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 →

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 →

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 →

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… →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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… →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →