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Thursday, June 30, 2011

WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY...

SOME "MICE" ACTUALLY GET MORE WORK DONE! 



We have been out of town on vacation with the family for the past 8 days.  Upon our return we learned of the work Donnie got done in our absence.  Instead of answering all my inquiries and teaching me new skills, he was able to concentrate on a few design and structural issues here at Hawthorne House.

Skylights in the studio are boxed out.

The cross rafters are removed to raise the ceiling in my studio.

A support beam in the library that had been been cut is sistered together.


The wall separating a bedroom and bathroom is rebuilt.



A section of dining room wall is again supported from floor to roof.

Perhaps we should leave town more often!





Sunday, June 26, 2011

THIS LITTLE SINK


This little sink snagged my heart the day I dragged it out of the dilapidated shed.  It is on it's way to the shop to be sandblasted and restored.  It will live again in the 1/2 bath or my studio.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Friday, June 24, 2011

KITCHEN FLOOR

   This house has sustained a great deal of damage over it's lifetime.  Raccoons and squirrels, leaky pipes, and improper roof repairs have all taken their toll.  Long leaking kitchen plumbing  has mandated a great deal of floor repair.

We knew before we began to pull up any flooring that at least one joist required replacement.  As it turned out, 3 joists needed attention.  Previous owners had removed the kitchen chimney, however the concrete slab upon which the wood stove sat remained to be addressed.  (Demolition and removal of the slab was a back-breaking sledge hammer job which we turned into a competition knowing Wallace would take the bait.)


   Once rotten wood and concrete were removed, the crawl space beneath was easier to access and prepare for conditioning.





The new rough cut 2x10's have served us well.  Measure, measure, cut, and install.


VOILA !








Thursday, June 23, 2011

NEW JOB + NEW TOOL = NEW SKILL

And by the transitive property.....happy me!
.....Am I remembering my elementary school math correctly?


My new heat gun  to be used in removal of 100 year old glaze. 

 

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

BOYS LIKE GIRLS WHO HAVE SKILLS

From the outside, most all of the windows look like this.  Yikes!  While we will replace all of the double-hung windows with newer energy efficient windows.  The unique windows and doors are part of the overall charm of this Hawthorne house and, therefore, I will learn a new skill and restore them. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

2 OUT OF 3 CLOSETS

This house has but 3 closets.  Two out of the 3 closets have beautiful diamond-paned casement windows.


Despite their disrepair, they are quite pretty and can be rejuvenated with new glazing and paint.  It seems a shame that they remain hidden in the back of closets.  For these reasons, we have decided to move the library wall 12 inches and the bathroom wall and interior window 6 inches.

Pre demo : Wall and interior window in the 1/2 bath

The wall separating the library and the 1/2 bath was removed due to rot to the floor joists (see April 2011).


 The joists and floor were replaced  2 months ago using rough cut 2 x 10s and plywood.  Moving the walls slightly will give us a niche for a desk and we'll turn the space under the back stairs into a closet.  In rebuilding the walls we used current day lumber.


The soon-to-be-more-beautiful window (I have begun the mammoth re-glazing project) is now exposed and letting in the afternoon light.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

REPAIRING ROT

   The day before I left town to spend some time at the beach,  we began rebuilding the rotten wall in the library. 


Removal of the window and wall revealed rot to the support beam. 


In order to repair the beam we had to remove several of the tongue & groove decking boards. Once enough of the boards were removed, we jacked up the porch floor and supported it with pressure treated 4x6's on concrete blocks.


While I was out of town the guys continued the repairs and, when I returned, the door had a new frame and sill and the library had a new wall.




Tuesday, June 14, 2011

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?

Completion of a recent project brought a huge smile to my face.  Our friend and general contractor Donnie said to me, "It doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?"  And, truthfully, I must say that is an accurate statement.  I have so enjoyed these past few weeks working on this house.
   We suspected, and the roof work revealed, that the sills of the four 7 foot windows leading to the porch roof were in need of serious repair.

 As with most of the materials used in the original construction, the wood used in the making of the sills is no longer readily available or reasonably affordable.
  Here comes the fun part... Instead of paying someone to mill the sills and door frames, we've done it ourselves.  Fortuitously, my brother owns a 10 inch planer which he has been kind enough to loan us.  We located 3 inch thick rough cut fir at a local mill and planed it down to 2 1/4 inches.  After a run through the table saw to form an angle, cuts with the circular saw to notch out each end, and a pass over by the palm sander, we have 5 beautiful new sills.



(primed and ready to install)

This beautiful finished product brought a tremendous smile to my face!


Monday, June 13, 2011

RENOVATION VACATION

I have not posted our progress this past week.  I was taking  a renovation vacation.  I packed up my daughter and my dog and went to the beach for 5 days.


  While it was incredibly enjoyable and relaxing (I visited with family, read a book and began working on a new painting), something odd happened.


  I felt what I can only describe as "house sick".  I missed working on my house!





Saturday, June 4, 2011

99 BOTTLES OF 'BEER' ON THE WALL

   I have to admit that my husband has been taking on the worst jobs associated with this renovation.  Suited up and protected, he has been in the attic eaves extracting raccoon carcasses and 'associated debris' and in the dank basement and crawl spaces removing any and every thing he finds.

(Where's Wallace?)

To his credit, he has tackled each task with little complaining.  That would not be my M.O.  Just yesterday, while clearing the crawlspace off the basement in preparation to have it conditioned,  he unearthed DOZENS of empty old pint and half-pint glass bottles.


 So many, in fact he had to quit before reaching to the bottom of the stash.


We can only assume there was an inhabitant during the early 1900's (based on the type of bottle) who was hiding his/her habit of consumption.

   While prohibition  in the United States dates from 1920 to 1933, Richmond Virginia went dry in 1916. Virginia contained several cities which were reluctantly dry, most notably Alexandria, Richmond and Norfolk.
   So here's my hypothesis....The inhabitants of this Hawthorne house during prohibition liked their liquor.  So much so that the amount that flowed into this house required discreet disposal of the evidence.  Burial of the empties in the crawl space was logical.  It was also a fun find close to a hundred years later!
   Cheers!









Wednesday, June 1, 2011

IT'S A JUGGLING ACT

    This renovation adventure requires someone, or several someones, skilled at keeping numerous projects in the air at the same time. A variety of jobs must be done either in preparation for an upcoming contractor or in conjunction with a current contractor. This past week has been a terrific example of keeping all the balls in the air.

    As the roofers continue to repair the roof,

  (shaping copper)

(replacing water damaged wood)

( applying underlayment and TPO)

    I purchase and prime replacement molding that they will install below the soffit.


  Meantime, Donnie removes the 7 foot windows leading to the rooftop in order to repair the sills so the roofers can make the roof water tight.



     Concurrently, Wallace clears out crawl spaces, relocates old brick to be used in the foundation work, and launches and attack on the bamboo (a story for another posting).

A ball was dropped when the roofers got soffits up before being primed.  Now we must get up on the ladders to protect the wood.