My Yesterday
In the Secret Bedroom to the carriage house was an old heating register. Certainly original. Normally, these just pull up. But THIS grill? It was bolted to the floor in four places, and with DOUBLE nuts. Then, there were two metal straps additionally holding in down.
Huh?
I had to get Scott’s help to remove it, and this was only obtained by CUTTING through the long bolts.
My guess is that some previous person occupying the bedroom was convinced that angry and ferocious demons lived in the plenum and so no effort was spared to help, if possible, with a good night’s sleep.
To assure that Cody will be super-duper safe from angry and ferocious plenum dwellers, I infilled the hole. Later, oak will properly infill this, demons be damned.
In addition, the first floor had seven other holes to the basement. While Cody’s two cats will love this, Cody will not.
.
When I purchased the property in 2014, the dining room had been disfigured with the addition of a large bathroom stuck in one corner, and then into the former pantry. This created an L-shaped dining room. Oh, the horror. The horror! I yanked this out in 2014 and for all this time a missing section of ceiling has reminded me of this disfigurement. But…
…no longer. My joy over this single piece of sheetrock is vast. So, y’all please join me in a round of SQUEE!!!!!!!!
This long hole in the dining room ceiling is new, so we could install plumbing. Adjacent is a ceiling electric box centered on the ceiling. Or…ominous drum roll, please…I thought it was centered. But as I stood at the far end of the room and looked directly at the middle of the leaded-glass window, I discovered the unthinkable. THE BOX WAS 6-INCHES OFF CENTER! My heart stopped. My whole body convulsed from the shock, horror, and revulsion. And…oh no!…what would Cody think when he hung some dazzling vintage chandelier in the room only to discover…oh, I just cannot even finish the thought. It is too terrifying. So, while I cowered in the corner, shaking uncontrollably, Scott came to the rescue and moved the electric box into perfect alignment with the center of the leaded-glass window. Then the sun came out, birds sang, and the stock market soared. Really!
These past seven years my delicate sensibilities have had to additionally endure (I am worried about even posting the following): A POPCORN CEILING IN THE LIVING ROOM! I know! I know!
But…’tis be no more!
Evil ceiling vanquished! Quick, avert your eyes!
The ceiling you now see is plaster from the circa-1921 conversion. And, also for the first time in seven years, the spacious living room is no longer a storage room. Again, 1, 2, 3: SQUEE!!!!!!!! See the curious oval loss of plaster in the upper right? I plan to infill that with plaster! If that works out, I will infill the other areas of plaster loss with plaster. There is a lot out of camera range. Sigh. (Note how big the room is!)
While yanking down the offending popcorn-covered drywall, a small piece went flying. I watched, as if time had slowed. It floated sideways, and floated, and floated. Then smashed into a window pane. Oopsie.
When I tore down a small addition off the kitchen in 2014, two roof sheathing boards captured my special attention. They were clearly old-growth pine, and seemed WAY too nice to be sheathing boards. So, I stored them away. With all the nails and old asphalt roofing removed, and turned over…
…each long board (about ten-feet-long) turned out to be original pine base molding to the house. That dark finish is just old shellac. They will clean up well and prove invaluable. 1, 2, 3: SQUEE!!!!!!!!
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If it’s anything like mine the reason that goshdamn register was dogged down within an inch of its life was so I didn’t have to listen to the damned thing rattle and buzz about twice a year when the bolts shook loose and the tinwork rubbed against it. I assure you, a few days of that, and you will figure heavily in some true crime documentary, and NOT in a positive way, either!
Wheeee! Wheeeee! Wheeeee!
Morning Ross. That’s a lot to squealling going on!
I did wonder if there had been some momentous event when the birds all started twittering yesterday and a rainbow came out! Well done this week, it is starting to look fantastic.
Colin
I hate to mention this but….are you sure the windows are centered?
I had to move a box in my kitchen ceiling because that light wasn’t centered. It wasn’t in line with the one on the other side, didn’t provide any light to the stove when I was cooking and the upper cabinet door would hit it every time I opened it. It got so annoying I finally moved the box. Really pita job and I almost electrocuted myself as the breaker box was not labeled properly. I still have a bit of dry wall compound to repair and texture. Then the entire kitchen needs repainting. I do it about once a decade and it’s overdue. Because I need to finish the ceiling first.
I lost a glass hurricane on a lamp on my dresser sorta that way. I wasn’t removing drywall. I was cutting a band holding the doors of an armoire I had just had delivered to my bedroom. I cut it and…it wasn’t rope or tape, it was ELASTIC and to my horror, like a stretched rubber band it whipped out and hit my lamp, shattering the hurricane. Never did find a replacement. They weren’t vintage or anything. I bought them in the early 90s after I had been in my home for a while but they were probably from the 80s as the little hole in the wall place in my neighborhood likely didn’t move a lot of that sort of inventory. But I went back there and they didn’t have any more. So the remaining one is up in the attic and I had to buy two others.
I am much more careful now.
SQUEE!!!!!!!! So many things to SQUEE!!!!!!!! over in this post, it’s impossible not to SQUEE!!!!!!!! too many times. Love seeing all the progress you are making — and I bet Cody does too.
I’m over 400 miles east of you, but we heard the squees off and on all day yesterday from the west… I haven’t heard a racket like that since the old man across the street discovered Viagra. Our dog is a nervous wreck, she spent most of the day under the dining room table…
Mike and Ross…
There is so much in life right now that is just out of control that we all need a good laugh… and if this post did not start the laugh, Mike’s post flat out had me rolling out of my chair… THANKS so much!
June
You are really moving along. Its gonna look great. Can’t wait for more!
SQUEE!!!!!
In our front room, the ceiling medallion, and thus the chandelier, are off center. It bothered me to no end. It wasn’t until I painted the room, I realized the fixture was centered on the fireplace and not the front windows, or the square center of the room! For some reason, the fireplace is off center by about 1 foot. Just a curiosity of an 1870’s house that has seen many updates (last done around 1890). I think I am the only one who this bothered (my partner was clueless about this!). Now it is a nice quirk about the house and just part of it’s story.
Oh yes, “SQUEE!!” for all the triumphs in this post!
What a roller coaster! Onward! 🙂
You are killin’ it! Bravo!!