May
27
We’ve decided to go with the Eichler Numbers house numbers instead of the Neutra house numbers.
They look a bit better, are easier to install, and are lots cheaper - $80 for the set, versus $75 per number for the Neutra stuff.
May
10
New Resources
Filed by mrbill Under House, Resources, Retro | Leave a Comment
I’ve added Crestview Doors to the Links & Resources section. They’re a great place to find Mid-Century Modern-inspired front doors for your Fifties House.
Jan
5
I recently found a 4-volume set of the Popular Mechanics Illustrated Home Handyman Encyclopedia & Guide (from 1961) in the bargain bin at a local used book store.
The ~4000 pages of projects are basically the equivalent of today’s MAKE Magazine with tons of stuff that wouldn’t be printed today due to liability concerns.
They’ve got everything from planning/building/remodeling a house, woodworking, metalworking, making your own boat/go-cart/children’s playground equipment, indoor shooting ranges, to radio repair, electronics, photography, gardening, farming, and equipment to make handling your farm animals easier.
I’ve taken pictures of the title pages and illustrations for the most interesting articles, and put them up on Flickr. I’ve also contacted Popular Mechanics to see about getting permission to break out the scanner and make proper PDFs of the best stuff.
The Flickr collections page, with one set for each volume, is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrbill/collections/72157603639900790/
Sep
15
Amy and I visited Houston’s 1940 Air Terminal Museum today, and I took a bunch of pictures.
It’s a great example of Art Deco architecture, and I’m glad that it was saved instead of being bulldozed.
Edit: here’s some of my favorite pictures. Click a thumbnail for the Flickr page.
Jun
16
Alarmists!
Filed by amy Under House | 2 Comments
Owing to a string of petty-theft break-ins around the ranch, ADT will be coming out next Friday to install a wireless system (due to having no attic space - gotta love those flat 50’s roofs). Cost was a little over 600, but our insurance company effectively paid for it by discounting us that much off our homeowner’s policy.
In other less-exciting news, I’ve (this is Amy writing, btw) been attempting to get the house back up to housecleaning scratch after a year of letting everything go to pot. At one time, I honestly thought that the only solution to the mess would be a tactical nuke from orbit. When your foyer consists of 50% junk mail, 30% cat dander, and 20% unpacked suitcases, you know life is in a dire state.
As of today the living room, kitchen, and blue bathroom are back to “normal”. The dining room is still cluttered with objects to be organized elsewhere, but the trash is gone. I won’t discuss the offices. They’re still tac-nuke candidates.
And I’ve fallen in love with this site. Enjoy it!
Jun
8
We’re not dead yet!
Filed by mrbill Under House, Houston | Leave a Comment
I just update this site as notable things happen.
Speaking of that, last week was very interesting in terms of home security.
A new Ace Hardware store opened up in the shopping center at Tanglewilde and Westheimer about a month ago - they have a HUGE selection of stuff and it will be great to not have to go to Berings for small things.
Sadly, two weeks ago we had to cut down the tree in the front yard because it was rotting from the inside out and we were ending up with large limbs in our yard every time it stormed.
I’m trying to decide what we want to put on the stump that’s left.
Rodin’s The Thinker, maybe?
Feb
7
Fifties Paint
Filed by mrbill Under Resources, Retro, Utilities | 1 Comment
The great site Populuxe Books has posted scans of original 1950s DuPont and Sherwin-Williams paint color swatches to their blog.
 While DuPont and Sherwin-Williams make great paint to color your home or business with, Security Camera & CCTV Camera Equipment make great camera systems to secure your home/business with. When considering any home security, be sure to research it first. In this case, you would look at the security industry. |
Oct
2
Apparently the P-trap that I bought, the nuts and compression fittings that came with it, and the old “waste pipe” and nut on it were all crap. When I assembled everything, there were leaks where the nuts and compression fittings held things together. We gave up and called someone who does this for a living.
The plumber cut most of the waste pipe off, and replaced everything between the bottom of the sink tailpipe and the stub of waste pipe with a new PVC P-trap, pipe, and compression fittings/nuts.
Without the “late night emergency” charge, it would have only cost us $138. Not a bad price, really - we’ll give them a call (during normal hours) next time we need something done.
If you need good 24-hour plumbing service in Houston, give 911 Plumbing a call.
At least the plumber said I did an excellent job on the sink tailpipe. 
Oct
1
Adventures in Plumbing
Filed by mrbill Under House, Houston, Utilities | 2 Comments
I went to go remove the P-trap under the “blue bathroom” sink, to clear
out a clog and fix a slow drain. In the process of unscrewing the nut
(which appeared to be original ‘57), it disintegrated.
“Oh well, I’ll just need to go pick up another P-trap and parts.”
The sink tailpiece virtually dropped into my hands, and about 10 more
minutes of work got the nut loose that held the other end of the
P-trap into the pipe that goes into the drain system.
When that final nut came loose, the trap fell into the sawed-off Home
Depot bucket I had sitting under the sink, giving me a splashed face
full of nasty sink water. Ick.
Turns out the clog was a little past the P-trap in the drain pipe.
We went to Lowes, 30 minutes before closing, where we picked up:
- Shop Vac (amy’s idea: “suck it out”)
- Accessories for the shop vac
- P-trap and new nuts
- Short metal drain snake
- Strap wrenches (the $15 adjustable pipe wrench I had was shit)
- Hair strainer trap thing for the sink drain
her: “Do you think we need another long piece that goes to the sink?”
me: “Nah, I think its just fricton fit, it fell out when I undid the
trap” <— BRILLIANT WORDS HERE
Got home. We’d gotten the right trap (we took the old one with us to
compare), but as it turns out.. The sink tailpiece is (well, was)
threaded. What had happened was the threads on the pipe were so
corroded and rusted, they just disintegrated. The only thing that had
been holding the sink tailpipe in was friction and force from the
P-trap.
By the time we discovered this, it’s 7:30pm. No Home Depot or Lowes
stores within 30 minutes drive time close later than 8pm.
There are no other open hardware stores in the area that I know of. All
I need is an 1.25″x8″ threaded sink tailpiece pipe. This is annoying.
By the way, her Shop Vac idea for getting out the monster pipe clog worked.
Aug
8
It looks like I spoke too soon. Green Landscaping and Lawn Service was quck to return my initial phone call and setup service, but failed in everything after that.
They didn’t show up on Friday the 4th to mow as scheduled. When I called them that evening around 5:30pm to inquire, I was told “you’re on our list for today” and “the crew should be there any minute”. Nobody ever showed up, and no one returned either of my calls or the messages that I left over the weekend.
I called on Monday the 7th, and was told “They didn’t show up? Let me check on that and call you back.” Of course, I was never called back, and when I called that evening to inquire, I was put on hold and eventually hung up on.
I finally ended up calling a number on a flyer that someone had put on my porch on Friday the 4th, got in touch with a guy who already mows a number of the lawns around my house, and setup service. He and his crew showed up this morning as I was leaving for work, and at last report, my lawn is finally mowed and I have regular service scheduled every week.