Ceilings

Old Quaker Building, University City Look up - way up - in an apartment at the Old Quaker Building, and you might consider dancing on the ceiling. That's because some of those ceilings, which are up to 20 feet high, are the original wood ones. Also seen in many of the apartments in the renovated historic buildings of this University City complex are original exposed brick walls, occasional structural columns, and original oversized windows. "It's fantastic. They have those high ceilings that make you feel like you're living in a huge apartment," said Elie Vidal, a retired professor of literature and philosophy.

After 10 years as a painting contractor in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Anthony J. "Tony" Chieffo looked up and found his niche: textured ceilings. Seven months ago, Chieffo rigged up a van-mounted mixer/tank and started a company in Ivyland called Ceilings Beautiful that specializes in texturing ceilings with sprayed-on polystyrofoam. Not content to texture two ceilings in five to eight houses a week, Chieffo, 35, aims to become the Ray Kroc of textured ceilings by franchising his idea.

If there was one thing the Depression taught Emily May Edwards, it was how to save. Edwards, of Media, was 31 when the stock market crashed. She had been saving for 60 years when she died in December. Not money - the Depression had shown her how unreliable that could be - but things, reassuring by their very presence and quantity. Take a moment and try to imagine 60 years' worth of things. The broken toaster, the wobbly chair, the too-small clothes, the too-worn shoes, the scratchy records, the odd salt shaker - all the things you've tossed over the years.

Those cathedral ceilings so popular in newer homes can be problematic to decorate. Perplexing even. True, high-altitude architecture conveys a sense of spaciousness that ordinary 8-foot ceilings cannot possibly match. The trouble is, those high ceilings have a tendency to make whatever is put under them seem smaller. Normal-size sofas and chairs can look like dollhouse furniture. It is the same with extra-tall walls. Framed artwork that looks perfectly proportionate on an 8-foot wall may look like a postage stamp on a wall 12 or 16 feet high.

The Glen at Lafayette Hill has a few things going for it: It's new, bright, spacious, and conveniently located. "I signed a lease after seeing only a picture," Julia Mailey said. A widow and retired secretary for the Frankford Arsenal, Mailey was the first to move into her building, just two years ago. "I wanted a garage, and I can go from the garage right into my building, across the hall from my first-floor apartment. There's a washer and dryer, high cabinets, a built-in microwave, big windows, high ceilings . . . it's just delightful.

Eighth graders from Camden's Bonsall Family School, displaced for the last two weeks by building renovations, will be shifted to the former Jewish Community Center building in Pennsauken under a plan approved last night by the Camden Board of Education. The school district wants to lease the building for 60 days. Bonsall's entire eighth-grade class, now divided between the Forest Hills Elementary School and the Brimm Medical Arts High School, will use eight classrooms at the former community center on Route 70. The shifting of 300 of the school's 900 students has magnified problems, such as overcrowding and lack of educational materials, at those other schools.

Locust Point, Center City, Philadelphia Locust Point brings old and new together on the waterfront, providing a residential experience that is nothing like living on the moon. Or so says Jason Reynolds, 27, a student in Wharton's M.B.A. program, who recently returned from a two-year stint in Iceland with the Navy. "That was a lot like living on the moon. And this is nothing like that," Reynolds said. The high ceilings and 12-foot windows of the former industrial building particularly please Reynolds.

Giving a polished, if not genteel, look to the game that made hustlers and sharks notorious is the goal of the Pockets Cafe & Billiards Club. Maybe it's the Ralph Lauren wallpaper and the 25-foot ceilings, or the arched windows, or the dance club and the full bar, as well as the thrill of the game, that are attracting customers. Whatever the reason, the 17 regulation-size billiards tables are full almost every night. "This place goes against the traditional concept of the smoke-filled back room with burly guys all around," said Bob Slagon, a 45-year-old patron of the club.

Heatheridge, Montgomery Township, Montgomery County. Walking through Heatheridge's Camelot model, it's not uncommon to hear potential buyers saying, "I bet that's an upgrade," or, "That's not standard. " But more often than not, they're wrong. "You're looking at a standard house," Peggy Shelton Varani said of the model. Varani, director of business development for the David Cutler Group, the developer, and sales coordinator Kristin Kelly say they spend plenty of time telling visitors to the model that, yes, that feature is included in the Heatheridge package.

Energy tightwads and sun-worshipers will bask in the glow of Clearview Estates. In the Georgian model, five windows line up in the family room; two more and a sliding glass door are on display in the kitchen area, and two large windows let the rays into the dining room. Bay windows warm up both the study and the living room. In the Georgian, the master bedroom is not the only bedroom graced with more than one window. Each of the children's bedrooms features two to four windows.

