Hey friends,
I wanted to stop in and share some updates. We're darned close to the house being liveable, if not "done." I'm getting tired, but am chugging along with lots of help from friends and family.
Here are some photos of recent progress:
This used to be an exterior door, but now leads to our primary bathroom. We decided to put in heavily frosted glass so that we could keep the original door in place. It's pretty great. We now have it painted and trimmed out and it's ready to hang.
This house hasn't had a functional toilet in over twenty years, so this is a big deal for us.
Some trippy tile work on a small corner shower for one of our guest rooms.
This porch is now done! We bought standard treated 5/4 decking and then ripped each side to eliminate the roundover and make the look more period appropriate. Then we stained with an oil based stain/sealer. I then hand nailed, yes nailed, it with custom ordered hot-dipped galvanized cut nails. It was tiring, but it looks slick.
The exterior paint is 95% complete!
This an emerging ceiling detail in our living room and kitchen. Exposed hand hewn beams from 1782 and some dimensional lumber added circa 1890.
A wider shot of the kitchen, featuring our neighbor cat/building inspector.
I installed hickory flooring in the hallway and laundry room. I sourced the wood from the Hardwood Store and I couldn't be happier. This is a dream floor for me. I plan to finish it with Waterlox and hope for the best. I'm okay with it showing wear and tear.
Mostly I just discover and deal with rot. Here is a pair of beams, one the first log on the foundation, the other is a beam for the flooring.
Here was my solution. I created a partial beam replacement (after lots of fiddling with various saws). The top of the rubble stone foundation was notched for the first log, which would have been notched but was just dust in this location. I cleaned and filled the top of the foundation with some concrete for a smooth surface and then I created a replacement with some scrap treated lumber.
Here is what the nearly finished patch looked like. Still rough and needs work, but servicable. I had some flooring saved from another spot in the house that was the right species, size, etc. It'll sand and seal nicely.
Three things from inside the wall: 1-bone 2-coal 3-old nail
Last, but not least, I also have recently gotten a permit from the city to build a 24 X 24' shop in the backyard! It's on a sloping lot, so it won't be a slab foundation, but instead I'm planning on concrete piers. Below is the plan that I'm using, though I'm hoping to do a single garage door off to one side and to increase the slope of the roof to add storage above. I'm really excited because this will be the first time that I've had a dedicated woodshop in a long time. Let me know if you have any tips for building the shop!