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Comments:
addiann - 2005-02-12 21:01:49 not knowing if "prestigious" was your description or Ann Arbor's...* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 21:31:16 Oops, sorry, I should have. Let's see. "An historic neighborhood whose architecture, streetscape, history, and environment are especially characteristic of 19th century midwestern America" [the 19th century was known for its early 20th-century homes, SUV glut, paved roads, urban-assault strollers, self-congratulatory annual Homes Tours, and xenophobia]. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 21:32:19 lol* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 21:36:24 those are amazing strollers, eh what? I sat at my computer window and watched a young mother struggle with one of them today over the city's bumpy sidewalk - the baby was on its feet running ahead of her. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 21:40:10 "Prestigious" was my own snark, but that attitude kind of permeates the site I linked to, above. OK, I'm down on the OWS, but I have my reasons at least. One time I parked my old truck there and returned to find a rude note under my windshield about not blocking the sidewalk. I wasn't. But there was a panel of concrete leading from the sidewalk proper to the curb. It didn't go anywhere or have a curb cut. It was just a random panel of concrete. But reason enough for some anonymous person to be unpleasant (I don't think my [beloved old] 1986 Ford F-150 helped matters any) Another time I saw a pile of rocks in someone's front yard, apparently being disposed of. I was building a rock garden at the time, so I thought I'd ask if the rocks were up for grabs. I knocked on the screen door (front door was open). Lady came to the door and I asked if the rocks were being thrown away and if so, if I might take them. Door was slammed in my face. OK. I guess I can't take the rocks. At any rate, there's a lot of nice architecture in this area but a bit too much is made of it if you ask me. Just my sour old opinion.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 21:44:55 Lord have mercy, please don't get me started on those strollers. I especially love the double-wides and the sense of entitlement that goes with them so that the entire sidewalk is hogged and I on my ever-present bike am naturally expected to yield and plow into a snowbank or go off the curb (I don't).* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 21:48:00 lol again. What a rude bitch I'd say with that door slamming. I see from their site they're one of those "we'll be telling you what you can and cannot do to your house" organizations. At the top of my list of most unfavorite groups.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 22:04:08 Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks there are nicer ways to say the rocks are spoken for. Sheesh. Yes, this zone has its own internal historical-preservation police force of sorts. Any resident caught pricing vinyl siding at Home Depot is immediately put under house arrest. More or less.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 22:09:30 Obviously some folks do put up with it, I guess, but I'd sure find it hard. No, I couldn't do it.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 22:21:05 Me neither. I try to keep my tiny 1948 house and grounds looking nice, but there's a reason I put the fence up (chain-link, so as to historically preserve gritty lower-middle-class Ypsi aesthetic).* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 22:31:00 good for growing morning glories on too* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-12 22:34:29 You're right about the OWS hysterical district folks - I saw one poor sap on cable access at a city council meeting trying desperately to get approval to replace the leaky single pane windows in his non-descript, circa 1910 two-story home. IMHO, there was nothing exceptional about the home, there are a thousand just like all over SE Michigan. I met a humorless couple from Cleveland a few years back whose sole reason to move here was the OWS hysterical society. They too had a generic two story home of no significance.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 22:43:00 well I'd certainly agree that humor isn't the OWS's forte. I'm still giggling about the couple.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 22:49:33 Addiann: Call me a dreamer. I get about ten million gardening catalogs each winter/spring (have a stack on the bookcase right now) from which I bought the vaunted "Flowering Fence." 20 assorted flowering shrubs which, I thought, would prettily disguise my unapologetically utilitarian chain link. OK. I dug the holes. I planted. Mulched. Fertilized. Soaker-hosed. So my beautiful "Flowering Fence" consists of a ragtag bunch of scabby shrubs that each grew 2 feet high and then went into a coma. The resulting aesthetic? "This homeowner laughably tried to disguise her hideous chain link fence but all who pass see the truth" (grinds teeth). I'm thinking about ripping out all those #$%@# stunted bushes and putting in the vaunted "Flowering Rose Fence" this spring. Looks mighty pretty in the catalog, anyways (fails to realize the hopelessness of her situation).* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 22:53:47 ah yes! the flowering ROSE fence, that's the one! But, wow, TWENTY of them? * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 22:55:27 and if it's a bunch of 'humorless' literary wannabees, arrrgh.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 22:57:00 (still on gardening rant) Then there's my thuja. "Grows five thousand feet high in the first year!" I thought I'd plant thuja around my yard's perimeter, and laboriously did so, in order to make a junipery haven, thickly screened from the outside world, my private greenspot in which no one could see me lolling on my deck chair in the sun. Fat chance. Those thuja grew an inch or two and then rebelled as a bloc. They now look like dinky Christmas ornaments set at precise 3-foot intervals all around my yard's perimeter. I've got to make some drastic changes around here come spring.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 22:59:47 LF, you are right on the money as usual--these homes were those of average working-class people like yours truly. They're not especially distinctive architecturally. Yet a great to-do is made over them about the architectural veracity, bla bla.