Knox Hill Project: Weekly Update

Our Kitchen is finally gutted! Although it has only taken a few weekends it seems like an eternity. I hate removing plaster walls, its messy, dusty and takes forever. But we are at last there.

Of course its interesting to see all the changes that occurred. We have been able to deduce some more about the construction date of our kitchen. We know that our house originally had a separate 'summer kitchen" built behind the house and this room was built later. We now think this addition was built about the time gas lighting was added to the house. We have been able to determine this based on the fact that looking at the second floor it is obvious the gas lines were run and the floor was then put down. Had this been and "update" we would expect to have found evidence the flooring had been taken up in order to run the gas pipe. In the older parts of the house you can clearly see this.

We do know that they retrofitted that "New fangled" electricity later as you can see on the second floor where they removed flooring to run the wiring. I suspect that was done about the time they added indoor plumbing. the cast iron soil lines of course will be replaced with more modern PVC drain lines and new venting. The "maze" of wiring updates is truly scary. At some point they added "modern' Wiring and basically 'spliced' off the knob and tube. RESTORATION TIP: When I am starting a new restoration, I always disconnect EVERYTHING from the breaker box and then run some new circuits properly grounded with new boxes in strategic locations throughout the house. I do this because until you start really restoring you have no clue what is going on electrically behind those walls and you do not want to put "high load' power to old on old circuits.

You cant "assume' that just because you see a grounded box and new romex that it runs from the circuit box to the outlet. Far too often you will come across "splice jobs" like this. People added more wiring as needs changed but often didn't think about the load of what was running it. For example the entire kitchen was run of one 20 amp breaker!

Work also continues on the paint removal in the formal parlor where we found original stencilling. Although this removal of the later paint layers is a real pain, there is no way that paint would properly adhere to the surface as there was some sort of varnished or shellacked top coat put over the original milk paint. This also allows us to properly repair the inevitable cracks in a 130 year old wall and have a good surface for paint and wallpaper. As I said last week, it is our intention to restore the stenciled area as a frieze and duplicate it on the border of the ceiling. After some careful research of the ceiling it appears it was either painted or wallpapered as I can find no evidence of and stencil work. I did find evidence that the ceiling once had an elaborate plaster medallion based on paint level changes.The color of this room really intrigues me as I must confess it is a unique color. It is hard to accurately depict with the camera but the best way I can describe it is "copper penny". Clearly they had a very specific look in mind when the house was built and I must imagine by oil lamp it must have truly glistened. Especially contrased with teh hanging rail which was gold leafed. This was not a 'stock' color of the time , although everything was pretty much hand mixed. They had to have brought someone in to do this work as this finish was beyond the realm of the typical painter of the day. Perhaps one more weekend and this room will have all the later paint removed and I will have a better view of how it looked back in the day.

Knox Hill Project: Weekly Update

The heat of summer has gone and working either inside or out is great. Things are moving along with the project and this week continues our work on the front formal Parlor. Now you may ask why we are working on this particular room when obviously we have a ton of things to do. Well we are working on all the basics , getting wiring updated plumbing runs (things like that but one of the goals is to have what I like to call "sanctuary space'. A relatively done, painted walls new floor "clean room' that can be closed off from the rest of the house when done and be a place where one can "get away' from restoration for a moment in a nice clean space and relax. Now we wont be putting up the Bradbury papers or installing a chandelier just yet but it is part of "reclaiming' space in the house and it keeps you kinda sane during all the stuff that goes on.

This week I began taping the arch which will be covered with architectural panels and trim. I am, not looking for 'finished look here, rather getting the tape on and a couple of coats floated on it, This week I got the drywall mesh 'bedded" and next week I will get on some top coats. The fireplace in our Parlor is strictly ornamental so I began covering over the old opening it over with drywall. I also insulated this space as well so there is no cold infiltration. The Cast iron fireplace will have a summer cover year round on it.

