Alan D. Miller

In 2013, daughter No.  2 picks up where daughter No.  3 left off as they tag-teamed the process of stripping paint from woodwork in the front hallway of our old house.  The front door, with its crude, four-pane replacement for the original window glass, is visible in the background.

Closing in on 30 years in Previous Home #2, we lastly completed refinishing the entrance door.

We’re assured the door is authentic to the home, which implies it’s 152 years previous. That is tens of hundreds of openings and closings.

And on a type of days, somebody broke the unique sheet of glass within the door. We have now deduced, based mostly on building of the door and modifications made later, that its centerpiece was one sheet of glass in 1870.

After that “oh, no!” second, somebody set about making repairs. And in a phrase, it seemed terrible.

Previous Home Handyman:Daughter’s ‘Tetris’ abilities useful throughout constructing of retaining wall

So why did it take us 30 years to get round to a correct repair?

We had different priorities, like elevating a household whereas tackling greater points like plumbing and roofing and miserable paneling from the Seventies. And an honest curtain did a pleasant job of hiding essentially the most vital flaws within the previous window alternative, which I am guessing dated to the Thirties, based mostly on the best way it was cobbled along with bits and items of what was clearly scrap wooden.

By Chiki