Electrical completed, Drywall begins...

Electrical work has been completed and involved removing a myriad of fixtures installed with Romex wire (which violates code), deleting several junction boxes both accessible and hidden within the drywall (which violates code), installing recessed lighting in the kitchen and relocating low-voltage HVAC junction boxes to accommodate the foyer wall removal. Keith Flores Electric completed the work and his prices are very competitive.

I've contracted with Able Restoration to handle all drywall repair, painting, tiling, trimwork (door casing and baseboards) and masonry for the fireplace. Able Restoration completed an amazing rehabilitation of my parents' home a few years ago after the home suffered extreme water damage from a broken toilet. Able Restoration specializes in the repair of smoke, water, fire or structural damage, but they also do an excellent job for simple remodeling. If you're in Southern California (Los Angeles down to San Diego, including Orange County and San Bernardino County) and need a general contractor, drop Rick Gosliga at Able Restoration a line.

The fireplace surround constructed of drywall was gutted during demolition, the recessed lighting and extraneous wiring removed during electrical and now the metal flashing is being removed and the surface prepped for mortar adhesion.


Cultured Stone veneer manufactured by Owens Corning. The Product is Pro-Fit Ledgestone, Southwest Blend (PF-8019). I regret this choice. I selected this material from the website without viewing a sample and found out it was much more tan than white. For a truly mid-century look, I should've chosen Cobblefield, Austin (CSV-2035) and used a dark mortar.

For some reason, there's a myriad of apartments and condominiums in Los Angeles built in the 1960's and 1970's with secondary entry doors into the kitchen. No one ever uses these doors and they only serve to cheat the resident out of viable cabinet space. Knowing the HOA would not grant me permission to remove this door, I simply removed all door hardware, filled knob and deadlock bores with hole covers, screwed the door shut using pocket holes and drywalled over the door interior. From the exterior, nothing has changed (expect for the lack of doorknobs) and from the interior there's no evidence of a door. The above wall is the door freshly drywalled over.

Completed mortar bed prior to tiling.

Excised foyer wall reframed with drywall and primer. The floor still bears evidence of the wall's original dimensions.

Primer coat and ongoing drywall repair.


The stone veneer on the fireplace is 90% completed. Unfortunately, one box of stone veneer was from a different dye lot and has a markedly different color than the rest. This is very noticeable in the upper third of the fireplace. The different dye lot is much brighter, contrasty and pink than the rest.

Weeks later, I stained the discolored portions to match the rest with a tint kit supplied by the manufacturer. Subsequently, I washed the entire fireplace with a similar stain including titanium white to even the appearance out and duplicate UV fading and lime present on real, weathered stone. The result is a more subtle and natural look.