Our First House!
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 4:24 am
Hi Fellow Enthusiasts!
It is with great excitement that my wife Jess and I can finally call the house below ours. It is a vernacular house in Bergen County, NJ built somewhere between 1902-1907. A few noteworthy items to discuss prior to scrolling down to the the pictures. One, the house is essentially original other than the kitchen.
The roof, being replaced next week, has two layers of asphalt shingles on top of the original cedar shake. The cement asbestos siding is on top of a few layers, one of which (maybe two) is the original cedar shake. The porch is original, other than the small part that jutted out on the left side of the house (street view) which no longer remains. The floors are original and must be redone, although they are parque in the main room, and heart pine upstairs (I think). The trim, likely chestnut, is painted but all original. We test stripped a bit, and there is only 1/2 layers of paint (ober EVERYTHING, including the coffered ceiling)! There are two sets of pocket doors. They were freed immediately upon entry after closing They don't work well, but they are there and will be restored properly.
Lastly, before posting pictures, it is important to note that there has only been one family in the house since being built! The owner passed away in March 2015 at the wonderful age of 106! She left great karma and a house with great bones. We beat out several builders for this property as it is in a wonderful location in a great town, so we are very excited to begin our undertaking.
I look forward to updating this thread on a very regular basis - with lots of questions and lots of excitement...and some frustrations. EDIT: http://pocketdoers.blogspot.com/ I'll be updating here, as well.
Thanks for reading!
Mike
It is with great excitement that my wife Jess and I can finally call the house below ours. It is a vernacular house in Bergen County, NJ built somewhere between 1902-1907. A few noteworthy items to discuss prior to scrolling down to the the pictures. One, the house is essentially original other than the kitchen.
The roof, being replaced next week, has two layers of asphalt shingles on top of the original cedar shake. The cement asbestos siding is on top of a few layers, one of which (maybe two) is the original cedar shake. The porch is original, other than the small part that jutted out on the left side of the house (street view) which no longer remains. The floors are original and must be redone, although they are parque in the main room, and heart pine upstairs (I think). The trim, likely chestnut, is painted but all original. We test stripped a bit, and there is only 1/2 layers of paint (ober EVERYTHING, including the coffered ceiling)! There are two sets of pocket doors. They were freed immediately upon entry after closing They don't work well, but they are there and will be restored properly.
Lastly, before posting pictures, it is important to note that there has only been one family in the house since being built! The owner passed away in March 2015 at the wonderful age of 106! She left great karma and a house with great bones. We beat out several builders for this property as it is in a wonderful location in a great town, so we are very excited to begin our undertaking.
I look forward to updating this thread on a very regular basis - with lots of questions and lots of excitement...and some frustrations. EDIT: http://pocketdoers.blogspot.com/ I'll be updating here, as well.
Thanks for reading!
Mike