When the last furnace was put in (gas forced air) the chimney has been professionally relined with chimney tile and tuck pointed. Now this house will be total electric so we really wouldn't need a chimney BUT we have decided to have a pot belly stove down in the basement "bar room" which we can use as supplemental heat. Or in case of electrical outage cause by winter storm as an emergency heat source. As a result this chimney work is not wasted. We had it inspected and it is in perfect shape so our plan is to but a new dual wall pipe down the chimney liner ( for added safety), that will allow us to use the potbelly as supplemental heat source.

So in addition to some spot sanding of the plaster walls in the Parlor I am also making some small crack repairs. The plaster in this room is in remarkably good condition for 130 yr old house. I feel like I really "lucked out" on the woodwork. The woodwork only has two coats of paint and both are latex so it come of easily. Our woodwork appears to be white oak looking at the area below the outside 'surround' trim that was never stained. We do know the woodwork had been 'faux grained' unfortunately there is NO WAY to remove the paint without taking the graining so in a future episode I will be showing you how to do a faux grain finish. There will be a ton of cleaning and "picking" to get all the paint off to ready it for finishing but I am amazed at just how well the heat gun did on a low setting at removing the paint. I do not recommend the average home owner use a heat gun but rather use chemical stripper. Use of heat gun takes allot of skill and you have to be very careful not to overheat an area. This is especially critical on window frames where dust and debris can settle in the weight pockets and be ignited through heat transference from the surface in. So unless you have been doing this for 20 years, DO NOT use a heat gun unless the wood has been removed and the stripping is being done on some sawhorses.

Our baseboards are cleaning up well. The quarter round is missing the the formal parlor. Fortunately the dining room still has it so I can match the profile, I suspect this are may have been carpeted at some point and the yanks the quarter round out. They must have done it recently as the area under where the quarter round was only has one coat of paint.

I was able to get one window and the baseboard on one wall stripped in just a few hours . Of course I have those damn replacement windows to deal with but I can faux finish them out where they will blend in. Eventually I will build new period windows.

The kitchen has been gutted down to the studs! Its awful dusty work and I am glad that it is done. We should be able to start wiring and reframing soon!

Over the weekend our realtor Cathy Frank stopped by and I gave her the updated tour of the house. There were other houses we could have bought but I am glad we bought this one. I was also talking with one of our neighbors who commented on with our pumpkin , gold and green colors how "fall like' our house looks.

Neighborhood group hopes home will revert to single family

The Knox Hill Neighborhood Association sees opportunity in properties that others might not. Such is the case with 1885 Knox Street a 2 1/2 story Italianate on the corner of Thompson and Knox.

The home was converted back in the 1950's to apartments and residents hope that a new owner can be found who is interested in taking the home back to single family. "The home was obviously 'remuddled' back in the 50's and a combination of owners since, who had no clue what they were doing, have not helped the property" said Greg Drake, KHNA board member, "But, it is structurally sound and a good base for restoration, but as 4 apartments it is a drain on the community as there is no off street parking at the moment"

In fact the property sits on a desirable block in the area which has several restorations ongoing. The house also sits on two lots meaning there is room for a garage. The Neighborhood association has sent an email to the realtor with links to the neighborhood website in the hopes that the home will be marketed to a preservation minded buyer. While the listing states the 1st and 2nd floors were renovated in 2007 There were no permits pulled and according to city records that last permit pulled was a furnace permit in 1999. The listing states there are4 units total although the auditors site shows the property as a 3 unit.

Take the aluminum siding off, open up the front porch,put a nice 4 color paint job and you are looking at a 150K house just a few years down the road. Larger single family homes are getting harder to find close to downtown. In fact members of the group have offered to help the new owner occupant write a restoration plan. The house is "habitable' while restoration would be going on. The Knox Hill area was built mostly as weekend and summer homes by some of the cities most elite in the 1860's-1890's

KHNA has been active in seeing that no new illegal apartment conversions happen in their area and now the group's goal has been to get as many of the older conversions back to single family as possible. The group has put the landlords and speculators on notice that they are monitoring the condition and status of houses in the neighborhood.

