THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501130074
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: AROUND THE HOUSE
SOURCE: MARY FLACHSENHAAR
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
LIVING IN AN OLD house can be a romantic experience until it comes time to do some refurbishing. Often the honeymoon between home and homeowner ends as the search for the right materials, finishes and furnishings becomes long and frustrating.
Unless the homeowner is wise enough to have the latest edition of The Old-House Journal Restoration Directory.
The publication devoted to the restoration of pre-1940 houses contains more than 10,000 listings of products and services for older homes and homes built in the traditional manner.
As interest in historical restoration has grown in the last few decades, materials have become more available. The directory lists 1,500 companies that carry the right stuff, such as plumbing and lighting fixtures, flooring and roofing materials, shingles, hardware, carpeting, dumbwaiters, library ladders, fireplaces, staircases, weather vanes, cupolas and more.
Also listed are companies that provide special services, such as custom replication of old woodwork, hardware and glass.
The 1995 Old-House Journal Restoration Directory sells for $14.95 at Waldenbooks at The Waterside, at Kemps River Crossing in Virginia Beach and at Coliseum Mall in Hampton.
The directory can also be ordered, for $16.95, from Old-House Journal, 2 Main St., Gloucester, Mass. 01930. A Visa or MasterCard order can be placed by calling the company at (508) 281-8803. GOING UNDERCOVER
With all traces of the season-to-be-jolly tucked away till year's end, you are now face-to-face with your furniture.
Your old, shabby furniture.
Without the glow of holiday decorations, it might look older and shabbier than ever.
Interested in a new look for the new year? You don't have to buy new furniture to get that new look, according to Sure Fit, a slipcover manufacturer.
The company's newest look is its casual slipcover, an extra-large piece of fabric that fits loosely over a piece of furniture and is tucked into a separate, matching skirt. The comfortable look updates the fitted, formal style of grandma's living room.
Priced at $60 to $130 apiece, the ready-made coverups, which are machine washable, are sold at Linens 'n Things, 4000 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach, and through catalogs such as Spiegel (800-345-4500) and Domestications (800-782-7722).
The company sells a booklet and a video that demonstrate how to select a style and size and how to redecorate with slipcovers. The 12-page booklet costs $2 and the six-minute video sells for $4.50, shipping and handling included.
To order, send a check or money order to Peggy Lorrah, Sure Fit, East Broad and Wood Street, Bethlehem, Pa. 18016. KEEP THOSE PIPES WARM
The unfortunate winter scenario might go something like this:
The family is away for the weekend. An unexpected cold front drops through. As temperatures drop to below freezing, uninsulated pipes in the walls freeze and rupture. The family's homecoming is a sorry and soggy one.
The unhappy ending to this story can be avoided, according to State Farm Insurance Co., which offers consumers a brochure on how to prevent frozen pipes. The ounce of prevention the company recommends seems quite worthwhile considering that an eighth-of-an-inch crack in a pipe can spew up to 250 gallons of water a day.
Here are some of State Farm's tips:
Leave the heat on, set no lower than 55 degrees. If no one will be home for several days, have someone check the home daily to make sure the heat is on.
Open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls to let warm air in.
Insulate pipes most susceptible to freezing, such as those near outside walls, in crawl spaces and in the attic.
Disconnect all garden hoses. If there is an indoor valve, shut off and drain the water supply to outdoor faucets.
If pipes freeze, don't try to thaw a pipe with an open flame or torch. Be careful of electric shock in areas of standing water.
Make sure all family members know the location of the water's shut-off valve. If a pipe bursts, shutting off the water promptly can help minimize damage.
The free brochure, listing these and other tips, can be requested by writing Frozen Pipes, Public Affairs Department, State Farm Insurance, One State Farm Plaza, Bloomington, Ill. 61710. A CHIP OFF THE OLD CHINA
If you used the heirloom silver, china and crystal for your holiday entertaining, you might have been unhappily reminded of how many pieces are missing, chipped or broken in patterns that are no longer available in stores.
A group called the International Association of Dinnerware Matchers might be able to come to your rescue.
More than 60 matching services in the United States and Canada belong to the association, which specializes in matching a piece of discontinued dinnerware with the consumer who is looking for it. The services, and the manufacturers they specialize in, are listed in a directory available for $2 from the association. To order one call (800) 482-4236 or write International Association of Dinnerware Matchers, 312 E. Wisconsin, Suite 601, Milwaukee, Wis. 53202. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
by CNB