What Is It? Non-Tool Version

This was back in the mid 80's so lumber costs weren't an issue. I sort of knew the previous owner...he was a high level manager at the company I worked for. He could easily have afforded a deck. He had 4 kids, I eventually had 4 kids. My kids spent a lot of time on the deck and in the backyard. Our house somehow ended up as the hub of the neighborhood. There was always kids over. It took a long time for the kickball field that was worn in the lawn to finally fade away. ;-)

That deck and door were my first foray into serious "woodworking" and home repair/ improvement. I couldn't afford to have someone build it for me, so I had to learn how to DIY. I got lucky...my real estate agent's husband used to design and build decks so he drew up the plans and gave me a lot of advice. Bought my first miter saw and a lot of (cheap) power tools in order to get it done. I learned a lot of stuff that came in handy as I made other improvements to the house over the years. One big thing I learned was "Don't buy cheap tools."

It always makes me sad when people do that. Buy a new house if you want an open floor plan, don't tear up a historic house. They aren't making any more 100 year old homes.

It would be a lot more fun if we didn't pay a contractor $16,000 or so 2 years ago. He's still stringing us along, doing next to no work. I suppose it's up to me now, and try to take him to court later.

Someone already fixed my basement lights on a single 15 amp circuit with a switch. I wish it were a 3-way switch, the other switch at the basement storm cellar door, but you can't have everything. I might do that one some day.

The second floor and finished attic of my house is still powered by the

Many people aren't handy, and likely didn't have the money.

Ours (not the one we're in now) was the center of the neighborhood, too. I'm sure the pool had something to do with it. OTOH, it was a year-round thing. I liked it that way (keep tabs on the kid and more importantly, his friends).

I built a deck at house #2 but it was only 18" off the ground. ;-)

I learned the cheep tools lesson a couple of times. It's not a lesson I'm likely to learn again. You only cry once.

That's good advice. If I can't afford a tool that I need, I buy a gently used high-quality tool. Possibly back to an antique one if it's a hand tool. Same price, and will hold up a lot better than Chinese Harbor Freight quality. I'm in for a table saw some day. I don't use it often, but mine is made of cast iron with a separate belt-driven motor. Yes, it works, but it makes me antsy to use, and it's nearly impossible to move.

Easy enough to solve. I did this at my daughter's house. She has a ceiling fixture in the second floor hallway that was controlled by a single switch in that same upstairs hallway. No way to turn it on or off at the bottom of the stairs. All it took was a screwdriver and some cash.

This unit replaces the switch in the hallway:

He appeared to have the money. Upper management at what was a Fortune 500 company at the time. Obviously I don't know his actual financial situation.

I paid $100 for a Craftsman TS like that over 30 years ago. Did some upgrades over the years (much better fence, replaced the extension platform with a router table, etc.). Added a Delta mobile base first thing. Only repair was a new arbor. Best $100 (plus upgrades) I've ever spent.

But seriously, tune it up, learn to use it safely, treat it with the respect it deserves and the ansty-ness will mostly go away. A little ansty (spelled r-e-s-p-e-c-t) is OK. Over-confidence can lead to carelessness.

A smart man once told me "If you are about to do something that makes you uncomfortable, stop and rethink it. Your instincts are probably correct." He was talking about power tools but it applies just as much to life in general. ;-)

To some extent I agree, but I also see the point of adapting a house so that it fits your lifestyle - as long as you do it with respect. I'm glad that they opened this house up, I just wish they had done the trim with the respect that I mentioned. We'll take care of that.

Would you live with a 1935 kitchen just because you live in a 1935 house? I put wide drawers in the base cabinets. That's not how they built the house. Does that make you sad?

When I imagine hanging out in my daughter's house without the open floor plan, I can only imagine how inconvenient it would be. Living room cut off from the rest of the first floor, tiny kitchen with no place to hang out and talk, etc.

You see those 2 people sitting on the stools? They are talking to 3 people in the kitchen, 2 which are sitting opposite them chopping vegetables while the third prepares the turkey. 'm in the living room and can be as much a part of the festivities as everyone else.

Not opening up an older home just because it was not built that way is the definition of cutting of your nose to spite you face. IMO, of course. ;-)

• 1 My son & his wife bought a 80-90 year old brick 2 1/2 storey. It now has a large modern bright kitchen with island that is open to the front parlour. Much more live-able ! They kept all the original woodwork in the entrance & parlour & staircase - for the old fogeys to admire - I think it's fir but I'm not certain about that. John T.

And it's not like closing it up again is _difficult_.

