We’ve been making great headway on the jacking progress. And by we, I mean Teague. I love to get my hands dirty and be involved in our house projects, but I’ll be the first to admit – this one is way out of my league.

We’re probably 3/4 of the way there. It’s a slow process with a big learning curve. Each beam needed special attention, and there was much to repair. I’ve kept Teague company by parging the walls while he works, and I did pour one of the footings, but other than that I can’t say I’ve been much of a help. It’s been frustrating – I feel useless because I can’t contribute, and guilty when I’m not down in the basement with him doing something. I’ll be glad when it’s over and we move on to something I can take a more active role in.

I thought those of you planning to jack would be interested to hear about the fallout from all this shifting of house parts. Surprisingly, even though we jacked the beams up fairly quickly, there hasn’t been much damage. Things we’ve noticed so far are:

– two hairline cracks in the plaster around the dining room doorway

– a funky tear in the corner of the dining room – this area has some type of patching paper on it, and the patch tore at the seam when one of the walls came up

– doors that shut differently (some better, some worse)

That’s it! After hearing horror stories about broken windows etc, I was prepared for the worst, but it seems we got lucky. (Knock on wood.) Everything looks and feel more level, and now it’s sturdy enough to last another 100 years.

I’m forever indebted to Teague for all his hard work. Maybe I’ll be make it up to him by mowing the lawn all summer….

I’m in the process of simplifying and redesigning this site. It’s no small task, and the new layout probably won’t see the light of day for a few weeks yet. But before I finalize things, I thought it would be smart to ask you, my lovely readers, for ideas. What would you like to see change on this site? What’s missing? What’s useless and should go away?

One thing I know we need to add is a house tour of some kind, so you can get the larger picture. But even then, I think – slideshow, or thumbnail gallery, or floor plans? What’s best?

All critiques and assessments, good and bad, are welcome – I can take it!

All us northerners are itching for spring. Technically, it started a few days ago – but should it really count as spring when it’s still snowing out? I think not.

Every winter Teague and I ask ourselves why we continue to stay in this depressed area with such long, cold days. But then spring comes, and everyone’s depression gets cured overnight, and the whole town is out walking and picking up sticks and just enjoying the freedom of being outside without four layers of wool and a fuzzy hat.

When the weather finally turns, we’ll be motivated to tackle the home improvement projects that have been staring us in the face all winter. We’ll finish up the little details we’ve been neglecting. We’ll be motivated and energized. Right? I’m hoping so. Because right now, I feel like I have to force myself to work on the house and that’s no fun.

Brad, over at Achieve-IT, has put together a good “8-Point Plan to Increase Patience When the Going Gets Tough”. The one tip that I found most applicable to our house goals (and current lack of interest in them) is this:

Do something else. A surfer can curse the ocean because there is no waves or he can “take a vacation” and go to a movie, read a book, learn to whittle until the waves return.

Because we live with our project every day, we rarely get to take a break from it. Even if we aren’t working on it, we’re thinking about it, planning and preparing for it, and worrying about how to pay for it. I guess sometimes, to keep the passion alive, we need to escape it!

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we haven’t been too productive at the house these past few weeks. We’re still moving forward with the basement parging and jacking, but it’s not too thrilling to write about. We’ve also been busy with our other jobs – you know, those ones that pay all the Home Depot bills…. so excuse my lack-o-posting. Once the snow stops falling, I’m sure we’ll get spring fever and start pulling apart every room in the house.

In the meantime, while researching for university job, I came across this fancy virtual tour of a beautiful old home:

The Virginal Commonwealth University Scott House

Be sure to check out the beautiful stairway railing details, and the plaster frieze on Floor 2.

From the site:

The Scotts chose the Marble House, a Vanderbilt mansion in Newport, R.I., as the inspiration for their city mansion on Richmond�s most fashionable street. The Marble House, in fact, was patterned after the Petit Trianon in Versailles, which was built for Louis XV between 1762 and 1768. Like the Marble House and Petit Trianon, with their strong and imposing fa�ades of towering columns, the Scott House conveys a feeling of wealth, power and leisure.

Hmmm. I’m definitely getting the “wealth” vibe loud and clear!

I have to wonder. In another hundred years or so, will a new breed of house enthusiasts be restoring contemporary-style 70’s homes and trying desperately to recreate looks like this to match?

