A friend of mine owns this 75 year-old cabin up in the foothills (apparently it has some historical significance, according to the Sunland/Tujunga Historical Society) . Though partially demolished in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, it was rebuilt and added on to, as well. I recently tackled the living room: removing the paneling and windows (which were once a set of double-hung windows located to the left of the fireplace) and stucco on the outside. Then I installed two casement windows (from Pella, dual-glazed with pull down screens, very nice); prepped the wall (mostly I had to skim coat the mortared surface to make it flat enough to glue on the drywall and prep the outside for the pending stonework. Once the drywall was installed and primed, I trimmed the windows with wood to mimic the other windows in the house. I also built the recessed paneling that accents the fireplace as well as the mantle. My friend spent many fuzzy hours stripping the dark brown paint off that very same fireplace, by the way. The stone work was done with stones found on the property (probably from the Big Tujunga Wash, a few miles away) and proved to be quite a challenge to work with. All in all, this was an interesting project.
Before - interior with paneling and fixed pane windows After - with dual glazed casement windows made by Pella
Before - exterior with stucco in old window bays After - exterior with window bays filled in with stone
Demo - paneling removed, wall ready to level with skim coat Wall leveled and primed, ready to install new windows (note old window bays)
New Pella window installed, ready to glue on drywall Drywall attached, sanded and primed and windows trimmed out
A new mantle for the fireplace Detail of the mantle, window trim and recessed panel accent pieces
Exterior of window ready for stonework Stonework nearly completed (note - trim boards were cut to fit stone profiles)