Stair details

We're planning to install white oak hardwood flooring with an ebony stain throughout the house with a special plan for the stairs, to wrap them in reclaimed wood from the attic joists. The experts tell us it's yellow pine and due to its age it's very dense with a lot of variation in color and grain. I'd like to stain it to draw out the contrast in the colors so that it matches the ebony floors but also stands out as a special feature of the house. Here's a picture of the wood in its original state and then another after it's run through a planer. Eric found a place in Baltimore that will plane all of the wood down for a few $100.

Our stairs will also be unconventional in that they won't have a lip on each step that extends over the riser and instead be more like an angled sawtooth. Eric got around the code requirement by making the steps extra wide.

There's a chill in the air.

Long underwear and a beard are Eric's secrets to staying warm this winter!

Arriba!

Eric has been borrowing his new friend James' truck for home depot and dump runs lately. He says its a stick shift with no leg room, radio or power steering, but it gets the job done. And its got some sweet green winshield wipers. Eric says he sings his favorite Mexican songs while driving it around. Thanks James!

Heroes of the day

Our cast iron tubs were delivered on Wednesday in the rain and they were so heavy that Eric could not get them into the house alone. He tried to locate a dolly but could fine one big enough so they sat in the steet in the rain a while longer until Jerome (a former colleague) & Oliver (our neighbor across the street) helped get them inside. Thank guys!