Interior Desecrations – Horrible Homes from the Brass Age of American Design

Because that is a scary, scary thought.

Today, as I was walking out of my office to stretch my legs, I smelled a tinge of fresh cut lumber in the air. Our building is undergoing major construction, and a temporary wall had been framed up to keep us out of the action. Hence the scent of 2x4s.

It got me thinking about my favorite home improvement smells, and how they are connected to certain memories. For instance, I love the smell that a drill makes when it’s burning the wood. It makes me think of all our electrical work (and drilling holes for romex), a particularly triumphant learning process for me since I was sure it was too complicated for us.

Another one I enjoy is spar varnish. Don’t ask me why – it’ll just about knock you over, it’s so strong. But I like it anyway. I’ve always been fond of gasoline fumes, so you can see how it might grown on me.

What’s your favorite home improvement smell?

We received our Magnolia Hall catalog in the mail today. It’s sort of like touring the BMW dealership when you’re driving a rusted out Toyota Corolla. The furniture in the catalog is beautiful. It’s also so far out of our price range that we shouldn’t even be allowed to caress the pages with our grubby fixer-upper fingers.

Even if I did have money, I’d probably skip the fancy new stuff and go for antiques. But imagine sinking into this massive thing at the end of the night…

In case you missed it, our hometown college basketball team went from “eh” to “oh my god, we all must watch the game” in about a weekend. After three nail-biting games in a row, they shocked everyone by making it to the NCAA Tournament*.

If you’re the betting type, you can download bracket templates here.

If you’re the non-betting, non-athletic type, you can play with Sherwin William’s new (to me at least) Color Visualizer to pick the perfect shade of orange for, say, your dining room – and show your Orange spirit all year round. We’re getting tired of the pink, and are now leaning toward replacing it with Ember Glow. It looks a little peachy on the computer but is a very nice rusty shade in person.

The tool also loads up color selections from their great historic palettes (The Jazz Age, Suburban Modern, Victorian, etc.) – very helpful for picking a good scheme.

*Note: Some kind anonymous soul set me straight, as I had mistakenly written that we’re in the Final Four, when in reality (if my calculations are right) they’re about 4 winning games away from that bracket! Must be my high hopes getting the best of me ;)

Teague spent a few minutes last night adding a new corner-bead to a wobbley wall edge. Watching him work, I realize that my drywall finishing technique is truly horribly by comparison. I can’t feel too bad – he’s been getting lots of practice lately at his day job. Lucky for me, I got a play-by-play as he worked. Here’s what I learned:

Mix the mud before you start. This seems like common sense, yet I’ve never done it! Teague stays away from the lightweight compound – it sands easier, but it’s a little TOO easy.

Use one side of your knife consistently. This makes for a more even wear pattern. You WANT your knife to wear, because it softens the outer corners and you’ll get less gouges.

If you’re filling in screw or nail holes, don’t fill each one individually. Instead, swipe 3-4 at a time with a light coat of sheetrock. Keep your blade tight and wipe off all excess. This saves you lots of sanding.

When working on the paper seams, thin out the compound with a little bit of water and mix it up good. It’s easier to work with.

To test if you’ve got a level coat, set your knife blade perpendicular to the wall surface. You’ll be able to see if you’ve got any bumps or valleys.

It doesn’t have to be perfect on the second coat. If you have a few ridges or little “boogers”, you can sand those out later. You’ll make a bigger mess trying to get it perfect.

I’ve been calling around to track down salvaged red oak for our floors, and got a bit of news that you locals might be interested in – Significant Elements, a nonprofit architectural salvage shop in Ithaca, NY, is having a sale all next week! From what I gather, it’s a sale on everything in stock.

Their website is slighty out of date, but it gives you a good idea of what you might find there:
http://www.historicithaca.com/significant_elem.htm

We’ve only been to Significant Elements once, but we bought with 3 radiator covers for $25/each and 2 door knob sets for $15/each. The stock is not as extensive as some of the other places we’ve been to, but everything they had in stock was significantly cheaper than the other salvage place we visit. Items we saw in stock included sinks, bathtubs, hardware, lighting, molding, flooring, and miles of windows.

An added bonus is that Ithaca is a beautiful town that is making every effort to preserve it’s historic buildings. It’s well worth a weekend roadtrip!