Brownstoner Reno

November 16, 2005

Waste Line Backs Up Again! WTF?

pipes

See that crap on the pipe? That's what we had pulled out of our supposedly new pipe on Saturday when the renter's tub started backing up again! Can you believe it. After running the snake, the high-pressured water blaster and a camera, our plumber assures us that we are good to go. After all this, we're going to insist on some kind of warranty before we write the final check.

November 10, 2005

More Loot: Sideboard

sideboard

Here's another piece of loot from the in-laws--a lovely sideboard who's only drawback is that it is a little too large for a brownstone scale...As a result, we're having to put it in the living room instead of the dining room where it barely fit between the fireplace and the wall.

November 9, 2005

The Craziest Boxsprings We've Ever Seen

box springs

Check out these crazy box springs that are part of the beds we got last weekend--they look like they are some kind of torture or s&m device. We drove a truckload of family heirlooms back from Virginia last week and these were among the booty. They are part of a pair of brass beds from Germany in th 1880s. We'll get a photo of the beds when they are assembled in the guest room asap.

November 2, 2005

Bringing Order to the Records

shelf

Alright, so we're going to start putting up some more stuff now even though it feels like we have a long way to go before the interiors are "finished". First up: We've gotten most of our records put away though we still have some wiring issues to sort out--plus we have yet to unearth a couple of components from the depths of some unmarked box.

Nipping the Mold in the Bud

rug pads

We also started to get some nasty mold popping up post-flooding which we had to nip in the bud.

October 27, 2005

Damage to the Cellar Ceiling

rug pads

Here's what the ceiling of the cellar looked like after the flooding caused by our collapsed waste line. Luckily insurance is picking up the tab on the interior damage--not so with the waste line itself.

October 19, 2005

Repairing the Collapsed Waste Line

After One Day of Digging...
dig

After Two Days...
dig

September 30, 2005

Tiling Finished in Master Bath

rug pads

We finally got the tiling done on the half-walls on either side of the marble sink in the master bathroom.

September 17, 2005

Boxing in ACs, Making More Room for LPs

shelf

The carpenter is in the process of concealing the ACs and building more shelving for the record collection in the "music room" in the center of the second floor.

September 16, 2005

Front Hall Partition and Door

hall

This is how the partition came out in the front hall of the parlor floor. A necessary evil given how we are dividing the house, both to create separation from the garden floor rental and the private "studio" for our sister at the back of the parlor floor. Notice the pipe molding that we rescued from another part of the house to try to make the doorway look more at home. It is what it is though: Out of place. But what can you do.

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