Lost My Marbles...

I'm too tired to write much, but here are some pics of the marble shower in the master bathroom that my brother has been working on. The first pic is where it stands now. The marble is actually quarried here in Alabama, which I think is cool.

Alive and kicking...

I'm still alive and kicking...I've just been busy with school and Whitney. So, in order not to keep my faith readers waiting any longer, I've decided to post some pictures without my usual witty, insightful commentary. Feel free to post comments or questions. Enjoy! To start with, I'll take you through the transformation of the grand entry hall. These pictures were taken with my back to the front door.

This is the way the entry hall looked when I bought it:


Then we put down new sub-flooring and added plumbing for upstairs and a cold-air return for the AC:


Then we sprayed foam insulation in the outside walls:


Then we built a wall under the staircase for a half bath, installed recessed lighting, and hung the sheetrock:


...which brings us to this week...the sheetrock is being mudded and sanded this week. Whitney is actually starting to look like a house again!

New-fangled plumbing

"What in the world?" you might ask. This strange octopus-looking thing is called a PEX manifold. In a rough sense, a PEX manifold is to the water supply system what a circuit breaker panel is to the electrical system in a house. Back in the 80s, we used PVC (a hard plastic pipe) for the plumbing in my parents, but since that time, the construction industry has learned that PVC becomes brittle and springs leaks over time. PEX tubing has replaced the use of PVC for water supply (PVC is still used for sewer pipes) and is making inroads into the use of copper. Copper has become so expensive and is stolen so often, I decided to go with PEX. Plus, I think the manifold is cool. The manifold allows you to turn off (or on) the water to any sink, tub, toilet, etc., in your house individually. In addition, the PEX tubing is color coded: red lines supply hot water and blue lines supply cold water.

The fact that thieves don't steal PEX tubing is nothing to turn your nose up at either...my plumber told me that one customer had his copper pipe stolen out of the house, and the plumber had to re-install all of the plumbing, then it was stolen again and had to re-re-installed! So they (or their insurance) paid for the copper plumbing three times.

Below you can see what PEX tubing looks like on the end that connects to the sink (actually, a double sink in this case). Notice that copper ends are used. After the drywall is put up, valves will be attached to the copper ends so that you can turn off the water under the sink. This means that you can turn each supply line off at the manifold or at the sink, which allows you to isolate leaks or problems if they occur.

A Tribute to the Alabama Vols

Before everyone jumps on me for confusing the Tennessee Vols with the Alabama Crimson Tide...give me a minute to explain. Almost anyone from SEC (Southeastern Conference, not Securities and Exchange Commission) country knows that "Vols" is short for "Volunteers", and this post is a celebration of volunteerism, more specifically volunteerism in Alabama, and even more specifically volunteerism in Alabama as it has benefited Whitney. :) Certain people have sacrificially given of their time to help me revive Whitney. So without further adieu, please help me pay tribute to the Alabama Vols:

Sandy: This legendary Ultimate Frisbee player has been out to work on Whitney more times than any other Vol. To top it off, she has been helping while injured.

Dad: Yes, my father came down (with a carload of recruits, i.e., kids) to help out with Whitney for a weekend. Family is great! My dad knows what he is doing too, so I was able to set him up building walls upstairs, while I worked downstairs.

Sarah: My sister Sarah worked so hard you would have thought she was in a race. On top of all of her manual labor on the house, she also fixed lunch.

Jonathan: It is hard to believe that my brother Jonathan is a teenager now and able to do as much as he can.

Josiah: Josiah is my youngest brother, and he was a real help as well. I'm glad we got a chance to work together.

My hat's off to you!

When Nature Calls...

Most of you have probably never read a blog post celebrating sanitary sewer lines...until now. And I must admit that I have never felt such emotion over plumbing before. You may be asking, "Why all the excitement?" Well, my dear readers, for you to understand my excitement, I must give you some background. Whitney has not had plumbing for 20-30 years, so no one was exactly sure where the sewer line was located under the ground. It can costs thousands of dollars to pay someone to locate the sewer line under the ground and connect it to the house. I, like most people, don't have thousands of dollars to spend on sewer.

