro fun, but bear with us through these nuts and bolts stages, we know the fun stuff is just around the corner.
Electrical
We initially though that the scope of electrical work would be fairly minor, but after being able to spend some time in the home we realized that the lighting situation was a bit of a mess and we had an opportunity to use the lighting to accent the special features of this home. This was our first taste of “might as well do it the way we want it and not regret it later” aka “we are going to blow our budget”. Because the house has a flat top roof, we really do need to do all electrical work now, as you can not just drop in new electrical in from the attic at a future date. Adding new electrical later would mean having opening up the walls and ceilings.
The plan consist of layered ambient and accent lighting. For ambient lighting will be installing 4″ LED recessed cans down the hallway from the front door and in the kitchen, 4 strategically placed pendant lights in the main living areas, and ceiling fans with lights in each of the bedrooms. Accent lighting will consist of wall sconces down the hallway, 12 strategically placed 4″ recessed gimbal lights that will illuminate the interior stone walls and fireplace, and redoing the lighting in the recessed ceiling that currently utilizes florescent tubes to make it softer and dim-able. We also want all of these areas to be independently controllable and dim-able, which means going from about 4 switches that controls everything to 15 switches and figuring out where to put them so they make sense, all at the same time of having to work around all the stone walls.
So what was the “bad news” we mentioned earlier?… we had our first OOPS :(. With not having any prior experience with a flat top roof home, we had the scraping of all the popcorn ceilings done as part of the demo. Well, after the first week of electrical work we realized that it would take about a month to finish all the wiring unless we pulled most of the ceilings and walls completely down. Without access from a attic, we had no idea what anything looked like behind the drywall and we were running into issue after issue with the framing and how the original electrical was done. So with humble sadness we were forced to pull down nearly all of the freshly scrapped ceilings and a whole lot of the walls too…. OOPS. But in the end it was probably a good thing as we found several areas of unsafe electrical and some termite damage we were able to repair, which we never would have known about if we did not pull down the ceilings.
- Precautionary Pam reminds: Readers, the layers of our of old houses may contain vintage nastiness such as lead and asbestos; be sure to consult with your own properly licensed professionals to determine what you are working with so that you can make informed decisions. Please also know, I do not permit such advice to be doled out on the blog — again, get with your own pros regarding what is in your house.
- Editor’s note #2: “Unexpected costs” are to be expected, yup: See our story about readers’ 140 real life stories about surprise home repairs.
Floating out the walls and ceilings
The house has a mixture of wall textures from room to room, and one of the things we personally don’t care for is heavy wall texture. We have seen a few homes with completely smooth walls and ceilings (not just drywall with no texture, but fully floated out), and we felt they would really look great in this space. We agreed that having flat walls would only enhance the texture provided by the stone walls. Floating walls is a labor intensive process that will require at least three coats and sanding between each coat. We are crossing our fingers that it turns out the way we imagine in our heads. One bright side, pulling down so much of the existing drywall for electrical, allows the floating process to go much faster with the new drywall. Those areas will not need the existing texture knocked down and should require less coats.
Flooring!!??
With the house tore up and feeling like it may never be put back together, we have attempted to distract ourselves with flooring decisions and researching companies who specialize in terrazzo restoration. The terrazzo covers the entire open living area but the rest of the floors are just bare slab. We thought the Retro Renovation community might have a few thoughts on what to do with the rest of the floors? We generally prefer only one or two flooring types in a home, so we are hoping to find one material that will work in the entire rest of the house rooms. We also do not want anything that will visually compete with the terrazzo. So what are your thoughts on a good secondary floor that might complement terrazzo?
Paige says
I too am REALLY looking forward to your next section on the terrazzo refinishing, we just purchased a home in NC & all of the flooring of the home approximately 4000 sq ft is terrazzo.
I really like marmoleum mainly because it is durable & pretty low maintenance, there are tons of different patterned & plain colors that might really highlight the terrazzo.
Best of luck, looking forward to reading what you end up going with & congrats on your other home selling for full price, thats fantastic!
cellen says
Thanks for giving the nuts and bolts details of the electrical. That’s the kind of thing that is rarely covered. The cosmetic stuff is fun but the systems issues – electrical, mechanical, etc – are the things that interest me the most.
