Earthquakes and Hurricanes!

I thought the end of the world was supposed to be next year?! The Hall house rocked & rolled with the earthquake no problem and now bracing for Irene. 13 inches predicted for Delco over the next 24 hrs!

Hang on there little stringbeans... gonna be a bumpy ride!

The Great Radiator Plan

So, Jessica asks me to come up with an idea to power wash some upstairs radiators recently at her project house. Two of the smaller ones were carried down and done outside, but the other two were 4 foot long hernia makers... so finding some other suckers besides me to help carry them out was not happening!

So I said... well power wash them inside the house upstairs!... Yes, I'm serious!

Ok, so plan A in my head involved a kiddy pool, a makeshift tent and a pump to keep the pool from filling. Well again, who's gonna lift them in the pool??

Plan B... well the upstairs bathroom is gutted, but the tub is still there, so hang a hoist from a joist like I did in my house. To bad though the ceiling and angled wall are already drywalled. Scratch that.

Plan B - part 2 - Build a double 2x6 across the bathroom over the tub supported by 2x4 studs fastened to existing wall studs. Next hang the come-a-long from that. Then hang plastic around the tub and ceiling to contain the water. Simple string strung across served to hang the shower curtains. Then I added some wood to my dolly to cradle the radiators and roll them to the bathroom.

What can I say... it worked great! So good that we even unhooked the smaller rads that were already refinished and gave them a good cleaning. They were coated in drywall dust. Amazing how much crud came out from between the tubes and I may have to use this idea to clean mine upstairs when I'm ready to refinish them.

So next step was back on the dolly and into the "painting room". Two coats of antique brass later and they are good as new.

My Reward For Feeling Better....

SANDING!

And spackle.... and more sanding.

I'm finally getting back into some house work. I decided to finish the basement stairs because I really need more pantry storage. It's canning season and I've already filled the other cabinet. I'm just getting into the major harvest time, so I'm pushing to get this done. The section right of the basement door will get a stack of shelves and this will be my dedicated canned space... they can last up to 5 years if kept in a cool dark place and this will do just fine.

Start Of The Chevy Restoration?!

Yep... a little change in plans, but I'm not complaining! My dad has been feeling around for having the body work portion of my 55 Chevy restoration done at a shop and for us to do the remainder. I can't blame him for not wanting to take on the bodywork after 4 years of working on his... and I certainly won't feel like I missed out if I don't get to spend 100's of hours sanding Bondo! So by a stroke of surprise and luck the guy who painted my dad's 50 convertible has an opening in November (a year sooner than I planned!) and has penciled me in. Denny is almost 70, yet could probably work circles around guys half his age... and his work on old cars is top notch, yet for the cost of a typical paint job, he will be doing all the body and paint work. It's a no brainer decision.

So that means we need to dismantle the car down to the shell so it's ready for Denny to do his thing. Well that meant cleaning the garage out and transforming it from wood shop to auto shop. So I spent the entire weekend doing just that. Long story short I actually pulled it off and I'm pretty much ready to start working on it. I built a workbench from the dismantled wood rack, been installing shelving wherever I can for all the parts that will soon be needing a home for a few years, installed the grinder/wire wheel, retractable air line...

While the 55 is in the shop, I hope to get the roof replaced on the garage. The more I inspect it, the more I can see it will need a complete rebuild. The roof structure is built with beadboard and 2x4's. There's just nothing to work with to try and jack it back up and sisterin supports. So I will probably make my own trusses like I did on the shed... just on a bigger scale. The granite walls are in good shape, but the inside needs some mortar work and parched. Stay tuned...

Hall House Ruler

So here's the ruler that Russ sent me from Norris's steel business... Thanks Russ!!

I picked up this great item on EBAY last week. I doubt there's another left in existence. It's a framed print of Seller's Ave. There's some great old houses along this section even today. The calander on the bottom is from 1908 and all the months are still there. Up in the corner is printed compliments of your grocer - Charles Deakyne. The grocer building still exists and the painted advertisement on the side of the building was restored several years ago. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. So this item is now in my foyer and part of my Ridley Park history collection.

And of course I'm in the height of growing season and I'm knee deep in tomatos now! Already made 8 jars of salsa and looks like another dozen jars from the looks of this week's pick. Also canned 6 jars of green beans, 11 carrots, and lost count of how many garlic dill pickles.