More Random Bits of Hardware

Not long ago, while looking for something else (isn't that always the case!), I found a half dozen pieces of brass hardware and their screws.

Not bagged and labeled; just lying in a pile.  I stood, scratching my head in puzzlement, for a few minutes before it hit me.  Not having a case of ADD, I bagged and labeled them, adding the project to my list for another day.

We have french doors at the entrance to several rooms.  Each side of the door actually bi-folds so that you can have a single-wide entrance with side-lights or a double-wide entrance.  When you close only the one panel, there are latches at both the top and bottom of the door.  The bolt for the top latch goes up into the top of the jamb. The pieces I found are the receivers for the latches at the bottom and fit into the floor in the living room, dining room, and study.

Well almost.

You see, there should be seven, but there were only six.  I have no idea where the seventh one is, so the study is going to live without for now.  Maybe I'll run across it someday.

Judging by their condition, I suspect the guys who did our floors hit them with the sander before figuring out they should be removed.  They didn't bag them or re-install them.  They left that up to me.  Wouldn't bother me if they had told me when they did it...

Four. Years. Ago.

So they needed a bit of love to get rid of the deep scratches for the floor sander.  And, of course, the pockets in the floor needed to be deepened for them to fit again.  Fortunately I already have the proper sized sharp chisel.

Oh, and I discovered that several of the doors don't have a bolt in the bottom latch.

Check one project off the list and discover another...

Planning Ahead

Or not.  As the case may be.

Ya think someone might ever need to replace one these switches?

No, probably not.

I'd like to thank whoever wired up these switches.  Really.  You did an awesome job.

Thanks for leaving just enough wire to wiggle the switches in the box, but not enough to get them out of the box.  And for keeping the wire so short and tidy so that there isn't enough slack (or room) to get a screwdriver in to loosen the terminals.

And an even *greater* thanks for using the push-in terminals on the *back* of the grey-bodied switch.  Try getting a screwdriver in behind that one to release the wires.

Yup, that's right.  Those switches are pulled out as far as the slack in the wire will allow.

Seriously, what's another 6-inches of wire cost?

So what should have been a fifteen minute job took two hours - including finding some wire & wire-nuts to make 6 pig-tails and gently breaking the grey switch apart to free the wires without breaking them or losing the wires back into the wall.  Though, having to make several trips from the second floor to the basement to get different tools means I don't need to spend time on the stair-master today.

These new ones look and work much better.

They are the last of the push-button ones for the "public" spaces in the house.

Another project that's not just done; it's finally Done.

Kid's Bath - Part 14

Cripes! I hope this is the last one in this series...

We finally finished decorating the kid's bathroom.  The works above the throne are by friend, Anne Labovitz.  Artwork fit for a young King and Queen, as it were.

The pieces provide a little unexpected surprise and a splash of color that coordinates with the accessories.  Thanks Anne!

The curtains are hung on "cafe" rods that swing out away from the window frames.  If we choose, we can swing them open to get more light.  The fabric has a bit of a pattern that has some "movement" in it to add a bit of interest.

Otherwise, this post is really just to close the loop on this room.  I finally got around to taking a set of "after" photos and you can find the album here.  It documents nearly the complete journey.

Remind Me...

Why do we live here?

It was -10F at 7am; it's downright balmy now. It's not supposed to get above 0F today. This is the first day since we've been in the house where it's not going to get above 0F.

We've been lucky every year until now; this will be a good test of the windows, doors, and new fireplaces. So far no real windows drafts. Further proof a little TLC meant we didn't need to replace these great old windows.

The doors could use better weatherstripping, though. I can feel the wind blowing around the edges... I knew that project was coming at some point.

The fire places are doing awesome, even when they aren't turned on. Just getting the chimneys from leaking has made a huge difference. No more warm air zooming up the chimney or cold air pouring in from the non-functioning damper.

Having said all that, the house originally didn't have central heat. The only heat sources were the four coal-burning fireplaces. They must have been hardy folks back then.

As kid we used to get a 10-day stretch about this time every winter where we'd never get above zero. The mind boggles, because there's no such thing as global warming...

Illustrations

For Christmas this year we decided to do something different.  We had a local artist, Bill Hosko, do a matted and framed custom illustration of the house.  It was delivered on Christmas Eve.

We first met him when he was doing his "Carriage Houses of Saint Paul" project.  He was riding his bike around Saint Paul and taking pictures of interesting carriage houses.  He stopped to ask permission to photograph ours and we chatted a bit.

Several months later, he stopped by again and delivered a print of the finished work; our carriage house was one of those featured.