Author Archives: Thor

I recently received an anonymous letter from one of the former owners of This Odd House  (I was the anonymous addressee).  Somehow, word had gotten back that his former house had again changed hands and that there was remodeling and … Continue reading →

Who would have guessed that I would have multiple lengthy conversations about toilets after simply observing that there are many to choose from?  I had no idea there was such pent-up interest in how toilets work.  I certainly never expected … Continue reading →

I have mentioned my encounters with time capsules in This Odd House as features and walls have been exposed and/or removed.  I have an email connection to the immediately prior owner, to whom I have posed various questions about the … Continue reading →

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,800 views in 2012. If every person who reached the … Continue reading →

Part of the renovation effort for This Odd House involves remodeling the second floor bathroom.  Access to it required a traverse to the back of the kitchen and through a door into a long windowless room.  Yes, it had vaulted … Continue reading →

When my house was built, walls were constructed with “lathe and plaster”, thin rough strips of wood nailed to the studs and coated with coarse plaster, which oozed between the strips and clung to the structure.   The result was a … Continue reading →

I enthusiastically welcome a new occupant to This Odd House!  My design consultant, collaborator in this project, and longtime renewed friend Portia, has had her house on the market for the last year and it recently sold.  The buyers insisted … Continue reading →

Today (Monday) was perhaps the busiest day This Odd House will have over its reconstruction.  A representative from just about every construction trade showed up this morning at 8:00 (a courtesy to the owner, who doesn’t like the 6:30am start … Continue reading →

One of the inspirations for me is my friend Dave who has taken on a project to build a house with a workshop in anticipation of all the free time he will have when he someday retires.  Taking on the … Continue reading →

The ceiling after being leveled, now matches the lines of the new window and we no longer feel off balance when walking around in this room. The plan was to unify the kitchen and dining room by making a common … Continue reading →