Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Christmas in May - The new back doors arrived

Well, the freight truck with my doors and window arrived today.  It was a bit of a fiasco to unload the 500lb double-length pallet from the truck.  I am so excited.  I think these 104" doors are going to be a great addition to the house.  As with everything, its going to be another project.  The doors have a few? rough spots...

a. Fill deadbolt hole
b. Fill surface lock hole
c. Fix minor rail/stile separation
d. Fill holes/nicks and prime/paint.
e. Replace 1 pane of glass
f. Repair stile damage around lockset area

Below are the pictures of the uncrating.





Sunday, May 20, 2012

EXTRA, EXTRA, Read All About It - 1938 Newspaper Found Under the Floor

Celia and I spent the weekend pulling up floorboards in the kitchen. It seems like every project in the house turns out to be a monumental task, but with each task, we make cool discoveries that make it just so much fun (Celia disagrees with me on this)!
This time, in an area of floor that was obviously cut and patched when some work was done, we found several pages of the Chicago Daily News from Saturday April 30 1938. The newspaper was being used a a shim to level the floor.

Headlines include:

  • Roosevelt Hits Holding Firms
  • Britain Wont Fight To Save Czechoslovakia
  • Federal Agents Hold Two As Counterfeiters
  • Swing a Good-Looking Purse if You Would Be Really Well-Dressed














It is so strange to see articles about Nazi's/Hitler, President Roosevelt, etc.

We also found a piece of cardboard (also acting a shim) that had a shipping label the Peoria Casket Co to the Sedgwick Funeral Home.  Really cool stuff!  We have long known that our house operated as a funeral home for about 40 years.  1938 would have been the very early years of the business.






Wednesday, May 16, 2012

New Old Stuff

I just placed an order for a "new old" set of double entry doors and a stained glass window.  Both will be going in our new kitchen. Celia and I combed the local salvage shops and the Internet and finally found the perfect pieces.  My bank account is a lot lighter, but I think it will be worth it!  They are being shipped from the east coast and should be here sometime next week. Cant wait!
We also just found matching reclaimed oak floor which will allow us to finish our kitchen floor.  I sure hope the work to save the original flooring and combine it with the reclaimed flooring works out like I plan.

More to follow...