Warning about an online store - update

in my home's 90 years didn't anybody
else *ever* have 'normal' sized sofas? And in those same 90 years didn't
anybody ever think to put in some kind of walkway to the front door???

Hi Leslie,

I expect both. Furniture goes through style (and size) changes like
other fashions. Nowadays we see a lot of "oversized" furniture;
bigger with more padding looks/is comfier, and a lot of furniture
*was* smaller years ago.

Are there any really old pics of the house from years ago? I'm
wondering if there may have been a walkway at one time that was torn
out due to deterioration but never replaced for economic/lifestyle
reasons. The house next to ours now has no front walk; it was built
by the fellow who lived in it all his life (who just passed last year)
and he never used the front door anyway, so he didn't see any point.

Smaller doors were once more common too; some houses even had special
wider "coffin doors". Someone in this group may have one of those in
an old house. I've seen a lot of houses that had them but they have
been torn out and walled up along with replacing the main exterior
doors. I know of an old farmhouse where a chimney was built up
against the old coffin door. FWIW, most codes/standards nowadays call
for 36" - 48" exterior doors, but we're seeing more (even wider)
double front entrances (60" - 72") in some places to accommodate the
newer larger furniture, pianos, and other massive (by yesteryear
standards) furnishings. I know of one near here which is a good thing
because the wife has a couple of full-sized grand pianos. They might
have gone through a smaller door, but the double-wide sure made it
easier with less risk to the instruments.

One of the fascinating facets of the remodeling business (for me) was
seeing some of the things that were done in building older (pre-
building code) homes. I once got into one in New England that was
built in the 19th c. by a sea captain. He knew ship construction, so
he built his house with ship dimensioned timber (studs & joists were
all oak, and a full 3" wide by full 4" or something...) to ship
construction standards (I don't recal the specifics, but I think the
studs were on 12" or 20" centers - something really strange) that made
remodeling the place more of an adventure than usual. The house had a
"widow's walk" too. Our first house had a built-in bookcase in the
middle of one wall that didn't look "right" to me. I did some
exploring and found that some previous owner (out of 12) had sealed
off a pair of *beautiful* pocket doors, which were still there in the
wall with their hardware! We ripped out the bookcase and restored the
pocket doors. I also found that the outlets on that wall had been
wired with lamp cord, so I fixed that hazard as well. Unfortunately,
I could *not* replace the cast-iron & tiled fireplace that had been
torn out and discarded under the back porch. :-(

Doc


On Aug 5, 8:12*am, "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:
I 'get it' about trying to fit furniture thru the exterior doors- me, too!
I had to replace the front door in my lovely old home. *The original doors
with the wavy glass and skeleton keys were less than 30 in. wide- my new
front door is 36 in. wide. * (The ex and I tried moving in a chair and
discovered how narrow both exterior doors were and that the rest of my
furniture wasn't going to fit thru those doors.) *And that new front door
was installed in a panic the day before the movers arrived with all my
furniture. *But you have to wonder- in my home's 90 years didn't anybody
else *ever* have 'normal' sized sofas? * And in those same 90 years didn't
anybody ever think to put in some kind of walkway to the front door???

I did both!

http://family.webshots.com/photo/268...60435514xVHMiQ

Leslie & The Furbabies in miserably HOT & HUMID MO.

"Polly Esther" wrote in message

...



DH and I are entertained. *It's easy to amuse old folks.
* *Neighbor bought a new couch and assorted other big brown leather
parts - a couple of recliners fit (or do not fit) in somewhere in the
arrangement thereof.
* *Delivery guys don't have much of a chance.
* *The stuff will not come through the front door.
* *With some fearsome heft, they slammed it in. *Knocked one heck of a
hole in the wall just in front of the door.
* *We already know that handicapped sidewalks and doors and such require a
certain width. *How hard could it be for furniture stores to figure out
that 'entrance' might be a problem? * Polly

"Steven Cook" wrote in message
ommunications...
Still customer service but along another vein.