The house is listed for 34,500 by Caldwell Banker West Shell

Knox Hill Project House: Weekly update

Exterior work continues with more painting . A key change was the change of the lower porch area from the brighter Yellow to a more mellow "Mark Twain Gold" which is our primary trim color. This allows the stencilled flowers, still in the brighter yellow to "pop' more as a detail.

We also installed corner boards and did additional caulking. I can hardly wait to get the brackets up. and other trim installed

Work continued on painting the stone foundation with "Del Coranado Brownstone" a National Trust color from Valspar. Although we are getting rid of it in the future we decided to put a coat of paint on the outside basement access doors so everything looks nice and clean.

Greg ran the chipper all day Saturday chipping up the collection of limbs we cut and the tree we removed the weekend before.

The need for neighborhood based Historic Salvage Centers

Every year the city bulldozes houses., for no reason other than they meet the definition of "blight" they may not have any structural problems they just don't look pretty and uninformed neighbors who don't realize the importance of an intact neighborhood complain.

This is a "no win' for the city, the neighborhood, and the taxpayers. It costs 12-15,000.00, or more, to demo a house, more if there are asbestos issues. The city is left with a lien and must often wait years before the taxes are not paid and the city can obtain the property, during which time the city usually winds up cutting the lot (occasionally). the neighborhood goes from having an unsightly house on their lot top an overgrown lot.

There are hundreds of homes on the city condemn list right now. Some of these may be saved by neighborhood groups finding people willing to take the risk and deal with mountain of paperwork required to get a house off the list and on the path to restoration, Others are simply doomed,

The city has a hazard abatement plan as reported in Building Cincinnati http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/06/dohoney-hazard-abatement-funding-too.html

The program is seriously underfunded to do anything on a large scale. Why not try a different approach. Typically by the time a property has reached this stage the owner has "given up' on trying to do anything with the property. The city could start a pilot program and I would be happy for our neighborhood, Knox Hill, to be the "Test Area".

The city should make a deal with the owner: First of all the city "rarely' collects any money for the demo costs anyway so why not make the following deal. If you will allow a local neighborhood group to salvage materials from the house prior to demolition and agree to sign over the lot to the city we will forgive the demo lien.

Why should the city do this? There are several logical cost effective reasons. First land fill costs are a huge part of the demolition. Everything you can save off a house, The less that goes to the landfill. Old houses even 'blighted" ones , have value. Many of these homes have Mantles, Light fixtures, porch parts, brackets, Door locks, built ins, stair railings, newel posts, beaded board, flooring, claw foot tubs, tiles ALL of which anyone restoring a house needs and often pays outrageous prices for. This drives up the cost of restoration making restoration not cost effective in many neighborhoods. If you can reduce the costs you make houses more viable as restoration candidates.

Neighborhood volunteers would remove those items from the house on a date and time specified by the city. Some sort of Liability waivers can be created and signed by the volunteers releasing the city from financial liability. The neighborhood group resells these materials and uses the monies to supply facade grants for low income and elderly residents or as a fund to buy and stabilize endangered property in the neighborhood.

Once the house is demoed the vacant lot owned by the city can be sold to an adjacent property owner for a nominal fee or donated to a community group for Urban gardens or a neighborhood maintained thumbnail park or resold to a developer to build a new Historically compatible infill home.

In fact if the program could be expanded beyond the pilot stage the city could take a city owned property (say in OTR) and create a neighborhood "Salvage Warehouse" where neighborhood groups would bring the salvage, It would be cataloged and tagged as from that neighborhood and the proceeds from the sales would go to that neighborhoods "Community reinvestment fund"

The "Restore Cincinnati Salvage Center" would be open on weekends and staffed by volunteers from the neighborhoods. Schools could even get involved in the demo work as part of a building trades vocational program.

