Author Archives: deanorolls

Visiting Maine’s Lighthouses

We hit 5 lighthouses while wandering around Maine. My favorite visit was a sunset lighthouse visit at Bass Harbor Head (near Acadia NP). Ironically, this was also my least favorite parking lot of all the lighthouses! Many had the same idea we had. My favorite lighthouse in the whole state was Portland Head. All were …

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Painting The House Inside – This Old Dean House

We chose the color scheme for the inside of the house (or so we thought). Turns out, when I was doing some demo, I found out the color we chose was already under several layers of paint. I think the house liked that color and “made us” select it when we were at the paint …

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Traveling Maine’s Highway 1 (Bar Harbor, Portland, Kennebunkport, Ogunquit)

We hit Maine to visit Acadia NP, but visited several towns along the coast (along Highway 1) while we were there. We saw lots of cool towns, hiked many beautiful coastlines, and visited tons of lighthouses. We saw Portland on the way in and out, stayed in Bar Harbor for a few days, and hit …

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Restoring Historic Trim – This Old Dean House

Someone ripped out the original trim in several rooms of our old house. They installed off-the-shelf stuff and made no attempt to match the original home. We put it back, but it was ‘a process’. We had to get it custom-made because nobody had trim from 130 years ago in stock. Imagine the audacity! LOL …

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First Time Mowing The Yard In 7 Years – This Old Dean House

I snapped and sold the family home back in 2018. That decision came after I’d pressure-washed the patio/deck all weekend (after working and chasing kids all week). I was DONE with homeownership. We moved into a condo and I did no yard work for many years. But now, mowing my yard (er…weeds) is my newest …

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Refinishing Oak Hardwood Floors – This Old Dean House

After wrapping up the original 130-year-old floors, we moved to the next job. The downstairs oak floors were a big job, but much easier. Joseph (the floor refinisher) Emily, and I did a dance of “move every piece of furniture in your house around while I chase you” for about a week. By the end …

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Restoring 130 Year Old Hardwood Floors – This Old Dean House

When we ripped up the carpet, it revealed the original 130-year-old wood floors throughout most of the upstairs (and in our bedroom). The floors were in various stages of disrepair. Some were painted, some were kinda painted, some had holes, some were fine. We decided to try to keep them and get them restored. We …

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