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 22:59:48 I love 'rebelled as a bloc'. I watched a bloc of zinnias do that last summer.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:03:52 Addiann: yes, one must do these projects whole-heartedly! 20! The Flowering Rose Fence is the thing. It's got to be better than the mismatches glop of Rose of Sharon, thorny-thing-whose-name-I-forget, wisteria, and mystery-bush I've currently got going. Plus I want to devote more plantings to native species and food plants. The front garden, filled with [my beloved] black-eyed susans last year is already slated to be my ornamental-yet-edible pepper-plant area this coming season.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:04:32 there has been a not very successful movement here in Lansing to make a to-do over the 'average working class' houses, I imagine exactly the ones you're talking about. Lansing, being very much a car town, is full of them. Which is one of the reasons the movement hasn't moved much. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:08:17 but on the other hand, a single panel window is pretty unusual, isn't it? A house that age wouldn't have so-called picture windows? * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:08:46 Addiann: Zinnias are tricky to grow. I tried some last summer. As soon as things got hot and they didn't receive every last drop of water they felt they deserved each and every day, they got sulky and stopped blooming. Moody things. Of course, I put them in a shady spot [they love full sun] where the dog likes to take her ease (so many were flattened) but anyways. At least I had hummingbirds on my (many) buddleias, the high point of last year's growing season. Pretty magical to see those tiny, toylike birds visiting.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:10:57 buddeleia, eh?, (making a note)* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:14:24 Addiann: what is the movement underfoot to preserve "working class" houses in Lansing? Also, I was wondering if you knew of any districts in Lansing roughly analogous to Ann Arbor's OWS. As far as single-panes, I've got them throughout my (cold, leaky) house. I put on my fisherman's sweater and turn down the thermostat in lieu of replacing my--what's the word?--mullentined?--windows with more modern ones. By "mullentined" I mean the sort of window that has a lot of small single panes in a grid. Some of these panes are wavy, ripply old-time glass, which I like. I don't want to do away with them.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:25:11 most of the movement was the interest of a woman who has since moved to Ann Arbor. At least as far as I've heard much about. She lived in the neighborhood where I live, a 1920s area fairly close to downtown, and some of the earlier, 1900-1915 or so, houses ring the neighborhood. Interestingly also called the Westside Neighbohood. But we don't have ANY committees telling us what to do. As to windows: I've found that architectural aspect interesting in old houses, and yes, mulliened windows go way back. There are some 12 over 1s in New England that I've seen, lovely with the old, hand blown glass that does indeed ripple. There were a lot of 6 and 8 over 1s in the 20s designs, but 1 over 1 was pretty standard earlier in the smaller homes built at the first of the century. I thought LF meant one single pane for the whole thing. Sorry. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:25:32 Addiann: Yep, the hummers love buddleia, also trumpet vine and lantana [both of which I planted last year specifically to lure hummers], and also these other plants [scroll down past the silly poems].* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:31:46 Hmm-I thought LF meant one *thickness*, as in, non-storm windows, with only one thickness of glass between you and the elements. Maybe I misunderstood his post. Addiann: I have to confess my ignorance. I don't know what you mean by "12 over 1" or "6 or 8 over 1"--this appears to be an architectural term with which I'm unfamiliar; may I ask, what does that mean?--thanks.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:38:11 six or eight, or whatever many, small panes on the top half of a window, and one pane on the lower half. The small panes are separated by the mulliens, made of wood in the good old days, nowadays the cheap way to go is plastic. You'll also see the bottom half of the window mulliened too in newer, repro houses. The 12 over 1 was a mention in an English novel I had read, which stayed with me, and seeing one by chance in Exeter, NH was fun. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:41:15 ah, I see what you mean (relative to the single pane between the poor sap and the Michigan winter.)* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:44:38 Oh. I see; thanks Addiann. Apparently I have four over four, with (luckily) wood mullions. Old-fashioned windows which despite increased cleaning and painting labor I'd never replace.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-12 23:45:24 Single pane, i.e, one pane of glass between interior and exterior, versus modern windows with two panes (with argon gas between the panes in some cases). The single pane window was the standard for decades (perhaps centuries), but it is a source of considerable energy loss, especially if there are pulleys and counterweights (the counterweight channels are extremely leaky). Window replacement can save you a ton of cash during the heating season. Then again, your multi-paned original wavy glass is much more attractive than the standard white vinyl replacement window.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:49:02 Standard white vinyl framework slapped on top of a single piece of glass. The faux way to go. And sooo much cheaper. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:54:24 I have very few clues about construction vernacular in particular, obviously, but I do find the look of windows interesting. And of course one would love to have the Andersen or whomever folks come in and replace all the 'single pane avec storm windows' with lovely argon stuff, but alas. It costs a very large pile of money. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:54:38 You raise a valid point, LF. I have storms on some of the windows but not all. I want to conserve energy--I already have my thermostat set at around 58 degrees--and there must be a way to preserve my antiquated multi-pane windows while being a responsible consumer of energy. Maybe putting in somewhat inconspicuous additional single-pane storms without sacrificing my wavy multi-panes. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:56:12 yes, Laura, that does work. Not as well as new windows, but it helps a lot.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-12 23:57:29 Addiann: my folks have Andersons for all their windows and they've worked wonderfully for going on three decades now. Very good windows. But, big cost aside, I'd still hate to lose my old-timey windows to a sleek Anderson system, never mind that I couldn't afford it anyways. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-12 23:59:36 friends of mine had a few new ones installed by those folks, nice wooden ones, custom sized, big, gorgeous.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-13 00:01:33 but as you say, they're not the old ones. That's all part of having an old house to begin with, and we knew it when we bought the things.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 00:02:05 That's good info Addiann. I'll look into having a window person take a gander at my windows in order to put in storms in the stormless windows. Probably the springtime would be best for that as it's in the off-season. In fact I tried to put in a storm on my front window, but the Home Depot people mis-cut the glass so that it ended up the wrong size; I couldn't fit it into the frame. At any rate. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-13 00:06:43 I think the storms that are on my house are not original, but they're not at all new. However, they do work. And since they're framed in metal they're not heavy to take out for washing. In the blue moon that that happens.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 00:07:04 Yep, we knew it when we bought the things, you are right, Addiann. Heck, a few weeks and we'll be out of winter entirely; I'm not worried. If I had my druthers (and income) I'd move into a drafty old farmhouse out in rural Washtenaw County nowheresville in a heartbeat, and finally have my longed-for chickens, but there's the [urban] job consideration and all. I feel lucky to have a home here in Ypsi, and any window-fretting is merely the luxury of someone lucky enough to have a nice little home.* * * * * * * * * * * * LF - 2005-02-13 00:08:43 Holy smokes Laura - 58 degrees? You are truly hardcore.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-13 00:11:38 I know exactly what you mean about the place in the country. I'm off to get the cat in and shut it down for the night....it's been fun.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 00:20:26 Addiann: good night and thank you for the good discussion. I have to wonder what you kitty's name is. Just out of curiosity. LF: yes, 58. But as a winter-biker I'm constantly wearing long underwear. Plus many sweaters. Plus my dog insists on jumping up on my lap all the time. I work around 50 to sometimes 60 hours a week so I don't see the sense of heating the house much when I'm rarely home. At any rate, the upshot is that it's only a few months a year, plus Scott never complained when the blizzards pelted his flimsy tent on the fatal return journey from the Amundsen-captured South Pole, so...I don't mind.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 00:25:23 LF: Most of the time spent at home is to sleep, and I have lots of quilts and down-filled things on the bed, so it's quite cozy and warm. Is there anything better than waking up in the winter, feeling the chilly air on your face, and burrowing into the blankets to sleepily laze away another couple hours or so? No.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-13 12:09:28 I sure do agree with you about the chilly air and the down burrow. And when one is retired, getting out of that bed isn't always that necessary! ........ The cat's name is Danny, because he appeared on my back porch during a time I was doing a play in which one of the character's name was Danny.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 12:42:28 Cute. Thanks Addiann. I was just wondering.* * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-13 13:11:31 The cat doesn't get shut down, the house does. Sentence construction sure gets convoluted late at night.* * * * * * * * * * * * Anna - 2005-02-13 14:38:17 If I had the money, I'd put some special storm windows on the *inside* of the house. This is common in home restorations in New Hampshire, and if you get the right ones, they are very unobtrusive and energy-efficient. They preserve the look of the outside of the house, which for the very old colonial ones, or victorian ones with ornate windows, is really nice. I hate all new windows. When I got new storms, one of the people I got an estimate from told me I should just replace them all instead. I told him to take a hike. I think it's one of those fads that will end up being a bad idea in the long run anyway (like aluminum siding that was supposed to last forever but actually oxidized and ended up looking like hell for many years) -- I can always repair and replace and repaint bits of my existing windows -- they're uncomplicated enough that I can fix problems, like the ropes breaking or the weights getting unbalanced, but with the vinyl ones, I bet the parts will be hard to get in a while, and often there's no fixing them -- you have to just replace when something goes wrong. * * * * * * * * * * * * addiann - 2005-02-13 15:13:39 I am IMPRESSED that you can fix the weights and/or change the ropes! I have to hire folks to do that, but you're so right, it's a doable thing that preserves the window. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 17:56:25 "shut down the cat" is hilarious--if only it were that easy (as the owner of a bouncy dog).* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 17:59:39 I am also impressed at Anna's ability to do what seems to me (having seen my own ropes in there) as a tricky and laborious job. I did replace one small broken pane one time, but that is easy.* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2005-02-13 18:01:14 And the indoor-storm window is new information to me. I also don't like the bland look of most modern windows and want to hang on to my old mulleined ones. Perhaps if this is apparently somewhat common in New England, they might be available here too. I'll have to take a look next time I'm in Home Depot. Thanks for the tip Anna.* * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: |