I just bought the annual Houses issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine, and there’s a house in there that could be a sibling of my house (article begins on page 83). The designs definitely come from the same family tree … both were inspired by the Charleston Single House.
Quoting the article: “The Charleston single, a popular architectural style during the 1800s, made efficient use of narrow building lots. Pushed all the way to one side of the lot, a typical single makes room for two-story, side-loaded porches that encourage outdoor living. With few interior walls and lots of doors and windows, the Charleston single promotes natural lighting and cooling cross ventilation, important in a hot, humid climate.”
You can see photos of the magazine house online. It’s in a South Carolina subdivision called New Village Homes. Of course the homes share the major design features of a Charleston Single House: narrow end to the street and side porches (although mine has the traditional 2-story porches and their’s doesn’t). But the designs also share the bump-out on the porch side and the high windows on the other side.
Great minds think alike. 
June 5th, 2007
When I bought my property, there were only 2 trees on it. The small tree in the photos below and a pecan tree. (The forest behind the tree in the photos is on my neighbor’s lot.) Can anyone tell me what kind of tree this is?
As you can see, the tree is covered with tiny white blossoms right now. The leaves are small ovals. It’s overall shape is similar to a crape myrtle, but this certainly isn’t a crape myrtle. It seems to thrive on the southern edge of that tree-line. Click on a photo to enlarge.
Thanks for your help in identifying this tree.
June 1st, 2007
Everyone else is doing it … so here’s my house covered in snow. Yes, snow in coastal Virginia in April. About 3 inches, which is a lot for us.
These pics are from a week ago. The current northeaster storm is just bringing us rain and wind. Lots and lots of wind.
Okay, you’ve seen lots of photos of houses and snow over the last two weeks. But have you seen a photo of the carnival-next-door in snow? No. No, you have not. So there.
April 16th, 2007
I just finished grouting the tile on my kitchen countertop and backsplash. The whole tile thing had me intimidated for a long time, and I kept avoiding it. I finally did little parts of it at a time. Layout the tile. Cut the tile. Thinset down the countertop. Thinset the backsplash in place. Grout, with epoxy grout. I spread it all out over several days.
The epoxy grout (Laticrete’s Spectra Lock) wasn’t hard to use. Actually it was easier to clean up than the good old grout-grout I used on the floor. Probably because this is porcelain tile and the floor is slate. But still … epoxy grout gets a bad rep.
The countertop and backsplash field tile has a subtle marble pattern, although you can’t see it in the photos. Looks classy in person. Trust me.
One thing about the tile edging baffled me. Those edge pieces hang down 2″. With the standard 3/4″ plywood and 1/2″ cement board underlayment, the bottom of the edging is within 1/8″ of the cabinet drawers. Too close! Sure to chip or scrape knuckles. So I added another 1/4″ cement board with thinset to give it some more room. You’d think that the tile companies would offer edging that doesn’t hang down so far. But no. Grumble. Grumble.
Dig that kitchen sink spout. Swan-like, ain’t it? A Moen Monticello (perfect for me since I live on Jefferson Street).
March 20th, 2007
A lot has happened since my last post … the most important being that I’ve moved into my new house. I moved in last weekend (it took Verizon a while to activate my DSL so I’ve been off-line). Thanks to Sandy, Wayne, Pooh and Tom for the help moving stuff from old house to new. And to Mom for all the cleaning she did on both houses.
I’ve been busy …
- I built and installed the porch railings
- Installed a sliding door at the top of the stairs
- Put a ceiling on the second story porch to keep out the birds
- Hung the microwave over the stove
- Fixed leaks around the tub surround
And lots of other little things like starting to hang window coverings.
Punch list items that still aren’t complete? Tile the kitchen countertop (probably this week) and paint the rest of the porch posts and railings (that will have to wait for spring). Everything else is done … except there are boxes and piles of stuff everywhere. Once those are cleaned up, I’ll post photos of the finished interior.
For now I’m just happy to be home.
February 26th, 2007
My work in the bathroom is done (the plumbers still need to attach the fixtures, toilet, and water heater) but that’s not the surprise. (A bathroom surprise sounds sort of gross, doesn’t it?) No, the surprise is it didn’t quite turn out the way I’d planned.
Weeks ago I started on the floor. Just before laying the linoleum “click” flooring, I noticed in the instructions that it isn’t “appropriate for humid rooms, such as bathrooms.” Rats. So I had one of my “to heck with it” moments and drove to Lowes for some vinyl flooring. I know … vinyl yuck. But I found some big 18″ tiles that kinda sorta look like slate tile. I had to put down vinyl floor underlayment first, because the existing Advantech subflooring wasn’t smooth enough. Instead of the traditional lauan, I used Accuply. It’s supposed to be more durable and long-lasting.
Then I installed the bathroom vanity, medicine cabinet and storage cabinet. They’re more Lowes specials, just about the cheapest ones they sell. But I actually like them — they match my kitchen cabinets and provide lots of storage space. They came fully assembled and were easy to install (just screw to the wall). I swapped out the wood knobs for some brushed nickel ones, just like on the kitchen cabinets downstairs.
