Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Most recent purchases of 'used stuff':

Bought this pendant fixture 05.24.2011 at Refindings (formerly known as the York Architectural Warehouse)

Closeup of light fixture.

Yes, this is furniture, but it will go into the house.  I purchased this table and two chairs in July 2010 at Circa Antiques - located within Refindings / York Architectural Warehouse.  The chairs and table did not come as a group, but I'm going to make them a group.  FYI - Circa Antiques is a particularly good place for finding mid-century modern / scandinavian / all kindsa great stuff.  I highly recommend a visit.

Pre-used tongue and groove stained grade "C or Better" pine flooring for the second floor and the 'library.'  Crazy good deal from The Loading Dock.

The two pendant lamps on the left were purchased from what used to be Foley's Antiques between Rt. 40 and Rt. 7 in White Marsh, MD.

Got the bee hive, bees, bee tools, and hooded jacket (that's me on the right) from Whitmore Farm.  The farmer decided to focus on his heirloom livestock instead of goofin' with the bees. 

I'm pretty sure I'm going to give my mother a heart attack by buying 'used' bathtubs.  The white clawfoot tub was purchased at Second Chance in Baltimore.

The below tub was purchased at Theiss & Son in Baltimore...I am going to paint it like it's a boat...for the kids' bath...though we only have one child to date, and so far he bathes in the sink.

But not this sink...I bought this and the other used too (The Loading Dock).  (Obviously) not installed yet.

 

Really nice solid oak GIANT doors purchased from Second Chance in Baltimore.  They're like 7.5 feet tall.  These were taken from a building in Hanover, PA.

A friend purchased this commercial stove from The Loading Dock, I think.  Since she has decided to rearrange her kitchen design, she can no longer use it...so I am buying it thirdhand from her.

Rim Locks















"Rim locks" are mounted on the rim of the door as opposed to mortised into the wood of the door.

This rim lock was salvaged (by me, with permission from the owner) from a house before it was torn down.  I took it apart, cleaned the guts, and lubricated the internal bits so it works smoothly.  I have several other rim locks that will be used on interior doors of the house.  I don't know if it's accurate, but I often refer to these as 'box locks.'
Remember: when salvaging things like this, make sure to get the catch with the lock (the catch is the metal bit that goes on the jamb and 'catches' the latch/striker). 

If any terminology is inaccurate, please let me know...so I may become more accurate. 

Slate:
Roofing material of the gods...if gods had roofs.

Our lot (and house) is at the tip of the Peach Bottom slate ridge.  Peach Bottom slate was judged to be the best in the world at the London 1850 Exposition.  Because it is so hard and durable, it is difficult to quarry, and at some point, the decision was made to discontinue quarry operations - apparently they were not as profitable as they should've been!  I believe the last year quarry operations were truly underway on the ridge was 1937. 

Since no slate is newly quarried, any Peach Bottom installed must be obtained through salvage.  Thankfully, my husband is very understanding and accomodating, and he and my dad were 'game' for reclamation.  It's a lot of work, and I'm sure we're all exhausted but we continue working.  We are sustained by the idea that we'll never have to replace our roof and that we're saving a wonderful, natural building material from reverting to the Earth before its useful life is up! 

Also, there's something a little bit zen about manual labor after desk-sitting during the week...even dad thought it was a bright idea!

Slate Preoccupation Extends to Honeymoon

The above is a photo of me, on our honeymoon, getting all excited about slate (NOT Peach Bottom) we happened upon!

The below is another honeymoon photo of slate.  Interesting repair: rocks on rocks - though I could've done without the tarring!  (You should see all the pictures I took of Italian scaffolding!  Craig will probably want to be in charge of the camera on future trips now...)