January 2015

How cold was it?

Sealed cola cans were expanding

The plastic handles on tools were breaking.

The ink in all the pens in the house froze, as well as the glue on the packing tape.  By the end of the second day the battery charger for the tools was not working properly because it was left in the house overnight. I was prepared with my ski gear so I was comfortable, at some points removing my jacket and working in a sweater because I was moving around so much.

The snowy roof seemed to disappear against the white sky.


Recent Acquisitions

Speaking tubes

We got these brass speaking tubes on Ebay for $10.

Used as a 19th century intercom system, speaking tubes were used in some private homes, businesses, and ships before the telephone.  We plan on installing them using PVC pipe which can be used to connect the two ends. Some models have a whistle inside that could be blown into to alert the person on the other end to listen.

Speaking tubes on the left mounted to a desk- 1903.

This option seems appropriate; my hearing is poor from all the loud music I've subjected myself to over the years.  

Pocket doors
We bought these solid hardwood pocket doors from the local architectural salvage store for $300. They don't look like much just laying there, but they are impressive in person, and I love the tiny door knobs.

Roof Crestings

We got these crestings through Ebay from a couple in Cooperstown, New York.
Below is Pete's Photoshop rendering of the crestings installed.

These will help our house look more like this one:

I know this is unrealistic, but I keep this photo around for inspiration.

We bought 23 roof cresting segments for $200. from a fantastic couple with an adorable house built in 1835. It was like a giant doll house, with low ceilings, wide floorboards, and a cast iron stove keeping us warm in the kitchen. They said they moved the house from another location to save it from demolition. I pictured the house being jacked up and hauled on the highway with a huge "WIDE LOAD" sign on the back. No, they took the house apart-plank by plank, and put it back together on property a few miles away. 

I didn't believe it until they showed me the scrapbook. Pictures taken over a ten year period, the couple ten years younger , pulling the house apart (and some hair) and rebuilding it. I found only one other example of this deconstruction/reconstruction technique, here, so I guess its half as crazy if its been done twice. 

Dressing Table

I found this dressing table on sixth street. Yes, I know there is a bed bug epidemic in NYC. Any furniture I find on the street gets double bagged with mattress bags. The house is so cold it will kill anything attempting to live inside of it. 

I really like the front legs, and one of the top drawers is not as deep as the other, to provide its owner with a place to hide whatever fits. 

Chair upholstered by an amphetamine addict

I found this poor chair on Broadway and 10th street, its legs broken and splayed like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat after a bad fall. Its as light as balsa wood, way too light to be an antique. I'm hoping the entire chair doesn't disappear when paint thinner is applied.

Pump Organ  

I saw a pump organ for sale a few months ago at Housing Works Thrift Store on 23rd Street for $200., right before we were about to take our next house trip. It was gone by the time we returned. These things are for sale all over Ebay, so we bid on one in Connecticut, and won it for $128.00.

Picking up the organ was quite an ordeal. It was snowing terribly, and the van we were driving had crappy tires, not equipped to drive in the snow. Our destination was up a steep hill, and the van was slipping all over the road. We made it up on our second attempt, after getting stuck in the dirt.

Getting it in the house was easy compared to driving up that hill! The bottom half of the organ weighs about 300 pounds. Luckily, it has tiny wheels, so we used this makeshift ramp.......

  

.....pushing it inch by inch, drilling a piece of wood onto the ramp to prevent it from rolling backwards. 

Years ago Pete made me a dollhouse and bought this toy organ for it. He installed small voice recorder and rigged the keyboard to it. It plays a 5 second spooky verse from an organ.

Chaise Lounge

We got this amazing chaise lounge from new friends.One spouse bought it as a gift, then they decided it didn't go with their decor. 

The ever expanding mystery and horror book collection

Pete has now 78 books in his special book collection. I asked him what his goal was regarding the number of books he'd be satisfied with. He just gave me a confused look.  

We got these at Barnes and Noble.

I love this spider web pattern!

Our new electrical panel

We had our amazing electrician install a new panel. 200 amps, 5 breakers to start, with lots of room to grow.  Pete can run all his 220 tools, and the street lights for our block.

Here's the old box. I'm surprised it didn't combust just laying there. 

Taking apart the old piano

Before you get depressed and judgmental about us ripping apart the grand piano left in the house, you need to know it was in a pathetic state. Keys were sticking and the wood was terribly warped. Pianos generally have no resale value. They are given away free on Craigslist all the time. I called a few local piano manufacturers to see if they wanted it for parts, no one was interested. 

Our first idea was to gut it and use the frame for a flower bed. We thought of other projects to complete with the parts as we dissembled it. Pianos (at least this one) are built like tanks. It took us several days to pull this thing apart.

