wood

wood

sinks

sinks

for anyone who has ever dreamt of being Indiana Jones.. or a chimney sweep

Today I had to go into the attic. I hate the attic. I have to find out why the ceiling of the round room keeps leaking. We spent a week taking off "popcorn" a spiky textured plaster applied to walls that was really a la mode in the 80's. We had to heat up the textured compound with a blow torch and scrape it off, then the entire room had to be replastered by hand because it is in the round and had lots of curves. Now there is this leak in this beautifully plastered room. The attic is only 4 1/2 feet high at its highest point. There you can be on all fours, but i have to crawl the entire length of my house on my stomach to get to the leak, where the attic is only 28 inches high. Its dusty. Its gross. I keep getting splinters in my forearms and my knees hurt. There are leaks everywhere. You can see the black water stains on the beams, which is a bad bad sign.

Over Counters

Last week the counter top installers at Pyramid granite came by. This was very exciting because once the counter is in we can hook up the appliances and 3rd floor will be done! I am using Carerra Marble -the ubiquitous grey and white kind - in the U.S. standard thickness 1 ¼” .


Marble makes for a rather high maintenance counter-top. Marble is a softer stone, prone to scuffs and chips. Being porous, marble stains and can be etched by acidic substances and foods. So marble must be coated with a sealant periodically.
Granite is the best choice if you are looking for a full stone slab. Granite is extremely hard and impervious to the elements. It doesn’t chip or stain, you can chop on it, lay white-hot pans on it, spatter it with oil and acid, and stomp on it in spikey heals, Granite won’t show the wear and tear. Take a sharp knife and try scratching the surface of a granite counter top with the pointy tip, you will dull your knife before you see a scratch in the granite.


But this is a small kitchen in an old house and granite looks too modern. Marble, the traditional surface for pastry tables, makes everything feel a little older. And a little wear and tear will hopefully accentuate its timelessness. Also the marble I got was half the price of the cheapest granite. I can cover the entire marble countertop with tempered glass as a chopping surface, and the whole affair will still cost less than using granite.