Great Neighbor, Great Stuff

We would like to introduce a neighbor who hasn't complained about our dust and noise, Church of the Holy Rosary. 

These first two pictures show the view from our front door. The front of the church is actually around the corner, on S. Chester St. 

The unique thing about the Church of the Holy Rosary is that since 1887, it has been an ethnic church with masses in the Polish language and tradition. Coincidentally, permission to form the parish was originally granted by Cardinal Gibbons.  It's starting to sound like I have a lot in common with my neighbor... it's only a matter of time before we are sharing pierogi recipes. 

For those who are curious, here is a link to their website: http://www.holyrosarypl.katolicki.eu/ 

According to the mass schedule, it looks like we will be waking up at 8:30 on Sunday mornings.  We can already hear the church bells pretty well from our house, now, a block away. 

This weekend, Sam and I did a little work ourselves at the Bank house. We have been trying to do whatever we can to pre-insulate the house. Needless to say, after 120 years, there are quite a few drafty areas... to put it nicely.  In reality, there are walls that seem to dissolve at the touch and walls that might not quite reach the roof and walls that have some pretty good views to the outside world. Sam has been filling in cracks with cement and we have both been going wild with Great Stuff Foam:

About this product:

• Forms a permanent weather-tight seal to minimize drafts and insect infestation.
• Bonds to wood, drywall, metal, masonry, glass and most plastics.
• Interior or exterior use.
• Water-resistant.
• Tack free in six minutes. Trims in 30 minutes.
• Foam elasticity allows for movement/shifting within a structure from winter to summer.
• Paintable, stainable and sandable.
• Cures rigid.
• Yields same as 19 to 25 quart tubes of caulk.

Basically, this stuff is pretty amazing.

There are a few options available specific to windows/doors, large holes, small cracks, etc. 

It sure beats the current system at the house we rent: plastic Target bags shoved in the spaces around the doors and windows. If this is also your current system, I would recommend you purchase a can for $5.00. Here are our tips: 1. wear gloves. 2. it comes off with nail polish remover and a scouring pad and a lot of effort

The framing is almost done so I will have those pictures up shortly. 

It's time for UConn basketball, then to Max's for hockey... U-S-A U-S-A! 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Back to Work

After a week and a half hiatus, the crew should be back to work this week. The mission: to finish framing all of the rooms. The result: our house will begin to look, and feel, like a house... or a 2x4 forest. Here are a few pictures of what is framed so far...

As I walked around the house this weekend, I had feelings of excitement... and impatience! Things seemed to be moving pretty quickly up to this point but, now that the rooms are almost done being framed, I can see so much potential... and I just want to hurry, hurry, hurry! (the rent + mortgage combo isn't helping either) But, after all, haste makes waste... and patience is a virtue... etc, etc. 

Sam and I were able to show our brother and sister-in-law, Josh and Nezie, around this weekend. We were like proud, beaming parents as we showed off our skeleton of a house! They will be new homeowners very soon, too... they just settled on a house in New Jersey. It will be a very exciting day for all of us when we can start visiting each other without having to sleep on a floor, air mattress, cot or couch! We are finally growing up. sigh.

Hopefully there will be more to blog about later in the week! If not, I can fill you in on a few more design ideas or another Baltimore neighborhood. Stay tuned and get excited! 

Snow Days

It is snow day number 2 and a half.  On our list of things done: video game solving, book reading, online shopping, napping. No work... and that includes the Bank St. house. We have 3 feet of snow and nowhere to put it! Some of us had a little cabin fever last night and ventured out.  Here are some pictures...

It was very peaceful walking in the middle of the street without any cars on the road

Thames Street 

Arriving at the Horse You Came in On... snowmobiles parked out front

On a warmer note, the polls are closed and the results are in. For the kitchen countertop survey, there was a tie between granite and engineered stone. Following were concrete, corian and stainless steel.

GRANITE 33%

ENGINEERED STONE 33%

CONCRETE 16%

CORIAN 11%

STAINLESS STEEL 5%

LAMINATE 0% 

TILE 0%

While the survey was up, a few people asked me, "What exactly is engineered stone?" To which I replied, "I have no idea." I did my research... and then I tried to make a neat, excel spreadsheet...  and then I realized that Bob Villa did a better job.  

Check out this website: 

http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Countertop_Options-Countertops-A1579.html 

or: http://www.taunton.com/inspiredhouse/pdf/kitchencountertops.pdf 

Sam and I still haven't made a decision.  We voted for concrete because we like the texture and the color of natural concrete.  We are planning on darker floors and darker cabinets and so we want a lighter, neutral countertop.  I am concerned, though, about the installation and installation costs.  Off-site fabrication sounds difficult to transport and on-site sounds messy.  I am also a little concerned about the staining.  It is easy to say that we will keep up with the sealing and waxing but, once every 3 months is a lot (and we do occasionally eat beets). 

I guess our second vote, right now, would be for corian. This is because it is a durable, affordable option and it comes in solid colors.

If anyone has additional input, please comment! (I did change the settings so you can now comment even if you do not have a blogger account) 

We would like to dedicate this blog entry to the memory of Bill Marych's car.  Bill's car fell victim to the Baltimore Blizzard of 2010 when a tree fell on it. For you, Marych, a haiku:

bill's green dodge stratus,

stolen two times and once robbed,

good riddance cursed car.