Watching Public TeeVee

[digitS']

But, if you have too much "to do," it's almost impossible to start!

Is that the "hole in the bucket" song? How about that "Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour?" I'm not gonna get much out of radio but ..

I went to Indiana's WFYI this morning. They went to China in 2015!! Tea in China! I'm sure it wasn't ALL of it but I had fun watching the harvest and ceremonies. @Pulsegleaner may find it especially interesting, fyi . Oh. You don't need the casting app, you can watch it that way or just on your computer. LINK

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Sounds like us and our bathroom (not the one on the lower floor we were doing when I went to the hospital, the upstairs one. Things started with nothing more than a bubble of water in the kitchen ceiling, caused by a leaky pipe. Not so big right? Worse case scenario cut a hole in an appropriate wall/ floor/ ceiling , find and replace the pipe, fix the hole. A job of a week or two (maybe three to factor in repainting the surface so it will match.) But oh, no. I turns out that one of the charming features of our 1928 home is that all of the original pipes were encased in concrete when they were put in. So fixing that pipe required gutting out the WHOLE bathroom, putting a complete new one in (complicated by the fact that apparently a lot of the stuff we are used to their being to the point of needing it is now no longer commonly done, like bathtubs that are made of something more durable that light plastic.) Took almost six MONTHS of disruption complicated by basically being a prisoner in the house 24/7 the whole time (because someone had to be there to let the workmen in and out, and make sure they didn't do something dumb like let the cat out and then lock the door) regular disruptions of dinner and bed (since the workmen assumed that, we would have simply done what most people do with a big job; hand the foreman the keys to the house and go on vacation for the entire time the work was being done; so they'd have 24 hour access.) Not to mention it actually covering TWO rooms, since the whole kitchen ceiling had to be re-done as well. And as bad as it was, it could have actually been quite a bit worse. That bathroom now has a little plastic panel on the ceiling for access to the wires because of new regulations. It's ugly, but we were told it had to be done. In fact we were told that technically that little panel was itself bending the building codes, that, in truth the other alternative they could give us (tearing out and rewiring the WHOLE of the house) was in fact what they were legally supposed to do for a place as old as ours.

That seems to be a constant feature of living in an old house. You get the advantage of a bit of durability (since unlike modern houses they were built in such a manner that it was not assumed that in 40-50 years the whole house would simply be demolished and a new house built on the space. But you wind up with a lot of "leave it alone and pray it doesn't develop a problem because it'll cost a butt load if it does situations). There are STILL some pipes down in the basement whose asbestos coatings are still there since the inspector said it was best to leave it alone until it actually began to degrade and needed to be removed. There is a pipe somewhere down there with an old sweat sock tied around it by a previous owner that we were instructed to NEVER take off.). In our side lawn there is a little iron pipe top sticking out they found doing some kind of check that apparently connects to some sort of buried tank where the heating oil used to be stored that we now have to keep monitored since the fact we are talking about 1930's era (read, leaded) heating oil means that, if it ever leaks, we basically need an environmental hazmat team to clean it up (and a multi hundred thousand dollar bill we have to foot for the cleanup)

On the lighter side are things like the crawlspace in our boiler room that on top of the rubble fill has a 1930's cage type mousetrap (actually HAD, it disappeared during one of the boiler replacements; we think a workman walked off with it for the antique value.) or the cast iron garbage can embedded in the ground next to the side door (actually it was probably a receptacle where a can would go. Either way, things that go in there do not ever come out. Someday some owner is going to brave the space an make a fortune with such antiques as a 1980's era Ssips! juice box (well Iced tea box).

And I'll see your "Hole in my Bucket" and Raise you "The Gasman Cometh"

 

[Nyboy]

Anyone remember Hodge Podge Lodge on PBS early 70s ?

 

[so lucky]

@Pulsegleaner that is funny, and a little too true!

 

[Carol Dee]

Sounds like us and our bathroom (not the one on the lower floor we were doing when I went to the hospital, the upstairs one. Things started with nothing more than a bubble of water in the kitchen ceiling, caused by a leaky pipe. Not so big right? Worse case scenario cut a hole in an appropriate wall/ floor/ ceiling , find and replace the pipe, fix the hole. A job of a week or two (maybe three to factor in repainting the surface so it will match.) But oh, no. I turns out that one of the charming features of our 1928 home is that all of the original pipes were encased in concrete when they were put in. So fixing that pipe required gutting out the WHOLE bathroom, putting a complete new one in (complicated by the fact that apparently a lot of the stuff we are used to their being to the point of needing it is now no longer commonly done, like bathtubs that are made of something more durable that light plastic.) Took almost six MONTHS of disruption complicated by basically being a prisoner in the house 24/7 the whole time (because someone had to be there to let the workmen in and out, and make sure they didn't do something dumb like let the cat out and then lock the door) regular disruptions of dinner and bed (since the workmen assumed that, we would have simply done what most people do with a big job; hand the foreman the keys to the house and go on vacation for the entire time the work was being done; so they'd have 24 hour access.) Not to mention it actually covering TWO rooms, since the whole kitchen ceiling had to be re-done as well. And as bad as it was, it could have actually been quite a bit worse. That bathroom now has a little plastic panel on the ceiling for access to the wires because of new regulations. It's ugly, but we were told it had to be done. In fact we were told that technically that little panel was itself bending the building codes, that, in truth the other alternative they could give us (tearing out and rewiring the WHOLE of the house) was in fact what they were legally supposed to do for a place as old as ours.

