The Harrisburg House

One thing leads to another

2008-02-13T21:00:00.002-05:00

The kitchen still isn't done! I know, I know. It should be - but we ran into a few snags. We couldn't find counters. The flooring that went in, turned out TERRIBLE.

We have been working on other projects, namely framing out the half bath to be installed next week. We have also been working on ripping out subfloor that was patched in the old hardwoods.

What else? Hmmm... we picked out the carpet. (did I already post that?) We bought dining room furniture. Of course, none of this can be delivered/installed until the messy work is done.

So what IS the messy work? Well, I was hoping you would ask. The half bath (being installed next week), the third floor ceilings - drop ceilings OUT drywall IN (also being installed next week), then the floors will be refinished. Painting would be next on the extensive to-do list. After that - carpet can be installed, and the furniture delivered... and then it should soon be time to post pictures! I can't wait for that day!!!

Anyhoo - it will likely be a little while until I post again, but stick with me - One day - I will have some eye candy. I PROMISE.

The kitchen

2008-01-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

Certainly isn't done, but we got all the cabinets placed tonight, and gee whiz, we do awesome work. LOL. We chose Ginger maple cabinets, cork floor, some sort of blackish faux granite counters, satin nickle hardware. It has a very modern, but somehow old house look to it. I can't wait to have it done to post piccys!

We're in!

2008-01-28T06:30:00.000-05:00

Forgive me readers, it's been almost a month since my last confession.

We moved into our new old house on 1/11 - and every night, I think to myself; "Self, you need to post on the blog..." but every night, the utter exhaustion I feel over rules the desire to type anything.

So an overview... We moved in on a Friday. Everything went well. Movers showed up on time - which was a good start. I spent time after the first hour we owned it, ripping out the carpet in the dining room. That was my first disappointment. The beautiful hardwood floors, weren't so beautiful; underneath the crusty cat p'd carpet. There were originally walls the section off the dining room into a much smaller room, and of course, when the walls were removed, the flooring was missing, so it was patched with crummy MDF. YIKES.

Saturday: We spent the day cleaning, and trying to unpack necessities. I was working on the kitchen.... Disappointment number two: There were no drawers to fit our silverware trays. This is the reason for my exhaustion and negligence in posting.... We Stripped the kitchen. Down to the walls!!!

Cabinets are out, flooring is out, Wallpaper is gone, large misplaced (although original) window has been removed (carefully) and the opening has been framed & drywalled over for a much smaller, more proportionally appropriate, and correctly placed antique stained glass window (thanks eBay!) over the kitchen sink.

So where are we today? Cabinets are going tonight. Beautiful Ginger Maple solid wood cabinets, I sourced from a place in Lancaster PA. http://www.bluerocksurplus.com/ Todd owns the business, and he was great to work with. I highly recommend him. Poor Todd, we actually mis-measured a cabinet, and need to buy a couple more to make it all fit.

Needless to say, I am tired.

One wonderful thing, tho. Although it added quite a bit more work.... I think it will be worth it. We were investigating one night, and discovered our antique hardwood strip flooring continued under the sub floor in the kitchen.... That's exactly what we needed to correct all the patches in the flooring in the living room and dining room!!!! It was quite a chore to remove the linoleum, and all the luan sub floor to get to the hardwood strips and to remove the strip flooring without breaking it, but it was impossible to find replacement, and that was motivation enough for us. We did it in several hours time.

Pictures? Yes, i have some on my digital, which is somewhere in the mess called the dining room... I will attempt to post some later this week. I will also hopefully have some more that show a kitchen that looks like a kitchen again!

Freecycling My Weekend Away

2007-12-31T17:35:00.000-05:00

As a "frugal" (to be read, CHEAP) person, I enjoy a good bargain... I LOVE things that are free. In the spirit of karma, I decided that I would freecycle the remaining stuff we had sitting around that we didn't really want to pack, but it wasn't ready for the trash heap either....

Saturday morning, I posted a mess of stuff; small toy lots, small book lots, kitchen appliances, a television, stereo, etc... I should have first put in a revolving door. All day, I was running. Between answering emails, and answering the door... I was exhausted. I am not complaining, mind you. I DO have a gripe though.

When someone is offering you something... something of value, say, a television, or a CD tower... and you mention that you would love to have it, and its given to you... you would think the least you could do would be show up to pick it up... Sadly, many folks don't feel this way.

One of the first responses I received, was for about a 1/4 of what I posted. No problem. I want to rid my self of the mess, this person wants/needs the stuff. Deal is done. Right? Nope. All day, I had requests for said items, and had to tell many people that it was 'pending pickup'... Some of those people may have really needed it. Pickup never happened, and at the end of the day, I got a "please re post" email. ERRRRRG.

