Week 17 of the Restoration (10/22/2007 – 10/26/2007)

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 07:00:00 GMT

Exterior painting was the focus this week and painting it was. Lots of accent and detail paint went on the decorative pieces of the house. Next week – the weather is projected to be nice – so we’re renting the lift again for the high parts of the tower.

Still waiting on the approved plans from the town – we’re hoping this week it will come through and the roof can be closed up and made watertight.

The guys are trying to keep going inside and were able to demo some of the 2nd floor carriage house (future bedroom, bathroom and laundry room). It’s amazi

Week 16 of the Restoration (10/15/2007 – 10/19/2007)

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Not much to talk about this week other than paint…paint…paint.

The warm/cool weather weeks are now slipping away. Marcelo focused most all his guys on caulking and sanding any rough surfaces – then applying final coats of paint on the body and trim. We are close to finish on the trim on dormer and exterior tower front windows decoration. We’re h

Week 15 of the Restoration (10/8/2007 – 10/12/2007)

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 01:00:00 GMT

We turned the corner this week – the plans were delivered to the town’s building inspection office. We should have approved plans by next week – we’re on our way and I think I know where we are going… It was big exterior painting week. Lots of accent colors went on the dormers and top of the tower. The soul of the home is now showing through – it’s like we are discovering the home again for the first time. Also – we started to sand, repair and paint the crests and spires with rustoleum paint – they now look brand (old) new.

Week 14 of the Restoration (10/1/2007 – 10/5/2007)

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:00:00 GMT

Eric, John and Haizen again spent most of the week continuing to shore up the turret (3rd floor -- upper levels). They also removed clapboard on the outside so they could replace damaged boards. They also put on rubber skirts around the towers (not around themselves) where water could possible collect. They plan to finish up all the work on the tower early next week. This tower is the heart of the home – I’m happy we were able to make it better than when it was originally built.

Week 13 of the Restoration (9/24/2007 – 9/28/2007)

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Lucky 13…

Breakthrough week for 390 Mount Hope Street. The structural engineer came out on Friday told us what we wanted to hear. Relatively simple and less complicated fixes for structural improvements in the home. We will not have to rip up the original kitchen floor to add new supports. We’ll use steel beams in the kitchen ceiling so there will not have to be a soffited beam running across the ceiling. Also – a steel beam in the family room (also hidden in the ceiling) will not cause any headroom issues with going up the new set of stairs we will be installing.

Week 12 of the Restoration (9/17/2007 – 9/21/2007)

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 03:00:00 GMT

One more surprise (hopefully) on the tower. The support beams at the floor level in the 3rd floor turret space were also rotted out due to water damage over the years. To properly “sister” new studs we need to have solid wood to nail the studs into at the base of the floor. The only way to put in new beams was to either take out the 2nd floor turret ceiling or remove decorative detail on the outside to gain access. It was less invasive to do the work from the inside – however the beautiful ceiling with plaster moldings could not be saved. We however did save the light medallion and will put back in place. We also will try to find plaster moldings that are close to the original.

Week 11 of the Restoration (9/10/2007 – 9/14/2007)

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The drama this week was putting in the temporary support for the tower. Eric and John actually felt and heard the transfer of weight from the tower beams to the new supports that were just put in. It’s nice to know these things work as intended. Eric and Hazen also repaired damaged wood in the roof of the grand pavilion. They also put on a rolled asphalt roof and the architectural shingles.

Week 10 of the Restoration (9/3/2007 – 9/7/2007)

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:00:00 GMT

It was a short week because of the Labor Day… but it felt like a long week because I was waiting to hear about the fate of the tower’s structural support. It was good news! Bob from the Dempsey Group gave the verbal OK to go ahead and shore up the structure, pull out all the damaged wood and start to replace with new timber. No need to remove any part of the tower for the repair – we can work with the tower in place. We’ll also sheath the whole inside with plywood to add rigidity and additional support to the structure. We also checked the middle part of the tower (2nd floor) and the wood looked great – no damage at all.

Week 9 of the Restoration (8/27/2007 – 8/31/2007)

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:00:00 GMT

The last (dog) days of Summer. Not much happened this week…we basically talked strategy and started to plan our next steps. Marcelo, Fernando, Eric, Dave and myself met on Monday to plan out who will be doing what structural work and when we will do it. We are hoping to get the plans approved by September 10th and all the structural beams by Sept 17th. Then we will be moving quickly to get all the structural aspects of the house in order.

Week 8 of the Restoration (8/20/2007 – 8/24/2007)

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:00:00 GMT

This is the first week that the restoration is starting to really visually take shape and form.

Renato spent many hours with the buffer getting the door hardware to look like gold! He used a linseed oil solution on the hardware to make sure the brass did not get scratched – the pieces are like jewelry for the doors. After being cleaned – we are using a lacquer to ensure the brass stays shiny and bright for years to come. We found out the material is brass and not gold – oh well.

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