Hot Enough?

I’ve heard people say that Los Angeles has no seasons. Those people have never lived in Los Angeles.

We have seasons.

We have Awards Season

We have the Bowl Season

We have Fire Season

and we have the Holiday Shopping Season

And in between each season there are subtle changes in weather.

Or not so subtle.

For example, last Friday was pleasantly perfect. Yesterday it was ridiculously hot, somewhere in the 90’s. And as I type this it is 93 degrees outside.

And it’s only mid-April.

Of course, as soon as we take the comforter off the bed, the nighttime temperature will drop by 20 degrees. It’s a little game we play with the gods every year. They always win.

I’ve started taking more frequent walks in my neighborhood. The problem is that I am not an early riser and by the time I manage to drag my lazy self out onto the pavement it is already up into the high 80’s.

Oooh, but what a pleasure it is to return to my cool, cool house. Way too many trees shade us on our eastern side but they are much appreciated on these days. And all the insulation recently stuffed into the walls and into the attic will really make a difference this summer, otherwise known as Hollywood Bowl Season.

I'm not a Fan of the Turbine Fan

K and I were talking about the whole house fan thing and why we don’t need one of those turbine-like fans on our roof. Apparently, back in 1909, houses were built with attics that were vented on two sides, allowing air to move freely. So air is drawn up into our attic and hot air is moved out through the open attic. Later, homes were made with sealed attics, thus necessitating the installation of the turbine fan.

I am in no way endorsing John McCaine, but sometimes older is better. And sometimes, way older is way better. I was fascinated by an article about sustainability in this month’s Dwell. (yes, I live in a Craftsman but with fantasies of a Modern.)

The article mentioned Windcatchers. I’m a theatre geek, not an engineering geek; I understand nothing about how anything works and I am rarely curious about the mechanics of things.

But I have to say, this Windcatcher thing was fascinating! The Windcatcher is a method of cooling used in ancient Persia. It's basically a ventilation shaft that takes advantage of natural air flow to control interior temperatures.

Wikipedia does a good job of explaining the concept here. But the May issue of Dwell, gives a good explanation without dwelling on the details, in an article on The Lighthouse, a model for sustainable architecture in the London area.

The system doesn't work in all environments. The conditions have to be right for air movement. But it did make me wonder why such simple and low tech temperature control methods would be abandoned in 20th century architecture. Was it all a conspiracy to sell turbine fans and air conditioning units?

Another Window! We're on a Roll!

As you'll recall, when we started, the kitchen window looked like this:

And yes, that is what my cabinets and counter top looked like. But I take responsibility for the color. Just a test.

This afternoon, it looked like this:

With a view like that, why would we even think of ordering opaque glass?

Here's the new Pella, ready and waiting for service

Because the new window is not as wide as the old one, a bit of framing on the side was required (it's because of the cows that we needed a smaller window. It will all make sense later. Trust me.)

The new window goes in . . .

A couple of pieces of plywood cover the new framing until drywall can be applied (oh no! not more dust!)

And the days of louvered windows letting dirt and dust into my kitchen are gone forever!

And in case you're wondering about the kitten, she returned from her bath more beautiful than ever:

But still not willing to stand still and pose for a nice, clear photograph:

A Window! Woo Hoo!

The 3 windows from Lowe's arrived on Thursday. K dragged them up all 17 steps from the street and one of them was put into place on Saturday.

This was the window space in the library back in November when the demolition began. I don't think I have a picture from prior to this. But believe me, it was not a pretty sight. The window was another ratty louvered one, with an a/c unit at the bottom that didn't quite fit - so they made up the difference with a board.

Here's the same space with the new drywall. Contrary to appearances, the ladder is not a permanent fixture.

K installs flashing.

This beauty awaits her debut.

I made a quick trip to Trader Joe's. By the time I returned, it was in!





Ta-da!

Grilles and screens are still in the box. Next up, the side-facing window for the living room and a window for the kitchen. We expect the two special windows that are coming directly from Pella to arrive this week.

Yay!

Kicking Up Dust

I've spent the past 4 days cleaning construction dust off of everything. It's not like it's such a big house but I'm very slow at cleaning and everything needed a wipedown, even the soles of all my shoes. And kitty doesn't know it yet, but she has an appointment for a bath on Sunday.

If you think she looks mad here, just wait until Sunday.

But the good news is that the worst has passed. The walls are all primed and ready for the next step. Several of the new windows have arrived and are waiting to be picked up.

Why were these louvered windows ever invented in the first place?

The glass block is up in the back entryway.

Safe from the prying eyes of the 2nd story tenants next door.

The fireplace is in and just waiting for a new, more curvaceous vent. The original straight one didn't reach the roof.