Fortunately, some of the items were taken, but now, I am stuck with it. I suppose it will go to the Rescue Workers or something... But it's just all so frustrating.

Anyway. Sorry for my rant. Thanks for "listening".

HAPPY NEW YEAR... I am off to party hearty!

-Ciao

2007-12-23T12:20:00.000-05:00

Well tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I am in a slightly more "holiday" mood than I have been, primarily becuase of a rather successful, but casual Christmas party last night. The mood was pleasant, and the evening stress-free, despite the lack of furniture and decor and the mountains of boxes sitting around waiting to be moved to their new "forever home" (forever home=10years minimum. lol)

On the note of moving... 19 days and counting! We are getting so excited! Although there is still much to do packing, and utilities, etc..

If time doesn't allow - I may not post until after christmas... so Merry Christmas to all of my loyal readers... All one of you. LMAO.

Ciao.

Holidays

2007-12-21T23:17:00.000-05:00

Ok - so we are a few days away from Christmas, and because our house is all packed up for the move, I just can't get in the spirit. Despite the trees all lit, and the Christmas music playing. I am such a Christmas person. I love it. I love decorating. I hope it is the move rather than onset of "Scroogeyness". Siiiiigh. I suppose time will tell.

Actually, on the note of Christmas decor, I have been working up a plan for the Harrisburg House, for next Christmas... yes, already.

Nothing really new to report on the restoration. Of course, I am very limited on what I do, since we don't live there yet. We had some plumbing work done on the new place, nothing exciting...just a drain line replaced. We have some more "Fun" plumbing work being done after New Years. We plan to have a walk in closet plumbed for a half bath.

My hardware passion has subsided slightly. Primarily due to the fact that I spent several hundred dollars in a week or so, on eBay. And, that suddenly, and most mysteriously, the pattern I have been collecting, disappeared from the search pages... I think the S.O. turned it off somehow. (I know this isn't a possibility, but if you can't blame your other half for weird stuff, who do you blame?)

Well that's all for now! More to come in the next few days. Pics too! Best Wishes for the Holidays!

Nothing New - House wise anyway...

2007-12-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

Been a few days since I posted anything - mainly because nothing is new. I started a new job yesterday after not working for over a year due to a back injury... It's been a wee bit hard getting into the swing of things, so I haven't had much left for projects in the evening.

Give me a few more days to adjust - and I will be ready to roll again. I have door #2 on my workbench just waiting to be naked... of paint, that is.

Today's Adventure.

2007-11-30T19:25:00.000-05:00

Today we took a trip down the road to Lancaster, PA. For those out of towners, it's not all Amish folk down there. There are actually malls, and streets, and offices. And of course, occasionally, the Amish buggy.

We were down there checking out a place I have been keeping track of online, called "Building Character". Located at 342 North Queen Street Warehouse B Lancaster, PA 17603 ph: 717-394-7201. Check out their website in my favorite links bar! Before I get any nasty comments, I am not affiliated with this organization in any way - nor am I friends with these folks... this is just a little plug for a great place! I could have maxed out my credit cards there. There were so many great finds. And great deals too!

I didn't actually end up buying anything, but I am seriously considering calling to see if they will ship me three of these great newel post finials they have. I have to give that some more thought. They really were great, and they had three matching - which in my experience is kind of rare... unless they are new.

Anyway - if You are in Lancaster, check this place out. It's not huge, but I guarantee if you like old houses, and architecture, you will love this place!

We also stopped at the Habitat ReStore in Lancaster. Last ReStore we went to was in York, PA, and we had great luck, finding our old door that I posted pictures of yesterday. Well today, was just as great. We happened across another 5-panel door, that matched the other almost perfectly. And, without having exact measurements, I'd say it's going to fit on the soon-to-be powder room door. This one was slightly more expensive at $25, but still a great deal. So it's down on the workbench with Peel-A-Way on it as I write this.

I keep coming up with more and more ideas for the place. I really can't wait to move in, and get to work on all of these plans!

It's Happened.

2007-11-29T23:04:00.000-05:00

I have finally gone certifiably insane. Today was spent finishing up the door. During the process my mind was whirling with the things the doors has probably seen throughout it's life. It was crafted so many years ago, and was proudly hung in someones new home. It was a feature for awhile, but after a short while, it was...just a door.

Then, someone decided that the little dings, and chips were ugly, and it could benefit from a coat of dull grey paint. Not long after, someone decided a faux, and poorly done wood grain would be the trick to modernize that old piece of crap door. Of course, someone else came along, and said "white, dead white...and I think I will screw a few cheapo peg boards on the back,".

If you've read my previous post, then you know that even the white paint didn't make it's owners happy, and it ended up at Re-Store, where they could hardly give it away... But I loved it.

As I was removing the paint today, I could almost hear the old thing breathe a sigh of relief for having been stripped of layers of goo and grime, and ages of neglect.

