Tag: home renovation

Chronicling my adventures restoring and updating a quirky old Philadelphia rowhouse

All’s Well That Ends… Well or Otherwise

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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Progress, thwarted again

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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Mission: Habitable

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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Doors and Windows Ordinance

The title references a city ordinance cracking down on blight by requiring owners of vacant properties on occupied blocks to install doors and windows and make them look occupied. More info here if you’re interested. I’m a big fan. I love it that the city is doing something effective to prevent vacant properties from being…
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Paper Anniversary Retrospective Part 1: The Honeymoon

Yes, the Crooked House and I have been together for a full year now. I’ve seen some bloggers commemorate their anniversaries by listing the most popular posts, but my top two were popular because for the key words “Open Concept Bathrooms” “The next big thing in interior design” and “Minimalist bedroom” that I used sarcastically.…
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Chad, you ruined my Thanksgiving…

“I wanted a fire with dinner, and you put a #&%$ing trash can in my living room!” The trash can was filled with firewood. And by firewood I mean construction waste. Specifically, wooden construction waste that had never been painted, varnished, glued, or pressure treated. My poor mother has agreed that it can all go…
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It’s never too early to make aesthetic choices

Actually I’m making decisions now because I have to. And by that I mean reclaimed lumber is on sale at Philadelphia Salvage for this week so if I decide things now I’ll save a lot of money. Here’s the a sketch looking into the kitchen from the living room. I don’t know if you could…
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