Update to "If You Build It, They Will Come"

Update to IYBITWC....

We saw a dumpster in the driveway of the craftsman house below. When I poked around and looked in, I noticed some original plaster and tile but nothing that could be saved (including some rough sawn boards). When I asked the contractor what was happening, he said they were knocking a wall or two down but the house was staying. I asked about the wood trim and he said, "They are refinishing." As someone who is 5 weeks into rewinding the poor decision to paint over woodwork, I hope they simply mean they are going to dust the woodwork as it is in amazing shape. Sigh.

Termite Update...And a Discovery.

As I wrote about here, the previous owner (the only owner, actually) had termites. While they were treated and seem (hope? pray?) to be gone, we found more carnage behind the kitchen in the hallway leading to the basement. This area is directly above the previously identified damage in the crawl space. I am not afraid to admit, I hate crawlspaces. Add to it that it is a dirt floor crawl space and I am even less enthused. Given the fact that my dolphin skinned hands are likely to suffer damage, I'm now a bit worried. However, the old lady garments (not the "make me randy" kind mind you), mouse carcasses, and broken ceramic pots make it all better.

As we ripped out the back closet, we found a few things. One, we uncovered a window. Who puts sheet rock over a window?  For a broom closet? It is unclear whether the window ever opened, but hey, natural light is nice! Two, the termite damage traveled up the beams under a window. Although it does not look to be too bad or contain any structural damage we cannot fix, it definitely needs to be addressed. I am taking out some hand hewn beams in the kitchen and may replace the rotten wood with those beams, or save them for something nicer and simply put in some PT instead (more likely and reasonable). Our plan for this space is to insulate since it is an exterior wall (and will hold pipes) and make this the laundry space. It will just fit the machines that I am stealing from my parents my parents are getting rid of from their house. They are front loaders and save us a ton of cash. They just don't know it yet.

Yes, the window will be half covered, but it will allow some light and be way more functional. Plus, do you think Jess will really do laundry -or even step foot- in the bathroom that time forgot?

Stairs FTW

We all make tough decisions. Beef or chicken? Blonde or brunette? Match.com or eHarmony? Some of those decisions lead us down a path of no return. Some of those decisions will last a lifetime, just ask Jess.

The tough part about buying an old home is the delicate balancing act between form and function. Over the last three weeks I have become a purist snob. "Restoration above all else!" is my rallying cry. Jess is way more level headed and practical. As we embark on this major renovation, we are forced to make decisions about the kitchen relatively quickly. When you walk into a house and the kitchen looks like the next picture, you realize, something must give. One of those lucky doors (all original, all in a row) leads to the butler's (or in our case, maid's) stairs. In the, "I-don't-give-a-crap-tear-it-down-or-replace-it world," the stairs are an easy way to create space for a better, more modern kitchen. Of course it makes sense to tear them out. This house isn't a mansion, I can easily walk to the stairs 20 feet away and be no worse for the wear. Jess wanted them gone. I'd of rather lived with the mouse filled poop ceiling kitchen than lose those stairs.

A few things happened on the way to my victory. One, everyone that's ever been in this house remembers the stairs. We went to a neighbor's estate sale (more on that in a future post) and she remarked, "Oh my god, those stairs! We searched every nook and cranny and wall in our own house hoping to find a set!" Another wise soul said, "Those stairs are a hallmark of a great, old house." Comment by comment, Jess saw the light. Two, the removal of the drop ceiling to reveal nearly 10 feet of height made a huge different in the space. Whereas in the past we worried about cabinet space, that was no longer a problem. Although it is clear that we will have to spend more on bringing the cabinets to the ceiling (don't forget the crown moldings!), it will solve that problem. Three, never underestimate the ability to wear someone down with a combination of bullshit and whining. Mixed evenly, of course. After a few weeks, she said, "Keep the stairs. They'll be great."

It's not that she didn't want to keep them, it's just that she's right - the house is more functional without a second set of stairs. No matter, though. Victory is mine.

Beef, brunette, and Match.com for those of you keeping score at home.

