Sorry for the Delay....

The beginning of the week was a bit slow because Steve had ordered 6 support beams for the front of the house and they were not delivered until today.  He and the guys worked on another job while Joel went up and continued to rip out walls and ceilings.  Things picked up big time today, though, as we all were there doing different jobs. We also had surprise visitors!!  Our dear friends, Karen and Bill Kennedy, were up from Florida and popped in for a visit and a tour.  So good to see them!! 

In the meantime, Joel and Larry worked upstairs taking down the wall between our bedroom and the yoga room.  When I went upstairs to take a picture I was overcome by the dust.  As I was snapping the shot it almost seemed like spirits were swirling around me.  Very eerie!

Paige is still here!  I take her to the airport tomorrow for her return trip to California.  She helped us in so many ways; such an awesome daughter:)  She and I had fun putting the final touches on my quirky sign which I polyurethaned today...pics of the lakefront installation to follow!

Snow in June???

So all the family was hard at work on the house over the weekend.  Joel decided to tackle his Yoga room.  As he ripped out the walls and ceiling it started to snow...insulation that is.  Luckily he has been wearing the mask that Kelly gave him (thanks Walt!!), and the cough he has been struggling with seems to be going away.  All the debris that Joel extracted from the room topped off our third huge dumpster which will be removed and replaced on Monday.

Meanwhile Paige and I weeded a neglected and overgrown garden.  She took the truck out to Grandpa Amidon's house because he was anxious to put his Kubota to good use and give us some good planting dirt.  When she returned we both hopped into the bed of the truck and shoveled the dirt into the garden.  Didn't need to go to the gym all weekend, that's for darn sure:)

Although Joel Rhein conveniently didn't bring any work clothes home with him this weekend he still pitched in and pried nails out of the beautiful, thick subfloor boards from the Rustic Room.  Our plan is to build a huge farmhouse table for the outdoor patio with some of this wood.  Psyched for that!

Needless to say I was in heaven to have Joel Rhein in from South Carolina and Paige home from California, even if it was only for a few days.  We wanted to show them the house and get them as excited as we are for our future home.  They both love it!

The Good, The Bad, and the UGLY!

Let's start with the ugly so no one thinks I mean Steve!!  While I was getting up close and personal with the house foundation to take some pictures I found this guy living between the stone and wood.  Now, not everyone thinks snakes are disturbing...in fact our daughter Paige keeps one as a pet...but frankly I have had enough encounters with them over the past few weeks to last a lifetime.  These next pictures are of Striker warding off disaster by the pool and then again by our entrance door on Turin Road.  Snakes be gone!

Moving on to the bad...everything has been going splendidly with the renovations, but as Steve prepared to replace some rotten planks around the base of the house he discovered that the entire supporting beam has been practically reduced to dust by termites.  Using all the jacks he can get his hands on (including the one my father in law had just donated to the Salvation Army and had to go back to retrieve!) he and the guys have supported the east side of the house and are now fashioning a new, strong support to tie in with the floor joists and studs.  Needless to say this is slowing down our progress, but it is necessary and vital, and we are thankful that Steve is patient and optimistic.

Now for the good news.  Larry, Brian, and Joel are making great strides with interior demolition.  The entire downstairs and the front rooms of the upstairs are now stripped down, first exposing beautiful old lathe and plaster and then beneath that, solid supporting boards.  The house feels kind of naked on the inside, but this is allowing us to get rid of old molds and critters that have been living in the walls and ceilings.  All in all, we are pleased with this week's accomplishments!

Pics as Promised!

Opening up of the Dining Room into Kitchen

Back of the now exposed "Underground Railroad" Chimney

Rustic Room Floor Removed in Preparation for Dropping it Down

Treasure found Underneath the Floorboards!

Back Staircase is Gone...

Joel and Steve and the guys are working at breakneck speed on the demolition.  We are starting at the back of the house and moving forward and eventually up.  At the same time the outside is going to be wrapped.  The siding is on order as are the windows and doors.  Crazy!!

While all this construction is going on I plan on doing some research on the history of the house.  We know that the original owners back in the 1800's were the Wardwell family, so I was quite excited to come into possession of that little scrap of wood with their name on it.  Folklore has it that our house was one of many on the underground railroad trail north.  The hidey hole space behind the massive fireplace in the dining room would seem to lend credence to this claim.  There is so much to learn....

What Would We Do Without Our Friends??

So I know that this blog is about the house renovations, but somehow the interest and presence of our friends is just as important to me as the brick and mortar of the remodel.  I promise that I will post again tomorrow with terrific pictures of the most recent demolitions and a treasure that we found hidden under the floorboards (such a tease!), but today is dedicated to our buddies. 

Over the weekend Joel asked our friends Larry and Tracey to stop in because Larry is an engineer, and we wanted to pick his brain about vaulting our bedroom ceiling and attaching a deck off the second story yoga room.  After much measuring and discussion it was determined that both are doable with the right supports and beams.  This is good news because now the dilemma of where to place the bedroom furniture becomes more clear.

