Madison Square
Two married architects living in an 1870's brick rowhouse on a garden block in Center City Philadelphia. We work, we work on our house, we take pictures with our iphones and try to write a little something that makes sense. What you see is what we did… it’s just how we roll.
Too Much To Say Thursday
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- Published on Friday, 15 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Today we finished the trim around the cabinets in the Living Room, which included the baseboard on either side, the toe kick, and the side in-fills.
When we built the credenza we concealed a radiator behind it so we need to include air slots in the toe kick. The cold air enters at the bottom, is heated up at the radiator, and...
Polka Dot Delete
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- Published on Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Fireplace, with white dots:
Close up. It’s old wood putty that doesn’t match our newly stripped wood, probably filled in just before it was painted.
I tried a few tools out to loosen the rock hard putty but the chisel was the winner.
After chiseling the old material away, I used the nail punch to further recess the...
More Trim…
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- Published on Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Now that the curved wall is complete it’s time to finish the rest of the trim.
Most of the middle section was up but almost all the caps & shoe moldings need to be installed.
Typically, at the inside corners we extend one side all the way in and then scribe the next piece to fit over top. This allows for some movement...
A Challenge: Curving White Oak Trim
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- Published on Sunday, 10 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Early on when we decided to add a half bath to our living room, we designed a curved wall to have a lesser impact on the room, to be of the time period of our house, and also it’s just fun!
Of course curved walls are harder to build than straight ones! From the framing to the drywall, to the step we are on right...
Update: Stained Glass!
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- Published on Sunday, 10 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
McElf has been working some intense studio hours up in Buffalo, creating the magnificent stained glass window of our living room’s dreams. On top of busting serious hours designing, cutting and creating, she put together a video of the process. You must check it out on YouTube!
But first, the highlights. The studio has...
Plants: Not In The Dark This Time
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- Published on Wednesday, 06 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
We decided to try tomatoes again this year- the idea of fresh tomatoes and free plants from my parents inspired us – but this time we’ve craftily put the planters in the alley side above our current gate. From inside the kitchen:
Moving up two flights… The deck plants, one week later, in semi-daylight, but...
Floor Repairs – Part 2
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- Published on Wednesday, 06 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Once we finished up the wood flooring it was time to work on the tile. You can see we were missing a few tiles and the rest were loose and cracked.
So we carefully removed the old tile and the loose areas of the original mud bed.
In the removal process we had a very nice surprise, they had tiled underneath the fireplace...
Floor Repairs – Part 1
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- Published on Tuesday, 05 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
The floor next to our fireplace was not in good shape, partly due to years of a leaky radiator. It was time for repairs before we install the new baseboard over it.
The first step is of course demolition, but selective demolition to only take up the bad areas.
Here was an interesting find, an early knob and tube electrical...
Sand Stain: Doors
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- Published on Monday, 04 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
Saturday consisted of a lot of filling, sanding and staining of the two clear finish/ unpainted doors for the half bath and coat closet in the living room. These doors did not come with the house, and were good finds but they needed some love.
I’m looking lovingly at that door. Not really:
I’ve been working in the...
Back on the Job
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- Published on Saturday, 02 June 2012
Authors: madisonsquare
It was time to finally finish the trim around the living room window.
We originally thought we would refinish the old wood next to the window, but then came up with the idea of milling a one piece cover to go right over the old crooked stuff.
We had to glue up the material to get sufficient depth and cut out the back to go over...
