katyelliott.com » house renovation

Rot Door Frame in Entry

Katy Elliott — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:26:52 +0000

A few days I woke up early to bring out the trash and noticed the door frame in the entry leading down to the basement was all gouged out. I came stomping up the stairs yelling, “What the heck are doing ruining 18th-century molding?” I knew I had heard him downstairs late that night making some kind of mess and I was rather annoyed.

As Greg explains he was removing the rot. The wood was so soft that the door would never hang. My rebuttal, “Well we never open that door and don’t you think it’s better to preserve it?” Anytime I want to fix something he always throws the preservation zinger in my face. Yes, I was acting childish but it felt the right moment to throw it back at him. I asked, “What are you gonna do fill it with wood putty?” You hear the annoyance in my voice but I’ve become extremely frustrated with the picking and picking of every project. To him it will never be perfect…The den molding we’ve been painting; He decided to re-sand a few spots and fill with putty because the gouges were annoying him. In my head I’m screaming, Just finish a damn project!!!

The damage has been done to the door frame and now we need to come up with a solution. He removed the molding covering the top of the rotted frame. The wood is one solid piece extending the whole width of the wall. I guess we cut out the rot wood and replace it with a new piece. Hopefully, once the jam is painted and the door rehung with HL hinges we’ll hardly notice the difference.

Ah the trials of a house renovation…

Decorative Fireplace Fitting

Katy Elliott — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:44:35 +0000

While I was working on polishing the antique brass andirons; Greg remembered we had this brass fitting that needed to be cleaned up. With a bit of scrubbing a beautiful decorative fitting appeared.

The fitting sits to the right of our fireplace, we’ve assumed it went to a former gas line? But how did it work? Did an additional line come out of the fitting to light the fireplace?

Any ideas? We would love to hear your comments!

Restoring Door Jamb

Katy Elliott — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:58:37 +0000

Snapshot of the den on November 17th, 2011. I still need to finish painting the walls, restore the firebox, line the chimney, strip the floors and add interior shutters.

We’ve never talked about how we restored the door jamb in the den, so here it goes. When we bought the house the original jamb had been cut out and removed on the right side. We assume this was done to fit furniture into the house—the doorways are only 26 inches wide.

We removed the frame and realized the wall was crumbling. Paneling was carefully removed and the wall was gutted to the corner beam. We went back and forth on whether to keep the doorway expanded because it was more convenient and it allowed more light into the space or not. Many of you shared your opinions on this post from January—the widen doorway was more favored.

We found three doors in the basement that were mates for the den. Greg decided he wanted to restore the door and use in the space. I like the idea and thought keeping the symmetry of the room was the right move. When the renovation is complete we’ll be able to close all three doors and light the fire on cold winter nights.

The molding profile that was removed was difficult to source because it didn’t match anything modern. We got a tip that Blue Anchor Woodworks carried many of the knives used to cut historic molding profiles found in Marblehead. We were able to match the molding with a knife in their inventory and bought 32 feet for $200. Having a custom knife made would of been a lot more expensive.

When we replaced the beams in preps for a new ceiling we also built out a new wall and installed the molding. Blueboard was hung in the wall cavity and then plastered over. The molding has been painted and you can hardly tell the difference between the old and new. Well, except that new molding doesn’t have nearly as many dings. I’ve taken care of that and made it more authentic by accidentally knocking it a few times with the vacuum cleaner.

We still need to fix the little gap between the top of the door and the molding. Can you even see that or does it just glare at me? I think the best tactic is to fill the gap with some wood and paint it green so it blends. Below photos of the project.

Den when we first bought the house.

Removing ceiling, stripping paint off molding and removing damaged door jamb.

Doorway expanded allowed more light in but I didn’t like that it threw off the symmetry of the room.

After we removed the ceiling and replaced with new beams we also put the door jamb back in. The paneling in the corner is original.

We had custom molding made for us at Blue Anchor in Marblehead to match.

Making sure the corners line up.

Carefully nailing the molding into place.

Adding molding to opposite side.

Blue board was installed and then plastered over when we did the ceilings.

View of the two doorways restored.

View from library looking into den with doorway restored.

A close-up of the corner after plastering.

Priming molding and painting the walls in the den.