If You Sell It, Builders Will Come

There is a reason we bought into this neighborhood. The charm, schools, location, and access to the city for Jess' work were all contributing factors. There is a certain pride that comes with being the oldest house on the block.

We know this house, owned by one family, was built when the family moved out from a Harlem brownstone for more land and a different type of life. As the neighborhood began to expand quickly thereafter, the houses were built with similar care, love, and craftsmanship. As the area matured and houses turned over, many of the houses remained well into the 20th century. As with any well-educated area near NYC, the lots themselves become very valuable and even moreso as owners let their homes fall into disrepair. When houses need more than the typical work, we have a recipe for "knock downs."

Sadly, the house two lots down fell into this category. When we spoke to the neighbors across the street, they remarked how happy they were that we bought and that our house was so beautiful, yadda yadda yadda. When we asked about the house two lots down from us, they said, "It was nice but not of the same ilk of yours or some of the others." Well, that got us thinking, what did the house look like? Was it that badly neglected? Below is the house, as of 2012, via Google Maps.

Our hearts sank when we did this search. It's as nice as ours, moreso in some respects, and deserved saving. When we dug further, the house was purchased and then demolished by an architect! Interestingly, the former owner (her granddaughter) of house we purchased, used this same architect to draw up plans to blow out the back of our house. When the plans proved too costly, the owners sold and bidders came forward. While I rolled my eyes at the idea of writing a letter, it proved important as one of the owners (the estate was owned by a son and daughter after their 106 year old mother passed away in March) did not want to see the house razed.

As soon as we moved into the house we noticed that the fatigued yet beautiful craftsman, stucco exterior house next to us was having an estate sale. My brother and wife and I were excited that we would have a chance to see the interior, talk to the owner, and maybe collect some period appropriate/local ephemera. While we found those things, we also found out some potentially disturbing news. They were selling their house. While we were excited that the house would be rehabbed/restored, we quickly realized it could be disastrous in that the house was bought before it could go to market for all cash. In this neighborhood my gut tells me it is a knock down, despite other owners saying otherwise. While the houses that replace them are nice, I guess, the danger of losing this old, established neighborhood one house at a time is really sad. The house in question is below.

The Bathroom Time Forgot

I just wanted to quickly show the bathroom in the basement. If I haven't mentioned this before, it's where our future children will lose their minds with fright. It's awesomely horrible. Delightfully morose. Best of all, most of this spot is original. The bathroom was provided for the first maid, whom research indicates was Katherine Rush. We have plenty of history to divulge but it will take significant time to write, so we will do so when we can properly do so.

Here is the view prior to entry, which was behind the washing machine and dryer area.

A simple paddle socket light above the clawfoot tub.

The awesome fixtures.

The original towel bar.

The room is partitioned and almost looks like bead board. But, something I did not notice until my brother told me, was to take a look behind the water heater.

Creep closer, through an oasis of spiders, my nemesis.

To a rumsford!

Boarded up with a piece of wood. Our guess was this heated the house originally in some capacity. But what a treat! Just when you think you have found all the cool stuff, you find a fireplace. I really do love this house. 

The huge stone slop sink with cast iron legs next to it will have to wait.

The Termites

The previous owner disclosed there was termite damage. That doesn't make this surprise any less annoying or frustrating.

As my brother was taking up staples, I happened to look over and hear him say, "What's going on over here?" At some point I must have gone through the floor in a soft spot. After some prodding, we realized it was termite damage. It doesn't seem extensive, for now, but it required a night of work.

Off came the entire moldings, carefully, so as not to break them. I'm not sure why they had to put 15 nails, 4" in long, when a few finishing nails would have done.... Then Jess had to buy some sawz-all blades on her way over. Then we had to remove the planks, picture coming tomorrow, so we could prepare it for replacement by us or the floor guy (whenever that is).

Our only concern is that there does seem to be some rot in a support. It's not huge, but while it is open, we need to do the right thing and have someone look at it. That someone is a father, another brother, the rest of the Italian family, etc. Stay tuned, ugh.

