Trial By Victorian House

2008-12-20T10:17:00.002-05:00

2007-03-29T18:07:00.000-04:00

Here are some shots of the parquet flooring that can be found on the first and second floors. As I mentioned before the flooring design has a dark strip that outlines certain features of whatever room it runs through. It seems like a nice, simple, artistic device to lend a simple layout more weight. Since the nature of the outline was to run around the room and out the doorways to the next room, it has made some of the alterations done over time look awkward. For instance, in the second photo, note that the door (now a closet door) no longer match the outlining strip. We were able to figure out that the hall closet was not original. It was a hallway to the dining
room. Bear in mind that it's a Victorian after all. There are multiple doorways to and from every room. The third picture shows the outlining design pretty well. The hallway parquet flooring had sticky backed linoleum across its length. I used a heat gun to soften the tiles and the loosen the glue. Denatured alcohol and steel wool removed the rest. A good sanding will fix the rest.

2007-03-17T09:42:00.000-04:00

I tore down everything. Plaster, latheing - come to think of it - that was all there was besides three different types of ancient wiring. No wonder it was so cold when the heat went off. The outside air was just an inch or so from the inside of the house at any given time. In the first picture, please take note of the brick firewall. My house and my neighbors' houses are all a scant seven feet apart. My theory is that the brick was there to keep a burning wood frame house from falling on and igniting the surrounding houses. Sounds plausible. As with most of the houses in my area, the 1970's energy crisis brought the first really large fuel bills so the previous owners changed to what passed for energy efficient windows. Naturally, no gaps were filled and the house was still cold. You can see all the empty space around the windows in the second picture.
True to my anal retentive nature, I separated the rubble as I pull it down. If the old fireplace is still in the wall somewhere in the dining room, I'd have kindling for ages. The parlor's proximity to the side of the house enabled me to drop buckets filled with rubble right out the window. That also allowed me to keep the doorway sealed with plastic so the dust wouldn't pollute the house and trigger an asthma attack in my wife. An enormous gas mask kept me alive. To disperse the incredible amount of dust I blew an industrial fan out an open window while I worked. The plaster rubble was packed in small garbage bags to keep the weight down. that helped not piss off the Sanitation men. Latheing was bundled and tied.

2007-02-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

So, after the collapse, I tore down the rest of the ceiling. (Look honey - exposed beams, it's so rustic!) Well, she didn't buy that as permanent answer and I had to eventually work on the rest of the room. I cleared out the dark wood paneling (which can be see in the 2nd picture) and was very unhappy to note that they ripped out some of the window and door trim that protruded out further then the remodeler's furring strips.
The parquet floor is in fairly good shape and had been covered by carpet when we moved in. My wife is an asthmatic so when we pulled them up we discover that parquet flooring had been laid throughout the the first and second floors. The pattern was lined at the edges with a darker piece of wood. The pattern showed doorways that no longer existed. I covered the floor with masonite and double layers of kraftpaper for protection.
After the walls and ceiling are back up, I'll have the floors refinished. I guess a sanding and polyeure- thane will do the trick. If anyone has a different suggestion or option, I'd love to hear it. My aim is to keep the almost blond coloring and to repair some deep scratches. I like that it looks like someone has lived there and that its not some room in a museum. No need to torture guests with removing shoes. I do have some drilled holes in the flooring that I'd like to fill. If I can locate some spare pieces I can cut them to size.

2007-01-12T23:38:00.000-05:00

A brief memoriam to an important companion to this old Vic. Jan 5, 2007 our dachshund, Teddy had to be put to sleep. He was an important part of the family and an intrepid guardian. In truth, he had a fearsome bark, but really wanted every stranger to come in the house and sit on the couch with him. Old age and blindness, coupled with the typical weaknesses of his breed left him unable to negotiate the unique twists and turns (and steps) of a Victorian. He was unflaggingly loyal and in love with my wife. We were thankful for his last years with us and hope that we made up for his earlier life with others.

2006-12-26T17:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick look at the collapsed ceiling of the 2nd floor parlor.

2006-11-07T18:43:00.000-05:00

Though several rooms have undergone some form of renovation since my wife and I took ownership of this house, I've decided to begin my account with the 2nd floor parlor (as we now refer to it) because it stands the best chance of being completed in a timely fashion. Many rooms have been started, including a 90 percent renovation of the kitchen, but none have been completed. The kitchen is missing its door and window trim and is painted the wrong color. In addition, the tin ceiling I purchased, was install incorrectly and the job was halted after just a few panels. A 2nd floor back room was started first because it was the smallest and I figured I could I could finish it while learning the apparently limitless list of skills I would discover I would need to acquire and hone to do the job. The 3rd floor bathroom was begun because I wanted to see if it really was a footed bathtub under that hideous enclosure. (There was.)
My overall goal is to bring this home back to its Victorian nature while satisfying my need for large TVs and surround sound. I also need this house to be a energy efficient and fairly soundproof from floor to floor. As I redo a room, insulation and soundproofing goes in, along with all the new wiring and whatever peculiar need that room may have.
No, I have not figured out how to post my pictures. I'm quite embarassed and hope to figure this out soon. My apologies to the reader.

2006-10-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

mumblin' & ramblin'
Here's the introductory post. I decided to put this blog together to keep track of my restoration of my 1901 Queen Anne Victorian in the Bronx, New York. Before I had even thought about blogging, I had taken photos of the work I'm doing. A sort of Before, During and After account of my journey into the madness that is home ownership. I have found some interesting things, some that defy description. I'm hoping that this blog will be seen by like minded people who can pass on any info they might have found as they worked on old Victorians.
A recent discovery was a number of wallpaper rolls that were tied up and left in the crawl place above the third floor. They are very brittle, so I haven't tried to see the patterns. They appear to be quite old judging from their lousy condition. If anyone has thoughts about possible uses for these, I'd be open to suggestions. I'm interested in seeing them and if they could be useful in perhaps recreating a lost pattern.
In future posts, I hope to have my thoughts more composed, though stream of consciousness seems to work for me too.