Den this morning on Nov 17th, 2011. I still need to finish painting the walls, restore the firebox, strip the floors and add interior shutters.

Finding Concealed Objects In Den

Katy Elliott — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:01:46 +0000

I thought it was time to round up the objects we found in our den on the second floor. We found most of the objects when we removed the ceiling because of water damage. This past spring we replaced it, see here.

In the ceiling we found fabric, tools and shoes. While we were stripping the paint off the molding we discovered an old cigar and hair pins in the cavity between the old and new mantel piece. We believe the mantel was originally two fields and then a decorative mantel was later attached.

It’s really common to find objects like this in older homes in New England. An old folklore of hiding shoes in the walls was thought to ward off evil and bring good luck. “Concealment shoes” are so common that the The Northampton (UK) Museum maintains an international index.

About half the shoes registered in the concealment index are children’s shoes. Women’s shoes are more common than men’s. Shoes are almost invariably well worn, perhaps because the donor didn’t want to waste an expensive new shoe on the project, or perhaps because a well-worn shoe is more likely to retain the shape of the wearer’s foot and hence his spirit. Though shoes are the common denominator, more than two hundred different personal possessions–coins, spoons, pots, goblets, food, knives, toys, gloves, pipes, even chicken and cat bones–have been found hidden with them. (Wayland Historic Society)

Many preservationist suggest putting the shoes back after repairs are completed. I’m planning on creating shadow boxes of all the objects for each room in the house. This way the objects will stay with the house but we can also enjoy them.

In this room we also removed hundred layers of paint and wallpaper off the walls. We found two wallpapers—a floral and an older piece was a stripe. The wallpaper was scattered around the room and the largest area was near a window but was badly damaged (see below).

Above and below objects we found in the room with a photo of where we discovered each collection.

We found the leather, tools, fabric and a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes on the left side of the room near the chimney below the lathe.

A “concealed shoe” and fabric found together.

The shoe and fabric were found on the right side of the room closer to the front window.

Objects we found in the cavity between the new mantel and base.

The mantel in the den being stripped where we found the cigar and pins.

Top layer of wallpaper found near front window.

Two layers of wallpaper found between the window and center beam

A view of the wallpaper found.

Front Entry Progress

Katy Elliott — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:24:35 +0000

Greg has been working on stripping the paint off the molding in the entryway and removing hundreds of layers of wallpaper. On Saturday he mentioned he found a little piece that had a “Japanese man in a kimono” but I couldn’t found it in the scraps. The wallpaper I could identify was acid green and 1970′s looking.

Almost the entire entryway at the base of the stairs has wood molding. Maybe parts were removed when the drunk driver hit the house and the whole corner was replaced in the 1970′s?

The door in the photo leads down to our dirt floor creepy basement. To the left of the door, the stairs lead up to the second floor. We are still stripping the wallpaper and wood but this is how it was left from last weekend. I would like to remove the paint from the stairs next summer when we hopefully do all the floors on the second floor.

Currently, the entryway is not heated. Before we can finish the room we need to get a new furnace and duct the for heat. I can then remove the door at the top of the stairs which was added when the house became a two-family—we’re converting it back to one. Then the fun stuff like hanging wallpaper and lighting.

I’ve had my eye on “Pineapple” in gray & ochre on cream from Timorous Beasties since I bought the house. I have a tiny sample pinned above my desk. In real life the wallpaper has a lot more texture and depth which doesn’t come across so well online.

Below snapshots of our progress.

The door goes down to the basement

A beam in the entryway next to the front door leading out to the street.

A beam going across the ceiling in the entryway and leading into our first floor someday family room.

Looking up the stairway.

Looking down the stairs from a small landing.

Looking up the stairs at the landing, through a doorway (not original and will be removed) to the den.

Pineapple wallpaper from Timorous Beasties.

Restoring Fireplaces From Historic New England

Katy Elliott — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:41:51 +0000

Mantle and firebox from den in August 2010

Last week I shared part one of my query received back from Historic New England regarding preservation for my home. I’ve been a bit confused how to properly preserve and renovate my chimneys and fireboxes. It’s something that’s become a bone of contention—weather we should use stainless liners, thermocrete or nothing. I wanted to hear from the experts and get a preservation’s perspective.