Oh, but we did find this! Original wallpaper, we think, in a window seat. Small victories.

EDITED TO ADD:

A few pictures, including the rotten threshold from the room to the landing, and the top of the beam from the basement with some damage. The beam about 4" down is solid, so the damage seems limited.

New Roof!

One of the big ticket items we knew needed attention relatively quickly was the roof. While it's not - knock on wood - caving in or leaking at this point, we want to make sure we replace quickly to not only preserve the outside of the house, but inside as well. Over the course of the buying process, I touched base with many roofing companies and searched for something that was receptive, came highly recommended, and could deal with an older home. Here was the house this morning.

We settled on a company that had experience with turn of the century homes a bit west of here in Mountain Lakes, NJ. Some of those homes, termed Hapgood Homes, all had a similar style cedar shingle roof. Our roof has the original roof plus two layers of asphalt shingle. We were able to see some local, non-historic examples and then look at We need to remove all three layers and totally replace with appropriate OSB sheathing. Here is something information regarding the Hapgood Homes: http://goo.gl/zynGT7

Here is the house with the 15 men that came to replace.

Text I just received from the contractor. Within 2 hours they had the entire three layers ripped off!

I will continue to update, but this is exciting. The entire look of the house will be altered by Thanksgiving.

All Hands on Deck

As Jess and I often do, we make sarcastic comments like, "What the (insert your favorite four letter word here) did we get in to?" As we take it day-by-day and room-by-room, sometimes you need a little help from your friends family. You know you've married into the right family when they are willing to put in a full days work, 9-5 on a Saturday, and come and help you do whatever you need. Jess' step father called me a few days ago and said, "Just have something for us to do." We decided on wallpaper. Suckers.

The paper was old and, as it turns out, was put on in 1976 as evidenced by the writing on wall by the hanger himself. It reads, Dan Mallet, May 1976, Oradell, NJ. Could not find much about him, but there was only one layer, thank bejebus.

Our task was to have enough scrapers, tools, etc., to make sure we didn't have any down time and/or idle hands. We've never done wallpaper removal, but we bought five scrapers, two gallons of Chomp!, two spray bottles, a scoring tool and extensions for the scrapers. Well, on the way to our house, we stopped by the small independently owned Ace and picked up DIF and a garden sprayer. The latter two items was a great move. Chomp! goes back since the DIF concentrate was way more than enough. Sadly, so does her family, and we are on our own again (with Norm Abram, my brother, the new favorite brother - I have 4). So sad. No really, I tried to bribe them with food, beverages, etc., but they only wanted money. Blasphemy.

For some reason, however, we did not think to use the DIF via the sprayer until someone insisted that we try it BEFORE we scrape. We used the scoring tool for just a bit and then started spraying only. We found that if we even just left the DIF on for five minutes, the paper would come off easily and quickly, even without the scoring tool. DIF worked wonders and even the us noobs became pros by the end. We saturated the paper and the plaster was no worse for the wear. Rather than pick up all the paper, somewhere along the lines we decided to cut up the carpet and get moving on that front, too. With the dumpster coming Monday, we want to get a bunch of stuff into it with roof (future post alert!).

After paper removal we now know why the previous owner - the only owner - decided to wallpaper. There are some nice cracks in the plaster - see the pictures below. While we are going to likely re-wallpaper, we are going to mud (still need to research the proper stuff we should use for plaster, so suggestions are welcome) and properly fix the cracks, primer, and then get someone to professionally hang the paper. We figure that although there might be better ways to spend money than on wallpaper, we feel it is an art and don't want it to look like poop. This is for another day. Removing the remainder glue residue, stripping paint, electrical, etc. has to continue before we can get to that. 

It turns out there was a bit of damage in the front hallway wood flooring. Rather than fix it with new oak pieces, they just put any wood they could find and carpeted. Pretty dopey if you ask me. We are now tasked with either repairing properly or letting the floor guy do himself, whomever that might be down the road. Not a huge deal from what I am told. But of course that's more more money. 

