let there be heat

No posts last week, I know.  But I was too busy finishing up what I needed to for our radiators to go back in.  Then, I sort of got sucked into just lounging about in the warmth.  Having heat is just so very decadent....

In our defense, it had gotten pretty damn chilly around here...

We pulled these two radiators about a month ago under the pretense of accessing the floors and trim.  Having them out of the way also meant that we could reinforce the floors underneath them and caulk all the gaps, as they had begun to weaken and deteriorate with the water moving through the walls before we bought the house.  Thankfully, the wood, though black from the water, didn't need replacement.  Even though it doesn't look the greatest, it'll never be seen again now that the rads are back.

terrible before pic, but you get the idea
that's brick on the right where the plaster had failed

Since our plumbing company (Chuba for the locals) had given us a quote we couldn't refuse, we let them do the heavy lifting (the radiators are 4 feet long and 2 1/2 feet tall).  Price-wise, removing and re-installing two radiators as well as installing a new pressure relief valve on the boiler ran us two hundred dollars.  Although we could have done it ourselves, for that price I was happy to hand over the money.  We put some plywood down to reinforce our rotten porch so the radiators didn't fall though, and decided to paint them while we were at it (they looked terrible, peeling silver on one side and substantial surface rust on the other (sooo much water in this house!))....  They got pressure washed, the worst spots wire brushed, and painted with many, many coats of Rustoleum's antique brass spray paint.  I even remembered to tape off the threading and bleeders.

And now they're in, the boiler's working, and I can worry about finishing up the woodwork.

I'd like to pretend I don't have any more deadlines, but there's only one reason Luke would be this cute...

I think he may have overheard that we're getting a puppy come Thanksgiving....