I have to admit, I felt overwhelmingly sad thinking about all of this. Therefore, I really believe I am going insane. Am I alone? Am I the only one that gives a life to an otherwise inanimate object? Hopefully not.

Anyway, the old girl looks pretty good, I'd say. Paint and varnish removal day one was pretty slow. Day two was quite a bit faster with the addition of a Harbor Freight Heat gun. Works GREAT! I'd highly recommend one. I finished up with chemical stripper. Wasn't crazy about the performance nor the smell of it. I will use the Peel-A-Way 6 again. Very pleasant to work with. And actually, very effective, although a little on the pricey side (for me anyway)

So here is a pic of the door, relieved of it's 'condition'.

No stain or finish has been applied yet, since my intention was to wait until the move, and then do everything at once. I am of course, getting itchy to see the final results.

Today one of the knob sets arrived from eBay. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pattern, but sadly I am quite disappointed in the knob. The picture, definitely had a brass hue to it, and the set I received is absolutely, positively a gun metal tone. Probably cast.

I am looking into replating. Quite expensive as I understand it. I actually could learn to like the gun metal with the brass accent, but many of the other pieces are brass. Not sure what to do o this one. More thought must be given. Any suggestions?

Our trip Yesterday, and a Surprise in the mail!

2007-11-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

So yesterday, as I mentioned, We went to a few salvage places. The weather was yucky, so we cut our stops to half of what we originally had planned, but we did NOT come home empty handed! We went to the Historic York Architectural Warehouse, found a few things, but nothing that we needed or had to have... Then we hit up Re-Store. We ended up with a beautiful 5 panel door for $15. Who can beat that?

Here's what it looked like when we brought it home.

This is the same door, front and back. There was some damage, due to the wooden peg boards screwed to the back side, but near as I can tell, they will be nearly indetectable upon refinishing.

So of course, being the excited type of person I am... I had to start to work on it immediatley.

Here's what it looked like after the first coat was removed.

Looking pretty good in my opinion. The sight of gloppy gooey paint being removed, just turns me on. No... not that way - get your mind outta the gutter.

Also yesterday, the first batch of face plates came in the mail. They need some clean-up, but I will likely work on that towards the end of this week. Today and tomorrow are shot.

Later we are taking a trek to a thrift shop that often gets old building materials in. It's hit or miss - so you never know. We are also planning on stopping at an antiques place to check out some more hardware. Keep your fingers crossed.

Ciao!

The perfect earrings for the house.

2007-11-26T07:50:00.001-05:00

Well yesterday, I actually got two of our trees set up, and lit. I am just so not into the holidays this year. Emotionally, I feel detached to our present house, since we are moving in such a short time. Honestly, If it weren't for the holiday party we planned over the summer, I would likely not even put up a tree (trees...) But they are on their way.

What I spent most of yesterday doing was searching on the never ending "shelves" of eBay for the perfect hardware for the new old place. On Thanksgiving day, I had bid on some back plates, and had to keep running to my mom's computer to check the progress. (thanks mom!) I did in fact win, so that set a standard for our "pattern".

I had to explain this in some detail to mom, since she looks at a doorknob, as just that. I tend to look at it more like a piece of artwork. Or perhaps like a woman looks at the perfect earrings to complete her ensemble... Well I found the perfect earrings for our old gal. I settled on a really great Eastlake style - called 'Bamboo & Picket' as best I could tell. If anyone wants to correct me, please feel free. I am learning as I go, so sponging anyone else's knowledge is just fine by me!

Very excited for today. I am going to get a haircut, and then we are going to several architectural salvage warehouses. I of course, will be on the lookout for more pieces of hardware, and also for parts to complete my antique chandelier project (I am planning a post on that in the near future). Hopefully, today's trips are worth it. At $3.11 a gallon, i hate to be running the Jeep that far, to come home empty handed.... More to come!

An Introduction...

2007-11-25T10:37:00.001-05:00

I have never blogged before, but I enjoy reading other peoples' so, I thought I'd give it a shot. We are in the process of buying a home in Historic Midtown, Harrisburg Pennsylvania.

Our closing date, is creeping up on us... slowly - very, very slowly. I am beginning to get impatient. I want to be in already!

Packing has begun, because with the holidays - we will lose a lot of pack time.... you know how it goes - you think you have plenty of time, and then BAM you have two days of packing with no food or sleep. Thats the way it's been for me in the past anyway. lol.

Planning has also begun for the new house restoration/renovation. Priority #1 is renovating the rental unit on the first floor. It's a beautiful unit, but sadly, the kitchen and bathroom have been sorely neglected. The unit will be unoccupied when we close, and therefore will allow us to move ahead with that project.

Speaking of projects... the list is extensive. I won't go into detail just yet, but - stay tuned - we're all in for an adventure!