This is not a new idea, It has been done successfully in several cities. Burlington Iowa has has a program for years called "preservation station' : http://www.burlington.lib.ia.us/Heritage%20Trust/PresStation.htm

Greensboro N.Carolina has a city/community partnered project. Architectural Salvage of Geensboro. ASG is a nationally recognized, non-profit volunteer project of Preservation Greensboro, Incorporated, with support from the City of Greensboro. The project is to rescue and recycle materials from historic structures when they are remodeled or demolished, and return profits to the community through a grant program for historic residences. Volunteer S.W.A.T. (Saving Worn Architectural Treasures) teams*, supervised by volunteer professionals, carefully retrieve authentic materials from buildings. Donors may claim a tax deduction for charitable contributions. Salvaged materials are lightly cleaned and prepared for retail sale at the showroom. http://www.blandwood.org/archsalvage.html

Other cities have clearly demonstrated that this is possible, Why Can't Cincinnati?

Knox Hill Project: Weekly progress report

Of course with our annual antique sale we were only able to devote one day to our house in Cincinnati/ Greg did the obligatory yard work and I concentrated on painting the east facade. Finally we have the paint going up the entire side of the house and the result is as I expected, the colors make the house appear "taller" I am looking forward to the install of the new drip board and trim board on the lower part of the house.

We also selected the paint color to replace the grey currently used on the foundation. The color , from Valspar's National Historic Trust line of colors approximates a "brownstone" color, which I think will 'ground' the house better visually and is in the same family of colors as the body color of the house La Fonda Copper ( pumpkin) and the gold of the trim.

Knox Hill Project: Restoration Progress

Paint work continues on the exterior of the Knox Hill Second Empire cottage. The one thing I have so wanted to not see, the glaring white of the replacement windows takes a very pleasant change as the paint goes on and the frames recede nicely on the building facade. I know its not the best allocation of time since This particular area of the house will change because its at this point the new Second Empire tower and carriage house connect to the main house but the house just looks so much "better" when those ugly white frames are painted!

We continue to "scrub" the house down and I spent most of Sunday working up high on the top side corner of the house, pulling nails, filling holes, getting down to "clean' in order to put the tinted primer on followed by the first coat of paint. It is a hassle going up and down that ladder switching back between the primer and paint but I am saving so much money rather than renting scaffold, which I admit would be SO much easier. I hope to get the paint running all the way from top to bottom next week so we have a better idea of the "impact" of the color on the house and neighborhood. I will be the first to admit that this is a 'stronger' historic colors than I would normally use but being a deeper base, as opposed to the "sunflower yellow' the house was originally done it will mellow to a nice shade and will not have the upkeep that a lighter shade would have.

Yardwork continues as well and perhaps for the first time since we have owned the house the yard is actually cleared of all limbs and "stuff" that was strewn all over the yard. I think next week we will use the chipper and get as many of the the tree branches and limbs chipped before we have the next dumpster delivered. The rain was welcome as the flower beds received some much needed rains. I do need to think about ordering the stone for the flower bed retaining walls and the brick for the sunken garden and sidewalks so it looks like a trip will be in order to the landscape supply place to make some decisions next week about that.

I spent some time working upstairs in the front bedroom prepping the floor (getting any small nails pulled and such) as I plan to sand the floors soon and refinish them. I will be so glad to see that gray paint gone. I will never understand the "logic" in painting wood floors? What were they thinking? I have the new trim work for the front window as well ( made from salvaged trim) that I will install soon as well. I still have to strip/refinish the baseboard trim.

We also took a brief few minutes on Sunday to walk the neighborhood and I will post pictures probably tomorrow ( unless there is some breaking preservation news) of some of the homes in the area. I know more "shameless promotion" of the area but I figure maybe I can talk some of my regular readers into taking the plunge and moving to the next "Mt Adams". In five years you all will be saying , boy that guy was smart for buying over there, look how expensive those houses are now that they are all being restored and those new luxury infill houses are being built on the vacant lots.

Apparently we just missed one of our blog readers on Saturday who stopped by to visit. Our neighbor Mark though spent some time showing them the area. If I know you are coming to visit ( send me an email so ai know) I can try to be around but we generally try to head out between 4-5 for the drive back to Indy.

So progress continues!

