The summer season is hardly a few days old, but the air conditioners in Old Town have been working on overdrive for days now. With the recent heat advisories and temperatures nearing 100 degrees, it's been scorching to say the least. Unfortunately, the first major heat of the summer is typically when air conditioning woes begin to make their entrance. And our household is no exception.
The steady hum of our AC has brought us our first surprise of the season. Alex and I were in our bedroom the other night just after returning from a nice dinner with my parents. We were full from an excellent meal and in a good mood, when out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw something fall from the ceiling above our bed. Thinking it was a stink bug, and knowing my deathly completely rational fear of them, my good husband started to investigate so I wouldn't have to. At about this same time, we both heard that horrible sound, "drip...drip...drip." You know, the sound that's never an indication of good things to come, and it only took us about two seconds to realize the thing Alex thought was a stink bug was actually dripping water coming from a leak on the ceiling. A quick glance up revealed a sagging water spot on our recently re-plastered and repainted master bedroom ceiling. (The water spot, as you can see from the photo below, oddly resembed a giant breast. We've been saying renovation isn't for the faint of heart!)
This nasty leak was our air conditioner's very own Tell-Tale Heart. "Drip...drip...drip." The large drops of water continued to smack the pillows on our bed.
Continue Reading Full Post
I'm sure we've all heard the old real estate adage that "The three most important factors in determining the desirability of a home are location, location, location." And when you combine a home in a desireable location with one that has water views, you truly have something special.
Old Town's existence as a port town and its stone's throw proximity to the Potomac make it a destination where frequently home buyers are searching for "river views." However, since the majority of the land closest to the river was occupied by abandoned factories and shipping warehouses in the mid 20th century, most of the homes with river views were built in the 1990's - 2000's after the 20th century steel box buildings were torn down. The end result are over 100 residences with river views, but very few of these are historic homes with views of the Potomac.
The home we toured this weekend happens to be one of the lucky few historic homes with river views from the front of the home. The home sits atop a slight hill across from the Lee Street park, in a block that can boast river views unobstructed by other buildings. Here, a row of historic homes was built by ship captains and ship owners from the late 1700's to the early 1800's to ensure they would have a clear view of the waterway and their prized possessions. Today the result is a stunning view of a public park and the waterfront.
The home was built around 1800 and sits slightly recessed from the homes on either side of it. This provides the house with a charming picket fence and a small front yard (which is quite large by Old Town standards). It is a solidly constructed brick home and is officially listed as two bedrooms and three bathrooms. I say officially because it could really be considered four bedrooms if arranged properly.
Continue Reading Full Post
Back in April we covered part one and part two of our entry hall update. This significant feature of our home was what welcomed visitors and provided an initial impression of our home. We wanted arriving guests who were visiting for the first time to be pleasantly surprised by the home's interior, given the house's 15 foot width and plain exterior. We also wanted returning guests to walk in and feel at home and comfortable with their surroundings.
With the work we had completed, including the new leaded glass transom, harlequin paint pattern on the wall, and antique corbels, the entry hall had really taken shape.
By the time the photo above was taken, we had already stripped and painted/refinished the stairs and re-plastered the stairwell walls, but the handrail situation really left something to be desired. From an earlier photo you can see the handrail we had when we moved in.
Continue Reading Full Post
Well, actually two questions.
If you checked out yesterday's post, you'll have read that the city came by and planted a new tree last week. They ground up the old stump and roots where the new tree is planted, but there are still quite a bit of thick roots remaining outside of the mulched area.
Yesterday, I used our holiday and lovely weather (nearly 100 degrees) to start digging up the area. I had hoped to be able to get the roots out of the way. All in all, it went pretty well, and as you can see from the photo, I made a good amount of headway along the perimeter.
There are still a handful of large roots that we'll (see how I just invited Wendy into the digging?) need to tackle.
That leads me to my two questions:
Continue Reading Full Post
I decided to write about this week's Toolbox Tuesday item after receiving a friend's text message last Friday. He was installing a doggie door and wanted to know if I had a good recommendation for a jigsaw. Little did he know, I had spent much time researching this very tool after a long relationship with a lackluster entry-level jigsaw.
Right after we bought our house in 2003, I decided I needed a jigsaw. I had little to no comfort level with power saws, was quite intimidated by our circular saw, and I wanted to be able to cut some plywood. Looking back on it, my nervousness is a bit funny to me now, but was legitimate at the time.
We went out and bought a very inexpensive, entry-level Skil Jigsaw. It fit our needs at the time, and our budget as well, but I realized the problems with that saw almost immediately and began looking forward to the day when I would buy a new one.
I lived with that Skil saw for over three years. Each time I would use it, I would struggle to set a 0 degree angle on the cutting base, to secure or change blades, to keep the settings in place while cutting with it, and to cut perpendicular to the material I was cutting (the blades constantly leaned and walked). When I say struggle, I mean struggle. If that saw had feelings, I'm sure all of my swearing and name calling left permanent damage on its psyche.
Continue Reading Full Post
