Rooms with a view

Sometimes even I think we are crazy. Well.... uh... I guess you should take Phillip out of that equation and just say that I am crazy. The hinges arrived and oooh were they purty, that is if you like white marble statues, blue carpeting, and gold curtain rods. If you need the reference for that list of  items please see Southpark episode "D-Yikes" season 11, episode 1106, hee, hee, hee, one of my all time favorites! So there I was faced with 69 vibrantly glowing, greeny brass, super shiny, grab you by the throat, shake ya up and throw ya down, brass hinges. I put on my sunglasses and accessed the problem.
The first issue... a thick coating of spray lacquer, ouch, and all that brand new brass. So out came the chemicals, our favorite products that we have to keep in a dark, hidden place away from prying Prius driving, vegan eyes. Not a single thing green about them, but if you want to get the job done there is nothing better. I was going to title this post "Get out your furs for stripping" but then I would have Vegans, Prius drivers, and PETA members out to get me.   :-)

The hinge on the left is shiny and new, the one on the right has been stripped of lacquer, scrubbed with detergent, soaked in Selenious and Phosphoric acid until black, lightly scrubbed again with a scouring sponge and detergent until the black gives way to a darkened multitoned brass with slight copper overtones, buffed dry, and finally lightly rubbed with super fine steel wool to add a slight sheen to the finished piece. Nothin to it. quick as pie and leaves your hands as beautifully antiqued as the hinge.

After hours of scrubbing and adding a new patina, the new look is very acceptable next to the 130 year old door hardware. We could have come even closer but that requires hot processes or fuming, and even I have my limits.

The antique door hardware that is waiting to be installed and that which the hinges need to have some sort of color relationship with.

---NEWS FLASH---

Passing by 227 North Street one will notice a strange occurrence that has been taking place. Windows!

The reconstructed back of the house is now sporting beautiful double hung windows, with glass and everything. It is an amazing site and the house is beginning to look like a house. There is still many steps ahead to complete the windows, more sanding, priming, and painting, installation of pulleys, ropes, and weights, inside trim, and outside trim, and a serious cleaning, but at least they are in and getting us one step closer to weather safe.