Our new couch was delivered today and we still don't have a couch. *Yes,
you read that right. *Instead of checking out the width of the door, the
delivery men just "shoved" it through, tore off the screen door latch,
ripped the fabric on the back bottom edge, only about a 1/2 inch, and the
mattress was not the right one. *In the midst of calling the store while
they were putting the legs on, the power went out and so did the phone,
so out came the cell phone. *I stated that I didn't care if they could
"fix" the rip, even if it couldn't be seen, that I wanted a blemish free
brand new couch, including the double mattress of regular and air
components. After all that is what I paid for. *So, out the door went the
"new" couch and a replacement is to be delivered Saturday. *All this
after ordering it in June, and lo and behold they just happen to have
another in the warehouse. I was repeatedly asked if I was sure that was
the mattress I ordered, after he insisted that my order number was in the
upper left corner and I told him there were no numbers there but my name
and his store, but there were numbers on the right. *No, I need numbers
from the left. *There are none, yes there are, no there are not, try this
number. Guess what, it worked. Go figure.

Customer service is a lost art I am sure. *Hopefully in a new class I am
teaching this semester I can teach a little and get my students thinking
about what is good customer service. *I won't hold my breath though I
will try.

Steven
Alaska

"Jo Gibson" wrote in message
news:1zm6o.58813$Y21.28914@hurricane...
It was me who discovered it had been sent to Canada, after querying the
time it was taking to arrive in Scotland. *Clearly, the shop did not
know that anything had gone awry, and the shop owner still insists that
she has NB, Canada on record and I still insist I entered United
Kingdom. For what it's worth, there IS a St. Andrews, NB, Canada. *I did
suggest that perhaps the shop has had a customer order from there in the
past, and the server or computer program or whatever "autofilled" in the
address wrong at some point, using this old order. *What else could have
happened, for my copy of the order to say International and have no hint
of Canada, and for the shop's copy to clearly say NB, Canada?!? This is
the only answer that my IT partner could suggest.

On Sunday I was contacted by the owner with this opening gambit:

"I know you are upset regarding this order....as was I. *I apologize if
I made you feel that I was "blaming" you. I was willing to admit we were
partially responsible for the mix up. *However, I was very disappointed
with your demeanor.....this was not totally our fault. *No where on this
order did it have UK or Scotland. *But....that's over and done with
now."

She "was astonished to find this package in our mail.. returned to us....
from Canada. *The Postal Service never ceases to amaze me" *It never
ceases to amaze me either, and since my sister works in it, she was
going to see what could be done on Monday but was relieved of that task
by this communique from the shop. *My sister said that since the shop
owner was still essentially laying the blame of the parcel going to
Canada at my feet - even partially - I should ask for a full refund and
just walk away from the whole sorry affair.

Two fabrics were damaged in transit, one of which was the real reason I
placed the order - an older print of tiny white boys and girls with
black hair and shoes on blue, from which I am making a baby quilt for a
high school friend who is pregnant with her first child. *I don't know
what possessed me to pick this fabric when I have so many others, but
there you are. *I'm down to tiny scraps, and I'll just have to put the
blocks on point and add border(s).

So the owner offered to refund the entire order, or refund me for the
two damaged fabrics and she would ship the rest of the order to me for
free - "please provide correct address". *I took the high road (and I'll
be in Scotland before you, and the parcel at this rate) and said I would
pay for the order minus the two damaged fabrics. *Maybe my sister was
right and I should have washed my hands of the whole deal.

As Paul Harvey says, "And that is the rest of the story".......- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Some older houses have double doors as a front entrance, but those
double doors are only about 24" each, making the opening 48" when both
doors are opened.

Bonnie, in Middletown, VA



On Fri, 6 Aug 2010 06:15:33 -0700 (PDT), "Dr. Zachary Smith"
wrote:

in my home's 90 years didn't anybody
else *ever* have 'normal' sized sofas? And in those same 90 years didn't
anybody ever think to put in some kind of walkway to the front door???

Hi Leslie,

I expect both. Furniture goes through style (and size) changes like
other fashions. Nowadays we see a lot of "oversized" furniture;
bigger with more padding looks/is comfier, and a lot of furniture
*was* smaller years ago.

