The Cross House

In late 2018, I began the planning for the cat fence, and work began in early 2019. Many of you generously donated to the cause, and I did multiple posts updating the project and thanking everybody who donated. Then…it all just stopped. It had to, as pressing Heritage Trust work overtook all else for the…

In 2014, after buying the Cross House, I did a lot of work on the carriage house that year and in 2015. And then I mothballed the structure. Why? Because there were just toooooooo many issues:   FLOOR JOISTS The living room, at 19-feet x 19-feet, is huge, and surprises everybody when they step into…

I have been soooooooo excited! And, today, it was put in place: the soapstone sink! But…. (scroll down)                               But maybe this is the newest trend in soapstone? You know, hip stone? Maybe…hey…wait… SCREECH! SCREECH! (Muffled noises.) Whew! Hello everybody! This…

                And all this? ALL this? Kenny gifted it to the Cross House. So, everybody, a BIG hug to Kenny!    

Since buying the Cross House in 2014, I have wondered: Had the HUGE third-floor room always been huge? For, the original drawing hinted at it being divided. Any evidence though was masked by two things: The flooring was not original. The ceiling (sheetrock) was not original. Drat. In my previous post, I discovered tantalizing evidence…

Since buying the Cross House in 2014, I knew I would need a cat fence before I could move in. This began in January, 2018, which seems a million years ago.  Funding for the fence was provided by (drum roll, please)…YOU! I was flabbergasted! While one section got done (the infamous “shipping container”), all work…

So…. …soapstone sink. THREE quotes now. All including shipping: Vermont Soapstone: $3,315 Canadian Soapstone: $2,400 And new quote: LaCour Stoneworks: $2,200. Obviously the latest price is the best. Curiously though, I did not contact the company. I did contact Teixeira Soapstone (at Kerri’s suggestion). However, LaCour, in Colorado, responded. A worry about Canadian (as mentioned…

The fabulous Kelly, of Old House Dreams, sent me a bunch of old newspaper articles on the Cross House. While I had some of these, some were new! This one seemed timely to post. It is not dated, but it would be from the early 1960s:     There is another article, undated, but which…

In a previous post today, I wrote about how the new infra-red stripper did not really perform well at removing the paint of the bead-board covering the walls of the third floor. The ceiling of the huge room is covered with sheetrock, which I loathe, and this, presumably, is covering over more bead-board. Since 2014…

After lusting after an infra-red paint stripped for years, I finally broke down and purchased one. Wanna see what it can do?         While the stripper removed the paint with ease and quickly, the little bit you see above took more time than expected, as this was due to the highly animated…

So, yea, Ross had a really crappy week. It was so crappy that I totally forgot about the early part of the week when a milestone occurred! Something amazing and thrilling! Scroll down…                                     I FILED THE COMPLETION…

My previous post was, in part, about my visit to the emergency room. Was that really just over 24-hours ago? It seems like several weeks. A blood clot was diagnosed in my left calf. Which is, as y’all know, potentially life threatening. The hospital sent me to the drugstore to pick up my medicine. How much?…

This past Tuesday, quite late, I began to feel chilled to the bone. I raised the heat, and put on long underwear. This seemed to have no effect. I still felt chilled to the bone. The night proved terrible for trying to sleep. It was obvious I had a fever. Or, eek, Covid! Also, my…

THE SINK In a previous post, I stated that the quote for a custom soapstone sink, including shipping, would be $3,315. While this does not seem bad for a custom stone sink, it still freaks me out. $3,315 for a…sink? My favorite sink purchase was about ten years ago. I was helping a friend restore…

  Today, I planned to reinstall the tiles. Easy-peasy, right? Then I realized that what they had been attached to was (mortar and bricks), itself, no longer attached to the house. Oh. Ok! Another easy-peasy fix, right? In the process of pulling out the chunk of mortar/bricks, I realized that the adjacent chunk, left, was…

  I have though come up with a rather clever solution, which I will reveal as work progresses. This kind or shit drives me nuts. And this tale of woe gets worse. In the dining room, I have been alarmed by a massive weight of the L O N G radiator under the north window…

    A chronic roof leak caused most of the damage. Water not only eroded the finish, but caused the mantel shelf to cup on the left, and the small top shelf, left, to cup, too.             Ross excited!    

There is this thing I do. When I have to undertake a project I have never done before, I get scared. It all seems so complicated and overwhelming. Can I do it? Can I do it well? Or will I fuck up? My solution to these worries is to procrastinate like hell. And I have…

In 1929, the closet to the Octagon Bedroom was converted into a bathroom. As was the closet and dressing area of the Round Bedroom. When I purchased the house, each room had a floor of cheap 12×12 tiles. These covered what looked like linoleum. This, I assumed, was from the 1929 conversion. I was wrong….