We have four flues and three fireplaces that are exposed and one behind a wall. On the second floor of the house I would love to get two of the fireplaces working again. The den the room we’ve been working on for years now is my biggest priority. The second room will become a bedroom and I’m not as committed to having a functioning fireplace but the mortar in the firebox does need some work. Below tips from the experts as well as photos of each of our fireplaces.

Historic New England: Making old fireplaces functional is usually a matter of selecting which individual fireplaces are most desirable for active use since it is inadvisable from a safety and preservation perspective, and often cost prohibitive as well, to restore every flue and fireplace in a old or historic house to full operability. Regular use of fireplaces in an old chimney can stress the historic masonry and create opportunities for a fire. The safest approach involves adding a flue liner to the fireplaces that will be used and capping and/or sealing off the others.

Historic New England recommends use of a stainless steel “floating” liner in historic chimneys as floating liners do not alter or damage historic chimney masonry. A poured-in-place liner essentially replaces the historic chimney structure with a new solid masonry structure in which the old chimney is made redundant. While the poured in place liner is perfectly acceptable as a means of making an old chimney functional, the lining cannot be removed at a later date and thus violates the first principle of architectural conservation, that whatever modifications are made to an historic structure ought to be reversible without damaging or destroying the historic fabric of the building. Exceptions might be made to install a poured in place liner, for example, in a flue used for a heating system, which receives heavy use and requires a higher safety standard, or for a more recent or modern chimney, but if possible, introducing a poured in place liner into an old or historic chimney should be avoided.

Among the possible downside risks to the poured-in-place liner is the potential for the lining slurry to create pressure on or burst through a weak point in the masonry. The downsides of the floating stainless steel liner are 1) the need for a relatively straight shot for the steel liner (which cannot accommodate a significant angle in the flue) to run from the flue opening to the firebox and 2) the limited life span of the stainless material. These considerations may affect or limit the fireboxes selected for lining.

Within the fireplace opening, selective replacement of deteriorated brick may be necessary. A restoration mason should be able to replace individual brick in the firebox itself and repoint in an appropriate mortar. Traditionally, protected sections of 18th century chimneys were laid up using clay mortar, but the fireboxes and the exposed sections of the chimney at and above the roofline used a lime mortar as the lime mortar was more durable and weatherproof than clay. Care should be exercised not to introduce a modern Portland cement mortar into a historic masonry structure as the modern mortar will be stronger than the historic brick and cause cracking and deterioration. A high lime mortar, with very little cement and a high proportion of sand, is typical of historic lime mortars: one part cement, 4 parts lime and 12-15 parts sand may be used as a guideline. In historic masonry, the mortar is considered a “sacrificial” material, intended to give way, to flex within the structure, to absorb and release moisture from within the structure, and periodically to be replaced by digging out the old mortar and pointing with new.

 Traditionally, the area around the fireplace opening inside the mantel, would have been parged, or coated, with a lime plaster, and then painted/stained black. Only high-style houses would have had tiled fireplace surrounds in the 18th century and many of those now present on older houses were likely to have been installed in the late 19th or early 20th century.

For more detailed information on the construction of fireplaces and brick manufacture, see A Building History of Northern New England, James L. Garvin, published by University Press of New England. Also useful is “Chimneys and Flues” by Russell Taylor:
For more detailed information on traditional mortars, see “Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings,” National Park Service Preservation Brief #2 available on the NPS website at nps.gov.

Capping unused flues at the roofline without a highly visible chimney cap may require a custom solution. Pop-up dampers, such as the “Chim-a-Lator” at Volko Supply, may have a sufficiently low profile (if painted black) not to obtrusive visually. If the chimney is not to be used at all, a bluestone cap can be mortared in over the chimney opening. Chimney “balloons” are available to place inside an unused flue but you can also fashion your own “balloon” using a “pillow” fashioned from house wrap (Tyvek, for example) stuffed with loose fill fiberglass insulation and stapled and duct taped at the seams. Extra caution must be taken, however, not to place anything in a chimney or flue that may be subject to heating or cross-over sparks from an adjacent flue.

On the second floor in the bedroom. The shelf is not original and needs to be removed. I don’t need to having a working fireplace in this room but it would be nice to light in the winter.