Knox Hill: Interior Work and the "happy flower"

Because of the rain Sunday we refocused our activities inside the house. In our front formal Parlor I began the process of of closing in the inside of the square bay bumpout.

I probably overkilled the insulation but given how heating costs are only going up I decided to do as much as possible. That included Foam insulation in every joint and Roll insulation in the wall cavities and of course the small attic space of mansard roof.

Drywall was the easiest part of the job. I still have to custom cut some wood to backfill the areas between the new drywall and the old plaster. So I can feather the transition between the new drywall and original plaster.

I haven't yet decided the wall treatment in the bumpout. Originally I planned on architectural paneling in this space but now I am considering perhaps just trimming the "beam" out with an elaborate corbels on either side and wrapping the wallpapers into the area as it will make it look visually larger.

Although this is a small space it will have a Turkish Corner feel to it with elaborate drapery and a exotic Renaissance Revival chair and aesthetic movement ebonized and gold leafed stand with a bronze statue on it and a aesthetic movement floor lamp with Victorian silk shade. Above will hang a small Victorian gasolier style light. I am already making the draperies even though we are some time away from actually being able to live here. Another plus is that it appears I will be able to carefully remove the latex paint from the Picture Hanging rail which is gold leafed. This is a good thing, Of course the bad thing is I have to carefully take the railing down as we need to lower it 7 inches so it borders the wallpaper frieze we plan for this room. One step forward , two back!

We also plan on putting down a new floor. This was a somewhat painful decision for me as we have some really nice flooring under the paint BUT over the years and several heating plant additions later we have patches from cold air returns, ducts placed in wrong locations and such and it just make more sense to put down a new floor. Our plan is to use a Traditional oak square edge floor with a patterned inlaid banding around the edge. We also have to cut out a section of flooring to install the marble in the fireplace area and we will be able to have a level transition between this floor and the new English Encaustic tile that will make up the formal side entrance gallery that will run between the Formal Parlor and the Formal dining room which will now be at the back of the house.

We also worked on general clean up and on the old day parlor which will now be the new kitchen. For those of you unfamiliar with the term Day Parlor, the Day Parlor is the Victorian equivalent of today's Family room. It was the room that the Victorians actually "lived in".The front Formal Parlor was used exclusively to receive guests and entertain. As we plan on using the second story of our carriage house addition as our everyday room, or the "Music Room" as we call it (the room will be 22x26 feet) and will be reached off the new second empire tower entrance with its grand staircase. Our existing stairs will be the "back stairs" if you will for access to the second floor front master suite. The current day parlor will be divided into two areas, the gallery hall and the new gourmet kitchen area.

Anyway while removing Old paint Greg discovered this stencilled wall treatment remnant. This hand painted Frieze appeared to go extend 12-14 inches below the hanging rail which was stained in this room. It looks like a flower with a "face" in it , sort of a stylized aesthetic movement look. The background wall color was an ochre and the petals were a dark burgundy and the leaves are green. We tool several photos and I traced the design onto paper as we always try to document any Victorian era design work we find.

I personally could see this with some color changes as being a great stencil for a child's bedroom and I may add this to our line of period stencils we offer.

Well the one good thing is we got everything cleaned up and we now have an area to stage things in when we come down. I hate transporting everything back and forth but until we can move in it's a necessity.

So work continues on the unglamorous stuff, I'm itching to get to the wallpaper stage!

Historic Restoration: A delicate balancing act.

I haven't posted the last couple of days as I have been writing a restoration plan for a client. Between client meetings, tons of research and design time, I've been busy. At the same time one of the boards I regularly contribute to have had a plethora of posts.

Couple that, with me working on restoring Doorknobs a Newel Post and other assorted things for the Knox Hill Project, and, well, you get the idea.

One of the things I have been doing is "looking" for a building to house our antiques business, our design showroom and a historic litho Art Gallery in Cincinnati. I've narrowed potential areas down to OTR and West End. The vast bulk of our business is by appointment but in many ways we will be 'destination/tourist' kind of business as well and we want to have some regular hours and we want to be close to historic districts where many of our clients come from. So I have been going through the MLS, Craiglsits, and the web, trying to find "the right building" for our various enterprises. We had found one building earlier last year, only to get " outbid' by an "investor type" who has no intention of doing anything with it other than sit on it until he can find someone with deep pockets to buy it.

