Tag: details

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Radiator Revitilization

Christine

When I bought the house there was no source of heat on the second floor. Just gravity. I thought I would give it a try, and I froze the first winter.

So I asked my dad and grandfather to put radiators in the three bedrooms. My dad looked around and eventually found four steam radiators. He got them from some guy he knows who hoards junk. Apparently hot water radiators are easier to come by than steam. So this guy has four, I only need three, but we have no idea if they even work. So daddy buys all four for $100. (Do you know how much new ones cost?) This was a steal. Well, they installed three, and they all work just fine. We now have a spare in the basement. No idea if it leaks.
Eventually we got to a point in the house where we were ready to start painting. Have you ever tried to paint behind a radiator? No? Well, neither had my previous owners.
Our first idea was to get oil paint from Sherwin Williams and paint each radiator the same color as the rest of the room. I was never thrilled with this idea. What if I get tired of the color in a few years? I’m sure I don’t want to keep repainting them. Plus, we’ve read that more layers of paint on radiators just act like insulation, keeping the heat from warming the room. But they needed something, all those old layers of paint (mostly on the sides that faced the room) were chipped and flaking. A big mess. Mom and I tossed some ideas around, I perused houseblogs, and we decided they should just look like radiators. Radiator-colored radiators. How novel. Why try to make them blend in? Let them be what they are.

So, we had all the radiators taken out, hauled away, sand blasted, and spray painted with high heat engine paint. I’m thrilled at how they turned out.
We had eight radiators of various sizes, and they charged us just under $1000. I think it was money well spent. That included transportation. (My dad and grandfather did the disconnecting and the reconnecting.) We couldn’t find anyone in the local area who did this kind of work, but daddy suggested someone he knew who did engine repair. So we had an auto engine repair place do the radiators.

We knew that the sandblasting was risky, because if there are any weak spots it can create holes, and then it is all over, folks. But we decided it was worth it. New radiators for the second floor were out of the question. I’m so glad we took the chance.I sincerely hope this paint job will last for years, decades even. About a year after the radiators were finished, I saw pictures (I’m sorry, I don’t remember where) of someone else who had done the same thing, only they had their radiators painted a dark metallic bronze. They were really gorgeous. Now I have bronze envy. I briefly wished we had thought of the dark bronze, but I am very happy with the engine silver anyway. Maybe we will go bronze if it ever needs done again.

I couldn’t find any before pictures specifically of the radiators, but I’m sure you can all picture them. You might be able to spot some in my before series of each room. Check out the details that were lost under all those layers of paint!
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House Numbers, Finally

Christine

At long last, we finally got around to mounting the new house numbers on the front porch!

We’ve only had these pretty metal numbers for the last four years, and since we installed the new old door last August we’ve been completely without house numbers. This became a big problem a few weeks back when I was expecting guests who had never been to my neck of the woods.
So, my friend Marc got roped into helping me put these up one day a few weeks ago. He’s such a good sport. Please forgive the bug dirt, dust and pencil markings. Actually, does anybody know what will remove those pencil markings from the metal siding?
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Faucets that Fit

Christine

I’m a bit germ-phobic. I’ll admit it. I wash my hands a couple dozen times a day. I realize that is more than most people, but I’m okay with that.

My point is this: when I chose faucets for the sinks in my house, I was looking for a few key things:

First, that I had plenty of room under the spigot to scrub my hands without scraping my knuckles against the sink.Second, that I could turn the knobs easily, and possibly with the back or heels of my hands, so I have minimal contact with them. For me, that meant lever-style handles.Third, that they could be easily cleaned, with few nooks and crannies for gunk to build up.

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Highly Recommended: Extra Deep Kitchen Sink

Christine

I’ve been in kitchens where the sink is so shallow that you can hardly submerge a soup pot in the dishwater. Or the faucet spout is so low, you have to move it aside to maneuver dishes around as you wash. What a pain!

Mom was all for a deeper sink, too. She ought to know. When she built her house back in 1989, she didn’t make any special decisions about the kitchen sink, and so they just put in your standard contractor-grade sink. I know at the time mom was thinking, hey, I’m going to have a dishwasher, I won’t need a big sink to do dishes. But she soon learned that sometimes you don’t want to fill a quarter of your dishwasher with just one big stock pot, a giant colander or mixing bowl. I’m sure she wishes she could put in a nice deep sink like the one we picked out for me, but since there is nothing really wrong with hers, she can’t justify changing it. Maybe someday.

We were determined to get the deepest sink we could find, but we ran into a bit of a snag. We found out that our choices would be rather limited because we had a width restriction. I think there were about three models for us to choose from. We picked one we like, and I am very happy with it. The sinks with three bowls are awfully nice, though, if only one would have fit.

Anyway, mom and I highly recommend splurging for this extra if you are in the market for a new kitchen sink.
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Heat Lamps in Cold Bathrooms

Christine

One of the greatest things we put in this house are the heat lamps for the bathrooms.

Mom was the one to suggest it, and knowing from experience how nice it was in grandma Millie’s bathroom, I knew it was a good idea. Particularly since there is no heat source in either bathroom.

We did discuss putting in the mat type of radiant heating at one point, but my dad said he didn’t think it was a good idea. Too much of a risk with leaks. I think he’s wrong, but what do I know? I just think he didn’t want to be the one to install it. Daddy and grandpa don’t like technology.

Anyway, I think it would have helped take the chill off the bathrooms a bit better than the heat lamp on those cold winter mornings. I know you can put them under tile, and I’m pretty sure you can use them with cork as well.

But anyway, the heat lamps are great, and I’m very glad mom suggested them.

They have a timer, I guess so they don’t overheat, but I often use the timer like an alarm in the mornings. When the heat lamp goes off, it’s time to be done in the bathroom.

I only wish they came in some kind of cool, retro finish. This plastic doesn’t really say bungalow to me.