Blue Shoe got a Restoration Award!

Well, in all truthfulness, not really the house per se, but the contractor got an award for the work he did on my home.  He did do a great job... insulation, wood windows, age appropriate siding, plus all the structural work in the basement. As it was phrased in the award ceremony...."an appropriate restoration with a restrictive modest budget"... meaning I was always on them about cost details.

It seems like this is a summer 2013 picture - dead grass, daisies in full bloom. Note the chair outside the window? That would be one of the kids not having their key to get in the house so they clamber through my bedroom window.  

Oregon properties in need of some lovin'

It just won't be love from me, I am all tapped out! These are all north central rural (obviously) properties. Do you look at derelict properties and think....hmmmmm, I bet I could restore-rebuild-fix that? Thankfully, I am moving away from that thinking. It is too expensive.

You probably can't tell... but the porch has completely separated from the house.  A positive : this used to just be grey weathered siding, looks like someone painted!

We are not tobacco growers here in the Northwest, so I could not figure out
why this barn has so much ventilation.  Hops? Really volatile hay?

OK. Even by my standards this may be a bit too far gone
 (Oh, but think of the stories......)

Contractor - I found a good one.

My house has never been so strapped down.  It has been seismically retrofitted, with monster brackets tying the whole thing together.  That and the posts and beams are new should make this all more solid.  Should.  I notice my south wall is moving.  I notice this because the previous ding dong owners built the stairs so they don't all touch the wall... it looks like a floating staircase at points.  Yes, in architecturally significant homes they do this purposely and it is quite a feat, in my house... an accident because what - they ran out of wood?  I dunno, but it has always been this way and I have called it "charming" in my mind. If I think "charming" and "original" that allows me to be more generous of spirit than if I focus on the words "idiocy" and "cheapskate".  Some days it is a toss-up. 
The staircase is becoming more and more floating.  As in, the wall has moved a quarter inch away. 
Sigh. 
Guess we aren't done in the basement. 
I will have a structural engineer over to confirm, but I will have my contractor do the work.  Because even if I question how he supported the south wall, the bottom line is I can call him up and say "Walter, seriously, this wall is moving because of what you did". He does not argue, get all blustery about it and grumble that it was like that before, or he did it all correct it must have been something I did (can you tell what sort of people I have had do work previously?) He just says something like : Sue (the project manager) differed in opinion on how to support this but we ran all the numbers (and boy did they run numbers) and I thought this would work but I guess we need to revisit this, or yeah, we didn't know (blah de dah), let me come over and figure it out.  Other than this, they stayed in budget and did phenomenal work. The ease of working with them all on a plain old farmhouse is worth it.  And, with this house, nothing is ever simple.  And no, I don't want a new cookie cutter development house which would take no brain power to own. Because for me, I need to have a challenge.  Oh, you say, having teenagers, being a single mom, health adventures, a geriatric horse or two,  acreage, gardens, aging cars, chicken eating coyotes is not enough of a challenge for you?  No, no, it isn't.  I need an old bug chewed, slightly tilting, story-filled, farmhouse thrown in the mix!   And yes, I should probably plan on being buried in the backyard because all my money is sinking into this landboat. 

Signing the work contract - Replacing joists and posts.

What an enormous amount of legal-ese goes into the paperwork to hire a contractor --three pages of obscurity to read and sign. The job starts in the basement --we are leveling the house and adding structural supports . (See, I can listen to suggestions!)
First we are adding or replacing beams and posts... and sistering joists.  Then, and this one cracks me up, we are going to take a laser level and even out the SW corner.  Laser level and my house just don't seem like a good blend.  Abacus and my house.  Eyeballing by squinting next to a straight tree as a guide seems like my house.  Not laser.  But it will be grand in the end and she can stand up a bit straighter.  Never mind the cracking walls I will be repairing after they move things that have not been level in a century. 
We are still in negotiation on replacing siding/windows.  I lean toward bringing it back to the 1904 style windows, albeit with insulation and double panes.  But my budget keeps me in the "keep it the same" style.
Sidenote: we have a historic company town (Port Gamble) 4 miles away that is such a great resource for my home.  The exteriors of the 20 or so buildings are virtually unchanged.  The interiors- not so much. Someone described them as "Pay-n-Pak'ed" (you have to be an old northwesterner to get this reference). Pick any cheap materials do-it-yourself store and you get the idea.  This company town was built in the late 1800's by Pope and Talbot for processing lumber. They still own all the buildings that make up the little village.  Nowadays individuals can rent the homes and businesses from the company.

  This is my original window style.  Not the 80's sliders they put in.  (At least they are not aluminum). (Image of Port Gamble home)

NOT my window style.  I took it for the plain detailing of the board trim at the roofline which I am thinking of adding. (image of Port Gamble home)

Minneapolis

This is a window from the Lutheran church between my hotel and the convention center.  I didn't want to interrupt a service and gawk at the building, so I dodged up this tower and sat and listened to the music out of sight--and took a pic of a fantastic window.  I am telling you, if they had built churches in Seattle like the ones I saw in Minneapolis, we wouldn't all have the reputation of being such agnostic heathens and humanists.  I would go to church anyday in these stunning buildings!

Window detail

Personal pet peeve.  You tear down a building and put something else up... what do you do the the highly skilled stonemasonry work from the building?  Put it on the ground, in a teeny area, outside the new building.  These were designed to be high on top of a building, not below navel gazing level.  Similar to laying Michelangelo's David on the ground... the perspective would be all off.  Stepping off soap box...
I guess this is better than them being in the landfill or a private garden out of view.