This pic is without the vent parts in place. The wooden box to the right is where the whole house fan will vent while providing a nice high perch for kitty.

The whole house fan is in. We just need to paint the ugly white vent that came with it.

Fan exposed

Fan with ugly vent

And the bottom step of the stairs no longer extends into the doorway of the bedroom!

The bottom step used to overlap the doorway by about 4 inches.

And, great news, K scored on a pair of beautiful, mahogany pocket doors! He found them at Santa Fe Wrecking Company http://www.santafewrecking.com/ and they're in excellent condition. That means no stripping, staining or sanding (for this project at least.)

Pic is door on it's side.

The doors were salvaged from a Craftsman in Pasadena that was torn down to build condos. Sad. But we're happy we can give them a good home.

And speaking of Pasadena, is anyone going to the Bungalow Heaven Home Tour on April 27th?

Top 5 Totally Uncool Things About My 'hood - #1 in a series

#5 - The obese, Rascal® riding, trannie hooker who services "clients" in front of our house.

Unfortunately, I don't have a photograph to accompany this post. Not that I could (or should) use it if I did. And the truth is, I've never witnessed this act for myself. But the neighbor across the street says he's seen it in progress and why would he make up something like that?

I don't want to be judgemental - not about her poufy wig that's too blond for her skin tones - not about her overly collagen injected lips that are too poufy for her face - and not about any other surgically enhanced body part that is too poufy to be found in Nature.

On second thought, maybe I am a little judgemental about the lips.

I am definitely concerned about her poor little Yorkshire terrier that I regularly see running alongside, barely keeping up with her as she motors up our hilly street on her pink (yes, pink) Rascal ®.

But I'm not judgemental about her vocation. We haven't all had the same advantages. And those lips have to be reinjected every few months.

Yet, must she practice her trade in front of my house? I don't know how many times this has actually happened, but once is really too often for me. The high retaining walls that flank the steps from the sidewalk as well as the HUGE ficus tree on the parkway offer a safe harbor of privacy for all kinds of unsavory activity. A pack of teenage girls using my front steps as a dark, private spot share a j? Sure! Why not? Except, being teenagers they didn't have the discretion to wait until the middle of the night as did our more mature transgendered friend. I discovered the girls as I came home from work at about 8:00 pm. But it was clear from their surly reaction to my appearance they didn't seem to care what time it was. And since it only happened that once, I'm not going to get worked up over some kids looking for a place to "experiment."

But while I'm not making moral judgments about our local mobility impaired prostitute, I don't want her workin' it in front of my house. NIMFY!

But what are you going to do? Maybe it was a one-time thing. Maybe she's not really a pro after all. Maybe it was a favor for a friend.

Maybe things could be worse.

The Clock is Ticking!

Today is our reverse three month anniversary. Three months from today, June 20, 2008, is my target date for the completion of the interior remodel. Yeah, yeah, you're never completely done. I know. But on that date I want to have enough done to say our house is livable.

June 20th because a) June 21st is K's birthday and what a great birthday present it would be to know that the Big Job is finally done and b) because June 26th is our really BIG ANNIVERSARY and even if we don't get to go away on a nice trip somewhere, what a great anniversary present it would be to know that the Big Job is finally done.

So, what tasks remain?

Walls - The drywallers are finishing up this week on the library, living room, dining room, kitchen, stairway. Then it's on to Priming, Painting, Wainscoting and Moulding for the above rooms.

Other projects include (in not necessarily the right order):

- Installing the whole house fan

• in our possession and ready to go (this weekend?)
  

- Fireplace

• Installing the new fireplace (which we have in our possession)
• Building the fireplace facade
• Creating the new mantel
• Selecting and ordering tile for the fireplace facade
• Tiling the fireplace facade
  

- Kitchen

• Installing the kitchen cabinets (on order)
• Installing tile mural back splash behind the stove (in our possession since about 2004)
• Buying the new stove (and the new dishwasher, the new refrigerator and the new range hood)
• Installing all of the above appliances
  

- Doors

• Installing library/living room pocket doors (2)
• Installing kitchen/hallway pocket door (1)
• Installing closet door
• Finding and installing new front door (somewhere in here I'm sure there will be some stripping, sanding, sanding, sanding, staining involved)

- Stairway/Mudroom

• placing glass block in the upper window
• covering banister with veneers and moulding (trust me)
• painting
• re-covering treads and risers

- Library

• Building bookcases
• Building window seat

- Buying and installing the new hardwood floors

- Hooking up door bell.

I think that's it. Could there possibly be anymore? Probably.

Can it be done in 3 months? Got to be. We're going to have a lot of celebrating to get to.