Free undies!

This morning we went out to mow and fertilize. In the ferns, just where our house meets the neighbor's, was an expensive new but probably used pair of men's white underwear. Our neighbor was locked out of his house at 4AM, probably a little wasted too, what with the window screens down and him yelling, but there didn't seem to be a good explanation for the nicely laid-out lingerie. By the time I realized what fun it would be to take a picture of the renter randomness, the underwear was gone.

I know the deck doesn't look so 1920's. Some may say the railing appears out of scale or too busy. Sometimes I like it, sometimes not. If only I could have Martha Stewart 1928, on call to answer my questions about lights and cabinetry and plants and dinner. I do tons of period research, but I hardly ever look at it. The research is more fun than planning the project. And I'm encouraged to be an impulsive shopper, although I move like a snail when making decisions.

However, the pine will only last 15 years in our climate (ooh, even less if a hurricane comes along! not that I'm asking), and then something else will go up. Besides, the deck rail is good practice for the eventual front porch railing, which will have wider, flat boards, closer together.

I have good pictures of a pergola, for the deck extension, from 1928. I will follow the picture this time. That helps me feel I'm making progress toward restoration rather than just adding on. And because our brick was too soft to attach ledger boards to, the only alteration done to the house was to knock out the top two steps, which were cracking up anyway. My theory on restoration is to only do things which won't cause future loss (i.e. cracks in the foundation) and can be reversed. Pergola:

Wow, I want a house for $696. Elmhurst #3 (top right) is most similar to our layout. Looking at this now, maybe beefing up the posts (hee says the vegetarian) will help my deck, and perhaps by adding more balusters? And window boxes with cascading vegetation. Totally. Or what if this car was parked in front of it?

Nearly a year in the house

So it's about time I fixed what's been bugging me since before we moved in: the popcorn ceiling. Actually, it's more like sprayed-on, chewed-up oatmeal. It's just awful, especially when I go into houses our age and older, and see beautiful, smooth ceilings. Or even textured ceilings with patterns. It's nauseating lying in bed looking at it. If I had known how easy it was to remove it, I would have done it long ago. Now, I know it was applied in the 70's or after, because it covers the drywall which was applied to cover up the wall and ceiling cracks when the house went through its massive exterior face lift. However, I have not had it tested for asbestos. I don't necessarily recommend doing this without testing.

Recently, sections of it were loosening above the oven because of the steam, and I thought, water! Water took down our plaster when the AC unit's drain plugged (a few days after we moved in) so why not use it to loosen something attached to plaster? I squirted water in 2ft. areas on the ceiling with a spray bottle, waited about a minute, and used a spackling knife to peel it off in large sections. It didn't really drip while I was waiting, it absorbed so quickly. It peeled very easily in sheets and the new surface is nearly smooth because it was previously painted with enamel. This might be the stuff you can buy in five gallon barrels at HD; it seems like little smooshy pebbles encased in drywall mud. Or someone decided they didn't care for their oatmeal breakfast and spat it at the ceiling. Whichever. The recent layer of latex paint seems super important in the process; it holds water inside the oatmeal and helps the stuff come down in sheets rather than clumps.

Since the ceiling underneath is not entirely flat, bits of the mud-like stuff (plaster?) remain in divets on the enameled sage-colored ceiling, causing a splotchy look. I'll paint over it. It's very nice! I'd rather see the cracks in the ceiling (and fix them properly) than look at this stuff!

Steps to a happier, healthier deck

Because, who wants to fall off the deck?

The balusters were cut as one piece.











This Old House #2615 described how to frame the balusters with lath and then mount them on the rails, rather than toenailing. Instead of staples, I used 1 1/4" self-drilling screws in my lath. These screws also secured the lath to the top railing, from the underside.













The bottom railing is screwed into every other baluster from the bottom, with 2 1/2" deck screws.














View from the underside, attatching rail to post.















This may happen to our deck someday.














Please take this cat home with you. Not only is he pettable, with parti-colored eyes; he now has carpentry skills.

A month of events

The irresponsible and overwhelmed neighbors with the five kids (+ a new baby) moved out!! They left approx. 70 cubic feet of trash on their front lawn (all weeds anyway) which for three weeks has been steadily rained on and picked through by passers-by. The tenants threw out all their furniture, matresses, beds, and piles of cardboard boxes with junk inside. Last weekend they came back from their new digs and replaced interior hollow-core doors, and painted, and also tossed a dishwasher (they must have brought it with them from their old house?) As delicious icing on this tasty cake, an hour before the end of February they jumpstarted their mini-van with the flat tires, parked on the street since July. Goodbye!

I observed all the action while building the deck railings. There is one more railing to go, and then onto phase two, continuing around the side of the house. I was dumbfounded on how to build railings; I hate toenailing because I always split the wood, but then I saw an episode of This Old House's Boston House in which Tom rebuilds an old railing. I'm glad I decided to go with a common railing, anything fancier would have been even more frustrating with the bizzaro stair angles.

That white and brown tail at the bottom of the steps is another thing the neighbors threw out, literally. His carrier was also in the trash pile. He's very, very sweet, and has one blue and one green eye. Anyone need a great cat?

John Quincy Adams and Ralph did this to Ralph's pirate toy. They pulled down his pants and tore his brains out. I can't find his eyes. Sounds very piratey to me.