They Come

And they go
The traps remain
Forty eight mice
Have nipped off
This mortal plane

It's About the Journey...

Not the destination.

This last weekend saw me fighting with Harry Jr. The tub drain had slowed to a standstill again. After trying to snake the drain from the clean out behind the tub access panel, I decided to try and snake out the drain from the tub side. Our tub drain is a plunger drain that looks like this



I removed the cover plate and pulled out the linkage and plunger. After I snaked out the drain all the way to the soil pipe (going through a trap and around at least one more corner) I went to put the cover plate back on. Sadly, the trip lever mechanism did not take kindly to my manhandling and was officially broken (it had been close to breaking anyway, so in the end, it was totally a mercy killing).

The next day I went to the local Home Despot to look for some kind of replacement. As usual, I was completely underwhelmed with the quality and selection of items in a big box store. The only plate that was even close had several plastic parts built into the lever. I wanted strength and durability. I wanted metal, like the old cover plate. Discouraged, I remembered that there was an old plumbing parts supply store on the north end of town.

The store was in a depressed commercial area of town, surrounded by small mechanic shops, U-haul rental businesses, pawn shops and ethnic grocery stores. The sign out front was a vintage 50's neon sign. It was a two story concrete block building with the business on the ground floor and apartments on the second floor.

This store had been recommended to me by a few plumbers as a place that dealt in vintage plumbing, so I was very disappointed to see a "Going out of business" sign in the front window. The front of the shop had several long tables laid out with miscellaneous, unidentifiable (to me) plumbing parts on them. There were also some real gems. Like avocado toilet bowl lids, 1950's pink sinks, and even a harvest gold toilet seat. He also had a few stainless steel sinks that were going cheaply (anybody need a stainless steel wet bar sink? Only $35).

There were two guys in the shop, the owner, who was a red head in his 40's and a much older man in his 60's or 70's and they were talking about the joys of installing a sump pump. It was obvious that the old guy wasn't actually there to buy anything. He was settled into a chair against the wall, next to the counter. The radio was on in the background, and a conservative talk show opined the advent of the "United States of Socialist America" and the fall of the American Dream.

I looked around for awhile and the owner was in no hurry to help me. The sump pump conversation was taking up all of his attention. Eventually, I wandered around to the front counter and stood there, waiting for some sort of acknowledgment, which came after five more minutes of sump pump talk. I showed him the cover plate. He reached over and pulled out the exact same one I'd seen at the Despot. I was not impressed.

I was able to gracefully decline the offer though, as the original plate was stamped with the manufacturer, Koehler, and I told him that I wanted a Koehler plate. He said he had none, but gave me the name of a plumber in town who did stock Koehler plates.

Before I left, I asked on a whim if he had any radiator flanges. I'm missing a few and most of the ones I have left are horribly rusty. Flanges are the collar that go around the pipe coming out of the floor for the radiators. They make the pipes look a bit more finished. I've looked for flanges in the big box stores, but again, the quality is crap. The original flanges in the house were made of heavy duty chromed iron. If we're ever burgled, I'll grab one and use it either as body armor or to club the assailant. Heavy.

So he disappeared into the back room, which I could see was easily three times the size of the front display area and he came back with two boxes of vintage 50's radiator flanges. They weren't nearly the quality and weight of the originals, but they were definitely better than what I could find in the big box stores. The only problem was that I didn't know what sizes I needed, or how many, and looking in my wallet, I saw that I didn't have any money. Credit cards were not accepted.

I promised to come back the next day, and headed out the door to the other plumbing supply place. It was close by and turned out be in a flashy new building, with up-to-date decor. There were displays with gorgeous bathroom sinks, whirlpool tubs and multi-head shower systems. It couldn't have been any more different than the store I'd just come from.

The lady behind the counter looked up the cost of a new face plate and trip lever from Koehler. It was $45 and would take a week or two. Meanwhile, I'd have a gaping hole in my tub and the inability to close the drain. I told her thanks, but no thanks and went home frustrated again.

The next day after work, I went back to the vintage plumbing store. The only thing that had changed was that a different older man was sitting and talking to the owner. I'd thought a lot about the previous day and what would have been the proper way to engage the owner, rather than just standing there waiting for him to acknowledge me. So this time, I joined in the conversation in a non-committal way, talking about reducer valves and shower pressure. After a few minutes we got around to my cover plate and my flanges.