Tuesday was Flag Day, so my childhood friend Cathy, who also happens to be our contractor Steve's wife, and I donned our red, white, and blue and headed to the house to place a flag by the door and take yet another walk through to discuss design ideas.  Good thing we were there at just the right time to oversee Steve and the crew safely lift the immensely heavy cast iron wood burning stove that we do not want into a truck to be taken away.

An impromptu visit from Guylene and Elemer who now live up in Malone, NY brought smiles to our faces as we always have so much fun together.  They spent the night at our Turin Road house, but when all is said and done this will be their bedroom at the "new" house!

From Zero to Sixty

Look at all the progress we made on the house in just one week!

      

One of the many things that I love about Joel is that when he dives into a project he does it one hundred percent.  He likes to see things through to their completion and is very talented at orchestrating what needs to be done, by whom, and in what order...sometimes all at once!  While Jake and Brett felled trees and hauled away all the wood, Joel began indoor demolition, Larry and Brian ripped off all the wooden clapboarding, and Steve, our friend and contractor scratched his head at all the frenetic activity and wondered what he had gotten himself into.  Seriously though, we lucked out when Steve agreed to our renovation.  We trust him implicitly, and he does excellent work.  We will be happy to share his number with anyone who needs help with a building project, but not until we are done!

We estimate that this project is going to take the better part of a year and a half.  The house needs everything; heating (and cooling, yay!), electric, plumbing, and new room designs complete with new ceilings, walls, and floors.  We respect the integrity of the structure both inside and out and are trying to preserve the features that are original to the house such as some of the interior moldings, fireplaces, and quirky cubby holes.  Steve is going to recreate the decorative eaves and have the outdoor brickwork repointed.  It truly is a team effort.  One would ask what my role is in all of this...well someone needs to check in everyday and offer opinions and suggestions and pick up stray bits of debris in the yard, right?!

                                                                                

Did Someone Say There is a Party??

But of course there is...

And another one just a week later!

So, everyone knows that Holly loves to have gatherings and what better place to throw a party than a run down, empty house with no services and electricity in only one area?  We are so grateful that our family and friends have always supported us in our endeavors.  No matter what project we take on we know we can count on folks to lend a hand.  My parents reign supreme in this arena as they pitched in one hundred percent fifteen years ago when we created La Mariposa.  Dad helped Joel with construction and Mom assisted me with the gift shop set up and overall cleaning and they both manned the Inn in our absence.  I don't think they are physically up to that level of involvement with this project, but their excitement is palpable, and they enjoy a good party as well!

We have loved showing various friends though the house.  Everyone has some insight or recommendation that help us with our structural and design ideas.  Many of my lady friends have sensed the presence of spirits which doesn't surprise me as the house is old and has a long and varied history.  Margo and Susan assure me that the auras they feel have no evil intentions, but just to be sure Jean offered to perform a house cleansing complete with burning sage and words of good will.  So we opened all the doors and some of the windows to shoo out the ghosts and prepare the house for our inhabitance.  Of course the event was accompanied by hors d'oeuvres and beverages!

Never Say Never!!

                                    And so it begins.......  

A few years ago I was on a mission to find the perfect house in Maine, buy it, fix it up, and then maybe eventually move there...if we didn't move to our North Carolina fixer upper that is.  With some cajoling I was able to get Joel on board with the  whole idea of renovating yet another down and out property.  We ended up not getting the Maine house, but I do believe that things happen for a reason.  This beauty on the north side of Lake Delta must have been waiting for us.  Funny thing is we looked at it almost thirty years ago when we first moved back to Rome.  It just seemed too big and out of the way at the time.  A nice home in the city, near the library, parks, and play date friends seemed more reasonable when children came along, which they did!  Our Madison Street house fit the bill, and we enjoyed 20 plus great years there raising our kids and seeing it through one major addition and several minor renovations.  Flash forward to winter 2016.  Joel had moved beyond the idea of taking on another big project.  He just did not think we needed the stress.  If we were to move again a condo or apartment sounded just fine.  I was still hoping for one more place to design and have fun with colors and textures.  Oh well.  A marriage is about compromise and our current digs were just fine.  We moved here to Joel's childhood home on Turin Road after the kids headed off to college and completely remodeled the back half for what we thought was going to be our last abode. 

Most everyone has heard the tale of how we found our Emerald Isle home with all it's coincidences and funny twists and turns.  The story of this 1834 house is no different.  One day I took the dogs for a long country drive, coffee in hand, music on Sirius.  As I made my way around the lake I saw that the old house that we had liked so many years ago was for sale again.  I made note of it but forgot to tell Joel.  Meanwhile, that same night during a bought of insomnia, he was checking out realty websites for interesting properties.  1834 popped up.  It had only been on the market for a few days.  The next morning we got excited just talking about it and made the decision to go take a look.  One thing led to another and we decided to put in an offer.  We found out our figure had been accepted on the same day that I emerged from a successful surgery, and the keys were in our hands a mere few weeks later.  We move fast.  Only a month had passed from seeing it to owning it.  A champagne toast was in order as was making the front entrance pretty with flowers during the major upcoming renovations.  Aah, the fun begins!  Stay tuned.