Are there any really old pics of the house from years ago? I'm
wondering if there may have been a walkway at one time that was torn
out due to deterioration but never replaced for economic/lifestyle
reasons. The house next to ours now has no front walk; it was built
by the fellow who lived in it all his life (who just passed last year)
and he never used the front door anyway, so he didn't see any point.

Smaller doors were once more common too; some houses even had special
wider "coffin doors". Someone in this group may have one of those in
an old house. I've seen a lot of houses that had them but they have
been torn out and walled up along with replacing the main exterior
doors. I know of an old farmhouse where a chimney was built up
against the old coffin door. FWIW, most codes/standards nowadays call
for 36" - 48" exterior doors, but we're seeing more (even wider)
double front entrances (60" - 72") in some places to accommodate the
newer larger furniture, pianos, and other massive (by yesteryear
standards) furnishings. I know of one near here which is a good thing
because the wife has a couple of full-sized grand pianos. They might
have gone through a smaller door, but the double-wide sure made it
easier with less risk to the instruments.

One of the fascinating facets of the remodeling business (for me) was
seeing some of the things that were done in building older (pre-
building code) homes. I once got into one in New England that was
built in the 19th c. by a sea captain. He knew ship construction, so
he built his house with ship dimensioned timber (studs & joists were
all oak, and a full 3" wide by full 4" or something...) to ship
construction standards (I don't recal the specifics, but I think the
studs were on 12" or 20" centers - something really strange) that made
remodeling the place more of an adventure than usual. The house had a
"widow's walk" too. Our first house had a built-in bookcase in the
middle of one wall that didn't look "right" to me. I did some
exploring and found that some previous owner (out of 12) had sealed
off a pair of *beautiful* pocket doors, which were still there in the
wall with their hardware! We ripped out the bookcase and restored the
pocket doors. I also found that the outlets on that wall had been
wired with lamp cord, so I fixed that hazard as well. Unfortunately,
I could *not* replace the cast-iron & tiled fireplace that had been
torn out and discarded under the back porch. :-(

Doc


On Aug 5, 8:12*am, "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO."
wrote:
I 'get it' about trying to fit furniture thru the exterior doors- me, too!
I had to replace the front door in my lovely old home. *The original doors
with the wavy glass and skeleton keys were less than 30 in. wide- my new
front door is 36 in. wide. * (The ex and I tried moving in a chair and
discovered how narrow both exterior doors were and that the rest of my
furniture wasn't going to fit thru those doors.) *And that new front door
was installed in a panic the day before the movers arrived with all my
furniture. *But you have to wonder- in my home's 90 years didn't anybody
else *ever* have 'normal' sized sofas? * And in those same 90 years didn't
anybody ever think to put in some kind of walkway to the front door???

I did both!

http://family.webshots.com/photo/268...60435514xVHMiQ

Leslie & The Furbabies in miserably HOT & HUMID MO.

"Polly Esther" wrote in message

...



DH and I are entertained. *It's easy to amuse old folks.
* *Neighbor bought a new couch and assorted other big brown leather
parts - a couple of recliners fit (or do not fit) in somewhere in the
arrangement thereof.
* *Delivery guys don't have much of a chance.
* *The stuff will not come through the front door.
* *With some fearsome heft, they slammed it in. *Knocked one heck of a
hole in the wall just in front of the door.
* *We already know that handicapped sidewalks and doors and such require a
certain width. *How hard could it be for furniture stores to figure out
that 'entrance' might be a problem? * Polly

"Steven Cook" wrote in message
ommunications...
Still customer service but along another vein.