That was huge gripe with my house. The floor plan hasn't changed, but half of the first floor windows were replaced. The replacement windows are solid 2-pane sheets of glass, that look faceless, and cannot open. Efficient, sure, but they look awful and don't let in fresh air.

To add insult to injury, they ripped out the oak trim around the window frames, and put up rough cut pine that doesn't even come close to matching the rest of the oak trim in the house. All of these years later, you can still see the knots, and a few spots still have bleed-through after a coat of oil primer covered with latex. I suppose it's not a big deal in a woodworking group, but it looks like a project to me. I've done minor wood working, but I don't think I even have a router now. I put up heavy curtains to hide the shame.

I can understand some level of modernization such as the kitchen, to work for people today. Me personally, since you're asking me, yes I would keep and enjoy the 1935 kitchen layout. I have my limits, if my house still had it's original 120 year old wood cook stove, that would be a bit much for me. I could easily handle a 1935 kitchen and appliances, however.

Well, to each their own. I much prefer the original floor plan, and I personally like having the kitchen cut off. I don't like to be bothered while I cook, and especially in the hot months, I much prefer shutting the kitchen off and keeping the heat/sights/sounds in the kitchen, out of my living area. That's a feature, IMO. :) Older kitchens did have less cabinet space, true, but they usually featured a built in as well as a large pantry. Even a small pantry can account for several cabinets.

I've been looking for an early mid-century kitchen sink. You've probably seen the huge white enamel top ones; I prefer the 60 - 66 inch wide ones with double sink basins with a built in drain board on either side... (link below) they were popular in their day with metal cabinets under them. My requirement for moving is having a garage again. If I found a 1935 house with a period kitchen, unaltered over the years, with a 2 car garage, you can bet I'd move in a heart beat. Yes, I'd live in it almost like a little museum. ;)

I'm feeling lazy, and mine is filthy with boxes piled on it, so here is my almost exact saw. I wish it had the handy stand under it. The guy was not exaggerating when he mentioned the weight. I almost put my back out carrying the thing.

My grandparents bought a house in town near my parents just before I was born in the 90's.

The man that lived there for years and years prior was a home contractor. They couldn't understand why he left the 1930's converted coal furnace (apparently it made scary sounds), windows with BB holes through them, nearly rotting carpet, and more through out the house when his profession was to repair homes.

Michael Trew snipped-for-privacy@att.net on Wed, 25 Aug 2021 00:31:11 -0400 typed in rec.woodworking the following:

There's update, and then there is the "try to make the modern kitchen look like the rest of this Victorian / Colonial house." Can't always be done, there is a certain incongruence about an electric oven filling the former brick oven opening.

(What I do not like are the "Victorian Houses" where the only "Victorian" part is the outside, the interior is indistinguishable from one built in 2020.)

"The cobbler's kids go shoeless."

The carpenter's house always needs repairs.

Haha, I guess so

fishtape is definitely a beautiful thing... lol.. coathangers work too. my grandfather's house was built in 1929 and before we sold it, we managed to rewire the whole thing and install a VRV A/C system; it wasn't easy to get through a lot of the metal and wood lath and 1 foot thick walls everywhere.. but those giant-ass longass drill bits that are available also saved our butt

o.m.g. right! i came across a few of these at my grandfather's house. a globe-like light fixture was hung from it. nothing fancy; literally just something to hang a light. some of them had chains between the mount and the actual fixture. they may have just had the wiring running along the corner of the closet where the ceiling met the wall; might not be as old as the house..just an addition by a savvy/not-so-savvy homeowner

Coat hangers work as long drill bits too.

It's quite a coincidence that you revived this thread today. Although I started this thread over 2 months ago, I just started working on getting a light fixture in this dark closet yesterday.

I decided to go with Wiremold, painted brown to "match" the paneled walls and ceiling as much as possible. All of the wiring will be in in the back of the closet (except for the ceiling) so it'll be hidden behind closet stuff anyway.

I decided to tap into the power in the attached "shed" that shares an exterior wall with the closet. A trick I learned a long time ago is to use a coat hanger as a locator bit when trying to match a spot on each side of a thick wall when there is no easy place to measure from.

I determined as best I could where I thought I had clearance from inside the closet as well as where I could put a junction box in the shed. Using a 12" cut-off from a coat hanger, I drilled through the closet wall and into the shed. If the location in the shed didn't work out as I liked, all I would have would be 2 tiny holes. I'd also have a better idea of where to try next. As it turned out that I hit it perfectly, so all I had to do was enlarge the hall to bring the wire through.