Historic photo of the park superintendent's office, Loring Park

Lovingly restored!  There was a sign that it is now used for the dressing area for performers/concerts in the park.

I loved this picket fence-like siding detail.  You can see that it was on the original structure, too.

We won an architect

We won an architect at my son's school fundraiser auction for $100.  Such a deal!! I am really trying to pare down my needs... I don't want to overwhelm someone with a list three pages long.  Keep in mind, I don't want to change the house, I feel there are 106 year old patterns of use, patterns of living that were put in place for a reason.  I want to respect those patterns...since what is life but one big continuum?  Historically, I also am keen on that this house was designed as a working farmhouse... every room was placed for a very specific reason, whether I know the reason or not.
I would like my fridge moved in my kitchen, however. I know the reason it is not there... kitchens in 1906 did not have double wide, tall, stainless steel with water dispenser cooling units... they put it in the mudroom in the because it fit fifty years later. And some windows on the exterior have been moved... and all have lost their two over two single hung windows in favor of vinyl sliders. But I can't dwell on that sad bit of info.

Not my house. Just showing you that the original window style looks alot better than sliders.

My house. Hmmm. What project was I tackling? It was probably the gutters and installing that rain barrel. That is the ladder I drove over with the truck.  Lesson: Always put your tools away.

House - Knob and Tube Wiring

Is this really happening, do I get to delete something from my house repair to-do list? Why yes, yes I do.
We have a light that I wrote about that we supposedly repaired. Well, we didn't. It still shot the bulbs out of the socket like little glass jets. I had it with whatever electrical mess was going on upstairs and had money in the savings account so called the handy dandy electrician. My kids sleep up there, and I am not fretting about possible snafus in the wiring system that could be dangerous. The electrical co. is the same who rewired the main part of the house and put in a new electrical box. When I talked to the 'bidder guy' who comes out to quote a job, he told me that they just did a house like ours with knob and tube and it was $8K. That is NOT how much I had in the savings account. So we talked a bit, and he said he could send my original two electricians out, Greg and Jim for $700 a day and they could figure out what was going on. Greg and Jim came out yesterday and when they were leaving at 3:30 they said "We replaced all the knob and tube and questionable outlets and fixtures." So the price to upgrade the upstairs went from $8000 to $700. I gave them cheesecake and a loaf of fresh bread. I think that worked out in my favor.

House - Update

Photo Detail : Stupid old electric ceiling light in process of replacing.

Photo Detail : Smartness-challenged previous owner that put two 100 watt bulbs in 60 watt limit receptacle. Note discolored overheated ceramic holder and bulb base still stuck in the holder after blowing the bulb out like a bomb. Every light was over-watted in this house. Did you note the above wiring pic? Not really the electrical system one should be overloading.

Photo: The start of the bathroom tear-out.

Don't even ask about the light that was the three day job. It is still not done. I blame it not on me, but on my endless illness that is finally lifting. The bathroom is still in a funky state of disrepair. I have been eyeballing it, and then leave the room. Ok, really, I eyeball it, pull up a section of the 5 layers of linoleum, think "I am exerting myself" let it drop and then leave the room.
The thing with this clingy bug which I have learned is not to push it. When I felt a bit better and moved manure, moved hay, clambered up and around the ceiling.... I got sick for another two weeks. Have been moving slowly. Which KILLS ME. How am I supposed to be my laid-back overachieving self if I have to rest all the time.
One thing I have been very effective at is shopping on craigslist for my bathroom stuff. Here is the genius thing. I have a limited budget to do this bathroom, yet have now found a kohler shower unit and restoration hardware lights, sconces and towel racks for 27% what I would pay for them new. And they are new! It helps to be sick in bed, since craigslist is weird and varied in terms of the deals you can find. I am still holding out for my new bathroom window and skylight on there.

Home Update

Wellllll. I am alive, but not totally healthy. Figured out I got (actually the doctor figured it out) that I had a sinus infection. Those puppies take a long time to get rid of.
Have been wiping myself out. I felt so fantastic about two weeks ago that I ordered three tons of hay, cleaned out my garage, and worked on the (previously) flooded basement. The result was that I was sick for two more days, and then one month later not totally recovered.
Don came over and helped me dismantle the bathroom. I bribed him, I mean rewarded him with lunch at one of my fave places... which now I can't think of the name. Bavarian food with a great second story porch that looks over downtown Poulsbo. Also, the place that sheltered Wilder and I when I locked myself out of my car and house on a cold blustery night before he had his dreaded 4th grade WASL test last year.
Will add all sorts of dramatic pictures soon. (Dramatic to me, probably fairly uninteresting unglamorous shots of ripped out fixtures and flooring to you all. Ohhh, and rotten mystery slime around the toilet... that is a good one)
Stay healthy everyone!!!!

Oregon - ghost tales

Having uploaded all my pics finally from the trip, I will slather this blog liberally with them.

The first set is the ol' house the town of Mitchell hopes to (perhaps) turn into a museum. This house looks like it needs even more work than my house... and it is still for sale. If anyone buys it I will donate labor to help you fix it up!

The second is a pic I took on my evening walk of a building that is supposedly haunted. It is the thing way in the background. Not that I am believin' these stories but I was by myself, it was dark, and the building was off the main street, and Creeping Me Out. I had not heard these tales, but when I took the pic there was no cat near me (and it is front and center in the pic) We all know how terrifying cats can be.