Chronicling my adventures restoring and updating a quirky old Philadelphia rowhouse
This weekend I got about half as much done as I had hope to. How many of you are surprised? Believe it or not, the Irishman is. You see, everything in the house is so crooked and wonky that he underestimated what he was up against. Scribing and cutting 2×3’s into wedge shaped shims everywhere!…
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After 3 weeks of non stop big jobs, it’s back to the small ones. After we did the living room, the Irishman told me we’d bang out the kitchen the following weeknend. I was ready to shriek “NO!!” But he saw for himself how many loose ends needed to be tied up. So I worked…
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Now we’re on to the part that’s (maybe) fun to plan. Fitting in the things that actually make it a kitchen.
Yep, it’s coming soon! Well my kitchen walls are anyway. I have a LOT of small things to take care of first, one of which is planning obsessing over important imperceptible details. Yeah, I found a little more complication in the midst of blitzing the finish work, but for better or for worse, I brought…
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So before the patio door was going in I was starting to get junk out of the living room and restore some level of order to the house. Then that whirlwind of a week getting the door in a week sooner than I expected, and suddenly HOLYCRAPHOWDIDTHISHAPPEN???? The good news is it’s going away quickly.…
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Yep, my neighbor was right. We did it in a day! (With the help of 5 evenings of prep.) It went well. The brick was in good shape but easy to cut. It was easy to square the sub sill. And it looks amazing. But let’s start at the beginning. The first step to tearing…
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I’ve wanted to put in this patio door all along for the light and a better kitchen layout. But actually spending money on it scared me. I started getting estimates, and then my next door neighbor, who is a master carpenter, offered to do it with me and my dad at a big discount. I…
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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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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 imagine that after this project is finished I’ll be out on a date, and I’ll say “I know we barely know each other, but can you order for me?” Maybe dinner isn’t such a big deal, but a lot of the decisions I’ve made this year have been really exhausting!