Big Project Week 3

So it’s more of the same, really.

As we removed the paint, we noticed that the stones needed mortar (re-mortared? is that a word?). Anyway, the appropriate mixture was made (light on the cement, heavy on the lime) so that it won’t dry too hard and damage the stone. The color mixture is a little tricky, but I think ours turned out pretty well.

The cornice got a second coat of paint (matte black, oil based), and it’s looking mighty fine, if I do say so myself.

The biggest thing that happened is half of the scaffolding came down. Continue reading

Big Project week 1

Week 1 of the façade project is coming to an end. It still feels slightly unreal that we are tackling this. We’ve known for several years that we would need to do something about our façade, not just because of the ugly pink, but because the ugly pink was actually the wrong kind paint (regular paint, not masonry paint) and it was causing damage to the brownstone. Continue reading

NEDS is closing (for real this time)

You know that feeling when one of the items of your bucket list is soon to be no-more?

By now you probably figured out that architectural salvage is my kryptonite. I suppose I came by honestly, a child of parents who built a house with lots of old parts and who still have unused stained glass doors stashed in the garage.  While my parents are reasonable people and have a few items stashed away, I’m know to be a bit more, uh… impulsive or even hoard-y.

Continue reading