stripping for dummies

This is how to strip the woodwork in your home, in 9 easy steps:

step 1
Remove all the baseboards and trim.

May 6, 2011

step 2
Arrange baseboards and trim in your garage. Apply stripper.

August 27, 2011

step 3
Scrape stripper off. Then repeat (up to three times if necessary). Sand off the stubborn bits (hooray for power tools!).

September 18, 2011

step 4
Arrange baseboards and trim in your garage. Apply stain (three coats is required).

October 10, 2011

step 5
Bring the baseboards into the house. Try to remember where they go.

November 8, 2011

Just kidding.  I should have mentioned this in step 1 - as you remove all the baseboard and trim, write on the back of each piece what number it is, and create a corresponding map.

step 6
Attach baseboards and trim (more power tools!).

November 19, 2011

The photo above was taken the day before we hosted my extended family (dad's side) for dinner. Aaron was installing the last few pieces in the front hall about half an hour before our guests arrived. A note to all home renovators/procrastinators - inviting people over is the perfect incentive to get jobs done.

step 7
Stain the few random pieces that somehow got missed.

November 20, 2011

step 8

Attach baseboards and trim on the upper level. (In case you haven't figured it out from the timeline provided, we're not exactly the speediest renovators.)

December 10, 2011

The photo above was taken a week before we hosted my extended family (mom's side). See? It's all about inviting people over.


step 9
If necessary, cut baseboards to fit (even more power tools). This particular piece had to be cut because we took out a built-in bookshelf and therefore needed a different size. It also happened to be in the spot where our Christmas tree was going to be, which was the incentive we needed to install it.

December 18, 2011

This was definitely the biggest job we've tackled so far. And it isn't even one we realized we would have to do until after we moved in. It turns out that on closer inspection, every single piece of baseboard and trim in our house had a smidge of robin egg blue paint.

The end result is so worth it. We now have gleaming baseboards and trim to match our floors.

Of course, now we have to do it all again for the quarter round . . .