After finally getting the structure under control we turned our efforts to making the outside of the building and the surrounding grounds look a little more attractive. We got the driveway paved. I built a shed to house the equipment that had been sitting under the porch. We put in some bushes and flower beds … Continue reading Sprucing up the outside
Wentworth Street
What a pain
During our 5+ year journey with this project, we were remarkably lucky in the injury department. All told, we only required 1 ambulance visit, 1 ER visit, a short bout of physical therapy. Oh yeah, and one shoulder replacement. The ambulance visit was for a neighbor who came over, toolbelt in hand, offering to help … Continue reading What a pain
The grand entrance
One of the last projects to be completed was the inside trim on the front entrance. There were a couple of factors driving this. For one, we had planned on installing a sidelight to improve the appearance. But because of the house’s post and beam framing and the location of the door, we couldn’t just … Continue reading The grand entrance
And up from the ground…
Within a few days of moving in, I began to notice a distinctive foul odor in the basement. Investigating further, I traced it to the floor drain, I lifted the drain cover and discovered a sea of poo. Something was backed up. We called a plumber who ran a power snake down the waste pipe. … Continue reading And up from the ground…
The finished product — sort of
We moved in on April 7, 2008. We weren’t quite done, but done enough. All wiring and sheetrocking were done, painting was done, floors were mostly done — I think the entryway tiling had yet to be done. There were still some loose ends – the elaborate trim around the entryway had to be custom … Continue reading The finished product — sort of
Hey, this might even work
By late winter 2008, things were starting to shape up, finally. The outside of the house still looked like hell, but inside things were pretty good. The sheetrock work was done and the walls were painted. We had begun installing and painting trim and installing flooring. An entry from my project diary on March 8 … Continue reading Hey, this might even work
Big boys toys
Among the high points in this project was my opportunity to try out our excavator’s earthmoving equipment. About a year into the project we brough him back to place some fill around the house, since water intrusion continued to be a problem. As I watched him unload his small Kubota excavator, he turned to me … Continue reading Big boys toys
One year later…
Here we are, one year into what was supposed to be a “six-month” project. It actually looks pretty good, although we’re still a ways from being done. We’ve gotten all of the demolition completed, new partitions framed, wiring done and plumbing done. Ceilings are sheetrocked. The basement’s still a mess (drier, but that’s about it). … Continue reading One year later…
The cat pee room
At some point, a previous owner had kept cats in the house. This was particularly obvious in one upstairs room which reeked of cat urine. Throughout the renovation process we referred ot this room as the “cat pee room.” It is now the guest room, which I find rather fitting. We attacked the problem in … Continue reading The cat pee room
Leveling the playing field
Early on in the process, we realized we were going to need to do some leveling work. Few, if any, of the floors in the house were level. Some tilted in multiple directions. This, we came to realize, was due largely to the failure of the mortise and tenon floor joists, many of which cracked … Continue reading Leveling the playing field
Our friend, the dumpster
Along with the demolition came the dumpsters. There was far too much material to simply load into a truck and haul it away. So, although it pained me greatly to pay the $800 or so to have one of these 30-yard monsters delivered and removed, it was really the only way. The basement demolition alone … Continue reading Our friend, the dumpster
And the chimneys come tumbling down
The house had two chimneys which were unused (they had been removed below the roofline several years earlier) and were actually crumbling. In some places the brick was so soft you could turn it into powder with your fingers. We considered several options, the first being to just leave them in place. But in one … Continue reading And the chimneys come tumbling down
Ceilings, wiring and lessons learned
The ceilings in this place proved to be an enormous pain and a significant lesson. My first instinct was to preserve them if at all possible. Upstairs, this made sense, because the attic was filled with 18 inches of blown-in cellulose insulation. The ceilings appeared to be mostly old sheetrock topped by strapping and then … Continue reading Ceilings, wiring and lessons learned
Bye, bye garage
Among the “features” of the house was a sad little detached one-car garage. It had no foundation and over the years had sunk and sagged to the point where it was actually about a foot into the ground. Because it sat so close to the property line it could not be removed and rebuilt — … Continue reading Bye, bye garage
Wentworth Street: Gutting the basement
Where to begin? My first step, strangely enough, was to try and mow the lawn, which was really a tiny field. When the 2′ high grass choked my lawnmower, I borrowed a brush cutter from the local trail group and managed to knock it down. That task out of the way, we turned our attention … Continue reading Wentworth Street: Gutting the basement
The demo begins
After dealing with the basement, we turned our eyes to the part of the job we were best suited for: demolition. This required only gloves, a mask, a high tolerance for filth and a heavy object to swing. All tools we had on hand. Sue was surprisingly good at this — you’d think a woman … Continue reading The demo begins
Wentworth Street: What we bought
In the summer of 2006, just as the real estate boom in southern Maine was reaching its pinnacle, Sue found a rehab project for us in a tough Biddeford neighborhood. It was a duplex, owned by an older man looking to sell and move into assisted living. The house was advertised “as is” for $115,000. … Continue reading Wentworth Street: What we bought