Front steps! The day that ugly awning comes down will certainly be a happy day.

Looking for a door like this one, is turning out to be a bit of a pain. I could do without the mail slot though.

I decided to head out to Lancaster PA yesterday and just spend some time at Architectural Salvage yards trying to find a door to replace the one that is currently on the house. No luck. I guess I'll keep checking craigslist, but I'll probably just end up buying new. I was able to get these 2 exterior lights for the front though--and the price wasn't too bad, ...only $80bucks. He even helped me find the appropriate porcelian insert for the bulb which I'll put in after I clean these up. Each glass has a crack in it which probably helped with the price, but I can just turn it toward the back. Far cheaper than Rejuvination

 I went to many salvage yards, but oldhomeparts.com was my favorite. The owner was very knowledgable and helpful. If you live in PA and are anywhere near it, you should give it a try.

I went to a lot of salvage yards that felt more like I was walking into an Urban Outfitters with loud music and high prices.

 I'd love to go to the salvage yard in Baltimore called Second Chance. It's just a bit too far for me. Anyone been there?

Do you have a favorite salvage yard?

Hip slate installation

The last dormer is slated and I've started nailing on the hip slates.

I've been looking for a new front exterior door for quite some time. Was thinking of getting a new Simpson door, but the more I think of it, I think it would be cool to have an original door. Problem is,...they don't hang around too long, and are often sold. I love this one, but it has a big crack in it and is just a bit narrow. If anyone has a suggestion where I might find an original arts & crafts style door please let me know! Thanks.

Walking through Princeton yesterday, I came across this nice awning---Love those brackets. Would look great above the side door.

Our beautiful Rejuvenation Hardware light fixture. Now I just need a large circular oak dining table below it and I'll be set! Can't wait to order new front entry lights from there, just wish they were 1/2 the price. We're looking for a new entry door right now, and I haven't seen one that we're that crazy about, and we have 4 catalogs worth. Oh, well. Going back up on the roof today.....finally.

Instead of sanding the steps I decided to use denatured alcohol with steel wool to remove most of the old shellac, but not going too crazy. Two coats of amber shellac later and the steps look a lot better. There is some alligatoring going on, but I'm fine with it. I'll be putting a runner on anyway which will hide most of it. Ordered the new runner yesterday, and can't wait to install. I got all of my rug install tools at Harbour Freight which included a pneumatic stapler for only 18 bucks. I should really go there more often.

Slowly replacing all of the doorknobs w/backing hardware when I can find them. Sure wish I could find 6 more all at one time. For some reason the originals were replaced with shiny, brass plated doorknobs that just don't work very well. The picture below shows one of the originals in my house.

Finally installed our new arts & crafts roller shades from The Handwerk Shade Shop and I have no complaints. The detail shot shows how it is installed inside the track. Up until now, I had been installing my shades incorrectly with the shade rolling toward the inside of the window and not out. Hope that makes sense.

Slate has been removed from the front and I've installed tar paper and rosin paper and copper valley. I used the angle from the original top bend of the valley to get the correct bend and worked great. Soldered in the attic and taken up and installed. Now it's time to mark my lines.