First floor in the front part of the house. A heating system was being vented through this flue.

First floor in the back of the house. We think we have a fireplace behind this wall. This room will become our kitchen and dining room. Would be fun to have a working fireplace.

Historic Interior Shutters

Katy Elliott — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:44:56 +0000

As part of my Historic New England homeowner membership I can ask two questions per year for evaluation. My first question was regarding appropriate interior shutters. In Marblehead’s Historic District we can only have single-pane windows; my house is cold and I hope adding interior shutters will keep us a bit warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer months. We had insulation blown in this summer but I think interior shutters will be a great benefit too. In my den which has decorative molding on all four walls; paneled shutters will add even more to the space. Below the note I received back from Historic New England. Plus, three resources to purchase custom shutters.

Historic New England: Contrary to their common name, 18th century interior shutters were not installed for defense against Indian attack, but for security, privacy and a measure of insulation. Exterior shutters, which in period nomenclature were called blinds, were not a feature on houses until the very end of the 18th century and did not become common until the early years of the 19th century.

There are several different types of interior shutter, including paneled shutters that slide into a recess adjacent to the window (these are the earliest type), paneled bifold shutters that are hinged on the window casing and fold into an embrasure (or recess) in the wall, and paneled bifold shutters that are hinged on the window casing fold out over the casing and onto the adjacent wall. The appropriate type of restoration shutters for the Mugford house would depend on the evidence in the framing and walls of the house. Evidence for the type of panel appropriate to the window shutters would be found on any surviving paneled doors or fireplace paneling in the room. Ms. Elliott’s blog illustrates fielded paneling on some interior doors in the house, so shutters with fielded panels would be appropriate for the windows.

Hardware for shutters often consisted of H-L hinges on the shutter panels and butt hinges on the window casing. At the Mugford house, some evidence of interior shutters may still be present on the window casings in the window openings of the major rooms. Careful use of a raking light (i.e., a strong light, in a carpenter’s clamp lamp or even a flashlight) with the light held at an angle from underneath can highlight shadows or marks of prior hardware installation.

Note: The old windows were removed when we bought the house.

For further reference, see Plate XL of the sixth edition of Asher Benjamin’s The American Builder’s Companion (Dover reprint) for a hinged shutter in an embrasure (first edition of TABC was 1806). An example of the hinged “outside” shutter is enclosed in a photo from the Benjamin Lincoln House. Also enclosed are relevant sections of Garvin’s Building History of Northern New England.

For more information on shutters, see “Window Dressing: Shutters and Blinds in Historic Houses,” Historic New England magazine, Winter/Spring, 2004.

Sources for reproduction interior shutters include:
Beech River Mill
J. P. Moriarty & Company
Maurer & Shepherd Joyners, Inc.

What The Heck Are We Working On?

Katy Elliott — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:09:35 +0000

So how’s the old house coming? We have a bunch of small projects we’re working on; each one involves a ton of research, hours spent sourcing (home depot doesn’t carry antique hardware) and then we have to complete the project. I underestimate the time involved for every single one.

Case in point: exterior door. Our front door is not original and I want to replace it. But what would be appropriate? The photo I have of the house is from the last 125 years (?) and I doubt the door seen is original. What I’ve found in researching is 8 and 6-panel doors fit the period of my house. I prefer the 8-panel because its really unique and feels more Georgian. I’m having a heck of time finding one and I’m hearing from fellow renovators they’ve never even seen one at salvage. And if I were to buy a reproduction, who stateside makes them? Once I find the door I can then choose hardware, have the molding around the door fixed and add an exterior light. Below a few more projects we have in the works.

The renovation is kicking our butt lately and we’re having definite moments of wanting for it all to be done. It’s exhausting to work, write a blog, renovate and somehow fit a trip to the gym and a homemade dinner using my farm box veggies in a day. Most days the only thing on that lists that gets accomplished is work, not taking the time exercise is taking a toll on my anxiety levels and waistline. I don’t want to be a complainer because I know it’s all part of the process and I can’t expect to finish everything overnight. So I tell myself again, Patience Katy, little-by-little.

We ordered 3 sets of reproduction HL Hinges for our door from Seven Pines Forge in PA for the doors in the den.