Allen says
I think Vinyl Composition Tile of your choice would go well with the Terrazzo. Most buildings I have seen with Terrazzo have VCT as the secondary flooring choice. VCT will also keep the temperature aspect of the house even and allow the concrete beneath it to do what it was designed to do. In addition I think any other flooring choice would build up your concrete floors too high above the terrazzo and you would have an awkward height difference and potential tripping hazard at every transition. With the multitude of choices you have with VCT you could go with a pattern that worked with the terrazzo or even go with a solid white or cream so the terrazzo would most certainly take center stage. Depending on the condition of your concrete you could also have it stained in a solid or any pattern you wanted. Frank Lloyd Wright used stained concrete floors often.
Steve H says
I think you’re making some wise choices. I agree that smooth ceilings and walls will go better with the stone accent walls. It’s good that you are changing out the indirect ceiling lighting. Florescent tubes were probably the best choice back in the day, but there are so many better options available now. I concur with the cork or light hardwood for the non terrazzo floors. It will provide a nice contrast. Just as with the smooth walls/stone, it’s good not to have too many similar surfaces competing with eachother.
Jennier says
I suggest concrete. It is CHEAP. It is FAST. And there are a zillion ways to finish it so that it compliments just about any style. To compliment all-brick floors in the rest of the house, we had hand-troweled textured concrete and acid staining with two colors, then a polyurethane topcoat. It is gorgeous and pretty showy, and goes really well with the brick. But you can go with something that’s very subtle; you can work just about any pattern you want into concrete–it can mimic stone, tile, even woodgrain, mosaic, a rug….Even with this custom, professional treatment, it was cheaper than any other flooring, but you can do it yourself fairly easily.
Brian says
Just wondering, was the stone originally painted? Might look wonderful
if natural………sandblast it while all the other construction in taking place?
pam kueber says
It’s original as is. It is not painted.
KDA says
Cork? Or a light-colored wood?
Roundhouse Sarah says
Agreed, cork or a wood of your choice. This will look elegant without competing with the terrazzo. It will also add warmth to the space whereas terrazzo cools the space. The perfect yin to your yang.
Chad's Crooked House says
A friend of mine said “while we’re at it” is the phrase of death. That said, it looks like it’s a good thing you opened things up. I did similar things in my house, pulling down wallpaper that had been skim coated badly and then later giving up on and pulling down the plaster I had started to restore.
As for your question, I guess you mean that the floors in the kitchen are also just concrete? So you’re looking for something that will be nice in the bedrooms, kitchen, and bathrooms. I think if having minimal changes in floor material is that important to you, I’d try for terrazzo tile that matches the original terrazzo in the kitchen and bathrooms and carpet in the bedrooms and the hallway leading to them.
Mike and Lindsey says
Yes, the hallway, kitchen, and bedrooms are just the concrete slab. With how the house is laid out in its perfectly symmetrical form, the terrazzo is basically in the middle of the house and surrounded by the other rooms with just concrete slab. Thus the terrazzo will butt up against every other floor.
The bathrooms we are not doing on this round of renovations, one is basic builder grade cream colored 12×12 ceramic tile, which will get replaced and the other bathroom has original 4″ aqua field tiles that as of now we plan to keep when we redo the bathrooms
Jacki says
Just a word of warning about cork. I have cork in half of my 1963 house. I wanted it because of the retro look. While it is beautiful, it can be fragile. If you get a rock in your shoe it makes a dent or scratch, If you drop something, it make a gash, cut,or divot. Every little scratch shows up. I even put on a special finish that the flooring company sent me which seems to help some. One website I looked at before buying it recommended not installing it if you have dogs because of their toenails. I do get a lot of compliments on how pretty it is though.
pam kueber says
I have original cork in the foyer and two bedrooms of my 1951 house. It is very “distressed.” But I love it! I love patina!