For this weekend, however, mission accomplished and the house already looks better.

The walls here are free of glue and ready for compound. 

Serious cracks are found around near the door as they are throughout the house. They are a bit daunting, but even if we are going to wallpaper, we want the walls as smooth as though we would paint. 

This is what gets us excited. The inlay and attention to detail is just something we couldn't get elsewhere but in an old house. 

The excitement continues tomorrow with the new roof going on. Hope to see you then!

My Wife is a Stripper

As anyone knows, buying a house is a huge decision. It taxes your time, your relationship, and your wallet or pocketbook. For the 9-5ers, the nest egg is built and then gone with just 1 of the 150 signatures at the closing. When the dust settles  and you are left with the reality of your finances, you understand what it means to "do the work yourselves." And so while Jess is not about to hook for extra cash, she can strip wood like a boss. After handing her a heat gun and a scraper, she went to work on the focal point of the living room (and perhaps the house). After several days of work and a a lot of help from Norm Abram my brother, she has opened our eyes to what we saw in this pile of old wood in the first place.

While the picture gets us a bit randy, my brother pointed out that despite the way it looks, we are only about a third of the way done. What a chooch - why'd he have to say that? The remaining 66% consists of using dental tools to remove a bit more residue and hard-to-get bits, rub down the surfaces with some denatured alcohol and steel wool, perhaps strip, and then refinish.

All of this just for every bit of woodwork in the house. That includes baseboard trim, the coffured ceiling, the panels behind the radiators, etc, etc, etc. Did I mention there is a picture rail/molding likely also made from chestnut around the whole house? While we try not to think about it beyond the room we are working on, I'm glad my wife is a stripper.

Free at Last?

After the last document was signed at the closing and we received our "Congratulations!" from the 15 people sitting at the table, I turned to Jess and said, "Let's go free those pocket doors." We'd been dreaming about this, literally, for weeks. The day before the closing Jess told me, "This is sick, I had a dream about those doors." She's right, of course, we are sick. And naive.

After we sped to the house, Jess readied her camera as I removed a strip of carpet - they were not used since that bile-colored carpet was put in 50 or 60 years ago - and I enthusiastically pulled the doors open....about 4" until they got stuck. No matter, we would go to the other set in the dining room! Again, one won't even come out and the other won't move beyond a few inches. It took me all of 14 minutes to confirm my suspicions that nothing is going to be easy in this house.

On a side note, Jess did tell me that it is a remarkable 4".

Into the Abyss

On September 10, 2015, I received an email from my younger brother, "I found this home on the Zillow Real Estate App and wanted to share it with you." As an old home enthusiast and lover of all things antique, he sent these types of automated correspondences at least a few times per week. As a bleeding heart, he wants to save the world one historical house at a time. Over the past few years, I have become enamored with old things myself. My wife (we've been married for about 3 minutes), Jess, grew up in an 1805 farm house in Connecticut, so this old house thing was a bit of an old hat. This house, however, got our attention.

After about 5 minutes we contacted our real estate agents. A few hours later we were turning down a picturesque tree-lined street. Approaching the house we were greeted by a late Victorian/turn of the century vernacular house. Beautiful but fatigued. The roof was clearly at the end of its lifespan. The front porch was grand but the paint was failing. The carpets were vintage 1950s or 60s. You get the idea.

At right about that moment Jess and I noticed something beyond the the whitewashed walls and bile carpet. Pocket doors. One set for sure. Two likely. Maybe even more! Where do we sign? We made a checklist and contacted our parents (we live in the Northeast and we're Italian, what did you think would happen next?).

Old - check.
Beautiful - check.
Original - check.
Location - triple check.
Likely enough work that would result in us cashing in all past and future favors from all siblings and parents - check.

After crunching numbers and determining this was going to spread us a bit thin for a while and may not quite make the most financial sense, we made an offer. "You're bidding against 3 builders, bid higher," was the response. We came up with our highest number and bid again. This time we added a heartfelt "letter" that would hopefully appeal to the cockles of the heart.

Bid accepted.