Recent Activities

Here's another quick update on some of the work that's been done over the last two months:

Dodging the draft:
So I had to adjust the metal framing around the windows on the rear bedroom wall after the new windows were installed. I had apparently framed the opening too small, so had to widen the opening so that the drywall could wrap the corner and terminate at the edge of the window. After making this adjustment I was ready to insulate this wall. Between patching and sealing openings in the wall (including the one into the chimney), painting the wall with a moisture-lock paint, installing new windows, and insulating the walls, I don't think that I'll be feeling any of the drafts I felt that very first winter here!

On its last legs?
The clawfoot tub (one of the few 'artifacts' of the house that I'm holding on too) is getting a new lease on life, from the ground...eh...feet up). While I looked into having these chromed, the accompanying price tag was a bit staggering, so I've opted for now to give them a nice new coat of chrome finish paint. Pending wear I can always opt to chrome them later, but I'm actually quite impressed with the results I got with a can of Rustoleum.


In the bathroom, things are looking up!
So the bathroom skylight presented a slight problem when I installed the tub shower kit (one that I temporarily resolved by screwing through the mounting post into the side of the skylight shaft wall). But another, more aesthetic issue concerned me about this skylight -- that of the height of the shaft itself. Because of its height, the skylight seemed like a shaft with a glass ceiling -- it simply looked too tall. To help to combat that feeling I decided to extend the 'frame' at the plane of the ceiling. By creating a ledge here, the walls of the shaft are now set back, and less visible such that the height is not as noticeable. Though this closes down the skylight opening slightly, I believe that the end result should be a much cleaner opening.

Thanks, But No Tanks:












Water heater preparations: So, due to space constraints, I've elected to replace my traditional tank-style water heater with a tankless. In addition to taking up much less space (and thereby allowing me to tuck it under the uprun of the stair) it is also more efficient, as it only heats water 'on demand' as it is needed, rather than constantly heating a tank of water. I'm having a Navien water heater installed. The benefit of this systems over the others that I've researched is that can be vented using PVC piping, which eliminate the need for clearances from combustible building materials. This means that, though a chase in the kitchen and rear bedroom is still necessary for venting, that its dimensions can be greatly reduced. I'm looking forward to the installation of the unit and seeing just how well these work.