Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Old Wood, New Window Frames For the Grain Bin House


A few weeks ago Keith built window and door frames for the downstairs with repurposed wood from a variety of sources, some pieces granted safe harbor in our barn in Chatsworth for years. I've been pondering the options of finishes. At first I was leaning towards a nice crisp white latex to unify the variety of wood types but Keith and our three sons all thought that was a bad idea. Only one of those four males actually lives here and yet opinions abound.

Who raised these kids anyway?

So, I've been living with the bare, mismatched wood (in both age, condition and type) waiting for inspiration to hit, a decision to make itself known. Paint or stain? Paint or stain?

Inspiration came in the form of available FREE wood stains.

Years ago my brother-in-law gave us several quarts of combo stain-polyurethane. The stuff was indestructible. It's been in basements, frozen (can it freeze?) moved from home to home and yet, still perfectly usable. In contrast, we were out of white paint and I didn't want to pay good money for more.

Decision made.

Yesterday was warm and dry so we took down all the trim from three windows and one door in the downstairs of our Grain Bin House, and lined them up outside on 2 x 4's and saw horses. You can see the wide variety in wood types and condition in their pre-stained status.  I lightly sanded all the sections, removing all debri of a suspicious nature.



A couple hours later, (I get distracted easily. OH LOOK, THE MAIL IS HERE, IS THAT A LOOSE BROILER? I WONDER IF THE STEERS ARE OUT OF WATER. WHY DID THE NEW YORKER REJECT MY SHORT STORY? DO THESE SANDALS MAKE MY TOES LOOK FAT?) I had completed  one coat . I stayed with that single coat for the simple reason, I didn't want to do more. It was hot here and those tiny black bugs were so annoying.

It didn't take long for all the trim pieces to dry and we put them all back in place late yesterday afternoon. I'm happy with the results, the window frames fit in well with the rest of our rustic-eclectic "motif". Please excuse the fuzziness of the after pictures. My phone's camera is bi-polar. Also my walls are not orange, they are pale grey, not that I am opposed to orange walls, some of my best friends have orange walls. Well, actually none of them do, but if they did I would still visit them and drink all their coffee.



Cost of all wood       $0
Coats of stain           $0
Sandpaper                $1   (had on hand, used only one sheet)
Brush                       $1   (had on hand, can't even remember when I bought it, used it several times)



20 comments:

  1. You made the right decision. Not only do they look good, but painted wood doesn't seem to last as well (I think damp gets locked in). Some of our interior wood I paint with Linseed oil.... quite nice too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linseed oil, I'll have to try them on our upstairs window frames. We still have three up there to do. Thanks Cro.

      Delete
  2. They look terrific. Good choice. I agree with Cro - stain sure seems to last longer. Course, FREE stain makes it an even better choice!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hate maintenance so tend to avoid painting wood if I can help it. They look good and nothing beats a job using materials you've saved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do love using up old materials. Love saving money even more!

      Delete
  4. Ha! I have a paintbrush, I can't remember when I bought it either. It must be at least a decade old. Nice job on the trim, by the way. Must be nice to have it crossed off the list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, one more item off the list. Bit by bit by bit we're getting it done.

      Delete
  5. It looks great, I hate painting, it never looks smooth enough whereas with stain smoothness doesn't matter. Big plus, it was free.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Free is so good. I am still appalled at the amount of money I spent in years past on "new" which becomes old as soon as you bring it in your door!

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. I seriously did have orange walls about 10 years ago in my big farm house. My mother-in-law took one look and said "well, isn't THAT interesting"

      Delete
  7. Love the look of that window with the leaded glass panel and sill decorations. Nice view, too. I also like stain over paint - repainting takes too much prep; restaining just clean the surface and apply. Good job, Donna.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kris. Keith gets all the woodworking credit, me I just come in and gloss over everything.

      Delete
  8. Replies
    1. Thank you C.F. It feels good to be getting some of the detail work done in our Grain Bin House

      Delete
  9. I love shutters too! A friend of mine put them around her windows on the inside it looked so awesome instead of curtains I love what you've done with yours too
    window shade houston

    ReplyDelete
  10. I really love the way your trim turned out. It's always a good feeling to have a job (well) done!
    gail

    ReplyDelete
  11. They look lovely. Perhaps you SHOULD paint a wall orange ... it sets off the wood stain perfectly ;-)

    I much prefer staining to painting ... it doesn't show the dust as much for one thing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a very informative blog with important information that all should read. 
    Thanks for Posting !!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are good, as long as you're a real person and not some goof telling me how you were cured of hepatitis by snorting a pulverized neon blue crayon. Your comments don't even have to agree with my viewpoint, I love a good discussion, but civility does matter.