Show us your vintage home!

[Fading Fast]

Aaaaahhh......the fun stuff. Congrats on finally getting the ball rolling, FF. Best of luck on your project. As someone who's made a career in the building trade, I know what challenges lie ahead. Here's hoping it goes as smooth as possible. You seem like you are going in with the right attitude - expect the unexpected and be flexible. Things find a way of working themselves out.

We bought the bells (well said, ''the fun stuff") to de-stress from all the surprises that have come up during early demolition. We went into this project (our first ever) with a budget that was well-above what everyone said we'd need (or saying this another way, we bought a smaller / more modest apartment than we were told we could afford and doubled (yes, doubled) the renovation budget from what we were told it would cost so that we wouldn't be stretched when the inevitable surprises and cost overruns happened).

Thank God we did. By not extending ourselves on the original purchase price and by having a renovation budget double what several architects and contractors told us it would cost, we are not in bad shape. Had we taken the advice of others and bought a bigger / more elaborate apartment and only budgeted what professionals in the trade said we'd need to renovate, we would not be in a good place.

After fifty years of life, even though I have never bought or renovated an apartment, I have learned that one needs to dramatically adjust up the price guidance of what things will cost versus what those in the field tell you it will when they want to get your business. Also, we told ourselves that there would be several unexpected challenges, so, so far, nothing is really causing us undo stress. That said, it still isn't fun when problems come up, but that is what the bell or other "fun stuff" purchases are for.

Thank you for your kind words and guidance.

 

[Big Man]

Every year I try to set some objectives to accomplish during the year. One of the objectives this year was to paint the north side of the house (that’s the side that needed painting the most). Last year I worked on painting the outside of the kitchen, bathroom, and back porch walls. Next year it will be the south side. Using a three year time-frame, I can accomplish the task of painting this big old house without working myself to death, not to mention spreading out the cost a bit (which helps).

Today I started on the main part of the north side, and was able to finish painting as much as I could while (safely) standing on a step ladder. I can get all the way up to about half the upstairs windows with a single fly ladder, but to get all the way to the roof-line it will take an extension ladder. Did I mention I HATE PAINTING and that I really hate painting on a tall extension ladder.

Here’s what it looked like when I started out today:




And this is what it looked like when I finished today:




I’ve still got a lot to go, but slowly and surely I’m making progress. Now, if I can talk my young, agile son into painting the highest parts, I’ll have it made.

I painted this house by myself the summer of 1975. At that time I swore an oath I’d never paint the whole thing alone again. Well, here I am 40 years later and doing the same thing again. I think I can safely say I’ll not be trying to do it again 40 years from now.

 

[Stearmen]

Looking good Big Man! I can Sympathize with your hatred of painting houses. I moonlighted as a painter for a couple of summers when I was in my twenties, now I hate it with a passion! One of the key factors in buying my current house was the fact it had fresh paint and a new roof. I also roofed when I was in collage.

 

[Stearmen]

Fighting the battle of the Wasps this week! All the rain has given us a bumper crop, man I hate them. Yes I got stung the other day.

 

[Fading Fast]

Big Man, I completely understand your lament, but wow do the results look awesome. It's amazing how much more those gorgeous mullioned windows pop once the paint is fresh.

 

[dh66]

Nice work so far Big Man. Be careful up there when you start the high part.

 

[Big Man]

Nice work so far Big Man. Be careful up there when you start the high part.

My son called last night and said he'd be here on Wednesday to paint the high part. By the end of the week, I should be able to mark this project "done."

 

[dh66]

My son called last night and said he'd be here on Wednesday to paint the high part. By the end of the week, I should be able to mark this project "done."

That's good news.

Tell him to be careful, too.

 

[Big Man]

That's good news.

Tell him to be careful, too.

1) He's young (33 years old) and agile.

2) He's an experienced rock climber (I taught him).

3) I'll be holding the ladder.

4) I've already TOLD him not to fall and get hurt.

5) He ALWAYS listens to what Dad says (see #4).

 

[HudsonHawk]

Perhaps you could pull a Tom Sawyer and tell him that you're not sure he's got what it takes to paint a house properly. He'll have it done in no time.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I feel your pain, too, Big Man. I still have a few small painting and staining projects left, mostly trim, in and out on the house. I painted every room in this house over the past 12 months and just have had my fill for awhile lol

Not to mention I have to paint the outside of the cabin next year. I always get stuck with it because they tell me "You're so good at it." I think that's code for "Nobody else wants to do it, sucker!"

 

[Big Man]

... I think that's code for "Nobody else wants to do it, sucker!"

I can relate to that.

 

[Stearmen]

I feel your pain, too, Big Man. I still have a few small painting and staining projects left, mostly trim, in and out on the house. I painted every room in this house over the past 12 months and just have had my fill for awhile lol

Not to mention I have to paint the outside of the cabin next year. I always get stuck with it because they tell me "You're so good at it." I think that's code for "Nobody else wants to do it, sucker!"

That's one of my next jobs. The lady that owned the house before me was the wallpaper queen! I am trying to get most of it down. The worst is in the upstairs bath, all the hot steam and then cold has made it stick like nothing I have seen before! I may have to cheat and do some wainscoting, since the sloped ceilings meet the walls low enough, that I may get away with it.

 

[Fading Fast]

I snapped this the other day in the basement of our 1927 coop apartment building. There are so many cool pre-war basement things down there, that I'm thinking I could do a series of shots, but thought I'd put this one up first as it just caught my eye.

It's the sign at one end of the basement pointing you to the crazy, tight, uneven 1927 stairs that lead out to the street.

 

[dh66]

That is very cool FF! Please post some more. I love that kind of stuff, the stuff that just gets overlooked and passed over by dozens or hundreds of people every day without a thought, but is really just so cool if you stop and notice it. Odds are good that whoever painted that, as well as whoever laid that brick, and everything else, is long dead and gone, yet here stands a testament to their craftsmanship as solid as any work by the great masters hanging in a museum. Proof that no one's existence is insignificant.

 

[esteban68]

Here's a vintage-ised picture of my 'front room' complete with daughters dogs,

 

[dh66]

Cool pic, Esteban68. Handsome pups and great looking hearth.

 

[Fading Fast]

Cool pic, Esteban68. Handsome pups and great looking hearth.

+1, plus a handsome looking piece of luggage and comfy looking club chair.

 

[1mach1]

+2

 

[Big Man]

My son came here on his day off and helped me paint the highest parts of the house. I sure am glad that’s him on the top of that ladder and not me. At 33 years old, he’s much more agile than me. Besides, if I were up there and fell, it would probably register 8.5 on the Richter Scale and the shock waves felt half way across the country.









By late afternoon we (James) was just about finished. Then the sky got dark, the thunder started to roll, and a bad looking storm began to approach. Not wanting my son on the top of an aluminum ladder during a thunder storm, I ordered him down (35 years as a Safety Officer kicked in right away). We got the ladder down (don’t like “lightening rod” on the side of my house during a storm), and everything put away. Naturally the storm passed without anything other than the rumbling of thunder in the distance. By that time it was time for James to go. He said he’d be back on his next day off and we’d finish. I can live with that.


Even with the small portion left undone, I think it is a great improvement. I am glad to have this project just about completed.