Tag Archives: house
August 3, 2017 How to compare LED lights
The Evolution of the Light Bulb
As incandescent light bulbs are banned and fluorescent light bulbs are poisonous, LED lights are the way forward.
However, prices vary greatly.
What to watch out for when buying LED lights:
Fitting:
Check first if you need a Bayonet or Edison screw base.
Lumens:
Lumens are the amount of light emitted per second. The more lumens, the brighter the light.
If you’re used to watts for determining the brightness of the light, consult a conversion calculator.
Lifetime:
The better the quality of the LED, the longer the lifespan. But also, the higher the cost.
Dimmable:
Dimmable LEDs cost about 40% more than non-dimmable LEDs of similar wattage. Alternatively the switch can be replaced.
Light colour
LED light bulbs are mainly available in ‘warm / soft white’ or ‘cool / bright white’, meaning you can choose between comfy accent and daylight task lighting.
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July 31, 2017 The handshower our saviour
Our handshower did everything for us: dishes, dogs, rugs, clothes…
Decisions, decisions!
Do we need a bath, isn’t that just a water waster? Should we have the shower in the bath or stand-alone? And if we go for a separate shower cubicle, can we at least have a handshower in the bath tub?
The handshower it is, and thank goodness!
Who would’ve thought we end up with this one handshower as the only water point in the entire house besides the showers, meaning we washed our hands, did our dishes, brushed our teeth, all with this one handshower.
It was like doing an AfrikaBurn in our own house.
Turns out also my mum ended up doing the dishes in their bath tub when they got a new kitchen.
So this is just another one of those bizarre experiences that weirdly enough some people you’d never expected share with you and totally understand what you’re going through.
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- Posted under Property, Writing
July 18, 2017 Illegal Dumping persists
Illegal Dumping on the corner of Greatmore and York Street.
Every Friday, as it’s bin day, I clean up all the rubbish in our neighbourhood.
The more frustrating it is to find someone dumped their waste on the otherwise relatively clean abandoned plot.
It seems empty property in Cape Town attracts crime.
In the meantime the kids have nowhere to play soccer and are forced to kick their ball around next to used pampers and condoms.
Why not kill two birds with one stone and turn neglected areas into much needed green space?
Where children have nowhere but the streets to play, it should be a crime to leave public space to rot.
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Tags: #MoopSwoop, #NoDumping, #StopDumping, house
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- Posted under #GoGreen, Property
July 17, 2017 Stuff we found in our garden: Antique tile from Belgium
Marked “CGCB Jurbise, Made in Belgium” this tile could be close to 100 years old.
According to The Antique Floor Company:
CGCB is the inscription for the Compagnie Générale de la Céramique du Batiment (commonly shortened to Cerabati), a period ceramic tile producer which were an amalgamation of some of the older companies in Paray-le-Monial, Bourgogne and other usines around France.
As per Mario Baeck‘ doctoral thesis “The Flourishing of Belgian Ornamental Tiles and Tile Panels in the Art Nouveau Period”:
In addition to these floor tile factories there were a few earlier established factories, which made fireproof fireplace tiles, floor quarries and tiles for other forms of heavy use, such as the S.A. de Produits Réfractaires et Céramiques de Baudour and Utzschneider, Jaunez et Cie in Jurbise, established in 1876 by Charles Michelet.
As researched for GR-Atlas all these different factories united under one name in 1921:
En 1921, les différentes usines de la société Utzschneider et Edouard Jaunez deviennent La Compagnie Générale de la céramique de bâtiment ou Cerabati.
It also states that due to difficulties this factory closed in 1985:
Cependant, dans les années 1980, le site connaît des difficultés et l’usine ferme définitivement en 1985.
So this tile could date back as far as 1921, but it is definitely from before 1985. Even if it’s not antique that still makes it vintage.
Was this maybe a tile in the fire place of The Broken Palace? And was it common practice to use imported tiles from Europe?
If you know more about Woodstock’s unique history, please get in touch: TrulyJuly@web.de
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- Posted under Property, Urban Garden
July 12, 2017 Stuff we found in our garden: Belgian tile from early 1900s
One of the tiles we found in our garden dates back to 1901 – 1911.
Marked “De Baudour, Oscar Gerard, Directeur” on the inside, and “Ste ANme de Produits Refractaires & Ceramiques” around the outside of the circular emblem.
According to the Western Australian Museum: refractory, dark grey ceramic, made in Belgium.
As per iCollector.com: De Baudour opened as a pottery factory in southern Belgium in 1842 under Francois Declercq. Oscar Gerard was Director from 1901 to 1911, dating these tiles to that time period.
The question is when did these tiles make it to South Africa?
And: Are these tiles relics from The Broken Palace?
If you know more, please get in touch: TrulyJuly@web.de 🙂
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- Posted under Cape Town, Property, South Africa, Urban Garden
June 9, 2017 Stuff we found in our garden: Over 60 year old Coins
In my Indiana Jones quest to clean out our garden so we can grow veggies, I came across this apartheid relic: Two coins from the 1950s.
South African coins from the apartheid era. Left: 3 Pence from 1951, and Right: Quarter Penny from 1953.
Left: 3 Pence coin from 1951, Silver, King George VI third series (1951–52).
Right: Quarter Penny coin from 1953, Brass, Queen Elizabeth II series (1953–60).
Could this be a time reference? Was it maybe in the 1950s that The Broken Palace got destroyed? If you know more, please get in touch: TrulyJuly@web.de 🙂
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June 5, 2017 Wood Treatment: To paint or not to paint?
For its long life expectancy alone paint is the best wood finish.
With hopefully some rain coming to Cape Town during winter we need gutters!
But before we can install gutters, we need to decide on the look of the fascia, the trim board on which the gutter sits on.
Paint is generally the longest lasting finish for wood, but we’d like to keep the natural wood look.
Apparently there’s a well kept secret for wood treatment: water repellent preservatives (WRP).
The U.S. Forest Service did some research on ‘Wood Finishing: Water Repellents and Water-Repellent Preservatives’, pointing out:
“Homeowners can avoid many exterior wood-finishing problems by first treating with a WR or WRP solution to guard against damage to the wood and paint caused by water and by decay and stain fungi (mildew).
WR or WRP treatment of wood is recommended both before painting and also as a natural finish for wood.”
and concludes in their PDF ‘Water Repellents and Water-Repellent Preservatives for Wood’:
“Water-repellent preservatives can be used as natural finishes and can greatly improve the durability and appearance of wood exposed outdoors.
They can also be used as pretreatments prior to the initial painting of wood. The water repellent improves the dimensional stability of the wood, and the preservative improves the mildew resistance of the paint. These properties work in concert to extend the service life of the paint.”
So as long as we’re using water repellent preservatives that are paintable, we can start with the WRP wood treatment, and still apply paint later.
While this still doesn’t answer the question for us, it gets us a step closer! 😛
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- Posted under Good Practice, Property, Tips