After digging a trench under my front porch and not finding any sewer lines, I had an epiphany. Actually, at the time I did know it was an epiphany, it only ended up being one after-the-fact. Some time ago, I noticed some iron pipes sticking up in my back yard, and the thought occurred to me that if I stuck a water hose down one of the pipes, and no water came out, then it might be tied into the city sewer system, which might help me determine where the lines ran underground near the house. Well, I stuck the hose down the first pipe, and the water came bubbling out of the ground just a few feet away. Strike one. I stuck the hose down the second pipe, and the water never came out anywhere. Same thing with the third and final pipe. Maybe...just maybe...I was onto something.

The next morning my plumbers came. Before I left for work, I told them about my experiment with the pipes and water hose. I came home at lunch to check on their progress, and lo and behold...the plumbers used my idea to run water down the pipe and had already locate the sewer line...it was about 4+ feet deep! Now they probably would have used that technique even without my input, but I like to think that I was at least a small part of the solution. :)



So, now you understand my sewer-line celebration. The sewer line was found and brought into the house in less than a day, at no additional cost to me beyond what I was already paying the plumbers to plumb the house. The next time you come visit me, you might even have a place to go when nature calls. :)

Please take a moment to enjoy this small victory with me. (btw, that is my foot in the first photo...as opposed to the feet showing in my prior post.)

Whitewashing...

“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind:
“No – no – I reckon it wouldn’t hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly’s awful particular about this fence – right here on the street, you know – but if it was the back fence I wouldn’t mind and she wouldn’t. Yes, she’s awful particular about this fence; it’s got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain’t one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it’s got to be done.”

“No – is that so? Oh come, now – lemme, just try. Only just a little – I’d let you, if you was me, Tom.”

“Ben, I’d like to, honest injun; but Aunt Polly – well, Jim wanted to do it, but she wouldn’t let him; Sid wanted to do it, and she wouldn’t let Sid. Now don’t you see how I’m fixed? If you was to tackle this fence and anything was to happen to it – ”

“Oh, shucks, I’ll be just as careful. Now lemme try. Say – I’ll give you the core of my apple.”

“Well, here – No, Ben, now don’t. I’m afeard – ”

“I’ll give you all of it!”

Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face, but alacrity in his heart. ...

Like Tom's friend, I am sure many of you have been dying to help with Whitney...well here is your chance. :) And unlike Tom, I won't take your food; I'll feed you. All references to Tom Sawyer aside, I am working on Whitney Memorial Day Weekend, and really would love some help. My father and a couple brothers are coming down, and hopefully, some friends. I'll provide food, and even gas money, if needed. When will you ever have another opportunity to learn how to restore an old Victorian home? I plan to have a painting party later in the summer, but at this stage you have a chance to see the "inner workings" of the house. Although I am hoping to make this weekend a big work weekend, I will be working on the house almost ever weekend for the next two months, and I need all the help I can get; so feel free to come by any weekend. Post a comment or send an email if you can help. If you need my email address, post a comment asking for it.

P.S. For those of you interested in trivia, Whitney and Tom are the same age. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer came out in 1876...approximately the same time Whitney was built.

Excuses, Excuses

I know it's been too long since I posted here...in my defense, I am also working full time and am in school as well. Now that the excuses are out of the way, I thought I'd post a few pictures of the progress on the porch and the first floor. Check out the "before" and "after" of the porch...especially the architectural elements along the top of the porch and the railing along the bottom (click on each picture for a larger view).
Before:

After:

We were able to find enough of the porch's architectural elements in the basement to recreate what was missing and restore it to it's former glory. Whitney's smiling. :) (Btw, for those of you who haven't figured it out, I derived the name "Whitney" from Whitman Street...sorry, Eastwood Whitney. However, I will gladly rename her after anyone who puts in enough volunteer time helping me out.;))

Below is a pic (taken from the stairs) of the new subflooring going down on the first floor.


Here are a couple more pictures solely for your viewing pleasure:


(No...those are not my legs)