Monday, September 19, 2011
This particular sickness tends to kick in each year in late July and lasts through the month of October. My disease? I'm a Halloweenaholic. And each year, I promise myself that I won't purchase any new decorations for my beloved holiday. Well, in true Halloweenaholic form, I've already broken that promise and it's only mid-September. <sigh>
I realize that having double digits worth of plastic storage tubs filled with Halloween paraphernalia means I have a serious disease. Don't believe me? Here I am with Mel (in our master bedroom pre-reno) in front of the majority of our Halloween decor. Decorating for this holiday usually takes several longs days and late nights, often without food, water, showering or changing from one's pajamas (or at least that's what this picture makes you believe). Yes folks, it doesn't get any sexier than Halloween socks. Me-ow.
You may recall that I've already ordered the invitations for our annual costume party. (Which, by the way, arrived much earlier than the 21 day expected delivery. I guess that makes me the winner in my game of expedited shipping chicken.) While I showed the front of the invitation in that post, I failed to show you the reverse:
I don't know what it is about the raven on the back of the invite, but it has totally inspired me as a theme for this year. I've already purchased three ravens/crows, and am considering using them as exterior decor, in the new vestibule, and/or up the stairs and along our banister.
Continue Reading Full Post
Friday, September 16, 2011
In the past I've written about some of our home technology items that we've installed since moving into the house in 2003. From thousands of feet of structured wiring to whole house audio, I love pimping our pad with as much technology as possible without making the house look like a crazy bling'd out MTV Cribs house. Overblown home tech installation is a hobby that I really enjoy and something very unique and unexpected in a small house.
Several years ago, when I could see our home tech plans coming together (and I love it when a plan comes together), I could see the growing need for a nerve center for the home. All of the structured wiring had already been laid out to make home runs to the basement, but they all terminated to a disorganized mess that was hanging on the wall.
While this worked for a little while, the number of components, network devices, etc, was sure to grow as we expanded our little home grown system. I wanted to have an actual server rack to house the system, but server racks are too expensive. And if I could find a used rack on eBay or a computer surplus store, there's no way it would be able to fit in the small space we had available under the basement stairs.
I decided I had a perfect opportunity to go totally overkill DIY and create a full featured server rack for our humble little home, so I went for it. The first step was sketching out my rack and enclosure to figure out what I would need to buy. I wanted to keep the costs as low as possible, so I decided to custom fabricate my whole rack.
I started by buying several length of pre-drilled rack rails. If you're trying to do the same, you can buy them in varying lengths to get the size that's right for your application. Pre-drilled rails are tapped in industry standard locations and thread sizes so you can rack mount your items as necessary using standard screws and holders.
Continue Reading Full Post
Thursday, September 15, 2011
There's no doubt about it, there are really some stunning houses within the bounds of the Old Town historic district. Some are small, some are large, most are old, some are very old, but each has its own unique history and gawk factor that set it apart from the masses.
However, in the case of the Vowell-Smith house at 510 Wolfe Street, the jaw dropping size of the home that occupies a full quarter of the block is enough to almost stop you in your tracks.
Built in 1854, this looming brick structure is large, solid, and full of intricate and interesting details that I still admire every time I walk by.
The home is situated on the south east corner of Wolf and S. St. Asaph Street. Walking towards the house it seems to leap out at you as you approach from the North. Each step you take reveals more of a house you can't imagine can be any larger.
Continue Reading Full Post
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Reading and writing and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
My great grandfather used to sing this song to my mother and her siblings as the days of summer drew to a close. And as the llamas debuted their latest festive garb, I couldn't help but sing this song in my head.
Continue Reading Full Post
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Yesterday's post about the door hanging work we completed over the weekend revolved largely around the jig I used to place and properly size the hinge mortises in both the door and door jamb.
As I mentioned, in our years of home renovation, there are few tasks more difficult than hanging a door in an opening that hasn't already had mortises cut for the hinges. Getting the hinges to line up properly, getting the door to fit in the opening, proper depth and reveal on the hinges are all tedious items that will quickly derail your project if done carelessly or incorrectly.
As with almost any home project, using a tool or template that can aide in the completion of a repetitive or delicate task can only help the chances for a positive outcome when all is said and done. For this reason, a couple years ago, I looked into hinge mortising jigs that might be able to help out with our projects. I knew I'd be doing quite a bit of mortising of hinges and hanging of doors, so I figured a jig was worth it.
When I started looking around, I came across every option imaginable. Anything from a pocket template to help you set your chisel for mortising, to large several hundred dollar metal jigs that could affix themselves inside of the jamb or clamped to the door that could cut all locations without need for adjustment.
Continue Reading Full Post