We decided to add thumb latches to the doors in the den. We need to find three sets. The detail shot shows the nails were are looking for attach the HL hinges and latches spotted at Old House Parts in Maine.

I’ve decided to add interior shutters to the windows in the den. Through my Historic New England Homeowner membership I am getting some help researching a style that is appropriate. They’re also helping me with how to properly restore my fireboxes in this room too.

We gutted an old beadboard cabinet, fixed the walls and painted the molding green. Next we need to install shelves for a bookcase.

I’ve been fixing the little gaps between the molding and the wall using Lightweight Joint Compound. You think this would be quick but it takes hours. This wall needs a touch up with paint but the gaps have been filled.

I picked Clunch as my entire house molding color. I ordered a gallon along with a little more Verte De Terre to finish up the den.

Greg got started stripping the molding and the door in the entryway. The door and molding will be painted, Clunch. We’re not there yet but the walls in the entry with no molding will probably be wallpapered.

This is the BIG project we’re avoiding. The back extension needs to have it’s clapboards replaced and bunch of other things including rotten window sills and the bathroom tower out of view in this photo needs help too. Greg was going to try to attempt it himself but it just hasn’t happened. We’re going to get estimates this week so we can hopefully get it done before winter. And then we can paint!!

Installing Cellulose Blow-In Insulation

Katy Elliott — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:40:35 +0000

Yay, we got cellulose insulation in one wall! Yup, only one. Last week we attempted to blow-in cellulose insulation into three walls of the main part of the house—the back extension we’re waiting on till we get a new heating system and ducting.

Everything was going smoothly. First, they did the wall facing the sidewalk. Then in the afternoon they drilled tested holes in the front part of the house. From our office on the third floor we could hear them yelling, “Brick!” over and over. What?! Our house is built of bricks?

After further investigation we discovered the front and inner wall of the house are lined with bricks. Referred to as “brick nogging” the walls cavity between the framed timbers were mortared with bricks. Bricks were used as a wind barrier and an early version of insulation. Benefits also include fire-proofing, “thermal mass” making temperature fluctuations less rapid, and a way to block pests. (inspectapedia.com)

So what do we do? Nothing. The only solution would be to remove all clapboards and the bricks so we could blow-in insulation. This process would be incredibly labor intensive and probably NOT worth it.

With the one wall done I hope the house feels a bit warmer this winter. I’ve already notice the house is quieter and less street noise. But I do think once we get our fireplaces properly sealed, interior shutters installed and a new heating system the house will be just fine.

Holes drilled to blow-in insulation.

Testing the front of the house for insulation.

Hole drilled for blow-in insulation

Cellulose blow-in insulation

An example of brick nogging at Peter Augustus Jay House in Rye, New York via flickr.

Choosing Interior Molding Color

Katy Elliott — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:55:05 +0000

From left: Off White, Joa’s White, Clunch, and Lime White on molding.

We left off with painting the den a few months back. This room is so close to being done but I need to order more paint for the window sashes and the doors. When we were priming the molding Greg went a little to far and painted the molding in the stairwell too. I want the molding in the den to be Verte De Terre but everywhere else in the house the molding will be a cream.

So what color cream? I’ve been extremely happy with Farrow & Ball and their hues are a great fit for my old home. Back in 2009, I tested wall and molding colors for my den. At the time I thought I was going to paint my walls green and the trim cream. In the end I flipped the colors; the molding became Verte De Terre and the walls James White. Painting the walls a lighter color makes the room feel lighter and bigger. Stay tuned for more photos from my den…

I’ve been trying to decide between Clunch (#3 above) and Lime White (#4) for the molding in the rest of the house. The colors are really close. Clunch feels a little grayer and brighter while Lime White is warmer and darker. I tend to gravitate toward grey hued walls so I think Clunch will be my best bet.

I have my eye on Pink Ground for the stairwell up to the third floor. When we first moved into the house I painted the walls Phillipsburg Blue from Benjamin Moore but I’ve always felt it was too dark for the space. My house is really moody. I’m hoping choosing neutral pastels will garner an interior glow and will make the rooms feel brighter even in the middle of winter.

The blue stairs are left from when we ripped up nasty old carpet— I have plans to paint them too! I painted the walls Phillipsburg Blue walls when we first moved into the house.