Day: May 21, 2007

BAA meeting

|—————————————–|
| Blagden Alley Association |
| Monthly Meeting |
| |
| THURSDAY, May 24, 2007 |
| 7:00-8:30 pm |
| Paul and Nez’s |
| 932 O Street Street, NW |
|—————————————–|

The newsletter is at

http://www.pro-messenger.com/Blagden/Monthly%20Pages/2007%20Monthly%20Pages/BAN_2007_05_P1.html

Topics:
1. Jack Evans. Ward II City Council.
2. Christopher Ziemann, DC DOT Ward II Planner.
3. Walnut Street development at 917 M Street.
4. New liquor on Ninth Street?.
5. Police.
6. More.

Note: BYOB, Ice, cups for yourself and others. This is al freco,
and very nice.

Home Depot as a labor site

Okay I am wondering if I haven’t been observant, but this weekend I and my hosts went out to the Home Despot on Rhode Island Ave and nearly got mobbed by Latino laborers. When did this HD become a labor site?
I could have sworn that I’ve been to that HD before, in the morning, mid-day but mostly after work, when it first opened and years after and I don’t remember seeing a small crowd of laborer before. Did another labor site close somewhere and the demand switched over to the HD that never seems to have the small specific part you want? Well, it is a metro-accessible site, I guess that’s a plus in its favor. But really, anyone know?

Renovation 2007: Radiators

I am keeping my radiators. I love my radiators.
During this renovation the radiators have been moved around and are no longer sitting right up on the walls. I figured this was an excellent time to remove the several layers of paint on them. So I spent an afternoon stripping the paint off of them with a heat gun and a metal scrapper.
I know the top layer of paint was good old latex paint, as it was the same color of paint that covered the whole house. However, that bottom layer, the layer above the rust colored metal…. I don’t know what the heck that was, and it was a pain to get off. The latex bubbled a little but the paint under it just had to be burned off. Which then made me wonder if taking a flaming torch to the blasted thing would make my job easier. However, the risk of burning down the house, greater.
While I was scraping I was wondering about the history of the radiators in the house. Wondering when were they put in, were they painted then? Were they new or some old used ones the landlord dug up from somewhere? Then who put on the first coat of paint, and did that paint have lead? That’s the question that made me hunt the job site for a facial mask.