Therein the rub, we would love to be in the Findlay Market Area, It is one of our favorite places in the city. Most of the buildings are 'cost prohibited' in the area around it, as the owners want far more than the buildings are worth and basically figure if they go downhill enough some "preferred developer" or 3CDC will come in and pay their ridiculous asking price. 3CDC has been a godsend and a curse to OTR. They have done some great projects, yet have far too many buildings sitting. Because they own so much, it has "inflated' the real estate market to a point that many buildings we could restore have such a high cost per square foot for acquisition that it is cost prohibited.

So Saturday, we drive down to "look around' some more for some tattered, faded 'for sale' signs and hope that 1.) we can find something 'with potential, and 2.) Someone with a realistic view that a 2-3 story building that needs total restore is not worth 2-300K.

I got to see the first installment of the "This Old House" restoration project last night. A Brownstone in in Brooklyn, New York. It promises to be an interesting series as the owners are adamant about preserving as many historic details as possible. You can also follow the project on their website:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/current-house-project

We also plan on Driving around some of the neighborhoods and taking pictures. Our usual Cincinnati trip plan is get up at 5 AM leave at 7AM , drive down, work like crazy until 3-4 PM then drive back to Indy, eat dinner and collapse. Tomorrow is strictly an exploration day, driving neighborhoods. Walking some as well, ( yes I know its winter, but that doesn't stop Old House fanatics like us), and maybe some antiquing. I am still looking for some staircase parts.

Oh and if anyone out there has afalling apart commercial building near Findlay and doesn't want a million for it , please let me know.

Reverse Egyptology

This weekend we took on one of the more daunting projects...the dreaded front steps. Our 1871 Second Empire cottage had a front porch actually 2 front porches. The original front wooden stoop porch built in 1871 a full width porch built around 1885 and the dreaded front steps that were built around 1900.

Back "in the day" people didn't move every three years. Home was place you built and as you needed more space you simply "added on". By 1900 our house had had 2 porches, we assume that the owners, tired of "rebuilding" a porch they rarely used every 15 years went for the "low maintenace option", limestone steps!

Now our house sitting as far from the street as it was probably didnt have a lot of "callers' and if they did they probably entered from one of the two side doors and were protected by the side porch which we think was built about 1910 as an addition to the kitchen built in 1890. Our house like many at the time had a "summer kitchen" a structure several feet away from the main house where the actual meals were prepared. We found the footers for this structure while cleaning up the yard. I still havent located the 'privey' yet. (More urban archiology)

Anyway our previous owners decided that the low maintenace route made the most sense and had stone steps installed. Over the years due to settling these steps had moved a good six inches away from the front door, we think due to a badly placed downspot which softened the earth. In fact the front step was half buried due to the settling. Also at some point someone painted the steps which resulted in them being very slippery when wet.

Now having done this before on several restoration I knew how "involved " this was. Greg, not having dealt with this before didn't realize what a monumental task this was, and was surprised that I had a bunch of log posts and 2x4's scattered about. He inquired as to why I "had all this stuff"? My reply was well lets move this top step off. Greg grabbed the front step and started pushing and lifting, after a few minutes of grunting and graning and me not wnayting to take him to the emergency room for a groin injury... I explained that simply lifting the steps was not an option as the steps had no intention of being moved by conventional means!

And thus began our exercise in 'Reverse Egytology", much like the building of the great pyramids,I taught Greg about fulcrums and leverage. All told it took about 4 hours to 'de-assemble" the steps. I figure each step which was 6 feet long, 12 inches deep and 8 inches tall weighed about 500 lbs . They are now safely "out of the way, but I know that "eventually" they have to be moved. Fortunately I think I will wait until be have the heavy equipment in to regrade the site. I did wind up with some great pristine limestone pieces that made up the under supports for the steps that will make our wall restortion at the front of the house go smoothly!

