a 1896 Arts & Crafts style cross gabled house. Complete with gloss painted brick fireplace, low spots in the solid oak floors, horse hair plaster repairs, and all the other goodies I expected to find.
Oh, and it needs a new $15,000 roof. Still, the first floor is almost perfect. 114 year old old woodwork with no damage, no paint. Nothing was torn out and nothing will be. The French doors to the oak front hall are missing but I can find new ones at a resale shop. Some day. You never know, I might find them in the basement once the power gets turned on again.
New exterior doors needed. They were kicked in while the house was vacant. Resale shop again.
New kitchen needed as the old one is a half finished poor remodel.
The second floor balcony had the original Arts & Craft railings and posts cut off and replaced with horrible treated wood. Those will be replaced by me too.
And, following my own advice, I’m putting a woodworking shop in the almost brand new 2 1/2 car garage with only the best wood working tools. The best saws, shaper, and table router I can afford. As I’ve said before “Buy a cheap tool five times or a good one once. Your choice.” More DIY people are hurt or killed by poor tools than by good tools, and good tools make for a better project and do it easier.
I guess we will see if I can still do what I tell others to do.
One nice thing is that my daughter wants to come and help. She spent a lot of time watching me fix our old Painted Lady 20 years ago. I’d like to see if she picked up anything from the old man other than a crabby attitude and stubborn streak a mile wide. LOL. I have to be careful however. She’s carrying my first grandson for a few more months.
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