2-1/4″Backset entry mortise lock


Anyone know of a company, other thank the Accurate Lock Company, which makes entry mortise locks with 2-1/4″ backsets?

I’m helping a friend with a narrow stile entry door and the standard 2-1/2″ size pushes the door plate to overhang the edge of the stile.

The $500 the ALC wants for theirs is rather steep. If they are the only company I guess my friend is going to have to bite the bullet.

Categories: Restoration
By FenFen | 04/20/2009 1:35 PM | Comment

Polishing brass left a residue


I spent the good part of the weekend polishing an ornate entry set with Wright’s brass polish. Now the recesses have a white residue. Does anyone have a special trick for removing this, or do I need to break out a box of q-tips this weekend?

Categories: Restoration
By FenFen | 03/18/2009 6:37 PM | Comment

Cogeneration Feasibility


My 96 unit condo association consists of two circa 1923 five story courtyard buildings which currently share an oil fired furnace to provide one pipe steam heat to both buildings.

The buildings operate the steam system from a central boiler vented to an interior courtyard and individual hot water boilers in each building. There is a very large smoke stack as part of the original coal fired furnace which was abandoned in the late 1940s when the system was converted to oil.

As our boiler is close to 30 years old now, the association wants to convert from oil to high efficiency gas. Doing so will require us to restore and reline the old smokestack and totally rework the existing boiler room.

Since this is a major project and we do have such a large stack, I was wondering if anyone had ever had a cogeneration system installed with such a setup?

Categories: Plumbing
By FenFen | 02/10/2009 12:29 PM | Comment

Art Nouveau Letter Tile


Does anyone know a tile manufacture whom makes art tiles which depict individual letters (Specifically looking for the letter A) surrounded by a leafy Art Nouveau or Sullivanesque pattern? I swearing there was a posting of them on the board at some point, but after checking several old bookmarks, I haven’t been able to find the manufacturer. Anyone remember off the top of their head?

-Thanks

Categories: Kitchen & Bath
By FenFen | 12/26/2008 11:25 PM | Comment

Door plates


I’m looking for reproduction door plates in these two patterns and thusfar, haven’t had any luck. Does anyone know of any manufacturers that make these particular patterns?
Thanks
[URL=http://img398.imageshack.us/my.php?image=doorplateswv5.jpg][IMG]http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/296/doorplateswv5.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://img60.imageshack.us/my.php?image=doorplates2de9.jpg][IMG]http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/1811/doorplates2de9.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Categories: Doors
By FenFen | 08/14/2008 2:40 PM | Comment