This cOld House 37

Octobrrrrrrr 29, 2009

This summer we bit off a big chunk of the outside, kind of by accident. We really just wanted to paint, but once started, it became glaringly apparent some restoration work was in order.

The wood had never been painted and we made the heartbreaking decision to paint it with a good protective coat of latex. The semi-opaque stain just wasn't enough to preserve the 85 year old oak. It was taking a beating. On top of this, the carpenters removed an obscene amount of latex caulk that had been used over the years to stem the rot. Unfortunately when rot is not properly addressed it just keeps on keeping on. In some areas the gap between wood and foundation/wood/stucco/metal window frame was over an inch. We used putty in some places and structural epoxy in others and are confident that the restoration work that was done will give the house another 85 years. (With proper periodic maintenance.)


We now have a door from the yet-to-be-remodeled kitchen to the new patio. Now we have no excuse not to be dining al fresco every wonderful night... except that the kids are scared of all things natural... flies, bugs, bees, dirt, spiders etc. And we are part of the minority in this country who do not own a barbeque. And the entire summer we had scaffolding all over the place. (See picture above.) But we are looking forward to next year when al fresco is definitely on the menu.

The door kind of hosed up the room I had been using as an office, so the computer et al has been relocated to the newly rearranged living room. Added value from the door, more
light, less cold or hot than the original single pane steel casement window we replaced and a tax credit for buying the super insulated Pella door.

So now we are thinking about the kitchen, (with the office cleared out it's a lot easier to picture the space with the walls blown out.) And it would be lovely not to snake our way through the labyrinth of doors, halls and chambers that makes up the original 'service' part of the house.

While I am eager to knock out the walls, I am loathe to start a new round of improvements hot on the heels of the work we had/are having done this year. I feel as though there has been someone else in the house for the past six months, (um, I have,) and I'd like a little down time.