Door Knobs and Mechanisms

Apparently brass door mechanisms last a bit over 100 years. Several months ago the door mechanism to my bedroom closet exploded. There were several pieces inside and out that fell apart.

And just a couple of weeks ago the inside front door made a snapping sound and would only work being turned one way. I took the mechanism apart to find the latch in two pieces (see photo).

I found the same mechanism at the ReUse Store in south east Minneapolis. The inside was a bit rusty so I decided to use the part that I needed to replace in the house's door mechanism. I put it all back together and it works great.











Having installed a new deadbolt on the garage door and the backdoor and matching the keys, I wanted the front door to join in the fun so bought a new deadbolt with a changeable key system. I figured it would not be a simple swap with the existing deadbolt....and it wasn't.

The opening on the inside of the door was not quite big enough so I had to enlarge that. And the new bolt was longer and operated differently than the existing bolt so I had to bore out the opening for more room.

All the tools it took for the door mechanism, deadbolt and door latch.

While I was at it, I decided I really wanted the front door to latch. I cannot remember when or if it ever did. This was so much more work than it should have been. I don't understand how the latch could be so far off from the catch but it was almost 1/2 inch difference.

It took a crazy number of tools to get all three projects done. A short list: screw driver(s), WD40, rubber gloves, paper towels, drill, 1/2 drill bit, vacuum, utility knife, tape, scissors, head lamp, stapler, chisel.

Door Number 4

The fourth home improvement project involving a door. This one is my backdoor from kitchen to the back yard.

This is another project that has been long in the making. I bought the replacement door many years ago. I wanted a panel door that matched the style of the house and a larger window to let more natural light in the kitchen.

The photo to the left is the final stained and polyurethaned door from the kitchen side.

The staining came out kind of blotchy and removing all the old layers of paint kind of beat up the door. But overall I am very happy with the end results.

Here is the previous door with the hardware removed. This door would not have been original to the house.

The replacement door with some of the layers of paint removed. The door was painted on both sides. Also it was hinged to open in a different direction than needed.

I succeeded in switching the hinges and the door knob mechanism.

You can see a hint of all the paint layers. There was a pink, a green, a white and a beige paint. I used the heat gun technique to remove most of the paint.

Annual Apple Fest

The weather wasn't great but the rain held off for the most part. Moved into the garage to keep people and food dry. I am thankful for good friends and neighbors. Credit to Kelly for the photos but more importantly being such a great friend helping me out.

Moved into the garage

Uno wanted to see what was going on

Didn't let the weather dampen the fun

Neighbors

Serious conversation

Goofy conversation

Friends

Super friend, Kelly.

Being goofy post-fest

Simple apple pie

Mom memorial

Some very dear friends donated to the Minneapolis Parks for a memorial tree for my mom. The tree was planted last week and today I met the memorials coordinator to place the plaque.

It is a Kentucky Coffee tree situated near a bench at Lake Calhoun with a view of downtown Minneapolis.

The tree with medallion, bench and Lake Calhoun

Refreshing the floors

What you are seeing in the photo is the dining room floor where the left side has been treated with lemon oil and the right side has not.

My hardwood floors are not finished with polyurethane. I used to clean and wax the floors with Bruce's Floor Cleaner and Wax at least once a year. That was a long time ago.

The floors were getting desperately dirty so I mopped with one of the those wet clean mopping systems. I know you aren't supposed to use wet mops on wood floors but those disposable system mop heads have very little liquid so work well to get the dirt without saturating the wood. It picked up the dirt but left the floors dried and with various stains and rings.

I used a dry floor sweeping mop to apply a lemon oil product to the hardwood. The lemon oil takes care of many of the rings and some of the stains.

The floor definitely looks darker but also looks more consistent and refreshed. Apparently the lemon oil will only refresh the floors for a few days. We'll see.

Update: It has been a couple of weeks and the floors still look great.

Spring Green, Wisconsin

I joined the annual trip to Spring Green, Wisconsin again this year. I picked up Rose and we headed to St. Paul to get Dave. We stopped to get coffee before driving to JT and Linda's in Burnsville. We transferred to the Taylor vehicle and drove to the Buckboard in Lakeville for breakfast.

Since we were already south of the Twin Cities and Burnsted's is no longer, we took a southerly route to Spring Green. We were all surprised by how much fall color there was. It was really pretty all along the route. We stopped at a nice rest stop on Interstate 90 west of the Wisconsin border. It had an incredible overlook.

We made good time and met Megan and Michael at the Spring Valley Inn in Spring Green. The hotel no longer serves dinner so we went to Freddie's in Spring Green. The restaurant was a bank at one time. We were sat in the vault. Good food and good friends.

Saturday morning I got in an almost 6 mile run of the flattest land ever. A little pool time then breakfast at The General Store, of course. Dave had a good idea to go to Tower State Park instead of shopping. Dave, JT and I went to the state park which was just a mile from the hotel. It was warm and humid but such an interesting site. Lead buckshot was made using a hand carved hole and tunnel in the limestone.

Saturday night we attended Pericles, King of Tyre at American Players Theater. It was a fantastic production. The Hill stage has been renovated along with the audience/concession area. Really nice.

Sunday we ate breakfast as usual at The Shed. Then headed home via the Mississippi River route. It took a lot longer than expected but was very scenic. You will have to ask about the sports car, driver and hat story.

 A picnic along the Mississippi River (on the way home)

Downtown Spring Green

We stopped at an apple orchard in Wisconsin

Mississippi River from Wisconsin side

Inside the tunnel at Tower State Park

The hand dug hole for making lead buckshot

My Saturday morning run took me by this

Third door project

This one I'm a bit embarrassed by. The door from the kitchen to the basement was stripped in 2001 during the kitchen renovation. I never stained and polyurethaned it! Well now it is. The photo is after on the left and before on the right.

This was a comparatively quick project. The door was so dried out though that I had to do some repair to the veneer. I didn't want the door all that dark so I thought one coat of the stain I used on the front would do. It is actually darker with just one coat but it is fine and matches the other doors in the house.

The basement side of the door was never completely stripped. I liked the "shabby-sheek" effect actually so just sealed this side with a coat of polyurethane.

Finished and hung.

Basement side with spice racks on.