Kate says
Hmmm I want to uncover the original cork flooring in our hallway from 1962 (not sure what sort of shape it is in) but I have a large, 75 lb dog. I wonder if the original stuff holds up better than the new? I had also thought about installing it in our bedroom and office, but I did wonder about the dog nails wreaking havoc on the finish. He’s scratched up the hardwood floors in the rest of our house pretty badly… I’d leave the carpet down, but he gets it so dirty! Can’t win when trying to pick a warm, comfortable flooring that works well with dogs it seems!
Mike and Lindsey says
We like cork, but unfortunately it had to be quickly eliminated as an option. With our two Rottweiler’s they don’t stand a chance 🙁
Steve H says
Kate –
Maybe you can teach your dog to wear shoes. Some dogs can be quite vain, and if you can convince him that he looks good in a stylish pair of shoes, you may never get them off of him.
Kate says
I’ve contemplated trying to teach my dog to wear boots, so we can put them on before he goes out to play in the mud and just wash the boots instead of his feet and the whole floor…I’m not sure he would like wearing them and after doing research, the best pair that seems to stay on dog feet in his (XL) size cost $50! I could buy me a pair of boots for that!
Jacki says
LOL :^)
sara says
Ahh, dog boots. My dog won’t even stand up in his boots, let alone walk in them. You put them on his feet and he acts like his ankles are broken. They’re available if you’re interested, Kate, lol. My boy is a 90 lb. Golden Retriever so they might be the right size for your pup 🙂 We keep old towels on the floor by the back door to get most of the mud off his feet before he walks on the floors.
Kate says
Oh no! hehehehe What kind did you buy for your doggie? I was looking into Mutlucks. I think my pup would wear them, but I worry he would rip them off…
We currently employ the same old towel method as you. We also have a “Paw Wash” for those extremely muddy situations. My dog despises water and will not come in if he knows there is a paw wash in his future. We have to be sneaky about it. Oh the things we do for our doggies!
jay says
This is all too funny! My parents late dog – small and fuzzy but strong, hated his rain coat so boots were out of the question – had to catch him at the door with a towel when he came in before he took off in a running fit through the house.
Kate says
I do the same catch maneuver with my dog Leo when he comes in. 🙂 Catch, towel dry, release. 🙂
Scott says
My 2 dog solution is IKEA’s shag area rugs in the apple green, royal, and red. They cover the heavy wear areas of my original wood floors and look very period correct with the Danish Mod furniture. So far nothing has happened that didn’t clean off beautifully but at $39.99 you really don’t have to stress about it.
Douglas Camin @ House on Rynkus Hill says
That’s some fast progress, awesome! Looking forward to seeing the terrazzo too.
In our MCM house we also prefer to keep ourselves to very few types of flooring. We have oak (with amber shellac) and where there is flooring we chose Armstrong Striations resilient flooring. It’s mostly limestone and is more durable. You’d have to check the patterns adjacent to the terrazzo and see how they work, but they are a very good modern take on an MCM standard. Coming in 12×24 tiles and a number of different colors (but the same underlying pattern), you can mix and match – we have one color (Atmosphere) in our bathroom and another (Stardust) in our kitchen, for example.
lynda davis says
After looking at the other options, I think the Armstrong Striations might be the best choice. Although the wood grained tile would not be the perfect “period correct’ material, it would compliment the terrazzo nicely. The wood grained porcelain tile might do the same thing. Another option is to look into the loose lay luxury vinyl tile products. They are easy to install, can come up easily if you or someone else wants to change them, and they are recyclable if you take them up. There are several brands on the market.
Wood options are nice, but only engineered will work on the concrete unless you use plywood or a product called DRIcore to install real wood on. Both of those options will raise your floor up higher than the terrazzo. Depending on how the floors meet, that may or may not be a problem.
There are cork floating floor products that would be just right for the era. There are finishes on the cork. We have cork in a lower hall where we come in from the garage and have had no issues. However, we do not have dogs. Lots of luck. Very satisfying work….when it is finished!
Mike says
Yep, in every remodel I’ve ever seen, one can always expect to redo the electrical stuff. You guys are going about this the right way by pulling down the bits you’d rather leave alone for the sake of getting it right the first go ’round. It always pays to… er, uh, pay da money.
Hope you’ve given equal thought to your plumbing. Might as well get that right, too.