DIY
A Breath of Fresh Air: Appliances and Combustion Air
“Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heath Tendre croppes…” – The General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales, ll. 5-7. [When Zephyrus (as well) with his sweet breath has brought forth life in the young crops of every wooded grove and open tract of land…][1] The breath of life. […]
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: A Literary Home Inspection
‘ Many Historians use the poem now known as Twas the Night Before Christmas to mark the point where American Christmas began. Christmas has been celebrated in North America since Europeans began to arrive, but it was in the 19th century that uniquely American innovations and combinations of older European traditions can be clearly demarcated. […]
Warming the Winter: How to Have a Fire in Fireplace
“I had not been seated many minutes by the comfortable heath … before I found myself as much at home as if I had been one of the family.” Old Christmas, Washington Irving 1819-20 For me, one the most enduring enticements of the year, stretching all the way back to my childhood, is the enjoyment […]
Truss Me: Why Your Home Inspector Gets So Worked Up About Trusses
“I mean, that’s why they put in extras.” – An explanation I was once given as to why having multiple broken trusses wasn’t a problem. When I write a home inspection report, most of my recommendations are limited to a sentence or two – maybe three of four if especially egregious damage was found. My […]
Historic Homes: An Unofficial Buyers Guide
“The silence, which again reigned, made her ashamed of her late fears, and she believed, that her imagination had deluded her, or that she had heard one of those unaccountable noises, which sometimes occur in old houses.” – The Mysteries of Udolpho, Anne Radcliffe Historic Homes: When I write a blog, it is often the […]
Low-No Money Saving Insulation Solutions
“The cold night will turne vs all to Fooles, and Madmen.” – William Shakespeare, King Lear Has anyone coined the phrase, Low-No? As in low or no cost. You know, like Bo-Go (buy one get one free). If this isn’t a thing, it should be. Maybe a catchy spelling like Lo-No will help it gain […]
It’s Raining Cats and Dogs
Language presents puzzling paradoxes. A statement like, “It’s raining” is, in many ways, totally inadequate. Rain covers everything from a short shower to storms so strong they change people’s lives forever. The simple noun belies a broad breadth of weather with the simple common denominator of precipitation. Not surprisingly, English has an almost endless array […]
The Man Whom the Trees Loved
“And, with the dark, the Forest came up boldly and pressed against the very walls and windows, peering in upon them, joining hands above the slates and chimneys.” – “The Man Whom the Trees Loved” by Algernon Blackwood I love the woods – always have. Though I don’t want to be confused with the creepy […]
Well-Oiled Hinges
“The agent kicked aside some garbage with his shoe and, after a quick look around, stepped up to a solid oak door set into deep shadow beneath the porte-cochère. It seemed to Nora as if Pendergast merely caressed the lock; and then the door opened silently on well-oiled hinges. They stepped quickly inside. Pendergast […]