War, er, "neighborhood revitalization"

Turning around a neighborhood is no easy task, but not impossible! Having done this myself numerous times and acting as a consultant to neighborhood and community groups trying to achieve the same goal, it can be a complex, sometimes nerve wrecking dance, of city agencies, law enforcement and concerned neighborhoods all fighting the "enemy".

The 'enemy' of course are the "slumlords" those who think its "OK" to convert single family homes into 3-5 apartments without permits, that allow trash and debris and abandoned inoperable cars to "accumulate".

To be effective you need organization (which have set up) and a gameplan ( being developed). Part of development of that "game plan" is an inventory of the "good" vs the bad and the indifferent. The 'good' of course are those residents who really care, usually the ones who have lived in the neighborhood for years and new Urban pioneers willing to take a chance. Fortunately for us we have good core group of about 12 properties and 10 people who really care about turning the corner on the neighborhood. Fortunately the "bad" are only a few and despite how 'smart' they think they are these people stand out like a sore thumb. They don't like scruitiny and when you shine a light on them they tend to move and go somewhere else where they can "do what they do" without interference". The indifferent are those that will likely sell out. Investors who, when they actually have to maintain their properties, will sell out, take their money and move to easier "less regulated" neighborhoods. They aren't bad people , they just don't want to go that "extra mile". They will be the first however to "kick themeselves" when the neighborhood turns around and they realize how much money they could have made if they had been a part of the turnaround.

What helps us is that we have that "core group" of people. Our next step will be to bring the city "on board".

We have identified "Possibilities". Homes that are vacant or under city demolition orders: Note: the two places that the city has demo orders on and are on the list, are in NO WAY in need of demolition. Key will be in working with the city to acquire and stabilize these properties as they can both be first class historic housing with a reasonable investment of time and energy.

Neighborhoods look a lot like a Monopoly game at this stage.

The neighborhood of possibilities

We spent most of our weekend working on the lot which had not had any major attention in years. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to meet several of our neighbors and was pleased that they not only understood that we were 'Restoring' the home and not rehabbing/remuddling as appeared to be the norm in the area. I was glad to meet others who were in various stages of restoration on their homes. There seems to be an optimism that the neighborhood was turning a corner.

To that end we have set up a core group of people to create a new neighborhood association in the area and better focus on a small area. More details to follow. I took some time to drive the neighborhood and I took some photos of some homes including a couple of large mansion home sthat I understand are presently used as retirement homes. They are well maintained and appear to be an asset to the neighborhood

Planning Planning Planning

We will drive down this weekend to do some preliminary cleanup of the lot as well as take additional pictures and do some further cost estimations but I am already planning 'well beyond' the "unglamorous" aspects of the home such as HVAC, Electrical and plumbing to the 'futute finsish work. We have already decided on the room configurations as will as the period and the historic design elements we plan on incorporating in the home.

I am planning 'design boards" for each room which basically will be a working plan for Wallpaper, furnishings and key design elements in each room such as lighting, lighting and fabrics/Wallapaper. In this case we are designing the Formal Parlor around some furniture we already own, as well as more period correct fireplace mantles that we will retrofit.

Today? Well I am tseting our portable generator and getting my tool boxes in order!

The Project Begins

Well the deal is done and we are officially closed on our 1870's era Second Empire Cottage and I can officially reveal that the project house is in the Fairmount neighborhood. Now I am fully prepared for the "Why Fairmount?" questions. Well the choice was a complex one but simple to an "outsider" like ourselves.

The house is a good example of a typical 'often overlooked" style of house that most people think is suited only to 2 family rental, however, it offers great possibilities as a comfortable single family home, 2500 square feet. It was the right size for our needs and the big plus was the site and the fact the property sits on a huge lot, nice views on a hill in a quiet neighborhood. We gave it the 3 pm on a weekend test, "Totally quiet". Frankly we looked at Lower Price Hill and some other areas and decided this was the best area for what we plan on doing. There is also some restoration going on in the neighborhood and some people are quietly coming in and doing some good restoration work. It is convenient to the downtown and Findlay/OTR area where we expect to locate our business.