Notice the pine accent wall next to the sink? It was built to enclose the water heater, and we used up leftover pieces of pine from the ceiling. Looks much better than drywall.
Next we installed the washer and dryer. I bought stackable front-loading machines from Sears. They’re Kenmores and the washer is energy star rated. It will save energy and water. We had a real time getting them installed. First, Marshall brought his winch and we cranked ‘em up to the second floor (before the spiral stairs went in). Then we had to move the drain-pan, because the plumbers had put it in too close to the wall (no room for the dryer vent). Finally we got the washer into the pan (without breaking the plastic drain pan - a feat) and the dryer on top of the washer. Then we learned that the 4-foot cord I’d bought for the dryer wasn’t long enough because the electrician put the dryer plug down low (where the washer is) and the washer plug up high (where the dryer is). Subcontractors … can’t live with ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em in the head.
The washer and dryer are located in their own little cubby-hole, so I couldn’t reach around them from the sides. So … leaning over the top of the dryer, I fit the pieces of the dryer vent together and replaced the 4-foot dryer cord with a 6-footer. Problems solved and done job.
Lastly, I tackled the walls around the tub. I planned to tile them, but when I looked online for installation tips, I learned that tub/shower tile should only be installed over cement board. Well, my drywall subcontractor (I hate subcontractors) had convinced me that greenboard (a moisture resistant drywall) was the way to go. My options were to rip out the greenboard or switch from tile to a tub surround, which is meant to install over greenboard. I went with the tub surround. Another trip to Lowes got me a surround that only cost 99 bucks (not the cheapest one — these things are cheap). Installation was easy — Sandy helped me cut the flat pieces to fit, glue them to the wall, then glue in the molded corner pieces. Those corner pieces didn’t exactly fit well, but with some careful caulking the end result looks good. It will be easier to keep clean than all those grout lines anyway.
The bathroom surprise? Vinyl and a tub surround instead of linoleum and tile. Changes the look a bit. Doofus subcontractor screw-ups really weren’t a surprise at all.
Note: lots of other stuff is done too … cork flooring in living room, railings built for the porches, “instant” closets for the bedroom, etc. More posts coming up!
January 26th, 2007
Now that the house is nearly complete, I thought it would be a good time to post the floorplan online. Better late than never.
This should help you get oriented.
January 18th, 2007
The spiral staircase is in! I’m really going to miss climbing that ladder to the second floor.
I bought a black steel spiral staircase kit from Salter Industries. It’s a sturdy and good-looking unit so I’m happy with the purchase. Installation isn’t quite as easy as they claim though. Read all about my spiral stairs over at my website (I don’t want to duplicate all that here).
Spiral stairs are naturally photogenic.
January 11th, 2007
Between the holidays, my brother and I put down the cork floor in my bedroom. It’s a laminate flooring that just snaps together. No glue or nails. It’s so simple to install that I’m sure more people will try cork floors in the future.
We started at the back left corner of the room and laid the first course along the wall. Leave an expansion gap along the edge. Luckily, the last piece was approximately cut in half, so we used the rest of it to start the second row. The first piece of the second course snaps into the first. Then you’re making connections on two sides of each plank, but it’s not hard. Snap the side into the previous piece, lay it down, and tap it gently into the first row with a board and a hammer.
The joints are all very tight and are difficult to see. Quality of the product is high — only one piece had a defect (in one corner). Planks measure roughly 1′ x 3′ (they’re a metric size). Under the finished top is a thin board (MDF?) and a rougher layer of cork on the bottom for cushioning.
My cork flooring is made by Stepco in Portugal and I ordered it from FastFloors.com. It cost a little less than $4 per square foot.
The bathroom floor is also done, but I’ll save that tale for next time.
January 2nd, 2007
My small house now has its own unique front door. The house is a “Charleston Single House” design, so the front door actually opens onto the porch. Mine’s a louvered screen door. Here are outside and inside views … (click to see larger uncropped photos)
Yes, that one wall of the porch is white while the others are green. Don’t ask why; it’s art.
Details around the front door are in place too … the house number, the fancy nickel screendoor latch from VanDyke’s (which looks great but works crappy), the stainless steel post caps (copper is just so … common … don’t you agree?).
Inside the house, I now have heat. Yesiree! It’s simple baseboard electric heat. I bought programmable thermostats to help keep heating costs under control. The thermostats are line-voltage units, which aren’t easy to find. I ordered mine online from Atlanta Supply. They’re made by Honeywell, are nice and compact, and easy to use.
More big news … the kitchen cabinets are here! Made by KraftMaid and installed by Peninsula Cabinets today. They’re cherry in a sort-of Shaker style. I’ve got quite a bit of storage in the kitchen — more than I expected in an 8×8 room. The upper cabinets go all the way to the ceiling.
That’s all for now. The next steps are to finish the trim in the kitchen, tile the shower, lay the bathroom floor, and install the bathroom vanity. All in preparation for the plumbers to do their thing.
Merry Christmas!
December 19th, 2006
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