I GET A CHILL whenever I listen to James Brown soulfully sing "It's a Man's World. " I especially like to shout, "You got that right!" when he says, "But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl. " Those lyrics come to mind as we celebrate Women's History Month - it's not a man's world anymore. Sunday marked 100 years since thousands of women marched down Pennsylvania Avenue demanding the right to vote. They were taunted and pushed, but they pressed on. So, too, have women pressed their way into jobs in the private and public sectors.

WASHINGTON - Forget about raising the federal debt limit. House Republicans are proposing to ignore it altogether - at least until May 18. The House plans to vote Wednesday on a measure that would leave the $16.4 trillion borrowing limit intact but suspend it from the time the bill passes until mid-May. The declaration that the debt ceiling "shall not apply" means that the government could continue borrowing to cover its obligations to creditors until May 18. This approach - novel in modern times - would let Republicans avoid a potentially disastrous fight over the debt limit without actually voting to let the Treasury borrow more money.

WASHINGTON - Only hours after Congress adopted a bill to avoid the fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts, lawmakers Wednesday began to clash over the limit on federal borrowing, inaugurating the next phase of Washington's permanent fiscal war. Republicans said they would press their demand that spending be reduced dramatically in exchange for allowing any more U.S. borrowing. President Obama and top Democrats insisted that their goal of raising the $16.4 trillion federal debt ceiling was nonnegotiable.

When U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey took office just under two years ago, movement conservatives were elated. In Toomey, they had a true believer; a rigid fiscal conservative who was articulating tea-party positions a full decade before the tea party even came along. But a funny thing happened once Toomey arrived in Washington. He became a Republican that Democrats could work with. Toomey supported the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell. " He co-wrote three job-creating bills with Democrats, and got them enacted.

A WASHINGTON POST -Pew Research poll last week said that, if the fiscal cliff talks "fail," Americans will blame Republicans in Congress (53 percent) more than they will President Obama (27 percent). Makes sense: Obama won the election. But, do elections matter any more? Remember, we would not be looking at a "fiscal cliff" right now if it weren't for the gravely irresponsible, and highly undemocratic, fight over raising the debt ceiling that Republicans provoked in 2011. That was supposed to be a vote to pay the bill for government spending already authorized, something past Congresses had done routinely.

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday urged Congress and the Obama administration to strike a budget deal to avert tax increases and spending cuts that could trigger a recession next year. Without a deal, the measures known as the "fiscal cliff" will take effect in January. Bernanke also said that Congress must raise the federal debt limit to prevent the government from defaulting on the Treasury's debt. Failure to do so would impose heavy costs on the economy, he said, adding that Congress also needs to reduce the federal debt over the long run to ensure economic growth and stability.

Question: Is it worthwhile to add a dehumidifier to an existing heating system? If so, approximately how much would it cost? I have a gas-fired furnace and central air. Answer: Our house in the winter is not damp but dry, and I shut down the basement dehumidifier from November to April because it is unnecessary and expensive to run, although I've never broken down the electric bill to determine costs. Because the house is so dry, the gas furnace has a humidifier that adds moisture once the relative humidity falls below 30 percent (comfortable is considered in the 30 percent to 50 percent range)

The concrete ceiling of an overhead pedestrian bridge at the King of Prussia Mall partially collapsed Sunday afternoon, causing minor injuries to a woman who was having lunch outside the Piazza DiGiorgio cafe, according to Upper Merion Township police. Police said a 12-foot-by-15-foot piece of concrete came loose shortly after 3 p.m. and fell to the ground. It landed next to the woman, and debris struck her on the head, police said. The other end of the concrete slab was still attached to the structure, just above the entrance to the Court at King of Prussia, police said.

College students are often told the sky is the limit to what they can do. For 144 industrial-design students at Philadelphia University, that limit was quite a bit lower as they spent a week reimagining the humble ceiling. In particular, teams of four or five students competed to fashion new designs using materials supplied by Armstrong World Industries Inc. , the $2.8 billion global maker of flooring, cabinets, and ceiling products. Between Jan. 17 and 24, the university held its 10th annual Sprint challenge, which simulates "real-world" constraints of limited time and budgets, said the competition's coordinator, Michael Leonard, an associate professor of industrial design.

Armstrong World Industries, of Lancaster, said it acquired a Montreal-based maker of specialty metal ceilings for an undisclosed price. Armstrong said it purchased Simplex Ceilings as part of its strategy to widen its global leadership and manufacturing presence in targeted markets. Simplex is a 40-employee firm with annual sales of $10 million, according to Armstrong. Adding Simplex "expands our technical capabilities, broadens our extensive specialty ceilings portfolio and improves our service and lead times for customers in North America," Armstrong's Mike Shirk said.