The house also 'felt right', we looked at a variety of homes and this one 'spoke to us". In its day, it had been a great house with some real pride of ownership and she was like an old dowager who had fallen on hard times. The neighborhood clearly needs our help in "rebranding it" and with our ability to attract other historic preservationists and developers, much like we turned this neighborhood around here in Indianapolis, we expect we can have a significant impact in that area.

What happens next? Well we will be doing some serious site work to clear some scrub trees and overgrown landscaping this weekend so we can execute a proper landscape plan. Future work includes the exterior which will be totally restored with period reproduction trim and a 4-5 color historic paint job. the interior will be transformed to a period 1870 high end victorian home yet with the modern conveniences of a gourmet kitchen and baths, home theatre and hot tub.

So the work begins, I will keep you posted.

New Cincinnati Project

We are just about a week away from closing on a 1872 Second Empire cottage in Cincinnati. This project, a 2100 sq foot home will be a luxury restoration. The home sits on two lots and plans include new a double side porch and a restoration of the Mansard roof front facade as well as a period style re-creation of the front porch. The home will feature two master suites each with luxury baths, Formal parlor and dining rooms as well as a gourmet kitchen. The basement level will feature a large entertainment room with home theater and wine cellar. The large site will also feature a new two car carriage house, hot tub and will be fully landscaped in period Victorian Garden design.

The property is located in an 'emerging' neighborhood near downtown with details to follow including a new website dedicated just to the restoration which will be completed sometime in spring of 2009. We hope this restoration will, act as a catalyst for others to come into the area. We hope to interest other developers and promote the area with area realtors.

Fourth of July and other News

First of all a note , I will not likely be blogging on the Fourth due to the holiday. As usual, and funny I just realized it's the last time, after we spend the evening on our deck with the obligatory cookout, we will stroll down to Highland Park, the second highest point in Indianapolis, to watch the fireworks. Then retreat back to the house to watch 20,000 people drive by.

Saturday we have tons of people coming by as we put alot of 'stuff" on Craigslist that we quite frankly dont want to move.

Sunday, is Cincinnati! We must go down to conduct the inspection on the house. One step closer! Just a side note I am debating whether or not readers of the blog would like for me to set up a seperate "restoration blog or website" to cover just the restoration since this blog tends to be more about preservation and urban planning?

See everyone on Monday and have a great weekend!

Restoration Resource-Encaustic tile

For most people the only exposure to encaustic tile might be those small hexagonal tiles white and black tiles you see in a bathroom. But encaustic tile was extensivly used during the Victorian era and was at its most popular in Victorian era England.

What were called encaustic tiles in the Victorian Era were originally called "inlaid tiles" during the medieval period. The use of the word "encaustic" to describe an inlaid tile of two or more colors is technically incorrect. The word encaustic means "burning in" from the Greek en "in" and kaiein "to burn". The term originally described a process of painting with a Beeswax-based paint that was then fired with heat. It was also applied to a process of medieval enameling. The term did not come into use when describing tile until the 19th century. Supposedly, Victorians thought that the two color tiles strongly resembled enamel work and so called them encaustic. Despite the error, the term has now been in common use for so long that it is an accepted name for inlaid tile work.

There are a number of companies now reproducing these classic tiles and my personal favorite is Tile Source http://www.tile-source.com/index.htm althought there are now hundreds of companies, many in England that have resurrected this art. Although expensive prices are coming down and they are great for a small entry or hall.

Tornado Destroyed Moscow Bridge being salvaged

The Historic Moscow covered bridge is being salvaged. Beams are being pulled out of the water as as much salvageable timber is being saved. While it is not yet sure where the monies will come from, organizers of the covered bridge festival have planned to go ahead with the festival in the hope that monies can be raised.

Despite the severe damage many key timber and section are intact but were in the water.

A bridge burned by Arson a few years ago in another Indiana town was reconstructed.