East Side DIYers

There are no official workshops being held at my house in the near future, but I would like to announce a great way for east siders to fix up their homes, DIY style. From now on, this blog will primarily update on the progress of this group of east side DIYers, with the occasional announcement regarding continued work/bread workshops and neighborhood gatherings at 153 Eaton.

The idea behind the east side DIYers is that many hands make light work. A group of people lend a hand to their neighbor on a specific day with the expectation that a few weeks or a months down the road, it will be their turn to receive help from their neighbors. Today was the first of many future DIY parties, and it was a total success!

Creighton's house was the first guinea pig...at 10 this morning he had me grouting bathroom tiles, Gloria building a wall and some other folks drywalling and painting! A big hearty lunch was had by all (thanks Kiana!). Next up...Josh and Emily's house!
If you are interested in becoming involved in this work trade group and live on the east side, please email me at buffalobasics@gmail.com

For those leaky toilets out there...

Announcing: there is an official date for the workshop in December!
If no other requests for workshops are received (you still have time to submit a request by the way), the workshop will be on plumbing basics.

We will talk about the various ways to construct, alter and repair plumbing systems, and there will be a discussion on the pros and cons of copper, pex and aquatherm as plumbing materials. The workshop will be very hands-on, so expect to learn how to solder, how to repair broken water lines, etc.

Workshop details:

December 22nd, 5pm-6pm
153 Eaton St.

Free, open to all. Bring a jacket since it can be a little chilly that time of year! Hot cocoa will be served since that is my favorite winter drink (tea is also an option...). Hope to see you there!

Megan

Resuming workshops (fingers crossed!)

Haven't reported in a while, but there is some good news in the works: free home repair workshops are likely to resume at the house, albeit in a limited capacity. There are no scheduled dates as of yet, but look for a workshop happening in mid to late December, the week before Christmas. Also, the subject of the workshop is not decided, so if anyone is looking to gain home repair skills in a specific field, please email buffalobasics@gmail.com with requests for workshops. The deadline for requests is December 12th.

As always, you are welcome to stop by the house to talk to Pat and Brendan about future workshops or for tips in home repair, and you can chat with Maura about baking on Thursdays and Fridays. Happy Halloween everyone, and hope to see you soon at a workshop!

Megan

Finishing wood...cuckoo for coconut oil?

First post since settling in at Yestermorrow (in Vermont) for six months...

Lately, I am into learning about different treatments for wood, especially for wood that will be used in eating, such as cutting boards and spoons. I have learned that once again, it is simply a matter of common sense; if I would not eat the oil, I should not put it on the wood I will be eating off of. Seems self-explanatory, no?

Then again, susceptibility to rancidity must be taken into account. For example, I should not treat wood with olive oil since it is much more susceptible to rancidity than say walnut oil or almond oil. …but walnut oil is not extremely common, is it? I opted for coconut oil…I read it is a good way to treat wood due to its low rancidity…we’ll see how it works out. Secondly, something I did not even realize, which may be an extremely important topic to consider if giving wood gifts as a present, is allergies. If someone is allergic to walnuts, don’t treat the wood with walnut oil. Same with coconut. Makes sense, but if you are not allergic to any foods, it is not something that would immediately come to mind in choosing finishes.

Moving out and moving in

So I'm off on my 3 month journey around the country, but replacing me at the house will be Pat and Brendan...two awesome guys who will be continuing work on the house! They're open to learning and willing to share any of their own knowledge, so if you're interested in learning a bit more about their ideas (think living walls, woodburning stoves, etc) or have a question about home repair, stop by and say hello!

Wish Maura a fun trip (she's finally taking a vacation!) as the bread for this season is over. Don't fret though! Its all starting up again come September. Look on her blog for details on upcoming baking workshops, and please contact her if you'd like to help in the baking coop.

Until next time,
Megan

Coughing and wheezing be gone!

Have you ever had the experience of going to the paint store, picking out your favorite color of paint JUST for this one room and (knowing it will match perfectly and all the people in the paint store are envious of your dream room with its dream color) getting home and popping off the lid only to be greeted with a fit of nausea from the toxic smell?

Maybe not, but think hard about the contents of paint...why do you have to dispose of oil paints in a special way? Why does it smell so terrible?? You think there must be something not natural in the mixture, you say? Hey, we must be twins because you just thought the same thought that I did only days ago! Instead of choosing to suck it up and stomach the fumes, I experimented with natural paint recipes with ingredients I could count on one hand and pronounce! The first (and only) that I tried is casein paint. Basically all you do is leave milk in the sun to curdle, combine it with some clay, water and lime (not the fruit) and voila! Oh, and add some pigment if you don't want the whole house to be a brown color. Maura and I were really afraid of the results, thinking it would smell of spoiled milk and stay the odd puke-yellow that it started out as...but no need to worry, there is NO smell and the puke yellow turned to a beautiful/bright earthy yellow! I experimented with my own ratios, but I generally followed the recipe at Mother Earth News.

Casein Paint with Lime (Yields about 1 quart)

1 gallon nonfat milk
2 1/2 ounces “Type S” lime (dry powder available at hardware stores)
2 1/2 cups water
Natural earth pigment (more or less depending on desired color)
6 cups filler (usually whiting, I used clay because it's free)

Countertops and Orange Sinks

Because the kitchen is a priority for Maura to be able to teach baking workshops in during stormy weather, we have been working on finishing the cabinets and countertops. Speaking of workshops, the baking workshop on prefermenting went really well. See photos here. We even were audience to a great accordion performance!

For the countertop we chose is an oversized door. We wandered Buffalo ReUse, looking for something that was countertop-like. Originally, we thought we might just get the corian that they had hidden in the back, but why go boring? The door used to be a swinging door, presumably in a kitchen somewhere. What better reuse than restoring it to its original location? Perhaps it won’t serve as an entranceway, but it will serve an equally (if not more) important role in the kitchen.

Like a normal countertop, we had to cut the sink hole with a jigsaw, and then we threw the crazy orange-red sink into the mix! The two problems that remained were: a) it was a paneled door and b) wood + water = icky combination. The first problem was addressed by adding tiling in the middle of the panels, raising the level of the panels to be even with the thicker part of the door. The second problem was solved using a product suggested by my friend Carrie. She told me about this super effective polyurethane that is used on boats that keeps all moisture from entering into the wood. Now, I admit polyurethane should be avoided in most cases, but when it is a countertop that encounters water CONSTANTLY…I think it is ok to use. Perhaps not, but anyone know any other solution to using the polyurethane that keeps the wood from getting ruined?

This week we will be working on shelving and cabinets, maybe starting work on the flooring in the side entrance, installing a bathroom cabinet, etc. If you’re interested in learning any of these things or other things, let me know! We can always set up a last minute workshop. For now, I am taking a day off. Swimming at the beach in Canada, enjoying Father’s Day with my Dad and both of my grandfathers!

Megan