Category: Deferred Phase 1 Work

Chronicling my adventures restoring and updating a quirky old Philadelphia rowhouse

Am I a player now?

First there was Tim. He was in the picture for a solid 2 years, and even though I had to put up with a lot of stupid shit I stuck with him. But he left me high and dry when a better option came along. I never gave him his stuff back. Then there was…
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2 Projects for the Fall

2 big life changes since the beer tour. First, I’ve been eating those vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. And second, the joy of NOT working on the house isn’t strong enough to get me to shrug off certain glaringly unfinished pieces anymore. An aside, the Philly shrug is an important part of…
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Closing Out the Irish Labor

I bit the bullet and hired the Irishman twice more. Here’s what I have to show for it. The oak counter next to the stove is in! I plan to sand off the old finish and oil it. (Also, the kitchen is getting tidier) The missing chip of wood on the banister has been patched.…
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Hooray for Irish Labor!

Yep, I finally got someone to come work for me again! Remember how I abandoned cutting down the bookcases? This cut was me and my dad working together with a cutting fence. He freehanded all his cuts!   Remember the too deep before? Now, they’re much more gracefully proportioned! And even more importantly, that hump in…
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More Civility in the Bathroom, It’s Complicated Out Back

Last week I got started lining up missing parts for all kinds of things. Like my bedroom door. I got the other bedroom done to rent it but mine? Pfft. A lot of the work is on hold for the Irishman. (The door is on hold until the goods arrive.) But the bathroom stuff, at…
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The Dreaded Post-Construction Clutter

Amid all the odds and ends and this goal to not work too hard on the house, I’ve been chipping away at the dreaded clutter. And there were some pleasant surprises. First, I had some old kitchen cabinets in the basement but decided they won’t be reusable after all. I was ready to drive them…
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