Our new couch was delivered today and we still don't have a couch. *Yes,
you read that right. *Instead of checking out the width of the door, the
delivery men just "shoved" it through, tore off the screen door latch,
ripped the fabric on the back bottom edge, only about a 1/2 inch, and the
mattress was not the right one. *In the midst of calling the store while
they were putting the legs on, the power went out and so did the phone,
so out came the cell phone. *I stated that I didn't care if they could
"fix" the rip, even if it couldn't be seen, that I wanted a blemish free
brand new couch, including the double mattress of regular and air
components. After all that is what I paid for. *So, out the door went the
"new" couch and a replacement is to be delivered Saturday. *All this
after ordering it in June, and lo and behold they just happen to have
another in the warehouse. I was repeatedly asked if I was sure that was
the mattress I ordered, after he insisted that my order number was in the
upper left corner and I told him there were no numbers there but my name
and his store, but there were numbers on the right. *No, I need numbers
from the left. *There are none, yes there are, no there are not, try this
number. Guess what, it worked. Go figure.

Customer service is a lost art I am sure. *Hopefully in a new class I am
teaching this semester I can teach a little and get my students thinking
about what is good customer service. *I won't hold my breath though I
will try.

Steven
Alaska

"Jo Gibson" wrote in message
news:1zm6o.58813$Y21.28914@hurricane...
It was me who discovered it had been sent to Canada, after querying the
time it was taking to arrive in Scotland. *Clearly, the shop did not
know that anything had gone awry, and the shop owner still insists that
she has NB, Canada on record and I still insist I entered United
Kingdom. For what it's worth, there IS a St. Andrews, NB, Canada. *I did
suggest that perhaps the shop has had a customer order from there in the
past, and the server or computer program or whatever "autofilled" in the
address wrong at some point, using this old order. *What else could have
happened, for my copy of the order to say International and have no hint
of Canada, and for the shop's copy to clearly say NB, Canada?!? This is
the only answer that my IT partner could suggest.

On Sunday I was contacted by the owner with this opening gambit:

"I know you are upset regarding this order....as was I. *I apologize if
I made you feel that I was "blaming" you. I was willing to admit we were
partially responsible for the mix up. *However, I was very disappointed
with your demeanor.....this was not totally our fault. *No where on this
order did it have UK or Scotland. *But....that's over and done with
now."

She "was astonished to find this package in our mail.. returned to us...
from Canada. *The Postal Service never ceases to amaze me" *It never
ceases to amaze me either, and since my sister works in it, she was
going to see what could be done on Monday but was relieved of that task
by this communique from the shop. *My sister said that since the shop
owner was still essentially laying the blame of the parcel going to
Canada at my feet - even partially - I should ask for a full refund and
just walk away from the whole sorry affair.

Two fabrics were damaged in transit, one of which was the real reason I
placed the order - an older print of tiny white boys and girls with
black hair and shoes on blue, from which I am making a baby quilt for a
high school friend who is pregnant with her first child. *I don't know
what possessed me to pick this fabric when I have so many others, but
there you are. *I'm down to tiny scraps, and I'll just have to put the
blocks on point and add border(s).

So the owner offered to refund the entire order, or refund me for the
two damaged fabrics and she would ship the rest of the order to me for
free - "please provide correct address". *I took the high road (and I'll
be in Scotland before you, and the parcel at this rate) and said I would
pay for the order minus the two damaged fabrics. *Maybe my sister was
right and I should have washed my hands of the whole deal.

As Paul Harvey says, "And that is the rest of the story".......- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On 07/08/2010 13:49, Bonnie Patterson wrote:
Some older houses have double doors as a front entrance, but those
double doors are only about 24" each, making the opening 48" when both
doors are opened.

Bonnie, in Middletown, VA

There is a house several doors up from us that had just such a double
door - when they wanted to replace it, a notice went up giving people
time to object to this since we live in a conservation area. I suppose
no one objected, or not enough people objected, or it was overturned,
because there is now a modern, soulless white door on the property that
looks like about a hundred other houses in town.



On Fri, 6 Aug 2010 06:15:33 -0700 (PDT), "Dr. Zachary Smith"
wrote:
Unfortunately,
I could *not* replace the cast-iron& tiled fireplace that had been
torn out and discarded under the back porch. :-(

Doc


We have something similar in our kitchen (the house was built in 1870 or
slightly earlier), and want to get it operational again. It has a
copper reservoir for heating up water while you have a fire going. We
want to try that out as well, but I suspect it will only be enough water
for a very small bath, or for a very small child to enjoy!


-- Jo in Scotland