Attic-us Finch

A very welcomed and exciting contrast from the usual.

Stepping into this unique attic getaway combines several eras in their excellence and instantly feeds nostalgic cravings —where 1920’s Craftsman-style and splashes of 60’s retro work hand-in-hand to create a sanctuary that could only be created by brilliant imaginations.

Custom Doors.

Shaker Craftsman-style one-panel solid door fabricated by hand in our wood shop by Paul Collison.

We are particularly proud of this one and feel the homeowners did an exceptional job selecting the finishes and colors.

It started with a very simple idea: take an unfinished attic and make it into a living area with an office and a half-bathroom. Overall, the project was another great success and a tally for another renovation in the books. It didn’t come without a few challenges, though.

Contractor’s Notes

Challenge 1: Uneven Rafters & Old Flooring, Drywall Preparation

Hundred-years-old attics, in particular, are especially challenging to complete renovations or ‘build-outs’ from because of several factors:

• Settling/shifting over time which creates uneven roof rafters (joists); which in turn, creates:

  • More necessary prep work for a flat and even drywall installation

  • Rafters not flush with dormer valleys

• The original intention in the 1920’s of the attic being used for storage space

  • Quickly installed flooring/subfloor; not installed with same level of care as 1st/2nd floors. This makes for challenging tile flooring installations where the existing hardwood flooring must be removed and replaced with a plywood substrate

• Lack of mechanicals (we got lucky on this project and a previous contractor did some of the rough-in work for us which met our work standards(!))

Many contractors on various internet blogs I’ve read over the years have expressed tips and tricks to help achieve better finishes where angles aren’t a perfect 90-degrees. For example, where the rafters meet collar ties (ceiling) in attics at a 45-degree angle many contractors have used No-Coat inside corners with great success. This normally works excellently—especially in new construction—assuming the rafters are flush with the collar ties.

But what if they aren’t?

The only thing that can help achieve straighter lines (corners) is prep work with levels and lasers by furring out (using furring strips) to make every attempt to ensure all rafters, knee wall top plates and collar ties create a straight line over a 20-30 foot span.

Even for highly experienced remodelers, this is an extremely difficult thing to accomplish and the end results will likely not be perfect.

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Challenge 2: Sherwin Williams Sher-Wood Wiping Stain

The only other obstacle with this renovation was the use of Sherwin Williams’ “wipe-off” stain on the Red Oak trim work, custom doors and shelving which they specifically provided to us despite our extensive history in purchasing only penetrating stain.

With common, penetrating stain such as Mixwax, the desired saturation, tone and darkness can be manipulated with several coats. It doesn’t need wiped off, and can soak in and dry before it’s coated with polyurethane.

Since we wanted the stain to appear darker, we left a small amount of the wipe-off stain that was provided to us by Sherwin Williams after they did a stain match for us on the trim and doors. As we coated trim with polyurethane, we noticed the stain began to smudge and mix with the polyurethane—this made it incredibly difficult to finally achieve the consistent finish we needed.

In areas that were affected the most, we re-sanded, stained, and applied polyurethane while also attempting to blend the stain as much as possible. The upper shelves were custom made with birch, so we decided to do a paint match to the stain color and paint over them. It took a bit of dedication and lots of effort, but after a few days of labor and elbow grease we got everything looking quite fantastic.

Sherwin Williams offered us a free gallon of stain for our troubles, which we declined.

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After all was said and done, the homeowners, Becky and Kent, were over the moon about their new attic renovation. The carpet took some time to be installed but it was well worth the wait. From the terrazzo tile to the finely selected plush nostalgic carpeting, to the custom fabricated red-oak shaker-style doors—this attic makes us feel like kids again in the best way possible.