Things Past...A little different Diary Entry

We haven't done anything "dramatic" to the new old house in a few weeks  ( I mean,  we did have insulation blown in the attic and we're painting here and there...but unless you want to look at mounds of fiber insulation...there's not much to see!)  SO,  I thought that you might want to peruse some of the OTHER old house projects that I have undertaken in the murky past:

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This is my first house, purchased in 1984 and sold in 1999 in Montville Township, New Jersey.  When I bought it, the house was a wreck;  leaks everywhere,  broken plaster, even a dead rat in the toilet.  It looked good when I left after working on it for ten for fifteen years...even BETTER since the new owner added the handsome fence around the property!  I've learned so much since then...like not using a metal "power stripper" on nineteenth century clapboard!  The house originally had a veranda on the driveway side. 

Now, the next two house projects in the Village of Arlington Heights (we still own both of them) are all the dogs' fault since they chose to do their business in front of the deteriorating structures as I walked them down the street.

#1   Here's our Elliott Avenue house,  which appears in the 1880's maps of Hamilton County.  When I purchased it,  there was a large tree leaning on the back of the house.

The house has three bedrooms upstairs with an oversized claw foot bathtub,  a "mother in law" room in back of the kitchen and incorporates this handsome staircase...one of the spindles has been replicated...can you tell which one? 

Two years ago...we had a freak windstorm "Hurricane Ike," that tore off several of the old asbestos roofing tiles.  Except for a deductible...Ike gave us a brand new $10,000 roof!

We have been fortunate to have the same good tenants in this house since buying it in 2006 for $50,000 and it certainly has not required the labor and money that our other houses have demanded.  

#2  Our Glen Rose Avenue house;  though our smallest house,  it has a unique architectural style (half a dozen in Arlington Heights...I've not seen any like them elsewhere) and a colorful history.  A salesmen named Menuez purchased the house ca. 1890 and left a tin full of letters in the attic.  The house remained in his family for eighty years  (local legend:  a young great grandaughter died in the back bedroom during the 1950's...her father locked the door and it remained locked until his death in the late 1970's.)

Before:

After:

                                                                                              

                     
We've also had trees removed, the driveway paved and found a root had replaced a drainage pipe...under the basement concrete! I think I should paint the bricks on the front porch...what do you think?

Neglected as this house was...THERE WAS NO TERMITE DAMAGE!!!!  Sadly,  the house is vacant and we are currently looking for good tenants (we're two and two on tenants so far:  two good; two bad).

I hope that in some way we've improved the communities in which we have lived but I'm also reminded of the temporary nature of "things" in this world and the need to hold them with a loose grip!

Our goal for the next couple of weeks...painting upstairs,  finish laundry room, put up ceiling tiles, get appliances working...then to move just in time for Spring!



                         

 

Building An Arch...a Step by Step Guide!

OOOPS...the pantry door I built in the kitchen of the old house is too short...my wife cannot access the top of the pantry (and she's NOT happy)!!

 

An "elegant" solution:  build an Arch on top!

I started by drilling a sheetrock screw in the center over the lintel...and attaching a string and pencil

Then,  I drew an round arc and cut along the line with a sharp blade

Followed by a handsaw...

I removed the wallboard...but it broke in pieces!

One side done!

It would be easier just to place the removed sheetrock on the opposite wall and trace...but since it broke in small pieces, I had to lean my carpenter's pencil against the cut wall and traced around the inside wall...the hard way!

Finally,  both sides of my arch are exposed...

To remove the studs,  I used a reciprocating saw to cut a pilot line horizontally...

and then down following the edge of the sheetrock.

Here's the arch cut out on both sides!

You can get a kit to finish your arch...but the local home improvment warehouse didn't have one...so I used a thin piece of plywood cut against the grain instead...

And secured with sheetrock screws at each of the three studs.

Finally,  I took fiberglass sheetrock tape and cut little triangles so it would fold around the edges...

and impregnated it with joint compound, just like cast material used in a hospital

 

Here's the almost finished arch with the first coat of "mud,"  ready for more sanding and compounding.

My wife now has access for two more shelves in the eighteen or so inches above the arch and it adds a little more character to the kitchen in our old house!

The Secret Room...

I was putting an outlet box in the Hallway ceiling upstairs and noticed a large empty space above the

 sheetrock.  Upon further "investigation" (with a hammer); I discovered this:

 

A Four foot attic extends the entire length of the house...and this mysterious cedar-shake room is in the middle, under the actual roof!  Was it from an older house?

Ooops...I accidentally put my foot through the fragile sheetrock on the ceiling!