That seems to be a constant feature of living in an old house. You get the advantage of a bit of durability (since unlike modern houses they were built in such a manner that it was not assumed that in 40-50 years the whole house would simply be demolished and a new house built on the space. But you wind up with a lot of "leave it alone and pray it doesn't develop a problem because it'll cost a butt load if it does situations). There are STILL some pipes down in the basement whose asbestos coatings are still there since the inspector said it was best to leave it alone until it actually began to degrade and needed to be removed. There is a pipe somewhere down there with an old sweat sock tied around it by a previous owner that we were instructed to NEVER take off.). In our side lawn there is a little iron pipe top sticking out they found doing some kind of check that apparently connects to some sort of buried tank where the heating oil used to be stored that we now have to keep monitored since the fact we are talking about 1930's era (read, leaded) heating oil means that, if it ever leaks, we basically need an environmental hazmat team to clean it up (and a multi hundred thousand dollar bill we have to foot for the cleanup)

On the lighter side are things like the crawlspace in our boiler room that on top of the rubble fill has a 1930's cage type mousetrap (actually HAD, it disappeared during one of the boiler replacements; we think a workman walked off with it for the antique value.) or the cast iron garbage can embedded in the ground next to the side door (actually it was probably a receptacle where a can would go. Either way, things that go in there do not ever come out. Someday some owner is going to brave the space an make a fortune with such antiques as a 1980's era Ssips! juice box (well Iced tea box).

And I'll see your "Hole in my Bucket" and Raise you "The Gasman Cometh"

@Pulsegleaner Funny (too true) Lego movie.
I know about old houses. Ours was built in 1904. Needless to say when we had a kitchen fire in 2008 they discovered all plumbing and wiring was not up to code and would have to be replaced. About 75% of drywall was off for replacing anyway and made the job easier. Thank Goodness our insurance paid for the upgrades.

 

[digitS']

Hodge Podge Lodge? No, checked Wikipedia . Aired in the early 70's, yes. But, I was already in a log cabin I built in the woods in the early 70's.

My little house has yours beat by more than a quarter of a century, @Pulsegleaner . However, it was a simple affair ... might even been a kit, can't find a similar style. It might be defined as a "ranch" but looks like it would be more at home on a Montana prairie ...

I have not figured out what happened to the original kitchen. It may have burned . Still, the replacement must be about 100 years old!

The plumbing was originally on an interior wall, bathroom on one side/kitchen on the other. I know it's nice to stand at the window while at the sink but I wish they would not have moved it ... as per my remodeling thread.

By the way, it was possible with this olde house and its antique doors, but we locked the door between the kitchen and utility room and the door between the bathroom and the bedroom while the remodeling was going on.

Now, I'd like to take the whole center of the house out ... dang it! Anyway, first step is to replace flooring, throughout. However, I don't know that it needs to be all at once. Prioritize! I might like to put a new wall and closet in one bedroom ...

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

A client this weekend moved into a old house they restored. Being a lover of old houses I asked when their house was built. I almost fell down when she said 1973

 

[Smart Red]

We still have a smallish TV that is very old. Hard to see clearly, so I have been thinking about getting a larger new one. I think AT&T offers a service that I can use to get something like Netflix, plus the local channels. We are so fed up with dish network, I will be happy to kiss it goodbye.
However, the TV we have now is in a huge entertainment center with book shelves all crammed full. The space for the TV is too small for a larger TV. I need that big shelving unit down in the basement bedroom that I am going to use for a sewing room. If we move the shelving unit, I have to paint the wall. May as well paint the whole room.
While I have the room torn apart, I may as well get this horrid old carpet pulled up and put down wood. Throughout the living, dining and kitchen. The house is too wide for the supports down below, causing squeaky floors that have "give" in them, so more supports are needed.
If we put in new flooring, we definitely have to replace the back patio doors where the rain from the north leaks in under the door and makes the floor wet.
It's like that old song "There's a Hole in the Bucket, Dear Liza, Dear Liza"
This has been put off for years and years. First because we couldn't afford it, then because DH didn't trust anyone to do the work properly, now because he doesn't want strangers in the house. And doesn't want his life disrupted.

Sigh! so lucky! That is the way so many "little" redos go. Like my half bath. All I wanted was new grout around the sink area. New cabinet, stool, paint, lighting later and the whole room is like brand new. (All but the grout that never got put around the sink.)

The thing is, even if you do one part at a time the work needs doing.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Renovations have caused some pretty weird features to our house as well. At some point a previous owner decided to level off the angled bits of roof on the sides so there are landings on either side of the house. Because of where they are, that means that technically I can get to the one on my side by climbing through my bedroom window (and have had to do that a few times, like the time the cat managed to get up there (we think she climbed the tree next to it and jumped off) The one in Mom and dads room is even weirder since the owner actually put a lockable door in...........that's three quarters below the level of the landing (basically to get in there, you have to unlock the door get a step ladder, climb onto the ladder and then climb from the ladder to the actual landing. )

And thanks to landscaping tricks of the 1930's for most of my childhood, I though that ALL front lawns grew little purple flowers in the spring (crocus bulbs)

 

[digitS']

A client this weekend moved into a old house they restored. Being a lover of old houses I asked when their house was built. I almost fell down when she said 1973

That would make my log cabin an OLD house! Actually, there's likely to be a consensus on that but the builder ... okay, he's olde, too !

Honestly, I can hardly believe that someone has lived in it all these years! I'm not sure what renovations had to be done, what additions if any were made.

Once I learned that the new owners had put siding on the exterior, I lost all interest in visiting . They moved and the mobile home that was parked beside it went with them. The siding was not removed by the 3rd owner and looking at an aerial view a few years ago indicates that it's still up or been replaced ... I would be curious to know what happened to my log barn which was part of me learning what I was up to.

Steve