The Historic District

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

A few more:

A few more:

A few more....

Last few, for now...

My apologies if there are too many! I hope you enjoy even 1/10 as much as I will... Tomorrow I will post some historical shots of the house from the early 1900s.

Mike/Jess, congratulations. I can feel your excitement just by reading your post. I see late Victorian/ turn of the century in every picture. It looks like the last reno would be the late sixties or early seventies. You have an original shingle sided home is also a wonderful suprise. Look forward to seeing more as you settle in.

Gothichome wrote:Mike/Jess, congratulations. I can feel your excitement just by reading your post. I see late Victorian/ turn of the century in every picture. It looks like the last reno would be the late sixties or early seventies. You have an original shingle sided home is also a wonderful suprise. Look forward to seeing more as you settle in.

Thank you! I forgot to add that every window in the house is original...and we are restoring every single one. Of course this will occur over time as we have the funds/time, but those diamond paned will always remain.

Awesome house, although I think I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw that carpet.
It should be put in the 1960's hall of shame. It is so great that you have your original windows. Trust me, they are very worthwhile to restore. Have fun peeling back the layers of bad things...drop ceilings, linoleum, paint, and watch your house turn into a total gem. Congrats from a fellow New Jerseyan.

Such a house! Welcome in!

Cheers!
Chaz

Very exciting Ober-

You certainly do have lots of paint to strip. Must have been such an enjoyable glass of champagne! I can imagine a future Thanksgiving in that dining room with the coffered ceiling and picture rail.

Looks like a really great house-- wonderful that the original owner was able to keep it her whole life. I imagine there must be some of her children and grandchildren around somewhere that you might consider getting in touch with at some point to find out even more.

Good luck and looking forward to those historical photos!