More Admissions of Ineptitude...

Ok, I know little home improvement projects send me into a tizzy as I'm really not all that inclined for this kind of work. Well, this project is no different. This is directed more at trav and gae since they've done this type of thing, but anyone is welcome to chime in:

I spent about 8 hours stripping wood in the 2nd floor front bedroom, with the intent of staining and varnishing the wood. Well, the trim around the first window I've stripped is pocked with many, many holes that have been smoothed over with filler.

A friend saw it and told me I'd have to remove the filler that's currently in the holes then put wood filler in, then stain it, but it would "look like crap."

So...I'm not sure whether to continue on this time consuming project or just give in and do the easy thing - paint the woodwork and call it a day.

Is my friend right? Short of replacing the wood, does stainable wood filler not blend well, particularly if there are so many holes that have been filled?

I already bought the paint, but I'd really like to have natural woodwork.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ December 27, 2005 09:24 AM: Message edited by: The Big Sexy ]</font>

You guys are like ZERO help.

100 year old house, Probably original windows, You have got Bob(no)hope of staining them blemish free, woodfiller, unless you use a really dark stain, will nearly always show through. You can add a fillet of wood around the window, but it rarely looks any good, if done by Amatuers.
A nice thick oil based gloss looks ok unless you want to spend some serious cash.

Ok, thanks. The stain is darker than average, but not really dark.

It looks like they nailed something up on the inside trim to probably give added protection against the elements. Subsequently all those holes were filled in then painted over - with the glossy brown paint.

I suppose I'll just paint it over and save me time and money. Should I stay in the house for a long time, maybe I'll replace the wood and stain it all.

I'm a bit disappointed, but I'm also a realist. It's just that now that I've got the fireplace working I thought the room would look particularly nice with the wood restored to its original luster.

You should cover the whole place in 70's style wood paneling, even the windows, floors and ceilings. [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]

That would really make your place unusual [img]eek.gif[/img]

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ December 28, 2005 10:35 AM: Message edited by: cincygreg ]</font>

Quote:

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Originally posted by G L G:
Do you have any extra piece of the wood trim that is not seen that you could remove from a closet or something in that room? The reason I ask is this: if you use the same wood, cut it up and save the sawdust you can then mix the sawdust with white glue to make a natural hole filler that will be the same color as the rest of it since it is the same original wood. You won't have the grain, but the wood will be the same base color and won't stand out as much. You could also experiment with paint and make it faux wood grain. What you do is paint it a medium or light brown, with darker lines and swirls for the grain. Let it dry. Then go over THAT with a darker stain. Just experiment, I'm sure you can make it look good with a little imagination..

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't have any extra pieces from that room, but I believe I have wood from other parts of the house sitting in the basement. I never thought of the sawdust thing. Interesting. The problem is that I'd need a lot of sawdust to do the trick, and I'm just looking at the first window! There are two more in that bedroom and two in the middle room. Five windows with like 30 holes to fill in each one? Hmph.

The more I think about the number of holes and the resulting condition of the wood, I'll resort to painting. Call me weird, but this really bums me.

I'm not sure how to do the darker swirls of which GL speaks, but I will read up on faux grain. Seems like the fireplace on the first floor and my pocket doors had faux grain, before I painted over them.

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ December 28, 2005 01:22 PM: Message edited by: The Big Sexy ]</font>

Since you have already stripped, why don't you test sections of one of the windows for staining and see how it goes? Try staining the existing filler and staining with new filler. If neither looks right, replace the wood or go for the paint.

Quote:

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Originally posted by LanDroid:
Since you have already stripped, why don't you test sections of one of the windows for staining and see how it goes? Try staining the existing filler and staining with new filler. If neither looks right, replace the wood or go for the paint.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's a good idea, but I guess I got all caught up with the fact I still have four more windows, 3 of which haven't been touched yet.

If you haven't figured it out, I'll bluntly say I picked the wrong hobby in home renovation, as I can be pretty dopey about such things.

The Minwax site claims its stainable filler will absorb the stain and match the surrounding wood. So I'll test it and see if it does the trick before I do any more stripping.

Which I guess brings me back to the original intent of this thread...has anyone done this and does it work well?

And while I'm at it, the 2nd floor room formerly known as the kitchen has some pretty hideous stick and peel tile I'm going to remove. I'll do some online research, but if anyone has done this and has some tips, they would be appreciated.

And finally, some things are so simple I wonder why I just don't think of them myself. I've been stewing over how to get rid of the radiators upstairs. I've talked to any number of people - including one who wanted to charge me $800 to remove all of them for me. (I think not.)

I got the downstairs radiators all disconnected myself and even moved a couple of the smaller ones (nearly crushing my foot). I got two hillbillies to haul them off in a pickup as scrap for $60. But I've got three upstairs, two of which are enormous.

A plumber simply suggested I take a sledgehammer to them. So I did. Or at least to the small one in the kitchen. Objects go flying, so safety goggles and long shirt and pants required.

A pile of cast iron sits on the floor, but at least I know I can easily move it myself.

For those of you who think someone can use these old radiators, think again. You'd think there'd be a market for the things, but I haven't found it. It's a shame to destroy them, but they only take up a lot of space, which is clearly an issue in a narrow shotgun house.

I haven't read all of this, but it is possible to fix the holes in your window trim. Just use a stainable wood putty.

It won't look new or completely unblemished; that's why old houses have character.