We started with soaking WD40 into the screws overnight. The tension on the strings is intense, so they were loosened before being cut to avoid getting our faces dissected. 

We got the biggest screwdriver at the local hardware store and slowly removed the huge screws securing the frame.

This is the underside of the panel that holds the keys. Pete thought that metal hardware would  make nice shelf brackets.

This is the part that holds the strings. Pete may take the curvy part and use it as the back to a couch, although it may be too heavy. I like the circle detailing and the company logo, so hopefully we can do something with this. 

The foot pedals are going to be intercom buttons someday. I'd like to use the legs to make a small table as well. 

We found these old gum wrappers inside the piano.....

Here is a dumb commercial for Clark's Teaberry gum. 

........as well as an illegible signature, dated December 26 (my birthday) 1919 (not my birthday) I had no idea it was so old. It made me feel kinda crappy for ripping it apart. 

The back porch

We continued ripping up the back porch, as I've mentioned before, this room has a lot of layers of floor and wall, so this area is taking forever!

 Now that we have electricity Pete fired up this saw to help cut through all the layers.

.

 We took all the wainscoting off the back of the chimney, saving as much as was possible. I'd like to use it someplace else.

I thought we'd seen all the floor and wallpaper patterns in the back porch, until we found these. 

 That vinyl geometric floral pattern below was hollow on the underside, like a puffy sticker from the early 1980s. It collapsed if I pressed on it hard enough. 

This parquet floor below is vinyl as well. 

These brick patterned vinyl spacers under the sheet rock ceiling got a confused chuckle out of me.

I feel bad for the people at companies that have to name all those boring colors and patterns.

This small tub, about 4 feet long, seemed harmless enough, until we attempted to lift it. Cast iron and obviously older than it looked, it was a real mother. The tub upstairs is the same model. We will hire professional movers to dispose of the one upstairs, because I don't want to die under it.

Upstairs landing

We worked on the upstairs landing area, where we plan to build a second bathroom. 

We pulled off the plaster and lathe to reveal that we need a replacement newel as well as a banister and balusters. 

A second fence post spacer was exposed as well.

Wallpaper remnant found next to the door. 

Its a dusty, exhausting life 

I just watched Its a Wonderful Life from beginning to end for the first time over Christmas. Has anyone else had this experience at their staircase? Is this a common thing?  

                                       

The front bedroom

Pulling down the plaster revealed a second door right next to the one in use. It was covered up to make an enclosed bedroom in the staircase landing area.

Ill be keeping these back plates.

We found two more newspapers hidden behind walls in the front bedroom, both from 1970.

This seemed to be left just for Pete, who has always had an interest in interstellar travel. 

I think this archaeology article was left for us as well, being that I feel like the entire house is an archaeological dig, and these schoolchildren are in Brooklyn. For those of you who watched the  Carol Burnett show back in the day, there's an explanation on the left as to why she tugged on her ear after each show. 

The maids room/bathroom

Wow, this room is going to need some serious work. We peeled everything away to find some not so great surprises.

This is the outside of the maids room. The window is not original, and the clapboard has an odd patchwork pattern.

Pulling down the insulation revealed moisture and mold. 

The clapboard was wet as well, I thought this was coming from the roof......

A closer look showed that the clapboard wasn't touching in places, leaving gaps to let water inside. 

Here are the various packing foams used as makeshift insulation.

This sheet of insulation was the only piece not water damaged. I was amused by the 1970s herringbone pattern on the paper. 

This small piece of paper was nailed to a beam in the upstairs bathroom. It was almost missed, I was throwing away debris that Pete was pulling down. It's just a mans signature, Joseph G Glynn Graham, and our address. Although Joseph Graham is not on any of the deeds to the house, several Grahams owned the house from 1903 to 1944.

Flora and Fauna

Actually, no fauna was found during this visit. I doubt it will get better than the mummified bat!

I think these are raisins, they were stuck on the underside on a drop ceiling.

This shriveled corn cob was found in the ceiling in the maids room. 

Something has rooted itself in the bedroom fireplace.

Noteworthy Debris

This jigsaw was found in the wall, obviously made to last!!

This hand drill was found in the bathroom wall.

Along with this saw.

I thought these were Victorian nunchucks, when dirty street fighting was a fine art. They are actually window weights, we found several pairs in the walls so far. 

This is slate from the original slate roof. 

A shoe from a baby doll, this is the only toy we've found do far. 

Does anyone know what this is?

This thing has been kicking around the house, and we have yet to identify it. The two ends shown are attached to a single steel rod. Its about six feet long. The tulip shaped end opens and closes when the center bar is turned via the T shaped handle.