Chronicling my adventures restoring and updating a quirky old Philadelphia rowhouse
Well, today is Father’s Day. I know we all should show our appreciation to our fathers, but I think I’m forced to point out that mine’s better. I may have attempted to move the holiday up 2 weeks to suit my schedule (and do something he liked), but he didn’t have to work outside all…
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Remember the list of things I planned to do in May? It’s looking like I should have one of the three done in June. I’ve ordered Hardiplank siding for the cantilevered bay on the back. This is basically a mixture of sawdust, sand, and cement, similar to asbestos shingles but without the asbestos, that looks…
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Here’s what I’m talking about. A boy in the family named it that, and it was his favorite thing about my house. Its proper name is a cleanout, but obviously I’ve found a more pressing use for it than cleaning my soil pipe. I found the blocks of wood lying around and put them there…
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So, this week was (hopefully) the last scary high pressure deadline I’m to see for a while. The combustion test was scheduled for Monday morning, and the plumber was to have the radiators hooked up the week before. Yes? No. He showed up last Sunday to do the work, and somehow the key I’ve left…
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Time to share my plan for May. I am mostly ready to Sheetrock the second floor now. Finally. But I decided that compared with other things to do this is a low priority. One of the top priorities at this point is getting things ready for the roofer to finish up. I now have a…
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I was going to tell you about the goals I’ve set for May. But before I got to that I had some complaining to do, and this post is so massively long already that I’ll leave you with this. Rest assured, in spite of all this aggravation and snark, I do see a path forward.…
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A week or so ago I got really frustrated with this project. Since then, I’ve done a lot. Easter dinner, several rock climbing sessions, quizzo, a quick trip to Newark (Delaware). Lots of time with friends, lots of beer. What do these things have in common? None of them has anything to do with the…
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I’m getting fed up with how little is getting done. Somehow, this frustration is leading me to do less. At this point, I’m trying to decide exactly how I should detail the insulation on the front bedroom wall. If you want to help give me ponder over bringing together modern insulation and old fashioned masonry, please…
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So more house fun I haven’t told you about yet: I was in trouble with my homeowner’s insurance company because my policy is apparently for occupied houses. This means they could have denied a claim if anything happened that I actually needed my insurance. They kindly gave me a little more time, and as of…
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The last two weeks started with the usual two steps forward, one step back, but since then it’s been more like one forward, one back, and a few sideways. Yes, the windows and bathroom floor went in, but the contractor who installed the tile botched the job. He told me he wanted to redo it…
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