And my hands, with multiple cuts and permanently attached black 100 year old dust,  have had enough for one day!

(But I did put up an attic stairway from the Habitat Restore...anyway...now for insulation and planks!)

And in other news, the upstairs vanity now works...despite a Rube Goldbergesque PVC trap due to the fact that the plumber put the wall drain too low!!

And finally, a winter scene for you!  Happy January...

Spring comes soon!

Has it been a Year Already?

Well, almost.... 

Here's some More Before and Afters for you!

The "Parlor:"

The "Amityville Horror" Attic Closet:, now with lights and new flooring:

Dining Room:

 

And: 

Joyce' Sponge Paint in the Bedroom:

Meanwhile,
The Downstairs Bathroom has added a PVC Beadboard Tub surround and black and white tile trim;

(You'll notice the old electrical outlet between the toilet and tub is gone!)

Now for what is left to do...

Here is the List of Everything you've been wondering about that still needs to be done but were afraid to ask (in no particular order):

 



Purchase a microwave oven, glass shower doors, finish vinyl siding outside kitchen wall (Carpenter hasn't shown up for three weeks);  Upstairs bathroom; install wood floor, attach sink, do SOMETHING about the ceiling; finish laundry room, attach closet doors, finish my tiny closet...kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, put pantry shelving together.  Not to mention MOVING...and next year,  er, this year,  maybe  a garage and a new deck. (I am probably forgetting about twenty things).

And since I've started off the New Year with the flu...nothing is getting done today...but I wish you a GREAT 2011!! 

Before and After Photos for Christmas!

 OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS (ALMOST) IN THE NEW HOUSE 



At least I put up a tree...



And an outside view after an early snowfall...



My Grandmother's tacky Bubble Lights...wouldn't be Christmas without them!

 NOW,  Here's a few "Before and After" shots of the Dining Room and the Station Agent's Office, a.k.a. second bedroom:

      Dining Room...closet on left is gone, now an open hallway.  I used the shelving from the closet for baseboard around the tiled floor!  We will be moving the "Star Trek" light from our living room at the  current house to this dining room.  I don't think Joyce realized that these were Southern Pacific Railroad colors when she chose them!

                

  And the Station Agent's Room,  sans the pink carpet and pending the chair-rail between the two tone green...Erie RR Colors...walls.  The train will run above the doorway and through the display case over the window.   Hmmm...Grandma had a '57 Fairlane the same colors!

However,   wouldn't it be nice to have a working bathroom?  The hold up...at least upstairs...is what-to-do with the bathroom ceiling which is mostly "bare" sheetrock since the paper and a coat of glossy white paint chipped off.  A tin ceiling would be great but we're fresh out of money and enthusiasm...soooo.....any suggestions?

Just in case I don't update the blog in the next two weeks....Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Deano

Deadlines...

DEADLINE... isn't that a strange word?  According to Answers.Com, it originated from a Civil War prison guard who made a line in the dirt and informed p.o.w.'s that they would be shot dead if they crossed it.  Ouch.

We set a Deadline to move the week after Christmas as we are both off from work that week.  I don't know how we're going to make it, but we're going to try.  Needless to say,  we won't be taking either Thanksgiving nor Christmas very seriously this year!  (i.e.,  don't expect any gifts).

This is how I feel at the moment:  (The guy on the bottom...well, at least he is more handsome than the other one!)

Then there's Joyce,  up to her eyeballs in spackle...which is mysteriously similar to joint compound;

I have, however, managed to install the new kitchen counter and connect the kitchen sink:  

A  neighbor built the black slate formica countertops and the sink is from a salvage place....we have two...Building Value in Northside and The Habitat for Humanity Restore in Bond Hill.  I haven't been so happy with purchases from Craigslist though... so far we've had to re-list and sell the stove, the dishwasher and half of the cabinets.  BTW...we have to get rid of  lots of stuff including books on every conceivable subject...any suggestions?

Meanwhile,  the stack of things to be returned to Lowe's keeps growing.... 

    

And here's the second floor back bedroom sans pink carpet and with two used display cases for my Lionel trains:

Plus,  the downstairs bathroom finally WITH walls...unfinished, but walls still.

Fine Cabinetry Department:   See how I've recreated the original doorpost moulding in the dining room with a new bullseye on top...made from two partial old ones...(patting myself on back).

And then...a narcissistic view of myself coming out of the closet...

Finally for today:  the official backyard plan for next year,  done on the back of a Frisch's Big Boy placemat with resident crayons:

 

Deadline? What deadline? 


Later!