And what did I end up buying? The same stupid cover plate and trip lever I could have bought at the Despot. It wasn't a complete loss though. I did find and buy some flanges that weren't sold at any of the big box stores, and I was also able to buy some radiator handles and a new handle for one of my faucets. I also got the name of another vintage plumbing shop in the area and the name of a heating specialist that would replace or fix the stuck valves to my radiators.

Working on the house is an adventure - sourcing parts, finding the right people, deciding what is worth spending money on and what isn't. Along the way I've met a lot of people in the community that I wouldn't otherwise meet. It's all about the journey.

Realllly Clean

Sanity in the face of stupidity can only be achieved through a positive attitude. This is a good motto.

Wednesday our eldest daughter (age 4.66) and I were outside in the backyard after work. It was a nice day and I was working on our compost heap while the two of us talked about how many leaves we'd have to feed to the "compost monster" before it wouldn't be hungry (the answer is 54).

When it was time to come in for supper, I took her muddy boots into the basement and put them in the laundry sink. I put the stopper in and ran about a half inch of water, thinking that the mud would soften up and I'd clean them up later.

Right.

Ms. Huis has warned me about doing this sort of thing several times. Our washing machine drains into the laundry sink. If the stopper is in the laundry sink and the washing machine runs...

Ms. Huis set the washing machine to run in the middle of the night, as she often does. [MHH says - I'd set it late morning or early afternoon using the delay feature, which is why I didn't notice the boots in the way...] And yesterday morning I got a call from Ms. Huis saying that we had a huge leak in the basement, oh no but wait. Some eejit put the stopper in the laundry sink.

Ahem. I WILL exhibit a positive attitude. The basement is now less dusty and the floor got another good mopping.

We shall call you...Bruce

Such is the name of the thing that lives in our office wall. I'm looking forward to meeting Bruce this Spring. We can sit around the back porch and swap stories about the winter.

"Remember the time you were sleeping and I rapped on the wall to see if you were awake? You were so coy and wouldn't even make a peep. Or the time you and I were both up late at night, so close together, separated only by a thin layer of plaster and wood? I was playing computer and you were...well...just what were you doing? Let's not forget the time I crawled under the maid's stair, just to see if I could actually meet you face to face. I bumped my head, met a lot of spiders and almost got stuck. Oh those were the days!"

Counter Space - The Final Frontier

I'm very surprised at the passionate responses to yesterday's posting. I never know which posts will get responses and which won't but I certainly did NOT expect yesterday's to garner such an impassioned collection of comments. One thing is for sure, we won't be doing anything soon. Remodeling the kitchen might be on the ten year plan.

Right now I have too many other ideas in mind, most of which involve outside work. Yesterday was the first day that it was actually warmer outside than it was inside and if the ground hadn't been frozen, I would have been outside digging in the dirt.

Brilliant!

At some point, our kitchen cabinets defied gravity by floating to the ceiling. This is clear to me now, but had puzzled me for quite a while.



Ever since we bought the house I've been pondering if the kitchen cabinets are original. There were several things about them that made me think they could have been original, but a few things just didn't seem right. First off, the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling. It is impractical to have cabinet shelving ten feet off the ground. We frequently have to stand on a stool or on the counter to reach the top shelves.

Midway on the cabinet doors are holes where old cabinet hardware was attached. This is seven feet off the ground. Either the people who lived here previously were giants, or something just isn't right.

We also found blue wallpaper behind the cabinets when we had to repair the ceiling when our plumbing leaked.



Then the mailman made a brilliant suggestion. Perhaps the overhead cabinets sat on top of the current counter. It makes absolute sense. It puts the old handles at the right height. The tops of the cabinets line up with the top of the window sills. The top shelves would be accessible from the ground. And it explains the wallpaper behind the cabinets. Stylistically it makes sense too, as it matches the cabinetry I've seen from the period.

I suggested to Ms. Huis that when we remodel the kitchen (someday), we could put in a center island (for prep space) and move the cabinets back down to where they originally were. I don't think she properly understood the brilliance of my idea, because before she even thought about it, she said "No". Fortunately, we're a long way from remodeling the kitchen.

A Lovely Rocking Chair...Sort of

The "treasures" that came with the house have yielded us a fortune in amusement. And no actual money. When cleaning out the attic I came across this very old, solid oak rocking chair.





It is upholstered in leather and looks like a good, solid piece of furniture. It had several boxes on top of the seat, which I removed and found this.



Technically, this is not the swastika, but I still don't think we'll be putting it out in the living room.