Mystery Spot – Solved!

When we called the roofer, I was really not convinced that that much water managed to get through tiny cracks. and on top of that, we have seen very hard rains, while no active leaks were produced. but we were really hoping that a roofer would help us out with where the water was coming from.

So, I consulted PoP, and found Adam’s Roofing (no website). Adam, is, awesome. He checked out our roof, gave us maintenance advice (including on small cracks) and said that no water is coming from the roof– which *good news!*… Read the rest

Repointing and Retucking

Repointing, retucking, otherwise known as…its gonna cost you.

masonry is expensive. replacing historic mortar is even more expensive.the quick and dirty on historic mortar vs regular cement as I understand it: old bricks and mortar were manufactured differently than today. Old brick and mortar – breathe, expand and contract with the weather. New brick and mortar – don’t breathe, and don’t expand or contract. problems occur when old mixes with new.… Read the rest

If walls could talk

One of the most interesting bits to hear would be about all the different workers and contractors that have come through the house. we have moved onto to getting mason quotes, because several weeks ago we discovered this:

On our side wall by the stairs. it didn’t look like that initially. first we saw squiggly lines. then the paint started bubbling, and it came off quite easily to reveal this. so we opened up our reference guides, and started making calls.… Read the rest

Success!

The VIB – probably feeling neglected – has been given us trouble lately, we have busted glass and crumbling mortar. But this post isn’t about that. its about success! ha, take that house gods. even though its not technically house. regardless, our roses are blooming!

after what looked like a fairly successful winter for them, we cleaned up and trained the bushes and they have really taken off. However, no sooner did the buds appear, myriad of squirrels did too!… Read the rest